Random women who deserve to be noticed

[Foggy]

This one isn't really random. I have had a higher opinion of this lady than many of my fellow liberal Democrats (despite some early misgivings), but this gift article from the Washington Post is about how much Kamala Harris has evolved and developed since her first year in office, and how important she is to the campaign. She is powerful.

https://wapo.st/4bgdKhy

[Foggy]

And then there's this lady, also from California,



That's Aaliyah Gayles.

Full disclosure, she plays on the USC women's basketball team, which is where I went to law school, and I am biased.

Anyway, she's the winner of the Class of 2024 Honda Inspiration Award. She's a shooting victim, having been shot many times in an incident which left her with 18 (yes, eighteen) bullet holes in her body.

She fought back from near death. She kept fighting.

She's back now, and if that isn't inspirational I don't know what is.

You can learn more here.

[raison de arizona]

Not random, but something under the radar worthy of notice.

Taylor Swift has donated enough money to cover the food bills for an entire year across 11 food banks and 8 community pantries in Liverpool.

She has done this for every city she's toured in the UK meaning she’s done more than the govt has in 14 years to eradicate food poverty.

[RTH10260]

to note: July 4th Election Day in thr UK.

[John Thomas8]

Ember and Jade, two GenZers not afraid of work:

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

We did it!! No help from any national organization! All volunteer groups merged to get this done! I was social media maven for Progressive Arkansas Women PAC expanding to new social media sites and posting constantly about signing events!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... smsnnews11

Arkansas abortion rights groups collect enough signatures to advance ballot measure

[Foggy]

[AndyinPA]

[Suranis]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachael_Baptist

Rachael Baptist, also referred to as Rachel Baptiste and Rachael Crow (fl. 1750–1775) was a Black singer active in Ireland and England in the mid-18th century.

Life

Baptist was born sometime in the second quarter of the 18th century, but nothing else is known of her early life.[1]

She was described as a native of Africa by John O'Keefe, but also described by Italian musician Bernardo Palma as a 'native of this country', which may allude to Ireland.

Dublin stage

Her first recorded appearance on stage was in Dublin in February 1750, at a benefit concert for Bernardo Palma, her Italian singing teacher. From 1750 to 1753, Baptist performed regularly in Dublin, often at the Marlborough Green Gardens. The writer John O'Keeffe saw her perform and described her appearing on stage: "a real black woman, a native of Africa: she always appeared in the orchestra in a yellow silk gown, and was heard by the applauding company with great delight, without remarks upon her sables." Her final Dublin performance was in July 1756, singing in honour of General William Blakeney as part of Niccolo Pasquali's masque Hibernia's triumph.

English performances

From 1757 to 1767, Baptist herself stated she was in England, performing in London and Bath, however there is no mention of her in the playbills of reference works for the London stage at that time. It is possible it was Baptist who played Polly Peachum in The beggar's opera and later Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Lancashire during this time. In the spring and summer of 1758, she performed in the Ranelagh Gardens, Liverpool with local papers stating that "Miss Baptist, the celebrated singer from the gardens of Dublin". She appeared in Liverpool again in April 1767 under her married name, Mrs Crow.

Marriage to John Crow

Based on her appearing under her married name, Baptist married between the summer of 1758 and spring of 1767, with more exact details unknown. John Crow, often referred to simply as Mr. Crow, was a musician and taught violin and guitar, but also worked as a restorer of oil paintings using both the Italian and English methods.

Now performing under the name Mrs. Crow, the couple returned to Ireland in late 1767, where she performed at a concert at the Tholsel Assembly Room, Kilkenny in early December. From there she performed again in Kilkenny, Clonmel and Durrow. A poem was published in her honour in Finn's Leinster Journal following the success of her first Kilkenny concert. She was lauded alongside Thomas Ryder and Giusto Fernando Tenducci as transforming Kilkenny into a "Capua or town of pleasure."

Return to Ireland

In the years that followed, the couple would settle in an Irish provincial town over winter, and advertise concerts and balls with Mrs Crow, and musical tuition by her husband. From 1768 to 1769 they lived in Limerick. By summer of 1770 they were in Bandon and Cork. It is not recorded where they lived for the winter 1771–1772, but they were in Belfast in October 1772. Here they started their most expansive set of events, with concerts and balls once a month in the Assembly Room throughout the winter. They also performed at concerts in Carrickfergus, Downpatrick, and Lisburn. Their final concert took place on 30 April 1773 in Belfast. Baptist's repertoire was typical of the time, singing popular Irish and Scottish airs, with arias by Thomas Arne and George Frideric Handel.

Later life

There is no record of Baptist or her husband after 1773. It is unknown where or when she died, or if the couple had children.

Radio podcast about her, which is where I found out about her:

https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/22414 ... ture-file/

[Suranis]

"Holofernes, general of the Assyrian army had besieged Judith's city. Moved by the plight of her people and filled with trust in God, Judith took matters into her own hands. She coiffed her hair, donned her finest garments and entered the enemy camp under the pretense of bringing Holofernes information that would ensure his victory. Struck by her beauty, he invited her to dine, planning later to seduce her. As the biblical text recounts, “Holofernes was so enchanted with her that he drank far more wine than he had drunk on any other day in his life” (Judith 12:20). Judith saw her opportunity; with a prayer on her lips and a sword in her hand, she saved her people from destruction." Art by Caravaggio.

Carrivagio.jpg (123.3 KiB) Viewed 3037 times

[Suranis]

St Bridget of Sweden.jpg (76.59 KiB) Viewed 2986 times

This is probably a vast misquotation of Luther, but I still liked the sentiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_of_Sweden

Bridget of Sweden, OSsS (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373), born Birgitta Birgersdotter and also known as Birgitta of Vadstena (Swedish: heliga Birgitta), was a Swedish Catholic mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside of Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia and was the mother of Catherine of Vadstena.[3]

Bridget is one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Edit; Oh and its her feast day today.

[RVInit]

We did it!! No help from any national organization! All volunteer groups merged to get this done! I was social media maven for Progressive Arkansas Women PAC expanding to new social media sites and posting constantly about signing events!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... smsnnews11

Arkansas abortion rights groups collect enough signatures to advance ballot measure

[Suranis]

Princess Pauline von Metternich;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_von_Metternich

It is claimed that in August 1892 Pauline took part in a sword duel with Countess Anastasia von Kielmannsegg (1860–1912). The disagreement supposedly stemmed from a dispute over a floral arrangement at the Vienna Musical and Theatre Exposition, of which the nobles were honorary president and president of the exhibition, respectively. The supposed duel involved the participants stripping to the waist to reduce the risk of a wound becoming infected; the image of two topless nobles captured the imagination of artists and scandalized Victorians. However, there are no primary sources for the story, only accounts from foreign newspapers; furthermore, not long after the first accounts were published, a French newspaper printed a denial by the Princess, in which she calls the story a "ridiculous invention by Italian journalists"

This is a clip from The Missoulian, Missoula, Montana, Wed, Oct 5, 1892, Page 15, talking about the supposed Duel. Spoilered due to size. From https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... /29343103/

► Show Spoiler

Duel.jpg (312.64 KiB) Viewed 2884 times

She was quite an interesting woman, a patron of the arts – music, literature, visual arts (she was painted by Degas and Winterhalter, pictures in the Wiki article.). By introducing Empress Eugenie to Charles Worth, she was in large part responsible for his success, and thus the development of haute couture. Her memoir was “My Years in Paris”.

If you want to read more about the Duel have a look at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/54537 The page has an example of a "Naughty Postcard" inspired by the supposed event.

[Suranis]

This is just a photo I saw on facebook. It's from 1932, and the beautiful Actress Carole Lombard. And a Cat that was obviously DONE with the Photo session and wanted OUT.

Carol Lombard.jpg (98.54 KiB) Viewed 2857 times

[Suranis]

From photographer Paul Nicklen.

"Ha'a Keaulana, daughter of Brian Keaulana and granddaughter of legendary Buffalo Keaulana carries a 50-pound boulder while running across the sea floor to train for surfing. Her father teaches surfers that they should train for a four wave hold down in case of a wipeout in big surf. At 13-second intervals between waves, that means about a minute of being held down. It is one thing to hold your breath in a swimming pool for a minute and it something completely different to swim down 30 feet, pick up a huge rock and then run as hard as you can for a minute. Thanks to her lineage, community and training, Ha’a is a true water woman from Makaha. Hawaiians have saltwater running through their veins and epitomize what it means to be connected to the sea. As I shot these moments, I was completely in awe and full of gratitude for being exposed to this beautiful part of the world and the people who live it everyday. How does the ocean inspire you?

Shot on assignment for National Geographic with Cristina Mittermeier Photography"

https://www.facebook.com/paulnicklen

Hawaiin.jpg (39.59 KiB) Viewed 2630 times

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Wonder Water Woman!

[John Thomas8]

[sugar magnolia]

Is "altered or synthetic content" the same as AI?

[pipistrelle]

Is "altered or synthetic content" the same as AI?

Not necessarily.
https://support.google.com/youtube/answ ... ng%20tools.

[Suranis]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia

Hypatia[a] (born c. 350–370; died 415 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria where she taught philosophy and astronomy. Although preceded by Pandrosion, another Alexandrian female mathematician, she is the first female mathematician whose life is reasonably well recorded. Hypatia was renowned in her own lifetime as a great teacher and a wise counselor. She wrote a commentary on Diophantus's thirteen-volume Arithmetica, which may survive in part, having been interpolated into Diophantus's original text, and another commentary on Apollonius of Perga's treatise on conic sections, which has not survived. Many modern scholars also believe that Hypatia may have edited the surviving text of Ptolemy's Almagest, based on the title of her father Theon's commentary on Book III of the Almagest.

Hypatia constructed astrolabes and hydrometers, but did not invent either of these, which were both in use long before she was born. She was tolerant toward Christians and taught many Christian students, including Synesius, the future bishop of Ptolemais. Ancient sources record that Hypatia was widely beloved by pagans and Christians alike and that she established great influence with the political elite in Alexandria. Toward the end of her life, Hypatia advised Orestes, the Roman prefect of Alexandria, who was in the midst of a political feud with Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria. Rumors spread accusing her of preventing Orestes from reconciling with Cyril and, in March 415 AD, she was murdered by a mob of Christians led by a lector named Peter.

Hypatia's murder shocked the empire and transformed her into a "martyr for philosophy", leading future Neoplatonists such as the historian Damascius (c. 458 – c. 538) to become increasingly fervent in their opposition to Christianity. During the Middle Ages, Hypatia was co-opted as a symbol of Christian virtue and scholars believe she was part of the basis for the legend of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. During the Age of Enlightenment, she became a symbol of opposition to Catholicism. In the nineteenth century, European literature, especially Charles Kingsley's 1853 novel Hypatia, romanticized her as "the last of the Hellenes". In the twentieth century, Hypatia became seen as an icon for women's rights and a precursor to the feminist movement. Since the late twentieth century, some portrayals have associated Hypatia's death with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, despite the historical fact that the library no longer existed during Hypatia's lifetime.

This fictional portrait of Hypatia by Jules Maurice Gaspard, originally the illustration for Elbert Hubbard's 1908 fictional biography, has now become the most iconic and widely reproduced image of her.

[Suranis]

456081388_10232499887942754_5988234191990546088_n.jpg (63.67 KiB) Viewed 2346 times

Confirmation:

Mary Kenneth Keller, B.V.M. (December 17, 1913 – January 10, 1985) was an American Catholic religious sister, educator and pioneer in computer science. She was the first person to earn a Ph.D. in computer science in the United States. Keller and Irving C. Tang were the first two recipients of computer science doctorates (Keller's Ph.D. and Tang's D.Sc. were awarded on the same day).

Thesis : "Inductive Inference on Computer Generated Patterns" (1965)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kenneth_Keller

[johnpcapitalist]

Mary Kenneth Keller, B.V.M. (December 17, 1913 – January 10, 1985) was an American Catholic religious sister, educator and pioneer in computer science. She was the first person to earn a Ph.D. in computer science in the United States. Keller and Irving C. Tang were the first two recipients of computer science doctorates (Keller's Ph.D. and Tang's D.Sc. were awarded on the same day).

Thesis : "Inductive Inference on Computer Generated Patterns" (1965)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kenneth_Keller

Cool! I have known about a number of female pioneers in computing, including Grace Murray Hopper, but I was not familiar with Sister Mary Keller.

Incidentally, as long as we're talking about pioneering female computer/engineering women, a fun trivia question is: "Judy Cohen was one of the first female engineers at TRW and was one of the key engineers on the Apollo 'Abort-Guidance' computer system, which was the key to the safe return of the Apollo 13 astronauts. During the ill-fated mission, she was pregnant with someone who would become famous. Who was he?" Answer: comedian Jack Black.

[chancery]

Cheryl Rofer posts on the Lawyers Guns & Money blog about Jane Richardson, a professor of biochemistry and the inventor of ribbon diagrams, a technique for visualizing and understanding proteins.

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/20 ... n-diagrams

If you read much that touches on the science of proteins, you’ve probably seen ribbon diagrams. They’re just there, part of the lore, as one commenter on Bluesky observed.

But someone had to develop them. That someone was Jane Richardson, professor of biochemistry at Duke University.

I learned that a few years back, when I looked for a Scientific American article on the internet. Didn’t find it. I was recalling a night in Sagamore Park when young Jane collected a group of us to observe the track of Sputnik. She had a way to calculate its orbit from visual observations, and we made those observations. She was one of the first to calculate the orbit, IIRC, and her method was written up in the Scientific American “Amateur Scientist” column. It was very exciting for a group of young astronomers.

In 2018, Duke published a long article on her life and how she developed ribbon diagrams. I can’t say much about them because protein chemistry isn’t my thing, but I remember when they came into use. They were obviously easier to comprehend than other chemistry diagrams of the time.

Her path to biochemistry was unconventional, with a master’s degree in philosophy, the subject she took up instead of the astronomy and physics she started with as an undergraduate. That background has served her well.

I found her when I searched for that Scientific American article and wondered why we hadn’t heard more about the originator of those scientifically ubiquitous diagrams. Actually, I didn’t wonder much. One more example of a woman not getting credit. I’ve wondered, too, how much discrimination against women had to do with her circuitous route into biochemistry.

So I was glad to see an article circulating on Bluesky about her development of those diagrams. Maybe, as some have done, they should be more generally called “Richardson diagrams.”

Cheryl Rofer has an interesting biography herself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheryl_Rofer
Her posts, especially the ones on the intersection of science and public policy, are always worth reading. In addition to her work on LG&M, she has her own blog, Nuclear Diner. https://nucleardiner.wordpress.com/

[RTH10260]

crosspost

NSA Releases Internal 1982 Lecture by Computing Pioneer Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

The Black Vault Originals
26 Aug 2024

Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) released a copy of an internal lecture delivered by Rear Admiral Grace Hopper from August 19, 1982. Known as one of the most influential figures in the development of early computing technologies, Hopper’s contributions have left an indelible mark on the field of computer science, particularly in the realm of programming languages.

The lecture, which Hopper delivered during her tenure at the NSA, provides a rare glimpse into the thoughts and expertise of a woman who played a pivotal role in shaping modern computing. As a pioneering force behind the creation of COBOL, one of the first high-level programming languages, Hopper’s work laid the foundation for software development practices that are still in use today. Her lecture covers not only technical aspects of computing but also her visionary ideas on the future of technology and its applications in various fields.

[Foggy]

Not a particular lady, but quite a few of them ...

In a milestone breakthrough, more than half of Caltech’s incoming undergraduate class in the fall will be women for the first time in its 133-year history. The class of 113 women and 109 men comes 50 years after Caltech graduated its first class of undergraduate women, who were admitted in 1970. Source: LA Times