Margaret Cho

Today Tuesday February 21, 2012 The WOD is Margaret Cho.
Margaret Cho was born Dec. 5, 1968 and raised in San Francisco.

Her grandfather was a Methodist minister who ran an orphanage in Seoul during the Korean War. Ignoring the traditions of her patriarchal culture, her mother bravely resisted an arranged marriage in Korea and married Margaret’s father who writes joke books – in Korean. “Books like 1001 Jokes for Public Speakers – real corny stuff,” Cho says. “I guess we’re in the same line of work. But we don’t understand each other that way. I don’t know why the things he says are funny and the same for him.”

What Margaret did know is that she didn’t love being a kid. Racing toward adulthood to escape bullying, she began writing jokes for stand up at 14 and professionally performing at age 16. Getting picked on, and feeling disenfranchised, is a subject that’s very near to Margaret’s heart. She has become a sort of “Patron Saint” for Outsiders, speaking for them when they are not able to speak for themselves. “Being bullied influenced my adult life because I grew up too fast. I was in such a hurry to escape that I cheated myself out of a childhood. I didn’t want to go to school any more, didn’t want to be around those people any more. I want to use what happened to me to help other kids.”

In 1994 Margaret developed an eating disorder as a response to criticism about her body. She was so obsessive in her goal to try to be what she thought others wanted, she landed in the hospital with kidney failure. Since she's become an outspoken critic of unrealistic beauty standards.

"Just read an article about myself where I described myself as 'chubby' and I think that it is a fairly unacceptable description, and I want to apologize to myself for saying it, because that is just wrong. I am not chubby – and to call myself that is to endanger the lives of millions of young girls who look to the media to define who they are, who are constantly checking themselves for fear of wrecking themselves, who are afraid to be thought of as 'chubby,' who don’t realize that they are perfect as they are, and it is irresponsible. I fear they will read this article and look at my body and be scared because it is like theirs, and they will then think of themselves as 'chubby' and learn to hate themselves more. To call me 'chubby' is to call a billion women 'chubby' who shouldn’t think of themselves as anything less than hot and sexy and curvy and built. I am not 'chubby.' I am a real live perfectly beautiful woman, and just because I may be larger than the mostly anorexic female population in Hollywood, it doesn’t make me any less desirable or gorgeous because I like food. I take it back, as I must take back all the millions of insults that I hurl at myself without knowing it. I would never, ever say any of the horrible things I say to myself about myself to anyone else, not even someone I hated, because there is no one I could possibly hate that much. We must stop fighting the war against ourselves before we can truly start to love ourselves. We are not 'chubby,' we are perfect. We are beautiful. We are so very very beautiful."

Besides being a comedian, she is a fashion designer, actress, author, and singer-songwriter. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines through, which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music videos and has her own clothing line. She has frequently supported LGBT rights and has won awards for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of women, Asians, and the LGBT community.

Lizz Winstead

Today Tuesday February 21, 2012 The WOD is Lizz Winstead. Born August 05, 1961 in St. Paul Minnesota Lizz Winstead is a famous political satirist.

She is the co-creator and former head writer of “The Daily Show” and is one of the founders of Air-America Radio. Her ability to educate, enlighten and at the same time entertain is a rare and impressive talent.

Lizz Winstead has emerged as a critically acclaimed political writer and producer. As a performer, Winstead brought her political wit to "The Daily Show" as a Correspondent and later to the radio waves co-hosting "Unfiltered," Air America Radio's mid morning show with citizen of the world and Hip Hop legend Chuck D, and political big brain Rachel Maddow.

Winstead has appeared numerous times on television including HBO's "Women of the Night,""The US Comedy Arts Festival" in Aspen, Comedy Central Presents, and too many basic cable stand-up shows and VH-1 "50 Greatest This" and "100 Greatest That" to mention. As well as writing and producing for air and television, Winstead performs in clubs and theaters across the country in recurring shows like "Shoot the Messenger" at Ace of Clubs. She is also busy filming episodes of her Internet series "Bad Gift Road Show" for Lifetime.

Her comedic talents have been recognized in Entertainment Weekly's 100 Most Creative People issue, and she was nominated Best Female Club Performer by The American Comedy Awards. Winstead is also featured in the film, "American Cannibal."

Recently, Lizz wrote and produced an independent pilot of her Off-Broadway hit, “Wake Up World,” a scathing satire about morning chat shows that Rachel Maddow called, “The funniest thing I have seen in years.”

Her weekly segments on “The Ed Show” on MSNBC and HLN’s “The Joy Behar Show” feature her hilarious spin on breaking news.

And now Lizz Winstead is hitting the road in support of Planned Parenthood! Lizz's "Planned Parenthood, I Am Here For You" Tour! Her unique talent to educate through humor is a breath of fresh air and in my opinion makes her worthy of her being our WOD.

Carol Kaye

Today’s Awesome Woman is musician Carol Kaye. Although you’ve probably never heard her name (I just discovered her last week), you have defininitely heard her play. As a session player, she played guitar or bass guitar on an estimated 10,000 recording sessions in a 55 year career. She started playing guitar in 1949 and plazed bebop jazz guitar in clubs around Los Angeles. In 1957 she did her first session for Sam Cooke. Carol describes her move into session work and her later move to bass guitar: “The session went well, so I decided to aim for the stability of studio work that paid good wages as I supported a family of 4 back in the late 1950s.” “In late 1963, when the Fender Bassist didn't show up for a record date at Capitol Records, I was asked to play someone's bass and liked it, liked its role, and liked creating good latin-funk lines of my own. I had been a successful pro musician since 1949, playing all styles of music so playing bass was easy as I knew what bass should sound like, been there doing the guitar dates for 5 years always thinking "I'd have played the bass parts differently" and so now I had my chance. It was fun to groove, and feel that power and responsibility as the basement of the band, so I started even a heavier work schedule playing elec. bass from 1963 on.” (1)

Carol became part of a group of about 350 musicians that worked steadily behind the scenes on albums, movie soundtracks & television themes. Throughout the 1960s, she played bass on a significant percentage of records appearing on the Billboard Hot 100, although she was almost wholly unknown to the general public at the time. She created some of the most distinctive & memorable bass lines of the era such as “The Beat Goes On” by Sonny & Cher and the theme song for the original tv series “Mission Impossible”. Here’s just some of the people she worked with The Beach Boys, Phil Spector, The Doors, Ritchie Valens, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Sonny & Cher, Joe Cocker, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Frank Zappa, Ike & Tina Turner, Johnny Mathis, Simon & Garfunkel, The Righteous Brothers, Herb Alpert, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Monkees, and Buffalo Springfield. Beginning in 1969, Kaye wrote and published many tutorial books, audio cassettes, and video tapes instructing others how to play the bass. Kaye has also taught many now well-known bass players and has given workshops throughout the United States.

I could go on and on about her - I now have a major idol crush on her. I had never even heard of her until last week. During the Grammys someone on FB made a snide comment about Glen Campbell. As I was looking up info about him, I stumbled across her name and started looking into her. She is an amazing, awesome woman. Reading some of her notes about her work and watching some of her interviews - she is totally kick ass! Her confidence about her work & her professionalism inspires me by her ability to combine her creativity with getting the job done. And she provides a fascinating window into the creation of the music she worked on. So if you get a chance, take five minutes & watch the YouTube video - I hope you like her as much as I do!



(1)https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=247456118665236&id=168440386566810

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-Kaye-II/168440386566810
http://www.carolkaye.com/www/biography/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Kaye
http://www.enotes.com/kaye-carol-reference/kaye-carol
http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/carolkay.htm

Planned Parenthood / Margaret Sanger

Today I am highlighting Planned Parenthood with a sidebar to Margaret Sanger. I know we have done her recently, and I am aware of the eugenics and racism in her history. However, given the cooked up controversy over insurance coverage of contraception and the beyond ridiculous old white man hearings in congress,(Though I did get a chuckle from hearing Nancy Pelosi say, "Duh") I thought we need some reminders. Not only of Planned Parenthood, which does so much good for so many women and girls, but for Ms. Sanger, who founded PPH and endured much hardship in her life to do it.

 

Planned Parenthood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health serv...

Miriam Makeba

The Awesome Woman of the Day for Wednesday, February 15, 2012 is Zenzile Miriam Makeba (also known as Mama Africa) March 4, 1932 – November 10, 2008, South African civil rights activist and grammy award winning singer.

Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932 to a Swazi healer/herbalist who was arrested for selling home-brewed beer 18 days after Miriam's birth, which meant that Miriam spent her first six months in jail with her mother. Her father was a Xhosa (Bantu-speaking South African) and died when Miriam was six. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Makeba

She began singing in her primary school choir and joined a jazz group in the 1950s. She recorded Pata Pata, perhaps her best-known song, as early as 1956 and became fairly well-known in South Africa, but her international career began in 1959, thanks to a brief appearance in a documentary about South African Apartheid (Come Back, Africa). Id.

The filmmaker, Lionel Rogosin got Makeba a visa for Makeba to attend the première of the film at the Venice Film Festival in Italy where the film won the Critics' Award. That same year, Makeba met her future third husband, South African-born trumpeter Hugh Masekela, when both appeared in the South African musical King Kong, She appeared on the Steve Allen show in 1960 and began recording and performing with Harry Belafonte. Id.

South Africa apparently canceled her passport sometime in 1960 and refused to allow her to return for her mother's funeral. In 1963, after she testified before the United Nations about apartheid, her citizenship was revoked. Id.

I always wanted to leave home. I never knew they were going to stop me from coming back. Maybe, if I knew, I never would have left. It is kind of painful to be away from everything that you've ever known. Nobody will know the pain of exile until you are in exile. No matter where you go, there are times when people show you kindness and love, and there are times when they make you know that you are with them but not of them. That's when it hurts. —Miriam Makeba

From wikipedia:

She was a woman without a country, but the world came to her aid, and Guinea, Belgium and Ghana issued her international passports, and she became, in effect, a citizen of the world. In her life, she had nine passports, and was granted honorary citizenship in ten countries. Id.
An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba won a grammy in 1966 for best folk recording. The record addressed the plight of South Africans under apartheid and featured traditional South African songs that became huge hits in the United States. When peforming, she wore no makeup and refused to curl her hair. Id.

In 1968, she married her fourth husband, U.S. civil rights activist (Black Panther) Stokely Carmichael, resulting in the cancellation of her record deals and touring contracts. Id. Carmichael's place of exile was Guinea, and Makeba returned there with him for several years. (When she divorced Carmichael, the President of Guinea proposed to her, but she turned him down.) http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/11/miriam-makeba-obituary

Makeba's associations with black consciousness-raising and efforts to support the cultural boycott of South Africa led to various controversies, not all of which involved offended white people. For example, ANC supporters boycotted her show at the Royal Albert Hall because of her collaboration with Paul Simon on the Graceland project. Makeba welcomed the controversy, however, because it brought attention to the issues. Id.

After Nelson Mandela was released from prison she was allowed to return (and welcomed back) to South Africa. She performed every so often and embarked on a farewell tour after announcing her intent to retire in 2005. She collapsed on stage at a benefit concert in November 2008 and died the next day. Id.

For more information, see:

http://www.miriammakeba.co.za/
http://africanmusic.org/artists/makeba.html

Adele

Today Tuesday February 14th 2012 the Valentine’s WOD is the incomparable Adele. Chosen because she does not need to rely on gimmicks, crazy get-ups, outrageous over the top performances nor does she need to conform to the waif like image of others in her field. She lets her music, her instrument, that phenomenal voice of hers to show others just how it’s done. Adele’s incredible voice, as immediate as it is undeniable, has a power that is matched only by her Force 10 personality.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born 5 May 1988), better known mononymously as Adele, is an English recording artist and songwriter.

ADELE is from a resolutely un-musical family. “It all comes from impersonating The Spice Girls and Gabrielle,” she cheerfully explains. “I did little concerts in my room for my mum and her friends. My mum’s quite arty; she’d get all these lamps and shine them up to make one big spotlight. They’d all sit on the bed.” Later, when her dad’s best friend, a dance producer, rightly declared ADELE’s voice ‘wicked’, he invited her to record a cover of ‘Heart Of Glass’. The first time she got a microphone in her hand, she realised her calling.

Adele remains very close to her 41-year-old mother, who was an art student of 18 when she met Welsh plumber Mark Evans in a pub. Within a year, she was pregnant.

As Adele once said: ‘My mum fell pregnant with me when she would have been applying for university, but she chose to have me instead. She never, ever reminds me of that. I try to remember it. Mum loves me being famous – she is so excited and proud.’

When Adele was three, her father moved back to Wales and descended into alcoholism. They were estranged during her teenage years, when he was drinking as much as two litres of vodka and several pints of strong lager a day.

Adele has said she ‘never knew’ him, and he has since admitted: ‘I was a rotten father at a time when she really needed me.’

So it was up to Miss Adkins to put food on the table. She worked as a freelance masseuse, furniture-maker and organiser for adult learning activities, and would take Adele to music classes most nights.

Adele attended ten schools as her mother moved them from flat to flat, mostly around Brixton, South London.

At 14, she decided that she wanted to audition for the Brit School in Croydon, and ended up in the same class as singers Leona Lewis and Jessie J. She wrote her early hits in an apartment above a discount store in deprived West Norwood, not far from the scenes of violent gang wars.

Secondary school proved instructive in as much as it gave ADELE an outlet to “meet all the R&B kids” and “sit around the playground singing.” But it was a pretty rough place and pursuing music there was something of a challenge, on account of the fact that ADELE wanted to sing and perform her songs but “the teacher was a bit rubbish. They gave me a really hard time, trying to bribe me, saying that if I wanted to sing I had to play clarinet to sing in the choir. So I left.”

So ADELE upped sticks, signing up to The Brit School, the Selhurst college whose alumni number Amy Winehouse, members of The Feeling and Kate Nash. However she had her misgivings…

“If I hear someone’s from stage school I’d think they were a dickhead, and I know it might make me sound like that. But it had free rehearsal rooms and free equipment and I was listing to music all day, every day for years. The music course was really wicked. There was no dancing or anything like that. No jazz hands.”

During her second year, ADELE’s resolve to be a singer was given a little extra boost – Shingai Shoniwa, the turbo-lunged vocalist with The Noisettes moved in next door. “She’s an amazing singer. I used to hear her through the walls. I’d go round and we’d jam and stuff like that. Just hearing her and her music really made me want to be a writer and not just sing Destiny’s Child songs. ”

Despite being quick off the mark on MySpace – her friend set up a page for ADELE’s music on the last day of 2004 – it wasn’t until 2006 that labels started noticing her talent. “I’d hate people to think that I was a ‘MySpace singer’,” she says. “I’ve got no right to be that. I’ve got, like, 10,000 ‘friends’, whereas Jack Peñate’s got about one million…”

When XL called her in for a meeting, ADELE was nervous enough to take a chum with her.

“I never, ever thought I’d get signed. The A&R guy emailed me and I was ignoring it… I didn’t realise they [XL] did all these amazing names…”

Despite interest from plenty of other labels, the independent regarded for its one-off, defining acts (for rock band, see The White Stripes; for rapper, see Dizzee Rascal) proved the perfect match for her one-off talent, and XL will put out ADELE’s stunning debut album “19” early next year. A single, the beautiful heartbreaker, ‘Chasing Pavements’ will precede it.

Before that comes ADELE’s debut release on Jamie T’s Pacemaker Recordings label, ‘Hometown Glory’ – a stunningly evocative picture of “all my fondest memories of London”. ‘Daydreamer’, a remarkable ballad notable for lyrics like ‘feeling up his girl like he’d never felt her figure before’ and ‘he could change the world with his hands behind his back’ has already floored the audience on the prestigious ‘Later With Jools Holland’.

Despite her rise to fame, Adele remains so close to her mother that last year, she moved back home after a failed attempt to live alone in a flat in fashionable Notting Hill, West London. She admitted: ‘I live with my mum again now. I missed her so much that I couldn’t really function without her. She’s my best friend.’

Her grandmother, who has lived in her small terraced home in Tottenham, North London, for 30 years, spoke of her immense pride.

Doreen Adkins, who carries a photo of her granddaughter in a wallet with her bus pass, said: ‘She is just a girl from London who is making it huge in America. And I’m so proud of her.’

“I don’t know what’s going to happen if my music career goes wrong,” she laughs. “I haven’t had a proper job yet.”

Considering all the Grammy's she has won so far, that is one unlikely turn of events.

Whitney Houston

Today's woman of the day is Whitney Houston. She is simultaneously an inspiration and a cautionary tale. She was flawed, but undeniably awesome.

Whitney Houston - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time.[3] Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards,...

Kawthar Al Bashrawi

When choosing a women to be designated "Woman of the Day", I look for someone who has made a contribution to further the cause of women in general, and society as a whole.

For those who know me, I have a strong sense of social justice and that is where my orientation leads me ... finding outstanding individuals who have made an impact on the lives of others, and changed the course of history, if only in a small albeit measurable way. In many other nations, most notably the Arab ones, women have literally placed their lives on the line for an ideal. They have been vocal political advocates and outspoken protesters who have chosen to risk their safety for the rights and freedoms denied to their nation(s). Women in power is still in it's embryonic state despite the Womens Movements of the 1970's. Perhaps we as Women in the so called enlightened western world should look to our sisters in the middle east for the courage and conviction to walk the talk ... and continue on the path set out for us by the great women of the past.

To be a women in an Islamic nation is difficult enough. To be visible and outspoken against oppression and tyranny is both dangerous and comendable. It is truly empowering and inspiring to all women .... everywhere.

Quoting from a facebook post in the group Hot Liberals:

It's not for nothing that the Time Magazine Person of the Year is the Protester. Tunisia's democracy has bloomed as model for Arab Spring. Its smooth elections, a coalition between moderate Islamists and secularists, and an explosion of civic life are propelling Tunisia forward as a model for the Arab Spring. Essential to these civic and democratic advances is Kawthar Al Bashrawi: a Tunisian journalist, activist and TV personality. 

Kawthar Al Bashrawi (or Kawthar el Beshrawi) started as a radio anchor in 1984. She later started appearing in talk shows on Arab Television, where she would often defend Arab nationalism. She gradually became a TV icon after clearly supporting the Palestinian cause and the Lebanese resistance movement. 

Kawthar Al Bashrawi is said to now have her own TV show on Al Jazeera Satellite Channel. She is mostly based in Lebanon, and is a regular guest on Al Manar TV.
Commenting on the Tunisian revolution, Kawthar Al-Bashrawi describes it as a miracle; a revolution of a nation, not a revolution of political parties. It had no leader, unlike other historical revolutions, including the French and Iranian etc. Despite attempts of some of the former Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dictatorship’s symbols to return to political life, still she is reassured because the revolutionists are still cautious and alert. 

Like most Tunisians, Kawthar Al-Bashrawi wants a secular regime that separates between religion and state, and guarantees the freedom of expression and opinion for everyone. She clarifies that secular does not mean atheism as some would think, it does not contradict with religion or belief.

Constance Johnson

I didn't think I'd be able to provide an AWOD today, but Constance Johnson (D) Oklahoma is my Awesome Woman today.

"Following in the footsteps of Janet Howell, the Virginia state senator who added a rectal exam amendment to a bill that required women to get an ultrasound before having an abortion, Oklahoma Senator Constance Johnson found a clever way to protest the controversial “fetal personhood laws” cropping up in conservative states. Johnson’s “Every Sperm Is Sacred” amendment, which she voluntarily withdrew but not before emphasizing that her point was to draw attention to the sexism inherrant in these “fetal personhood laws,” would have added language stating “any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.”"

Oklahoma Senator Constance Johnson Suggests “Every Sperm Is Sacred” www.thefrisky.comFollowing in the footsteps of Janet Howell, the Virginia state senator who added a rectal exam amendment to a bill that required women to get an ultrasound

Mary Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was one of the great educators of the twentieth century. She was fifteenth of seventeen children and her parents and older siblings were born into slavery.

Coming from such humble beginnings, that she would become a primary educator of women and an advisor and friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is an incredible achievement. That she did this as an African American in the south, in a time of rampant Jim Crow, is truly amazing.

Dr. Bethune was as accessible to her students as she was to presidents (she was advisor to 4) She’s one of those women I wish I could have had over for dinner.

Mary McLeod Bethune - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org
Mary Jane McLeod Bethune (July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for African American students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D. Roose...

Joycelyn Elders

Today's AWoD is Dr. Joycelyn Elders. She's come a long way, baby, and knows it. She is not afraid to speak her mind. Her autobiography (Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America) is another for my list.

Changing the Face of Medicine | Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders www.nlm.nih.govJoycelyn Elders, the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified in pediatric endocrinology, was the sixteenth Surgeon General of the United States, the first African American and only the second woman to head the U.S. Public Health Service. Long an outspoken advocate of public h...

Ruth Sager

Today Tuesday February 7, 2011 the WOD is American geneticist Ruth Sager. She pioneered the field of cytoplasmic genetics and she also proposed and investigated the roles of tumor suppressor genes.
Born on February 7, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, Ruth Sager was one of three girls in her family. Her father worked as an advertising executive, while her mother maintained an interest in academics and intellectual discourse.

Ruth Sager had two distinguished careers. In the first she was a leading exponent of organelle, non-nuclear genetics; in the second she was a major innovator in cancer genetics, proposing, discovering, and investigating roles of tumor suppressor genes. At the pinnacle of research on the problem of non-nuclear or cytoplasmic genetics for many years, she almost single-handedly developed this subject of non-Mendelian, cytoplasmic genetics ("A vast, unexplored region of genetics was opened here today" [1963]). The very existence of hereditary determinants other than nuclear genes was doubted by a large part of the scientific community, although it was proposed in 1908 from observations on higher plants. Sager gathered data and argued in support of a second genetic system in the face of great skepticism and finally made this a respectable and exciting major area of genetics. 

Very early Sager believed that genetics was the core of biology; she knew she was right and she set out to prove it. She never ceased introducing new techniques and concepts into her field, but she found her work ignored until her discoveries proved the majority wrong. But she never really paid a lot of attention to what other people think. 

She was described in her fifties as "a calmly articulate and attractive woman (who looks younger by about 15 years) a tall, striking brunette with a ready smile and a voice that carries a merry lilt." She early described herself as "probably the happiest person I know."

Her legacy is expressed in the quotation: "For more than half a century Ruth Sager has been a role model for women in health-related scientific research. She demonstrated vision, insight and determination to develop novel scientific concepts in the face of established dogmas. Her pioneering researches and original ideas continue to make contributions to biology." 

Throughout her career Ruth maintained a sharp focus on the areas of her own research and a companion concern for the direction and support of science and of candidates for scientific careers. She was an excellent and often a lone model for women attracted to scientific careers although she was not a visible feminist. 

Not at all narrowly devoted to her science, Sager had numerous outside interests: modern art, travel, music and theater, a rich social life, and she was a fine cook. She took up tennis late in life and played it with great enthusiasm--in spite of limited ability. She was especially fond of relaxing at Woods Hole, where she had a cherished second home, and where she is buried. 

Of her career as a scientist Ruth was quoted as saying: "Science is very demanding. You have to really love it. Science is a way of life. I think it all comes from inside. It really gets to the very core of your existence. It is much like being an artist or a dancer."

Linda in Las Vegas

The Awesome Woman of the Day is "Linda in Las Vegas" who, in response to the Susan G. Komen Foundation's now-reversed decision to cut funding to cancer screenings provided by Planned Parenthood, made this video and posted it to YouTube. I can't even imagine how pissed off she must have been, to have done this. Power to you, Linda. All good things and many more years of life to you. Thank you for your courage.

(Contains visually graphic content.)

Madeline Kahn

Awesome woman of the Day: Madeline Kahn

One of my all time favorite actors, and one of the funniest women who ever graced the stage was Madeline Kahn. She was stunningly gorgeous and damn funny.

No matter what she appeared in, from SNL to Sesame Street, (Google her utube clip with Grover!)she came through as someone you’d like to know, even at her most irritating in, “What’s up Doc?” There was a vulnerability and humanity in her. She had numerous nominations for Tonys, Emmys and Oscars, and Golden Globes. She won a Tony and an Emmy, and her appearance as Lily VonShtupp in Blazing Saddles was one of the 100 funniest characters ever. 

She died much too soon, as I’m sure she had many more great roles in her.

http://jwa.org/discover/infocus/comedy/kahn.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_Kahn

JWA - Jewish Women in Comedy - Madeline Kahn jwa.org
A perennial scene-stealer, Madeline Kahn appeared in some of the funniest movies in Hollywood history, leaving a legacy as one of the all-time funny ladies in show business. While primarily achieving fame through her comedic work, Kahn was also an accomplished stage and television actress.

Fran Drescher

The Awesome Woman of the Day for Wednesday, February 1, 2012 is Fran Drescher (Francine Joy Drescher), born September 30, 1957 in Flushing, NY. http://www.frandrescher.com/

Fran is a US actress and producer who is known primarily for comedic roles, especially so because of her distinctive voice and laugh, but she is also a survivor, an advocate, and an activist.

From Wikipedia: Drescher was a first runner-up for "Miss New York Teenager" in 1973, as revealed in her first autobiography "Enter Whining" released December 29, 1995, and on her interview on William Shatner's Raw Nerve, which first aired on January 27, 2009. She attended Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, where she met her future husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, whom she married in 1978, at age 21. They divorced in 1999.[3] Jacobson was Drescher's constant supporter in her show-business career, and he wrote, directed and produced her signature television series, The Nanny. Drescher graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975, the same year comedian Ray Romano graduated from [the same] high school. Drescher's character Fran Fine on The Nanny and Romano's character Ray Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond met at a 20th high school reunion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran_Drescher

Her early film appearances were as memorable as they were brief: she's the young woman who asks John Travolta if he's as good in bed as he is on the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever. She played Sally in Hollywood Nights (the young woman who takes Turk to task for premature ejaculation). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollywood_Knights

And this (start at about 1:12) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Pm4CQ1NjY

She's worked steadily and successfully for over 30 years, see, e.g., http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000376/ , but she's done so much more than act and produce.

She works to support LGBT issues (her ex-husband, with whom she still shares a close personal and working relationship, came out after they divorced). Although she is a democrat, G.W. Bush appointed her as the Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women's Health Issues. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran_Drescher

And (the reason I am profiling her today), after surviving uterine cancer (for which she had been misdiagnosed for 2 years), she founded Cancer Schmancer. http://www.cancerschmancer.org/frans-story

Fran says: We need to take control of our bodies, become greater partners with our physicians and galvanize as one to let our legislators know that the collective female vote is louder and more powerful than that of the richest corporate lobbyists. As Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has and it never will."I got famous, then I got cancer, and now I live to talk about it. Sometimes the best gifts come in the ugliest packages. Please lock elbows with me and join the Cancer Schmancer Movement so together we can do what needs to be done, so less of us will die prematurely. Id.

Fran has received the John Wayne Institute’s Woman of Achievement Award, the Gilda Award, the City of Hope Woman of the Year Award, the Hebrew University Humanitarian Award, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Spirit of Achievement Award. the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award,and the first "My Aid Award" for her achievements in support of cancer prevention and rehabilitation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran_Drescher

For more information:

http://www.cancerschmancer.org/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000376/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran_Drescher
http://www.frandrescher.com/