Spartan Jet-Plex

Happy birthday to the wonderfully whimsical Wanda Gág, born on this day in 1893. She is best known for writing and illustrating the 1928 children’s book “Millions of Cats,” the oldest American picture book still in print.

“Cats at the Window,” 1929, by Wanda Gág 

“Self-Portrait,” 1943, by Wanda Gág 

“Whodunit,” 1944 (printed 1947), by Wanda Gág 

Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885) is a significant figure in the Romantic Movement in her native Galicia. She wrote in Galician in addition to Spanish, in a gesture of defiance against stereotypes of the minority language.

Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880) was a journalist and novelist, as well as an activist for women’s rights, Native American rights, and abolitionism. She fought against white supremacy and patriarchal society her entire life.

Clelia Giacobini (1931-2010) was an Italian scientist. She was a pioneer of microbiology applied to conservation and restoration.

Asma Jahangir (1952-2018) was a Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist. She was the co-founder and Chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Camilla Collett (1813-1895) was a Norwegian author, considered to be the first feminist in her country. She was also one of the first realist writers in Norwegian literature.

‘I’m A Survivor Of Violence’: Portraits Of Women Waiting In Mexico For U.S. Asylum

“Hitting a woman for a man is as normal as eating a tortilla from a food stand on the way to work,” said Karen Paz, 34, from San Pedro Sula in Honduras, revealing a scar from a burn on her left shoulder. “He wanted to burn my face, but my daughter started screaming when she saw him taking the pan with boiling butter. She pushed him, and so he aimed for the arm instead.”

Through my portrait series, from last Nov. 21 to Dec. 2, I documented Paz and 12 other women with their children who are survivors of domestic abuse and decided to flee their homes by joining one of last year’s migrant caravans. For them it was a challenging, almost two-month journey to answer the question: What does it take for a Central American woman to give her children a better future?

I listened to these women’s testimonies and decided to portray them not as victims but as their most resilient selves, for no abuse can measure up to the courage and strength it took to carry their children across multiple countries for a shot at a better life by asking for asylum in the United States.

A curious harbor seal checks out diver Mike Weber as he and his team pick up golf balls in the waters off the coast of Northern California.

Teenage Diver Finds Tons Of Golf Balls Rotting Off California

A diver in California has stumbled on an unexpected source of plastic waste in the ocean: golf balls.

As the balls degrade, they can emit toxic chemicals. And there appear to be lots of them in certain places underwater — right next to coastal golf courses.

Two years ago, a 16-year old diver named Alex Weber was swimming off Pebble Beach along the Pacific near Carmel, Calif. “My dad raised me underwater,” says Weber, and she means it. She’s a free diver: no scuba tanks; she just holds her breath. She was diving in a small cove and looked down and saw something weird. “You couldn’t see the sand,” she recalls, still sounding incredulous. “It was completely white.”

White with golf balls. “You looked down and you’re like, ‘What are you doing here?’”

There were thousands of them. “It felt like a shot to the heart,” she says.

Continue reading about Weber’s mission to remove the golf balls