Blogs on More

Welcome to our site refresh - just like you really should update your wardrobe now and then, we’ve updated the website.

What do you think? We really want to know!

Dawn Burns, More’s advertising coordinator, is appearing in Canadian Living’s “Holiday Mixer” style piece this month.

What was it like to model? Dawn says “It’s hard work. It’s not as easy as it looks. Having to get me to laugh out loud and have genuine smiles was hard…I felt a bit like a toddler when they were saying smile for the camera. But it was a lot of fun to get fussed over. I also wasn’t allowed to sit down in the clothes once I had them on.” Click on the thumbnail to get a look at Dawn’s looks, courtesy of Canadian Living.

Tell us something you’ve done lately that took you out of your comfort zone!

Sometimes you just have to take the label and run with it! Here’s a shot of our team’s entry in the office pumpkin-carving contest - do you think it did Courtney Cox proud? Kudos to head carver and associate art director Shelley Frayer.

Do you have any tales from the Hallowe’en weekend? Feel free to share.

I’m very pleased to announce that we have video of two fearless editors:

Linda Lewis, editor-in-chief gives a behind-the-scenes look at the November issue
Sarah Moore, managing editor delivers a 40-second rant on how women are portrayed as technophobes - warning, you may laugh out loud at the office

Our haute flash readers got the links first this time, and if you want to be among them the next time, sign up for our newsletters. Although subscribing to the blog through your RSS reader will also put you in the loop!

That said, we did have site issues this week and I’d like to thank you all for your patience and understanding. They totally stressed me out; any tips you want to share on remaining calm when things go wrong would be much appreciated in the comments!

Finally, heading into the weekend, I wanted to share this great piece on the Obamas’ marriage from the New York Times. My husband and I struggle with this notion of equality a lot as well, and neither of us is a world leader! What’s your take?

Catch coverage of the Vancouver open calls for the More 40+ Model Search on ET Canada tonight!

ETA: Actually there was a schedule change - but there will be a longer piece later on ET Canada we hope. Stay tuned!

Last night I attended the launch for Opportunity Rings (”a tale of sex and smartphones”), Sheryl Steinberg’s debut novel (see her article for More about ageism in the workplace). I got to the Indigo event a little bit early and found what seemed like a family reunion in full swing: Everyone chatting and catching up and hugging. I’ve heard writers talk about books being like giving birth to a baby, and if so, this was definitely like a shower.

I even had the pleasure of speaking with a very proud aunt.

As a mere member of the media I had to occupy myself with - what else? typing on my Blackberry.  I haven’t finished reading my copy of the book yet but going from the reading it’s going to be a smart, funny read.

So now that you know what I’m reading this weekend, what’s on your bedside table?

Shameless self promotion: Congratulations to the members of the More team who have been nominated for the National Magazine Awards. Check out their work here:

Essays

Jay Teitel
My Wife Makes More Than Me (But Don’t Tell Anybody)

Service: Health & Family

Amy Baskin
Empty Nest Envy

Jacqueline Hennessy
Burning Questions

Kim Pittaway
The Game of Risk

Society

Jacqueline Hennessy
Show Me the Money

Spot Illustration (you can’t see the illustration online - yet; we’ll keep you posted)

Anita Kunz
Bullies For You

Christian Northeast
Just Say No

You can see the full list of nominees at: http://www.magazine-awards.com/

No, I’m not talking about Botox - the New York Times is examining the positive side of pride.  Apparently, the right amount of pride not only makes people more likeable, but can even boost the spirits of the - well, prideful.

I’m going to try to remember this over the weekend, when I will be sharing with my family - a mere several days after I’m sharing it with you - that Linda Lewis, More’s editor-in-chief, just taped a segment forthe CBC’s Steven and Chris show that will air on Monday, talking about my 10 cheap ways to be happy article. Post your additional ways to be happy on the comments before the show airs!

As final inspiration - if you’re on the New York Times website anyway, don’t miss the Seder hotline that’s running on the Diner’s Journal blog either. My family doesn’t celebrate Passover, but that is not going to keep me from trying the eggplant soup with yoghurt.

I’ve been away for a few days at an inn; my family and I always go away at this time of year to respect the loss of my daughter, and also to spare people the roller-coaster of emotions that sometimes comes along at that time.

Following Murphy’s Law on this one, the very day I left Midlife crisis: My husband is gay appeared on the MSN.ca homepage and we had a lot of visitors to that piece, and also a lot of comments. I have to admit I was a little floored at the response initially.

But thinking a bit about it (easier to do by the fire with solicitous staff bringing me tea), I think betrayal really is a nearly universal experience. If it’s not within a marriage, it’s financial swindlers like Bernie Madoff or rhetorical games on the parts of politicians. And that’s what, to my mind, Shipmaker’s carefully written, self-reflective piece is all about.

How do you handle it when someone you trust and love hides his (or her) true self from you? Or when with a single decision someone breaks apart your life as you have built it? It’s a tough one.  And yet I also found the compassionate responses talking about the pressures on gay men and women to conform and to marry and have a “normal life” inspiring.

When Li Robbins wrote in “Meno at Work“: “talking about menopause [is] about as welcome as talking about digestive difficulties” (in the February/March 2009 issue of More) she wasn’t kidding. Naomi Lakritz at the Calgary Herald recently took the article to task. To continue down the chain of reaction, next a reader took Lakritz to task.

I think it’s an interesting discussion. There is definitely a line between helpful sharing and over-sharing, and it can be a hard one to draw. I’m reminded though of one time a friend of mine had a bout of vertigo, shortly after taking a new job.  In one week, she fell down twice, and ended up with fairly spectacular bruises each time. Shortly after the second, her new boss took her aside for a meeting and after a fairly long speech about support in the workplace she asked her if she was a victim of spousal abuse!

Sometimes a bit of information goes a long way.

What’s your take?