Tag: New Yorker

Helen Thomas and Inhibition: Her recent comments

I met Helen Thomas last year at a conference called “Women and Power” at Omega Institute.  We were presenters on the same panel about women and the media. She was funny, gracious, kind, opinionated. Among her many bon mots, she said (and I love this) that”If you want to know what’s happening in the world, read the comics.” (paraphrase, but close).

My feeling is that as we get older, we women learn to lose our inhibitions in many ways. Helen Thomas represents that clearly. We realize that being careful is not all that it is cracked up to, that being nice at the exclusion of ourselves should not always be the most important quality to have. Her comments on Israel and the Jews, however, went too far in my estimation. She is, of course, allowed her own opinion, but even she realized after the fact that what she said was not right. Her emotions got the better of her–I am not sure if it was because of her age. Maybe after years of being asked questions, she let her inner editor fall away when she shouldn’t have.

I am sorry she will end her career on this note…if in fact her career is ended. Maybe she should do stand-up. Sarah Silverman has shown that raw comments get a laugh from many. In my cartoons, I try to be uninhibited but thoughtful, not hurtful, and not provocative as in pushing people’s buttons. I want to be like Helen Thomas, but not as she was last week.

The cartoon below was done last week (June 10, 2010) and has run in numerous online sites, starting with womensenews.org, then dscriber.com and now salon.com It’s getting a lot of comments, mostly in the form of dialogue between the commenters on their own opinions. As long as the comments don’t get nasty, dialogue is what we need.

New Yorker Cartoonists Night at Joe’s Pub, May 5, 2010

Amanda Stern’s Happy Endings Music and Reading Series is an institution in New York. She has received numerous positive reviews and awards for her funny, entertaining monthly event. She brings together three authors and a musical group each month to Joe’s Pub, and it is a wonderful evening. I met Amanda last year, and we talked about doing a New Yorker cartoonist evening, and it’s finally coming to fruition this month. I helped her find three cartoonists, and she found a musical guest.  It should be a wild evening. The unexpected thing is that each author has to do a “risk” of some sort. Stay tuned: I will hopefully post a video of what happens.

Cartoonists: Drew Dernavich, Carolita Johnson, myself

Musical guest: Jeffrey Lewis

link:  http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,40/id,5165

Live in NY: New Yorker’s Michael Maslin + Liza Donnelly

Our New Yorker colleague, cartoonist Matt Diffee, hosts a regular music/comedy evening in New York City. It’s called The Steam Powered Hour, and features contemporary bluegrass music and comedy and cartoons. This Valentines Day, he invited my husband Michael and I to “perform”, whatever that means!  Come join us!  Featuring music by Reckon So and The Sassy Jenkins, and Colbert writer, Frank Lesser.

For more info:

http://www.villagevoice.com/events/steam-powered-hour-matinee-valentines-day-edition-hosted-by-matthew-diffee-1643159/