Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Don't Tell Me You're Brilliant. Just BE Brilliant.

Dear Friends of Jessica:

Thanks for stopping by. Before you start reading, a few points of clarification.

First, we don't review ANYONE without a request that we do so, and a rather intimidating site submission process which you can review here.

Secondly, we'd already reviewed one of Jessica's sites, Sue Doe Nim, and it was given a positively glowing review. We do not have a built in bias against Jessica.

Thirdly, NO ONE here in these comments has ever attacked Jessica's children. WE DON'T DO THAT.

For the record, three of the five full-time reviewers here are moms. One is a wanna-be dad. We can be absolutely scathing to mommybloggers, but that's ironic given that 3 of the 5 ARE, in fact, mommies who blog.

Fourth, I am quite protective of my personal identity. People can react in fairly extreme ways when they aren't loved quite as much as they believe they should be here. I'm sure that won't be Jessica's response to the review she requested, but some bloggers are, unfortunately, not quite so mature. Some might even stoop to real life harassment. I personally find that shocking, but then, nothing should really surprise me anymore.


I hope you can understand that the anonymity allows all of us to be both blunt and fair. At least, that's our shtick, and we're sticking to it. I'm quite certain that Jessica understood our shtick when she nominated us for two awards on blogger's choice this year.

Lastly, the review delivered to Jessica, THAT SHE REQUESTED, was scrupulously fair, and quite meticulous, and was written by a guest reviewer who did not know her, had never visited her blog, and did not realize that she was, in fact, Sue Doe Nim.

We hope you enjoy it.

I personally stand behind every word, as do, I'm quite certain, the other reviewers.

-Love Bites



A guest review from Posol'stvo the Medved.


Ah. Into the minefield I tread. Stepping lightly today folks, as one of the first things I learned about Jessica Gottlieb – is that she is an unabashed Mommy Blogger and she doesn’t get mad, she gets organized. To hear her tell it, she single handedly (well, her and a bunch of other Mommy Bloggers) brought down the great and powerful giant, Johnson & Johnson and their horrific and evil Motrin ad. They call themselves the Motrin Moms. (I personally viewed the ad. I didn’t think it was too terribly demeaning to new mothers. I’ve certainly seen worse. But who cares what I think? I’m a middle aged man.)

She gets organized, and she talks the talk. She's been on national TV. She lists all the different ways that she knows to attack someone else’s website. She even has a disclosure statement on her blog. This Mommy Blogger means business.

So folks, I’m being nice today. Purely out of self-preservation.

I think that it’s fair to say that Jessica and I are like stripes and plaid; like a pseudointellectual who can’t wait for his kids to grow up, leave the house, and become human beings, and a Mommy Blogger; like someone who recently ranted about his disdain for the use of the term “baited breath” and someone who uses said term; like a registered independent and a registered republican; like someone who is not enamored of self-promoters and someone who is clearly trying to make a living promoting herself.

In other words, I am not in her target audience. But she asked for a review, and I am going to give her a review. An impartial review. A fair review. So here it goes.

Jessica – you claim that your blog is a mommy blog, but I would argue that point with you, as you do relatively little talking about your progeny, and much more talking about the commerce of Mommy Blogging itself. Or posting of context lacking photos forwarded by your mother (A picture may paint 1000 words, but at times, a little setup goes a long way). Or linking us off to the several other sites that you are a part of (Why do you keep pushing us away? Was it something we said?) rather than writing something yourself, or about yourself.

As I read, (and I did read about half of your output here) I was struck with the feeling that about 1/8 of the posts had what I consider real content, content that resonated with me, content that made me care and want to keep reading. The rest? I sorta slept through. I could tell that they weren’t there for me.

A couple of hints: That thing you do, where you post a couple of lines and then have a “Read the rest of this entry” link? Yeah, I followed maybe a handful of those. But too often, the >rest of the entry wasn’t enough to keep me looking for more. Your posts are short enough as is – all these links do is annoy your readers. And since you make no bones about the fact that you get revenue from ads on your site, they seem to be a transparent ploy to increase page views.

I’m also baffled by the fact that in one post, you blasted Walmart and their 11 Moms, and then two posts later made a big announcement that you are now one of the 11 Moms. Just days apart. This made it clear to me that it doesn’t seem as if you care if I read anything you’ve written as long as I cough up some page impressions for you.

And that’s a shame. When you put your mind to it, you can write really well. That post you did about slow roasted goat and urine? Brilliant. Beautiful. This post made me want to know you in real life. (Of course, then I read about how you have no use for male friends, so alas, I see that it shall not be.)

What else? Watch the spelling and punctuation. (Yeah, I know. But believe it or not, it matters.) Edit.

About the template, design, etc. The layout and template are clean, but you ruin it by filling that right column with all that excess crap (Resume Bucket? I’m a character? Social stuff? Stuff you can buy me?) that I suppose is doing something for you. But it does little for your readers. And I assume that you want readers. Yes?

[Aside #1: I am coming to the conclusion that I hate Wordpress. I am going to sign up for a Wordpress account now to see if I can’t find a way around the horrific 10 posts per page limitation. This is the only reason I didn’t read your entire blog – too many damn clicks!]

Overall rating? If I could do half a “Meh”, that’s what you’d get. No stars. No fingers. Just a half a Meh.



Write more about you, your hopes, your dreams, your loves, why you blog. Stop telling us how brilliant you are, and just be brilliant.

You appear to be up to the task.

[Aside #2 for all of you AAYSR regular readers – check it. Betsey Booms made a guest appearance in this blog.]

145 comments:

  1. I'm a middle-aged (FUCK ME, that felt TERRIBLE to write that) mom. And, I do not understand, for the life of me, why that Motrin ad should raise an eyebrow, much less ire.

    Jesus Christ, grow some fucking thicker skin, mommybloggers of the world.

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  2. Also, I like this post. The rest annoys the shit out of me. I'm quite certain she'd have received flaming fingers from me, so she should count her lucky stars.

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  3. Also, THIS? That post frankly enrages me.

    Right now in the city of Los Angeles, where Jessica Gottlieb makes her home, 1 kid will die today as a result of gang related violence. Thousands more are hungry, deprived of access to healthcare, and growing up afraid, isolated, in dangerous homes and neighborhoods.

    AND THESE MOMMIES FEEL THEY ARE RELEVANT BECAUSE THEY TOOK ON A FUCKING MOTRIN AD?

    I'm going to go turn my computer off now and take a long, deep breath.

    And then I'm going to go back to work on my job of trying to keep kids from killing other kids.

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  4. Well, god FORBID anyone might offend mid-aged, middle-to-upper-middle class mothers, surely one of the most persecuted groups in the entire WORLD. Seriously, I think it's just in some people's nature to go out of their way to get offended about stupid shit. Those people really need to go out to CostCo and buy a sense of humor.

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  5. Wait...what is so offensive by that add?

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  6. Bearing in mind, I'm trained to look for things like that.

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  7. THERE IS NOTHING OFFENSIVE ABOUT THAT AD. Unless you are a narcissistic, overly-indulged, princess with way too much fucking time on her hands and a serious need for axe grinding.

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  8. Yes, I did make an appearance.

    I just wrote about that ad and the Della site as well the other day. Ahem.

    All I can say is THANK YOU LORD I didn't review this blog.

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  9. I thought the Motrin ad was dumb and ill-advised and inadvertently said to women who are trying to bond with their kids that they are doing it as a fashion statement. They were trying to sidle up and talk "mom to mom" and they failed. It's bad marketing like lots of other bad amrketing, not persecution, jeez. Though I see why people bristled at the ad, it's not going to make me hate the product Motrin, just makes me think their ad team is was clueless and out of touch.

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  10. Now if an ad came out that said Motrin hates Jews, I would definately take up the cause but babywearers?

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  11. Did you make that half a Meh just for me? Or was one already in existence?

    If I stopped buying the products of every advertising campaign that pissed me off, I'd have to resort to bartering, farming, and making all my own clothes.

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  12. I'd rather boycott a comapny because of their pollution record or the way they treat employees or their record on promoting women, not their fucking ads.

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  13. BTW, don't you think those Herbal Essence ads totally belittled the female orgasm?

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  14. I'm surprised the Upright Citizen's Brigade hasn't gone thermo-nuclear on those skeevy Quizno's ads...or maybe they have, I don't actually peruse the internet for moral outrage on a daily basis.

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  15. I guess the reason I couldn't find it offensive was because in my head? The sling thing is a total fashion statement.

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  16. Plus they probably made men feel bad, like if you can climax from washing your hair, what are they doing wrong.

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  17. The minute I saw Maggie Gyllenhal with one I knew I had to have it. Uhm, and I love my baby.

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  18. I've gathered that they are angry because they like the baby sling thing and Motrin dissed on it? Am I missing something?

    I don't get people.

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  19. My friend used a sling with her baby and she seemed to have to mess with it a lot for it to be comfortable. Seemed like a hassle to me...but what do I know, my babies are cats.

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  20. Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by trendy hipsters and their incessant, "No, seriously, it's like, totally better for bonding and stuff. And these shoes? They're made out of used car tires and pop bottles. Yeah. I know, they're totally cute!"

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  21. How bout the jack in the box mini sirloin burger ad. It's totally offensive to midget cows but it makes me laugh.

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  22. "if you can climax from washing your hair, what are they doing wrong"

    Point of fact, I can climax washing my hair. Those ads didn't offend. They made me want to take a shower.

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  23. I just really have to refrain from saying much on this.

    My opinions are very strong and I just let them loose last week.

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  24. Blues, they were offended because even a hint of sacastic criticism of the whole "babies as a fashion accessory" is instantly taken as a personal jab, even though every one knows that babies make terrible fashion accessories...what with all the crying, pooping, and vomiting.

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  25. The most offensive thing about that ad was that it was using that trendy display-every-word-that's-spoken-but-keep-flipping-them-around gag. I know I've seen that on a Denis Leary Ford truck ad. I feel like I've seen it somewhere else too, like a computer ad or something.

    The bit about babies as a fashion statement? Meh. For a lot of people I know, babies ARE a fashion statement. So what?

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  26. I hate that Denis Leary Ford ad.

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  27. Betsey - why don't you start a grass roots movement to get Ford to pull those ads. Make sure that Ford knows that the ads make you feel insecure and inadequate in your boat towing capabilities.

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  28. Sorry to dissapoint.

    Some of it is fair, resumebucket bought ad space, I'm speaking at the 140 conference and I probably am an upper middle class dilitente.

    I am listening.

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  29. Yes, because grass roots movements should be about things like free chicken, ads that were never meant to insult and getting paid for blogging.

    They should never be about torture, death penalties or the ongoing economic crisis in our country.

    I see now how fucked up my priorities are.

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  30. Jessica -- As I said in the review, write more from the heart. Be honest in your writing. You have it in you. You really do.

    Unless that isn't what this is all about for you. In which case, your goals and my goals don't align. So be it.

    And the sun will still rise tomorrow.

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  31. Things I like about Jessica.

    She can be wildly inappropriate at cocktail parties. She would rather her kids scream Mother Fucker rather than eat McDonalds and regardless of what her views are, she's not afraid to stand up for what she wants and will take just about anyone on.

    Also? I know her feelings were absolutely NOT hurt by this review.

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  32. Too be clear, I wasn't neccessarily lumping the author in the whole mothers as martyrs group, it's just an observation from the few mommy boards I've lurked at.

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  33. ...and then I read this out of the 'Motrin Post'...
    "This is a wave and not a tsunami. The Ad was the wind and the mommies gathered steam. As we came crashing onto the shore, there was foam and whitewash (the site went dead for several hours) and then it all receded."
    Yeah, uh, Jessica? Why would you be proud of being a wave? Why not be a tsunami? And for a good reason. Seriously, the other comments about better causes for your time and energy are so real, so right on.
    People who give a flat flyin' fuck about shit like this just make me wonder if they're going to have the ability to end up being a tsunami when their kids end up being treated poorly during their time in prison. 'Cause, you know, it's always people like this who are all shocked and everything when their kids end up in prison and blaming their 'Motrin Mommy' for it 'cause she spent too much time on stupid shit.

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  34. I liked the Motrin ad.

    No, I loved the Motrin ad.

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  35. I'm considering a grass-roots campaign against that damn Quizno's ad. Seriously, there is nothing appetizing about the image of anally violating your oven with a hero sandwich.

    Ish.

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  36. I love the Quizno's ad... There is nothing wrong with an oven asking you to put it in him.

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  37. I mean, you know you want to.

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  38. So my aunt would search for "educational" sites her son could visit after he got back from school. The theme for a week was "sports". She went to watersports.com. It was a porn site with "alternate interests" those days. The world is a bad ass place.

    Carry on.

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  39. As someone who carried both her babies with HER ARMS, I view all of this equipment that middle and upper class mommies use to carry, swaddle, and otherwise confine their infants as a fucking fashion statement. Good god, y'all. be thankful you have arms.

    I don't like blogging as a business. I don't like organized brigades of mommybloggers unless they are going to use their (apparently) significant level of free time to do something like stop world hunger. And, the idea that stopping this horribly offensive motrin ad is IMPORTANT WORK, that's utter bullshit.

    You know what offends me? Homelessness. Hunger. Kids who can't get access to dental care and who spend their days trying to learn in failing schools in non-stop pain. Children who are being deprived of an adequate education. Children who are being raised by crackheads.

    That shit offends me.

    Frankly, I don't have time or energy for being offended by advertising.

    I'll tell you what, Jessica. Get in your car in Los Angeles, and drive down to Pico Union, and look around. Then drive a little farther over to Primera Flats and look around some more.

    See if you can identify some pressing social problems that transcend advertising in their significance.

    Because I'll tell you what...they're there.

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  40. I think you'll find an upset demographic for anything that happens on TV. It's a lot more messy in America since everyone's so litigious.

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  41. I guess I'm too in touch with reality to be offended by television.

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  42. Sometimes I'm too in touch with television to be offended by reality.

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  43. Sometimes I touch myself too many times... wait.

    Never mind.

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  44. For example: I cannot stop watching interviews of Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine.

    The reality is, however, that neither of them will ever sleep with me.

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  45. Wow, I just looked at the blog submission form and realized who this is: Sue Doe Nim.

    I liked that blog SO MUCH BETTER than what she's doing now.

    I liked Sue...ALOT.

    Not so much a fan of Jessica.

    That makes me sad.

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  46. "Sometimes I'm too in touch with television to be offended by reality" - Oh Rassles. I love this quote so much. Can I have it?

    Pos - Great review.

    LB - I agree that there are bigger issues to be solved in the world than a fucking Motrin ad offending moms. Jesus. I see ads (and other things) that piss me off all the time. Sometimes I write blogs about them. But to use all that energy to pull the ad and then act like I'm a fucking hero or something? Sigh. She writes really well. But I hate when bloggers talk too much about blogging itself. Just write about your life and your soul and I'm happy.

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  47. LB hit it on the head, fer sure. There are a lot of things in this world that are offensive and upsetting, but I just don't see how TV shows and commercials are able to galvanize the masses into levels of hysteria only rivaled by the Red Scare. It's kind of pathetic, actually, that too many people use their energy in this way.

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  48. The best thing I can tell you is that the other day on Twitter she said something along the lines of if you are that easily offended you should stay off the fucking internet.

    The end.

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  49. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  50. I don't get what the fuss is all about. Nearly every problem will look trivial if you try to match it to global hunger/poverty, crime, homelessness, rape, religious war and all that shit.

    Someone's found a cause and has done something about it. If that cause doesn't affect me, I shrug and move on. Why get so choked up about this?

    Really, I can be a nihilistic bitch and slap a "what's the point, you'll die, I'll die, we'll fade to dust" to everything anyone can say. It's an approach that won't take you very far.

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  51. All I know is someone said Dennis Leary and now I'm horny.

    I fervently hope I've offended someone.

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  52. Cal - I thought I was the only one who thinks Denis Leary is hot.

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  53. Also, I kind of agree with Thanatos, in a way. There are causes big and small. Little triumphs are worthwhile, too. Except this one. This one's ridiculous.

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  54. Gwen, he's an irritable man. I LOVE irritable men.

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  55. So, wait, I'm confused...she was offended enough by the Motrin ad to join the cause to crush J&J, but thinks you shouldn't be on the internet if you are too easily offended?

    Huh?

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  56. I third the love for Denis Leary...mmm...I'll bet he smells like Marb Reds and Old Spice.

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  57. Here is exactly what she said:

    "if your feelings are that easily hurt, you should not interact with the world. There. I said it."

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  58. Take that as you will. I'm just bringing it to you.

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  59. Jesus, you add WD-40 in there and I'll be over the fucking moon on a male-musk high that won't stop.

    I just disturbed myself. But it's true.

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  60. But their feelings didn't get hurt. Their VALUES did. I'm sure. I'm not rolling my eyes. Shut up.

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  61. Calamity, I just got a little excited over here at my desk...

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  62. Rassles- OK, but how about guys with a little grease under their fingernails?

    Dear god, I need to get laid...

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  63. Maybe I can catch me a man with a baby sling...

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  64. I think it annoys me because why spend so much time and energy on something so TRIVIAL when there are so many big serious issues out there.

    Life is too short to walk around pissed all the time. If you're going to be pissed, be pissed over something that is fucking WORTH BEING PISSED OVER.

    Or on. YOur choice.

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  65. God, this eternal quest for meaning on the part of these types of mommybloggers. Come spend a week with me, I'll show you something to give your life some meaning...I'll direct you to some problems to be irate about and solve.

    Dear Baby Jesus, please help me get laid this week. PLEASE.

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  66. Motrin Moms...pfft! Really?

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  67. LB, this week? Please let me get laid THIS YEAR.

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  68. LB, I am with you on every word you just typed.

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  69. Someone just left this in a comment on my blog. It's making me laugh just a little too much:

    "I believe this is God's way of making sure we take sex very seriously and don't go around eating subs and laughing with someone's penis inside us. Or something."

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  70. An episode of Seinfeld just popped into my head, Betsey.

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  71. I know the one! I think a sandwich while getting it on is perfectly fine if both consenting adults agree.

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  72. You open it like a bag of chips.

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  73. Pos...the Walmart thing was an April fools joke.

    I was baffled too until I actually read the end of the post.

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  74. women who are trying to bond with their kids that they are doing it as a fashion statement.You've just described far too many Newport Beach Bourgie moms.

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  75. BB, nothing wrong with food and sex mingling! Nothing at all.

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  76. Not if Tobasco sauce is involved.

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  77. Good point Thanny, good point.

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  78. Sometimes it's easier to be pissed at the stupid things we can maybe change than the huge things that we probably can't. But I just don't even see how that Motrin ad even qualifies as offensive or how "bringing it down" really helped anybody at all. In the end more people probably watched it because of what they did.

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  79. A word to the wise: never, but NEVER, eat crawfish with your partner and then receive oral sex. Those are a kind of hot pants I never want to have again.

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  80. Cal - good advice. Mints are good...and ice.

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  81. Worst ... April ... Fools ... Joke ... ever.

    That's what I get for refusing to click that little "Read the rest" link.

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  82. 1. I miss sue too
    2. It was a great April fools day joke, look, it ducked you up in may
    3. This is new to me, it's an evolving blog
    4. My feelings are not hurt. It's still just a blog

    ReplyDelete
  83. Oh, I loved sue-do-nim. This sounds like a different person. I think this is Jessica the "brand" versus person and that's ok cause a girls gotta make a dolla holla(Yes that just happened--sorry)but I miss Jessica the person.

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  84. Okay, sweetie. In all honesty, because I like Sue:

    I want to stab Jessica in the eye.

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  85. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  86. But I would never, EVER, do that to Sue.

    So, how does a person go from being cool, and funny, and smart, and open, and awesome to being a completely shallow power-hungry bitch in a single blog change?

    Fix it back. Seriously.

    Or, I know some people in LA who will help you find your lost soul in a dumpster

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  87. ARGH. AM totally having an identity crisis, too. Jessica! You made me forget who I am!

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  88. I am so confused. I feel like I've missed something very important.

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  89. Yeah Sarah you missed Chris running through this place in an overcoat and dark glasses.

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  90. dammit! I always miss the good stuff.

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  91. I talked to the International Guild of Dibbs today.

    I owe you my most sincerest apology LB. My calling dibbs on you yesterday violated the Stockholm agreement of 1944.

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  92. Get it right Than, it was a duster!

    A sweet ass duster.

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  93. Chris, in all truthfulness, it's nice to have someone call dibbs on me.

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  94. Aww, a green light for stalking.

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  95. Actually, yellow...stalk faster.

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  96. I've been informed that I'm passive aggressive.

    How passive aggressive of me to put that here.

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  97. Somehow this whole drama I have been following online landed me here. I've stayed out of it thus far and plan to continue for as long as I can stand too. I just wanted to point out that I am a "mommyblogger" who, while I didn't really like the Motrin ad, took no particular offense to it. There are way too many issues of real significance even to us "middle aged, upper middle class, self indulgent, narcissistic" mommybloggers.
    Honestly, 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 blogs, I just don't have the time to do battle with every person who says or does something that I take offense too.

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  98. Michelle - Welcome. Thanks. And well done you for not being an idiot. Please feel free to stick around. We bite, but when it's deserved or requested.

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  99. I am so confused. Where did this disclaimer come from? Was there a fucking war? Why wasn't I invited? I have round bombs with fuses!

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  100. Scroll up, Rass. Up to the very very top. All will be explained.

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  101. I mean, where was the battleground? Who freaked out?

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  102. Or is this a pre-emptive defense system?

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  103. It's a response to her blog post and some twitter warfare.

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  104. I'm not much into twitter warfare, I don't own any of the proper battle gear for that site, and I need like a helmet and some RPGs or something.

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  105. I bet we could do some cool shit with those bombs.

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  106. Yeah, but most likely, as it is a tendency with round bombs, I won't be able to find anywhere to put it and it'll explode in my face.

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  107. Pockets aren't really ideal storage for round bombs.

    Also, did you know we're a bunch of hipsters? Jessica said so, thus we must be.

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  108. I take no offense to it, as I have strategically sloppy hair and clothing, Chuck Taylors, a fixed-gear bike, and a penchant for irony and self-loathing.

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  109. Dammit, that's a lie. I don't have a fixed-gear bike. I just want one really, really bad.

    I'm going to go listen to Animal Collective and cry about it.

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  110. What's a fixed gear bike?

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  111. Is that a round bomb going off or are you really happy to see me?

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  112. Basically, it means your chain is directly attached to the hub of your rear wheel instead of through a system of gears. When you pedal, you turn the wheel directly. So you can go backwards. But to stop, you have to fight the pedals.

    It's kind of more fun to ride.

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  113. Speaking only about the Motrin Ad, Uh hell yes I agree with it. I have 2 kids, I'm 26, pretty fit and I've slang, slung, hung, hipped (whatever) my 2 kids. And OMG, the pain. Pass the Motrin please. No more slinging for me. Thank God. I don't miss it.

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  114. and round bombs, exploding. Pow.

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  115. ...and round bombs exploding. Pow!

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  116. LOUD NOISES!!!!!11one!!!

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  117. I find this hipster charge frankly unsettling. Nigh on infuriating, really. Hipster? Me? I like ABBA and unicorns, for fucksake.

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  118. Also, my hair is decidedly UNsloppy (ask LB), I don't own any Chuck Taylors, I haven't been on a bike since God was a boy and my ass was half its current size, and though I do have a penchant for irony I lean more toward self-deprecation than self-loathing. I save the loathing for HIPfuckingSTERS! (Except Rass.)

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  119. This is rather sad, really -- bombing ourselves. It's like masturbation, but bad. It's mixing the sex with the violence, but one-sided.

    I've confused myself again. Unicorns?

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  120. Calamity. You, like me, need a drink. Not a freakin' unicorn.

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  121. That's one of the chief dangers that comes with carrying round bombs.

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  122. Look, I never claimed to be cool.

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  123. I'm just laughing because I can't figure out why she would take that route in labeling us. Really? She was a frequent commenter here for quite a while. She's pushing the new her like a middle aged conservative couple selling Amway. She has crossed over: she is a mommyblogginghipster.

    'Ya think it's funny/Turning rebellion into money'

    -Joe Strummer

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  124. The Motrin ad uprising was much ado and I do agree that some women bloggers navel gaze - literally - and this makes for crappy blog.

    Jessica's site, as far as I can see, is about promoting what she does on her other blogs and as a promoter of things in general. It's hardly pretending to be anything else, and when you have multiple blogs, some of them will be lite on content. I don't think this site of hers is doing less than what it was designed to do.

    I only know Jessica via blogging. She doesn't strike me as shallow or stupid or uncaring. Just the opposite in fact.

    This kind of one note harping is why I blog in my own little corner where I can be whatever I want to be without comments from the peanut gallery. But I understand that Jessica asked for a review and you take what you get with a grain or two of salt and file it away.

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  125. Anniegirl - maybe you're right. Maybe it does what it set out to do. If so, it just seems superfluous to me. Seeing as she already has all those other outlets.

    I have a different take on blogging. I actively post to three separate blogs, but I don't post a turd to any of them (on purpose, that is), simply because I feel I have to post something to be relevant.

    Quite frankly, there are a lot of turds in this blog. IMHO.

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  126. I think that anyone who's hung out here gets that ALL we really care about is writing. If a blog has the shittiest design in the world and pow, bam, amazing writing, we'll love it. We'll give advice about making it look better, but really, we like people who write.

    I understand that Jessica's blog is about teaching people to promote themselves, but it's pretty dull reading. I don't know how to fix that given that the subject she writes about bores me to tears. I'm more of a "if you write it, they will come" person.

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  127. Okay, I LOVED Sue Doe Nim. So, when JG started her new blog, I really expected the same "voice". I still don't know what the fuck happened. I mean, did someone else entirely write SDN? It just boggles my mind. I am so skullfucked bored w/ the JG blog...but I still go back there every once in a while just hoping she'll get her voice back.

    And sometimes, her writing drives me batty. She'll post 2 or 3 lines about something that only SHE will get - no context whatsoever - and that's it. WTF is that?

    And if I hear her brag about her "clout" one more time, I swear, I'm going to explode. Jessica, hardly anyone knows who you are - and do you really think us dumb folks believe your "clout" when it's plain as day....with your, uh...4-9 comments per post? If you think that is clout, you may want to go see Dooce...we know SDN knew about Dooce, so?

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  128. I'd love to see all of these comments put to music and rapped by Easy E (RIP), and Lil Kim.

    Jessica, love you girl! If you were on Blogging Idol I'd be calling your number. Peace out!

    (Oh Christ, am I giving off the appearance of a middle-aged woman trying to seem young?)

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  129. I'm actually just writing this as an FYI - you can change how many posts are shown on a page in the backoffice under Settings --> Reading.

    BTW, I submitted my blog awhile back and haven't heard from you. I think it's been longer than a month.

    -s

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  130. Shira:

    I set the number of posts that are seen the way I liked it.

    As far as the reviews go, we get to you when we get to you. It is currently taking about 3-4 months. :shrug:

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  131. Posol'stvo, I am not a multi-blogger for just that reason. I think content and writing are key and that it is the only way to build community with readers. That's why I only contribute rather than run a second blog.

    Lovebites, I know the emphasis on writing here and that's why I steer clear of submitting. I think I write a decent blog, but I am not niche and as one of my readers nicely put it "you are an acquired taste". I just thought the "shallow and uncaring" line of criticism was a bit outside the lines. JG's blog is about promotion with a bit of the personal very much on the side. What I appreciate is her attitude that we shouldn't have to provide free content via our blogs unless we want to. We are writers (some better than others) and we can/should use our skills in the service of bettering the world or our own lives.

    Now I am going away because I don't want anyone to think I am gnawing a bone, I just found the conversation interesting.

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  132. well isn't that nice. the money making blogger got more attention. she is not as dumb as I thought.

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  133. LB -- I think Shira wasn't talking about AAYSR, but was trying to help me out with my ranting and hatred of Wordpress's default setting of 10 items per page.

    I did set up a test Wordpress blog and found that setting. In about 30 seconds. Not sure why Snow Covered Hills hasn't changed yet, but I know why Jessica didn't. More clicks = more page views = more "clout" = more relevance = more money.

    I get it. But I still do that full time job thing. And I would never use my blog to make money. Unless I get a book deal out of it or something. That I'd whore myself for.

    At least, until I grew bored of that and decided to move on to the next challenge.

    And there's always a next challenge.

    Cheers.

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  134. I would totally whore myself for a book deal. And, at present, am doing so. But, that's the only way of making money through blogging that to me at least doesn't lead to complete loss of soul, and even then, it's a near thing.

    I'd rather write because there are words burning up the inside of me that I have to put down somewhere, than write to make money. I'm just not very materialistic, I guess.

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  135. I just accepted my first ad. I feel a little dirty about it. But it IS a sex ad, sooooo...

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  136. sooooo...you're really providing a service? heh.

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  137. There were some interesting points in this review.

    I happen to really like Jessica's blog.

    But a lot of this review seems to focus on things that aren't really relevant. Like the WordPress thing. Is that the custom here? Critique a leading blogging platform for self-hosted sites? This blog and your own blog are on Blogger, which is a major train wreck of a platform for publishing and organizing posts. Really don't get that. If you'd suggested a way to improve or a better blogging platform, there might seem like some validity there.

    Also, not getting the April Fool's joke until it was pointed out to you in the comments seems symptomatic of the general is what I'll call "Lazy Fair" -- you do seem to try to get some fairness in alongside the snark, but it's a lazy fairness -- you didn't really engage with the blog by reading the comments that a busy blog so often has. Or even clicking through and reading more.

    If you'd had read more, or more deeply -- heck, even more carefully -- you might have written something in the same tone and given the same score, but it wouldn't have been so lazy.

    The content critiques, I'm mulling over from what you say is your POV. But it seems like the actual content critique is a small part of this review. And yeah, I noticed that you linked to your own blog right away in this review before critiquing someone else for being self-promoting.

    Pot? Kettle's on the conference call right now. You're both black.

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Grow a pair.