Time Travel

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Remember that cool car Michael J Fox drove in the movie, ‘Back to the Future’, that ultra-suave time machine that allowed him to not only look cool on screen, but also impact events in past and future? On Sunday, March 14 at 2 a.m., we’ll be wishing we looked that dapper. Daylight Saving Time has more of a bewildering effect on our organism than anything else. It is mini jet-lag at its best.

Every year it’s the same old story. We switch the clocks, blink bleary-eyed out the window, and wonder why it’s still dark outside. We battle with our own instincts to curl up into the fetal position for one more round of sleep.

Let’s look at it positively. It is the one moment of the year in which we get to jump forward an hour with a simple twist of the clock. A minor inconvenience of modern life, Daylight Saving Time is meant to save energy. While most of our lives is spent on some level of clock combat as we try to beat more into our schedules, Daylight Saving Time has more to do with war than you might know.

Daylight Saving Time was first instituted during World War I in the United States to take advantage of the longer daylight hours for war production between the months of April and October. During World War II the time change was reinstated for the same reasons. Between the wars, the federal government allowed each State to decide whether or not to observe the time change. It wasn’t until 1966 that the Uniform Time Act standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time. During the Bush Administration, Daylight Saving Time was extended by four weeks after the Energy Policy Act was passed in 2005. By 2007, forty-seven and one-half states, with the exception of Arizona, Hawaii and the Eastern Time Zone of Indiana that do not observe the time change, got to spring forward in March instead of April.

If changing the clock gives you the blues, you are not alone. According to an informal poll on PowerofSlow.org, most people reported feeling groggy and disoriented for a few days after the clocks turn forward. According to research presented in the Journal of Applied Psychology in September 2009, job-related injuries soar right after Daylight Saving Time. Although it is intended to save energy, in some cases changing the clock costs people sleep, thereby leaving them lethargic and more accident-prone.

To ensure you keep a spring in your step, consider these tips to offset the effects of this year’s clock change:

1. Progressively go to bed a few minutes earlier a week before the clock change.
2. Be sure you get sufficient exposure to natural light. Your body’s circadian rhythm depends on it.
3. Not only the time change, but also the change in weather can affect your immune system. Eat vitamin-rich foods. A rule of thumb is to eat one thing in its natural state with every meal (yes, lettuce on your sandwich counts!).
4. Sleep with the shades up for a few days so it is easier to get up in the morning.
5. Research at the University of Sussex has shown that reading for just six minutes can reduce your stress level by sixty-eight percent.  Integrate some reading time into your routine before you go to sleep.

Our relationship with time impacts every other relationship we have. When we feel rushed and time-starved, we enjoy our lives less. Daylight Saving Time is a great opportunity to embrace the notion of time abundance, even as we seemingly ‘lose an hour’.  Time abundance is a mindset that says you have more than enough time to fulfill your ultimate purpose. Just know you are only temporarily without the hour this March because you get it back in October. Besides, if we are all still around in 2012, you get to jump for joy for a whole extra day on February 29^th. Now that’s reason enough to leap through the year!

~Christine Louise Hohlbaum is the author of The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World. http://PowerofSlow.org.

Side bar

Time Resources:

Time around the world:  www.worldtimeserver.com

Time-saving tips:  www.PowerofSlow.org

Virtual calendar:  www.google.com/calendar

Biological Age:  www.realage.com/

Female Pilots and Women's History Month

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March being Women’s History Month, it seems appropriate that this month marks a major event in women’s history: It's been one hundred years since the first woman received a pilot's license.

Female aviators were the forebears of women’s rights before the movement even existed. Trying to excel in a man’s field, they were flatly told they couldn’t. There were even ridiculous attempts to ground them, including a movement to prove that women weren’t mentally stable enough to fly during menstruation.

With all that adversity, take a look at these amazing women aviators who broke through and accomplished what none had done before.

1910: French aviatrix Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot's license.

1912: Less than one year after becoming the first American female to obtain a pilot's license, Harriet Quimby is the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

1918: Marjorie Stinson is appointed the first female airmail pilot by the U.S. Postmaster General.

1921: Bessie Coleman becomes the first African American (of either sex) to be granted a pilot's license.

1934: Helen Richey is hired by Central Airlines, becoming the first female pilot for a U.S. commercial airline.

1935: Amelia Earhart breaks multiple records. She becomes the first person to fly solo across the Pacific, going from Hawaii to Oakland, CA; then the first to fly from Los Angeles to Mexico City.

1936: For the first time, women are allowed to compete against men at the prestigious Bendix Trophy Race. With seven airplanes racing (four piloted by men), Louise Thaden becomes the first woman to win the coveted trophy. Another woman, Laura Ingalls, wins second place.

1953: Jacqueline Cochran is the first woman to break the sound barrier.

1991: Patty Wagstaff becomes the first female U.S. National Aerobatic Champion.

2008: Born without arms, Jessica Cox is the first pilot to earn a certificate using only her feet.

These are just a few of the amazing women in aviation history. There are many more.

Today, it’s so much easier for a woman to learn to fly. There are clubs like Women in Aviation (www.wai.org) and the Ninety-Nines (www.ninety-nines.org) that offer support and guidance.

Plus, programs like the nonprofit Let’s Go Flying (www.letsgoflying.com) provide resources, advice and a list of flight schools, many of which even offer discounted introductory flights.

Help Women's Media Center Recognize 30 Women Making History

Women’s Media Center – a nonprofit organization founded by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan – announced that, in recognition of the 30th anniversary of Women's History Month, WMC will profile 30 Women Making History on the WMC blog: http://www.womensmediacenter.com/blog. Each day, they will feature a new woman who is making an impact every day with her work.

Through original content, advocacy campaigns, and media and leadership trainings, WMC works to ensure that women history is no longer slanted to one side and the contributions of women in all forms of media are recognized.

Support in helping them acknowledge and celebrate this remarkable and diverse group of women. The list of women is not complete and we welcome nominations/suggestions.

SELF Magazine Women Doing Good Awards-nomination opportunity

SELF Magazine is looking for the next "Women Doing Good".  Enter or nominate someone for the 3rd annual  2010 SELF Women Doing Good Award.

The search is on to find the most extraordinary women who are working hard and are determined to make a difference, whether it is within their community, environmentally, medically‹the sky is the limit!

The winners will receive a $10,000 donation for their respective charity or organization, be featured in the September issue of SELF, and honored at an awards dinner in New York City.

The contest ends March 30, 2010. Go hear to learn about the contest or enter: http://selfconnected.com/winit_womendoinggood_01.asp .




ABOUT 2009 Winners: 

• Erin Sprague, Lindsay Guetschow, and Beth Ann
• Levandoski.

SELF honored the winners at an amazing celebration dinner gala at the Museum
of Modern Art in New York, hosted by Today show co-anchor Hoda Kotb.

Self VP and publisher Kimberly Kelleher, editrix Lucy Danziger, Burt's Bees'
Jayni Chase (yes, that's Chevy Chase's wife) and Mike Indursky, and Kashi's
Michelle Escala all gave inspiring speeches to the honorees.

Sprague's charity, In The Running, is based on her experience as the
youngest woman to run seven marathons of seven continents. The organization
advocates for seven selected organizations, each of which impacts
humanitarian and environmental challenges facing each continent and the
global community--from improving the quality of life for AIDS-infected women
to fighting poverty in impoverished areas and preserving ecosystems.

Guetschow, in addition to acting as the director of outreach for
StopGlobalWarming.org, founded Cool Globes, a public art project touring
throughout the United States consisting of seven-foot tall globes that
demonstrate simple solutions to help stop global warming.

Levendoski is the president, executive director, and co-founder of the
Tierra Miguel Foundation, an organization that informs and educates the
community on the value of local sustainable agricultural practices and grows
certified organic fruits and vegetables, using Bio-Dynamic agricultural
preparations on its 85-acre working produce farm.

9 Things American Women Take For Granted

It’s National Women’s History Month! What better way to celebrate then let TheFrisky.com, the website covering everything that matters to women 18-34 highlight the ways in which women have gotten ahead over the years. Keep reading below for some of the rights that women should take advantage of:

1. The right to vote. The 19th Constitutional Amendment was passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified Aug. 18, 1920.
2. The right to make as much money as men. There are still many out there fighting for women to make the same higher wages as their male counterparts, but 1938’s Fair Labor Standards Act, which “established minimum wage without regard to sex,” made it possible for us to even be pissed about making less.
3. The right to have a “man’s” job. Sure, you had to be paid as much as the guys at work, but you could never, ever be promoted above one. At least not until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But it wasn’t until the 1973 Supreme Court upheld a 1968 ruling that sex-segregated ads for employment were made illegal.
4. The right to go to college. Back in the day, educating women wasn’t a priority. In 1870, just one-fifth of resident college and university students were women. Today, women outnumber men on college campuses.
5. The right to choose our own religion. Way back when, the religion of the man that you chose to marry is what you would convert to. No questions, no nothing. Even if you’re an atheist, you can appreciate this.

Wanna check out the others? To view the entire post, go to http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-9-things-american-women-take-for-granted/

You Are Invited to Celebrate International Women's Day

YOU ARE INVITED

TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL

WOMEN’S DAY

Since 1911, all over the world, on March 8^th, women have gathered in small and large towns and cities to commemorate their contributions to their communities

In 2010, in Chicago, The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and the Chicago Foundation for Women will host a breakfast to commemorate immigrant women civic leaders

Please join us for a release of a report that will provide a snapshot of the state of immigrant women in Illinois and provide personal testimonies of women who have overcome personal obstacles to emerge as strong civic leaders in their communities

Where: Chicago Foundation for Women
1 East Wacker Drive, Floor 20
Chicago, IL 60601

When: March 8, 2010 8:30 to 10:30 am

Who: Women Civic leaders, Invited:  Iris Martinez, Senator, Illinois state senate, District 20, Elizabeth Hernandez, Illinois state representative district 24, Maria Toni Berrios, Illinois State Representative District 39, Cynthia Soto, Illinois State Representative District 4, Linda Chapa LaVia, Illinois State Representative District 83, Susana Mendoza, Illinois State Representative District 1

Please RSVP to Vivian Ramos at vramos@icirr.org, Space is limited

Did you know? That in 1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union worked towards the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote. The group was later renamed the National Women's Party. Members picket the White House and practiced other forms of civil disobedience. The 19^th Amendment, giving women the right to vote was signed in on August 26, 1920.

PR Toolkit Discount!

John Sternal of Sternal Consulting, interviewed on Connecting Women Radio: http://tobtr.com/s/885017, is offering a discount on the PR Toolkit http://understandingmarketing.com, click on the PR Toolkit and enter "Twitter" in the promotional code box for an additional 20% discount.