I went to Amestram with my mom a few years ago and this article really reminded me of that trip. I feel really tense right now. Don't get me wrong - mom and I have some fun memories. But it wasn't until I tossed Rick in the trash and got her stoned that she was able to let go and relax.

Steve's is good for some things and I do enjoy his basic travel philosphy (travel light, go local cheaper is often better) but his path is a little too well traveled on at this point and at the height of the tourist season I can't imagine. I'm sure all of us have had the experiance of going into some cool place Lonely Planet raves about only to find the place covered with people reading their copy of Lonely Planet. You're better off putting together your own travel folder from varous sources - mix it up a bit.

And traveling throught the US sure is traveling! People who scoff at that are people who havne't seen much of the US. We live in an enmorous, varried, stange country. In fact just thinking about it makes me want to pick up 'Travels with Charlie' and planning my next road trip.

Wealthy people can afford lots of goods and services most of us can’t. And there are lots of professional couples who just don’t have the time for the details and who have families who are scattered all over the US. And there are lots of Personal Assistants (like me!) who make a living helping wealthy people do mundane/fabulous things. It’s time to get over it.

You know: the one who studied hard, got into a great school and then got a great job with a 6 figure salary she loves? Are you people really suggesting she give up her job so she can go crib shopping and send out thank you notes? Or maybe she should have married rich? Or are you suggesting that working women just shouldn’t have children? We can for sure blame her for her grandmother dead or her not having a mother in the picture – such poor planning!

I’ve worked for wealthy people who don’t work for a living and wealthy people who do. And it’s the people who do work for a living who need the most help at times like this. A heiress has all the time in the world to shop for herself and she’s already got a couple of assistants on staff – but that working mom, a woman who dosen’t have her own personal assistant, who is hording every last second of vacation/maternity for when the baby is actually born – that’s the lady who need to have hire someone for a dozen hours before the baby is born.

Honestly the sour grapes on this post today are too much. I’m glad I’m not having a baby – because I need a drink.

If I worked as a baby planner (and I don't) I would work by the hour - not on commission. It would not serve me to fill someone's house with a lot of junk they don't need. This is free lance work an that's not going to get me referrals. Rather I'd be setting up a cloth diaper service, nanny interviews, filling out school applications, organizing thank you notes and making sure every last detail is in place. I might even market myself as an environmental service that provides only the must haves.

This might only take me a few days or a week. It's expensive but it's not the small fortune people seem to think it is. I'm sure I don't know why everyone imagines some vapid harpy and a pile of baby junk - why not a busy lawyer and a useful, high end service?

Now, would I personally hire out this sort of work? No. It sounds like fun to me and I'd want to do it for my own baby. That's why I do the sort of thing I do. But I'm not going to judge other women so harshly.

And now - I really am going to get that drink :)

Or is it an installation art project?

To me it looks like an art project. I don’t think this artist has anything to do with robot sex or replacing women – but he is commenting on those things. And if someone buys this I’m willing to bet it’s an art collector and not some lonely male lawyer.

I think Broadsheet got this one wrong.

It supposes that a young woman’s sexual identity belongs to her father and then to her husband. What you’re going to get is a woman who thinks of Daddy as a sexual figure or who thinks of her husband as a father figure. No matter how you look at it it’s messed up.

I mean – forget about this in terms of your daughter. Would anyone here want to date/marry a young girl who’s only ever dated her Daddy? You think that’s going to be the recipe for a healthy sex life?