Monthly Archive for February, 2006

This continuing story has been in the local news since the first riot broke out on Saturday.

All Los Angeles County Jails on Lockdown

LOS ANGELES – All seven Los Angeles County jails were on lockdown Thursday after another brawl broke out between Hispanic and black inmates, continuing a week of rioting that has injured scores of inmates and killed one.

Five racially motivated fights broke out Wednesday, the largest involving about 300 inmates in a dorm at the medium-security North Facility of Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, said sheriff’s Sgt. Don Manumaleuna.

“Deputies were able to regain control of the facility, and at this time they’re investigating the cause of the disturbance,” he said.

A total of 19 inmates were injured in the fighting Wednesday, one critically, said sheriff’s Deputy Bill Spear. [full story]

Pentagon official voices China-Taiwan concerns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China may be preparing to deal with its dispute over Taiwan through other than political means as it increases its offensive military power, a top
Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

and

China: Taiwan leader a ‘saboteur’
Wednesday, February 8, 2006; Posted: 12:26 a.m. EST (05:26 GMT)

BEIJING, China (AP) — China on Wednesday branded Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian a troublemaker and saboteur over recent remarks seen by Beijing as backing the island’s formal independence.

In a speech late last month, Chen suggested it was time to consider doing away with official guidelines committing the self-governing Taiwanese island to eventual unification with mainland China. Taiwan officials have since said the fate of the guidelines was still far from being decided.

Wow. What an honor. And a link back from NOW to my site, too.

http://www.now.org/history/friedan-tribute-compilation.html

Submit your own tribute to NOW.

…nothing I can share about here…

A couple of weeks ago, I was sharing some stories from when I lived in Washington DC with two female friends who are about my age. One of the things I mentioned was the time that I had dinner with Betty Friedan.

“Who’s that?” they both asked.

I was shocked. How do two independent college educated women not know who Betty Friedan is?

“She wrote The Feminine Mystique,” I answered.

I was greeted with blank stares.

“You know,” I continued, “one of the most important books that spurred the modern feminist movement?” (Ok, I know I was over-simplifying the impact of the book, but I was just hoping I would spark something.)

The two stared at me some more and were totally unimpressed.

While I wasn’t trying to impress them, even I am shocked and surprised at my good fortune of having had the opportunity to meet Ms. Friedan at an intimate dinner party with just a dozen incredible women. When I look back at this experience, I consider myself incredibly honored to have been included in this event. Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

The last time I read The Feminine Mystique was well over a decade ago, but the impact of the writing never left me. Not only did it help me understand the struggles of the feminist movement (from which I have benefitted greatly from), it also moved me to see that it was possible for one person to make a huge difference with her ideas and writing. This ground-breaking 1963 book sparked a revolution, challenging women to want more out of life than what was already planned for them as little girls: marriage, babies, cooking, and cleaning. Very powerful stuff, to say the least.

I wish I had kept a journal of my time in DC because I had so many incredible experiences which I only partially remember today. While there were many other amazing women at this dinner party, I remember an evening of scintillating dinner conversation, followed by dessert in the living room with Betty sitting in an orange armchair with everyone seated around her. She was totally the star of the night and none of us could express how much her work had meant to us.

“I’m not done,” she said that night. “I’m working on changing people’s minds about aging.”

She had just finished writing her book Life So Far and talked about how rich her life has become with age and she challenged our notions of the benefits of youth.

The details of that evening have become hazy over time, but I am grateful that the shining memory of that night was sitting next to her during dessert while this incredible group of women exchanged ideas. Here’s a snapshot from that night of Betty Friedan and myself… it’s not the best quality (back in the days before digital cameras), but it is truly priceless to me:

I am so saddened to hear about Betty Friedan’s passing today on her 85th birthday. The world has truly lost a legend and I am forever honored to have ever spent any time at all in her presence.

“The problem that has no name — which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities — is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease.”
– Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963. NY: Dell Publ., 1974.

::NOW: National Organization for Women (Betty Friedan was a co-founder of NOW):: ::send NOW your own tribute to Betty:: ::pbs interview of Betty Friedan:: ::npr::

::radgeek:: ::the new homemaker:: ::sharilynhorne:: ::feministing:: ::baldanders:: ::jane genova:: ::msmarvel:: ::fauxreal:: ::robin herman:: ::last plane to jakarta:: ::libertybelles’ clara:: ::pinko feminist hellcat:: ::the democratic daily:: ::msmagazine’s executive editor, katherine spillar:: ::thedword:: ::the leslie show/a>::

It’s the second time in two months that I’ve run into Morgan Fairchild at lunch.

And by “run into,” I mean was sitting at a table when Morgan walked into the restaurant. Today we were seated in the booth next to her, but instead of wearing casual clothes, she was dressed in a bright turquoise blue suit. And she looked stunning. And no, I didn’t say anything to her. (She’s not my best friend, though. Bernie Mac is.)

Today, we ended up at Mexicali Cocina Cantina by accident. We were going to go to Out Take Cafe, but we couldn’t figure out how to enter the restaurant from the back entrance (it was locked). So we went into the restaurant next door, Mexicali. Mexicali won out by virtue of having an unlocked back door.

The food was ok (yay for warm chips and salsa + guac); I ordered the Rotisserie (Chicken) Club sandwich which was pretty good. But it was definitely loud (it wasn’t even that crowded in there) and the wait staff was totally the opposite of awesome. Half of the stuff we ordered was wrong (no mushrooms on the burger, wrong kind of cheese. Asked for ketchup and mustard, no mayo. They brought mayo, no ketchup or mustard); I think the waiters (no waitresses, just a hostess) were hired for their looks or something. Not that they’re that good looking, just that they obviously weren’t hired for their customer service skills. I’d go back, but only if I wasn’t in a rush.

Anyway, after lunch, we went to run a couple of quick errands (go to the bank, etc.) and headed back to the parking lot where we saw Morgan AGAIN (this time she was leaving). We debated about how old Morgan is; I guessed mid-50s by virtue of math (I remember her being in her early thirties when I was a kid in the 1980s. And she looks just as good now as she did then). Now that I’ve looked her up on IMDB, it seems like I was right. Today was her 56th birthday!

*Ok, maybe she’s not stalking me. But I swear I am not stalking her! She keeps coming to the places I’m already at!

Why do I find Greg Gabriel’s quotes to be so incredibly hilarious? (emphasis added by me)

Excerpts from NBC4.tv:

Caltech Freshmen Get Stranded On Hike As Part Of Dorm Initiation

PASADENA, Calif. — Two dozen Caltech freshmen dressed in outlandish get-ups as part of a nighttime dorm initiation got stranded on the flanks of Mount Wilson while walking down a dirt road from the observatory, it was reported Tuesday. The road was blocked by a landslide that occurred last year, the Pasadena Star-News reported.

“You’ve got to remember that common sense is not factored into the intelligence quotient,” Deputy Greg Gabriel, who leads the Altadena Search and Rescue team, told the newspaper.

On Monday night, the group had a large dinner — about 100 people live at Page House dorm — before dressing the freshmen in costumes and parading them throughout Pasadena, the Star-News reported. Upperclassmen then drove the first-year students, men and women, to the Mount Wilson Observatory, and they began the 10-mile descent down the road.

The students had no flashlights, warm clothes or other important supplies, Gabriel told the Star-News. They did, however, have “distinctive headgear — hats with antennas and horns, that kind of stuff.”

“Going up those trails in the middle of the night without any safety equipment and no lighting is pretty stupid.”