Chrome Toe

My Comments (2084 so far…)

Highlights From 'The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything'

This is a good post Maureen. I’m not a stay at home mom, never have been and in all truth would never want to be. I’d go postal. It holds no appeal to me. But I thought your post was well done. I especially liked the part about men not objecting to women working because they get extra income and still don’t do all the extra work. The "second shift" i thin is what it’s been called in literature and research when women work all day and then come home and do all the caretaking or at least 80% of it.

The majority of the time I was raising my kids i was a single working mom. so my kids had extra responsibilities. Then when i met my husband and got married he’d been a man whose mother stayed home and whose first wife stayed home. So he had no desire at all to do any kind of household stuff that wasn’t in the garage. I was very clear long before we got married that i wasn’t the maid, cook and bottle washer. Since we had two decent incomes and no kids left at home to do it for us lol…we hired out the cleaning.

A lot of why women work a second shift is they refuse to allocate that job to anyone else. They take on all that responsibility instead of delegating and insisting that it be shared. I delegated and insisted.

Women have come a long way, as evidenced by the Shriver Report. What will be the impact of these new facts on our daughters?

It simply means more choices. For both sexes really. I can see a time when it won’t be nearly as stigmatized for men to choose to stay home and parent if they can and want to. The few men i’ve known in my life who have done that are very much marginalized. When the men from my husband’s generation have completely given over power to younger people… some of those stigmas’s and barriers will change on both sides of the coin. By the time my grandchildren are in their prime earning and power stages the world will look a lot different in terms of gender. I think frankly that the power base is going to be much more even and possibly even a tad heavier on the female side.

Is multitasking something to move toward or away from?

I read a report somewhere that multitasking actually costs people a ton of productivity. It was an excellent report. The bottom line of it was that you actually get MORE done if you focus on one task at a time. I’m horrible at multitasking as i work from home. and i know it costs me in productivity. I’ll be writing a report while texting one kid and e mailing another person… or i’ll do laundry while i’m organizing office stuff and talking on the phone. No bueno.

What is your reaction to the Dow's closing above 10k on Wednesday?

I checked other as I think the stock market is just one of many indicators of a healthy economy. It’s great that some of the folks i know who were retired and living off their investments (the ones who did NOT pull their money out) are able to breathe again. That’s nice. But on the whole… it’s just an indicator that things aren’t as bleak as some thought. But they aren’t as great as some predicted either.

Liz Smith: Jon and Kate Plus the Lohans – Mommies and Daddies Dearest?

oh yes… and i wanted to say that what i see parents fighting about in court and putting their children in the middle of every day… parents who otherwise look healthy and "normal" is just incredible. It makes my days carrying a case load of level 2 and 3 sex offenders look to be the less depressing part of my career lol! slight exaggeration but you get the point…

Liz Smith: Jon and Kate Plus the Lohans – Mommies and Daddies Dearest?

"There may be some doubt as to who are the best people to have charge of children, but there can be no doubt that parents are the worst,"

I love that quote! in my latest incarnation of my work self… I’ve taken my psych degree and 20 years of working with kids and families to work for myself as a court appointed Guardian Ad Litem in family court. The judge will appoint a GAL in cases where the parents can’t agree on residential schedules or things like "should we have our children in front of a camera 24/7". The GAL’s role is to investigate and report back to the court what is in the "best interest" of the children ONLY. The thought is that each parent has an attorney to advocate for them and children have no one but their parents! who often have their own agendas that they couch in terms of what’s best for their kids. I hope to hell California (if that’s where they are?) has GAL’s and that someone appoints one for these children.

Liz Smith: Teen Star Ditches Twitter – Apocalypse Avoided or Imminent?

Liz - this is totally off subject…. sort of… it’s the Gosselins! I’ve never seen the show and only catch headlines. But someone needs to tell the California Courts that those kids need an appointed Guardian Ad Litem! I don’t know if they do that in CA but i’d assume so. In my state a GAL is appointed to serve and advise the court as to "the best interest of the children". If there were ever kids caught in the middle of adult agendas it’s those kids. Come on Liz.. you have pull!

To ensure that there are no safe havens for terrorists, would you support keeping troops in Afghanistan for the next five years?

I’m with Joan. I don’t feel like I really know enough. Every thing about the middle east is incredibly complicated. I also can’t quite ever get my mind around it being "worth it" to kill our children. what outcome are we hoping for?

'Whatever' and More Communication Offenses That Annoy People, by Sybil Adelman Sage

I hate when someone says "let’s think out of the box" "let’s get out of the box"… when they say that you know for SURE they have NO capacity to get "out of the box" lol. Another one I hate is when people who don’t think they’re being condesending (but are) talk about how they’re going to "empower their staff" or "empower their students" or "empower thier constituents" or what-EVER.

In the movie of your life, what actress would play you? What would be the title of the film?

Hmmm… no matter how hard I try I can’t think of a good name for a movie about my life! they all sound way to Hallmark movie of the week cliche. and I HATE those kinds of movies! As to who would play me… I think Jodie Foster. I think she looks the most like me not really in exact features but in terms of a "type". I can see her as a CPS worker interviewing kids. One time I had to remove four children from a home. A new born and three sisters under the age of 9. The 9 year old had disclosed severe abuse. I had to literally run a gauntlet to get them out… with police protection. practically an entire squad. It was in a large apartment complex pupulated by a lot of drug using criminal folks. all who hated CPS or other authority. There was about twenty people standing around yelling at me and confronting the police. I could see her in that role.

Who Would Liz Smith Cast to Play Her? Hilary Swank Or ...

The thing is…. to play Liz in a movie you’d have to have actresses of so many ages! Although Cate Blanchett played several decades in the movie Benjamin Buttons. I could see her as Liz.

Also… any reason why I can’t access the original question as to "who would play you in a movie"? but can only access the ladies answers?

Liz Smith: John Cleese Divorces the Madoff-Mills Love Child?

so is Cleese’s show funny at all? or is it just whiny?

Wannamaker's, Oldsmobile, Polaroid and PanAm … What defunct brands do you now miss?

Oh yes…. and I miss when flight attendants were called stewardess’s and were friendly, attentive and good at their job! I miss when flying first class meant more than just getting a bigger seat.

Wannamaker's, Oldsmobile, Polaroid and PanAm … What defunct brands do you now miss?

I can’t think of a "brand" i miss. I’m more like Joan… I miss pieces of a way of life. I miss drive in movies and having only three stations on tv. I miss having a "neighborhood" with people I knew in it. I miss phones that rang if someone called and didn’t ring if you were on the phone. I miss pinochle.

Liz Smith: Law & Order's Shady D.A. – Christine Lahti

My daughter and I both got the flu about six years ago and didn’t leave the living room couches for about five days. In that five days we must have watched 200 episodes of law and order! To this day I can’t hear that opening two note music sequence without thinking of the flu. I don’t think i’ve seen an episode since lol!