HTT - Mocking Edition

This one's easy, and may or may not be my attempt to put off blogging for another day.

Go here first.

Then, come back here.

Now, tell me if that was super funny or super offensive, though I must warn you that if it's the latter we're probably not friends.

'Cause I'm, like, heck yeahs that's hilarious (and true).

HTT - HTT Edition

A lot of you have told me you love Hot Topic Tuesday. My stat-meter indicates that more people check out M&M on Tuesdays than any other day of the week combined, so it must be readable. Good thing because it gives me an ulcer. It's not that I don't enjoy discussing controversial issues; they are things I'm already discussing with friends and family, so I'm happy to get them out of my mind to analyze what I believe. Sometimes I'm adamant and hope to persuade you. Other times, I'm looking for more insight. But every single time, I feel like I have to write and rewrite and soften everything one more time so I don't offend someone - even though it's my blog.

Why, you ask? First, I don't like to offend people, even though I wish they wouldn't take it personally. Second, because when someone goes off on me in the comments or criticizes my parenting, it affects me. I'm open to dispute, just not disparagement. And it's even worse when readers attack each other. Sometimes my whole Tuesday goes from great to gloomy just because no one is playing nice and usually they are named Anonymous. (Who knew it was such a popular name?)

Which brings me - yes, three paragraphs later - to today's Hot Topic: blogger etiquette. On one hand, I'm a huge blogging fan. I feel like I know more about my friends and family now than I used to. It goes beyond chit-chat - I get to see pictures and hear details about day-to-day activities, which is a better glimpse into their lives than a short phone call.

On the other hand, blogging brings out the worst in some people. It makes them mini-experts on every topic, and gives them permission to pass judgment on people they don't even know - who are not public figures. I feel like some people are just waiting to jump all over someone if they make the slightest mistake, as if bloggers should be held to journalistic standards.

Even our so-called friends are abusing the blog medium. I've had friends receive rude and critical remarks from friends, both openly and anonymously. I've also heard of people posting anonymously to others' blogs, or their own (I plead the Fifth!) to say something in their defense.

So where should the line be drawn?

Is it OK to treat someone differently online than you would face-to-face?

What are your rights as a blogger and as a commenter?

And has HTT ever gotten too heated for you?



p.s. Wish I'd had this article when we talked about guns.

HTT - Naked Edition

Once upon a time there was a girl named Mrs. Dub who used to fret over Hot Topics for Tuesdays because while she was quite passionate about a lot of things, she never knew what other people wanted to talk about and had a tendency to offend people when she really let loose with her opinion.

Enter kind M&M readers who began to suggest all sort of friendly topics for everyone to amicably discuss and brainstorm about together. And it made Mrs. Dub’s life, or at least her Tuesdays, infinitely better.

Today is another reader request that’s making me one step closer to happily ever after.

The topic is nudity, but we’re not talking about art. (Let’s just say I don’t mind me a nude sculpture or two.)

We’re talking about family modesty. Like, when do you stop letting your kids shower with you? And when do you make your skivvy-lovin’ kids cover up? How do you teach them the sanctity of their body when they’re young?

I can’t really speak to the matter yet since Miss Dub is the first person I see when I step out of the shower, and I wipe her rear every few hours ... so we’re still on an intimate level. But I know some of you are in the throes of this issue, and others have already implemented a system.

So I’ll leave it to you to dish your nude-a-licious advice.

Speaking hypothetically, I think I would stress the sacred nature of our bodies from an early age. And I would insist on modesty outside the home around age 3 or 4. Seeing parents naked would end around the same time, and any indoor exhibitionism would need to be squelched by kindergarten.

But what do I know? I’ve always liked layers.

What do you think?

Bear all.