Laptop Television Mom

"The Mom Blogs" on the Today Show

You might already know that I met Katie Couric during my recent trip to NYC for BlogHer 2008.  But you might not know that I also attended a party to celebrate the launch of the New York City Moms Blog.  Even cooler is that the Today Show filmed a segment on Moms who blog, so producers attended the party to get to know some actual mommybloggers.  Yes, they brought a film crew, and if you look really carefully, you can see my back for about 2 seconds!

My fellow Silicon Valley Moms Blog writer (and friend) Jill Asher is featured in the segment, as is my friend Lindsey Lebresco from the Graco Blog.  Here's the clip:

American Idol Season 7: Top 4

Wow, I think my prediction of a David vs. David finale is coming true! Yes, even I -- LTV Mom -- loved David Archuleta this week.   But you don't care what I think, you want to hear from Dixie (especially after last week's hiatus!)

DIXIE SAYS:  Tonight’s show was thoroughly underwhelming, especially considering how many excellent songs they had to choose from. This seems as good a time as any to announce that this will be my last year blogging for American Idol. The love loss for the show really started last year with Jordin Barks and Blake Lewis in the finale. I was hoping Season 7 would renew my passion, but it hasn’t. Although each week has become increasingly more excruciating to watch, I’m committed to see this train wreck to the end. I’d never quit mid-season!

 

With that said, I am very excited to announce that I will once again be blogging “So You Think You Can Dance”. Season Four premieres on May 22^nd, and I will start my blog with the live Top 20. I watch many other competition reality shows, so if you have any other blog ideas, I’m definitely open to them. Just please, no more American Idol!!!

 

Here are my reviews of the Top 4:

 

David Cook “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Baba O’Reilly”

Is this the same guy who knocked my socks off with “Billie Jean”? The magic has definitely vanished. I still think he has a great voice, but there’s something missing. On the Duran, Duran song, the audio mix was so screwed up, he sounded like he was singing acapella. Sound issues aside, it was a decent performance, but far from his best. Even on The Who song, I was expecting a lot more from him. His falsetto was awesome, but he didn’t do anything special with the performance. The ending had no energy and it felt unfinished. I’m sure he’s safe, but I kind of get the feeling that he wants to go home. Perhaps his brother has taken a turn for the worse and he wants to spend some time with him before the tour starts. Personally, I’d like to see him win this thing. You know, a little Daughtry retribution!

 

Syesha Mercado “Proud Mary” and “A Change Is Going To Come”

SyMEsha is excited about the tour because she’ll be able to meet her fans. So, what is she going to do for all those weeks after she meets both of them? Just kidding. I want SyMEsha to go home solely for the fact that she referred to herself in the 3rd person in her first video package. Then, I had to watch her second video package three times to make sure I actually heard her compare her American Idol journey to the Civil Rights Movement. And yeah, she did. The mind, it boggles. The fact that she was totally AMAZING on her second song was utterly ruined by her asinine video package. That said, Randy dissing her made absolutely no sense. It had to be because the producers told him to. I thought her vocals during the Sam Cooke song were darn near perfect, but ouch, “Proud Mary” was high and screechy. The slow intro was great and attempting the choreography was a nice touch, but she ain’t no Tina. At the beginning of the show when Ryan announced that three of the top four contestants have consistently been the top vote getters, you know Syesha is the odd man out. Because of that, she might be leaving this week.

 

Jason Castro “I Shot The Sheriff” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”

You see, if America would have booted Jason off when they should have, we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of hearing these amazingly awful, cringe worthy performances. Pack your suitcase, indeed! When Paula says, “It is what it is”, you know it’s the end of the road! Bob Marley was choking on his dreads during the first song and Jar Jar was choking on the words during the second. I expected a train wreck after what he’s been bringing to the table for the past several weeks, but this was even worse than I expected. Thanks for exceeding my expectations! As nice and funny as he seems, Jason is definitely not worthy of being in the Top Four. Either someone smuggled some serious bud into this boy on Monday or he’s over it and trying to get eliminated.

 

David Archuleta “Stand By Me” and “Love Me Tender”

The season is nearing the end and I finally agree with the judges in regards to little David; he definitely sang the best in Round 1 and I absolutely loved his version of Elvis. He is still closing his eyes and adding new bad habits every time he performs, but he definitely out sang the elders this week (with the exception of Syesha’s second song). Of course, Randy’s comments were still over the top pimping, but he’s obviously just sticking to the script.

 

Worst of the Night: Jason, who threw himself under the bus.

 

Going Home: Syesha (just because I don’t think she gets many votes). Of course I think it should be Jason, but then again, I thought Kat McPhake should have left when Chris Daughtry was voted off and that was the Top 4.

 

Maria Shriver asks "Just Who Will You Be?" (THE VIDEO)

I recently wrote about my amazing meeting with Maria Shriver (click HERE), and am happy to share video from the evening. 

The video is broken into four different YouTube links, so I will direct you to my "other" blog, Silicon Valley Moms Blog (click HERE) to watch Maria share her words of wisdom. 

Enjoy!

The Shadow of the Wind

Even though I blog about television, I really love reading good books.  As we all know, once you have a kid, you can kiss your quality book-time good-bye.  I can find time to read magazines, newspapers, and many blogs... but finding time to read a book is a precious commodity.

That said, moms who like to read books *cherish* solo airplane time because it allows big chunks of time to dive into a book.  I had some travel-time recently, but was disappointed after selecting some dud books.  I even picked up the newest book from my beloved Alice Sebold, and just could not finish the darn thing.  (Sebold's must-read is The Lovely Bones, but skip The Almost Moon.)

However, my most recent read was worth the wait. My dear friend Vicki sent me her copy of The Shadow of the Wind, and it was memorizing from start to finish.  I devoured the book (which was an awesome distraction during my 4-hour layover in Chicago), and deeply loved (and deeply hated) each wonderful character.

The book was written in 2001 by Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and was translated to English in 2004.  The story takes place in post-Spanish Civil War Barcelona, and tells the tale of a young boy named Daniel who loves books.  Daniel discovers a treasured book with a rich history, and as he investigates the mysterious author, the boy finds trouble, love, danger and passion as he tries to uncover the mystery of his beloved writer.

The Shadow of the Wind is truly a good read, and worth the precious time of a mother who craves good books.

Maria Shriver asks "Just Who Will You Be?"

Yesterday, the writers for Silicon Valley Moms Blog were invited to a private book signing with California First Lady Maria Shriver.  Ms. Shriver is promoting her newest book, "Just Who Will You Be?", so I read my copy and eagerly waited to meet her.

I arrived at a book store in Palo Alto, sampled some delicious (and low fat!) ice cream, and waited for her arrival.  Ms. Shriver arrived (on time I might add!), and was warm, personable, polished and (as expected) smart. I loved her. 

Of course, I don't know her, but I really liked what I heard from her.  During our hour-long meeting, she shared her experiences as a journalist turned mother, turned working-mother, turned author, turned First Lady. Always a champion for social causes, always a Shriver. 

One of my fellow bloggers, Robin Roark, captured some of her favorite messages from Ms. Shriver, which I will share as well:

"Having been a workaholic all my life, I advocate for more moments of joy in your life.  Because when you look back, that’s what you’ll remember."

"Moms are 24x7 in the front lines of humanity.  Are you man enough to try it?"

"Having any time yourself – I didn’t know it was possible.  I was raised where any time to do something for yourself was selfish.  It’s ok to give yourself permission to do it. "

"I grew up thinking that if I didn’t run for office, I’d be a disappointment. I grew up with a lot of 'shoulds.' I’ve worked quite hard to let that go. "

[On being a working mother] "Looking back I was way too stressed about finding a balance.  Those were jobs I loved.  Hated to give them up.  But I did.  With each child, my job decreased. I shouldn’t have tried to shove it all together.  I didn’t have the courage to say that I wasn’t going to work at all."

"I have one wild and precious life.  To put my wild and precious life at the end of the line is no longer acceptable."

Thank you, Ms. Shriver, for taking time to meet with us, for sharing your experiences, and for inspiring moms everywhere!