Deals and Delights
 | Author George Sand (aka Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant) was born on this day in 1804. She wore men’s clothing and smoked in public, pushing the early 19th century social boundaries. Novelist Ivan Turgenev said of her, "What a brave man she was, and what a good woman." |
| The Big Top will be at Northeastern University!
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| If you’re aware of an event that should be included in this calendar, please contact editor Alison O’Leary Murray at 781-433-6971 or email the details to alisonm@skirtboston.com. thank you! |
 | Psychoanalyst Marie Bonaparte was born today in 1882. The great-grand-niece of Napoleon I of France, Marie was a Princess by title. Her interest in (and financial backing of) psychoanalysis was a great instigator in its popularity. Her wealth enabled Sigmund Freud to escape Nazi Germany and it was to her that Freud said, “The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?’” Bonaparte also conducted extensive research on female orgasms. |
 | Charlotte Perkins Gilman, best known as the writer of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” was born on this day in 1860. The short story illustrated the cultural views on women’s mental and physical health in the 19th century. Gilman experienced what is now believed to be severe post-partum depression after the birth of her only child, which inspired the tale. The great-niece of influential humanists Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catharine Beecher and Isabella Beecher Hooker, Gilman believed that economic independence was the only thing that could really bring freedom to women, making them equal to men. |
 | “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Happy Independence Day. |
 | Veronica Guerin was born on this day in 1958—watch Cate Blanchett portray the Irish journalist in the heartbreaking namesake film, Veronica Guerin. Her life and death inspired fellow Dubliners to crack down on the growing drug trade and clean up the city for good. |
| Songbirds in concert: local female dance vocalists perform at All Asia in Cambridge. Free admission, doors open at 1pm, show is 3pm. Allasiabar.com |
 | “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” Artist Frida Kahlo was born on this day in 1907. |
 | Today is the 415th birthday of Artemisia Gentileschi, an Early Italian Baroque painter, who is now considered to be one of the most talented painters (besides Caravaggio) of the era. She was the first female painter to become a member of the Academy of Art and Design in Florence, and one of the first females to paint religious and historical themes in a time when these things were considered beyond a woman’s reach. |
 | Author Ann Radcliffe was born today in 1764. Considered the pioneer of the gothic novel, her stories of heroic young girls exploring mysterious and dangerous locales became very popular and influenced the work of writers like Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. Read Austen’s Northanger Abbey for examples of imitation and parody of her work. |
| Opening Night for the second year of the The Boston Landmarks Orchestra's Festival at the Shell is fast approaching! This year, for our first concert of the summer, we will be joined by special guest Governor Deval Patrick, who will narrate Copland's Lincoln Portrait on July 9th. As always, the concerts are free, and run every Wednesday at 7 p.m. from July 9th through September 10th. |
 | Aphra Behn was born on this day in 1640. She was one of the first women to earn a living as a writer. Behn’s work was revolutionary, discussing race and female sexuality—something not touched upon by the predatory Libertine male writers of her time. Virginia Woolfe said of her, “All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn...for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.” |
| The band 16 Lips plays at the Cantab in Cambridge tonite, mixing rock with a feminist message. Check them out: www.myspace.com/headband4 |
 | The Indigo Girls play the Lowell Summer Music Series tonite outdoors at Boardinghouse Park. Lowellsummermusic.org |
| Hear the women’s chorus Voices Rising, part of the GALA Festival VIII, 8pm at the Arlington Street Church. Voicesrising.org |
 | Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center is sponsoring a daylong forum for younger women with breast cancer and those close to them. Topics will include new directions in chemotherapy, harnessing the power of hormones, genetic testing, and survivorship, as well as a panel discussion on thriving after breast cancer and small group breakout sessions on topics relevant to younger women. Saturday, July 12, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston. Registration is $10, which pays for program and refreshments. Info: 800-553-3787 or https://cancercare.harvard.edu. |
| Get comfortable on your road bike through an REI Outdoor School class: today’s starts at 9am at Boston’s Landmark Center store with a discussion of proper bike fit. Call to RSVP: 617-236-0746. REI.com |
 | Simone Veil, France’s former Minister of Health, was born on this day in 1927. Veil was a Holocaust survivor (she, her mother and sister were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau) who went on to build a good life and political career, despite losing her father, brother and mother during the Holocaust. She pushed the notable laws of making access to contraceptives easier (1974) and legalizing abortion (1975) and went on to become President of the European Parliament (1979-1982) and still continues to be socially and politically active. |
| Artist Cora Roth is featured at today’s 3pm Gallery Talk at Framingham’s Danforth Museum. danforth.org |
 | Get the help you need for your new business – from people who’ve been there. The Ladies Who Launch offer business incubator sessions -- Boston: |
 | Maggie L. Walker, the first female founder/president of a bank in the US, was born on this day in 1887 to a former slave and an abolitionist. She worked her entire life trying to make life better for African Americans and women—the founding of her bank was due to her idea that people should pool their money together to help each other. Her bank, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, still exists today as the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company in Richmond, VA. |
| REDBONES and KATE'S MYSTERY BOOKS REVEAL MURDER UNDERBONES Somerville, MA -- It would be a crime to miss Murder Underbones. The July 15 event is the first in a series of book release parties hosted by Redbones and Kate's Mystery Books. Events are scheduled for the third Tuesday of each month from 5:30 - 7 pm. They will feature mystery/thriller writers reading from and signing their books; copies will be available for purchase. Events are free and open to the public. Complimentary 'killer' appetizers will be served; drinks are a la carte. For information, www.redbones.com and 617.628.2200 or Kate's Mystery Books at 617-491-2660 Murder Underbones is a joint venture of Redbones and Kate's Mystery Books named with a nod to Redbones downstairs bar, Underbones. Only a few blocks apart and with shared customers and interests, book store owner Kate Mattes says, "so many people went to Redbones after book signings that we thought it would be fun to take the events there." The first two Murder Underbones events are: Tuesday, July 15, 5:30 - 7 pm Arlington author, Gary Braver, kicks off Murder Underbones with his new medical thriller, Skin Deep, a Boston based medical mystery, described as, "A fascinating, frightening tour de force-a riveting mix of medical thriller, forensic puzzler, and intense psychological drama." by Michael Palmer, New York Times best-selling author of The First Patient. Gary Braver, Skin Deep |
 | On this day in 1862 Ida B. Wells was born. Wells fought for equality of women and African Americans—especially the equality of African American women in the suffragist movement. 71 years before Rosa Parks, Wells refused to give up her seat on a train, and when they made her move, she sued the railway company. She won her case in the local court but lost when the railroad took it to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Her refusal to stand in the back of suffragist parades garnered her more media attention for her causes. As a further landmark for her time, Wells was one of the first married women to keep her own last name after marriage. |
 | Festival Betances 2008 http://www.iba-etc.org/claboston/festival.html |
 | Today is the 160th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention—the first women’s rights convention in the United States. |
| Saturday, July 19, 2008 Shriners Auditorium, Wilmington Boston Massacre vs Ohio Rollergirls Doors at 5pm, Bout at 6pm After party with DJ Sir Trix-a-Lot Tickets available online at BrownPaperTickets.com. $14 in advance, $16 at the door The Ohio Rollergirls will travel to Boston this Saturday looking for their second win of the season as the home team seeks to regain their winning streak. Both teams are coming off losses at the East Coast Derby Extravaganza in June. Ohio took a scathing loss to Grand Raggidy (115-39) and ended up on the short end of a nail-biter with Burning River (85-86). Conversely, the Boston Massacre, in a game that was deadlocked at the half, succumbed to the 14th-ranked Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (111-93) in their first loss this season. Loss doesn't sit well with the Boston ladies, who came back with a fury the next day to shut down Houston (114-38). With both teams hungry for a win, the stage has been set for Saturday's bout, which will likely be a fight to the bitter end. And check out the second installment of Mr. Hits's podcasts, with BDD's own McLaughlin group of derby pundits, Dragomir Pisimov, Freddy Buse, and Johnny Deep tackling the ECE, BDD's reorganization, and predictions for the Ohio/Massacre match-up. bostonderbydames.com |
 | Today (or another sunny Sunday) is a good day for a trip across Boston Harbor to explore Thompson Island. Ferries leave South Boston EDIC Pier 10. Islandalliance.org |
 | Up and coming young singer Casey Desmond and R&B act Ahmir are part of the free summer concert series in Christopher Columbus Park on the waterfront, 6pm tonight. Cityofboston.gov |
 | Amelia Earhart Day honors the birthday of the woman who took aviation and feminism to new heights. |
| See The Princess Bride under the stars at Devotion School Field, Lars Anderson Park, Brookline at 8pm. It’s part of the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s summer series. Coolidge.org |
 | Women of Faith convene at TD Banknorth Garden for a spiritual conference today and tomorrow. Womenoffaith.com |
| Don’t miss the international flavors, colors, and sounds of the free outdoor Lowell Folk Festival this weekend. Performers on Sunday include Gund Kwok, the only Asian women’s lion and dragon dance troupe in the U.S. Lowellfolkfestival.org |
 | WOODS HOLE, MA–The Woods Hole Film Festival, which showcases and promotes the work of independent, emerging filmmakers from New England and beyond, celebrates its 17th year when it begins on Saturday, July 26, with the screening of the east coast premiere of Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy, by scientist turned filmmaker Dr. Randy Olson (Flock of Dodos: the evolution-intelligent design circus), and ends on Saturday, August 2, with Crazy, a biopic about legendary Nashville guitarist Hank Garland who played with everyone from Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline to The Everly Brothers and Elvis. In a departure from previous years, there will be three filmmakers-in-residence who will present master classes and moderate panels: producer Gill Holland (FLOW: For Love of Water, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me), multi-channel format expert Julie Talen (Harriet the Spy) and screenwriter Jim Uhls (Fight Club). There are 110 films in all: 36 feature length narrative films and documentaries and 7 short film programs, and several short films paired with feature length films. Besides the many New England filmmakers, this year’s festival also includes a large number of films by alumni filmmakers from previous years, as well as a robust environmental program. Attendees can again create a personalized schedule and comment on films through the B-Side online community. Film highlights include: Opening night East Coast premiere of Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy by Harvard grad and former UNH biology professor Dr. Randy Olson (Flock of Dodos). An original mixture of mockumentary and documentary, the film depicts how scientist-turned-filmmaker Olson teams up with the only people who will fund his film—two gay Hollywood producers, who supply him with a crew that includes a global warming skeptic who keeps interrupting interviews with top climate scientists to argue that global warming is little more than a scam. Lacking enough material for a documentary, Olson journeys to New Orleans to put a human face on global warming. Olson and the film’s main subject,t UC San Diego History of Science Professor Naomi Oreske, will speak after the screening. (Saturday, July 26, 9 PM, Redfield Auditorium) Opening night screening of indie favorite Greetings from the Shore directed by Greg Chwerchak (present at screening), who is returning to the festival with his first feature film. Shot on an island off the coast of New Jersey where the film’s events actually took place, this personal and unique coming-of-age story by writer and producer Gabrielle Berberich is ostensibly about a young girl who, after the death of her father, spends one last summer at the Jersey Shore before college. When her plans fall apart, she stumbles into a mysterious world of Russian sailors, high-stakes gambling, and unexpected love. An ensemble cast headed by Paul Sorvino brings the story’s vivid characters to life. (Saturday, July 26, 7 PM, Redfield Auditorium) |
| Do you have 8 inches of hair to donate? OMI Salon & Spa and get 20 percent off your services. proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society. |
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