Personal Blog of Author Kathryn Thompson
It’s time again for the most fun ever. Please take a few minutes to fill out this reader survey. It helps my advertising network sell ad space on the site if they can tell Tillamook that all my readers eat cheese 3 times a day and other such nonsense. When results come in, I’ll type them up so you can see who else is reading along with you.
My internet is dead.
Remember me? I’m Today’s tech mom.
Well yeah.
I don’t have internet access at this time. My internet’s been down since Saturday and my ISP is telling me it will be several days before they can even come look at it. The original service date was 2 weeks from when I called but they’ve squeezed me in for early next week. HOW THOUGHTFUL!
So we tried to switch companies but the only other high speed internet company in town has been so flooded with people switching from the company we’re currently with that they have completely saturated their infrastructure. They are not accepting any new accounts unless one of their current clients cancels their service.
No. I’m really not kidding about that.
So no online bill pay. No fixing my crazy blog header. No looking up things when I say, “Oh. I’ll just look that up online.” Limited email access on my phone where I can read my messages 8 words at a time and type responses with my thumbs. No IMing or webcam with Dan. No blogging or commenting on blogs though I can read your sites on my tiny phone screen… but let’s be honest, I won’t. I’m typing this at Eve’s house, heaven love her. She is my technological benefactor.
I am amazed at how dependent I am on technology. It’s quite pathetic actually. I miss you all. Please don’t be mad if I haven’t responded to your email or comments. My thumbs hurt real bad.
On a positive note – For the last few days I’ve been reading actual print books and cleaning my house. It’s sort of like a mini vacation… without the little umbrellas in my drinks.
My blog goals for 2008 will be:
1. Write something. Yes, it’s drastic but I like to shoot for the stars. In 2008 I plan to actually write something on a regular basis on this blog, as though I were, in essence, a blogger, of sorts.
2. Do a little more of the follow-up. I tend to write about something big and dramatic and cliff-hangerish (okay, maybe you’re not exactly on the edge of your seat, but I sure feel the drama evident in my daily life, like the saga of what deodorant I should choose, or the decision of whether or not to go elsewhere for my children’s literature.) and then never refer to it again. I’ll solve a problem in my head or in my life and don’t feel the need to share the solution with the internet. Most of the time no one seems to notice but every once in a while someone will email me or comment to ask what happened and I figure for every person who expresses curiosity, there are at least 2.5 other people who wouldn’t have been enraged if had written a follow-up post.
So this year I will try to be all about giving you the closure you so richly deserve.
In that spirit, I’ve written about how I did on last year’s parenting resolution over at Parenting.com.
I also want to answer Kelly who asked, “My pits are waiting the results of your deodorant tryout – please fill us in!”
First I was really affected by Ericka’s comment about aluminum in antiperspirents and its carsenogenic properties so I followed Michelle’s advice and went with Tom’s of Maine. I like wearing it, knowing that it’s safer for my body. The problem is that it’s not safer for my friend’s noses if I happen to sweat really hard or miss a day.
Therefore I went out today and purchased some Lady Mitchum in Shower Fresh to wear on the days I plan to be really active. I figure that even if I wear it every other day, I’m still cutting the evil aluminum seeping into my body via my pit pathways by half.
If you’re dying for updates on any of my past posts or just have any burning questions for me, leave them in the comments section and I’ll try to follow Jessica’s example and give you the answers you crave.
We have a winner for the big fat giant mother of a Miffy.
And the prize goes to Veronica Mitchell from one of my favorite recent blog finds Toddled Dredge. She says it’s for her 4-year-old but I have my doubts about that.
Okay y’all. I need your help. Well “need” is a funny word. I would like your help greatly.
1. I’m likely starting a new feature on Parenting.com each week where I will highlight great posts from blogs written by parents. I know I’m not aware of all the great blogs by moms and dads out there on the internet so I’d love some suggestions. Which blogs big and small should I be reading to find the most entertaining, insightful writing in the blogosphere? (It could even be yours.) Just leave a comment with the URL.
2. What are your favorite get-to-know you party mixer games? I’m hosting this party with a bunch of women who’ve never met before and I’d like to break the ice in some way other than yammering on and on about my kids’ dental health. I mean, a good kiddie toothpaste anecdote is always a big hit but I’d like to step outside my box for one night. Hit me with your best ideas.
Anything can become a computer.
My favorite things about these pictures are her fabulous impression of my posture while typing, her intense concentration as her fingers fly over the keys and her fuzzy pink Hello Kitty slipper mouse. It must be an optical, because she’s not using a mouse pad.
Jenny, Eve and I stayed up WAY too late in Chicago and came up with all kinds of ideas. We decided to make up songs and sing in an atonal vibrato. We decided to jump from bed to bed wearing capes. And we decided to set up a community to encourage and promote moms who blog in the Greater Seattle Area.
If you’re a mom who blogs from anywhere in or around Seattle, please join us as we try to connect, support each other and undoubtedly take over the world.
Anyone is free to go over and nominate one of your favorite posts for the month. The post does not need to be by a Seattle blogger. The nominator does not need to be a Seattle blogger. However, only the academy of Seattle bloggers will be able to vote on the winner. We’d love your nominations!
I learned a few techie things at BlogHer and now I’m trying to act on them. I’ve finally gotten friendly with FeedBurner so if you’d like to subscribe to my RSS for your reader, you can click here.
If you’d like my new posts delivered to your email inbox, you can subscribe by entering your addres below. (Mom – I’m talking to you!)
BlogHer felt like an overwhelming success to me this year. I had cute shoes. The conference venue was gorgeous and things ran smoothly and were well organized. People were kind and discussions were thought provoking and respectful. (I’ve got a few words to share on the closing session with Elizabeth Edwards but that will have to wait till tomorrow.) I did not have to cook for anyone and the magical hotel fairies made the beds for me each morning.
My panel was on Friday afternoon, led by the excellent Liz Henry, a woman who can make anyone feel at ease and understood. How fun is she to be taking pictures of the panel and audience as she moderated it? That certainly helped relieve some of the nerves I’d been struggling with that morning. To be honest, I felt a little like a fish out of water in that group. There was Laina who writes about race, ethnicity and culture on the BlogHer website, Liz who seems to know everyone, blog on every topic and have one foot in nearly every social group and Tish who regularly stands up against The Man in a male dominated communications blogging culture.
Then there was me with my charmed life, writing a non-issues-based funny mom blog and periodically being touched by drama because of my religious beliefs. I’m much more comfortable being a smart-alec than having a serious discussion about social issues.
I think the panel went well. We had some good discussion, although I feel that it would have been more productive on a small group level. I wanted the chance to look my fellow panelists in the eye and really come to an understanding of what they were saying, something I’m sad to say didn’t happen.
In my closing statement, I said that everyone is intolerant of something. In fact, if you’re not intolerant, I’m not likely to be your friend because you’re either lying or you’re so relativistic that you don’t know who you are anymore. We tend to call each other on intolerance when our intolerances don’t match up. Personally, my main intolerance is towards mean people. Why can’t we all just respect each other?
Then I said something that I’m not sure about. I said that through my experiences, I’ve learned that what I love about the internet is that it is a great equalizer, giving everyone the freedom to speak their mind and to form communities of their choosing. I think that the people who spoke out against me because I’m Mormon had the right to do so and can form any exclusive group they want. If I want to have a blog for only people who like lima beans, I can do it and if they want to draw lines based on the Nicene Creed, more power to them. I said that if they didn’t want to include me, then there was no reason for me to want to be included, to beg to be part of their group. That statement doesn’t sit right with me.
In that particular instance, I’m happy for them to have their own little group because it doesn’t affect me in any significant way. However, I know there are so many cases in the world where people are being excluded in a way that is materially harmful to them and to the world at large and some situations need and deserve some direct intervention.
After the panel, two such situations presented themselves. Stefania spoke up in the State of the Momosphere panel and mentioned that she is constantly being pitched marketing opportunities on her various websites but receives none of the same offers for Kimchi Mamas, her successful blog for Korean moms. Kelly from Mocha Momma had started teh converstaion because she has experienced the same kind of exclusion from marketers.
Does it offend me that I am excluded from writing for Kimchi Mamas because I’m white? No. There are approximately one billion places a white woman can blog. I fully believe Korean moms should have access to an exclusive community. But I think it’s wrong that women of color are being excluded in so many other communities. If Club Mom or Parenting were making a point of only hiring white bloggers, I’d have a serious problem with that. So, is it only okay for minorities to be exclusive? I’m not sure where the line is. I just know that some exclusive groups are right and some are wrong.
Another example comes from my co-panelist Laina, who went out to dinner in downtown Chicago and was denied service when a black friend asked for a table but a moment later a white friend was able to get her name down on the waiting list. It blows my mind that things like this are still going on in places other than Uncle Bubba’s small town café in Backwardsville, US. Seriously? How can this country have come so far, and still have such a disconnect between our perceived shared values and the way people actually treat each other?
Can I tell you how much I love getting email with the subject line “Re: Intolerance Intervention”? Very much do I love it and I’ve been getting a lot of it lately.
I’m really excited to be speaking on a panel at BlogHer next week and I’d like your help preparing. The topic is Intolerance and here’s the official synopsis:
Does the Blogosphere Need an Intolerance Intervention?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of speaking across divides, and trying to be a “bridge”? What do we gain and lose when we assume we’re blogging to people a lot like ourselves? Let’s talk about insularity, authenticity, intolerance, and diplomacy. At times, bloggers can be like indie bands, risking having their original fans stop liking them the minute they start being appreciated by a more diverse audience, outside the original “club”. There’s bloggers who cross all sorts of potential barriers…and bloggers who like it in their own neck of the woods just fine, thank you very much, go away if you disagree. Do Birds of a Feather groups encourage intolerance? Or are diplomats “sellouts”? Decide where you stand. Liz Henry moderates this discussion around a topic a lot of us observe, but few of us say anything about. Bloggers like Laina Dawes, Tish Grier and Kathryn Thompson have a few stories to tell!
I was included in this session largely because of formative experiences I had a few months after I started my blog. They really shaped the way I feel about tolerance and ethics online and helped me take what I was doing much more seriously. I came to think about blogging as a community-building experience and not simply an outlet to dump my thoughts into each day.
When I was fairly new to blogging, some good online friends nominated me for a small award. The stated purpose of the awards was to recognize blogs that brought beauty into the blogosphere and the woman running the contest was Christian. She wrote an obviously religious blog and it was understood that the awards were meant to recognize Christian bloggers.
I found out about the awards after I became a finalist and was so excited not only to be nominated for humor but by a group of women who had included me in their religious community even though I don’t often blog openly about my faith. As a Mormon, I was pleased to feel accepted by a circle of mainstream Christians, a group that doesn’t often recognize my religion’s central belief in Jesus Christ as Christianity.
The day after I won the award however, a prominent blogger in the community publicly outed me as a Mormon (something I thought everyone knew if they’d ever read my blog), and wrote a scathing post about my participation in the contest and the lack of discernment shown by my readers.
Needless conflict and drama ensued, during which I formed some of my strongest blogging relationships to date, several with women who had much more in common theologically with my critic than they did with me, several who have no religious leanings but simply rock solid morals and character, and some who were just so flippin’ hilarious that they helped me get through the pettiness of it all.
Without sharing my specific thoughts on the subject of online intolerance (I’ll blog more about that after the conference.), I’d love to hear what you have to say. What questions would you ask me as part of that panel? What thoughts would you share if you were on it?