Clever women are dangerous women*

Lots of great articles recently about some kick ass women:

Before Carrie there was Helen Gurley Brown.
An author in the 60s of “Sex and the Single Girl” and “Bad Girls Go Everywhere” and the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years, Ms. Brown pushed the envelope for acceptable behavior for single women. My favorite quotes about Ms. Brown: "She eventually came to realize that success and power produced their own beauty" and “Being smart about money is sexy.”

Cleopatra
“Cleopatra has gone down in history as a wanton seductress. She is the original bad girl, the Monica Lewinsky of the ancient world. And all because she turns up at one of the most dangerous intersections in history, that of women and power.”

Plain Talkin’ from The Plain Dealer
I’m just now starting to read through some of the (free) archives available for The Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett who was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a Midwestern gal in the mix for this nomination. While the Prize went to Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post for “his eloquent columns on the 2008 presidential campaign that focus on the election of the first African-American president” (tough to compete with that!), she was a finalist with Paul Krugman of The New York Times for his coverage of the recession.

The Pulitzer committee said she was a finalist “for her range of compelling columns that move the heart, challenge authority and often trigger action while giving readers deeper insight into life’s challenges.” I have a feeling she’s generally more conservative, politically, than I am, but I’m still excited to check her out.

Pitch Perfect
It’s not often enough that young women are recognized for their sports prowess, so I had a nice smile when I read about Mackenzie Brown. Last Tuesday, twelve-year-old Mackenzie pitched a no-hitter against 18 batters (all of them boys) while pitching for her local Bayonne, New Jersey, Little League team. Her reward (besides the pleasure of a game well played)? Throwing the opening pitch for the Mets last Saturday. Well played, Mackenzie.


*Euripides