I was on HuffPost Live! Grrrly grrrl goes Gurley girl

About a month ago, someone from Huffington Post found a post I wrote in the late '70's about whether or not obesity is contagious. It's not (*coughcough*), of course, but the notion of healthy and unhealthy people living, working and socializing in community with other likeminded people has been researched and is a fascinating topic that lives in the intersection of so many kinds of wellness. They found me, these HuffPo folks, because they were researching the topic for an live segment, featuring five panelists who had something to say on the topic for a new venture. We would technically be rehearsing for the new project. And on August 13, just a week or so ago, it became a real, live, streaming thing -- Huffington Post Live. 

Since I combed my hair for the segment and had some stuff to say on the topic, they've been kind enough to ask me back. I've now appeared in several segments and love being a part of this dynamic, up-all-night, rambling, hot-headed, newsy, you-can-drop-the-f-bomb forum online. 

Just after reading an amazing obituary honoring publishing and sex-powerment pioneer Helen Gurley Brown's life, I was thrilled to take part in this panel on whether she or Cosmo mag is or ever has been feminist. It felt like grad school all over again with a panel of feminists hashing out how this magazine and talking openly about sex and sexuality has evolved as women's liberation unfolded in this country. 

And let's be clear, it was 20 minutes tops (much longer for bottoms...ba-dum-dum) so the intricacies of HGB's professional accomplishments, stamp on the '60's, personal conflicts and headlines that can only truly be appreciated if you are 24 and have had twelve cocktails or a terrible break-up in the last 24 hours -- all that could not be covered. 

Here's a peek at the legacy HGB left on HuffPost Live, a long way from a freshly launched lady mag with Burt Reynolds in the centerfold. 

Click to read more ...

Essential weekend reads: love, hate and timelessness edition

I finished the People mag detailing Katie and Tom's divorce in the first half of my flight to DC. And since then, I've been diving in to some serious, raw, and emotion-packed posts women I know and adore are courageously writing. Here four must-reads-and-weeps from this week:

On haters and Honey Boo Boo - Meagan Francis makes the compelling case for turning away from the drive-by drama of hate bloggers and hype of train-wreck show about pageant girl Honey Boo Boo, to be better, de-snarked people.

On feeding the  love - I am in love with the What I Want You to Know feature at Rage Against the Minivan. It's a series of reader submissions to encourage compassion among diverse parents. The most recent post in the series, "Don't Pity My Child Because He Wasn't Breastfed," will make you rethink every silent judgment, eyeroll, or dumb comment about a mother's choices in feeding her baby you've ever heard or given. 

On making children our own - My life and my family are very different than the one Tanis Miller at Redneck Mommy loves. But with every word she writes about son Jumby, I feel her heart beating in my chest. Read this post. It will change you and the way you see children with a troubling past.

On living each little day in big ways - My friend Talyaa has stage 4 cancer. In ways Talyaa is so gifted at expressing, she explains how she'll conjure the energy, lasso the love of her friends and partner and live out the months (or years?) she's given.

Click to read more ...

The best thing to do on Independence Day

Independence Day seems like the right time to launch a blog about single parenting, doesn’t it?

A thousand years ago (at least in internet time), I was a writer for Strollerderby on Babble. I’d been blogging professionally for some time, but it was the first place that really pushed me. I was working with writers who were quick, whip-smart and hilarious and I felt on fire, even while I was typing furiously to keep up, to maybe out-earn the babysitter.

When I traded in my many freelance gigs for full-time editing, I was sad to say goodbye. Many of the other writers had moved on as well, but I wanted to carry that summer camp feeling with me, like a half-unraveled God’s Eye hanging over my laptop. I had the very good fortune of working with other great writers, people with huge ideas and bigger personalities. Life was moving forward, but I was  still pen pals with those Babble folk, sharing a few inside jokes and campfire songs no one else could possibly know the words to.

And then, in a lovely turn of events, I got the opportunity to return to Babble, once again in magnificent company.

I'm thrilled to launch a blog on Babble Voices where we can talk about even more single parent things, gulp down bug juice and fire off a few rounds in archery clinic. It's called Sassafrass Says So, and I will be writing there as well as here (and also sometimes here and here and here). 

Click here to read more about what I will be up to there.

Click to read more ...