Let's hear it for Caitlin Flanagan, journalistic comfort womanLast week's issue of the New Yorker* contained a lovely little excoriation of parent-to-be consumerism written by none other than my favorite harridan and yours, Caitlin Flanagan. Of course it's not online, so I can't point you toward her 2,500 choicest words of opprobrium, but some other babied folks have inneresting stuff to say about it. Skarlet says: The de rigeur item in my neighborhood these days is a pram from the Silver Cross line. (Also mentioned in the article, by the way). Silver cross actually has two lines, the "lifestyle line" and the "heritage line." These things cost thousands of dollars and the new mommies nearly go nuts at the coffeeshop trying to keep an eye on their spawn and their pricey stroller at the same time. These strollers cost more than my car is worth. It's completely insane. Here's the thing: the babies really, really don't seem to care.And over at Daddy Types, there's a list of everything referenced in her article. It's stunning really. Do folks really purchase strollers that cost 2 grand? Wait. No, I don't want to know. If you're interested in reading the article, you can have my copy as soon as I choose a little present to myself: I can't decide between the Basque beret or the wrinkle-free travel sundress that also doubles as a sleep sack. *Yes, I've only just read it. For me, the Onion headline "Stack Of Unread New Yorkers Celebrates One-Year Anniversary" hit rather close to home. Posted by Dana at 07:35 PM
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The Roar of the Masses Could Be FartsHere in the red states, we get ours delivered a week late anyway.
So quit hating on us, already, you people who get the news in the same week it's meant to be read.
/whine.
ANd my oldest slept in a dresser drawer when he was little.
I didn't close it or anything. That would be wrong.
Posted by: tizzie at November 16, 2004 08:56 PMShit, the last thing I read in the New Yorker was Gladwell's ketchup article. I'm glad you're staying on top of the bitch.
Relatedly, you saw this, right?
Posted by: max at November 16, 2004 09:14 PM
I refuse to read the New Yorker online till my issue comes in the mail. Sometimes it's Tuesday, sometimes it's as late as Thursday or Friday.
Which means that reading blogs on Mondays just about kills me when people are responding to things I haven't yet read. Because I want to devour the whole delicious thing (rather, devour the whole delicious thing and belch the almost-inevitably-crummy short story up, undigested) in print. Best subway reading ever.
Hey, at least Caitlin didn't whine the whole time or try to make herself out as a paragon of modern throwback femininity. Count your blessings, I say.
Posted by: Vidiot at November 17, 2004 12:49 AMtizzie and vidiot, I think that Queens and Kentucky are on the same delivery schedule. Fucking Conde Nast.
Max, that's beautiful. That deserves a post of its own.
Posted by: dana at November 17, 2004 09:27 AMYeah, it's like those people who happily run all over Manhattan, but think Queens is the edge of the universe or something. I mean, I live about twelve minutes from Bloomingdale's, not on the rings of Saturn.
(Not like I ever go to Bloomies, but you get the idea.)
I've been surprised at the sheer parochiality of some Manhattanites.
oh yeah, and Stay Free! rox0rs. Been reading them since Carrie was living in Chapel Hill.
Posted by: Vidiot at November 17, 2004 10:32 AMHeh. While going about my bodily business this weekend, I picked that issue up last week and absentmindedly started reading that piece. About three grafs into it, I stopped and said aloud "AAAARGGH! Who wrote this?!". And then I looked at the byline and said "Oh, right. It's that cunt that Dana hates."
Posted by: jpoulos at November 17, 2004 04:44 PMI can't stand Flanagan either, but when faced with a choice between her and the SUV-sized strollers, it's really no choice, unfortunately. It pains me to say it, but it's true.
So not babied, however. I tell people I'm a stay-at-home mom just to see their reaction when they ask how old my kids are and I explain I don't have any. Sorry for any confusion :-)
I'm already over the strollers, btw. Yesterday I saw my first mink-lined onesie. (is that how you spell it?) Nothing that snaps over a diaper should ever be fur-lined, but maybe I'm just crazy. It *has* gotten down into the low 50s around here (DC) so maybe these silly things are necessities - what do I know? I may have to mosey over to the baby section of neiman marcus with my camera phone, though. This is just an amazing piece of apparel.
cheers!
Posted by: skarlet at November 17, 2004 07:09 PMWait, not babied? Ooops. My head hurts. (I mean, literally, it hurts...damned dessert wine.)
A mink-lined onesie? That beats even the Buzzcocks onesie I saw in Williamsburg.
Posted by: dana at November 18, 2004 10:18 AM