Blog Review: Mommy Has A Headache

The Blog: Mommy Has A Headache

The Reviewer: Nutmeg from Simply Nutmeg.

First Impressions: My first impressions of Mommy Has a Headache were not good. When I began reading the landing page, which consisted of about eight posts, I was actually offended. In the first few posts I read, the writer managed to deride fat people, ugly people, blacks, Hispanics, and even panda bears. Also a part of the landing page was a post in an advice column series called E-Spot in which readers write in with their sexual problems and receive advice from Emma. This particular 'letter' was from a swinging husband who didn't want his fat, ugly neighbor watching him having sex with another man on his back deck. I found it tasteless and not at all funny, but I'm a bit of a prude.

Emma and I did not start out on the best foot. Her posts also tend to be very long, and I found myself struggling to wade through the negativity.

Design: Again, the very first thing that caught my eye when I came to this site put me off. It was a request for a tip in the top left hand corner. This is something I had never seen before on a personal blog. I read many professional blogs in which you may find a small disclaimer toward the bottom that says something to the effect that if you have found this material helpful, feel free to donate to the site; but this was the first time a personal blogger had ever asked me to tuck a dollar in her garter belt. It felt wrong, because I'm cheap like that.

The rest of the design was clean and quite charming. The two-column theme with an original header and fabulous tag line (maybe it was one too many martinis) was refreshing. The left sidebar, (aside from the poll, which I find annoying,) was informative and easy to navigate.

Content: This woman can write, and she has a clearly defined voice. As a professional editor, I look for both. I found very few technical mistakes on this blog, and I read about 100 posts. After about ten or so, I could hear Emmak in my head, complete with accent. Her prose, despite the negativity and myriad references to shagging, is fluid and quite elegant. I think it helps that she's a Brit!

Let me make this perfectly clear: this is not a Mommy Blog, despite its title. There are very few references in her posts to her children or to her roll as a mother. She writes mostly about sex with an occasional post about how stupid or boring her friends' husbands are. This is a great site to visit if you are looking for a new sex toy or if you want to complain about your worst one-night-stand to a public internet audience. Emmak often asks her readers to share their own opinions and stories, which makes for a very lively comment section. She includes graphics and streams video that you would usually not want to view in the presence of children.

Reading this blog reminded me a lot of watching a Monty Python movie. I know it's supposed to be funny, and I can hear my own husband howling next to me, but I still don't get it! I started drinking beer after about twenty posts. By the thirtieth post I was smiling. By the fiftieth post I was laughing. By the eightieth post, I was considering driving to Baltimore to hang out with this chick! And by the next morning, this mommy had a headache!

Best and Worst: For me, the best part of this blog was Emma's intelligent, first-rate writing. It's a pleasure to read the way Emma puts thoughts together, even if I don't always care for the thoughts. As I continued to read Emma's content, I began to get a feel for her very dry and sarcastic sense of humor. This is one funny lady.

The downside of this blog was that after a bit, it was the same raunchy joke over and over. I also find cynicism a bit tiring after 40 or so posts. I think in smaller doses, Emmak would have a greater appeal to me.

Blogroll Worthy: I doubt Emma would feel at home in my blogroll. If your favorite comedy is Austin Powers, you might want to Blogroll Mommy Has a Headache. If your taste leans more toward Mrs. Doubtfire, you should probably take a pass. Although I probably wouldn't blogroll it, I can see myself stopping in to this blog on occasion when I'm in the mood for a little down and dirty humor.

Score:
I feel a little bad for this blogger because she got the repressed Catholic reviewer who loved Mrs. Doubtfire. Martini's just aren't my cup of tea! Nonetheless, this blogger has clearly carved out her niche; she is original and has a devoted readership. She is often very funny, if taken in small doses, and writes exceptionally well. I give this blog a 7.