GLORIA STEINEM - a 21st Century Icon

"It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction." Albert Einstein

Today, all our lives have been transformed by a group of women who understood and fought for women’s equality, not only affecting women’s lives, but men’s as well.  How can women who make up more than half the population, not be allowed to flourish as individuals, not be equally rewarded for their labor, and not be able to contribute to society.  We are all cheated. And as for a relationship between a man and a woman, how can it be truly satisfying if there is no equality.

It takes a special person, one with intelligence to see that life as others accepted it, was deeply flawed, articulate it, create a vision, and have the power to mobilize others to share and accomplish change.  That passion translates into leadership.

"There have been significant women in the latest women’s movement but a few stand out.  Gloria Steinem is one of them: as a social and political activist, and nationally recognized media spokeswoman for the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. She co-founded Ms. magazine. In 1969, she published an article, "After Black Power, Women's Liberation" which, along with her early support of abortion rights, catapulted her to national fame as a feminist leader.  She founded many organizations and projects…. along with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan, in 2005, Steinem co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to strengthen the collective voices of women."  - Summary Wikipedia.

Born 1934, she is as passionate today about her vision for women’s rights continuing work as an organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms, and as an outspoken commentator, writer and lecturer.

In Particular Passions:  Talks with Women Who Shaped our Times, Steinem said  “I think the revolutionary role of a writer is to make language that makes coalition possible, language that makes us see things in a new way.”

Of the book’s many glowing reviews, the Christian Science Monitor said, “Tantalizing glimpses into the lives of women who have not only made a living at their own “particular passion,” but have become well known, even world renowned, for doing work they love.”

Treat yourself to Gloria Steinem in her own words.

It is also is a great last minute gift. Use it as a stocking stuffer, even if you can’t actually put it in a stocking.  You’ll be inspired and so will your friends.

Enjoy this chapter for $.99  on Amazon or Apple.

FINDING A BARGAIN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Christmas at Galleries Lafayette

"Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice." — Dave Barry

To everyone who reads these posts, and there are many of you, I would love to give you a gift- but as that isn't possible, I can offer you a bargain, something I think everyone around the world loves: For $0.99 you can download a chapter that will touch your soul and make you realize that good things happen to good people...even in the worst of circumstances.

ENJOY the brief oral biography of Tanya Grosman on Amazon.

As a reviewer commented, "One of those rare, rare books that pick your life up, turn it around and point it in the right direction." — K.T. Maclay

NOOK BOOKS, KINDLE BOOKS, E-BOOKS, I-BOOKS

Give a present that is a treasure Knowing that it will give great pleasure. A chapter about dear Julia Child For friends with a “tablet” is not wild. An unusual idea and a good bet Last minute shopping without the sweat.

Give the oral biography and brief chapter of Julia Child, whose love of French culture and cuisine brought a renewed appreciation for the culinary arts in America. As one reviewer of  Particular Passions:  Talks with Women who Shaped our Times commented

“One of those rare, rare books that pick your life up, turn it around and point it in the right direction." — K.T. Maclay

And who doesn’t like something that is good, and a bargain to boot… $.99

Enjoy the oral biography of Julia Child on  Amazon or Apple.

MARTHA STEWART, LIFESTYLE GURU

“Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you.” — Aldous Huxley.

Martha Stewart grew up in ordinary circumstances, one of 6 children in a middle-class home. Early on, she did baby sitting, organized birthday parties for those children, modeled at 13, became a stockbroker, and then started catering.

Photo courtesy Scott Duncan

Who could have conceived that from such unfocused beginnings, she would build a business empire that included multi business, merchandising through conglomerates that are household names, produce countless bestselling books, a monthly magazine, broadcasting and electronic commerce. Martha, the lifestyle guru, is a symbol of American success. –summarized from Wikipedia

Martha, showed us how to cook, but she also wanted us to know how to make everything in the home beautiful.  Clearly she was intelligent. It didn’t hurt that she was also beautiful. But it’s also her imagination, incredible hard work, courage, willingness to take risks, discipline, building on each success, and she kept going regardless of huge setbacks.

There isn’t a person who has achieved success that hasn’t followed a circuitous path. Success does not happen overnight. One must work like a demon, and never, ever quit. No guarantee that you’ll get there, but the odds are far greater.

Martha Stewart, like the pioneering women in “Particular Passions: Talks with Women who Shaped our Times,” kept making things happen. It is within all of us to a certain degree, but not everyone recognizes that gift. We need a “push,” a “pull,” a mentor, a role model, and the ability to stare down setbacks.

“Particular Passions” is filled with wonderful inspirational stories, of women like Stewart, who went on to do great things. They too, did not come from remarkable backgrounds and most of them had no idea what they wanted to do. These women were pioneers in the arts and sciences, medicine and law amongst many other disciplines. They opened doors for women that had never been open before.

One reviewer said of Particular Passions, “One of those rare, rare books that pick your life up, turn it around and point it in the right direction.” — K.T. Maclay

Read a brief chapter on Julia Child, another lifestyle guru - but just in the kitchen, and learn about her passion. If you haven't found yours, I hope the chapter will inspire you.

Amazon

Apple

The chapter is only $.99. It's a bargain! You won't be disappointed.

HAPPY CHANUKA - 6th night

"Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life." — Buddha

On the 6th night of Chanukah, I'd like to share with you a gift that will enrich your soul. Read the chapter of Tanya Grosman, from Particular Passions: Talks with Women who Have Shaped our Times, the story of a Jewish woman, who came from wealth and privilege but lost everything when her family fled Russia. With imagination, courage and doggedness, she learned about lithography, developed a business with techniques that noone had been using in America, drew artists like Jasper Johns, Rauschenberg,  Jim Dine to her atelier, collaborated with them, and nurtured news skills.  They went on to became icons in the world of art.

The chapter is part of Particular Passions, which got wonderful reviews:

"One of those rare, rare books that pick your life up, turn it around and point it in the right direction."   —K.T. Maclay

Try it, you wont be disappointed.

image - online source: Princess Road Synagogue, Liverpool, England

COOKING WITH JULIA CHILD FOR CHANUKAH

Eldridge Street Synagogue in NYC

"In all kitchens: cakes get stuck, mayonnaises break, chickens catch fire. But Child was unflappable in the face of culinary disaster... It was Julia’s basic course in good conduct: she stayed calm and learned to laugh about mistakes rather than getting angry or frustrated." — NY Times, August 15th, The Gifts She Gave

Read the chapter on Julia Child, in her own words, from Particular Passions: Talks with Women Who Shaped our Times — how she became unflappable. When you go into the kitchen for the holidays to prepare Potato Latkes, and other special dishes, you will be inspired to be unflappable too.. hopefully!

"Every woman owes it to herself to look up Particular Passions — borrow the volume from your public library. Or, better still, buy it and put it with your favorite novel or poetry collection to sustain you. Every story in the book is an inspiration. This book is a joy and a tonic." — Pioneer Press and Dispatch

Enjoy this chapter on your favorite electronic device for 99cents -- Amazon,  Apple.

JULIA CHILD, LESSONS IN THE KITCHEN AND LIFE

Who more than Julia Child, brought the joy of cooking into our lives, and our lives back in to the kitchen.  From her we learned new skills, mastering the art of French Cuisine, even savoring moments over a hot stove for the satisfaction of gathering family and friends to share in epicurean feasts.

Julia worked for the Office of Strategic Services eventually married and when they were sent to France, in wonderment she said  “I was hysterical about everything in France. I thought it was so wonderful, and it took me several years at least to calm down and not be so pro-French. After one taste of French food, after our very first meal in France, at Rouen,…after that first unforgettable lunch, I was hooked. I’d never eaten like that before, I didn’t know such food existed. ….. It was simply a whole new life experience.” - Particular Passions:  Talks with Women who Have Shaped our Times.

The two volumes of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” she and her collaborators produced after 9 years are the most thorough teaching books on French cooking technique in the English language.  She transformed our lives, just as she had transformed her own.

“Set up a situation that presents you with something slightly beyond your reach.” -  Brian Eno

Read the brief oral biography of Julia Child, whose love of French culture and cuisine brought a renewed appreciation for the culinary arts in America.

“One of those rare, rare books that pick your life up, turn it around and point it in the right direction.  —K.T. Maclay

For more information on Particular Passions - visit Apple or Amazon.

TIMELESS ELEGANCE

Jacques Fath, 1951. Photo Philippe Pottier.

Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress. - Coco Chanel

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What was fashionable or beautiful fades quickly as new styles and trends rapidly replace each other. They quicken the heart of the potential buyer who sees "a must have" and keeps the economy running at a clip. Sometimes there are designs that transcend time: this is one of them....for me. I hope you enjoy this timeless elegance from the 1950's.

THE FISCAL CLIFF

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – St. Francis of Assisi

A cliff, in geography and geology, is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure.  The cliff on Tianmen Mountain in China is famous for one of the world’s scariest roads and for its Skywalk. On one side sheer rock face, on the other, a 4700 ft (1,430 m) vertical drop to sea. The only thing that separates the intrepid traveler from a deadly plunge is a 3ft (.9 m) wide, 2.5in (6.35cm) thick, 200 feet (60 meters) long walkway made of… believe it or not, glass, which allows an utterly crystal-clear view of where one false step can take you. – Summary Wikipedia

The media is blitzing us now with another type of cliff, “ ‘The Fiscal cliff,’ the popular shorthand term used to describe the conundrum that the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012, when the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 are scheduled to go into effect.” –Ask.com

How many of us totally grasp how this potential catastrophe might impact each of our wallets. If you walked down a Manhattan street after Thanksgiving, holiday shoppers loaded with stuffed bags were out in droves pushing through crowds to get to the next bargain. We seem clueless about an unquantifiable impending disaster.

Stand on a real cliff and it will evoke utter terror: high in the Himalayas a small van whipped around hair pin turns with no guard rails, honking non-stop to alert oncoming trucks or cars, on impossibly narrow roads; in the Grand Canyon flying through turbulence in a helicopter constructed with Plexiglas sides to see spectacular views ….who could dare look. Grinding one’s teeth and holding on for dear life seemed a better bet. But what emotion can one feel for the unknown and abstract.

Some people can’t budget, have difficulty balancing their bankbook and rack up credit card debt without being concerned with the consequences. So how is it possible for someone like that to budget for a whole government, or for that matter anyone.

A terrifying path is also what our leaders are faced with to keep our country safe. We need leaders who are finally mature enough to rise above partisan politics, be willing to compromise, be financially savvy, and certainly have a hefty dose of common sense.

“All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter. “ Edmund Burke

The qualities essential in our leaders: vision, leadership, compromise, and perseverance brings me to something dear to my heart: the same characteristics of the women in my book, “Particular Passions: Talks with Women who Shaped our Times,” truly inspiring oral histories of 46 women who really did help shape our times.

One review said: "This is a wonderful book. . .The book is recommended reading for anyone — no matter what political or sociological background — who wants to know more about living history." — Santa Cruz Sentinel

Check out the book on Amazon or Apple. You will not be disappointed.

THANKSGIVING

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it" — William Arthur Ward

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has been an official annual tradition since 1863 during the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that day, a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Thanksgiving is an occasion that families all over America look forward to. It is one of three major annual holidays, along with Christmas and New Year, but Thanksgiving, more than any other holiday, is a time when families all over America make a supreme effort to celebrate …together. As a matter of fact we can’t wait, packing air and highways, in a relentless game of musical chairs, but in planes, trains, cars, and buses. Over 400 years ago the Pilgrims had reason to give thanks. Today, we also have reasons to give thanks ….but proximity, when we finally arrive at that haloed destination, does bring out latent stress…. sometimes in ten minutes. Three days…I don’t think so. …

A MENU THAT HAS BECOME HISTORICAL

“The feast for "The First Thanksgiving," in 1621 contained turkey, waterfowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash. Many of these foods, except seafood have gone on to become staples of the modern Thanksgiving dinner.

At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward." “ www.Infoplease

TURKEY TRIVIA

“There are a number of explanations for the origin of the name of Thanksgiving's favorite dinner guest. Christopher Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India, and the bird he discovered, the turkey, was a type of peacock, which it actually was. He therefore called it 'tuka,' which is 'peacock' in Tamil, an Indian language. The Native American name for turkey is 'firkee.'’ However the noise "turk, turk, turk" a turkey makes when it is scared might be a simpler answer for it’s name.” www.Infoplease

When it comes to the taste of a Turkey, age is a determining factor. Old, large males are preferable to young toms (males) as tom meat is stringy. The opposite is true for females: old hens are tougher birds.” www.Infoplease

Men, human ones, don’t find old hens, human ones, particularly desirable either, and as a result it keeps plastic surgeons in business who can then load up plenty of Thanksgiving Turkey on their holiday tables.

Now down to hard facts: “In 2011, more than 248 million turkeys were raised with an average live weight per bird of 28 pounds with nearly 6 billion pounds of turkey processed. By contrast, in 1970, only 105 million birds were raised with an average live weight of 17 pounds and 1.5 billion pounds processed. The turkeys produced in 2010 together were valued at $4.37 billion.” - Summary www.infoplease

Whether you prepare traditional old family recipes, great cuisine, or serve from the extraordinary range of the ubiquitous take-out food, the meal is pre-packaged with another tradition…football. “Dating back to 1876, Yale and Princeton, began playing football against each other. By the time the game had become a professional event, playing on Thanksgiving had already become an institution” - summary Wikipedia

THIS HISTORIC EVENT IN PERSPECTIVE

“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Halftimes take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. “ - Erma Bombeck