Flora June's Birth Story
Hi, I’m Gabrielle Blair and this is my newsletter. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my work, please consider a paid newsletter subscription: just $5/month or save money with the $50/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $75. Or, some of you have let me know you’d rather support my work directly via Paypal and Venmo (@gabrielle-blair). Thank you! Seriously, thank you. Support from readers keeps this newsletter ad and sponsor-free.
A Few Things
For 11 years, every Friday on Design Mom, I would share a post called A Few Things. The post would include a list of links that I thought my readers might find interesting or helpful or unusual. I stopped this long-time tradition about a year ago, but sometimes I miss it. I’ve been thinking of bringing it back as a Friday newsletter. While I mull that decision over, here are a few things I’ve wanted to share:
- New research finds 30 different characteristics of a woman’s identity that turned into points of criticism creating barriers to women’s success. The clear message to women is that—whatever they are—they are doing it wrong.
The women leaders in our study were considered too young or too old. They were too short or too tall, too pretty or too unattractive or too heavy. They had too much education or not enough or their degrees were not from the “right” schools. They suffered from disrespect and misperceptions due to race, color, or ethnicity. Whether they had children or were childless, the women were expected to work harder than men to prove their worth. Women were held back from leadership opportunities due to being single, married, or divorced. There was no personality trait sweet spot, as introverted women were not seen as leaders and extraverted women were viewed as aggressive. The effect, then, means women leaders are “never quite right.”al thing
- Luxury goods experts are saying it’s nearly impossible to spot knock-off handbags these days because "Superfakes" have become nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
- As someone who doesn’t drink caffeine and doesn’t pay much attention to coffee/diet coke/energy drink culture, I was not aware until this week that there is an anti-caffeine movement.
- A leaked internal Google document claims Open Source AI will outcompete Google and OpenAI.
We’ve done a lot of looking over our shoulders at OpenAI. Who will cross the next milestone? What will the next move be?
But the uncomfortable truth is, we aren’t positioned to win this arms race and neither is OpenAI. While we’ve been squabbling, a third faction has been quietly eating our lunch.
- 'They Just Need a Safe Place to Be:' How Public Transit Became the Last Safety Net In America. The surge in homelessness on transit systems creates a conundrum for agencies used to the old way of doing things.
- An excellent podcast where Adam Conovor explains how and why the writers went on strike.
- Opinion: Latino workers are erased from a picture-perfect white world they help create.
Phoenix Book Event Just Added!
I’m writing this from the Orly airport in Paris. In an hour or so, I’ll board my flight, fly non-stop to Los Angeles, hangout during a 3-hour layover, and then take a flight to Phoenix. Tomorrow, I’ll be moderating the Closing Keynote at the Mom 2.0 Summit, and immediately after that, I’ll be at a Phoenix book event!!! This new event was just announced today. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there! Here’s the latest tour info:
May 9th – PHOENIX
NEW EVENT
7:30pm at The Garn Residence
45 S Sawyer Lane
Gilbert, AZ 85296
RSVP to John.a.webster@icloud.com — space is limited.
May 10th & 11th – SALT LAKE CITY
6pm at The King’s English Bookshop
1511 S 1500 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
In conversation with Amy McPhie Allebest of Breaking Down Patriarchy.
BOTH EVENTS ARE SOLD OUT
May 13th – BERKELEY
7pm at Books, Inc.
1491 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 94710
In conversation with my husband Ben Blair.
Click here for Berkeley event info
May 15th – ATLANTA
7pm at Eagle Eye Book Shop
2076 N. Decatur Road Decatur, GA 30033
In conversation with author, Jessica Handler.
Click here for Atlanta event tickets
Lately On Design Mom
Flora June’s Birth Story
Flora June Blair, our youngest, turned 13 yesterday and is officially a teenager. It’s the end of an era — no more little kids at the Blair House. I just republished her birth story if you’d like to read it (I know some of you have been reading Design Mom since she was born — or even earlier!).
Ham and Cheese Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Perfect for Mother’s Day Brunch. Make extra, because you’ll want to freeze some and eat it throughout the week.
That’s all for now. I hope you have a wonderful day. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.
kisses,
Gabrielle
I have always loved your A Few Things. Del.icious bookmarks no longer exist (sob!) and this always feels like a delve into my old bookmarks: there's always something interesting or pretty or funny from The Internet.
I like this format as sometimes this is how our mom minds think as we are always jumping from what to feed to the kids to what should I research for my next interview to how to I prepare for the birth of my next child!