Happy International Women's Day! Today, all over the world, countries are celebrating the lives and contributions of women, and in some countries, like
China, Vietnam and
Russia, today is a holiday. This year's
United Nations global theme is
Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all, a goal that we're far from all over the world, including the United States, though we continue to make advances.
Throughout today across the US, there have been some 130 official events, including
President Obama and
First Lady Michelle Obama's
tribute and reception in the White House this afternoon.
The first International Women's Day took place in 1911, so next year will mark the centenary. In honor of today and next year's 100th anniversary, think about how you might make a contribution to improving the lives of women and girls across the globe. One thing I thought of this morning was that poor and working-class women and girls in
Haiti and
Chile are particularly vulnerable right now, and could greatly use various kinds of assistance. If anyone knows of organizations that will channel aid of kinds to them, please let me know, and I'll post the links here.
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On a completely different note, I've been trying to figure out a way to write on here about how I've become an almost-vegetarian since January (2010), which has also meant, interestingly enough, that I've lost about 15-18 lbs. (I was 219 lbs. on January 4, and I range between 200-203 lbs. today.) This has happened less from me consciously dieting, but rather from cooking even more regularly than in the past, eating less meat--I've gone long stretches, perhaps the longest a week--following more of a pattern in what I eat (coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, fruits and a sandwich for lunch, a cooked meal for dinner, with wine and dessert), and mostly centering my diet around fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. In the process, and while not really changing my daily driving routine and not going to the gym any more (usually 3 days/nights max) than I have in the past, I have shed the pounds and yet I am eating many of the things that people are urged
not to eat: lots of CARBS.
