Culture: The Holiday After-Shopping Party

by Stephanie Block ’Twas two weeks before Christmas, and wouldn’t you know?The Fillmore Street merchants were planning their show.Jazz musicians were diggin’ it, and tuning their pipes,While the boulevard’s trees got dressed with white lights. ’Twas two weeks before Christmas, and wouldn’t you know?The Fillmore Street merchants were planning their show.Jazz musicians were diggin’ it,…

Visionaries: Dr. Wangari Maathai: Diva Visionary and Nobel Laureate

Visionaries: Dr. Wangari Maathai: Diva Visionary and Nobel Laureate

by Stephanie Block In a gilded conference room at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel, Dr. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Laureate, stepped up to the podium to speak. Bedecked in traditional dress and welcomed with a standing ovation, her entrance made me think of that old Virginia Slims slogan, “you’ve come a long way, baby.” When she started…

Visionaries: Women Rock the Nobel Nomination Process!

Visionaries: Women Rock the Nobel Nomination Process!

by Stephanie Block Dr. Margo Okazawa-Rey is not messing around. She and her international team have nominated one thousand women for 2005’s Nobel Peace Prize. A grand; one large; a ‘g.’ Dr. Okazawa-Rey is the coordinator for her corner of the world, mega-powers like the United States and Canada, as well as South Korea (where…