Daily Dose

• Obama Family Obsession, The Huxtable Effect, and the Black Image on the Screen | BlogHer
  That "Obama regrets" post and other Obama family posts at WSATA also get visits through BlackPlanet.com mostly from an Oct. 31 exclusive interview with Michelle Obama by Alyson Mance in which the future First Lady answers multiple questions, one of which queries how Michelle Obama feels about being compared to Claire Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad), a fictional character and the mother on The Cosby Show:
  (tags: Obamas tv movies rolemodels blackculture popculture cosby)
• Are TV Shows Getting Teen Girls Pregnant? | BlogHer
  Do television shows like "Sex and the City" and "Gossip Girl" encourage teen girls to get pregnant? Well that's the finding of a Rand Health study published last week in the November issue of Pediatrics. According to a New York Daily news article by Jane H. Furse about the study:
  (tags: TV teens pregnancy)

• On Taking My Husband's Name | BlogHer
  I don't remember questioning whether or not I would take my husband's last name when we got married. I didn't question it as I didn't question whether or not I would go to college — it was just what you did. And I think I also romanticized the idea of sharing a name with my husband, like that act alone would somehow make us closer than living together and sharing our lives would.
  (tags: marriage feminism patriarchy)
• Tutorial: Using StumbleUpon | BlogHer
  Remember way back in 1994 and 1995 when you actually surfed the 'net? You could start out at one page and end up in a completely different spot and nothing was actually related. You were just surfing and following along. These days I sometimes find I miss that randomness. Thanks to Google Reader I check the same sites every day. There are days, though, when I want something fresh and new. Something I haven't seen before. Those are the days I Stumble.
  (tags: stumble stumbleupon socialbookmarking melanienelson blogher chilihead)

• Gender Public Advocacy Coalition : About GenderPAC
  A new study has found that one in four children thought it was illegal for women and minorities to hold the office of president, while one in three attributed the lack of female, African-American and Latino presidents to voter's racial and gender bias.
  (tags: feminism misogyny gender president politics)

Here you go, the 10 year old’s electoral predictions…

I wasn’t sure I’d go through with it but when I stepped up to the table and pulled out the pen, it wasn’t hard. Weird, but not hard.

No line in Glenview Illinois. I hate the “i voted!” stickers.

• Skimbaco – The Lifestyle: Barbie goes Green at your local Walmart
  Walmart is hosting a fun event “Give Back with Barbie Cares," and encouraging girls to contribute to a more sustainabla pilot program exploring toy recyclabilitye future and recycling. Children are welcomed to the in-store event to bring and recycle their old Barbie dolls to be used in a pilot program exploring toy recyclability. For each doll donated, Mattel will donate a new doll to a local children’s hospital, up to 100,000 dolls.
  (tags: barbie green recycle walmart)

• The Fairness Doctrine: Coming Back? | BlogHer
  We are less than a week from the Big Day. It is probable that Barack Obama will be our next president and he will be welcomed by a liberal-controlled House and Senate. Although I haven’t made peace with the fact that Obama may win, and I’m certainly not happy about it, I have accepted it. What concerns me at this point are some of the peripheral issues we aren’t hearing about in the mainstream media. Specifically, freedom of speech and the Fairness Doctrine.
  (tags: politics freedomofspeech fairnessdoctrine)
• Beyond "The Monster Mash" | BlogHer
  Like some people have a soft spot for Christmas music, I'll always love the creepy-kitschy tunes rolled out on Halloween. Now, I like "Werewolves of London" as much as the next ghoul, but sometimes I want my Halloween playlist to have a little more hipster cool. Last year I did fashion a short playlist from Last.FM's vast catalog.
  (tags: music halloween monstormash)
• TWB: Traveling While Black | BlogHer
  When I first started hefting a carry on into the overhead compartment, it seemed like everyone looked like me. Traveling was for Jewish kids sent off to work on the kibbutz or pale colored language students favored by their teachers enough to get the foreign exchange program recommendation. The browner travelers I saw were primarily visitors to family members divided by circumstances. I did meet travelers from all over the planet, but if they had any color to them, it's because they'd spent the last month on a Greek island or hanging out in the Sinai. Wandering was, it seemed, for the white.
  (tags: travel race)

• Don't Dress Ugly For Halloween: A Scary Story! | BlogHer
  So, don’t dress ugly for Halloween. You never know how much it may come back to haunt you.
  (tags: halloween humor dating)
• Desperation is Not Attractive | BlogHer
  We are experiencing some pretty historic financial circumstances lately. but you know what? A desperation mentality is not attractive and the more you feel and act like a desperate teen looking for a prom date, the more likely you will create circumstances in your life to truly be desperate about.
  (tags: biz career risks economy)
• Memories of Halloween Costumes Past | BlogHer
  Last Saturday we drove to Party City to pick out some Halloween costumes. As I drove, one of my kids asked what she "was" last year. This led to a free-for-all conversation about what each of the kids wore going back as far as 1996 when my oldest daughter was a 9-month-old clown. My middle daughter, our list maker, kept track of the costume by year list.
  (tags: Halloween costumes memories)

• Five Easy and Painless (I Promise) Tips for Reducing Spending | BlogHer
  Do not scoff when you are asked to write on a topic you swear up and down you know nothing about. It may be a message from the universe that you need to pay attention. I got one of those wake up calls when asked to post about tips for reducing expenses. I like to think that I've cut everything I can or will but now that I'm focusing on it, I've noticed all sorts of tips and tricks I've used, I could be using or I should be using more.
  (tags: money tips spending saving economy marianiles)
• Recording The Vote – Let Me Count the Safe Ways | BlogHer
  I know I jammed at lot of stuff in here but I don't want anyone getting thrown out of their polling place unnecessarily. It is gonna be something to behold. I can't wait to see some of your photos, videos and reports on this most extraordinary day.
  (tags: voting polls laws videotaping photographs documentvoting)
• Kids pick Obama… because Obama targets kids? | BlogHer
  The argument could be made that Obama is more appealing to kids because he's younger than McCain. The argument could be made that Obama's message of change is more exciting to kids. The argument could be made that Obama has sparked election enthusiasm in minority and impoverished kids who typically don't feel involved in the presidential process. Or, the argument could be made that Obama is drawing young fans because he's actually reaching out to kids.
  (tags: obama marketing politics kids)
• Baking with Leftover Halloween Candy | BlogHer
  Here some ideas for using up all that leftover Halloween candy, from some of my favorite food bloggers, naturally.
  (tags: halloween candy baking recipes alannakellogg)
• Infoporn…when is it news and when is it gossip? | BlogHer
  So the question would be: Why is there so much "info-porn" around? When was the last time you read what Sarah Palin or Joe Biden said…PERIOD? When are we ever left to draw our own conclusions?
  (tags: media newmedia infoporn)

• Shattered glass | BlogHer
  Pam at Blood Signs asks "Do you ever ask yourself if you are the same person you have always been?"
  (tags: family personality questions)
• Winter Soulcare: beating the blues, financial and otherwise | BlogHer
  Just last week I broke out my heavy scarf, and today I realized I will soon need thermals under my jeans. My friends, Winter is on its way. The rhythm of the natural word effects our physical, emotional, and spiritual lives. We show a little skin in the Summer, and hibernate in the Winter. We fall in love during Spring fever, and feel full of gratitude in the Fall. Each sacred season brings us blessing and challenges — mind, body, and soul — and isn't it great to have wise friends along for the journey?
  (tags: winter)
• Kindle One of Oprah's Favorite Things | BlogHer
  It's official. Oprah's favorite new gadget is Amazon's Kindle ebook reader. I've secretly been lusting after an ebook reader for awhile now, you know in that "if I had a money tree" kind of way. Let's be honest, at $359 the Kindle isn't cheap and even if I could buy a Kindle (it's still not available in Canada) like most people we're tightening our pocketbooks here. Will Oprah's Midas touch help the Kindle top bestseller lists this holiday season?
  (tags: kindle oprah ihateoprah)
• Laura Ingalls Wilder From The Prairie to TV to…Twitter? | BlogHer
  What do you think of when I say "Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder?" Do you think of summer afternoons reading about little Laura, her family and their adventures on the prairie? Do you think of the TV show starring Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson? Do you think Twitter? Yeah, you heard me, Twitter. Hold onto your bonnets, people 'cause you remember sweet little Laura? Well she's a 21st century lady now and that means she's on Twitter.
  (tags: lauraingallswilder halfpint twitter parody littlehouseontheprairie)
• Sexism, Sarah, and the Future of Conservatism | BlogHer
  Using Perez as a case study, and basing my opinion of the entertainment media solely on the fifteen seconds of his site that I can stand, let me just say that between the commentary on Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, I've learned that sexism is not only alive and well in this country, but its cleverly disguised as political humor. Yes, I'm cynical, but there's no mistaking that calling someone "hot" in a condescending manner is a newly discovered way of putting someone down politically. Just think what would have happened if she'd been hot and poorly dressed?
  (tags: sarahpalin conservatives sexism politics)
• Mom Without A Map » Blog Archive » I got paid!
  The other day I received my first paycheck in four and a half years.
  (tags: blogher blogheradnetwork advertising money blogging)