Yellow Magpie » Women

Oprah Winfrey: The Most Popular Woman Of Today

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:30:21 +0000

Oprah Winfrey, is one of the most influential women in the world. Loved by millions, she is arguably the most successful, talk show host on the planet. Smart, funny, generous and mega rich, Oprah, has taken her life and made it a triumphant success.

However, things were not always easy for Oprah, who came from very humble beginnings. Her early life was often filled with hardship and abuse, but even at a young age, Oprah said she knew she was born for greatness, and how right she was.

Humble Beginnings

Born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954, to Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey. Oprah,was supposed to be named after the biblical character ‘Orpah’, but it was misspelled on her birth-cert, and so she became known as Oprah.

Her parents separated when Oprah was still very young and she went to live on a farm with her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee. It was her grandmother who instilled in Oprah, a love of books and reading. Oprah is still a voracious reader, reading up to three books a week.

It was this passion for reading, that inspired Oprah, to yearn for a better life for herself.

At the age of six, she went to live with her mother Vernita Lee in Milwaukee. However, her mother worked long hours as a cleaner and so was unable to look after her daughter properly, nor was she able to give Oprah, the support and encouragement that she had become accustomed to while she lived with her grandmother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGRi4mU3qcI

Childhood Abuse

Oprah’s life took a radical turn for the worst, when at the age of nine she was raped by a cousin, then later by an uncle, she was also sexually molested by a so-called friend of the family.

The abuse had a devastating effect on her and she rebelled by becoming wild and promiscuous, roaming the streets of Milwaukee. At the age of 14, she became pregnant, however the baby was born prematurely and later died.

Eventually, Oprah became too much for her mother to handle, and she sent her to live with her father Vernon, in Tennessee. Vernon, was a strict disciplinarian, with high moral standards. He insisted on good study habits and created boundaries. Vernon, encouraged Oprah to read a book a week, and to learn five new words every day. Oprah, credits her father, with helping her to turn her life around.

With this new-found support, Oprah quickly forged ahead in school, becoming a grade A student. In addition, she was voted Most Popular Girl. She, then went on to secure herself a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, where she studied radio and television broadcasting.

Burgeoning Broadcasting Career

Oprah, began her broadcasting career, at the age of 17, at her local radio station WVOL where she worked as a newsreader, while still a student.

In 1976, she relocated to Baltimore, to co-anchor the Six O’Clock News, on WJZ-TV. She later co-hosted the talk show, People Are Talking, which became hugely popular with listeners.

But bigger and better opportunities awaited the talented Oprah, and she was invited to host A.M. Chicago, in Illinois. The most popular show at the time was hosted by Phil Donohue, however within a few months, Oprah’s show had won her 100,000 more viewers than Donohue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajg2FMhqBYU

A Star Is Born

The show was renamed ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, and neither Oprah, nor the show have ever looked back.

Being an astute business woman, she then formed Harpo productions thereby gaining ownership of the show. The next year the show was syndicated.

In June 1987, ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, scooped three Daytime Emmy Awards. The following year, the show received its second Emmy award for ‘Outstanding Talk/Service Program. Oprah, herself was awarded the International Radio and Television Society’s Broadcaster of the Year’, making her the youngest person to every receive the award in the IRTS’s 25 year history.

2008 Presidential Election

In 2008 Oprah Winfrey formally gave her support to Barack Obama in the U.S. Presidential Elections. It is thought that her endorsement, so far her only support for a presidential candidate, helped to significantly increase Obama’s profile and contributed towards him winning the elections that year.

The End Of An Era

‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, which finished in May 2011 after 25 years was watched by millions of people all over the world. Throughout that time Oprah, became a role model for women everywhere, her warmth, intelligence, and good humour, were a constant inspiration. She is quoted as saying “I knew there was a way out,I knew there was another kind of life because I had read about it. I knew there were other places, and there was another way of being.”

In November 2011 Oprah received an honorary Oscar for her humanitarian work. She received her award from a young girl she had funded through college.

Oprah now runs OWN television network. She describes it as a multi platform media network to entertain, inform and inspire people.

Her final Oprah Winfrey show attracted 16.4 million people. However, repeat shows still air in many countries around the world.

Oprah Quotes

‘Every one of us gets through the tough times because somebody is there, standing in the gap to close it for us’.

‘I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace – a connection to what matters’.

‘I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself’.

‘I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become’.

‘I trust that everything happens for a reason even when we’re not wise enough to see it’.

‘Though I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn’t changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I’m just wearing better shoes’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaaPTUbaH_s

Mary McAleese: Former President Of Ireland

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:30:43 +0000

Mary McAleese, was born Mary Patricia Leneghan, in Ardoyne, Belfast, on June 27, 1951. The first born of a family of nine other children.

Mary McAleese grew up in Northern Ireland, at the height of ‘the troubles’ and just like other families, at the time, her own family suffered attacks and murder attempts. In the end they were forced to leave the area by the paramilitary violence.

In 1973, she graduated in Law from Queen’s University Belfast, and was called to the Bar in 1974. In 1976, she married Dr Martin McAleese, a dentist and accountant. They have three children Emma, born 1982 and twins Justin and Sara Mai, born 1985. She was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1987.

Mary McAleese returned to Belfast’s Queen’s University to take up the position of Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, in 1987 and in 1994, she became the first female Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast.

Broadcasting Career

During that time Mary McAleese, also worked as a journalist and broadcaster with RTE television, reporting for the News, and other political programmes.

Her impressive CV also includes Director of Channel 4 Television; Member of Catholic Church delegation in 1996 to the North Commission on Contentious Parades; founder member of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas; Director of Northern Ireland Electricity Delegate to the 1995 White House Conference, on Trade and Investment in Ireland and to the subsequent Pittsburg Conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_J4zBW3Pwk

Irish Presidency

In 1997, Mary McAleese, famously defeated former Fianna Fail, Taoiseach (or Prime Minister as the office is referred to in other countries) Albert Reynolds, in an internal party election to be nominated to run for the Presidency. The nomination cause quite a stir, with many believing a Belfast Catholic, President could harm relations with Britain.

Nonetheless, Mary McAleese won the election, beating off opponents, Mary Banotti, of Fine Gael, Labour candidate Adi Roche, former Eurovision Song Contest Winner, Dana Rosemary Scallon, and Derek Nally.

In 1997, she was inaugurated the eighth President of Ireland, and the second woman President. She also made world history by being the first woman to succeed another woman, the first being Mary Robinson.

The theme, Mary McAleese adopted for her presidency was, ‘Building Bridges’.

President McAleese travelled widely, during her Presidency, meeting with heads of state from other countries. She was a frequent visitor to Northern Ireland, where she was warmly welcomed by both sides of the political divide.

Courting Controversy

No stranger to controversy, in 1997 she incurred the wrath, of the Catholic Church by receiving communion in an Anglican Church in Dublin. With Archbishop Desmond Connell describing as a ‘sham’ Catholics receiving holy communion in a non-Catholic church.

In January 2005, at a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp President McAleese once more courted controversy.

Northern Ireland Unionist politicians were furious when President McAleese made reference to the manner in which Protestant children in Northern Ireland, had been reared to hate Catholics, just like German children had been brought up to hate Jews under the Nazi regime. She later apologised, for her remarks, describing them as unbalanced.

Nevertheless, with a doubt the most contentious thing she did during her Presidency was signing the Credit Institutions Stabilisation Bill into law, a move which saw billions of euro being injected into the banks.

Historical Visits

Known to be an admirer of Queen Elizabeth II, whom she came to know, while she was Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queens, President McAleese welcomed the Queen to Ireland in May 2011. The historic visit was a huge success and Mary McAleese was widely praised and admired for the way she carried out her duties marking the occasion as one of the highlights of her Presidency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVcOlJBppw

A week later President Barack Obama also arrived in Ireland and President McAleese was called on once again to meet one of the most powerful men in the world. But as always she carried out her duties with her usual aplomb.

In November, 2011, President McAleese completed her second term in office and was succeeded by President Michael D. Higgins.

On one of her final engagements she said she had loved every day of her Presidency and felt extremely grateful for the honour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmQEIZp478

Joyce Hatto: The Great Pianist That Fooled The World

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:09:51 +0000

In 2003, she would become the most famous pianist in the world. The toast and the envy of the music industry, Joyce Hatto rose from a place of previous obscurity to temporarily become the world’s transcendent piano player as a series of her recordings caused tidals waves throughout the classical music sphere.

A Musical Genius?

So what made her performances so special? The reasons were two-fold. Hatto’s recordings were exquisite and masterful. More importantly though was the astonishing breadth of her repertoire. She appeared to be able to play the works of every famous composer with equal virtuosity and brilliance. From the classical style of Mozart to the romanticism of Tchaikovsky and Chopin, Hatto, it seemed, could play anything with equal aplomb.

To put this in context Hatto’s ability would be the musical equivalent of a doctor being an expert in all fields of medicine, a scientist excelling in all scientific fields, an engineer intimately knowing all aspects of machines and building construction. To put it mildly Hatto was a musical oddity.

Who Was She? Where Did She Come From?

As soon as her recordings began to cause a stir people wanted to know the person behind the music. Who was this woman and where had she been hiding all these years? The answers to these questions were to come thick and fast. Not only that, but they were nearly as unbelievable as the recordings themselves.

Joyce Hatto was born in London on the 5th September, 1928. She was a promising young concert pianist who performed as a soloist in Britain and Europe during the 1950′s and 1960′s with some critical acclaim.

However, during the 1970′s Hatto suddenly disappeared from public view. It wasn’t until 2003, with the realease of her remarkable recordings, that she had come out again.

When more details of how and why the recordings were made began to filter into the public. Hatto’s story turned surreal, when it emerged that she was dying of cancer and had recorded her now world-famous music in a shed in her back garden.

Unending Virtuosity

Outstanding recording after outstanding recording continued to emerge from Hatto as the music industry listened mouths agape in wonderment. In all, Hatto would produce over 100 recordings of the most stunning performances the music world had ever heard. All of this came from a shed in a back garden while Hatto was fighting cancer.

Doubts About Hatto’s Authenticity

In May, 2005, a comment by the musicologist Marc-Andre Roberge on a Yahoo group would later hint at disquiet beneath the surface. Roberge said that on a Chopin-Godowsky recording, a misread chord was identical to one played by the highly accomplished Italian pianist, Carlo Grante. No further heed was paid to this comment until much later.

But doubts were beginning to emerge about the likelihood of a pianist, who had disappeared for over three decades from public consciousness, producing such sterling works while being in the last years of her life.

On June 29th, 2006, Joyce Hatto died.

A Shattered Legacy

The revealing of the true nature of Joyce Hatto’s works would come from a rather unexpected source. A New York financial analyst one day noticed that Joyce Hatto’s Liszt Transcendental Studies were credited to another composer, a hungarian called Laszlo Simon. He informed the classical critic, Jed Distler, of this strange quirk.

Hatto’s musical legacy was destroyed when Distler and others carefully uncovered the true sources of the works. It quickly became apparent that all of the recordings were from other musicians.

The Brainchild Of Hatto’s Husband

Hatto’s husband, William Barrington-Coupe, was the man responsible for the fraud. It would emerge that pianists, Carlo Grante, Andre Previn, Laszlo Simon and John O’Connor, amongst others, were the actual sources for the music.

It would later emerge that Barrignton-Coupe, a record producer by profession, had not just copied from other recordings. In some cases the plagiarised music was sped up or slowed down. This digital manipulation was so good that it even fooled those whose material was stolen. When their own music was played to them many just did not recognise it as being their own playing.

Lingering Questions

Her music may have taken the world by surprise and prior to the true nature of ‘her’ recordings she was many people’s favourite pianist. What role, if any, she played in her husbands scheme is open to conjecture. Barrington-Coupe claims that she believed the recordings to be her own and he didn’t tell her otherwise.

Joyce Hatto: The Great Pianist That Fooled The World

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton: The Most Famous Woman In Britain

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:13:57 +0000

She has become one of the most famous women in the world. As she takes her place in one of the last remaining monarchies. The woman called Kate is now the envy of many.

Catherine Elizabeth ‘Kate’ Middleton, in many ways like Princess Diana, has come from obscurity to become the main focal point of media attention. This transition could not have been easy as she comes across as a relatively quiet girl who isn’t comfortable in the glare of the spotlight.

However, one gets the impression that Kate is more than ready for the job. Unlike Princess Diana she is getting married at an older age and has seen more of life. Her and William have been living together and she has already accompanied him on some of his official duties.

A Changed Life

Now that she has married Prince William her life will no longer be her own. Every move will be watched, every gesture and expression will be photographed and spread across the tabloids and magazines. Her clothes, hair, shoes will all be scrutinised while clothes designers will queue up in the hopes that she will chose to wear one of their outfits.

The Question On Everyone’s Lips

So what is it about Kate Middleton that is so special, why did one of the most eligible batchelors in the world chose her. Willliam could have had any girl he wanted he only had to look at women to have them fall at his feet. Yet it was Kate Middleton who caught his eye and with whom he fell in love with after meeting her for the first time in the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland.

Apart from falling in love, William would have had to ensure that, as future King, he was choosing a woman who would fit into the role of a suitable wife. She would have to be able to meet and greet world leaders, celebrities, ordinary people on the street as well as charity leaders.

Pressure, Pressure, Pressure

There will be enormous pressure on the marriage and on top of that she will be expected to produce a son and heir. Both Kate and William are said to be quiet and like a peaceful life, however, from the moment they said ‘I do‘ their life became almost public property.

Kate Middleton is poised, beautiful and very feminine. Known as a commoner she appears to have made a favourable impression with the royal family and the Queen apparently likes her and indeed gave her a loan of her tiara to wear on her wedding day.

But for William, Kate must resemble in some way his mother Princess Diana who showered him and his brother Harry with affection. In Kate he must see at least some of his mother’s personality traits, perhaps kindness and affection.

Prince William gave Kate his mother’s engagement ring saying that was his way of allowing his mother to be part of the day. He is also said to be delighted to be part of Kate’s family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2W1srnpyEk

On their wedding day Kate’s mother Carol Middleton wore an outfit designed by Catherine Walker the designer used by the late Princess Diana. This was seen as a way of remembering William’s mother.

Both William and Kate are said to have increased the popularity rating of the Royal Family which was damaged greatly following the death of Princess Diana. Their wedding attracted at least two billion TV viewers from around the world, while thousands upon thousands of people lined the streets to try to get a glimpse of the happy couple.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38lPvrPuT4

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton: The Most Famous Woman In Britain

Henrietta Swan Leavitt: She Changed The World But Paid The Price

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:18:22 +0000

While Edwin Hubble may have garnered all the plaudits for discovering other galaxies, the true genius that did all the work is often forgotten. Punished because of her sex, Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s work has changed the nature of astronomy forever.

Science, like virtually every aspect of humanity, is bound by our mindset. Sometimes we can be confined by convention and concepts that we take for granted. The greatest thinkers have questioned the status quo and have revealed our world to be much different than we imagine. Henrietta Swan Leavitt was one such person.

The Problem Of Measuring Distance

Scientists were faced with a very difficult problem when it came to measuring distance and time in the Universe. One of the earlier methods of calculating distance, was through parallax. This basically used two perspectives to measure objects. So for example, a star’s position was noted in both summer and winter. The angle between the two positions allowed astronomers to measure distances between stars in Space.

However, measuring distance using parallax had a significant drawback. The further away the objects were, the smaller the difference in perspectives. Certain objects could not be measured as they were too far away.

A Universe With Only One Galaxy

Prior to Leavitt many scientists maintained that the Milky Way was the only galaxy in the Universe. Although there were those that thought otherwise, neither side could conclusively prove their argument one way or another as it was possible to use evidence to support both sides.

This debate would not be solved until the 1920′s when an unsung woman would change the nature of the world for ever.

The Genius Of Leavitt

Henrietta Swan Leavitt changed all this as she helped to conclusively prove that there were a myriad of galaxies in the Universe. She worked as a so-called ‘computer’ counting images of stars on plate photographs taken from telescopes throughout the world.

With painstaking effort and detail Leavitt marked out the subtle details of the stars and recorded them. During the course of this work, she would come up with a remarkable idea that centred on objectively finding the true brightness of the stars.

The Cepheid Variable

One particular star that caught her attention is called a Cepheid variable. Cepheid variables are pulsing stars that populate the Universe. The genius of Leavitt was that she recognised that there was a distinct correlation between their luminosity and the rate at which they pulsed. To simplify, there was a relationship to the number of times they blinked and their brightness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9gvk_OkrPw

Once Leavitt knew this she could find Cepheid variables that pulsed at the same rate. These stars, even if one shun brighter than the other would burn at the same luminosity. The only difference was that the dimmer star was farther away. Using this Leavitt could calculate the distance between the brighter and dimmer stars. Leavitt had discovered a way of measuring stars that lay well beyond the limitations of parallax and the standard candle, which is used to measure the vast distances of Space, was born.

Sexism

But Leavitt was a second class citizen. She, like countless others, was forbidden from using a telescope. Why? Because she was a woman and women were believed to be intellectually inferior to men. And so in this sexist environment she couldn’t progress her work.

Instead her work was taken up by the visionary and highly egotistical Edwin Hubble. Hubble, using the latest in telescopic technology, used Leavitt’s work to find a Cepheid that was outside of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The variable was located in our nearest neighbouring galaxy, in what would become known as Andromeda. The Andromeda galaxy is over 2.5 million light years away. Or if you look at it another way – what we see in the sky as Andromeda is what the galaxy looked like over two million years ago. When we look up at Andromeda in the night sky we are actually receiving the light that started off on its 2.5 million year journey before the existence of the modern human.

Leavitt’s Achievement

Through Leavitt, Hubble had shattered the belief that the Milky Way was an island galaxy, the only galaxy in the Universe. One can only speculate what Leavitt would have achieved in a non-sexist world but stuck in the early 20th century, it was clear that being a woman prevented her from realising her potential.

As it stands, despite all of this, Leavitt managed to change the world, she may not have received the Nobel Prize for Physics but thanks to her we now have a better understanding of the Universe, and the world that we inhabit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjmjEDYqbCk

Recommended Get The Book Through Amazon

Notable Women and Broken Ceilings: Female Firsts in Computing Including Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Radia Perlman and More goes some way towards addresses the forgotten women who contributed so much to our world.

You can obtain Notable Women and Broken Ceilings here from Amazon.

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For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom you can access Notable Women and Broken Ceilings here.

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For Germany: Notable Women and Broken Ceilings.

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Henrietta Swan Leavitt: She Changed The World But Paid The Price

Julia Child: Passionate About Cooking

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 17 May 2010 21:30:36 +0000

Eccentric, larger-than-life and extremely charismatic, one woman revolutionised cooking in the United States. Becoming America’s culinary sweetheart by bringing the exotic and sophisticated French cuisine into homes across the USA, Julia Child became one of the first celebrity chefs of the television age.

Making cooking fun and enjoyable with her unconventional and no nonsense approach, she made creating some of the most exquisite dishes simple and easy.

Early Life

Julia Child was born Julia McWilliams, in Pasadena, California, on August 15, 1912. Julia received her education at the prestigious Katherine Branson School for Girls after which she went on to study at the Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

After her graduation she moved to New York where she went to work as a copywriter in the advertising department of W&J Sloan a home furnishings company.

Patriotic Espionage

When World War Two broke out Julia, volunteered as a research assistant for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) a government intelligence agency, where she worked for the head of OSS, Gen William Donovan.

In 1944 she was posted to Kandy, Ceylon, where she was responsible for registering, and communicating huge volumes of highly classified documents to OSS undercover stations in Asia.

She was later posted to China where she received the Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service as head of the Registry of the OSS Secretaria. While she was in China she met and fell in love with Paul Cushing Child, who was also an OSS employee, when the war was over the couple returned to America and got married in September 1946.

Paul Child had lived in Paris for a while living as an artist and poet and while there he developed a love of sophisticated food and fine wine. Under his influence Julia also became interested in food and wine.

In 1948 her husband was sent to Paris to work in the U.S Information Service, and Julia went with him. Julia often recalled her first meal in Paris, which consisted of oysters, sole meuniere and wine, she described it as ‘opening up the sour and spirit for me’.

French Cuisine

While she was in Paris she began to take a great interest in French cuisine and enrolled for a six month course in the world famous Cordon Bleu cooking school where she took private lessons from one of their master chefs.

When she left the school Julia and two other students Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck decided to start up their own cooking school. Together they wanted to bring French cuisine to America. The new school was called L’Ecole de Trois Gourmandes.

Julia, Louisette and Simone also published a cookbook titled Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One. The book was a terrific success. Julia was back living in Massachusetts and was in a position to be able to promote the book on the Boston public broadcasting station, during which she prepared an omelette, the public loved her down to earth manner and humour and soon after Julia was invited to present her own cookery series.

Julia The TV Presenter

The new series called The French Chef premiered on WGBH in 1962 and was an instant success. The series helped to transform the way Americans related to food. Soon after The French Chef was syndicated to 96 stations throughout America. Julia received The George Foster Peabody Award in 1964 and an Emmy Award in 1966. The programme also became the first programme to be captioned for the deaf.

America’s Favourite Chef

Julia became more and more successful regularly appearing on Good Morning, America. Her other television programmes included Julia Child and Company, Julia Child and More Company and Dinner at Julia’s. She also published more bestselling books, Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 2 (Paperback) in partnership with Simone Beck, another book From Julia Child’s Kitchen was illustrated with her husband’s photographs.

In 1981, Julia founded the Educational American Institution of Wine & Food, which became the American Center For Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa, California, with vintners Robert Mondavi and Richard Graff. The aim of the institution was to promote and advance the appreciation of fine wine.

Paul’s Death and Retirement

Her husband Paul died in 1994 and in 2001 Julia moved into a retirement community in Santa Barbara, California.

On August 13, 2004, Julia died from kidney failure.

Julia’s last book was published posthumously in 2006, the book which was autobiographical was titled My Life in France and was written with her husband’s great nephew Alex Prudhomme.

Julia Child And Accusations Of Homophobia

Some people have claimed that Julia Child was homophobic. Author Laura Shapiro in her book, Julia Child: A Life, (see below for link) quotes Julia Child as saying:

‘She often used the term pedal or pedalo—French slang for a homosexual—draping it with condescension, pity, and disapproval. “I had my hair permanented at E. Arden’s, using the same pedalo I had before (I wish all the men in OUR profession in the USA were not pedals!),”‘

However, it must also be noted that one of Julia Child’s most adored friends was American chef and writer, James Beard who happened to be gay.

Julia Child was also actively involved with AIDS benefits at a time when AIDS was almost exclusively associated with homosexuals.

Julie Powell

In 2002 a woman called Julie Powell began to blog her experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The Blog later became a memoir, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, the paperback version of the memoir was retitled Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.

The screenplay was written by Nora Ephron, for the film Julie & Julia , which is currently on release starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBQD3aSZ9R4

Elizabeth Arden: A Pioneering Woman

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:50 +0000

‘I want to be the richest little woman in the world’, these were the words of Elizabeth Arden, the pioneering woman who brought cosmetics to American Women.

When Elizabeth made that quote, she had no notion how she would fulfil her dream, but fulfil it she did, leaving a legacy that will last for years to come.

Quick Reference Guide
Birth Of A Legend
Early Career
New York
Her First Business
France
Marriage
Death
Further Reading

Birth Of A Legend

Elizabeth Arden was born in the village of Woodbridge, Ontario, on December 31, 1878, to William Graham and Suzan Tadd Graham. She was christened Florence Nightingale Graham, after the famous nurse of the 19th century.

Florence’s mother died when she was just six years old which had a profound effect on her growing up. With the result she feared close relationships for the rest of her life.

Early Career

When she was in her twenties, Florence decided to follow in the footsteps of her namesake and went to study nursing in Toronto. However, the nursing profession wasn’t for her and she later dropped out, but not before learning something about facial creams.

In the hospital she met a man who was experimenting with a cream to help heal blemishes. Florence took this idea back home to Woodbridge, where she began to experiment in the family kitchen. However, her father soon got tired of all the procedures and ordered her to get a ‘proper job’.

New York

Florence then took a series of non-descript jobs which didn’t inspire her, so she moved to New York where she felt there would be more opportunities for her to succeed. She loved New York and what it had to offer.

She soon got a job as a bookkeeper at E.R. Squibb Pharmaceutical Company. While she was there she spent a lot of time in their laboratory, learning all she could about skincare.

On leaving Squibbs, Florence got a job in a beauty parlour owned by Eleanor Adair, working as a cashier.

Never one to waste her time, she asked Eleanor if she could learn to do some of the treatments. After that it wasn’t long before Florence became a favourite with the clientele.

Her First Business

Florence then went into business with Elizabeth Hubbard, a beauty culturist, opening what was to be her first beauty salon, but the partnership didn’t last and Florence became the sole owner of the salon.

Soon after the split from Hubbard, Florence changed her name to Elizabeth Arden, Elizabeth she took from her former partner because the name was already in gold lettering over the door, and Arden from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson called ‘Enoch Arden’.

She then added what was to become her trademark, a large red door with her nameplate in brass. Elizabeth Arden had arrived.

France

In 1912 Arden went to France to study facial massage. She was amazed by what she saw, women wearing rouge, lipstick and mascara. She soon realized that when these were applied with care, they had a stunning effect on the facial features of the wearer. She studied in many beauty salons in Paris, before returning home to Canada.

On her return, she began to create her own range of creams and she enlisted the help of pharmacist, A. Fabian Swanson, to create a fluffy face cream. She called the cream Venetian Cream Amaretta. Working together they also created the Arden Skin Tonic.

At the time the only women in North America wearing make-up were those performing on stage. Arden began to show women how to apply make-up and how to dress for a career outside the home. Meanwhile more and more of her beauty salons began to spring up.

She also turned her hand to pioneering restorative musical exercises which were based on yoga. In 1943, continually diversifying her business, Arden branched into fashion with designers Charles James and Oscar de la Renta.

Marriage

In 1915, Elizabeth Arden married Thomas Jenkins Lewis, a banker, who took over the running of the business. The marriage didn’t last though and she divorced him in 1934.

Marriage to second husband, Prince Michael Eylanoff, was equally unsuccessful and also ended in divorce in 1944.

She never married again, instead she developed a new passion, horseracing. But always the business woman, Arden turned her love of horses into a successful business. She opened Maine Chance Stables and by 1945 she had won $589,000 from her horses. In 1947 her horse Jet Pilot, won the Kentucky Derby.

Death

Elizabeth Arden died in New York in 1966, she was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, New York, under the name Elizabeth N.Graham. She left an estate worth up to $40 million and hundreds of beauty salons all over the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLh8Gx_h5ak

Helena Rubinstein: A Woman Who Made Beauty Her Business

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:50:10 +0000

Helena Rubinstein cosmetics are known, used and loved by women throughout the world.

The Rubinstein name is synonymous with glamour and beauty but Helena Rubinstein was a hard nosed business woman who built an empire from very little.

The eldest of eight children, Chaza Rubinstein was born in 1870, in Krakow, Poland, to Agusta Gitte (Gitel) Scheindel Silberfeld Rubinstein and Naftali Herz Horace Rubinstein.

Quick Reference Guide
Australia
London
United States and Her Success
Further Reading

Chaza claimed she studied medicine in Switzerland and according to herself gave it up because ‘she fainted in the wards’.

Australia

At the age of 18 she emigrated to Australia, where she changed her first name to Helena. The women in Australia admired her creamy skin, so Helena had her mother send over the jars of the face cream she used in Poland.

A year after arriving in Australia, Helena Rubinstein opened her first shop, in which she sold creams she made from lanolin, pretending it had come from the Carpathian Mountains.

Australian women loved the product and soon Helena’s sister Ceska joined her in the business.

London

Ceska soon took over the management of the shop while Helena flew off to London where she opened a beauty salon.

Soon after she met an American journalist named Edward Titus and the couple married in 1908. The couple had two sons Roy, born in 1908, and Horace born in 1912.

Helena balanced family life with developing her creams and establishing herself socially in London. Meanwhile her husband Titus helped with her advertising campaigns

In 1914 the family moved to Paris where she opened another beauty salon, this became a further success. The family stayed in Paris until the outbreak of World War I, when they moved the United States.

United States and Her Success

In America, Helena opened more beauty salons starting in New York where she opened the first Maison de Beaute, located on West 49th street. She gradually branched out to other major cities.

Like in Australia, American women couldn’t get enough of her creams and department stores vied with each other to stock her products. Helena then began to distribute her products through specially trained sales girls in department stores eventually having her own counters.

In 1928 she sold her controlling interest in her United States business to Lehman Brothers for over $7m, as she wanted to concentrate on the European market, however she wasn’t satisfied Leman’s were maintaining the high quality she had built her reputation on, so she bought back the business a year later for $1.5m.

Her empire continued to grow, and she became famous for her collections of paintings, jewellery and sculpture.

In 1938 she and Titus who was a philanderer by all accounts, were divorced, and later that same year Helena Rubinstein married Russian, Prince Artchil Gourielli-Tchkonia.

The Helena Rubinstein Foundation was founded in 1953 in order to fund education and research.

Helena Rubinstein died of natural causes on April 1, 1965, she was 94 years old. She revolutionised the world of make-up in a manner which took the world by storm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx__f2Sjbpk

Meryl Streep: An Extraordinary Talent

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:09 +0000

Meryl Streep, is one of the finest, most talented and intelligent actresses of our time. She seems to inhabit characters rather than merely playing a role. Portraying some of the most difficult and memorable figures ever written for women, Meryl Streep has continuously redefined the definition of great acting.

Her ability to make any role her own has made her a firm favourite with directors and film buffs. From the formidable and flamboyant Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada , to the stern puritan Sister Aloysius Beauvoir in Doubt her talents have never been confined to one particular genre.

To date, Meryl Streep has received a staggering 15 Oscar nominations and won twice.

Her Early Years

Born Mary Louise Streep, in 1949, in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary W. Streep, a commercial artist, and Henry William Streep Jr. a pharmaceutical executive. Streep has two younger brothers Dana and Harry.

Streep attended Bernard’s High School, before going on to study at Vassar College, where she received some tuition from Jean Arthur(an American film star of the 1930s and 40s) before going on to graduate with a BA in Drama in 1971. She subsequently secured an M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) from Yale School of Drama.

John Cazale

Meryl Streep met actor John Cazale while working on the set of the theatre production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure in 1976. Reckoned by many to be one of the most gifted actors of his generation, John starred, to critical acclaim, in Dog Day Afternoonand The Godfather Part II.

However, devastating news lay ahead not long into the couple’s relationship when John was diagnosed with cancer of the bone and he was given a bleak prognosis.

Her First Film

Under the shawdow of the emotional turmoil caused by John’s condition, Meryl made her debut in her first film Julia in 1977 and was praised for her performance. The following year, 1978, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, for her role as Linda in the film The Deer Hunter opposite John, who was now her fiance.

John’s Death

Meryl had taken the role in The Deer Hunter to be near John who was in the terminal stages of of cancer at the time. She was not terribly interested in the part and was quoted as saying “They needed a girl between the two guys and I was it’. That same year she played the role of Inga in the film Holocaust, the film was shot in Germany and Austria.

When Streep returned from filming she found her fiancé Cazale’s health had greatly deteriorated and she nursed him until he died on March 12, 1978.

Don Gummer

The same year Meryl Streep met her future husband Don Gummer. A friend of her brother, Gummer is a sculptor. The couple married on September 15, 1978. In 1979 the couple had their first child, Henry. Her second child Mary was born in 1983 and in 1986 she gave birth to her third child, Grace Jane Gummer.

And The Oscar Goes To…

In 1979, Streep played the role of Joanna Kramer, a mother who fights to win custody of her child only to realize he is happiest living with his father played by Dustin Hoffman. Streep won an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress.

There followed a host of successful films including, The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Still Of The Night.

Sophie’s Choice

The 1982 film, Sophie’s Choice saw Streep cast in the role of a polish holocaust survivor. Streep is said to have filmed ‘the choice’ in one take refusing to do it again as she found it so emotionally draining. She was nominated and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Silkwood

She followed up on this success in 1983 with the portrayal of union activist Karen Silkwood in the eponymous film Silkwood. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance.

Since then Streep has gone on to star in box office hits such as Out of Africa (1985) playing the role of Karen Bixen, a Danish writer opposite Robert Redford.

Lindy Chamberlain

In 1988 A Cry in the Dark was released in which Streep played Australian woman Lyndy Chambarlain.

Based on a true story, A Cry In The Dark documented a young couple’s experience of a misappropriation of justice. On August 17, 1980, a dingo took Lindy’s daughter, Azaria, while the family were camping at Uluru, Queensland, Australia.

At an incompetent hearing, the prosecution citing evidence of blood presented in the Chamberlain’s car, put forth a theory that Lindy had slit the throat of her own daughter.

Lindy Chamberlain was found guilty and sentenced to life while Michael, her husband, was convicted of assisting his wife in the murder of Azaria. While in prison Lindy gave birth to her fourth child, Kahlia.

After an unsuccessful appeal new evidence was found in February 2, 1986. Azaria’s clothing was found partially buried near Uluru beside a dingo lair. She was released from prison a few days later and it later emerged that the ‘baby blood’ in the family car could have been any substance. There have been several cases of dingos killing children since.

Continuing Excellence

In 1995, she starred in the romantic The Bridges of Madison County opposite Clint Eastwood, playing the role of Francesca Johnson.

In 2002 she appeared in another successful film, playing the role of Clarissa Vaughan in The Hours which also starred Nicole Kidman as Virgina Woolf

In 2004 she was cast as Eleanor Shaw in The Manchurian Candidate that same year she returned to comedy for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events where she played Aunt Josephine.

Recent Films

Her more recent films include the enormously popular The Devil Wears Prada, and Mamma Mia! The Movie.

Her last film to date is Julie & Julia (film review) in which she plays the part of Julia Child a TV cook and author in the 70s and 80s.

Meryl Streep is now in her 60s and no doubt will continue to amaze entertain and touch the lives of millions of people all over the world with her marvellous portrayal of women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjD-QzzHgR0

Serena Williams: Top Women’s Tennis Player

Yellow Magpie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:42:12 +0000

Serena Williams was born on September 26, 1981, into the tough neighbourhood of Compton, Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard and Oracene Williams. The youngest of five daughters. Serena’s father had long been a tennis fan and he resolved to teach all his children how to play the game. However, only Serena and her sister Venus took a keen interest in playing.

Early Life

When Serena was still a child, the family moved to live in Los Angeles, and later when she was nine years old they moved to West Palm Beach where she attended the academy of Rick Macci.

While Serena and Venus received tuition from Macci they were educated at home by their father. They then enrolled in Driftwood Academy which was a private high school in Lake Park Florida.

At the age of 14, Serena turned professional making her debut in October 1995 at the Bell Challenge in Vanier, Quebec, Canada. However, she lost in under an hour to a virtual unknown. Her father Richard, who was not without his critics, offered Serena constant encouragement and her game thrived and improved dramatically.

Under her father’s advice, Serena took the year off in 1996 and instead concentrated on training and developing her game.

Professional Calling

Her first professional WTA match was in Moscow in 1997. Disappointingly, Serena crashed out in the first round. But things were about to change for Serena and she qualified for a tournament in Chicago. It was in Chicago, Serena faced the world’s number seven seed, Mary Pierce. There she staged a major upset, beating Pierce in straight sets.

This advanced her into the quarter finals, where her opponent was fourth seed Monica Seles. Again Serena defeated Seles in what was a massive victory for her. The win, saw her ranking shoot from 304 to 102 in the world.

By the following year Serna had risen to number 21 in the world and reached the semi-finals of a tournament in Sydney, Australia, where she beat third-ranked Lindsay Davenport. Expectations were high when she went into the Australian Open, but in the second round her older sister Venus was her opponent and Venus emerged victorious.

In 1999, Serena won the Paris Indoor Tournament when she beat Amelie Mauresmo. She followed up this victory by winning the India Wells, beating off Lindsey Davenport, Mary Pierce and Steffi Graf. However, once again she was beaten by her sister Venus in the finals of a tournament in Miami.

Grand Slam Success

Her most important victory that year was in the U.S. Open, where she reached the finals by seeing off, Monica Seles, Lindsey Davenport and finally Martina Hingis. This was her first Grand Slam tournament, making her the lowest seeded player to ever win the title. Her only remaining challenge was to beat her sister Venus, something she did later that year in the Grand Slam Cup.

Just as her star was in the ascendant, Serena began to be plagued with injuries forcing her to pull out of many tournaments Finally she decided to take time off to heal and by June 2000 she was back healthier and fitter than she had ever been.

She qualified for Wimbledon, but once again in the semi finals she faced her sister Venus, who won 6-2, 7-6. However she did win the doubles at Wimbledon and the doubles at the Summer Olympics in Australia that same year, each time with her sister Venus as her partner.

2001 brought a less than auspicious start for Serena. In Sydney she lost to Martina Hingis and in the Australian Open, Hingis beat her once again. But with her sister Venus at her side, the dynamic duo won the Australian Open doubles.

Once again ill-health forced her out of tournaments, including the Paris, Scottsdale, Charleston, and Madrid tournaments.

But she came back to win the Canadian Open beating number three Jennifer Capriati. But her sister Venus once again defeated her in the final of the U.S. Open.

In 2002, she was on top of her game and went on to win the Italian and French Open where for the first time she beat her sister in a Grand Slam, giving her a rating of number 2 in the world. She defeated Venus again when they met in the 2002 final at Wimbledon, making her the number one female tennis player in the world.

2002-2003 saw Serena dominating the courts, defeating Venus yet again in the U.S. Open. She won numerous other tournaments becoming one of only four women to hold Four Grand Slam Titles at one time. But Belgian woman, Justine Henin-Hardenne, ended her winning streak in the Charleston tournament finals, ending Serena’s tour de force of 21 match wins.

Back To Her Glorious Best

Toward the end of 2003, she was defeated once again by Henin-Hardenne, in the semi-finals of the French Open. During the match she was constantly heckled by the partisan crowd. Many believed the match was the beginning of the end for Serena, however she proved them wrong when she came back with a vengeance to win over Venus in Wimbledon.

Since then Serena Williams has won 22 Grand Slam titles, and is ranked number two in the world. She beat her sister Venus in Wimbledon again this year 2009. She has also won two Olympic Gold Medals and has earned more prize money than any other female athlete in history.

Outside Of Tennis

However Tennis is not her only love, she also enjoys acting and has appeared in shows such as NBC’s Law and Order and ABC’s My Wife and Kids. She has also appeared on numerous talk shows.

Both Serena and Venus are Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a result, they do not vote in elections or get involved in politics. Consequently, neither voted in the 2008 US elections.

Serena has a keen interest in fashion and designs her own clothes. Her designs are called Aneres, which is her own name spelled backwards. She is hoping to sell her clothing range in boutiques in Los Angeles and Miami.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlH0bLgMZtg

Jacqueline Kennedy: Wife Of President John F Kennedy

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:22:09 +0000

Early Picture Of Jacqueline Kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy seemed to have it all, beautiful, smart, elegant and married to the President of the United States of America. She was the envy of every woman in the world.Yet the reality of her life was very different and was instead filled with sadness and tragedy.

A Life Filled With Tragedy

From an early age Jacqueline encountered loss with her parents divorcing when she was very young. Her marriage to JFK was also marked with the loss of two babies her first through miscarraige and the other through respiratory disease.

She also had to endure the humiliation of her husband’s constant womanising, the most notorious being with Marilyn Monroe. Her controversial marriage to Aristotle Onnassis was another disaster with the two constantly rowing. Jacqueline Kennedy’s life was anything but Camelot.

Jacqueline Kennedy’s Early Life

Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier was born in Southampton, New York, on July 28, 1929. The daughter of John Vernon Bouvier the third, and his wife, Janet Lee, Jacqueline’s younger sister Caroline was born in 1933.

Jacqueline was educated in the very best private schools, such as Chapin and Miss Porter’s School in Farmington Connecticut. She also learned to ride horses and studied ballet. In addition, she loved to write stories and poems. In 1948, she was named ‘Debutant of the Year’.

Parent’s Divorce

Her parents divorced in 1940, and in 1942, her mother married Standard Oil heir, Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jacqueline and Caroline went to live with their mother and her new husband in Merrywood. However, both sisters remained close to their father and visited him often in New York.

On graduating from High School, Jacqueline spent her first years of college life in Vassar, Poughkeepsie, New York, she also studied in the Sorbonne and Grenoble Universities, in France. On her return from France, she went to study at the George Washington University, in Washington. From there she graduated in 1951, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, in French Literature.

Early Career

Her first job was with the Washington Times Herald, where she worked as an ‘inquiring photographer’. Her job entailed asking people some questions, with the questions, answers and photographs appearing in the paper.

During her time at the paper, Jacqueline moved in the same social circle as John F. Kennedy. In May, 1952, at a dinner party organised by friends, the two were formally introduced. They dated on and off, as Kennedy was busy at the time running for the U.S. Senate, however, after he was elected, the romance became more serious and in June, 1953, they announced their engagement.

Kennedy Marriage

They got married later that same year, on September 12. The wedding was considered the event of the year, with 700 guests invited to the ceremony and 900 attending the lavish reception afterwards at Hammersmith Farm.

In 1957 following an earlier miscarriage and the birth of a still-born girl in 1956, their first child Caroline Bouvier was born.

Jacqueline Kennedy found being the wife of an energetic politician, difficult. She also found the demands of the Kennedy family hard to cope with. Her husband was in bad health and suffered chronic back pain, from a war time injury. During his time of illness, Jacqueline encouraged him to write. The result was ‘Profiles in Courage’ a book which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

Presidential Campaign

In 1960, John F. Kennedy, announced that he was going for the Presidency, Jacqueline helped him in his campaign, doing everything she could to support him. A couple of months into the campaign she discovered she was pregnant. Because of her previous history, her doctor ordered her to stay home.

However, this didn’t stop Jacqueline from being an important source of support to her husband. From her home she answered thousands of campaign letters, gave interviews, and wrote a newspaper column, called ‘Campaign Wife’. On November 11, 1960, Jacqueline Kennedy, gave birth to her third child John Fitzgerald Kennedy Junior.

Jacqueline Kennedy: Presidential First Lady

Following her husband’s inauguration on Friday, January 20, 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy set about revamping the White House. To assist her in the restoration task, she enlisted the help of antiques experts, art historians, and directors of galleries and museums. She funded the restoration by publishing a guide book to the White House. Six months after its publication the book had sold 350,000 copies.

On February 14, 1962, she allowed CBS cameras inside the White House to see the magnificent results of her efforts. Fifty million viewers tuned in to see the hour-long tour, which combined charm, elegance and sophistication. Jacqueline had also transformed the White House into a fitting tribute to American history.

On August 7, 1963, Jacqueline gave birth to Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, sadly he died two days later on August 9 from Hyaline Membrane disease, now more commonly called infant respiratory distress syndrome.

Throughout this time, Jacqueline Kennedy had to contend with her husband’s womanising. Marilyn Monroe was one of his most famous affairs. It is believed that particular affair lasted up to 8 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQ0X9ABXqM

Assassination: Coping With Loss

In November 21, 1963, Jacqueline accompanied President Kennedy on a political trip to Dallas, Texas. There on that fateful day as she and the President were travelling in an open-top car in a motorcade, President John F. Kennedy, was shot dead.

At the age of just 34, Jacqueline Kennedy became a widow.

Viewer Discretion Is Advised For the Video Below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IHYSwK9Xac

Following the death, Jacqueline Kennedy was greatly admired for her dignity and courage, organising her husband’s funeral, with distinction and stateliness. At her request an eternal flame was placed on John F. Kennedy’s grave.

Following the death of her husband, the attention of the media focused on Jacqueline and her family, so she decided to move to New York, where she purchased an apartment, on Fifth Avenue.From there she went about establishing the John F. Kennedy Library, which is today situated in Boston.

Death Of Robert Kennedy

More tragedy arrived in June, 1968, when the younger brother of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy was also assassinated as he left the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This dealt another blow to Jacqueline Kennedy, who had grown close to Robert Kennedy and leaned on him after the death of her husband.

Jacqueline became increasingly nervous and afraid for the safety of her children and said she didn’t want to live in America any longer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmc2EzkRDkI

Troubled Marriage To Onassis

In 1968, Jacqueline Kennedy announced her engagement to Greek shipping millionaire announcement caused shock waves across the world and widespread disapproval.

Jacqueline and Aristotle were married on October 20, 1968, on the Greek Island of Skorpios. After the wedding Jacqueline, Caroline and John moved to live with Onassis, on the island.

However, although the early days of the marriage were happy, it wasn’t long before they degenerated into constant rowing as Onassis became frustrated over Jacqueline’s extravagance. To add to the tension, Onassis’s son was killed in a plane crash, leaving him bitter and depressed. Onassis also began seeing opera singer Maria Callas, whom he had dated prior to marrying Jacqueline Kennedy.

Back To New York

In January 1975, Onassis became seriously ill, and two months later on March 15, he died.

After his death, Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children moved back to New York. Once there she decided that it was time she tried to live an independent life and to rediscover herself. She took up a position as book editor at Viking, before moving to Doubleday. She was remembered at Doubleday as smart, warm and engaging.

Lymphoma And Untimely Death

In 1994, Jacqueline Kennedy was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She received chemotherapy treatment and many expected her to recover. However, further tests revealed that the disease had spread to other organs. The doctors were unable to do anything further for her. Her family brought her back home, where they stayed by her bed night and day.

On May 19, at the age of 64, she passed away.

See the second part of the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQ0X9ABXqM

Hillary Rodham Clinton: U.S. Secretary Of State

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:26:40 +0000

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton the eldest daughter of Dorothy and Hugh Rodham, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947. Hillary’s brother Hugh was born in 1950, and Tony, followed in 1954.

Hillary Rodham was brought up in a happy disciplined home in Park Ridge, Illinois, where she was encouraged to study hard. She was a keen sports enthusiast and was also heavily involved in her local Methodist Church.

Early Drive

On graduating from High School, Hillary Rodham, entered Wellesley College, where she excelled in her studies, and was a member of the school government. On her graduation, she said ‘The challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible‘.

During her summer holidays, Hillary Rodham, worked at various jobs. One of these summer jobs was in 1971, when she got her first taste of Washington, D.C. working on Senator Walter Mondale’s committee on migrant workers.

She then went on to study at Yale Law School. There she served on the Board of Editors. It was at Yale, that she met future President, Bill Clinton. She graduated with honours from Yale in 1973.

Married Life

Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton married on October 11, 1975, and moved to live in Little Rock, Arkansas. That same year she joined the faculty of the University Of Arkansas Law School. In 1978, Bill Clinton became Governor of Arkansas, and Hillary became the First Lady of Arkansas but lost her position in 1981, when Bill Clinton failed to be re-elected.

Nevertheless, she regained her title in 1983 when he was elected Governor once more and held it until 1992. Meanwhile in 1980, their daughter, Chelsea, was born.

She was twice named as one of the top 100 powerful lawyers in America by The National Law Journal.

1992 Presidential Election

During the 1992 Clinton Presidential Campaign, Hillary Clinton, was a tremendous positive source of strength to her husband. When Bill Clinton was elected President he appointed her to head the Task Force on National Health Reform. However, an initiative, the ‘Clinton Health Care Plan’, failed to win the approval of the U.S. Congress in 1993 and was abandoned, in September, 1994.

Bill’s Sex Scandal

In 1998, the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal broke. Though publicly Hillary Clinton supported her husband, it’s understood that privately, she was considering leaving him. President Clinton was impeached but the U.S. Senate failed to convict and he remained in office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSDAXGXGiEw

U.S. Senate

Hillary Clinton then set her sights on the U.S. Senate. The seat from New York was held by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was retiring after four terms. Hillary Clinton beat off stiff competition from popular Republican Rick Lazio to win by a margin of 55% to 43%.

This was the first time a wife of a former President had ever sought and won a national office position. She was also the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from New York. In November, 2006, she was re-elected to the post.

Hillary For President

In 2007, Hillary Clinton, decided to throw her hat into the ring and again attempt to make history by becoming the first female President. However, she conceded her nomination to Barack Obama, who held the majority of the delegate vote.

Obama went on to win the Presidential election, making him the first black President of the United States. He nominated Hillary Clinton to become Secretary of State. She was officially approved by the senate on January 21, 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeFMZ7fpGHY

Madonna: Controversial And Talented Pop Icon

Yellow Magpie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:52:07 +0000

Madonna Louise Vericona Ciccone was born into an Italian family in Bay City Michigan, on August 16, 1958.

Her father Sylvio ‘Tony’ Ciccone was a design engineer, working for General Motors. Her mother, Madonna Fortin, died at the age of 30 with breast cancer. Madonna Louise was only six years old at the time.

Early Life

Madonna grew up in a strict Catholic home, with numerous holy pictures adorning the walls. Priests and nuns were frequent visitors to the house.

Controversially, Madonna was later to incorporate some of these influences into her musical career. In the 1970s Madonna went to the University of Michigan, on a dance scholarship. However, she only stayed for two years, before moving to New York, where she studied dance with choreographer Alvin Ailey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pInSXr1CKdw

Music Career

In 1979 she began dancing with the Patrick Hernandez Revue. After that, she joined with Dan Gilroy to form the band Breakfast Club. When she left the Breakfast Club she joined forces with former boyfriend Stephen Bray to form the band Emmy. The band was successful and produced two New York Club hits, ‘Everybody’, and ‘Physical Attraction

Madonna broke away from the club disco scene and into mainstream pop, with her next single, ‘Holiday. The song was a US top twenty hit in 1983, and made the top ten in Europe, it was the song that was to launch Madonna into the stratosphere.

Use of Controversy

Madonna quickly became famous for her raunchy style and Marilyn Monroe-like, blonde bombshell persona. Never afraid to court controversy, Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin’ was one of the biggest hits of 1985. She dedicated the song to the pope, when she sang it, in Rome. The church had earlier been critical of her use of a crucifix in one of her stage shows.

1985, was a busy and successful year, for Madonna. She appeared in her first film Desperately Seeking Susan, and performed in the Live Aid Concert, it was also the year she married actor Sean Penn, which she did on her birthday August 16.

Between 1985 and 1987, Madonna produced a string of hits, including, ‘Crazy for You’, ‘Into the Groove’, ‘Papa Don’t Preach’, ‘La Isla Bonita’ and ‘Who’s that Girl’.

However, her career began to take a nose dive following the flop of her next film Shanghai Surprise, with husband Sean Penn. In 1988, she appeared on Broadway in a play by David Mamet called ‘Speed The Plow’. She separated from Penn, that same year. Madonna began to be viewed by many as a ‘has been’.

Revolving Reinvention

But her decline, was short-lived, and with her uncanny ability to re-invent herself, in 1989, she again drew down the ire of the Vatican, when she recorded ‘Like A Prayer’, the video of the song, was slammed by the church for linking religion with eroticism. But the publicity only served to help sell more albums for Madonna, and it became a best seller across the world.

Madonna was catapulted into the spotlight once again for her book, ‘Sex’ which was launched amidst a hail of publicity. The book flew off the shelves, and went into an immediate reprint. In 1996, she appeared in the movie Evita based on the life of Eva Peron. Her performance won her a golden globe.

Later that year on October 14, she gave birth to her first child, with her personal trainer Carlos Leon, she called the baby girl Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.

In 1998, she released the album ‘Ray of Light’, for which she won 3 Grammy Awards. At the beginning of the new millennium, she released another successful album ‘Music’, the title song and ‘Don’t tell Me’, were mega hits for Madonna. Later that year, she met British Film Director, Guy Richie. Two years later she gave birth to her second child, a boy called Rocco Richie. In 2000, the couple married in Scotland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKel5nJWXIs

2003 was the first time since her rise to stardom, that her music received less than complimentary reviews for her album American Life, in which she expresses her feelings about the war in Iraq.

Centre of Attention

More controversy was to follow when later that year, Madonna appeared on stage with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera for the MTV Video Music Awards. The performance ended with Madonna kissing Spears and then Aguileara on the lips.

In September, that same year, Madonna published her first children’s book, ‘The English Roses’, saying she wanted to help young girls and in the process help herself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usabNLrRv-8

Madonna was again at the centre of media attention, when in 2003, she began the process of adopting a baby boy from Malawi. Human rights groups were less than impressed, with many saying she had used her wealth as a way to fast track the adoption. Madonna said she couldn’t understand why they were criticising her.

However, in 2008, the process was completed and the baby was officially adopted by Madonna and Richie.

Divorce

In October that year, Madonna and Guy Richie, divorced.

In 2009, Madonna returned to Malawi, to adopt another child, this time it was a three year old girl, named Mercy James. She again encountered difficulties, but eventually the Supreme Court, allowed her to adopt the child.

No doubt, Madonna will continue to make the news in the coming years, whether it be for her music, or whatever she decides to do next. Her chameleon like ability ensures she will always be the centre of attention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRSP5ZUmxP8

Michelle Obama: First Lady Of The United States

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:02:01 +0000

Michelle La Vaughn Robinson Obama has become one of the most famous women on the planet. Instantly recognisable as the wife of the first African American President of the United States, Michelle was well established even before she met Barack Obama.

Early Childhood Growing Up

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on January, 1964, she was raised in the South Side of Chicago, in a one bedroom, apartment, her father, Fraiser, worked as a city pump operator, and was also a Democratic precinct captain. Her mother Marian, was a Spiegel’s secretary. However, she later stayed at home to raise Michelle and her older brother Craig.

Despite their humble beginnings, Michelle and her brother Craig, who is now an Ivy League basketball coach at Brown University, were both raised to believe that whatever prejudices they might encounter in their lives, they were capable of achieving great things.

Education And Debate

In the Robinson home, there was always a strong emphasis on learning and debate, with both Craig and Michelle, learning how to read before they started school. Both brother and sister, skipped second grade in school.

Michelle, excelled in school, and by sixth grade, she was attending gifted classes, before going on to Chicago’s first Whitney M. Young Magnet High School for gifted children.

When she completed high school, Michelle, was accepted to Princeton University, where she graduated with an honours BA in Sociology, in 1985. The scarcity of black students at Princeton, made Michelle Obama, intensely conscious of the issues of race.

Law Career

On graduating from Princeton, Michelle, entered Harvard Law, where she again excelled. On graduating from Harvard, she joined the law firm of Sidley Austin, where she specialised in marketing and intellectual property. It was here that she was to meet Barack Obama.

Obama had come to work as an intern for the summer of 1988, Michelle, was assigned as his mentor. Michelle, initially rejected the advances of Barack Obama. However, love prevailed, and in 1992, the couple married. Unfortunately, her father didn’t get to see his daughter marry Barack Obama, as he had died a year earlier.

New Direction

The death of her father, was the catalyst for Michelle Obama, to take a new direction in life, and she left corporate law and began to work in the public sector.

Her first job was to serve as an assistant to the Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daly. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago Office of Public Allies, where she worked for four years. During that time, she encouraged young people to work on social issues.

Michelle and Barack Obama’s first child Malia Ann Obama, was born in 1999, their second child Natasha, or Sasha as she is better known, was born in 2001.

2008 Presidential Election

When her husband was running for the Presidency, Michelle cut down her work load by 80% in order to support his campaign. She became heavily involved in his battle to win the Presidency, writing her own speeches, and appearing on several platforms with Oprah Winfrey.

Since she became First Lady, Michelle Obama, has visited, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and cancer wards. She is also a strong advocate of the Organic food movement, and has planted an organic garden in the White House along with installing Bee Hives.

Furthermore she has become an avid promoter of her husband’s political policies by supporting bills that promote them. Michelle is also seen as a role model for women everywhere. In addition she has become somewhat of a style icon, and has been compared with the late Jackie Onassis.

Under Utilised Potential

However, many believe that Michelle Obama is not living up to her true potential and wonder is she truly happy to be in the shadow of a man who was once her intern. Before she gave up her career to concentrate on her husband’s campaign, she was earning $300,000 a year as the Director of Community Relations at Chicago Hospital.

There were high hopes that when Barack Obama became U.S. President she would take the opportunity to use her influence in powerful ways especially in the area of racial divide. Instead, she seems content to promote healthy eating even though she doesn’t cook or garden herself and has become more of a yummy mummy than a powerful voice for change.

Recently the White House was called on to deny that she told Carla Bruni-Sarkozy that her new life is ”hell” and she ”can’t stand it”.

But no matter what the truth, Michelle Obama is extremely popular with an approval rating of 45%. She will be an interesting woman to watch as the Obama Presidency unfolds. How long can a woman of her intelligence take a back seat without at least some outlet for her sharp intellect?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8sjemAfvSE

Daphne du Maurier: Writer Extraordinaire

Yellow Magpie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:53:37 +0000

Daphne du Maurier, was born in London, on May 13, 1907, to the aristocratic family of actor/manager, Sir Gerald du Maurier, and actress/mother Muriel Beaumont. Daphne was also the granddaughter of caricaturist and author Sir Gerald du Maurier.

From an early age, Daphne, loved books and became a voracious reader, with a fascination for words and imagery. She was educated at home and later in Paris.

In 1928 she began to write short stories and articles. Her first novel, The Loving Spirit, was published in 1931, followed in 1936 by Jamaica Inn, which brought her to the attention of Alfred Hitchcock, who directed the film version of the book.

In 1932, Daphne married Major Frederick Browning, with whom she had three children. She continued to turn out best sellers, and another one of her books The Birds and Other Stories was successfully adapted for screen The Birds and once again directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Rebecca: Her Piece De Resistance

However, one of her most successful books, was Rebecca. This was the book that was to launch Daphne du Maurier into the higher echelons of the literary world, and she quickly became one of the most successful authors of her time.

Rebecca , tells the story of a shy young girl, who with her minder Mrs Van Hopper, is staying in Monte Carlo. Mrs Van Hopper, is overjoyed to learn that wealthy eligible English gentleman, Maxim de Winter is staying at the same hotel. De Winter is in the Monte Carlo, to try to get over the death of his wife Rebecca. Mrs Van Hopper, succeeds in introducing the young girl to Maxim and and the two hit it off.

De Winter, proposes marriage, to the innocent girl, and the happy couple return to his mansion, Manderley. However, the imposing estate is run by the housekeeper from hell Mrs Danvers, who makes the new Mrs de Winter, feel rather less than welcome. To find out if the second Mrs. de Winter, who is never named, triumphs, why not read the book, or watch the film.

The film Rebecca, which starred Laurence Olivier , and Joan Fontaine, in the leads, won an Oscar for Best Picture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkraCshPB4w

Devoted To Cornwall

Daphne du Maurier lived most of her life in Cornwall. In 1969, she was awarded a DBE, which gave her the title of Dame. She died in 1989.

Margaret Forster wrote in tribute: ’No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification…She satisfied all the questionable criteria of popular fiction, and yet satisfied too the exacting requirements of “real literature”, something very few novelists ever do‘.

Quotes from Daphne du Maurier

‘All autobiography is self-indulgent’. ‘Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.’

‘When one is writing a novel in the first person, one must be that person.’

‘Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard.’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL46-_Gx6ek