Mommy blogs, part 2
The NY Times article on parenting blogs "Mommy (and me)" doesn’t hit the newsstands until tomorrow, but is already getting a lot of play in the blogosphere. It’s an odd article. Hochman is gnerally complimentary towards the specific blogs he discusses (including DotMoms), says that our uncertainty and stress "makes for good reading," and even suggests that blogging may make us better parents At the same time, he seems to display an undercurrent of "look at these pathetic people craving attention and validation who think every detail of their lives is of interest to anyone else."
I particularly recommend CultureCat’s comments, which put the article into the context of the ongoing discussion of how bloggers who merge the personal and the political (who are more typically female) are marginalized. She was interviewed for the Times article, but isn’t cited.
On a related note, I’ve been less and less happy with the distinctions I was drawing on my blogroll between different types of blogs. I love some of the classifications that others use (this blog is classified by Bitch,PhD as part of "my liberal bias," by 11d under "nobody puts baby in the corner," and by GeekyMom under "blogs by women who happen to have kids"), but haven’t been able to come up with anything clever but simple myself. For now, I’ve revised it to two categories: "Blogs mostly about the author’s life" and "Blogs mostly about the outside world." And I’m still not sure where to assign some of my favorites. If you feel misclassified, give me a holler.
January 29th, 2005 at 11:34 pm
Why I will always be TMMitWWW *
…for all eternity. I don’t much care that The New York Times says I’m irretrievably scarring my children for life by blogging about them now. See, years ago, we agonized horribly about moving from NYC to the ‘burbs. Then we…
January 30th, 2005 at 12:19 am
I agree with your assessment of the tone of the article. It was blatant in it’s accusations of navel gazing. I guess articles about bloggers are considered puff pieces these days so maybe the author felt he had to find an edge. We’re a tough crowd though. He’ll probably be sorry for that spin in the morning. Hell hath no fury like a pissed off blogger.
January 30th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
The Picture of Self-Absorption
We just picked up the paper copy of the New York Times with the “mommy blogging” article. The subtitle for the piece is dreadful, calling blogs “shrines of self-absorption”. Blame not the reporter, David Hochman – editors pick the slug lines, not write…
January 31st, 2005 at 8:56 am
In my opinion, what he was writing was JUST his opinion, and not news, NOT facts.
The point that he missed is that there are some really good writers out there. It doesn’t matter if they are self absorbed, narcissistic, or even boorish, if they write well, they are worth reading. His article, with all of its mistakes, was, in my opinion, not worth reading.
January 31st, 2005 at 12:39 pm
The NYT still doesn’t seem to “get” blogging. You don’t have to prove your blog will draw paying customers or sell copies: you simply publish and wait to see if anyone reads. That said, is it really appropriate to compare blogs to published children’s books of years hence? Or should we instead be comparing this to playground conversations or embarrassing Christmas letters? Of course I remember my mother telling the Thanksgiving crowd that I’d finally gotten a bra. And of course that comment was really about her, and not me. This is part of the nature of the parent-child relationship.
The big difference between blogs today and the phone calls or chatting of the past, however, is that your child could conceivably find the content if you don’t take it down. But has the NYT also forgotten that you can simply take your site down when your kid hits 8?
Overall though I do think this piece says some positive things … although they’re buried at the end.
February 22nd, 2005 at 10:22 am
Americans’ Future In One Plan
I know that most of you are busy to read my book. As I explained previously that Taman Health Plan (www.trafford.com) takes care of all the health care, Medicare, Medicaid and social security. It will threw away all bureaucracies out of window. Let me explain shortly how it works:
1- There will be no more health care insurance companies, no Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. My plan will take care of all.
2- Basically will be only one Big Health care organization (Taman Health Plan or THP).
3- The center of the plan will be in Washington while the health departments in every state will be the branches.
4- One organized body will be taking care of the Health Care and long term care of all Americans replacing 1500 insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
5- This will allow us to provide a uniform service to all Americans every where in both inpatients, outpatients and long term care.
6- When you go to any Duncan Donuts branch your expectation is to have a fresh coffee and a donut with no long wait. We will try to provide a similar predictable service everywhere as Duncan Donuts. With having only one body will be able to do that.
7- The Capital of the plan will be the funds of Medicare and Social Security (before the bankruptcy of both systems). The maintenance will be a yearly tax from each of us (will replace our yearly social security and Medicare holding taxes). A percent of each of us go to his account cards and a percent go to THP itself. The money of the plan will be invested by the investing sector of the plan very likely in Wall Street.
8- We will have 5 ATM cards with a corresponding accounts. Card A (children), Card B (working group 18-65years old), Card C (Medicare card >65 years old), Card D (Medicaid card), Card E ( expensive medicines or investigations).We will have the health cards devoted to health care and long term care. Thus we will have: health cards, banks with accounts to each card and credit card machines in outpatients care and hotelling part of hospitals and nursing homes.
9- Cards will pay for the outpatient medical care including doctors, emergency room visits, investigations, medical supplies, pharmacies and the hotelling part of hospitals and nursing homes. While the medical part of hospitals and nursing homes will be budget by the plan itself.
10- In the first year of issuing cards: Card B and C (most of people) will have a bonus it could be a percent of their Medicare and social security withholding (70 % or so). We will try to be fair to every one but every one has to know that most of us already lost a lot of money with the HMO’s. For next year new comers to card B at age of 18 when first issued will have a bonus of 50,000 dollars. It will change every year by a percent a according to inflation.
11- Every one of us will get a statement every one or two months of his card account. Card B account will phase in card C at the age of 65. If card C account is vanished Card D will be issued (hoteling part will be less luxurious). Only few of Card B will have card D if there account vanish most likely those with severe medical problems.
12- So basically most of us will have our own account Card B then card C. Say you are 45 and you have now in your account $ 200,000 you can take one or more years out of work, you Can retire early if you like and with your card you will control all the medical services and its prices.
13- With this card system we will end all bureaucracies of health care, Medicare and Medicaid. No one will stand between you and any medical or long term service (only your card). Shop around with you card, have early health care security and responsibility and invest in your health.
14- We will not need Social Security since after age of 65 we will be able to use our cards to stay in any nursing home each according to his account in card C or card D. So when you invest well in your health you will be able to enjoy a nicer nursing home when you get old (actually it will be also a kind of tourism).
15- The money in cards do not get inherited when we pass away but recycle in the plan to support the next generations.
16- The plan will have very positive effects not only in simplifying our care, save a lot of waste in health care, give early health care security and responsibility to Americans it will also have a positive effect on the economy, saving billions of dollars to Americans, creating jobs in health care and cutting outsourcing.
Very likely, you figure it out by now I could have sold the plan to one of the presidential candidates before the 2004 election for millions of dollars (they already spent 2 billion dollars). It is my gift to the American people (it will help the healing process of the two worlds America and the Muslim/Arabs).
Maged Taman.