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Kathie Lee (a.k.a The Idiot) meets Dooce.

mssinglemama — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:17:10 +0000

If you didn’t see Dooce’s interview on the Today Show, watch it here.

You’ll hear Kathie Lee Gifford admit she doesn’t even use computers and then proceed to tell Heather B. Armstrong, “I have mixed emotions about it (her blog), I have to be honest with you – you seem like a lovely lady – but there’s something that worries me about it…the safety issue of putting your kids online.”

Heather (who looked hot!) then tries to throw it back on her…”well, you live in New York City and you walk down the street…”

Then they cut Dooce off and ended the story. So far no post from Dooce but she did say this on Twitter right after the interview:

“I am not going to twitter what I’m thinking right now. I AM SHOWING RESTRAINT, INTERNET”

Can’t wait to read her slam.

And by the way, here’s Kathie Lee Gifford’s “blog” – which we can now safely assume is a total fake. Too bad the producers didn’t prep her before the show – “Kathie Lee, don’t forget – you have your own blog.” Oops.

Long live mommy blogs and Dooce.

UPDATE – Check out Dooce’s interview on Nightline. Much, much better.

[Photo Credit and Caption: Kathie Lee Gifford and Hode Kotb]

The Dawn of Mommy Blogs

mssinglemama — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:04:14 +0000

Mankind’s media landscape has been controlled by men since the first printing press spit out a bible. Oh, and if you haven’t heard – you’re a rib.

Now it’s our turn

We are lifting the black curtains, inviting other families into our lives and are finding, above all, that we’re not alone. Stereotypes, perhaps you had one about single moms before reading my blog, are vanishing, walls are coming down and we’re finally speaking to each other about our fears, our joys, our losses and our victories – or about what our kid wiped on the wall last night. Regardless of what the topic, Mom blogs are a strong voice for women every where.

And now we have a matriarch – Heather B. Armstrong, or Dooce, as millions now know her.

The first mom blogger propelled into the national spotlight, Armstrong bears the brunt of mommy blog criticism. Now that her blog is rumored to earn her family $40,000 a month in advertising, the critics are even harsher – some say she is exploiting her daughter for fame and fortune. Keep in mind Armstrong has written candidly about everything in her life since 2001, before she even had a family.

She answered her critics this weekend in a profound letter to, Leta, her four-year-old.

“I have every reason to believe that one day you will look at the thousands of pages I have written about my love for you, the thousands of pages other women have written about their own children, and you’re going to be so proud that we were brave enough to do this. We are an army of educated mothers who have finally stood up and said pay attention, this is important work, this is hard, frustrating work and we’re not going to sit around on our hands waiting for permission to do so. We have declared that our voices matter.
You are a part of this movement, you and all of the other kids whose mothers are sitting at home right now writing tirelessly about their experiences as mothers, the love and frustration and madness of it all. And I think one day you will look at all of this and pump your fist in the air.“

Thanks Dooce. Your blog makes me laugh and cry … thank you a million times over for paving the way for the rest of us. And thanks to my readers for bearing with me as I find my voice in this little thing we call the blogosphere. I’m fairly certain this is just the beginning.

My blog is about to get quite a little makeover. I hope you like it! And yes, there will be room for advertising (I’ve had requests already) and no, they won’t be ugly or tasteless. And if anyone ever accuses me of exploiting my son I’ll just breath, sigh and then e-mail them a link to their daughter’s Facebook page.

For all of you who are also mommy bloggers, here’s an article you might enjoy, “Top 5 Reasons Why Mom Blogs are the Blogs to Watch.”

[Thanks to Random and Rachel for sending me the stories for this entry...and the pic is from the Wall Street Journal]

Kill your TV!

mssinglemama — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:05:46 +0000

According to Nielsen, the average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of TV a day! When I read that stat I nearly fell out of my chair. I knew it was high, but nearly 5 hours a day! What?

I killed my TV two years ago when I left my husband. Most of his waking moments, outside of work, were spent plopped in front of the tube. Our bonding time, in turn, revolved around our favorite TV shows. And when we separated he took the TV with him.

I never replaced it.

It wasn’t by choice. I was broke, so broke that buying a TV was completely out of the question. Now, I could buy one – but I won’t. Then I’d have to pay for cable. And if I had one, I know I would watch it. I’d get re-addicted to Project Runway, Desperate Housewives, anything on TLC, re-runs of Northern Exposure, Deal or No Deal…you get the idea. I loved it all. Now I can’t even remember what it’s like to watch TV every night. I don’t even know how I’d find the time.

When I have friends over they tell me it’s refreshing to sit down in a living room without the TV blaring in the backround. And then we talk. The old-fashioned way.

If I go over to someone’s house and the TV is on I just sit there stareing…TV, TV, wow, TV. Then I ask them to turn it off so I can focus on what we’re talking about.

Digression: You know what? I just realized why I might be single. I’m weird. Really weird. I hate TV. I truly do. I’m not sure if I would ever want one in my house again. Uh-oh. That leaves like 1% of the population for me to choose from. I just need to find someone else who’s addicted to their iMac. We could have two little iMacs in our living room. Cute? Or weird?

Okay, back to the no TV thing…every mom out there knows there comes a moment in any day where a quick TV show prevents you from either – throwing yourself out of a window or locking the kids in the closet.

You all know how much Benjamin and I LOVE Handy Manny, Thomas, Mickey and Elmo. We watch all of these fine programs on my 20″ iMac courtesy of iTunes for $1.99 a piece. And, unlike a TV channel, when they’re over – they’re over – and Benjamin moves on to another activity.

Plus I save $70/month in my non-existent cable bill. There are other options too, like audio books from Giddio.com. I was skeptical. But when I popped one in Benjamin was mesmerized by the story. But instead of staring at the computer screen like a zombie he played with his train set while he listened.

This week (April 21-27) happens to be National TV Turnoff Week. And Mom UnPlugged has posed a challenge to all of her readers…to turn off their TVs for a week! Think you could do it?

If you killed your TV, what do you think you’d do with all of your spare time?

What if your kids never saw another commercial again?

What would you do with that extra $840/year? You know what…that would be just about enough to buy a refurbished (used like new) iMac. Just found one for $999.00! Holy crap. And no, I don’t work for Apple. Just love my iMac and I hate TVs.

[Photo Credit: Find this fabulous photo by clicking here]