Starfish Envy

They're Just Boobs

Can we talk about something?

Is anyone else getting really tired of reading about moms getting kicked out of public places or getting (how is this even possible?) arrested for breastfeeding?

The manager of an Applebee's in Georgia recently called the police on a woman who was breastfeeding her son.  Last week there was a whole hubbub in the news about a professor at American University who breastfed her baby while teaching a class. (The class wasn't disrupted, mind you.  She just fed her baby while she taught.  Frankly, I was impressed.)  A month or so ago, I read about a woman getting kicked out of a courthouse for breastfeeding.  And another who got kicked out of church.

I mean, come ON, people.

They're just BOOBS.

And breastfed babies need them.  To eat.  And grow.  And flourish.    

To feed Champ, I have hauled mine out at Katsuya, while crosslegged on the floor of The Container Store, in a movie theater, in a corner at Barnes and Noble, and at several of my favorite neighborhood diners.

Do I flash them all over the place?  No.  Do I make every effort to keep everything covered?  Frankly, no.  It's too much trouble.  If you tried really hard, you could probably see some skin.

The horror!  Boob skin!

But here's the thing.  Champ rarely agrees to take a bottle, so if I have to (or just want to) go somewhere, she comes along.  She loves being out and about, and I love getting to spend the time with her.  

Seriously, it's just not a big deal.

Now, this is just my own comfort level.  Different people are comfortable with different things.  

But for those who are uncomfortable with public breastfeeding, the solution is quite simple.

Don't look. 

It's A Small World, After All

Have we talked about Kiva?

To just be totally lazy and quote directly from their website, Kiva is an organization that "empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe.  By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending." 

I first read about Kiva in Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's brilliant book, Half the Sky.  Since then, I've made microloans to people in Mongolia, Rwanda, Viet Nam, Senegal, Peru, Tanzania, Cambodia, and Uganda.  

None of my loans are huge-- in fact, many of them are only $25.  And one of the cool things about Kiva is that as people pay back their loans, you can roll that money over into new loans.  (Or, if you want, you can withdraw your money-- with a little interest. Although I'm guessing most people just roll 'em back over.)  

Also, Kiva gift certificates make great gifts.  I gave one to my step-mom for her birthday last year, and she LOVED it.  She spent hours looking for exactly the right person to give her loans to, and she follows their progress online.  

Anyway, that's my sales pitch.  If you've got a spare $25, Kiva can help you put that money to good use.  

Podcast Anyone?

If you're a regular here, you know I don't write about work.  

Okay, yeah, so maybe it creeps in from time to time.  But not often, and only in the most general terms.  

Which is why I was torn about posting a link to an interview WP and I did earlier this week with Mo Ryan from the Chicago Tribune and her partner in podcasting crime, Ryan McGee.  And then I realized that part of the reason we were asked to do the interview was, in fact, this blog-- specifically, posts here that touch on the topic of being a woman and a writer in Hollywood.  (Here's an example.)

So if you're as interested in that subject as I am, check out the podcast.  Many thanks to the two Ryans for delving into this endlessly complicated subject.  There's a lot more to say, and a lot more progress to be made... but we really have come a long way, baby.  

Health Care Reform... Finally

I know that blogs are a little like dinner parties, in that I really shouldn't talk about religion or politics... but I have to post a link to this New York Times article about what the passage of the new health care legislation means to... well, all of us.  

It explains what happens now, what happens soon, and what happens later.  

As someone who will be hit by pretty much every possible new tax that's being levied to pay for this expanded health care coverage, I have just one thing to say: YAY.

Every American should have access to health care.  It's really that simple.  Is this bill perfect?  No.  But it's a huge step forward.  Also, it reduces the deficit.

I'm proud that I voted for Barack Obama.  And I'm proud of the Democratic members of the House and the Senate who moved this bill forward against tremendous-- and vicious, and wholly politically motivated -- opposition.

Especially if you opposed the new legislation, please read the article.  It may change your mind.

For Your Viewing Pleasure: WASP Congressional Medal of Honor Ceremony

I just embedded video from C-SPAN on my blog.  What has the world come to?  

But I thought a few of you might be interested in seeing the Congressional Medal of Honor ceremony honoring the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP).  

It's a little long, but Tom Brokaw gives a nice speech, and Deanie Parrish's acceptance speech at the end on behalf of all the WASP is about the most gracious thing I've ever seen.

Haiti Is A Passing Fad? Uh, No.

A couple days ago, CNN.com called Haiti a "passing fad" because donations to the earthquake devastated country are already beginning to slow.

Now, anyone who's not a COMPLETE IDIOT knows that there's a radical difference between a "passing fad" and the natural dwindling of donations after a disaster.  

Still, for funsies, just in case anyone's confused, here's a little primer:

Passing (and already passed) fads: stone-washed denim; neon as fashion; skinny jeans; Pete Yorn; energy drinks; Ke$ha; DVD's; fist-bump-as-greeting; "Jersey Shore"; every single Kardashian; MySpace; Sarah Palin (I hope); "true 'dat"; boy bands; french bulldogs.

NOT a passing fad: disaster relief in one of the most poverty-stricken countries on earth.

The fact that donations have slowed doesn't mean that Haiti isn't "cool" anymore.  It doesn't mean we've stopped caring.  It means that people gave what they had to give, in unprecedented numbers, and now that money has to be put to good use.  Fortunately, there are many incredible organizations at work in Haiti who are doing just that.  

The ongoing challenge, of course, is that due to the size of the earthquake and the scope of the devastation, there is SO much to be done.  And though we may feel we've done our part by giving once, the fact is, when it comes to Haiti, more is needed.  

Since I just slammed CNN.com for their lame "passing fad" article, I should also give them credit for another piece I read earlier today: Haiti By the Numbers.  It will break your heart.

150,000 dead.  194,000 injured.  1.5 million homeless.  300,000 hungry children.

Those numbers are why I was so glad to receive an email earlier today from a reader named Thayer.  (Cool name, right?)  Her aunt, Anne, works with Partners in Health, an incredible organization that has done great work in Haiti for twenty years.  (If you want to check them out on Charity Navigator, here's the link.  If you don't want to follow the link, I'll just go ahead and tell you: they have four stars.  That's the best.)

Thayer's Aunt Anne has "started a fundraising group to capitalize on the organizational skills, generosity, and overall awesomeness of women."

Well, cool.

Thayer and her aunt are hoping that their group, Mothers for Haiti, "will morph into something much bigger than ourselves and our small social networks on the east coast so that women everywhere will be inspired to give."

Oh, no she didn't just make this an east coast/west coast challenge!  (She actually didn't... but it's not a bad idea.  As long as no one goes all Biggie Smalls/Tupac up in here.)

But seriously.  I'm impressed, and I'm in.

Below is their summary of what Mothers for Haiti is all about.  I may not be a mother yet, but I hope to be one of these days, so I'm giving $100 for me, and another $100 in honor of my mom and step-mom.  East coast, west coast, or somewhere in the middle, this hemisphere or that one, I hope you'll consider doing the same.  

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Mothers for Haiti

Women throughout history have faced catastrophes with heroic grit. Now the
mothers of Haiti are facing unimaginable challenges as they try to feed,
shelter and find medical care for their children.

Let¹s show our care and commitment to our sisters by raising money for
emergency care and the long-term rebuilding of this hard-hit, heroic nation.
Will you join us in building a global network of mothers who raise money and
awareness for the families of Haiti?

Please forward this to your sisters, your mother, your book group, your
friends, your colleagues and your classmates.

Click on the link below.

Mothers for Haiti:
http://act.pih.org/page/outreach/view/earthquake_group/MothersforHaiti

Boston Globe article on PIH:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2010/01/24/boston_bas
ed_nonprofit_has_been_thrust_into_leadership_role_in_haiti/

  

UNICEF R-O-C-K-S

Donations update: UNICEF is promising that 100% of every donation made in the days to come will go directly to aid and relief for Haiti.  

If you haven't given yet and you'd like to, please click here to give to UNICEF.  

Here's a link to another list of giving options, courtesy of Chris Sacca via dooce.com.

If you've already given to one of the many organizations sending aid, ignore this post and come back Monday, when I'll be getting back into my usual Starfish Envy subject matter: the process of becoming-- hopefully sooner rather than later--  a happy, healthy, single, successful, working mom-via-sperm donor. 

Who also happens to be remodeling her house.  

Oy.

Haiti: Some Options for Giving

Driving to work this morning, listening to NPR, I heard a Haitian father describe the death of his youngest daughter in Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake.  

As he spoke, he stood at the bedside of his other young daughter, who was seriously injured in the quake.  Despite her extensive injuries-- broken bones protruding from her legs, one foot almost amputated, a serious head wound-- his daughter had received no medication.  The hospital had none to give her.  As the father spoke, his little girl moaned and cried in the background.  There was nothing he could do to help her.  

What's happening in Haiti right now, right at this moment, whatever moment you're reading this, is indescribable and overwhelming.  Tens of thousands of people, possibly even a hundred thousand or more, dead.  Many more injured, with little or no access to medical care or supplies.  Infrastructure demolished, food supplies diminishing, clean water harder and harder to find...

The silver lining on this very dark cloud is this:  I can help.

So can you.

I'm giving money to Doctors Without Borders, and UNICEF.  Both have a four star rating from Charity Navigator, and both are sending relief personnel and supplies to Haiti.

All I have to do is click some buttons on my computer.

If you're thinking about doing some button clicking too, remember that every dollar counts.  It doesn't matter if you don't have a lot to give.  Everyone says that, I know, but I believe it's true.  For the many fathers sitting by their daughters' bedsides in Haiti right now, for the mothers and sisters, and brothers, and uncles... every dollar you send means food, or pain relief, or a drink of clean water.

If you're interested in giving to Doctors Without Borders or UNICEF, you can start your clicking right now.  There's also an extensive list of charities sending relief to Haiti on the Huffington Post.  

O'Brien and Leno: A Late Night Drama

I'm going to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to say that I am so proud of Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno for refusing to simply deliver a bunch of tow-the-party-line platitudes about the craziness going down at NBC right now.  

As a television writer of the drama variety, I am, of course, thrilled to be getting back five hours for original programming every week.  

Which does not mean that I bear any ill-will toward Jay Leno-- when the writers were on strike, he was a prince among men.  Aside from the writing-his-monologues-thing, but apparently that was sanctioned by the Guild, so it's hard to hold that against him (though I did, at the time).  

I certainly didn't expect Jay Leno to be a hit in primetime.  I don't know if anyone did-- including NBC.  

But neither did I expect the chaos that seems to be happening right now.  Or the disrespect with which O'Brien and Leno are being treated.  

(I should have expected the disrespect part, perhaps.  It's far from shocking in this town. Have I mentioned that WP and I were fired totally without warning-- or, for that matter, cause-- from our own show the day the strike ended?  Hmmmmm.  Curious. Anyhoo.  Nothing surprises me anymore.  Except kindness.  Sob.  But seriously, it was the best thing that could've happened-- these things tend to work out as they should.)

And WHAT HAPPENED TO RULE ONE?  I'm breaking it into splintered shards all over the place!

So let me bring this home: Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, good for you.  The situation you're in sucks, and you're saying so, straight up, right there on the screen for all of America and the internet to see, and you're making NBC pay you for the privilege.  

Well done, boys.

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And now, courtesy of NBC.com, here's Conan:

And here's Leno: 

Caring for Your Introvert - The Atlantic (March 2003)

From Atlantic Unbound:Interviews: "Introverts of the World, Unite!" (February 14, 2006) A conversation with Jonathan Rauch, the author who—thanks to an astonishingly popular essay in the March 2003 Atlantic—may have unwittingly touched off an Introverts' Rights revolution. Follow-up: The Introversy Continues Jonathan Rauch comments on reader feedback about introvert dating—and poses a new question

via www.theatlantic.com

Wow. I've always suspected I'm an introvert, but now I know it for sure. I suspect I'm not as purely introverted as the author of this piece-- let's say, I'm 80% introvert, 20% extrovert. Good to know...

And, apparently, yet another reason that I'm single.  Terrific.

.

What about you--  introvert or an extrovert?