Kickstart This: Queen Girls

Several weeks ago I received an email about Queen Girls, a new series of picture books featuring the stories of real women from history told as though they were fairy tales, and was immediately intrigued! I have always felt as thought many of these women's stories are magical, so to learn that there are others who not only agree but who have the talent to create something this beautiful is remarkable!

Earlier in December, before I got terribly sick, I was able to chat a bit with Andrea Doshi, one of the three amazing young women involved in the Queen Girls project. They have since met their original funding goal, but I still recommend backing this project. The artwork is beautiful and the stories are so very important!

SRPS: First, can you tell us a little about yourself? What's your background? What inspires you?

AD: Of course! My name is Andrea and I was born and raised in Chicago by a multicultural family. I graduated with a Master's in Speech Pathology and worked within the Chicago Public Schools. I have spent the past couple of years on the road, exploring different countries and cultures.  I am inspired by traveling, the beauty of nature, and the true feeling of joy -- and I am determined to share what it feels like to be driven by inspiration with as many children as possible!

SRPS: What is Queen Girls? Where did the inspiration for this project come from?

AD: Queen Girls is a collection of children's books. The stories are based on inspirational women from the past and turned into fairy tales, inspiring girls to follow their dreams. We are using a one for one model meaning for each book purchased, we will donate another to national and international organizations that empower women and fight illiteracy. Our first book is just about ready to be sent over to the printers. It is about Bessie Coleman, the first African American female pilot in the world!

The Queen Girls project was born about a year ago. After my sister-in-law had her first baby, she started taking a closer look at children's literature and realized that they were full of stereotypes. She saw that there were not many empowering books for girls. When she mentioned the idea, it didn't take me more than a second to make a decision! From my experiences, I know first hand that girls from all over the world struggle to dream. We started brainstorming Queen Girls immediately!

SRPS: Why is it so important to you to tell the stories of real women in history?

AD: Because we believe it will help girls envision their dreams as real. Books often act as mirrors in which young girls see their reflections and the impact of that is huge!



SRPS: The artwork is beautiful. And they convey so much about the lives and dreams of these women on each page. Can you tell me a little about your process of sharing the stories in pictures?

AD: The illustrations have been done by Chiara Fabbri, a good friend of ours from Italy. We all worked together, giving each other space to express our ideas. We've done it remotely since Chiara is in Italy and Jimena is in Charlotte, NC. We've worked slide by slide, with a lot of back and forth, and a lot of love and patience. We've managed to make it work wonderfully and Chiara has surpassed every expectation we could have possibly imagined!

SRPS: Jimena is your sister-in-law and Chiara is a close friend. How has the experience been working together on this project with two women you are also close to personally? Have you learned anything new about yourself or each other?

AD: Where to begin!! We are three extremely passionate women and I would say that is what has gotten us to where we are now! We've spent countless hours connecting remotely. Lots of three-way calls with a talking baby in the background! It's been challenging at times considering we speak 3 different languages and are on 3 different time zones, but we have managed to make it work!

For me, and I think I can say this for all of us, we've learned how important communication is. It is key to understanding one another and making sure everyone is on the same page at all times.
I've had this conversation with Jimena before - working with family can be intense. Sometimes you get to be a little too honest, but at the end of the day, family always is more understanding and loving with each other. It is so special to share this journey with each other!

SRPS: Your Kickstarter campaign is doing well! Do you have any plans for stretch goals?

AD: We are so amazed at the love and support we have already gotten from the community! We cannot believe we've already reached our goal! We want to reach as many kids as possible, so we plan on continuing to spread the love and collecting as many funds as possible to print more copies of Bessie, Queen of the Sky and get them into the hands as as many kids as possible. Stretch goals are being discussed as we speak!




SRPS: After Bessie, Queen of the Sky, what comes next?

AD: We'll continue creating Queens of all kinds! Queen Isadora and Queen Savi are next on the list! Queen Isadora is inspired by the life of Isadora Duncan, the first ballerina of Modern dance, and Queen Savi inspired by the life of Savitribhai Phule, a woman poet, an educationalist and a social reformer.

SRPS: You have been working on this project for a year. How exciting is it to finally see it so close to complete?

AD: I can't believe it has been a whole year! It feels surreal to be honest. It is truly amazing seeing our idea turn into a dream and now our dream into reality. "Almost complete" is far from where we are. We have so many more books to write and so many hands to put books in. This is just the beginning, and the support and love we've received shows how much this type of content is needed and is fueling even more inspiration! We envision creating a community where other authors and illustrators can bring their own Queens on board of the collection, so there is a lot more to come!

SRPS: Where can folks find out more about Queen Girls?

AD: We'll be available on Kickstarter through January 15th. There you can find more information regarding our collection and campaign! We also have our website, where you can go to check the latest updates, as well as checking us out on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

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I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Bessie, Queen of the Sky! If you haven't already backed this project, please consider doing so ASAP! We need more inspirational stories like this in the world.

I can't do the work of SRPS without your your support!
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Inspirational Women - Helen Keller

It's been a pretty terrible week. I figured we could all use a bit of inspiration to keep fighting the good fight. I'm playing around with a new web app to create videos and made this as a test run. I hope you like it, and find the quote as comforting as I do.

“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.” ― Helen Keller

If you appreciate the work I do here on SRPS, please support me!

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Regina Jonas - the first woman rabbi

Regina Jonas (3 August 1902 – 12 December 1944)

Regina Jonas was a Berlin-born rabbi. In 1935, she became the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi (though there had been some previous women, such as the Maiden of Ludmir and Asenath Barzani, who acted in similar roles without being ordained).

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Quote of the Day

"Shine with all you have. When someone tries to blow you out,
just take their oxygen and burn brighter." Katelyn S. Irons

Seriously good advice. 

We had a lesson on Akido Politics in one of my classes recently. Basically, the idea of Akido is that you remain balanced and centered, and use your foe's energy against hir. In political situations, it means staying calm and using your opponent's goals and worries to promote your position. You strength comes from your calm, your balance. 

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Quote of the Day

This is something I struggled with for years. In my 20s, I felt like a scared kid who'd been dropped into an adult world, full of expectations and all the assumptions that I'd grown up with. I spent a lot of time looking for people and things that would make me feel "complete," as though that was something I would know how to recognize when it showed up.

In my 30s, I felt like I was getting the hang of things, but was still mostly faking my way through being a grown up, trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted in my life. I started to learn how to weed out the things and people that weren't bringing me joy or somehow helping me enjoy life.

Now, in my 40s, I've come to realize that I am the me I want to be. And that I always was. Just like Dorothy, I finally realized that I'd had the power all along. For a while, I actually felt bad that I'd let so many years go by worrying about finding my power instead of using it. But I know now that I couldn't access it until I actually believed I could wield it.

My hope for you is that you come to understand your power sooner. That you are the perfect you already.

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Kickstart This!

So many great projects on Kickstarter! I've highlighted a few that I think deserve extra attention.

I'm fascinated by The Bonsai Babes by Lora Nakamura:

The Bonsai Babes: A Love Story is a tale of two little girls, the challenges they face, and the magical outcome they experience as they allow love to enter their lives. Luna is a Mexican American girl from Los Angeles who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. Nana is a Japanese American girl from the San Gabriel Valley who dreams of realizing her psychic potential. They grew up worlds apart, but their chance encounter leaves them forever changed…

I have always been drawn to these kinds of cross-cultural stories. I love seeing the intersection between people who are very much the same and yet also very much different.

Lora Nakamura is a first time author and illustrator with a background in education and social work. She received her B.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of California, San Diego and her Masters in Social Work from Cal State Long Beach. She is drawn to creative projects dealing with the topics of love, loss, and interpersonal connection, which are main themes in her book, The Bonsai Babes: A Love Story.

Art therapist Penny Hood's Portraits of Courage project promises to be a source of inspiration for not just those who have been directly affected by violence, but for everyone who is weary from the hatred and hopelessness that surrounds us.

Healing requires us to look at how we shift from one way of being to another. This collaborative project examines how that happens. We start with the Questions: How do survivors of violence find the courage to walk toward help? How do advocates find the strength to keep going in the face of daunting odds? The following participants have offered their voices, their courage, to celebrate the small and large successes, on the tangled road to recovery. “Portraits of Courage” allows each of us to look in the mirror and ask: “Where does my strength reside?”

A steampunk version of The Nutcracker? Yes, please.

Promising to be a unique holiday experience for the whole family, we have a costume designer, choreographers and cast. What we lack is the the funding to pay for costumes, costume designers, choreographers, venue, lighting and sets.

I think we can all agree that the American food system is broken. Which is why groups like Civil Eats is so important in the fight for change. Until now, the writers and staff for Civil Eats have been working on a volunteer basis, providing their insightful analysis for free. And while it's good to do what you love, it's also important to be paid for your work.

We are seeking funding to shift Civil Eats from an all-volunteer effort to a professional enterprise in 2014 in order to produce more in-depth, original reporting and visually engaging content by paying our writers and editors a fair wage. This campaign will specifically help us create content over the next year.

In the last year or so, as part of my university studies in Environmentalism, I've read quite a bit about the Spanish and Native American history in the American Southwest and West. It's a complex and intriguing history, and one that has largely been ignored by many in academia. Without a Tribe: The Genizaro Experience is trying to change that.

An untold story, the Genizaro experience has been a neglected history until its unearthing by modern scholars. Like an old folk song, the story is expressed as a deep root of Native New Mexicans -- through tradition of story telling, culturally blended indigenous songs and the drum -- through: healing herbs known as 'remedios'; the growing of traditional herbs and crops, and the oral histories Indian Grandmothers and Grandfathers -- the story sings the blues of poverty and oppression held together by love of family, land and water. It is Pueblo, Apache and Navajo cousins and relations, during peace and through warring times. We are reaching into the deeper story of what it means to be "Native New Mexican." Without A Tribe is a Native American story whose time has come.

I don't know about you, but when I think of Flameno the first things that I think of are the Gypsy Kings and the film Flamenco Flamenco. Both are fabulous, but male-dominated. The artists of Flamenca will bring together many of the female stars of Flamenco in one amazing show.

Flamenca is a celebration of the feminine spirit through the intensely poetic music and dance of Flamenco. The dynamic vocals of Gypsy Flamenco singer Kina Mendez weave with the Latin melodies of the harp, the soaring flute and soulful violin. With deep rhythm, powerful staccato footwork and sensuous arms the dancers create portraits of the iconic ‘Flamenca.’ Featuring an all female cast with singer Kina Mendez, dancer Melissa Cruz and dancer/Artistic Director Kerensa DeMars with Amelia Romano (harp, viola), Katja Cooper (percussion), Rebecca Kleinmann (flute), and Pamela Nicolas (palmas, violin).

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These projects are already funded, but are still worth checking out.

ERA: Ibuki is the story of a young woman fighting against all the world. It's the work of the ever-awesome Irene Lee, and the prequel to her previous Kickstarter project, ERA: Convergence. I love her illustrations, and love that she's blown past her original fund-raising goal and then killed SIX stretch goals! I'm not mentioning this here because she needs the money, I'm letting you know that you probably want to get in on this project so you can get this awesome Manga!

Another project that has already surpassed its goal is Equal Means Equal. You may have seen this video featured on UpWorthy. And it truly is up-worthy. Growing up in a feminist household in the '70s, I was keenly aware of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), and devastated when it did not pass. Now, 40 years later, many young women don't even know what the ERA was/is, and that it was ever a possibility. Kamala Lopez of Heroica Films wants to find out why.

Equal Means Equal will be a creative blend of original interviews, archival footage, motion graphics, visual arts and storytelling as only Kamala Lopez and Heroica Films can bring it. The interviews will cover four generations of American women grappling with the status of their rights, the issues they face and how these have impacted our society.

This project has already been fully funded. And by a lot. But just think what even more funding could do? If nothing else, your $15 will get you a copy of the final film.

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Music Break - Victoria Spivey

Today's special birthday shout-out goes to the amazing Victoria Spivey, born on October 15, 1906. This lady was seriously kickass, all the way through her long and productive life.

Victoria Spivey was born into a family chock full of musical talent. Her father, employed as a railroad flagman, was also a part-time musician. Her mother was a nurse (I promise a longer post some day about African American women nurses around the turn of the last century -- it's a fascinating story!). And all three of her sisters were musicians.

Together, they formed a family string band, and performed around Houston, Texas. Sadly, her father died when she was only 7 years old, leaving her to find her way in the music business without him. As it turns out, she did quite well. Even as a child, she continued to perform at local parties, and at the age of 12 was hired to accompany films at the Lincoln Theater in Dallas.

All through her teen years, she worked in local bars, nightclubs, and buffet flats, learning and growing musically. She usually performed solo, but occasionally with other, more experienced singers and guitarists.

At the age of 19, she moved to St. Louis. It was there where she began her recording career. Her first song, "Black Snake Blues" was a success, followed by other songs that were equally well received. Because of her experience working in some of the shadier parts of town and hanging out with prostitutes and drug addicts, many of these characters and themes found their way into her music.

In the early '20s, she played in gambling parlors, gay hangouts, and brothels in Galveston and Houston with Blind Lemon Jefferson. Among Spivey's many influences was Ida Cox, herself a sassy blues woman, and taking her cue from Cox, Spivey wrote and recorded tunes like "TB Blues," "Dope Head Blues," and "Organ Grinder Blues." Spivey's other influences included Bobby "Blue" Bland, Sara Martin, and Bessie Smith. Like so many other women blues singers who had their heyday in the '20s and '30s, Spivey wasn't afraid to sing sexually suggestive lyrics, and this turned out to be a blessing nearly 40 years later given the sexual revolution of the '60s and early '70s.
(source: AllMusic.com)

By 1929, she was well known in the blues community, and was given the role of Missy Rose in the all black musical film Hallelujah directed by King Vidor. Even during the Great Depression, she was busy performing, touring and recording with many famous musicians of the era, including Louis Armstrong, as well as appearing in other films and musical reviews.

For a brief period in the 1950s, she was considered semi-retired. Even then her incredible musical talent was still a big part of her life, and she spent these years as choir director and pipe organist in her church. But when the folk music revival started in the early 1960s, she felt called back to secular music. This time, she was not only performing, but leading the charge to find and support new musicians as well as bring attention to other, lesser-known musicians from the past.

After taking a semi-retirement in the 1950s, Spivey returned to performing in the United States and internationally in Europe and in 1962 began her own record company, Spivey Records. She used this company as a vehicle to resurrect older blues artists as well as introduce new artists, including Luther Johnson, Lucille Span, Olive Brown, and the first recording of folk artist Bob Dylan. She also recorded some of her own music during this period and occasionally performed on television. By the time of her death in 1976 she had attained copyrights on the lyrics of at least seventy-five songs.
(source: Emory University)

Her immense talent and staying-power is truly remarkable.

Victoria Spivey was one of the more influential blues women simply because she was around long enough to influence legions of younger women and men who rediscovered blues music during the mid-'60s U.S. blues revival, which had been brought about by British blues bands as well as their American counterparts, like Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop. Spivey could do it all: she wrote songs, sang them well, and accompanied herself on piano and organ, and occasionally ukulele.
(source: AllMusic.com)

This is certainly one kickass blues lady who deserves plenty more attention!

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

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For more information:

The Blues Trail - Victoria Spivey
Smithsonian Folkways
The Blindman's Blues Forum

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You may also be interested in:

SRPS Shout-Out - Althea Gibson
"Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina." "I want the public to remember me as they knew me: athletic, smart, and healthy.... Remember me strong and tough and quick, fleet of foot and tenacious."

Eliza Ann Grier - the first black woman to receive a MD in Georgia
Very little is known about her early life. She was born during the Civil War. Her parents were slaves in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which made her a slave as well. After emancipation, her family moved to Atlanta, where she grew up and attended school. She originally intended to become a teacher, and attended Fisk University.

Josephine Groves Holloway - A True Girl Scout
One such devoted Girl Scout leader was Josephine Groves Holloway. In 1923, Josephine, the daughter of a Methodist minister and a recent graduate from Fisk University with a degree in sociology, was working as a social worker for the Bethlehem Center in Nashville, Tennessee, a Methodist-run family resource center serving the black community.

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Superchick - Anthem

This song has been in heavy rotation around here lately. Probably because I've been giving myself a lot of personal pep talks to "get shit done."

That, and I've been watching a bunch of documentaries about women in sports (blog posts to come, I promise!) this last week.



Lyrics:
Here's to the ones who don't give up

This is your anthem, get your hands up

We are fire inside, we are lipstick and cleats
We are not going home, we are playing for keeps
We are girls with skinned knees, we are concrete and grace
We are not what you think, you can't keep us in our place

Chorus:
Here's to the girls on their boards with bruises and scars
Here's to the girls whose fingers bleed from playin' guitar
Here's to anyone who never quit when things got hard
You'll never let them say 'you'll never get that far'

We are fire inside, we are an army asleep
We are a people awaking to follow their dreams
We don't have time for your games
We have our own goals to score
There are trophies to win instead of being one of yours

[Chorus]

Here's to the ones who don't give up

This is your anthem

[Chorus]

Melissa Brock of Superchick (source: Superchick)

Now, go kick some ass today!

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Happy Birthday Portia de Rossi

I want young people to see me and think you can be feminine and smart and successful, all at the same time.

My sexuality is a part of me that I really like. But it's not the totality of me.

I want to exude strength and intelligence.

People might find me attractive, but it's also my job to prove that I can be intelligent.

When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear.

Life can take so many twists and turns. You can’t ever count yourself out. Even if you’re really afraid at some point, you can’t think that there’s no room for you to grow and do something good with your life.

Most important, in order to find real happiness, you must learn to love yourself for the totality of who you are and not just what you look like.

Happy Birthday Portia!

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Happy Birthday Beatrice Tinsley

Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley was born January 27, 1941, in Chester, England. Her father was a minister, and her mother was a cellist and writer. After World War II, her family moved to New Zealand, where she and her sisters attended the all girls district schools. Beatrice showed an early affinity for learning, and did quite well in her studies. She was one of those children who would read the encyclopedia for fun, and dreamed about becoming a scholar some day.

When she was only 14, she announced that she would be an astrophysicist. Her teacher at the time, Joyce Jarold remembered it clearly:

"Beatrice asked me if she could borrow some physics books, 7th form reference books. I was skeptical at first although I knew she was bright. When you teach, you're mostly trying to din something in. Very occasionally you realise that you are dealing with a great mind that is infinitely superior to your own. Beatrice came into that category."

At the age of 16, she received a Junior University Scholarship, and left school to attend Canterbury University College, where she continued to excel -- earning her Bachelors of Science in 1961, and a Masters in Physics in 1963.

She gained an MSc with first class honours in 1961, winning every prize open to her. She did not write for student publications or play sport, although delighting in weekend excursions to Steeds Hut, but she was an outstanding violinist (a member of the National Youth Orchestra) and particularly enjoyed the meetings and discussions of the Socratic Society, or Soc Soc.
(source: NZine) 

While working on her Masters, she also taught Physics at a local girls high school, as well as offering private instruction for college students. It was at this time she married fellow post-graduate student, Brian Tinsley. When Brian was given a position teaching at the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies (SCAS), in Dallas, Texas, they moved to a small apartment, and Beatrice sought an academic position for herself.

Sadly, the standard practice for universities at the time was to refuse positions for spouses of current faculty. This meant that wherever her husband was able to find a job, she would not. This frustrated her deeply. But, in July of 1964, she was accepted to the University of Texas, Austin, to study for her Ph.D. in Astronomy.

Though some judged Tinsley as a mere Dallas housewife with no experience in astronomy, her top-notch academic record convinced the head of the astronomy department at the University of Texas, Austin, to take a chance on admitting her, even with the added burden of her commuting the 200 miles from Dallas to Austin. 

Initially Tinsley planned to take part in the longstanding cosmological pursuit of deciding whether the universe was open or closed. But as she examined all the servables in this line of work—the diameters of clusters of galaxies, galaxy magnitudes, galaxy sizes—one question kept diverting her: how were the galaxies changing over time? How were they evolving? That information was crucial to finding an answer to the universe’s fate. At that point she chose the problem that became her dissertation: actually simulating the evolution of a galaxy. Setting up a numerical model, she would track its changes in color and brightness over billions of years as the stars within it are born, fiercely radiate, and then inevitably die. It was an ambitious task, as numerical simulations were grueling in this primordial era of computing.
(source: Natural History Magazine) 

In typical over-achiever fashion, she finished her Ph.D. studies in a remarkable two years. This, while also caring for their first child. Unfortunately, after receiving her degree, she was unable to find a suitable position, again because of the rule against hiring the spouses of faculty. Instead, she had to cobble together her own funding for research from grants and scholarships, and was given a "fictitious" position as a visiting scientist. As a consequence, she did very little actual cosmology study during this time.

In 1971, she landed part-time work for the National Science Foundation, and was able to attend the American Astronomical Society meeting at Amherst. In 1972, she took a leave of absence from her "fictitious" position at the University of Texas, and took her now two children with her to visit the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena to work at Mount Palomar's Hale Observatory. Here, she was inspired by her fellow astrophysicists and dreamed of someday being able to do observation work, once her children were older.

In 1973, she accepted a temporary lectureship at the University of Maryland, which was nearby where Brian was also teach, in Washington, D.C. While her position was not "profitable financially" is was a "great boost professionally." She finally felt like she was "an accepted member of the community of cosmologists and astrophysicists," as had been her life-long dream. "The work is a pleasure to me!"

In 1974, she was awarded the Annie J. Canon award, and was given an all-expenses-paid trip to Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, Cambridge, England. While the travel and experience was invigorating and intellectually stimulating, it was only temporary, and every time she returned to the University of Texas, she was demoralized further. As she wrote in a letter home, her time there:

"...has reduced me to a state of mental anguish. Hard to explain! I am a good scientist, and among my peers treated like a full and respectable person and feel of worth. UTD has kept me at the nearest possible level to nothing and there is no one who knows enough about astronomy to care in the least for my work, Austin has helped, but it is second rate job (underpaid, half-time) at a department much worse than I'm worth. This isn't supposed to be boasting. To be rejected and undervalued intellectually is a gut problem to me and I've lived with it most of the time we've been here, apart from extended visits to Caltech and Maryland and shorter trips and meetings and so on."
(source: RootsWeb) 

It was during this time that she received Assistant Professorship offers from both Yale and the University of Chicago, as well as a three year teaching position at Cambridge. Still trying to find a position closer to home, she applied to head the Astronomy Department at the University of Texas, Dallas, which she herself had designed and worked so hard for over the previous years since moving to Dallas. Based on the previous treatment she had received, it is probably no real shock to learn that her application was not taken seriously. In fact, she received no reply at all. It wasn't until she attended a faculty party where she cornered the man who was to have reviewed and responded to her application that she learned exactly how little respect they had for her. When pressed, the man said, "I have a letter from you, don't I, that I must answer some time." Beatrice happily replied, "You needn't bother now. I'm choosing between Chicago and Yale!"

In light of her incredible groundbreaking achievements, she effectively had her career shut down due to her gender. It was at this point Beatrice made a decision that I hope will become one that no woman in science ever need make again. She chose between her husband and staying in Texas and continuing her scientific career.

She chose science. She divorced her husband. The least socially acceptable choices she could make. The courage it took to make them can not have been easy.
(source: Catherine Q) 

In 1975, she and Brian divorced, with Brian retaining full custody of the children. This enabled Beatrice to take the position at Yale, and pursue her dreams of true scholarship. She traveled from observatory to observatory, gaining respect from her peers and broadening her personal goals. When Yale created a committee to improve the status of women at the university, Beatrice joined immediately.

In 1978, she was made a full professor at Yale. Tragically, that same year, she discovered a lump on her leg that turned out to be melanoma. She continued to lecture and write while she was treated, but there was little hope for a full recovery. The type of cancer she had carried at best a 50/50 chance of survival.

In the final stages, she was cared for at the Yale Infirmary, where she continued to write. When she lost the function of her right hand, she taught herself to write with her left. Her drive and determination never slowed.  Her final scientific paper, submitted just ten days before her death, in 1981, at the age of 40, was published by the Astrophysical Journal posthumously, without revision. In her short, and often thwarted, career, she accomplished a great deal, and left a legacy of research that is still being felt today.

Before Beatrice began her research, little was known about life cycles of galaxies and the stars within them. She pioneered the study of interacting galaxies and the idea that galaxies change over short timescales compared with age of the Universe, which inspired astronomers to study distant galaxies for clues to galaxy evolution. In particular Beatrice studied how different groups of stars age and what observable effects those changes have on a galaxy. Her work was significant in determining the size of the Universe and its rate of expansion. It was also assumed that galaxies of the same type - spiral, elliptical or lenticular - would be a similar size, shape and luminosity.

By comparing the size and luminosity of distant galaxies to nearby galaxies whose distance was already known, it was thought that an accurate distance could be obtained. But her thesis, "Evolution of Galaxies and its Significance for Cosmology" showed that determining distances based on morphology alone was unreliable. Factors such as the abundances of chemical elements, the mass of the galaxy and the rate of starbirth were all important parameters in determining the distance and age of the galaxy and, by inference, the size and age of the universe. Tinsley's work formed the basis for contemporary studies of galactic evolution. She also contributed to research to find out whether the universe is an open or closed system.
(source: She Is An Astronomer) 

In her honor, the American Astronomical Society established the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize in 1986, to recognize "an outstanding research contribution to astronomy or astrophysics, of an exceptionally creative or innovative character, " and the University of Texas at Austin created the Beatrice M. Tinsley Visiting Professorship in Astronomy. And, fittingly, asteroid 3087 Beatrice Tinsley is named after her as well. The Beatrice Tinsley Institute for New Zealand Astronomy and Astrophysics is a world class research facility, named for her in her home country.

Let me be like Bach, creating fugues,
Till suddenly the pen will move no more.
Let all my themes within - of ancient light,
Of origins and change and human worth-
Let all their melodies still intertwine,
Evolve and merge with ever growing unity,
                         Ever without fading,
                         Ever without a final chord…
                         Till suddenly my mind can hear no more.

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

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Self-Rescuing Princess of the Week - Brooke Raboutou

I don't know a lot about climbing. I'm terribly afraid of falling, and think it's a great personal achievement to make it halfway up the easy routes at the local climbing wall (but I'm working on going higher!). But I'm pretty sure Brooke Raboutou is as freakin' awesome as she seems in these photos! And she's only 11 years old!

I train mostly in the winter in the indoor climbing gyms. I train with my team three/four days per week. They encourage me and I encourage them. We push each other to climb harder. I also do gymnastics and I think that helps my climbing too.

I just like to climb and have fun with my family, my team, and myself.

I think what I do is more fun than most of the other things I could be doing. My best friends do gymnastics and or climbing.

I look up to my family for a lot of different reasons. Mostly because they are good climbers, like my Mom, who won 4 world cups in a row. My Dad was a French champion and was the first person to onsight an 8b. My brother helps me because he encourages me, and we work together. He is also very very strong. I'm also lucky to have my mom as my coach. Another climber that inspires me is Alex Puccio, because she is so strong.

(Quotes Source: DPMClimbing;  Photo Sources: Team ABC Boulder and DPMClimbing)

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

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Today in Herstory - Madeleine Albright becomes the first female U.S. Secretary of State

On January 23, 1997, Madeleine Albright took office as the 64th U.S. Secretary of State, becoming the first female to hold that position, and the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.

I have said this many times, that there seems to be enough room in the world for mediocre men, but not for mediocre women, and we really have to work very, very hard.

Not only is she smart, tough, and all-around awesome, she's a total geek!

I've never been to New Zealand before. But one of my role models, Xena, the warrior princess, comes from there.

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Happy Birthday Gertrude Elion

Dr. Elion is one of my personal heroines. Besides the fact that her work directly benefits me and people I care about, she was also just a seriously kick-ass scientist!



You can read more about her life and work at the post I made last year:

Self-Rescuing Princess Shout-Out: Gertrude Elion

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Today in Herstory - Elizabeth Blackwell receives her M.D.

On January 23, 1848, Elizabeth Blackwell was awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.



You can read more about her remarkable life and work in my three-part series from the 2012 Women's History Month series:

Elizabeth Blackwell - early life and education
Elizabeth Blackwell - medical school, and early career
Elizabeth Blackwell - helping other women

This series has been in the top five posts on this blog since they were first published. I imagine it's because she is such an inspirational figure, these many years later.

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Blossom

I know this pain far too well. There have been times in my life where I stayed in a safe place too long. I stayed in bad jobs, in a terrible relationship, and generally stayed closed to the wonderful possibilities life was desperately trying to offer me.

Mainly, I stayed out of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of being wrong. Fear of making a mistake. But letting fear make the decision for me was worse than any of those things ever could have been.

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Believe in your dreams

I've been struggling lately to keep up with all the threads of my different dreams, and trying to find a way to braid some of them together. But I'm still following them.

I'm busily working on a new princess costume for PAX Prime, which is in less than two weeks. Yikes! I'll post pictures once it's all done. I also need to spend some time fixing up my Kaylee costume, since the zipper broke in a not-very-good place when I was wearing it last. Seriously, it if wasn't for safety pins, I might have been arrested.

School starts this week as well, which is exciting and scary at the same time. I guess that's a good sign, right?

My list for future posts for this blog is ever-growing. Stay tuned. Lots of fun stuff coming up!

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