Women around the world face dangerous systemic discrimination. Unequal access to necessities like medical care and food, in addition to violence and neglect, has contributed to the disappearance of as many as 100 million women in the developing world.

One woman sitting behind her computer screen in the so-called first world might not be able to do anything to reverse embedded inequality, but being aware of the plight of women might be the first step. Canadian economist Siwan Anderson hopes that tracking down the names and ages of missing women will help shine a light on the deadly gender inequality in places like India, China, the Middle East, and Africa.

President Obama brought up the treatment of women in his speech last week in Cairo. Obama said: "I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality." Women need more than words: perhaps Obama could promise not to support a cease-fire agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan until they make concessions regarding women's rights, such as allowing women access to education and health care.

Should we call on our own leaders to help save women from premature deaths by putting pressure on developing countries, or should powerful nations decline to meddle in other cultures and social structures?

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I say yes. Without a cup half empty, you could never appreciate it full. Like the stinging burn that tells you to take your hand off a hot pot, unhappiness slows you down, asks you to take stock and, hopefully, helps you to make decisions.

Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project agrees that unhappiness clues us in on how to be happier. She draws the line, though, at reveling in displeasure. "Some people," she says, "describe a pleasure, or a sense of purposefulness, in feeling sad. I guess I just don’t get that."

While it's easy to dismiss people who brood until they figure things out, it's not uncommon to wring all the pain out of a problem until there's nothing to do but move on. Ultimately, as some Zen adherents say, feel what you’re feeling, try to understand it, and make your goal to feel balanced rather than staying with the extremes of happy or sad. (One of their salutations I love: “Have an ordinary day.”)

What about you? Do you find purpose in unhappiness, or would you rather just make it all better?
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Thu Tran is a woman after my own heart. She loves art, food, and the absurd and has combined all these passions into her surreal and fun Internet show, Food Party, which has been picked up by IFC (Independent Film Channel) and debuts tonight.

Food Party is described on her blog as "a mind-bending, non-reality cooking show with Thu Tran as your hostess, a cast of unruly puppets as culinary aides, and a cavalcade of fictitious celebrities as surprise dinner guests." On IFC, the show will run a short 10 minutes with no promises you'll actually get any cooking tips.

Tran, 27, graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art where she majored in glasswork. While a student there, she realized she loved both cooking with her roommate and making videos of their time in the kitchen. Collaborating with friends and her boyfriend, who helps her make the puppets on her show, this Pee-Wee's Playhouse of food shows took off, getting attention from a variety of websites before getting IFC's attention.

I can't wait to check out your show, Thu. And may you continue to let your freak flag fly!

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