Ladies I Love: Z is for Zombie Apocalypse Survivors!

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Movies and TV by Marci

Oh my goodness – this is the LAST DAY OF THE A TO Z CHALLENGE!!! I can’t believe it…no, wait, I CAN believe it! This challenge was about to kick my butt, however, looks like I’m writing the Z post for Ladies I Love, so who’s kicking butt now, huh? Speaking of kicking butt, that brings me to the subject of today’s post, my favorite female zombie apocalypse survivors (or as I like to think of them, zombie slayers). But first, a little business:

WARNING: This post contains violence in the context of zombies being killed by badass ladies. You might not want to watch the video clip at the end of this post if you have a problem with blood, gore, or violence against zombies. Although I also feel obligated to tell you that it’s not real zombie blood or gore, and not real violence towards zombies. No actual zombies were harmed in the making of any of these movies or shows.

Whew! Now that that’s off my chest, let’s get started. I don’t know if any of you know this, but I really like zombies. Like, I like them a lot. I read zombie novels, and I get a kick out of zombie humor. To me, there’s something utterly fascinating about the whole “world falls apart and you have to learn how to survive in the face of horror and also other human beings who can also be horrible” scenario. I’ve seen a bunch of zombie movies, of course, so I thought I’d write about my top five favorite female zombie heroines…but, damn, this was a difficult post! Sure, I had my top 2 or 3, but I really had to dig to find a few others. Most of the zombie movies out there star guys who go in to save the girls, or the girls end up taking off their tops and showing their boobs, or the whole thing is just a bad, lame joke. Ugh. Anyway, let’s get this list started!

Fifth on my list is Selena from 28 Days Later. You could argue that 28 Days Later isn’t really a zombie film, but dang, all those people with the “rage virus” sure do act like they’ve lost their minds in a zombie kind of way. Selena, played by Naomie Harris, comes to the rescue of several people in her survivor’s group of four, although she does not hesitate to kill anyone who has been infected (a drop of blood can contaminate and incite rage within 30 seconds of exposure…yikes!). The rage virus continues to spread despite quarantines and Selena and her group continue to evade the infected, although they meet up with a not-so-nice military contingent and things get really messy from there. Great movie and fantastic acting!

I think my favorite zombie movie of all time has to be Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so hilarious that I couldn’t NOT include this in my list. But who is the leading lady? Easy – Shaun’s on-off-on again girlfriend, Liz, played by Kate Ashfield. First, she can hold her own using a field hockey stick. Second, she does a mean zombie impression which helps the gang get into the Winchester pub for the final standoff with all the zombies. The humor in this movie almost makes me pee my pants every time I see it, and the cast is Ah Maze Zing (Bill Nighy even plays Shaun’s detested stepfather). I always find something new to laugh at, no matter how many times I watch it!

Third on my list is Alice from the Resident Evil movies. This is a long series of movies and the overall plot is a bit complicated, but basically, the world is run by the Umbrella Corporation and has unleashed the T-Virus upon the earth’s populace, creating zombies all over the place. There are pockets of survivors here and there, and Alice, who is kind of a clone of herself in the movies, is there to rebel against the Umbrella Corporation and ultimately take them down. Alice is played by ass-kicking Milla Jovovich, who is captured by Umbrella and experimented upon, and develops superhuman fighting skills and strength due to exposure to the T-Virus. She uses her skills to escape from Umbrella, fight zombies, and destroy the head bad guy (or the Red Queen, shall I say). I love these movies because of the complex story line, the twists and turns it takes, and of course, Milla Jovovich’s portrayal of Alice!

My first and second favorite zombie survivors / slayers both come from The Walking Dead TV series. My second favorite is Maggie Greene, played by Lauren Cohan. The main group of survivors meets up with Hershal and his family (including Maggie) on his farm, and Glenn and Maggie hit it off and have a romance that survives longer than all of the zombies that Maggie and Glenn come into contact with. Whether it’s clearing zombies from the prison compound’s perimeter or killing attacking zombies in riot gear, Maggie gets the hard (and dangerous, and gross) jobs done. Maggie plays it tough but I think she’s a romantic on the inside, and will stop at nothing to get back to Glenn in season 4 when she doesn’t even know if Glenn is still alive. Ahhh…a true apocalyptic love story!

Finally, my favorite zombie slayer of all time has got to be Michonne from The Walking Dead. I’ve kept up with the graphic novels as well as the show, and she’s my favorite in both. Like Maggie, she plays it tough, but as we’ve gotten to know Michonne, we see more of her background and why she has had to toughen up so much. She’s a very complex character, and is portrayed most excellently by Danai Gurira (really, I can’t imagine anyone else doing better – Danai IS Michonne!). Also, Michonne carries a katana sword with her at all times, her signature weapon that allows her to kill zombies from a safe-ish distance quickly and quietly. Check out this video that compiled all of her zombie kills, through season 3 (I think – the video was published July 26, 2013). Pretty amazing, huh?

So what do you think? Are you a fan of zombies or zombie films, comics, books, shows, etc.? If so, who are your favorite survivalists? Any recommendations for me, or additions to this list?

It has been a pleasure blogging the A to Z Challenge with all of you this past April – I hope to see you participating again next year! I definitely will be, but feel free to stop by Fuzzy Undertones in the mean time to say hello! ❤

26Apr2014

Ladies I Love: W is for the Side-Splitting Women of Saturday Night Live!

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Humor, Movies and TV, Role Models, Women by Marci

I can’t believe that April is coming to an end, and we’re rounding the final corner of the A to Z Challenge. We’ve still got a few letters to go though, so I thought that for W, I would write about some of my most favorite Ladies I Love, the hilarious Women of Saturday Night Live (SNL)! As I went through the entire cast history of SNL, I began to get a little overwhelmed at the thought of writing this post. There have been a lot of female SNL cast members, and I love almost all of them. So I decided that I would pick my top five (all pictures are from NBC) and go from there…and that was incredibly difficult in itself!

As a member of the original cast, Gilda Radner is first on my list. She was with SNL from 1975 – 1980, and won an Emmy for her performances in 1977. Her most iconic characters were Roseanne Roseannadanna (a loudmouthed and crude consumer-affairs reporter) and Baba Wawa (a parody of Barbara Walters), but she also had other amazing characters up her sleeve. Gilda Radner suffered from bulimia during her stint on the show, and eventually succumbed to ovarian cancer in 1989, with her husband (Gene Wilder) at her side.

Molly Shannon appeared on SNL from 1995 to 2001. I LOVE Molly Shannon because she was absolutely fearless when it came to throwing herself into her humor (quite literally). She had several characters that performed physical comedy, such as Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher, who would trip over folding chairs during her talent show auditions, and 50-year-0ld Sally O’Malley who wore extremely tight and high-riding red pants and liked to kick, stretch, and kick!

One of my more recent favorite SNL actors is Kristen Wiig. She was with the show from 2005 – 2012, and also used physical humor in her sketches, doing a lot of dancing and singing in awkward ways. My favorite characters of hers were the Target Lady, Dooneese Maharelle (the deformed singer with tiny hands on the Lawrence Welk Show), and Triangle Sally (who, uh, played the triangle). Kristen Wiig is a very versatile actor and had many other recurring characters on SNL and there were so many to love! I was sad to see her leave the show, but she’s had a rather successful career in movies since then.

I’ll bet you can guess who my next two favorite SNL actors are…and you’re right! First is Amy Poehler, who worked on SNL from 2001 through 2008. She was promoted from “featured player” to full cast member mid-way through her first season, an accomplishment shared by only her and Eddie Murphy! She had a recurring role as Hillary Clinton, but also did several hysterical impressions of people like Michael Jackson and Kim Jong Il. She, along with Tina Fey (more in a sec!) made up the first women-only pair to host Weekend Update. Amy Poehler went on to star in several movies as well as her own show, Parks and Recreation (which I love dearly). Also close to my heart is her project “Smart Girls at the Party“, which is a social-media based program that aims to encourage girls to be themselves, think for themselves and be confident. Amy Poehler is not only funny as hell, but she’s a great role model for our girls!

Finally, it’s my very favorite SNL actor (just by a hair!), Tina Fey. Tina Fey was on SNL from 1997 – 2006. Aside from her doppelganger depiction of Sarah Palin, Tina Fey hosted Weekend Update (first with Jimmy Fallon, and then with Amy Poehler). And, oh yeah, did I mention that she was the FIRST FEMALE HEAD WRITER AT SNL??? Well, I just did. Bam. Tina Fey also went on to make movies and write and star in her own show, 30 Rock (which I also loved very much). AND, in 2013 and 2014, she and Amy Poehler also co-hosted the 70th and 71st Golden Globe Awards and totally rocked it. She even wrote her memoirs in a best-selling book called Bossy Pants, and jeez – is there anything this woman can’t do???

Can you believe that people have said that women aren’t funny? Yes, and these people are even other comedians who have even worked with funny women (btw, I’m giving John Belushi, Jerry Lewis and Chevy Chase the stink-eye right now). I know a lot of people who would disagree with these opinions…and in fact, there’s a GREAT podcast about the subject on Stuff Mom Never Told You that you can listen to here. And, you can read the book “We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy” by Yael Kohen. I’m sad that there are too many fantastically funny women who have performed on SNL to write about, but this post has already gone too long. If you’ve made it to the end, congratulations and thank you! To make it worth your while, share with me your favorite funny women – who makes you laugh your head off, from SNL or elsewhere?

25Apr2014

Ladies I Love: V-Day is for Villainesses (who Almost got Away With It)!

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Movies and TV by Marci

I’ve been looking forward to this A to Z Challenge post for a while now, because let’s face it – being good can be soooooo boring! Therefore, I declare that V-Day (today) is to be dedicated to a prestigious group of Ladies I Love, my favorite Disney Villainesses – muah ha ha haaaaaaa!!!

These are not ALL of the Disney villains, you might notice…I run with the classics. These are my favorites – the most cunning, devious, manipulative and deceitful of the ones we love to hate. Well, I don’t really love to hate them…I just love them!!! Disney princesses can be so boring and predictable…always doing the right thing, beautiful, innocent, in need of rescue, blah blah blah. Well, these ladies don’t need any of it, and they don’t care what other people think of them (well, ok, the Wicked Queen from Snow White wants to be the most beautiful one of them all, but whatever). They are all unique in their abilities to seek out and craft an evil plan, and dang, they usually almost get away with it! Here are my favorite villainesses (in order from just favorite to most favorite), and the reasons why I love them so:

The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland): She’s got style and is a wee bit off her rocker. I admire her propensity for dishing out death sentences with every other breath, but she’s honestly not THAT smart and can’t really formulate a long-term plan for eliminating potential threats to her queendom (a.k.a., Alice).
The Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters (Cinderella): Oooohhhh…to treat a poor wretched orphan in such a horrific manner…these ladies must have lumps of coal where their hearts used to be! The stepmother is cunning and cruel, and the stepsisters are mean, but in the end their obvious greed brings their quest for personal gain to a halt. If they could’ve just been a little more subtle about things…ah, well. Better luck next time!
The Wicked Queen (Snow White): Beautiful AND clever, the Wicked Queen almost succeeded in killing off Snow White. Shape-shifting is an amazing power to have, but her plan just needed a little more follow-through. She let those dwarfs get in the way…and then that meddling prince shows up! Argh! You’d think an evil plan would hatch (and grow to maturity) much more easily!
Madame Medusa (The Rescuers): This dame has it all – a decrepit river boat in a swamp, two pet alligators (although they look more like crocodiles), and the confidence to never wear a bra. She even has a sniveling little sidekick of a man who submits to her every whim, including sending a little girl into a tidal cave to look for a jewel hidden by pirates long ago! And if it wasn’t for two mice named Bernard and Bianca, her plan might have succeeded. Curses!
Malifecent (Sleeping Beauty): Ok, AWESOME HEADWEAR AND THE ABILITY TO TURN INTO A BLACK RAGING DRAGON??? Do I need to go into any further detail about why this is one of the best villains EVER??? No? Good.
Cruella Deville (101 Dalmations): Ah, my favorite villainess at last. Her obvious disdain for live dogs indicates that clearly this woman is a cat-person, which I can completely relate to. And her fashion sense? TOP-NOTCH. I totally want to start smoking just so that I can wear elbow-length gloves and use one of those long cigarette holders! Her only mistake was relying on a pair of bumbling henchmen to do a job that she should’ve done herself, but I guess stylish ladies like Cruella can’t be bothered to get their own be-gloved hands dirty. Oh, the humanity!!!

Cruella Deville, 101 Dalmations

Wicked Queen, Snow White

Madame Medusa, The Rescuers

Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty

Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland

Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters, Cinderella

All images from Disney.

It goes without saying that these villainesses, while amazing in their unique approaches to evil plans, could use a little help. In my own research in becoming an evil genius I stumbled upon a book they might be able to use: How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!! by Neil Zawacki and James Dignan. It’s a bit basic, but they could probably use a little brushing up on the fundamentals.

What about you? Who is your favorite villain, and why?

24Apr2014

Ladies I Love: U is for Lieutenant Uhura, a True Star!

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Feminism, Movies and TV, Role Models, Women by Marci

Can you guess what the most challenging letter for me in the A to Z Challenge has been? Not X, not Q, not V, not even Z…but U. However, when I thought about all the Ladies I Love and Lieutenant Uhura crossed my mind, I knew she was just the right woman for this tough letter! That is because Lieutenant Uhura of Star Trek, played by Nichelle Nichols, was one tough lady!

Lieutenant Uhura served as a communications officer under Captain Kirk on the USS Enterprise during the original Star Trek series, which ran from 1966 – 1969. Uhura moved up the Starfleet ranks throughout the movie franchise, making the rank of commander in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Nichelle Nichols portrayed Uhura throughout the series, as well as in all the Star Trek movies except for the last two, in which Zoë Saldana played a younger Uhura. Uhura never took a back seat in the adventures of the Enterprise, and was often a key character in story lines, very much an equal among her Star Trek peers.

One of the most remarkable things about Uhura’s character was that she was one of the FIRST African American women on TV to play a role that didn’t have anything to do with being a servant. This was a ground-breaking character, and having an African American woman in a position of equality definitely stirred the pot on occasion. For example, in the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren”, Uhura famously kissed Captain Kirk (ok, it was a forced kiss because she was under the influence of alien telekinesis…but still…) in a scene that is largely cited as one of the first inter-racial kisses aired on US television.

Apparently, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a fan of the show, and even let his children watch it, in part because of Nichelle Nichols’ portrayal of Uhura’s character. Nichelle actually wanted to quit the show after the first year to pursue a career on broadway, but was told by Dr. King that she “could not give up because she was playing a vital role model for black children and young women across the country, as well as for other children who would see blacks appearing as equals.” It’s a good thing she didn’t quit, because she DID inspire many to achieve success, including former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, who said she was encouraged by Nichelle’s Uhura character.

Yes, Uhura was one smokin’ hot lady. But she was also a star. In Swahili, her character’s first name, Nyota, means “star”, and Uhuru means “freedom”. With a name like that, how could Uhura achieve anything but success? Set your phasers to “stunning”!

From the episode “Mirror Mirror”.

Don’t mess with Uhura!

Nichelle_Nichols,_NASA_Recruiter_-_GPN-2004-00017

That’s COMMANDER Uhura!

23Apr2014

Ladies I Love: T is for Ever-So-Talented Tribal Fusion Bellydancers

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Music and Dance by Marci

Bellydance used to be a big part of my life, and for today’s T-related A to Z Challenge post, I am going to talk about a couple of Ladies I Love, my favorite Tribal Fusion Bellydancers. Just before I moved to Portland, I started taking beginning bellydance classes in San Diego, so when I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I had a good foundation to explore the many types of bellydance that are out there. I’m certainly no expert on various bellydance styles and I haven’t danced in a few years now, but I’d like to give you a taste of some of the bellydance styles you may encounter. You might have seen solo bellydancers perform when you go out to eat Moroccan food; those are typically Egyption cabaret style dancers – lots of colors, scarves, jingly shiny accessories, and they often perform to more traditional middle-eastern music (see the photo below, left). American Tribal Style (ATS), another another form, borrows traditional bellydance moves and is typified by multiple dancers performing the same movements at the same time. While there is some improvisation in the choreography, complex movements are signaled by a leader to other dancers in the troupe with subtle movements so that all the dancers know what step is coming up. ATS dancers borrow a lot of their dress and makeup styles from Eastern Europe (think gypsy!) and Africa to create a unique and recognizable look (below, right).

Cabaret-style bellydancer (allvoices.com)

American Tribal Style dancers by Antonia Azahara Estudio

But let’s get back to tribal fusion bellydance! I first saw this style at an Offbeat Bellydance show at the Blue Monk, in Portland, Oregon. A dancer named Endymienne took the stage and I had never seen anyone dance like her before – I was absolutely transfixed! In fact, here’s a picture from her performance that night, way back in 2010:

All bellydance is about muscle control and isolated movements of the ribcage, hips, stomach, arms and head (among other parts), but tribal fusion includes so much more. It’s an off-shoot of ATS, but has elements of cabaret, hip-hop, popping, flamenco, burlesque and breakdance. Movements can be slow and controlled, or fast and percussive. The style is a beautiful combination of tribal, old 1920’s and 30’s flapper and burlesque, vintage circus, and modern elements (lots of tattoos and piercings, too). To me, it’s utterly mesmerizing! Here are a few more photos to help you picture what I’m talking about:

The two women pictured above are probably the most well-known tribal fusion bellydancers in the U.S., and for good reason. First, there’s Rachel Brice (the two pictures to the left, above), based out of Portland (here’s her wiki page, too). She has her own studio called Datura, and teaches classes and workshops there. She has performed and toured both nationally and internationally since 2002 and has a lot of accomplishments to show for it! Here’s a fun performance she did a few years ago at a Le Serpent Rouge show at the Tractor Tavern up in Seattle (I like it because a bit of her personality comes through in interacting with the rather adoring audience):

Next, there’s Zoe Jakes (two pictures to the right, above), who is part of a musical group called Beats Antique, which formed in San Francisco in 2007. She and Rachel Brice often perform together, and Zoe Jakes is a guest instructor at Datura, along with having several instructional DVDs of her own. She has been bellydancing since 2000, and like Rachel Brice, has a ton of accomplishments under her belt. Instead of a performance video, here’s one of my favorite videos from Beats Antique (called “Revival”, released back in 2011), which will give you a taste of their music (which seems to be a favorite among tribal fusion dancers…I don’t even know how to describe it!), as well as a peek of Zoe Jakes who performs in it about halfway in.

I could go on and on about these ladies and there are a ton of videos of their performances on youtube, so if you’re interested in viewing more, they’re easy to find. Was it what you were expecting from bellydancers? Let me know what you think!

21Apr2014

Ladies I Love: R is for Rachel Carson – Scientist, Conservationist and Writer

Posted in Blogging, Books, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Feminism, Role Models, Women by Marci

Today’s A to Z Challenge post is brought to you by the letter R. R stands for Rachel Carson, one of the Ladies I Love in the field of science. If you don’t know who Rachel Carson was, as a female biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I am very proud to be able to tell you a little bit about her.

Rachel Carson lived between 1907 and 1964. She was fascinated by nature during her younger years, and went on to obtain her master’s degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. Soon after, she got a job with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (which would later become the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) where she was one of only TWO professional women working for the organization and earned under $40 PER WEEK when she started. She did a lot of writing for radio broadcasting at that time, primarily focusing on the ocean in an effort to inform the public about the treasures that marine systems contain and the services that they provide. She moved up in the Bureau/Service and wrote several books about oceans, which hit the top of best seller lists everywhere.

Click to enlarge!

It was in the mid-1940’s when she learned about DDT. I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but throughout the next couple of decades, Rachel Carson did a lot of research regarding the effects of DDT on the environment, specifically about bioaccumulation in the food web. In 1962, Rachel Carson published her book “Silent Spring”, which detailed the harmful effects of pesticides and predicted that if our irresponsible use of them continued, we would start killing off species, let alone jeopardize human health. For example, one of the effects of DDT and bioaccumulation resulted in the inability of some bird species (primarily predatory birds) to successfully reproduce because DDT weakened egg shells, resulting in eggs being crushed in the nest. Several species (e.g., peregrine falcon, pelican) were put on the Endangered Species list because of this!

Part of a 1947 ad in Time Magazine.

There was, however, a lot of money in the pesticide industry and tremendously fierce opposition to her work, which publicized the negative effects of DDT on animals and the environment. If you simply google DDT and look through the videos that come up, you can find old footage of people being happily sprayed by CLOUDS of DDT! Rachel Carson actually received death threats and harassment because of her work and the questions it raised about the pesticide industry. In fact, Rachel Carson’s research and work gave rise to the modern grassroots environmental movement that has inspired generations to protect the world around us, AND resulted in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. After her death (due to illnesses contracted during her treatment for breast cancer), President Carter awarded Rachel Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously for her landmark work, and in 1969, the Coastal Main National Wildlife Refuge was changed to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

Rachel Carson by Alfred Eisenstaedt, Time & Life Pictures, Getty Images

What an amazing woman and inspiration to younger generations of scientists! Few scientists can claim the magnitude of influence that she had in any field, and in particular, conservation of our natural resources. Take a look at this short video about Rachel Carson and her life’s work; there is a ton of information online as well, if you are interested in learning more (just follow any of the links I’ve provided above to start).

Additionally, just this past March (Women’s History Month), the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dan Ashe, honored Rachel Carson with this video.

19Apr2014

Ladies I Love: Q is for the Mad Queens of Wonderland

Posted in Blogging, Books, Entertainment, Events and Courses by Marci

Welcome to another Ladies I Love edition of the A to Z Challenge! Today’s letter is Q, for QUEEN. Specifically, I’ll be introducing you to four queens from Lewis Carroll‘s books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass“. I’m a huge fan of these two books and have several editions of them at home – I even memorized “The Jabberwocky” in seventh grade and can still recite it! And did you ever notice that Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land are actually Queendoms? It’s the queens who rule these lands, and even though the kings are there, they’re pretty wimpy and submissive to the queens, who are able to rule with gusto. If you are interested in Alice’s Wonderland adventures, there’s a great wiki that you should visit – you can find it here. But let’s get on with the business at hand!

The Queen of Hearts playing croquet

First, there’s only one queen in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and I’ll bet you can guess who that is – that’s right, the Queen of Hearts! But don’t get confused – she is also sometimes mistakenly referred to as “The Red Queen”, whom I will introduce in a moment. The Queen of Hearts is actually one of a pack of cards who enjoys playing croquet (using hedgehogs for balls and flamingos for mallets), and of course, handing out death sentences like they are going out of style by yelling “off with her head!” should anyone look crosswise at her. Fortunately, the king is there to discreetly pardon most of the convicted, but if it’s all the same, I wouldn’t want to get on the Queen of Heart’s bad side!

After Alice leaves Wonderland, she enters Looking-Glass Land and there encounters two more queens of a different sort as they are chess pieces and not anything like the sociopathic Queen of Hearts. First she meets the White Queen, directly upon entering Looking-Glass Land, but the queen doesn’t really interact with her until further in the game of chess that Alice finds herself playing. She takes her place in the game as a white pawn and has to get to the 9th square to become a queen herself. When she gets to the fifth square, she meets the White Queen again, who then gives Alice some great advice:

When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — The White Queen, Through the Looking-Glass

The White Queen is a bit mysterious, and fades in and out of the story, transforming into a knitting sheep and into one of Alice’s white cats. The Red Queen, on the other hand, is a bit more proactive with Alice in getting her to the 9th square. The Red Queen is my favorite of the queens we find in Alice’s story. While bossy, the Red Queen can get things done. She urges Alice to move quickly and save time where possible. She states:

Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” — The Red Queen, Through the Looking Glass

The Red Queen drags Alice across the chess board (illustration by John Tenniel).

I can so relate to this statement – sometimes life feels like this, right? In fact, there’s something called The Red Queen Hypothesis in the field of biology that describes how evolution works: “For an evolutionary system, continuing development is needed just in order to maintain its fitness relative to the systems it is co-evolving with” — Leigh Van Valen (1973). This means that evolution is just a big game of “Keeping Up with the Jones'” – if you have a competitor or a predator, as a species, you need to evolve to find ways of surviving the challenges of the competitor or predator. However, those competitors and predators must also evolve too, to keep up with you! But I digress…

In the end, Alice does get to the 9th square to become a queen in her own right. The White Queen meanders off and disappears, but the Red Queen continues to cause trouble for Alice, who decides to shake some sense into the Red Queen. The Red Queen then transforms into Alice’s black kitten and Alice wakes from her dream…having defeated the Red Queen (and King) and won her game of chess.

The three queens of Looking-Glass Land: the White Queen, Alice, and the Red Queen (Illustration by John Tenniel).

To be honest, the Queens are not my favorite characters in Alice’s adventures – I rather enjoy the Cheshire Cat (no surprise there, right?) and the Mad Hatter. But they are both male, and well, I needed to write about Ladies for this Challenge. But the queens are no less fascinating than any of other Lewis Carroll’s inventions! Who is your favorite character in these stories, or do you have another fairy tale that you connect with?

18Apr2014

Ladies I Love: P is for the Power Puff Girls (Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice, plus Whoopass!)

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Movies and TV by Marci

Are you ready to meet today’s Ladies I Love in the A to Z Challenge? If so, P is for the POWERPUFF GIRLS, who consist of Blossom (“the leader”, in pink), Bubbles (“the joy and the laughter”, in blue), and my favorite, Buttercup (“the toughest fighter”, in green). The girls were created by their scientist “father”, Professor Utonium, who combined sugar, spice and everything nice…plus an accidental little something extra to give them their super powers. The original cartoon, created by Craig McCracken in 1992, was called “Whoopass Stew!” but was renamed by the time it made its official debut on the Cartoon Network in 1998. By then, the “little something extra” had been changed from a can of whoopass to “Chemical X”, which gave the Powerpuff Girls superhero powers such as flight, super strength, x-ray and heat vision, and super speed. But the thing I love about the cartoon is that, even though these girls can do all these incredible things, they still have to face issues that siblings and youngsters go through: rivalries, hygiene issues, the use of security blankets, wetting the bed, and going to school. Not to mention, fighting all the criminals and villains who want to take over Townsville, where the Powerpuff Girls and Professor Utonium live (and unfortunately, destroying much of Townsville in the process)!

My favorite character is definitely Buttercup, because she just wants to throw-down and fight the bad guys. She doesn’t do a whole lot of planning ahead, she’s more of an action type of girl! She’s strong-willed, adventurous, and isn’t afraid to get dirty and play rough. She takes no prisoners! I like her so much that I dressed up for her in a parade that our roller derby league participated in – the theme of the parade was “Super Heroes”, and I chose to be Buttercup. She’s a superhero, right??? And the villains are kind of THE BEST EVER for an animated series. Take this quiz to find out which villain you are (I came out as Mojo Jojo)!

The last episode of the Powerpuff Girls aired in 2005, but the Powerpuff Girls also starred in a feature-length animated film, a 10-year anniversary special in 2008, and a 2014 special (made without McCracken’s involvement). For the 2014 special, the Powerpuff Girls received a CGI makeover (which I personally don’t like nearly as much as the more colorful, rounded version of the girls). But the Powerpuff Girls had a very successful run, being nominated for and winning several awards in the process.

If you’re not familiar with the Powerpuff Girls, I know you are curious to get a little taste. Here are two clips for you: first, the theme that shows at the beginning of each episode:

And second, a clip from one of my favorite episodes, “Take a Bath, Buttercup!” where Buttercup refuses to wash her stinky self!

Who is your favorite Powerpuff Girl or villain? Or, if you have another favorite cartoon altogether, what is it? I’d love to know who you cheer for in the fight of good vs. evil (and which side you’re on)!

17Apr2014

Ladies I Love: O is for the Entire Freakin’ Cast of Orange is the New Black!

Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses, Movies and TV, Women by Marci

If you are looking for a binge-worthy show to watch, you’ll want to definitely bookmark today’s A to Z Challenge post. This is because O is for the entire cast of “Orange is the New Black“, who are all Ladies I Love! If you don’t know anything about this show, it’s produced by Jenji Kohan, the same woman who created the show “Weeds”, and is based on a true story that was detailed in a memoir called “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison” by Piper Kerman. Piper was sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison because of a crime she committed ten years prior – transporting a suitcase full of money for her international drug-smuggling girlfriend, Alex. In the ten years since, she settles down and lives a “normal” life as an upper-middle class white woman with a fiance in New York. But someone snitches on her and look out – she is convicted and finds herself in prison.

While Piper is the main character in the series, each episode tells the story of the inmates that Piper lives with in the prison. The women are complex, varied and multi-dimensional, and at first, Piper thinks she has nothing in common with them. AND, surprise surprise, she meets up with an old friend in her cell block: Alex. The relationships that exist, form and change in the prison are born of necessity and are darkly comedic, like the series. Yes, it’s a women’s prison show, which means that there are “adult themes” including strong language and nudity. However, it adds to the realism and the color of the show…orange. The cast is amazing. Watch the trailer and you might be hooked…I binge-watched the entire series in one weekend! Fortunately, Season 2 is coming out this summer, and I can’t wait!

UPDATE!!! The Season Two trailer was just released TODAY!!! And here it is, just for you!

And here are a few of my favorite characters (played by an incredible collection of actors):

16Apr2014

Ladies I Love: N is for the Nymphs, Naiads, and Nixies

Posted in Art, Blogging, Entertainment, Events and Courses by Marci

Today’s A to Z Challenge post is brought to you by the letter N, but these Ladies I Love may not actually exist (although some might argue with you). I’ve had a number of items in my adult life that all needed to be named. Not CL208F2, or Freddy or “Green Notebook” but something far more creative and descriptive. For example, I always wanted someone to be able to look at our department’s network of computers and go “oh – there’s the aquatic ecology lab computer” and not have to shuffle around a bunch of papers looking for the right identification code. Well, ok, that only partly relates to today’s ladies I love post – the other part is that I grew up loving fairy tales (you know, the kind with fairies). The artwork of Brian Froud used to mesmerize and terrify me all at once (I’m looking at you, Jenny Greenteeth!). Hence, being an aquatic ecologist and fish biologist and fairy “aFISHionado”, I’ve tended to assign names based on aquatic folklore. In fact, part of my email address is “limnixie”, a word I made up that loosely translates to female lake fairy.

Here are a few short definitions for you about some of my favorite aquatic fairies:

Nymph: Generally, female water spirits who animate nature. Often depicted as young and beautiful maidens who love to sing and dance; they can be immortal, but can also die under some circumstances.
Naiad: A type of water nymph that presides over fresh water of any kind (e.g., fountains, wells, springs, streams and brooks).
Nixie (or Neck): German or Nordic, a water spirit, typically a river mermaid; they can be malicious but also kind or benevolent as well. They are shape-shifters, and are said to lure men to their watery doom in some cases. You can recognize them in their human form by noting that their skirt hems are always wet.

Do you have a favorite type of fairy? Do you resonate with any kind of natural habitat, type of plant, or landscape feature? If so, there might be a fairy just for you! Look it up and tell me what you find!