Do You Know What Today Is?

Today is my new favorite holiday. Did you even know today was a holiday?

Today - August 26, 2010 - is Women's Equality Day. It is lesser known and minimally celebrated across the nation. I felt sure that at least my women's calendar full of quotes from influential women would boldly mark today as a holiday but, alas, even it did not mention Women's Equality Day :(

Why do we have a Women's Equality Day? According to the National Women's History Project,

The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities.

If you think this holiday is unnecessary and we already know enough about women's equality, I invite you to spare approximately 2 and 1/2 minutes of your time to take this quiz.

How did you do? I am embarrassed to say I did not make a 100. There is still so much we don't know about women's issues. Even more discouraging, there is a lot that is already forgotten by most. Yesterday the New York Times ran an article entitled A Forgotten Fight for Suffrage.

In it, author Christine Stansell laments over how the women's right to vote conflict is "now largely lost to memory." This seems strange to me as she pointed out some states only approved the legislation in the latter half of the 20th century:

In 1923 Delaware ratified belatedly to join the rest of the country, but the Southern states waited decades: Maryland in 1941, Virginia in 1952, Alabama in 1953. Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina came along from 1969 to 1971, years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 had passed. Mississippi brought up the rear, not condoning the right of women to vote until 1984.

Not until 1984!?! That was 64 years AFTER the legislation passed in Congress. We're not talking about anything too radical here... just women's right to vote. Today marks the 90th year since all American women finally got the right to vote.

And since 1971, that has been commemorated with an official US holiday. Bella Abzug, a Democratic Representative from New York brought forth a resolution that was passed by Congress. The resolution read as follows:

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.  (Information taken from NWHP)

 We must remember this. In another New York Times article from back in 1999, Naomi wolf wrote:

Standing at the turn of the millennium, how odd it seems that women, the majority of the human species, have not, over the course of so many centuries, intervened successfully once and for all on their own behalf. That is, until you consider that women have been trained to see themselves as having no relationship to history, and no claim upon it. Feminism can be defined as women's ability to think about their subjugated role in history, and then to do something about it. The 21st century will see the End of Inequality -- but only if women absorb the habit of historical self-awareness, becoming a mass of people who, rather than do it all, decide at last to change it all. The future is ours to lose.

We must be aware of our past so as not to repeat it. The future IS ours to lose.

Don't let that happen. Remember, hold tightly to, and celebrate how far women have come.

Keep pushing forward!

Happy Women's Equality Day :)

Beyond Awkward Boy Update

It was not even 9am and already pushing 90 degrees, the sun out shining in full force. I was starting to sweat, lacking any makeup and wearing an old tank-top with some over-sized gym shorts. Needless to say, I was not dressed to impress.

I was dressed for a raft race. My Daddy's company participates in this community raft race every year and they take it very seriously, having won their division and even the whole competition in the past. He was not about to have me showing up with my nails and hair done. No. We were in it to win it.

Sadly, several people at my Daddy's office procrastinate. As a result, 20 minutes til our first race, we were still down about 3 people - aka we would forfeit without enough bodies in the boat. 

I was dutifully saying a prayer for their quick arrival and casually chatting with 2 guys: one was an older man and recent heart attack victim that worked for my Daddy and the second was a younger friend of his.

I barely glanced at them as we spoke but instead was scoping out the competition in the river in front of us. Absentmindedly, I had gathered that this younger guy had a goatee, an earring and was wearing a hat... of even greater interest to me, though, was the fact that he worked stage crew for the concert I was going to see later that night. This focused most of our conversation around the concert and its main act.

I wandered off only to be greeted by him upon my return with his offer to paddle in our boat if we needed him. I told him thanks and assured him if it came down between him and the older man who worked for my Daddy, we would definitely enlist his help so as not to induce another heart attack for the older guy.

Knowing he might be needed, he hung around initiating more small talk until the last 3 guys from my Daddy's company showed up just in time for our first race. Then, he quickly disappeared.

I thought for good.

Having finished the first race, now sweaty, salty from the river water (and possibly smelly), getting hit on was the last thing I was expecting. Much to my surprise, he came up from behind and handed me a folded up piece of paper. I saw it had information about the concert typed on it (i.e. gate entry info and check-in times, etc.) so I had a glimmer of excitement that he might be giving me a backstage pass or something.

Nope : (

As I turned over the paper I saw the following note: "If you want to hang out later tonight, that would be great! If you're single that is," followed by his name and number.

That is right folks, I was hit on via note. So elementary school AND worthy of a quick listen to George Strait's "Check Yes or No" song ;) .

Upon finishing up the raft races (we made it to the 4th heat), I mentioned the bizarre incident to my Daddy. He, of course, freaked out a bit which included calling the older guy who knew the guy who wanted to hang out with me. My Daddy's conversation went something like this: "Hey, who was that guy you were talking to earlier? What's his deal? How old is he? Where's he from? What's he do?" You know, he practically got every detail - down to his credit score - on this poor guy!

Here are the results from his interrogation... I mean investigation ;)

The younger guy was actually almost 30 (nearly 10 years older than me), divorced, and he had a little boy.

Yes: a divorced dad hit on me using a note... maybe he was taking tips from his son?

Believe it or not, it gets worse.

Later that night at the concert, my friend asked me if it was him on stage. I told her I really wasn't certain because I hadn't gotten a great look at him earlier; in casually chatting with him, I didn't thoroughly check him out because I never EVER would have imagined an hour later he would give me his number!?!

Well once she pointed him out to me, realizing he had the same build, facial hair and earring he seemed to be the same guy. The only thing that looked different from earlier in the morning was that he was no longer wearing his baseball cap. This, my friends, revealed that he was balding.

So, to sum this up for y'all, I was hit on by a balding, divorced dad via a note. How is that for a confidence booster ;) At the very least, I felt certain it would make an entertaining blog post!
 

The Freedom Riders - forgotten heroes

1) If you haven't seen the movie Freedom Writers, then watch it; it is phenomenal.

2) Watching that movie led me to another one: Freedom Riders - a Stanley Nelson film. In the Freedom Writers movie, they mention freedom riders. I hadn't heard of them and was intrigued. After a little research I came across the second movie, a documentary from the Sundance Film Festival. I haven't seen it yet but it debuts on PBS in May of 2011.

3) If, like me, you couldn't wait to find out more about the forgotten freedom riders, check this out below:

Freedom Riders

Who They Were: Initially 13 men and women (7 blacks and 6 whites) but eventually hundreds. They were supported by the group CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and also SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

What They Did: They attempted to ride public buses across the south; the catch was they mixed up society's racial expectations having some whites use the colored only seats, lines, diners, etc. and black people sit in the seats designated for the whites, stand in the white lines, and eat in the white diners.

Why They Did It: They were encouraged by the success of the non-violent sit-ins in the South (most notably Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC) and also wanted to test the Supreme Court ruling in Boynton vs. Virginia which declared that segregated public transportation was unconstitutional.

Where They Traveled: They left from Washington, DC with the intent of ending in New Orleans, LA. However, after several beatings and riots, the ride stopped short in Jackson, MS.

What Happened: The Freedom Riders were yelled at, beaten with baseball bats and iron pipes, kicked and punched (with a heightened aggression towards the white freedom riders who were helping the blacks), arrested, trapped on their bus as it was set on fire, hospitalized, asked to write letters to their loved ones (in case they didn't finish the trip alive), surrounded by mobs, and much, much more.

When They Did It: May 4-17, 1961... that was not even 50 years ago!?! Blacks and whites were beating each other nearly to death to simply ride a bus side by side; fortunately, we have come a long way BUT if you watch the first movie (Freedom Writers), you will see we still have a long way to go.

The Results:  After the violence really elevated in Alabama (specifically Anniston and Montgomery) peaking at a riot outside of a church, President Kennedy stepped in and national guardsmen were sent in to break up the scene. More freedom rides happened throughout the south and shortly thereafter segregation (seating on buses, separate lines, bathrooms and diners at bus stops, etc.) for public transportation ended.

What We Can Learn: Ordinary people can do extraordinary things. These relative nobodies, just average citizens, banded together and ACTED on something they believed in; it changed their lives and our country, for the better.

This last clip isn't part of the second movie; it is a video made by Vanderbilt University when they re-traveled the 1961 route with some of the original Freedom Riders. It is long but worth the watch.

Additional source: http://www.tahg.org/module_display.php?mod_id=58&review=yes#1994

Correcting Our Language - Round 3

Do you know what that is? Yea, it is a douchebag. BUT, outside of perhaps my 8th grade health class, I haven't really ever heard that word used in association with the image above.

Instead, you've likely heard it used like this: "Don't be such a douchebag," or "Sweetie, don't worry about that douchbag; you can do better than him anyways," etc. etc. etc.

Generally it is used to mean:

• "An individual who has an over-inflated sense of self worth, compounded by a low level of intellegence, behaving ridiculously in front of colleagues with no sense of how moronic he appears"
• or "The name of the guy dating the girl of your dreams"
• or "Someone with a myspace that has more friends than the population of their hometown"
• or a whole list (179 other options) of examples found at urbandictionary.com

One thing's for certain: it has a negative connotation.

But, why?

According to Merriam-Webster online, the official definition is " 1 a : a jet or current of liquid (as a cleansing solution) directed against or into a bodily part or cavity (as the vagina)." It isn't even an item exclusively for vaginas, though that is often assumed.

Now how in the heck did that definition of a cleaning product come to be a dirty word?


Several sources point to the Oxford English Dictionary stating that in 1967 college students began using the word negatively to mean "an unattractive co-ed." Over the years, it has just progressed into being a derogative word, more or less meaning a jerk.

Frankly, that is just odd. And incorrect.

I say we should leave the word "douchebag" to the health class books and get a little more creative and descriptive, i.e. this final urban dictionary example that I feel much more adequately and accurately describes such people beyond simply copping out using the single word "douchebag."

Enjoy ;)

"The term "douchbag" generally refers to a male with any number of characteristics not associated with one particular region or age demographic. Douchebag is a combination of attitude qualities, social ability, and attire.

"In terms of geography douchebags can be found nearly anywhere. For instance, douchebags can be seen in New Jersey where fake diamond earrings, frosted spiked hair, Razor phones, half a can of Axe, unbuttoned collared shirts, Fossil watches, overly groomed chinstraps, backwards colored Yankee hats with the sticker still attached and 2002 Mustangs are considered "tight." At the same time douchebags are also plentiful in the Southwest where on any given Wednesday night on frat row in Tempe you can find males who find it "sweet shit" to wear pink collared shirts, while donning the following attire: pukka-shelled necklaces, fake skater shoes, have some variation of an Asian symbol tattoo on their shoulder or back, wear a Hurley hat that sits cockeyed on their head, throw various fake gang signs during pictures and drive their dad's old white 1997 convertible M3 BMW. They also generally find the length of time one drinks while doing a "keg-stand" directly correlates with the amount of pussy one can get.

"As mentioned douchebags transcend not only various geographical locations, but age demographics as well. For instance, douchebags are quite often seen just south of Sarasota, FL as evidenced by 45 year old men who still wear Oakley's, shave their chests, wear shirts that read "ride" on the front and "me" on the back, and think its cool to wear white K-Swiss'. They are usually on first name basis with the girls at Hooters, and think white T-shirt contests with 1/2 half-off Margaritas are better than a baseball game with $1 beers. At the same time, we can see young 21 year old douchebags in West L.A. who still think that Dolce Gabana belt buckles, and fo-hawks are "pimp shit."

"In terms of behavior douchebags have an over-inflated sense of self worth, lack the social ability to interact with non-douchebags, and have tricked their minds into thinking that they "get mad pussy." The irony is that they very rarely get pussy, but amazingly have the amazing propensity to talk quite often about allegedly getting it.

"Real life doucebags: Keven Federline, Nick Lachey, any dude on The Hills, most of New Jersey."

You Wouldn't Think We Are a Country at War

I recently saw this status on Facebook: Lindsey Lohan who? I cant believe the news coverage being given to a spoiled 20-something yr old. Here are a few 20 year-olds worth knowing about: Justin Allen 23, Brett Linley 29, Matt Weikert 29, Justus Bartett 27, Dave Santos 21, Chase Stanley 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew King 23, Christopher Goeke 23, & Sheldon Tate 27. These 20-somethings gave their lives for you this week. Repost if you support the Military!


Sadly, it is so true.

You wouldn't think we are a country at war, especially if you tuned in to our news.

We have days of unimportant coverage on Lindsay Lohan, a mis-behaving movie "star" who is surely some role model we should pay attention to. Note: the previous sentence was to be read with a laaaarge dose of sarcasm.

But it isn't just her. It is also stories on car chases, celebrity break-ups, weight loss secrets or whatever other nonsense that is somehow qualifying as "news" in today's society.

You wouldn't think we are a country at war.

Do you remember the last time you watched a report on the War on Terror? Or at least one that was longer than a 30-second sound-bite? Generally no.

A recent exception would be the General McChrystal/Rolling Stone uproar which the media was diligent in covering, probably because it seemed more like the hot-headed Hollywood behavior that they're used to.

You wouldn't think we are a country at war. 

We need coverage of it, namely of the men and women we're losing in it... on both sides.

Back in September of 2006, CBS ran a story where the lead line read: Now the death toll is 9/11 times two.

Did you see the date? That wasn't a typo: 2006!?! Nearly four years ago we had already doubled 2,973 which, according to that same article, was the total number of victims in New York,Washington and Pennsylvania in case you couldn't remember that number.

Other than around the month of September, particularly the 11th, it seems that our country doesn't remember that number or that incident. We're too busy soaking up the celebrity garbage that is taking over our news.

You wouldn't think we are a country at war.


And with as little coverage as the war gets, we don't even have a clear idea of the NUMBERS, whether we would choose to forget those or not.

The problem is, when I went searching for the death toll, it was hard to find, at least accurately. There is so much word play on this "War on Terror/Overseas Contingency Operation" that a ton of different numbers came up. For example, some of the rhetorical re-wordings included "violent" deaths, "attack" deaths, "in combat" deaths, "civilian" deaths, "contractor" deaths, etc. etc. etc.

You know what it boils down to? A whole lot of DEATH.

According to antiwar.com (forgive me for the obviously biased source), here is the most comprehensive list of numbers I could find:

Casualties in Iraq The Human Cost of Occupation Edited by Margaret Griffis :: Contact
American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date	Total	In Combat
American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03):	4413	3491
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list)	4274	3383
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03):	3952	3185
Since Handover (6/29/04):	3554	2858
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09):	185	87
American Wounded	Official	Estimated
Total Wounded:	31888	Over 100000
Latest Fatality July 21, 2010
Page last updated 07/23/10 5:06 pm EDT That is only our side. And that is only Iraq; if you were to include Afghanistan, we are clearly well past the original 2,973. I know that is not the only thingwe are fighting for. Of course, we want to keep our country safe, defend our freedom, encourage democracy and peace, etc. However, at some point, all of that talk becomes just as rhetorical as the different ways to label death.  What it all comes down to is we ARE a country at war. People are dying. And what are we doing? Distracting ourselves with crap like Lindsay Lohan going to jail.  I think we need to re-set our priorities.  Who will your celebrity be? A girl who can't give up alcohol or a military man and/or woman who can give up his or her life?  ______________________________________________If you'd like to honor a military hero, check out these options.

GRE - please pray for me

Hello long-lost blogosphere.

I have been hiding under a rock lately to study for the GRE - aka the Graduate Record Exam or what I have "affectionately" been calling the God-awful/ghastly/grueling Record Exam.

It is no biggie... just the number that determines the rest of my life: If I don't get a good score, I don't get into a good grad school; then I don't get a good education and, thus, don't get a good job which could potentially lead to a lousy life. Can you sense how the stress has gotten to my brain ;)

Endless antonyms, verbal reasoning, word problems, analytical writing, quantitative comparisons, exponents, fractions, geometry, graphs, etc. etc. etc. has muddled my thinking.

Worse still, with the test date looming so near in my future, my study motivation level has not been able to keep up with my stress level.

GRE. Grrrrr.

It is this Wednesday!?!

Please pray for me :(

And when it over and my braincells have rejuvenated themselves, I will try to post something more entertaining than this.

I just thought I'd apologize for my absence and let you know why I had fallen off the face of the earth: I am almost exclusively spending my time with my Kaplan Study Guide ;)

Southern Belle Side Note: Joggling Boards

"As my mother used to say, a joggling board is to a piazza what  mint is to a julep. If you have to ask what a piazza is - they're known as porches outside Charleston - then it's unlikely you know what a joggling board is, either" (1). 

"It's pretty simple, really. A joggling board is a piece of Charleston history that measures up to 22 feet long and 13 inches wide, a supple piece of pine usually supported between wooden rollers two feet off the ground. It looks like a giant tongue depressor and acts like a trampoline" (1). 

I was born and raised (and still reside) in the Lowcountry of South Carolina so joggling boards were a familiar sight for me. Though we don't have one on our porch - there isn't room since we have a swing and some rockers already ;) - there is one in my neighborhood. 

I had family in town for the 4th of July. They were from Texas and they immediately noticed and questioned "that long rocker thing." 

It was then, honest to God, the first time it ever dawned on me that joggling boards are an odd sight. They are  sorta like a hybrid mix between a rocking chair and a see-saw. When we tried to explain to my relatives what they were and why they were built that way, the best we could come up with was they were just built long to adequately fill up those long Charleston piazzas. 

Although, after a little research, I  found out joggling boards have a very specific history. 

Their history in Charleston dates back to the very early 1800s on Acton Plantation in Sumter, SC. A Mr. Cleland Kinloch lost his wife and had his sister, Mrs. Benjamin Kinloch Huger, come to care for his household. Mrs. Huger apparently suffered from very severe rheumatism. (2)

In an attempt to get some exercise and fresh air, her chair was placed in a carriage so she could go for rides; when she detailed this and her poor health to her relatives in Scotland, they sent her a model of a joggling board. They told her that she could sit on it and bounce to get some exercise. [If that was "exercise," I think I'd have enjoyed living in the 1800s; I'd take that any day over 45 minutes on the elliptical!] (2)

After they made the model life-size, the joggling boards became incredibly popular and spread to piazzas all over the Lowcountry. Beyond providing Mrs. Huger "exercise," joggling boards became especially popular for two reasons: 

1) Children loved to play on them. They really are like trampolines. My brother and I used to jump all over them. 

2) It was an excuse for couples to get close. In fact, they were known as "courting benches;" a lady would sit on one end and her crush on the other. The couple would "joggle" down the bench until they reached each other in the middle where they could whisper sweet nothings and hold hands and such. There was even a legend that if you had a joggling board on your front porch, you'd never have an unwed daughter. (3) 

Hmm, maybe I should invest in one of those for the front porch ;) 

Their popularity faded after World War II when the wood and hand-crafted labor were harder to come by. However, in the 1970s they regained popularity when the Old Charleston Joggling Board Company was formed after the tricentennial of South Carolina. (2)

Now, the history lives on as more and more people see those "long rocker things" known as joggling boards. 

Next time you see one, be sure to sit down so you can get yourself some "exercise" and maybe even a marriage proposal ;) 

Sources: 

1 - The Vanishing Coast 

2 - Old Charleston Joggling Board 

3 - Joggling Board