Okay so to date, “four” women have been confirmed to the Supreme Court, but never before have “three” served at the same time. I’m pretty damn excited aren’t you? Women have a stronger voice now…we are now represented in a bigger way than we ever have before…and it’s not bought and paid for. Let’s see what the power of three can do. Bring it on.

Congratulations Kagan!

Elena Kagan CONFIRMED To Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan Thursday as the Supreme Court’s 112th justice and the fourth woman in its history, granting a lifetime term to a lawyer and academic with a reputation for brilliance, a dry sense of humor and a liberal bent.

The vote was 63-37 for President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens.

Five Republicans joined all but one Democrat and the Senate’s two independents to support Kagan. In a rarely practiced ritual reserved for the most historic votes, senators sat at their desks and stood to cast their votes with “ayes” and “nays.”

Kagan watched on TV in the conference room at the solicitor general’s office, with her Justice Department colleagues looking on. She’s to be sworn in Saturday afternoon at the court by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Obama, traveling in Chicago, said Kagan will make an outstanding justice who understands that her rulings affect people, and called the addition of another woman to the court a sign of progress for the country. He invited Kagan to the White House Friday for a ceremony marking her confirmation.

The vote, Obama said, was “an affirmation of her character and her temperament; her open-mindedness and evenhandedness; her determination to hear all sides of every story and consider all possible arguments.”

Kagan isn’t expected to alter the ideological balance of the court, where Stevens was considered a leader of the liberal wing. But the two parties clashed over her nomination and the court itself. Republicans argued that Kagan was a politically motivated activist who would be unable to put aside her opinions and rule impartially. Democrats defended her as a highly qualified trailblazer for women who could bring a note of moderation and real-world experience to a polarized court they said was dominated by just the kind of activists the GOP denounced.

Kagan is the first Supreme Court nominee in nearly 40 years with no experience as a judge, and her swearing-in will mark the first time in history that three women will serve on the nine-member court together.

Her lack of judicial experience was the stated reason for one fence-sitting Republican, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, to announce his opposition to Kagan’s confirmation Thursday, just hours before the vote.Though calling her “brilliant,” Brown – who had been seen as a potential GOP supporter – said she was missing the necessary background to serve as a justice.

“The best umpires, to use the popular analogy, must not only call balls and strikes, but also have spent enough time on the playing field to know the strike zone,” Brown said.

Democrats said they hoped Kagan would act as a counterweight to the conservative majority that’s dominated the Supreme Court in recent years.

“I believe she understands that judges and justices must realize how the law affects Americans each and every day. That understanding is fundamental,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee chairman. With her confirmation, he said, “the Supreme Court will better reflect the diversity that made our country great.”

Most Republicans portrayed Kagan as a partisan who will use her post to push the Democratic agenda from the bench.

Kagan “is truly a person of the political left – now they call themselves progressives – one who has a history of working to advance the values of the left wing of the Democratic Party, and whose philosophy of judging allows a judge to utilize the power of their office to advance their vision for what America should be,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

Just one Democrat – centrist Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska – crossed party lines to oppose Kagan.

A handful of mostly moderate Republicans broke with their party to back her: Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, South Carolina’s Sen. Lindsey Graham, retiring Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar.

They argued that partisanship should play no role in debates over the Supreme Court and have called Obama’s nominee qualified.

Still, it was clear that unlike in past decades – when high court nominees enjoyed the support of large majorities on both sides – party politics was driving the debate and vote on Kagan, much as it did last year when the Senate considered Obama’s first pick, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and former President George W. Bush’s two nominees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.

GOP senators have criticized Kagan for her decision as dean to bar military recruiters from the Harvard Law School career services office because of the prohibition against openly gay soldiers. Republicans spent the last hours of debate accusing her of being hostile to gun rights, and they have also spent considerable time criticizing her stance in favor of abortion rights.

Kagan revealed little about what kind of justice she would be in weeks of private one-on-one meetings with senators and several days of testimony before the Judiciary panel, despite having famously penned a law review article blasting Supreme Court nominees for obfuscating before the Senate. She dodged questions about her personal beliefs on a host of hot-button issues and declined repeatedly to “grade” Supreme Court rulings.

But her public appearances and documents unearthed from her time serving as a Clinton administration lawyer and domestic policy aide painted a portrait of the kind of personality she’ll bring to the bench. She came across as a sharp intellect who enjoys the thrust and parry of legal debate, someone who’s willing to throw elbows to make her opinions heard but nonetheless eager to facilitate consensus. She also showed flashes of a playful, dry wit senators said would serve her well in sometimes tense court deliberations.

Kagan will be no stranger to the eight justices she is to join on the Supreme Court, having served as the government’s top lawyer arguing cases before them in a post often referred to as the “10th justice.” She’s already friendly with a number of them, not least Antonin Scalia, the conservative justice who is her ideological opposite.

Kagan’s nomination to a seat on the nation’s highest court drew relatively little notice this summer, with the public and elected officials preoccupied by bad economic news and the Gulf oil spill, and many lawmakers nervously eyeing the November midterm congressional elections.

But senators used the debate to press their dueling visions of the Supreme Court.

When sworn in, Kagan will join two other women on the court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sotomayor, who was Obama’s first nominee. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the court, by President Ronald Reagan. She served from September 1981 to January 2006.

Not since 1972 has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court nominee without experience as a judge. That year, both William Rehnquist and Lewis Powell Jr. joined the court.

*******

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

While flipping through Vogue Magazine a few weeks ago, a bright-smiled young girl and the catchy title “Brainiac Rising’ caught my eye. I read the article and thought, ‘This girl needs to be the subject of my Saturday’s blog write.”

The young lady I’m speaking of is Sarah Lewis.

(Oops photo just added. I forgot:)

“I’ve always done too much,” Sarah Lewis says in a tone that falls somewhere between self-mockery and pride.

Hmm…Well let’s see….

At thirty years old, with honors degrees from Harvard and Oxford under her belt and on the verge of a Ph.D. from Yale, she has two books nearing completion, and co-curated the SITE Santa Fe biennial, the closely watched art show, this past June.

Okay, this girl can definitely back her words. In fact people are so impressed with her that Rocco Landesman, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, wants to create a special initiative for her at the NEA in Washington, D.C. She has become a young woman to watch. As her friend Agnes Gund, MoMA’s president emerita, said the other day, “You don’t know what she’ll end up doing—there are so many possibilities.”

As I read I found some interesting things in this article. First let me preface with this:

Awhile ago, and I blogged about it briefly, Doug and I watched a documentary, “Journey of Man”, a special on PBS. – A geneticist, Spencer Wells followed a DNA trail back 2000 generations, 50,000 years and proved that man, the very first man on earth a descendant of the Cromagnum man, started out in Africa.  Then, a group of around 10-20 people from Africa traversed their way through India, Australia, and then to the America’s, (Branching off into separate groups all within a span of 35,000 years) proving from the DNA tracing, that we all originally descended from Africa! We are all related – one big happy family. This should be world news on every headline but you know that once again, people’s religious beliefs and racial prejudices will prevent them from even looking at the evidence.

We know people with the likes of George would never accept this discovery. Whites are descendants from blacks? “No way,” he would say.

Lewis made a similar type of discovery while in the Beineke Library at Yale:

Targeting fresh aesthetic territory comes naturally to Lewis. In her first week at Yale, she found, in the Beineke Library, a photograph of a white woman with “an Afro larger than Angela Davis’s.” Intrigued, she researched it and discovered the now mostly forgotten phenomenon of the “Circassian beauties”: women from the Caucasus Mountain region—where Noah’s Ark supposedly came to rest—with tightly curled blonde or brown hair extending a foot or more from their heads in every direction. P. T. Barnum exhibited a group of purported Circassians in 1864 at his museum on Broadway as the “purest example of the white race.” (An eighteenth-century German physiologist coined the term Caucasian as a synonym for “white in colour,” and he claimed that Circassians were the purest Caucasians of all.)

This was an electrifying discovery for Lewis, who recalls being the only African-American in class during her first six years at the Brearley School, and she made it the subject of her dissertation and first book. “It’s about this ironic arc from white racial purity to what we now associate with black authenticity,” she says. “It’s an opportunity to ask the fundamental question, one we’re still grappling with: Are we really separate from one another? And it offers a resounding no.” Says the legendary Robert Farris Thompson, Lewis’s adviser at Yale and one of the pioneers in charting the African influence on visual arts in the Americas, “Her thesis, as we say in the vernacular, is going to blow hair on the walls of academe—it’s partially about coiffure.”

Interesting huh? I also found this paragraph interesting too:

Born and raised in midtown Manhattan, Lewis says, “I got my interest in art from my mother’s father, Shadrack Emmanuel Lee. When he was in the eleventh grade, he asked where the African-Americans were in the history books and was told that none of them had accomplished enough to merit being there. His pride was so wounded that he quit school and never graduated. He spent his life as a jazz musician and a painter, deliberately putting African-Americans into genre paintings.” His story, she says, “reminds me that art is foundational for life, not just something that enriches or embellishes it.”

How sad that her grandfather never went to school because he believed, because of what he was told, that there were no African-Americans in history books because none of them had accomplished enough to merit being there? I wouldn’t doubt that it was probably a while teacher that told him that. And I’m sure there ere many more teachers who said the same thing. How many other blacks decided to quit school because their pride was wounded? How much potential have we lost in blacks today because of the same reason?

But Back to Lewis:

It was Lewis’s good luck to come of age when history was on her side. Barack Obama was the first presidential candidate to form an arts-policy committee during his campaign, and in 2008, Lewis, then a doctoral candidate and faculty member at Yale, was invited to serve on it. She had impressed a lot of people by then, including Rob Storr, the dean of Yale School of Art. (He taught her at Harvard, and she also worked for him at MoMA.) Being on the Obama committee opened up the whole field of public arts policy to her. Landesman, whom Obama named chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts last year, got in touch with Lewis before he took office, and has been trying to get funding to bring her to the NEA. “I’d love to work with her on a new initiative called Our Town,” he says, “which will focus on showing that the arts can be an important part of neighborhood revitalization, urban renewal, and economic development. She’s so smart and so charismatic, and she has a great way with people—she’ll be a leader.”

I can’t wait to see what this girl is going to do next!  If you want to read the rest of Vogue’s article on Lewis, click here.

And now…

…The votes are in on “The Best Of Zen Lill.” Here are the results.…And the number 1 winner is….with a score of 163 votes….

Number 6!

ZL: No surprise there. Your fave got the most votes. :)

*********

Hi Kelly: Welcome to my blog. You are now in the know. :)

Anonymous: Do your research and spread the word on your findings.

Guill: A very quirky poem. I like it.

Harold: Thank you for the kind words. I’m so sorry about your wife. From what little you said, you said a lot – it sounds like you had a wonderful partnership.

Sharon: And we should do it a lot more than we probably do.

Have a beautiful Sunday! Oops Saturday!

(my brain just returned to me)

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

I have been meaning to write about this woman for some time now, thanks to  heads up from a past high school pal, (Thanks Genie!) but I never got around to it, until now. Rebecca Burgess, an educator, author, and textile artist, had a project in mind and went to Kickstarter, an online fundraising platform, to raise her seed money for her Fibershed project.

This is how Kickstarter works:

We’re focused on creative projects.

We’ve got a pretty broad definition of creativity: art, music, design (fashion, product, game, app, etc), film/video, food, journalism, and other projects that spring from the imagination.
Learn more

Funding is always all-or-nothing.

A project must reach or exceed its funding goal or no money changes hands. Why? It’s fun, dynamic, and really efficient. Learn more

Creators keep 100% ownership.

Kickstarter is a new form of commerce and patronage, not a place for investment or lending. Project creators inspire people to open their wallets by offering products, benefits and fun experiences.

Our fee is 5%.

Kickstarter collects 5% from the project creator if a project is successfully funded.

When I was first informed about Burgess, she was still looking for backers to fund her project. Being a designer in the fashion business, as well as a person interested in sustainable living, I was intrigued with her project and thrilled when I decided to checkout the status of it recently, and discovered she accomplished her goal.

This was Burgess’s project:

Our fibershed challenge is to create a bioregional wardrobe that will be lived in for one year and made completely from fibers and natural dyes that are solely sourced within a geographical region no larger than 150 miles from my front door.

The aim of the project is to educate and map the landscape of our Fibershed,. This geographical region has yet to be understood by the growing sustainability movement. And yet, it is the role of the Fibershed to provide one of our basic human necessities– our clothes. We feel it is time to give this region a defined and visible face.

The Fibershed wardrobe will act as a living model of how our clothing can function hand-in-hand with global and personal health, principles of sustainability, local economies, and regional agriculture. Our pledge campaign is raising funds to pay farmers for the raw materials, as well as to generate enough funding for film and photographic documentation of this wardrobe.

The on-going series of videos and blog entries will focus on Seed to On-the-Skin. If we make our challenge our blog can and will be used as a resource for a wide array of organizations and individuals, including students, designers, and businesses desiring to green their supply chain.

Why?

The impacts of the textile industry are immense– global water supplies are contaminated daily with over 2,000 synthetic chemical treatments that are used to soften and process fibers into fabrics. These chemicals have been shown to create a range of effects in humans– from chronic illness to cancer. One in four people in China are drinking contaminated water, and it was recently discovered by the Chinese government, that synthetic dye use is one of the major sources of this pollution.

The carbon footprint of textile manufacturing has been called ‘The Elephant in the Room’ by those in the industry. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has found that the textile industry is the 5th largest contributor to CO2 emissioins in the United States.

Fibershed Mission:
Our project seeks to put a face on the bioregional clothing movement, through a wardrobe that will be filled with functional and beautiful designs, that speak the intricate language of the landscape, and reflect a balanced and healthy relationship with the earth’s ecosystems.

The Fibershed Goal: One facet of our global clothing solution is to make use of local resources sustainably, and discontinue off-shoring the effects of our consumption onto others. Our goal is to use this year as a period for research & design, as well as a year to garner publicity for the local, green, and healthy clothing movement.

This project will be focused on Northern California, yet it is designed to create a replicable module that can be used as inspiration and technical assistance for other communities across the globe.
Our team is well established for the job:

The roles include:

Rebecca Burgess www.rebeccarburgess.com project management, author, professional weaving spinning and natural dye expertise. Wearer of the wardrobe.

Paige Green: http://paigegreen.wordpress.com/ MFA. Professional natural light documentary photographer.

Heidi Iverson: Designer and Artist. Knit designer, with incredible color sensibility.
Pattern Drafter

Melissa Mansfield and Averan Gale: http://www.greengorillamedia.com/ Web and Graphic design, documentary film, publicity.

The money will be used to:

Pay Farmers fairly for their fiber
Pay local mill to process the fibers
Pay for professional documentation of the project- photo and film
Pay for knit patterns to be drafted and samples to be created

Readers: Pretty cool huh? Congratulations to Burgess! I bet you learned a lot about the impact of textiles on our planet that you probably didn’t want to know. As much as I love design and clothing, it creates hell on the environment. I think Burgess’s project is pretty fabulous and I hope her mission and goal spans the globe.

So what about you? Do you have a business that needs funding? Maybe you should start with Kickstarter. And then I suggest you give Danielle LaPorte a call and schedule your Firestarter Consult session to light your new business on fire. Sound like a plan? Let me know how it goes.

Disclaimer: No, I am not getting any kickbacks from Fibershed, Kickstarter, or Danielle LaPorte.:)

Leah: I think the days of getting fresh wild seafood, are sadly over.

Manny: All accounted for. Don’t worry.

Doug: Thanks for the video. The more transparent people and companies become because information goes viral so quickly these days, the more people and companies are going to take actions to try to hide and protect their interests. And harassment is one of them – no one is going to want to take any chances of something they don’t want to be discovered, discovered.

Jamie: Good observation.

Lance: Thanks. But as you can see, it didn’t take me long to get back to something serious again. Oh well….that is life.

Karen: Like the article says, being overweight can lead to so many health problems. Perhaps ZL’s exercises and recipes will help. I wish you luck. 

Mike: People tend to believe the last thing they read without doing their research. Just plain lazy if you ask me. And if they are racist or not a fan of Obama, they’ll justify the claim to justify their reasons for not liking him.

Mukondi: Thanks for writing me. I will see what I can do.

Emily: I thought so too. And by the way, loved your latest.

Zen Lill: Me too – I am loving it even more. Have a great weekend! I will address your e-mail next week.

Hey Ruth:  How are you? What’s going on in your world…how are the girls and Evelyn? Miss seeing you both here. Enjoy the weekend.

Barogo: Darfur has been on my mind a lot lately, and I have gotten many e-mails in regards to the situation there. I have been planning on blogging about it so thanks for the reminder. You are welcome, to want to be a girlz. And as much as I want to punish these evil people too, that is not always the answer or the best plan of action. We’re working on it.

Robert: Incredible. In response to your last comment: Not if I can hep it.

Peace out everyone…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Oh…what a glorious day!

I am in a celebratory mood. If you have been reading my blog, you will notice that I write a lot about women. Most of the time I am writing about the plight of women because…well because there is so much to write about that I feel needs to be addressed and highlighted.

However, there is also a lot to write about when it comes to the accomplishments and successes that women around the world make too. And they too deserve to be addressed, highlighted, and celebrated.

Saturday is the dedicated day to celebrate women. I am calling it: “Wonderful Women Of The World”, and I will dedicate my Saturday write to this topic. Of course this doesn’t mean that I won’t write about wonderful women on other days if I feel like it too.

And it also means that I am not going to commit to every Saturday because it all depends on what mood I am in that day and what is happening in the world. Although Friday’s, are reserved for  ”Flap Your Lips Friday,” (and really  ”Flap Your Lips Friday” is more of a title, love the name, than it is a topic:) and Sunday’s are reserved for, “‘Just Noticing’: Observations Of A Blogger,” I do not always dedicate that day to the topic reserved for that day.

That being said, I will start this Saturday’s “Wonderful Women Of The World,” by honoring 2010 Miss Guam Universe crowned – Vanessa Siquenza Torres.

VANESSA Siguenza Torres, a 24-year-old beauty from Dededo, will be Guam’s representative for this year’s Miss Universe Pageant in Las Vegas.

The daughter of Rose Siguenza and Andrew Bautista and Manny Torres was crowned 2010 Miss Universe Guam, beating 11 other contestants during the pageant night held at the Sandcastle in Tumon on Wednesday.

Torres is now preparing for the Miss Universe pageant that will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vanessa also won the Cecilia Bamba Award, which recognizes community involvement and good academic performance.

In her official bio released by pageant organizers, Torres listed her voluntary work at the pediatric ward for the Guam Memorial Hospital as her “proudest personal accomplishment.” She painted cartoon characters on the walls of the pediatric ward, which she said “created a happier environment and showed patients that others cared for them and their situation with hope for the best outcome.”

Lalaine Mercado, 20, of Dededo, was named first runner up.

As first runner up, Mercado will represent the island in the Miss International pageant, which is going to be held in Chengdu, China in October.  Mercado also won best in native costume, best in swimsuit and best in evening gown.

Second runner up is Aysha Oner, 19, of Chalan Pago.  Natasha Guerrero, 17, of Barrigada, won Miss Photogenic; and Maerika Perez, 19, of Dededo/Yigo won Miss Congeniality.

Miss Universe Guam pageant spokesperson Marcia Damian said Torre’s answer to the question for the finalists may have made her the ultimate choice by the judges.

The question was “As the new Miss Universe Guam you will have a powerful voice, what issues will you address and what will your purpose be?”

Torres’s emphasized the cultural preservation of island, its language and history. “It is through our culture that the people have our own specific kind of identity and one way to continue that culture is through education in the schools and also at home. That’s one issue I would like to pursue as Miss Universe Guam,” she said.

Torre said she’s honored to have been selected to represent the island.

“It was something I didn’t expect at all to begin with and I feel very humbled and blessed they chose me,” she said, adding she will be working closely with Joyce Bamba, the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Guam Beauty Association, as well as her family, as she prepares for the main pageant.

Also helping her is Drew Murphy and close friends. “I call them Team MarVTorres,” she said.

She thanked her friends and family and Team MarVTorres for being there for her over the past few months. “They’ve helped me grow into the person I am today,” she said.

Ms. Torres is a  beauty! Congratulations to her, and good luck in the Miss Universe Pageant in Las Vegas!

Peter: You are on everything. I don’t know how you do it, but you are quite the guy. Hafa adai.

Vick: As much as many want to see the lovely Zen Lill, I must keep my priorities in order and you must keep your patience. In due time…

Helen: I so hear what you are saying.  As I mentioned the other day, the big corps are reactionary instead of preventative, and it is the people, and other inhabitants that suffer from their ‘accidents’. And in regards to ‘accidents’, I think calling it that is just a lame excuse by the big corps. ‘Accidents’ in these type of situations, to me, are things that could not have been prevented. Many so-called ‘accidents’ that happen could have been prevented – their actions, or lack thereof, are just plain greedy, lazy, and irresponsible. That’s my two. :)

Liz: Your joke was cute, but I have to say that I am laughing more at the fact that I can see you are getting such a kick out of it.

Mildred: I am hoping that the sisters are right beside you and me pushing to get Kagan confirmed. Women are on a roll. There is no way men are going to turn back the clock – not on my watch. Oh…I just couldn’t resist. :)

Suz: My kind of girl. :)

Zen Lill: To some I’m sure they are.:)

Peace out peeps – Have a lovely day!

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"