Mister D: I just wanted to say that ever since our lunch with Ms Lipman almost 2 years ago, my mother has become a voracious reader of Ms. Lipman’s novels. Absolutely loves them…she’s read them all. I’m quite slow, but I have to say, my mom has very good taste.

Suite101
Elinor Lipman: Satirical Novelist
Elinor Lipman’s Books Comment on American Society Using Satire
Feb 10, 2010 Peggy Hazelwood

The novelist Elinor Lipman is the author of nine novels, including Then She Found Me, that are witty and fun reads. Lipman also writes essays on current American life.

Elinor Lipman is the author of a collection of short stories, numerous essays, and nine novels. According to Elinor Lipman: A Suitable Web Site, Lipman was born in 1950 in Lowell, Massachusetts, was raised in a Jewish household, and had an “exceedingly functional family.”

She attended Simmons College and worked writing press releases at the public radio station, WGBH, in Boston and edited newsletters. She is married and has a grown son.

Elinor Lipman Books
Lipman’s books are entertaining while being smart and funny. The subject matter usually revolves around a woman who has a dilemma or two on her hands. The trouble can include adoption, relationships with men, or family dynamics. Lipman’s quick wit brings a fresh look to what might otherwise be a tired exercise in social commentary.

Her published works include a collection of stories and nine novels:

Into Love and Out Again, a connected collection of stories published in 1988
Then She Found Me, a novel published in 1990
The Way Men Act, a novel published in 1992
Isabel’s Bed, a novel published in 1995
The Inn at Lake Devine, a novel published in 1998
The Ladies’ Man, a novel published in 1999
The Dearly Departed, a novel published in 2001
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift, a novel published in 2003
My Latest Grievance, a novel published in 2006
The Family Man, a novel published in 2009

Elinor Lipman Books Made Into Movies
The only Elinor Lipman book that has been made into a movie thus far is Then She Found Me. Helen Hunt directed and starred in the 2007 movie. The book and the movie are considerably different in several ways but the theme and feel of the story remain in the movie.

In the movie of Then She Found Me, Helen Hunt stars as April Epner; Matthew Broderick as April’s husband/soon to be ex-husband; Colin Firth plays Frank, April’s new love interest and the father of one of her students; and Bette Midler plays April’s biological mother, who barges into April’s already disrupted life.

A partial response by Elinor Lipman in an essay to the Huffington Post about the departure the movie takes from the book follows:

I love the movie. Adore it. I’m seeing it for the fifth time next week. It’s smart, wry, and very touching. The book is the book and the movie is its own entity. This I internalized early on when a wise friend told me, “Think of it as a movie based on characters suggested by the novel THEN SHE FOUND ME.” I do.

Essays by Elinor Lipman
Lipman is as good an essay writer as she is a novelist. She has written essays for The Boston Globe, Borders, and Salon. As a tribute to the television show Sex and the City, Lipman wrote an essay that ran in the Globe the morning of the series’ finale.

In an essay for Salon titled Mayo Culpa: A Daughter Probes Her Mother’s Condiment Phobia, Lipman is at her best, explaining why she grew up never (ever) eating any condiments. Not even the tried and true ketchup or heaven-forbid mayonnaise until her older sister came home from school when Elinor was 9 requesting their tuna be made with the white creamy stuff instead of a sprinkling of vinegar.

For the Boston Book Festival blog, Lipman wrote an essay in May 2009 about how she learned to write fiction under Arthur Edelstein. She described the process of rewriting as: And who could argue with this, a sentence he once spoke after a rewrite had outlived its usefulness: “Sometimes the best form of revision is to start something new.”

Elinor Lipman’s Body of Work Worth the Read
The books by Elinor Lipman are an insightful and refreshing take on contemporary American life. Whether she tackles the subject matter of a single woman dating in The Way Men Act or The Pursuit of Alice Thrift or a pair of college teachers/dorm monitors who are raising their daughter in a college dorm in My Latest Grievance, Lipman handles the prose in the best way: deftly and it’s always entertaining.

Read more at Suite101: Elinor Lipman: Satirical Novelist: Elinor Lipman’s Books Comment on American Society Using Satire http://modern-american-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/elinor-lipman–satirical-novelist#ixzz0fE26uBfD

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Heller (What Was She Thinking?; Notes on a Scandal) puts to pointed use her acute observations of human nature in her third novel, a satire of 1960s idealism soured in the early 21st century. Audrey and Joel Litvinoff have attempted to pass on to their children their lefty passions—despite Audrey’s decidedly bourgeois attitude and attorney Joel’s self-satisfied heroism, including the defense of a suspected terrorist in 2002 New York City. When Joel has a stroke and falls into a coma, Audrey grows increasingly nasty as his secrets surface. The children, meanwhile, wander off on their own adventures: Rosa’s inherited principles are beleaguered by the unpleasant realities of her work with troubled adolescents; Karla, her self-image crushed by Audrey, has settled into an uncomfortable marriage and the accompanying pressure to have children; and adopted Lenny, the best metaphor for the family’s troubles, dawdles along as a drug addict and master manipulator. Though some may be initially put off by the characters’ coldness—the Litvinoffs are a severely screwed-up crew—readers with a certain mindset will have a blast watching things get worse. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The New Yorker
Set in New York City in 2002, with the terror of September 11th still fresh and the confrontation with Iraq starting to take shape, this searing comic novel takes on hypocrisy of all kinds. Joel Litvinoff, a noted radical lawyer, suffers a stroke while in court defending a Muslim man accused of terrorist activity. His hospital room becomes the center of an orbit of women: his wife, Audrey, who clings to the diminishing hope that he will emerge from his coma; his daughters, Rosa and Karla; and Berenice, a photographer with whom he secretly had a child. As with Heller’s previous novel, “What Was She Thinking?,” no one is entirely likable. Audrey is angry and cruel; Rosa priggish; Karla slovenly and timid; Berenice self-satisfied. Heller’s talent lies in the way she illuminates her characters, often with dazzling insight, without making excuses or offering redemption.
Copyrig ©2008 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker

Mister D: Some of you were already fans of Ms. Elinor Lipman before “Then She Found Me,” while others fell in love with her writing after the movie was released. Well, all of you are lucky, because she has a brand new novel out, “The Family Man,” which is receiving incredible reviews. It also just made Entertainment Weekly’s pop culture Top 10 “Must Have” list. So Ms. Lipman is on a roll. Here is the link to the book for you to look over and/or buy:

Entertainment Weekly
The Family Man Review
Tina Jordan

In The Family Man, a sparkling, sprightly comedy — Elinor Lipman’s 10th — dapper Manhattan attorney Henry Archer gets the shock of his life when he realizes the receptionist he’s just tipped is none other than his stepdaughter, Thalia, whom he hasn’t seen in 25 years. Before long, Thalia’s back in his life (ensconced in his maisonette apartment, in fact), and Henry’s got his hands full with her, his endlessly chatty ex-wife Denise, a new lover, and the countless others who wander in and out of his elegant Upper West Side brownstone. As always, the pleasure of a Lipman book is not so much the wispy plot but the original, funny, achingly human characters. A

Midler’s name, and brief appearance, a boon to Nevada Ballet Theatre
By John Katsilometes
Bette Midler, shown with her Nevada Ballet Theatre Woman of the Year award on Jan. 17.
Photo: Audrey Dempsey

Metaphorically, it is the mantra of the recession: There is no dancing if there is no money.

That is literally true at Nevada Ballet Theatre. All that staging, all those sequined-splashed dancing tights and the dancers wearing those costumes, do not pay for themselves. Not surprisingly, NBT has been pinched financially for at least a year leading up to last night’s Black & White Ball at Caesars Palace, celebrating the company’s silver anniversary and drawing on the super-famous name of Bette Midler as this year’s Woman of the Year.

“We almost always live in a recession. The arts are always going uphill. We started feeling it early in 2008, with our donations going down. Ticket sales have been off, and at the end of 2008, we felt it. Even Nutcracker, our meat and potatoes, was down,” NBT co-fonder and 1986 Woman of the Year Nancy Houssels said during a pre-dinner reception at the Cartier boutique at Caesars. “So we are definitely feeling it and we need to be resourceful and creative.”
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That means, adhering to a strategy that has been in place over the past several years, NBT has invited celebrities – big names recognizable across the country – to join the list of Women of the Year. In 2001 Larry Ruvo of Southern Wine & Spirits convinced Houssels to take that route, pointing to his own wildly successful Keep Memory Alive galas for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. Sometimes the NBT choices make perfect sense. Ann-Margret, who famously shimmied with Elvis in Viva Las Vegas and has for decades performed in Las Vegas showrooms, was the 2005 honoree. Rita Rudner, for years a Strip headliner with a background in ballet, was the Woman of the Year in 2006. But sometimes the results are laughable; Paula Abdul’s loopy promenade through the 2007 gala at Wynn Las Vegas has become part of NBT lore. Houssels, who was something less than thrilled at having to deal with Cirque du Abdul that night, explained that the resulting exposure (clips on such syndicated celeb news shows as Entertainment Tonight, and footage on Abdul’s reality show, Hey, Paula!) long outlasted the headaches. Today, she’s even willing to forgive the “crabby” Simon Cowell for showing up in a gray T-shirt at the black-tie gala honoring Abdul.
Leach Blog Photo

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Bette Midler, shown during an October fundraiser for Barack Obama at Krave nightclub at the Harmon Theater.

So it hardly mattered to NBT officials that Midler couldn’t show up to last night’s program until about 10:30 p.m. because she was tied up performing for 4,000 fans at The Colosseum; declined interview requests to talk about the honor before, during or after the event; and, aside from a few shots by a house photographer, refused any photos to be taken of her during her brief appearance onstage. Though there was a palpable absence of the night’s honoree for almost the entire program, it was worth it for NBT to have Midler’s well-known name and visage attached to the company’s 25th anniversary.

“My God, who wouldn’t like to have her as an honoree?” Houssels said when I asked her about Midler’s limited role in last night’s event. “… if you’ve seen her show, and I’m going again tomorrow, let me tell you, when you’re 62 years old and dancing across the stage the size of a football field several times a night, it has to be exhausting. She has to save herself, and that’s why she’s lasted as long as she has. So, even if we can get her for only a few minutes to make an appearance, it’s worth a whole evening for us. The people here tonight most certainly understand that.”

Midler spoke to the audience in a recorded clip early in the show, thanking the NBT, reminding the audience that she was just downstairs at The Colosseum and would be joining the crowd soon enough. When she finally took the stage, she thanked the NBT board for the award and also for its mailing list of donors. That’s something Midler will put to good use as founder of the New York Restoration Project, whose simple charge is to merely clean up New York City. She was also ready with a sharply delivered quip, saying she understood that this year’s Woman of the Year vote was quite close.

“It came down to me, and Sarah Palin,” she told the audience.

It was a line worth waiting for.

Caesars Palace headliner Bette Midler, dining Monday at just-opened Sea Harbour, Caesars Palace’s newest restaurant. Midler is hosting a book-signing of her best-selling children’s book, “The Saga of Baby Divine,” tonight in front of The Colosseum entrance immediately after her show there …make sure to tell Miss M I said “hello”

Also, if anyone could get me a signed copy I would gladly reimburse you for the book and shipping.
Thanks in advance….

Love, Mister D

Cleveland Jewish News
Jewish twist to rock and rollers
Photojournalist Janet Macoska captured Jewish stars in Jews Rock.
By Arlene Fine
Senior Staff Reporter
Published: Friday, November 21, 2008 1:18 AM EST

Everyone knows that Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Barry Manilow, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel and Bette Midler are Jewish rock and rollers. But how about Paula Abdul, Mick Jones of Clash, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Geddy Lee of Rush, Susannah Hoffs of The Bangles, and David Lee Roth of Van Halen?

All these artists are among the 69 Jewish performers featured in Jews Rock! A Celebration of Rock and Roll’s Jewish Heritage, a stunning 128-page coffee-table book complied by Cleveland photojournalist Janet Macoska, with a foreword by former Shaker Heights resident Rabbi Brian Leiken.

Fellow Jews Macoska and Leiken will share their love of rock and roll as an art form and a medium for Jewish expression at a book signing at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage on Fri., Nov. 28.

“I was born in love with rock and roll,” says Macoska. “When I was 5, I was totally infatuated with Ricky Nelson.”

Her passion for rock and roll, combined with her natural ability as a photographer, led Macoska to become a welcome, pre-teen fixture at radio station WKYC. Her first published photo was of Sonny and Cher in “Teen Screen,” when she was just 13.

“I was lucky to live in Cleveland, the home of rock and roll,” says Macoska, 54. For the past 34 years, Macoska was been hired by leading publications and news outlets to take pictures of every renowned rock star. “And not surprisingly, so many of the greats are Jewish,” she says.

A year ago, Cleveland businessman Brad Pryner suggested Macoska compile her photographs of Jewish rock stars for a book and a traveling exhibit. “A mega-watt light bulb exploded over my head,” she says. “This was a fabulous idea waiting to happen.”

Within a year, Macoska had published Jews Rock! The book displays Macoska’s photographs and visually tells the story of the Jewish contribution to the evolution of rock and roll music.

While compiling her book, Macoska learned that Rabbi Leiken of Temple Shalom in Norwalk, Conn., was teaching his congregation about the connection between Judaism and rock and roll music. She liked his message and asked him to write the forward and become the book’s “Jewish voice.”

“Rock and roll is the latest medium for Jews to explore just what it means to be Jewish,” writes Leiken. “The revolutionary thinking of the sages that led to the creation of normative Judaism and the fusion of musical genres that led to rock and roll were successful social movements that allowed their audiences to become active participants in a dialogue about life.”

The back of the book contains a fact sheet about the performers. Along with birthdates, Macoska includes their original names. Bob Dylan (né Robert Allen Zimmerman); Janis Ian (née Janis Eddy Fink); Kenny G (né Kenneth Gorelick); Barry Manilow (né Barry Alan Pincus); Matisyahu (né Matthew Paul Miller).

“The book and the upcoming “Jews Rock!” exhibit pay homage to the artists, concert promoters, and song writers who created America’s music – rock and roll,” says Macoska. “And at the forefront of this musical genre is outstanding Jewish talent. Jews really do rock!”

afine@cjn.org

WHAT: Jews Rock! book signing

WHEN: Fri., Nov. 28, 2-3:30

WHERE: Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage

Contact: 216-593-0575 or www.jewsrock.net

http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2008/11/21/arts/music/doc4925b531450ca397734248.prt

The following 2 items are pre-orders

• Elinor Lipman’s novel finally has the a movie cover on it….the release date is April 1 , 2008. If you haven’t read it yet, you must now!:

• The new CD, “Jackpot: The Best Bette” will be released April 29th, unless you’re in Vegas then you can get it now:

• And then there’s this book, available now, by the owner of The CONTINENTAL BATHS entitled, “LIVE AT THE CONTINENTAL: Bette, Buns, Balls by Steve Ostrow which is sure to be a very interesting read:

Mister D: Yay, I got another exclusive!!! This is the new cover of Ms. Lipman’s book, “Then She Found Me,” and this bodes well that the movie poster will be the same. But now I have to buy the book again so I can have this cover. Not quite sure when the change will take place…they are still waiting to put Helen Hunt’s quote on the back of the book:

Love, Mister D

PS: I just got the word that this most likely will not be the movie poster. Currently, the art dept is working on a concept that includes “the guys” in the movie (I don’t know if that means Bette is off the cover of the movie poster or what). However, the images of Ms. Hunt and Bette will be used heavily in the promotion of the movie…so that’s just fine by me…

If you’d like to see some bigger images, check out the Bette Gallery: Click Here

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes: Click Here

Book Description

Here’s a lively, hilarious, not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers. It’s Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Philosophy of Language (how to express what it’s like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), Feminist Philosophy (why, in the end, a man is always a man), and much more. Finally—it all makes sense!

“I laughed, I learned, I loved it!” Roy Blount Jr.

About the Author

Tom Cathcart and Daniel Klein pursued the usual careers after majoring in philosophy at Harvard. Tom worked with street gangs in Chicago, doctors at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and dropped in and out of various divinity schools. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod. Dan has written jokes for various comedians including Flip Wilson and Lily Tomlin. He lives with his wife in the Berkshires. Together, they are authors of the politically incorrect book of daily affirmations, Macho Meditations.

Mister D: As I reported a couple of posts down, there is a gaggle of female movie stars huddled up in Martha’s Vineyard getting ready to shoot the remake of the camp classic, “The Women.” For many years, this movie has been making the rounds in Hollywood with major acctresses associated with it, but they come and go. Bette’s name has been ballyed around for years with this…sometimes on the list and many times off. Currently, the status of her involvement is a rumor, but it looks like it is a possibility. Some of us know Bette is on vacation right now. Coincidence??? That Vegas gig bothers me, but supposedly the shoot for her would probably not be that long. Logistics would have to be a top priority as well. I think some of you might really get a kick out of the original which was filmed with an all-star female cast. There are absolutely no men to be seen. It’s campy, bitchy, and a little over the top. There are a couple of roles Bette would be just perfect for…especially one…you figure it out. If anyone is interested, i’ll post a link to the DVD and the book which is written in play form. Very easy to read. Let’s cross out fingers that that Bette gives the greenlight to this one…the success of it will largely depend on how well the script turns out and how they update it. With Diane English involved…well it seems like a great match of talents. However, with remakes, you are treading a fine line.

DVD:

Access Hollywood
July 13, 2007

‘THE WOMEN’ GET SOME R&R: An all-star cast of female film veterans are gearing up to shoot a remake of the film classic, “The Women,” but not before they take a “working holiday” together in Martha’s Vineyard. E! ONLINE’s MARK MALKIN reports that Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes and Debra Messing are reportedly on the upscale Massachusetts island for some prepwork and cast bonding. “They have hit the island for some girl time, for some rest and relaxation, to get to know each other and to read through their scenes,” a source reports. According to Malkin, director Diane English is with the actresses on their sojourn, and co-star Bette Midler is expected to join them shortly. Production of the long-delayed remake is scheduled to start in the fall.

Book Form:

Love, Mister D