Pretty Boss Shows

This  week has been a barrage of terrifying, infuriating, mind-numbing news. There is something very wrong with the New Guy.  But among all the Voldemort/Dr. Evil headlines, I saw this today:

Study Shows Little Girls Doubt Women Can Be Brilliant

According to a study published today in the journal Science, girls as young as six begin to believe that men are inherently smarter and more talented than women.  This leads to a snowball effect of girls participating less in school, girls not studying STEM subjects, and an entire gender not entering the fields that will move us forward.  

We marched last weekend to battle this type of thinking.  We marched for reproductive rights, for education, for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  We marched to show generations yet to come that they can always Be More.

I find myself gobbling up stories of strong female rulers of late.  I recently slapped a spare tablet on the side of my fridge so I can mainline documentaries while cooking and doing the washing up.  It was during one of these resigned-to-acting-like-an-adult Saturday afternoons that I took in Royal Wives at War, a look back at the relationship between the Duchess of Windsor and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth, known as the Queen Mother.  While the former Mrs. Simpson was known as a fashion plate and a party girl, Elizabeth was described by Adolf Hitler as “the most dangerous woman in Europe.”  She placed duty to God and country above all else, and expected nothing less from the rest of the family.  

Not long after that, The Crown made its debut on Netflix, and I happily binged the first season in a few evenings.  This time it was Elizabeth II hiking up her skirts and showing them what for.  And lest you think I’m cheating on PBS, Prince Phillip is played by Doctor Who’s Matt Smith.  Neener.

This week I’m powering through Victoria, a Masterpiece production detailing the first few years of Queen Victoria’s reign.  I three episodes in, and I’m about to hit play on Episode Four.  While it’s true that I’ll watch pretty much anything featuring girls in corsets and hot men in breeches, this series is more about an 18 year old sovereign learning how to navigate the political waters of a changing time.  Slavery was being challenged globally, and in the empire, the Reform Act was beginning to pave the way for the Suffrage Movement. 

I honestly thought I’d be watching a different sort of investiture of another strong woman leader tomorrow.  This is not to be.  It’s not okay, but it is what is necessary at this moment in history.  For eight years, I’ve felt secure in the knowledge that the ship was being helmed by someone with grace, dignity, and the best interests of the people at heart.  It made me soft.  I believed I had lost the ability and the inspiration to fight for justice and equality.  But I’ve been watching the masters and taking notes.  Like Ali pacing his corner, I’m ready for the bell.   

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. For many of us, it has just been a day off work or school. This year, I think that it takes on a whole new importance in our society. 

Frontline did a show in the 1980′s about a 3rd grade teacher who tried to teach about discrimination: A Class Divided.

The concept was revolutionary in it’s simplicity. The day after Dr. King was assassinated, she walked into class and told them that blue eyed children were better than brown eyed children. That brown eyed children were not as smart, were wasteful, were not to be trusted. And the blue eyed children treated them that way. What was even more amazing is that the brown eyed children began acting that way. 

The next day, she apologized, saying she had it backwards. She was blue eyed, so it makes sense that she got it wrong.  So instead, it was the blue eyed children who were less than. 

She had done this exercise every year.  And for the Frontline episode, some of those kids came back and talked about how it changed them.

One of the things that struck me was when she said that she gave a test 2 weeks before, every day during, and 2 weeks after the exercise. The children scored very low when they were the discriminated group, but higher when they were on top. 

What is heartbreaking though is that this was filmed in 1985.  Thirty-three years ago.  I was not yet three years old when this show aired.  And we still haven’t gotten the message.  Maybe we have even forgotten some of it.

In 4 days, a man will be sworn in to the highest office in our country who has showcased this amnesia.  A man who has been open about not caring about people of other races, religions, cultures, beliefs, sexuality.  A person who encourages the idea that “the other” is less than.

We at Pretty Boss Shows reject that idea.  And that rejection has been reinforced by PBS.  

Four days, four years, forty years, it doesn’t matter.  What matters is every day, remember the lessons taught to us:  

The first is the most importation, and sometimes the hardest.  But it is the one we need to remember and exemplify: 

The second, as always: 

I just finished March, by John Lewis.  I really don’t know what to say, other than it brought me to tears. Tears of pain, tears of sorrow. But mostly, tears of inspiration. 

I have seen shows on NewsHour and American Experience and even Reading Rainbow. But for some reason, these three books have hit me differently. 

Maybe it is the timing. In less than a month, a man will be sworn in as our President. A man who has made no secret of the fact that he does not believe in, nor will he support, Civil Rights for all people. A man who has named a Cabinet that has made no secret of the fact that they care less about what is best for America than what is best for their wallets. 

And all this came about because just over half of the country voted. 

Maybe there is something about being afraid for myself and those I love, all because of the lack of voting, then reading about the fight to vote, that has struck a cord. 

The books are dedicated “To the past and future children of the movement”.  That is what we are at PBS: the children of the movement. People who want to be educated about our country, our rights, our world. People who work towards a better tomorrow.

Every time I try to sit down and write about the passing of Gwen Ifill, something happens that makes it even harder.  Time is not helping. 

Today, we lost Carrie Fisher too.  This year has sucked!!

One of the reasons it has been so hard to write this post, and one of the reasons that loosing Carrie Fisher has prompted me to finally sit down at my keyboard, is that Gwen Ifill was really my first real female role model.  Sure, I had Maria and I had other characters. But Gwen Ifill was real!  

I would get up and sit in front of the tv on Sunday mornings, not to watch cartoons, but to watch Washington Week. Sunday mornings were The New Yankee Workshop, This Old House, and Washington Week.  

I never heard anyone talk about Gwen’s looks, or her desirability, like for the other female anchors. It was also how smart she was, how good she was about talking with people and getting them to answer honestly. 

She made me fall in love with politics.  OK, considering the state of politics right now, it may be a love/hate relationship. But she made me care. She made me want to learn more. 

Then with NewsHour... I could go on and on about her accomplishments.  

But when it comes down to it, she taught me what it meant to be a journalist. Hers is the standard that I judge all others by.  And it was so wonderful to have this consummate journalist, news anchor, educator be a woman.

She will always have a place in my heart, and be etched on my skin.

Hello Neighbors.  Well.  So.  I don’t really know what to say.  Except it is time to put on our big kid pants. PBS has prepared us for this moment our whole lives.

A lot of us are scared. A lot of us are unsure about what tomorrow means. A lot of us fear for the safety of ourselves and our loved ones. 

And we fear for the country we love, and the democracy we cherish.

Remember though, our Great Experiment is not something to be taken for granted. And maybe we have done that. When only 56% of the country actually turned out to the polls, we have work to do. 

And that work starts with us, here, today. We will make Mister Rogers proud of us. And we will change this world.

We will be tired. We will find it hard. We will want to quit.  But Mister Rogers never quit!

Mister Rogers would want us to reject the hatred, reject the bigotry, reject the violence and fear and divisiveness that this coming administration has built itself on.

We will work hard. We will love more. We will help more. We will cherish more. We will be kind more.  WE WILL BE MORE.

Wow. What a year.  I woke up on January 1 thinking “this is it! 2016 is going to be epic!”. And instead it turned into the worst year of my life.  And on the other side of that, well... I am here. And PBS is here.  

I have been going through some things lately.  They haven’t stopped me from watching PBS, though it has stopped me from writing about PBS.

2015 is circling the drain, and people everywhere are solemnly promising to spend the initial moments of the next year being better people.  They are resolving to eat less, move more, and be represented by a different number than the number that currently defines them.  Most will fail.

In anticipation of the great Resolution Revolution, PBS is premiering a new series by nutrition journalist Michael Pollan called In Defense of Food.  His premise is seven words long: "Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants."

This shouldn't be too difficult, right?  Eat food your grandparents would have recognized, not highly processed, laboratory engineered nurdles of convenience cuisine.  But is simplicity all that simple?  I think we have come so far from simple food that we no longer recognize it ourselves.  Is this why we go to the farmer's market and buy locally sourced organically grown produce, only to take it home and turn it into a "healthy" version of the processed crap we normally eat, usually via a recipe we found on Pinterest.  (Pinterest: Misunderstanding the Assignment---Beautifully.) Pinterest would have me believe that zucchini makes great noodles and cauliflower makes great pizza crust. Trust me, cauliflower crust pizza is not an improvement on cauliflower or pizza.  

Zucchini makes great zucchini.  And that's delicious on its own merit.  So in 2016, I resolve to eat food closer to its original form.  If I cannot determine what that form was, I probably don't need to be putting it in my mouth.  

As a New Year's bonus, in defense of Franken-food, here's a recipe for wild rice stuffing as prepared by Senator Al Franken (D-MN):

Al's Wild Rice Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 lb. Wild rice (Mahnomen)

one stick butter

ten cloves of garlic

3 medium sized yellow onions

4 stalks of celery

2 lbs. White button mushrooms

salt to taste

We have posted Fred Rogers’ “Look for the helpers” clip many many times.  It seems like every time there’s a mass shooting or an incidence of senseless violence, we dust it off (if the dust even had a chance to settle) and trot it out.  This is an extended version of that clip, and the events of the era prompted him to talk about it in little kid terms.  Watching it today, it takes me back to what a terrifying time it was to be alive.  The news was filled with stories of hostages in Iran, murdered children in Atlanta, and assassination attempts.  So Fred put the puppets away and spoke in simple, frank words about when people get angry and express in non-productive ways. 

Now we’re faced with similar scary times and the news is filled with images of angry people saying things that are Not Helping.  Look for the helpers, we’re reminded. This week Jon Stewart returned to television and brought us some of those helpers to remind us what they did for us, and to educate us on the price they continue to pay.

Every day my heart breaks a little more.  Eveyr day, angry people get themselves in the papers for ending the lives of others.  They do it in the name of religion, in the name of politics, in the name of the voices in their heads.  They strongly believe that somone or something is trying to make them powerless, so they exert the power they believe they have while they can.

Thirty-five years ago, someone exerted his power over John Winston Ono Lennon.  John was talented, outspoken, and charismatic.  He was also stubborn, opinionated, and deeply flawed.  In short, he was human.  As such, he bled.

John liked to annoy The Establishment by doing unexpected things, and he exerted his power with chords, words, and ideas.  Did they actually make a difference? Guess not.  But I like to imagine they did.

It’s not just Cerridwen’s birthday---It’s #WorldToiletDay!  So be sure to wish the cardio-centric half of Pretty Boss Shows a happy natal day while you take a dreaming & scheming break.  

We have a lot of dubious celebratory proclamations, but plumbed waste management has a profound impact on global civilization.  It affects health rates, water usage, even labor laws. 

NPR recently interviewed a South African sanitation expert after Trevor Noah made a quip about his dreams of hosting The Daily Show and having an indoor toilet.  Turns out the tried-and-true flush pot isn’t the best answer for every culture. The Gates Foundation has even sponsored a challenge to reinvent the technology.  

So when you drop your kids off at the pool today, take a moment to think about what it would be like if you had to approach it another way.  

Now...in honor of Cerridwen, rainbows you will not be able to unsee.

Sometimes, it is very easy to get into your rut, or your habits, and forget that there is this great big world out there, more amazing than you can imagine.

Then PBS reminds you of the wondrousness of the world around you.

A show about creatures that are a little strange, a lot unusual.  But they work, just the same.  

Creatures that you think should be from on a Syfy movie of the week, not roaming around the planet.

Animals that maybe are a little creepy, before you remember to never judge a book by it’s cover.

And animals that you think WTF, from beginning to end.  

Then you remember that Be More isn’t just for Viewers Like You, it is the rallying cry of all life.

And your habits expand, and your ruts get a little shallower.

And you remember the beauty of the world.

Today marks three years of Pretty Boss Shows, and we've had a Pretty Boss Year.  We both got new jobs, and have leaned on public media as a bastion of familiarity and inspiration in different ways.  We explored GamerGate and gun violence, we examined tribal relationships and sacred journeys.  We bade farewell and peaceful rest to Spock and Clack and Sir Terry and Norman Bridwell.  We loosened our grip on Sonia Manzano and Jimmy Carter, but we didn't like it.  

Cerridwen got in her car and listened to three different pledge drives in five hours.  Holly discovered radio on demand in the form of podcasts.  And we both connected to our senses of self and community  with various forms of service.  

The inspiration for this blog was a Presidential debate.  It's time for those again.  Um...if Mittens liked Big Bird, but was still willing to defund public broadcasting, I dare not wonder what a failed real estate developer or science-denying neurosurgeon will do.  But we will be here for the ride.  Laughing, crying out in righteous indignation, or biting down on a cyanide tooth.

Sometimes it feels like nobody reads this.  We don’t update as often as we used to, and even our biggest cheerleader has moved on to more scientific and imaginative pastures.  But then...

Then PBS announces they’re giving me a birthday present.  

As some of you are aware, Home base for Pretty Boss Shows is in the Old Pueblo.  We are a town that has close ties with our Hispanic heritage.  But in the last few years, as political winds have shifted, our politicians, and by extension some of the populous, have become less tolerant of our past.  They have tried to literally whitewash it.  And regardless of what people want to think, we are a nation, and a town, of immigrants.  Especially here in the Southwest, where the people did not move, the border did.  

Arizona Public Media did a story on one family.  One of thousands, who have born the brunt of this shift in political will.

I am not going to talk in detail about this story, because you should listen to it yourself.  The link is here.

What I will say is this: my dad was an anchor baby.  When I tell people this, they look really confused.  People forget that not all illegal immigrants are brown.  Through the 1990’s, the second largest group of illegal immigrants were the Irish.  

I will say this: I have worked with, been friends with, been welcomed by families that came here for a better life.  The life that we, as a country, promised them. 

We laid out the welcome mat.  We can not all of a sudden say “sorry, closed” because you are the wrong skin colour, the wrong religion, the wrong whatever.  We have to say “You came here looking for a better life? So did we.  Welcome, let me make room at the table”.

I will say this: America was once the greatest country in the world.  Not because of our “freedom” (England has freedom, Denmark, France), but because we are a nation of immigrants, who welcome the different.  Those differences make us stronger.

I will say this: Alienating an entire generation of Americans, telling them they are not good enough, their families are not good enough, and breaking them apart, is not going to put us back on the track to being great.  

PBS has taught us that we are better, stronger together.  PBS has taught us that in our differences, we become more.   So, please, America, Be More.