AUTHOR INTERVIEW: JANET GURTLER

The fabulous Janet Gurtler who’s book, I’m Not Her, just hit shelves May 1! She was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions. Describe I’m Not Her in five words or less. Emotional journey of self-discovery. What inspired you to write I’m Not Her? I wanted to look at what would happen when someone who is perfect and has everything and#40;on the outsideand#41; suddenly has it drastically taken away. And what happens when family roles are suddenly altered or reversed. I remember envying others when I was a teen and wanted to look beneath the illusion of “perfect”. I’m Not Her is about two sisters finding their way through a tragic event. Did you draw from experience with Tracey and#40;your sisterand#41; the dynamic between Tess and Kristina? I was kind of shy around Tracey when we were teens. She was three years older than me and so much more sophisticated back then. THAT changes drastically ha ha just kidding. Tracey was taller and thinner and#40;still isand#41; and I en [Read More]

published May 11, 2011 at 2:45pm CDT

BOOK REVIEW: STRANGE BEDPERSONS

Author: Jennifer Crusie Pages: 256 Date Started: 8/29/10 Date Finished: 8/29/10 Simple Summary: Tess and Nick are total opposites but were once crazy about each other. Nick needs a fake fiance for the weekend to impress a potential client and thinks of Tess. Let’s just say, the weekend doesn’t end. Rating: ★★★★★  My Review: Ohhh, I loved this book! Clearly, since I finished it in ONE DAY! I couldn’t put it down. The dialogue is gut busting and the humor is very sharp. This is the perfect book to pass the afternoon away [Read More]

published October 30, 2010 at 2:02pm CDT

BETTE MIDLER TALKS WOMEN AND FUNNY

I can’t think of the last time I saw a movie starring Bette Midler that wasn’t on a basic cable station.  I remember a time when she was everywhere.  Guess its been over a decade now since her last good movie which I feel is The First Wives Club.  She did play Helen Hunt’s mother in Then She Found Me which I enjoyed.  But her days as the headliner and#40;other than the Vegas stageand#41; are probably in the past.  Sigh. At least her voice is back onscreen in Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore, so she’s been out on the press circuit giving her opinions on a diversity of issues including women and comedy and getting a gig when you are over 50 and#40;and by the way she is 64.and#41; We’re not the only ones who have noticed how crappy it is for women in film comedies today.  One of the best has also been paying attention: There are a lot of funny women out there but they’re not in the movies because there are not that many funny women in movies any more – they’re mos [Read More]

published August 3, 2010 at 1:47pm CDT

THE SYVIA CHRONICLES: 30 YEARS OF GRAPHIC MISBEHAVIOR FROM REAGAN TO OBAMA BY NICOLE HOLLANDER

I have been a big fan of Nicole Hollander’s for some time.  Her Sylvia cartoons appear in 30 newspapers across the country including The Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle and#40;onlineand#41; The San Francisco Examiner, and she is represented by the Tribune Media Services. Her cartoons are always spot on politically and of course, quite funny. She is in a league of her own. Her new book, The Sylvia Chronicles, a compilation of 30 years of her work is now available for purchase from the New Press. Support a feminist cartoonist. Here is a short excerpt from how Sylvia was created and also several strips related to Hollywood — which do not appear in the book — which Nicole shared with Women and Hollywood. The Birth of Sylvia I created Sylvia to say what I couldn’t. It’s a Walter Mitty thing. She is also going to be ten years older than me, forever. She seems to live exclusively on donuts and never gains an ounce. She was always pretty large. She has a cigarette hanging out [Read More]

published July 21, 2010 at 12:17pm CDT

JUDD APATOW TRIES TO REDEEM HIMSELF WITH THE LADIES

You know I am no Judd Apatow fan.  I think he really talks down to the ladies and that he makes crappy boy bromance films that perpetuate the cycle of crappy boycentric movies that inundate our screens most weekends. It seems that now Mr. Apatow wants to get into the lady business and has signed on to produce Business Trip a film written by Stacey Harman that will star his wife Leslie Mann.  Cinematical says its going to be a female version of The Hangover. The logline is: “a group of women who go on a corporate trip but wind up doing anything but business while on company time.” Now I am all for a funny movie about women especially one that will focus on women who work, but just because The Hangover worked with guys as the leads doesn’t mean that the same premise will work for women.  It’s the same crap that’s been going on with scientific studies for decades.  Study men and then just extrapolate to include women. Just want to remind folks that women are not smal [Read More]

published June 21, 2010 at 1:44pm CDT

MARGARET CHO DROPS A BOMB

and#40;AP Photo/Chris Pizzelloand#41; Here’s a doozy.  Leave it to Jessica Wakeman via the frisky to get some juicy news.  This time in a conversation she had with Margaret Cho, Margaret started talking about women comedians and how straight women are less successful in the comedy business than lesbians and women with fluid gender identity and#40;like her.and#41; Here’s what she said: I think the comedy community is not supportive to women in comedy…It’s interesting; a lot of women who are successful in comedy are lesbians. Or they have a fluid kind of gender identity, like I do. But you can’t really be a successful female comic if you give a s**t what guys think at all. So a lot of heterosexual women end up dropping out because they just care too much about what guys think. I think that’s why there’s always lesbians who take over because they don’t care. It’s just an element to their personalities that helps them get by. That’s the closet explanation I can see. The wo [Read More]

published June 17, 2010 at 3:48pm CDT

JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK

Joan Rivers has not been at the top of many a feminist’s list because she has probably had more plastic surgery procedures than years she’s been alive — 77 as of this week.  But don’t let your feelings about plastic surgery, or her obsession to staving off aging deter you from seeing this revelatory and substantive look into one of the hardest working women in showbiz today. The film, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work directed by Ricki Stern and co-directed by Annie Sundberg follows Joan for over a year of stand up performances, theatre openings, family events, and yes procedures on her face and you are not bored for one second.  It is fascinating to see a woman work so hard in a business where women her age are scarce.  And boy does she need to work hard cause she lives like a queen and#40;she made a joke that Marie Antoinette would have lived like her if she had moneyand#41;, and has a huge and loyal staff to support to whom she is very generous.  I never expected Joan Rivers t [Read More]

published June 13, 2010 at 7:45pm CDT

A LITTLE HUMOR BREAK

Who says feminists aren’t funny. Here’s a quick video from Megan Grano making light of the Cannes situation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iUJZpk08Ho [Read More]

published May 17, 2010 at 5:01pm CDT

MY SUBPRIME LIFE

The mortgage broker sounds like she cares. Through my sniffles, she listens and nods and hands me tissues as I confide to my new BFF—though for the life of me I could not recall her name then and I cannot now—“I’m getting divorced.” “Oh dear, I know all about that.” “I just want to keep my house,” I tell her. “I can’t lose everything. You know?” I blow my nose for the sixteenth time. “Allergies.” She nods understandingly and begins to work magic on her calculator. It was a good time to sell a house, but not a good time to buy. The bubble on the housing market had not yet popped though our break up had sent me spinning like a rapidly deflating balloon. “Will this be a no income check loan?” I shake my head. “Left me for one of my former students. She works in a coffee shop. Can you believe that?” “Primary residence?” “She’s not even attractive.” “You have excellent credit.” She recognizes how hard I’ve worked. She can see my credit s [Read More]

published September 29, 2009 at 10:54am CDT

FUN CAR STUFF WE FOUND WHILE TRAVELING

With all our Female Friendly training visits, and new vehicle introductions, sometimes it seems like AskPatty staffers are on a plane practically every week.I don't know about you, but I love to read the inflight magazines, and am especially entertained by all the fun stuff in the airline product catalogs. On this most recent trip, I picked up the Delta Airlines "Skymiles" catalog, and was surprised to see -- along with the plush animal drinking fountains, spiky grass-aerating strap-on sandals, personalized jigsaw puzzles, and smiling solar tiki torches -- that it also contains some fun auto-related products."Yeah, yeah," I can hear you thinking, "More stuff I don't need!" And that's partly true, but just because most of us really CAN live without truck antlers or animated hitch critters doesn't mean we can't still secretly wish for them. But aside from the playful products, we also found some practical devices meant to make life in and with your car more convenient. Highly rated on th [Read More]

published September 15, 2009 at 10:49am CDT