Quote of the Day - Juliette Gordon Low

"The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers."

I love this quote. When I'm feeling like the work is just too hard or the results seem to be taking too long, I remind myself that history-making is a life-long process. It is my life's work to leave the world a little better off than it was when I got here. And while my individual efforts may not make much of a difference outside my circle of influence,

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TV Night - Supergirl

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that I have been eagerly awaiting the premier of Supergirl. I've had October 26th marked on my calendar for a while now. I'm sure like many of you, I've been more than a little anxious about how good the show would be.

Well, I've watched it twice already this week (and plan to watch it again once I'm done here), and I'm here to report that it is, in fact, very, very good! It's not perfect (and I'm a more than a little upset that "perfect" is even a goal here, to be honest), but it's great in so many ways. Here are my top three reasons for watching:

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Quote of the Day - Maxine Hong Kingston

Today is the 75th birthday of the amazing Maxine Hong Kingston. She is best known for her memoir The Woman Warrior, which tells stories of her life interspersed with traditional Chinese folktales. I have never read the whole thing (a fact I am somewhat ashamed of, frankly), but we did read excerpts of it in several of my college classes about race and gender.

To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world - that I am able to change it in positive ways.

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Kickstart This! Jamie & Daniele DIM

When I first saw the Kickstarter for Jamie & Daniele DIM all I could think was, "Yes. This. I need this to be a real thing." And it's true. The more I've learned about it, the more this project resonates with me.

Jamie & Daniele DIM :: Vol. I and the HOLIA theater-performance series speak of experiences of dealing with adult depression through creative expression. The stories highlight this important topic, and carry a positive message of overcoming and resilience. The is plan to continue the stage show, HOLIA and combine the story of Jamie & Daniele DIM into the play in autumn 2016.

Adult depression has been something I've dealt with for my entire life, whether it was my own depression or a loved one's. I'm thankful every day that more and more attention is being paid to mental health issues in our society, and look forward to a day when it is no longer stigmatized.

I love the idea of pairing a stage performance with a graphic novel. Both have unique ways of connecting with the audience, and together they become a wonderful way of keeping the audience's attention on the problems associated with adult depression and ways their own lives have been impacted. Long after the performance is over, the booklet will continue to encourage thoughtful reflection, reinforcing the message of the play.

I was fortunate to be able to chat with Katie Myers, the director of the HOLIA Project and the driving force behind Jamie & Daniele DIM, and learn about what inspires her and her troupe of performers, and what motivated them to dream up this fantastic project.

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Follow Friday - #15Girls

This week's #FollowFriday is a bit different in that I'm not suggesting specific people to follow. Instead, I'm recommending you follow a series of blog posts from NPR.

Throughout the month of October, NPR is running #15girls -- a fantastic series highlighting the lives of 15 year old girls. It's been wonderful so far, and I want to make sure you know about it.

As the first entry in the series notes at the beginning, "Being fifteen years old means very different things depending on where you live. In some countries, for girls, it's the point at which choices are made about whether you should continue with your education, get a job, get married." Fifteen is the year that many of these girls move from the pursuits of childhood to the responsibilities of being an adult, and the social, cultural, and familial constraints that come with them.

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Quote of the Day - Ursula K Le Guin

Today is the 86th birthday of the legendary science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin.

"We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains."

I love this quote. I love the power of it. Our stories are powerful. I think that's why Ursula K. Le Guin's works resonate so strongly with so many women: she's telling their story. They can see themselves in her worlds, and for what too often is the first time in their lives, they feel connected and powerful.

One fun fact I just love about her:

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Music Break - Celia Cruz

Today is the birthday of the remarkable Celia Cruz, the "Queen of Salsa."

I don't know when I first heard her sing. I suspect it was in Mambo Kings, but it's hard to remember. Maybe it was when I would listen to Tito Puente with my parents. It feels like she's been around on my playlists for ages. What an amazing voice. And now we get to learn more about her life, thanks to the fantastic telenovela Celia.

While I was reading about her for this post, I saw that she's often referred to as "La Guarachera de Cuba." My Spanish is pretty rudimentary, so I had to look up "guarachera." As it turns out, even Google Translate doesn't know what it means. Fortunately, Wikipedia did. Guaracha is the name for the traditional type of Cuban music she's known for -- fast tempo and lyrics.

I've selected a couple of my favorite videos of her singing. Check 'em out:



Over her career, she traveled the world, appeared in several movies, and recorded 23 gold albums. Today I will be queuing up and listening to (and dancing along with) her music in her honor.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso!

If you like the work I do here at Self-Rescuing Princess Society,
please check out my Patreon.

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You may also be interested in:

Women's History Month - Charlotta Bass
Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass was born in Sumter, South Carolina (the year is unclear, some sources say 1874, some day 1879, or even 1880). She was the sixth child out of eleven children. Very little is known about her early life. When she was twenty, she moved to Providence, Rhode Island, to live with her brother. There, she took a position working for the Providence Watchman...

Happy Birthday - Geraldine Doyle
Today would have been the 90th birthday of Geraldine Hoff Doyle. If you don't know who she was, don't feel too bad. I only heard of her recently myself. If she looks familiar, it's because she was very likely the model for the "We Can Do It!" poster.



In case you need a reminder... you are amazing!
I just love this poem. I revisit it whenever I'm feeling a down or frustrated or a little powerless. You are amazing. As.you.are. Stronger than you know. More beautiful than you think. Worthier than you believe. More loved that you can ever imagine. Passionate about making a difference. Fiery when protecting those you love. Learning. Growing.

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Patreon News

Hello all. I'm sorry I have to write this post in the first place. I'd much rather write about some kickass women doing something awesome. But I think it's important to keep you all abreast of what's going on with Patreon and how it might possibly relate to you.

I want to let you all know that I've been paying very close attention to the recent news that Patreon has been hacked. So far, the only things they've acknowledged as having been compromised were "registered names, email addresses, posts, and some shipping addresses."

This from the message I received from Patreon CEO and Co-founder Jack Conte:

At this point, I don't think it's anything serious enough to warrant cancelling my Patreon account. Although I totally support you if you decide to. But I do see this as another reminder to continue practicing "Safe Internetting."

• Make your passwords harder to guess. Instead of one word, use a lyric from a song or line from a poem and pick one letter from each word. Include non-letter characters for some to make it that much more challenging.
• Change your passwords regularly. And never, ever share it with anyone. Even if that person claims they're from the place you're trying to log in to.
• If you're going to share your accounts and password (look, I know it happens. I share my Netflix with friends and family), make sure that password is in absolutely no way similar to your other passwords.
• Use two-step authentication whenever possible. 
• Consider using an encryption database like KeePass or KyPass.
• Check your bank and credit card statements every month, if not more often. Report any discrepancies immediately.

I will continue to monitor the news, and if I hear anything that might change my opinion on this matter, I will certainly let you all know as well. If you have any questions or concerns you'd like for me to address, please leave a comment below, or reach out to me on social media.

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