The Perfect Storm & Linda Greenlaw [books, film]

This afternoon I finished reading The Perfect Storm.

Saw the film years ago, and it's not one of the those films where after you've read the book you necessarily feel disappointed – they are two completely separate entities.

The film focuses on the drama of the rescue; the book is more dry and gets into weather patterns, ocean currents, maritime history, and various oceanic and meteorological nightmares as well as the story of the doomed Andrea Gail.

Definitely worth the read, even if a bit dry, especially for the discovery of an awesome, powerful woman – ship captain and author Linda Greenlaw. Linda is one of the few female ship captains on the East Coast, but undeniably one of the best.

She survived the infamous Halloween Gale that the Andrea Gail unfortunately did not. Linda lives in Portland, Maine, still fishes, and has written several books – including the wildly popular Lobster Chronicles and several cookbooks.

Women Too Nice to Land a Job? [studies]

Are women "too nice" to land a job?

Wate-On Helps You Gain Weight [then & now].

"I Put on 10 pounds, 3 ounces!"

This newspaper advertisement from the 1960's for a weight-gaining product is quite a testament to the ever-changing sociocultural values throughout the decades. In modern times one couldn't dream of seeing a product marketed to help you put on weight; diet cookies, drinks, and fads are the norm now.

94-Yr-Old Woman Graduates from College [touching story]

This is a touching story. A 94-year-old Oakland woman, Hazel Soares, just received her BA in art history from Mill's College in Oakland.

She is believed to be the second oldest person in the world to graduate from college, second to Nola Ochs, a woman who graduated from Fort Hays State University in Kansas three years ago at the age of 95. You go, girl!

Hazel is a living example of the "it's never too late to realize your dreams" mindset.

Oprah is Like Jesus, but with Cupcakes Instead. [oprah mag anniversary]

Oprah feeds the masses cupcakes at the 10th Anniversary of O Magazine at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. I think my favorite part of this photo is Gayle stuffing her face with a cupcake. So classy.

chronic fatigue..virus? and early puberty for girls?

chronic fatigue syndrome has finally been linked to a specific pathogen, XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus). XMRV is only one of three known retroviruses.

read the full article here on discovery health.

on a completely different topic, the average age of girls' puberty is falling. this can be blamed on the synthetic estrogens that now run rampant in the environment.

read the full article here on discover health.

10 films you didn't know were directed by women

i have to admit, i was surprised by most, if not all of these films that had been directed by women. i would have never pinned american psycho, pet sematary, or billy madison to have been directed by a woman. especially billy madison.

read the full article here on film school rejects