Strollerderby : sweet juniper

Strollerderby Playdate: Mired in Misery? Not So Much.

Amy Kuras — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Misery index? I'll give you a misery index!

Karen wrote this week about the fact that Forbes Magazine recently released a list of the most miserable cities in America, and guess what? I'm living in the worst one! Whee!

Admittedly, right about now it’s hard to disagree. We're embroiled in a huge political scandal, my neighborhood streets are so icy I can hardly negotiate them, and there are for sale signs just everywhere, including on the homes of some of my favorite neighbors. Boo.

But there is so much reason to be optimistic, including that some of the best parent bloggers out there live in my very own city. Melissa from Suburban Bliss is one of the leading motherhood bloggers, to the point that she vacations with Dooce and has taken on Meredith Viera and everything. And she's smart, funny, insightful and generous with her success; she's been nice enough to link to me and you should see the spike it gives my blog's traffic numbers. Plus I got to vicariously live through the horrors of the Detroit real estate market with her – and they actually sold the house! Hope is alive!

And then there is Sweet Juniper. Bloggers (alias) Dutch and Wood moved here from San Francisco a little over a year ago, and I love seeing this city I have lived in almost my whole life through their fresh, creative eyes. They are both uncommonly graceful writers, although Dutch makes me feel like the slackest parent ever with the cool things he finds to do with their daughter.

And there are some excellent non-parenting bloggers as well – check out Detroitblog for an interesting perspective on life in this city and Model D for development news and neighborhood profiles that counteract all the gloom.

That'll show you, Forbes Magazine.

America's Cities of Misery or Opportunities for Change?

Karen Murphy — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:02:00 GMT

Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news? Okay, we'll take the bad news first: ten American cities have been named "most miserable" by Forbes.com. Sucks, eh? They rated cities by unemployment, personal tax rates, commute times, weather, crime and the amount of nearby toxic waste. Uh...so what's the good news? It's that every city has its good points as well as its bad ones. And every city has within it a viable community, if you only know where to look.

But first let's go back to the Misery List, shall we?

At #1 is seemingly our favorite city to bash, lovely Detroit. But have you had a look at Sweet-Juniper's eloquent homage to a city many have given up on? There's a lot more there than meets the eye.

Two cities I grew up near, farther-out bedroom communities of San Francisco, made the list (Stockton and Modesto). Maybe it's the three-hour commutes? But these are nice communities, and the fact that they're a heck of a lot more affordable than close-in communities means a lot.

You'd expect to see New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles on the list: big cities with known big-city problems are sure to be miserable. But they're also wonderful, exciting, stimulating places to live, filled with culture and resources you can't find other places.

And that's the trade-off about any city. Every city is undergoing transformation, and sometimes it doesn't look so pretty. But if you look underneath, you see what's real, and you see what is, for so many people (and with good reason), home.

P.S. My city made #5.

Photo: www.surrealplaces.com

FlickR Pictures Taken Without Permission: Babble Apology Not Accepted.

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:57:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard yet, Babble was accused of lifting kid pictures from FlickR and using them for several articles over the past few months. The call-to-action went out and the blogosphere responded. Sweet Juniper, one of the all-time best-written and most-beloved parent blogging sites headed up the campaign (he found a picture of his daughter used without permission on Babble's front page earlier this month).

Posting pictures of my children on the Internet makes me jumpy and nervous (which is why I do not use FlickR) and someone using these pictures without my permission gives me hives. So I'm sympathetic to those folks who found their kids pictured on Babble. If I didn't write for Babble, didn't believe that it was an honest mistake on the part of a photo assistant somewhere in an office building in New York, I'd have joined right in (I have plenty of Mommy Lioness wrath to share). But I believe it was an error. I do not believe it was a terrible abuse of power on behalf of a heartless corporation.

People like me love David and Goliath stories (especially when we get to be David). It is our duty as parents to defend and fight and insure that our beautiful little people aren't used and abused. But what I want to know is this... Will these parents accept Babble's apology? Even though every single picture has been taken down.. even though FlickR abuse isn't new to Web 2.0. If you read the comments on SJ's flickR page, it seems the answer is a resounding 'No!"

It may be fun to imagine Babble is a faceless corporation full of insensitive louts who like to steal pictures from your personal family album. But I'll tell you, Babble is parents like me.. like you... writing and sharing our stories and wanting to make parenting a less lonely, much more amusing job.

Babble has now put safe-guards in place to make sure this sort of thing never happens again... But clearly, that's just not good enough.

Dog Eats Baby!

Karen Murphy — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:08:00 GMT

Not really. Made you look, didn't I?

Actually, it's "Dog Hugs Baby". Awww. I'm reminded of Carl the Dog somewhat here. You know Carl, don't you? He's the silent dog who is tasked with minding a baby, over and over, and brings that baby into improbable situations with everything ending up right in the end in every story. Kind of like this one by Sweet Juniper's Dutch. Or, er, maybe not.

Anyway, this dog and this baby look to have something of a symbiotic relationship going here. Definitely a good thing for Dog, don't you think? He clearly wasn't demoted too far when Baby arrived.

Have you any Dog and Baby stories to share? I've got cats and a three-year old and I'll tell you, the two don't mix; there's wary distrust on both sides. But dogs and babies can form lifelong unions, so how about you tell about yours?

Another Alphabet Book from Sweet Juniper!

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Wed, 02 May 2007 22:07:00 GMT

I love Sweet Juniper. I had the honor of meeting Dutch, Wood and Juniper at BlogHer last year and they as charming in real life as they are on the internet. When they put out Sweet Juniper's first alphabet book, Personae Urbana I bought it right away. It was perfect for me, my kids were still working on learning the alphabet and I love Dutch's photography.

Now there is a new one. This book is called Fabulae Urbana (spell check cannot handle Dutch and his Latin badassery, or me and my made up words, like badassery. Hell, it might not even be Latin.). This book is also a graffiti alphabet, but each letter represents a myth or a mythological person or creature. It looks beautiful, and odds are I will be buying this one too.

Keep your eye out. Dutch mentioned that he is working on more accessible alphabet books if this one seems like a little much for you. As for me, I'll just end up with a whole shelf full of these things to show my grandchildren. My kids have learned the alphabet already.

"Personae Urbana": A Cool New Kids' Book By Sweet Juniper!'s James Griffioen

Alisyn — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:10:00 GMT

Finally - an alphabet book that doesn't make your teeth sweat out of sheer boredom.

Strollerderby's own James Griffioen - a.k.a. Dutch from Sweet Juniper! - recently unveiled Personae Urbana: a book of letters, photographs, graffiti art, and urban grit with a charming twist. Forget the primary colors and cuddly teddy bears; in Griffioen's world, "G" is for "gnome," "N," is for "ninja" and "Z" is for "zombie."

Sound cool to you, too? Then jump over to Lulu, and place your order for Personae Urbana which will be printed and bound on a made-to-order basis, for a mere $9. Word around the blogosphere is that all the cool kids - uh, I mean parents - are doin' it. Anything to be able to toss out that gummy, chewed upon, deeply resented copy of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, right?

Gift Crisis? Let Moms and Moms-To-Be Help

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:01:00 GMT

Chanukkah is almost over, Christmas and Kwanzaa are around the corner, and if you're like me, you haven't bought any gifts yet. (Yes, I know it's not about that...but it kind of is.) If you despise shopping malls and are overwhelmed by the barrage of catalogs that have been jamming your mailbox since early October, help is here.

Moms and moms-to-be that like shopping way more than you have made it their business to put together some righteous holiday gift guides. Look them over and buy what they suggest. After all, mama knows best.

San Francisco's own mama-to-be Maggie Mason has put together her annual Mighty Goods gift guide, and more importantly, her covet guide. Print it out and leave it somewhere where your partner will find it, like wrapped around his or her Crackberry.
Motherhood Uncensored and Mom-101, the fabulousness behind Cool Mom Picks have a comprehensive guide with suggestions for everyone on your list, even your babysitter. (Hint: we got ours an iPod Shuffle, big hit.)
The always delicious Foodmomiac has put together a tasty gift guide for the food lover in your life, including many choices under $15.
And, our very own Dutch is not a mom (although he made his wife one by "impregnating her"), but he created a kick-ass gift guide anyway. If you are an "indie sonofabitch parent," this one's for you.

Happy shopping!

[wagon shot courtesy Mighty Goods' Covet Guide]