And now, we go Spanning The World…

If you’re a New Yorker or a viewer of The Today Show, you know who Len Berman is.  For those who aren’t, he’s the evening sports anchor on WNBC.  He also goes national, doing those amusing “Spanning the World” segments on Today.  Of course, I am old enough to remember when these were the “Albert Achievement Awards”, but let’s not digress here…

April 22nd wil be Len’s last day at NBC.  He will be sorely missed, allegedly a casualty of this ridiculous string of cost-cutting that NBC and the local affiliate WNBC have been engaging in. 

This for me is the last straw - I was able to put up with a lot of other departures, but this to me says that the station has given up caring about quality content.  Anyone can read a sport segment, but to truly comment on the event, to understand the nuances of what’s going on (especially in the sports-hungry and passionate NY market)…well, that takes a talent, and they just lost a big one. 

Thankfully, you can visit Len’s website – be sure to sign up for the LenBermanSports newsletter to receive Len’s Top 5, his unique take on the world of sports.  I’ve been a subscriber for a few weeks now, and I have to say it’s one of the few newsletters that I make a point to read top to bottom.  It’s informative, funny, and usually make a great point or two.  Check it out here.  He’s also on Twitter at @lenbermansports, so follow him for late breaking sports announcements. 

As for me, I’m now auditioning new morning shows.  I still have Chuck on the WNBC digital station, wherever that is, for the 7pm broadcast, but who knows how long they will keep him.

Dirty-Talkin’ Elmo

SEX! Beware!

This was IT Boy’s favorite Christmas present.  When he unwrapped it the morning of the 25th and saw it was Elmo, he freaked out.  Mr. IT had to struggle to get it out of the package so he could play with it immediately.  One of the features of the toy is that it records a voice mail message.  Boy ended up pusing so many buttons randomly, and it recorded him saying, “ELMO!!!”  He was quite thrilled to keep pushing the play button to hear his voice come from the toy.  The phone also counts, among other sounds it produces.

Last night, Fox 5 here in NYC ran a story on the toy, saying that some parents in Jersey thought the counting feature on the toy made “6″ sound like SEX.  Apparently, they also feel when he counts “4-5-6″ it sounds instead like “Let’s have sex.” 

Seriously?  Elmo has a little speech issue, being a young monster and all, so some things do come out strange.  I’m here to tell parents that *I* don’t think it sounds at all unusual (I hear 6, people, I hear 6) and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to any Elmo lovin’ kid.

Movie Day!

I always say that I don’t get out much.  I suppose everything is relative, but for a girl who used to go to museums, bars, and events in the city, it’s the truth.   

Movies?  Forget about it.  What time isn’t spent at work or with the kids is usually devoted to the gym.  Mr. IT and I usually have very different tastes in film, so we do better going solo.  Which in my case means taking the kids to kids movies.  I usually say it’s better than not going at all, but I do long for the times when I can see an adult movie (I’m not talking all XXX here, so just get your heads out of the gutter.  Thank you.)

In the time post-children, by the time the Academy Awards roll around, I’m scratching my head to try and remember if I have actually seen any of the films.  Mostly, the only ones that have crossed my eyeballs are the one or two already on DVD (eg. Tropic Thunder, Vicki Christina Barcelona). 

But no, my friends, not this year.  Your suburban house frau has a plan.  It’s called the AMC Best Picture Showcase.  The day before the Oscars, Februray 21, select AMC theatres will be showing all 5 best picture nominees one after the other.  This year, the day will start at 10:45am with Milk, and conclude with a showing of Frost/Nixon which begins at 9:45pm. 

One day, 5 movies.  I may have to bring a stadium cushion.  Apparently, there is a bit of time between each movie, so you can walk around and grab some sustenance other than the FREE POPCORN that comes with your ticket.  Oh, and you also get a souvenir laminated pass that you know I will insist on wearing to label myself not just as MOVIE DORK but as DORK DORK. 

Luckily, it’s during winter break, so there’s no soccer or basketball to dodge for the day.  I conned a friend into going, she bought the tickets, and we’ve got it happily circled in our day runners.  I lined up a babysitter, in case Mr. IT needs a break from the mayhem of the kids for a day.  Blackberry will be turned off, and into the world of cinema I shall descent.  In no time, I will be prepared to debate with any of you who should win, who shouldn’t, and what films were a total waste of time.  Till then, see you at the movies.

I speak for all women when I say, “Leave Jessica Alone!”

I may not be a fan of Jessica Simpson’s, nor is this a weight-loss/healthy eating/put down those nachos kind of blog, but I couldn’t let this one go…

I’m here to say leave Jessica alone.

In case you have no idea what I am talking about, do a Google news search on “Jessica Simpson.”  You will find hundreds of articles talking about how “porky” (Boston Herald) her “noticeably fuller figure” looks (Fox News) and how she has “let herself go” (Australian Herald Sun).

No, I’m not linking to any of these articles.  You’ll have to do the work yourself.  They don’t deserve traffic from my site.  At last count, there were 300.

I saw the pictures.  She looks NORMAL.  Like any woman you’d see at a PTA meeting, or at the mall.  Just blonder, and with a thicker accent that I am used to.  Sure, she’s busty.  What of it?  She’s not a size zero, but guess what, neither am I.  Neither is anyone else I know. 

Why is this news?  As much of a publicity seeker as Ms. Simpson can be, I don’t suppose even she appreciates what’s being said about her. 

I’m not one to articulate why, as a mother of a daughter, this sends such a horrible message to women and girls everywhere.  I leave that to people more in tune to this world than I am. 

What I can and will say is STOP.  This is not acceptable.  I, as a wife, mother and woman say the more we condone and accept this treatment by the media, the more it becomes ok.  It is not OK to pick on this woman because she does not fit into some crazy ideal of womanliness.   She’s herself, and obviously comfortable in her skin – who are we to comment? 

I may have to turn in my “Team Lachey” t-shirt, but yes, defending Jessica is worth it.

Let them eat Obama cake

My friend Andrea sent me these pictures.  The Riviera Bakehouse, aka IT’s Girl’s happy place, created this cake to commemorate the inauguration of President Obama.  I didn’t eat it, but I guarantee it’s yummy.  The top, I believe, is painted on white chocolate.  Inside, it’s chocolate and vanilla cake.  Feeling the harmony?

Hail to the Chef

I didn’t get to see it myself, but I think it’s totally cool and wanted to share.

“Specatacle: Elvis Costello with The Police” airs tonight

I blogged about this when it happened, now FINALLY I get to watch it.

Here’s the broadcast  info from the Sundance Channel site.

Get through the wait with a little preview…

Squeeeeeeee!

Night out with the Mayor

One of the perks of my job is that every once in a while, you get to go to a really fun publishing related event.  Last month I experienced  just such an event.  It was the launch of Guide to New York City Landmarks, published by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.  Held at Gracie Mansion, the party was hosted by the gentleman who wrote the foreword to the book, aka Mayor Bloomberg.

First off, if you are a resident of the City or a tourist, I strongly encourage you to take a tour of the Mansion.  It’s a beautiful building, even more so when you consider it’s location on the river smack dab in Manhattan -  it has survived for decades and watched the city grow up around it.

We were among the first to arrive at the event, and after checking in for our name tags and going through the metal detector and x-ray scanning, we entered the building.  The main festivities were held in the ballroom aka the blue room, the same room where Mayor Bloomberg holds his press briefings.  And as it turns out, it was the only room where we were able to take pictures.  Quite the bummer, as later in the evening we were invited to tour the residence portion of the mansion.

"I'm sorry ma'am, no pictures here"

There was a band from Music and Art HS (or whatever they call it now; that’s what they called it back in my day) playing jazz tunes.

The bar was set up next to a lovely Christmas tree, topped by a replica of the mansion itself.

Gracie Mansion tree topper

Simple canapes were passed around, and we certainly availed ourselves of them.  Here’s John, the editor of the book, trying to do his best mayoral impersonation.

"My fellow NYers..."

We also experienced the “Mayor Bloomberg Do Si Do.”  Upon entering the party, we were handed out forms in case we wanted a photo with the Mayor.  I wasn’t sure when these were being done, but about 20 minutes before he was due to address the party, a line started to form out of the Blue Room.  Some thought to not get on the line, because it was too long.  But I had a feeling it would be quick.

And how!  It took about 5 minutes to work our way through the line.  When we got to the room where the Mayor was, we were held at the door as we handed over our card.  We then walked up to the Mayor, who shook our hand while moving us out of the room.  Seconds, I tell you, it took seconds.  We all laughed about the shuffle when we made it out of there.

The Mayor then kicked things off by announcing that we were all here to celebrate an important book.  Of course, he was holding up a copy of Bloomberg by Bloomberg, his own memoir, which was fine with us, because Wiley publishes that one too.  No, it was for the Landmarks book, as he explained, and gave a really nice speech about the Commission and those involved with it and the book.  Then people from the Landmarks commission spoke, and the evening ended.

It was great fun, and certainly a cool thing to be able to brag about share with others.  When my photo with the Mayor arrives, I will be sure to post it here.  It’s got to be funny as I was in motion when it was taken.

Announcing the NEW Dummies.com!

One of the work projects that I have been involved with for a *long* time has finally been revealed.  Yesterday was the long awaited date for the relaunch of Dummies.com.   For years, Dummies.com had been a catalog site, listing titles well and showcasing some content, but not doing much else. 

With this new site, we’re aiming to bring the Dummies promise of “Making Everything Easier” to a web environment.  Through extensive market research and user studies, we’ve come up with what we hope does just that.  We’re so proud of our new site, which is not just light years ahead of what was, but also, I humbly think, way better than most how-to sites out there.  I encourage you to click over and check it out – we’re really anxious to see what users think about it, so feel free to comment here or on the site about what you see.

It ain’t easy being green

It’s probably the best kept secret at my company that I work with not just the technology books but with architecture and engineering titles as well.  It’s not a list that I’m an expert in, but I’m trying to learn more about it.  As such, tomorrow I am going to Boston for the day to check out Greenbuild Expo.  I figure the more innovative and progressive architects and companies that serve the market will be there, so it’s a good place to get oriented. 

Of course, my first step before the trip was to visit search.twitter.com - there are ton of sustainability social media practitioners tweeting about their experiences at the conference.  I hope to meet some of them there tomorrow.  Rumor has it the sustainable architecture crowd is a lot less geeky than I am used to.  I’ll let you know tomorrow what I found.

Spatial Relations

Recently, I was reading NY Times columnist Lisa Belkin’s blog post about the Motrin controversy when I saw that her subsequent blog entry was on the news that  the Pregnant Man is preggers yet again.  Having an incredibly hard time understanding his first pregnancy, I figured I’d read it in hopes of answering some of the Girl’s questions on the matter. 

But that wasn’t really the point of the post.  It was about giving children space, at least in terms of birth order.  A subject I deal with a lot more than I encounter pregnant males or (thankfully) Motrin moms.

I have 2 children that are 7 years apart.  Somehow, when this comes up in conversation, the response of the person listening to me is usually to say, “Oh my!” or “Gosh!”  It’s a natural inclination to then ask whether there were fertility issues, or other reasons to explain the spacing.  I totally get it.  My response is brutally honest.  “That’s just the way it worked out for us.”  I don’t answer any questions, but, heck, I’m not lying either. 

My 2 sisters in law both have 2 kids exactly 2.5 years apart.  Coincidence?  Not really.  In fact one said that she read that’s the optimal spacing between children and charted and plotted to ensure that it would happen.  To which my response was, “There’s a manual for that sort of thing?  Why wasn’t I issued one?”

Truth be told, I don’t believe there is a perfect way to space children in a birth order.  It’s a hand of cards, and you get what you are dealt.  If your fertility is strong enough to be able to plan and chart a pregnancy, great for you.  But if you can’t, it certainly doesn’t mean you are behind the eight ball.

I love my two children more than anything, and couldn’t imagine any scenario other than the one I am in.  I love that my 9 year old girl is a little mommy to her brother.  I love watching him light up when he sees her come into a room, which he does every single time she comes into a room, I might add.  For him, it’s the first time all over again.  I know that I couldn’t handle the griping and sibling rivalry that having 2 kids close together can bring.  I’m so glad I can experience having a little one and am able to give specialized attention to him as a toddler as well as to his sister, the tween.  I remember when I was pregnant she was worried about how to be a big sister.  I told her that as an only child, I had no idea how to be a sibling, so it was something we were going to learn together.  We have, and oh what an adventure it has been. 

When Ms. Belkin asks which is better, children close together or further apart, and is it even possible to plan and set realistic expectations, she concludes with this thought:

“Are these questions nothing more than a parlor game — impossible to answer until you look back on what life has handed you and who your children have become?”

I vote yes, and hope all of you get to look back with joy, laughter and love.