Tag: <span>books</span>

At least, that’s my take on it.

Cover of
Cover of National Velvet with Liz Taylor

Why did she die at a fairly young age, 79? I looked it up in several sources, and it was congestive heart failure. That can slow you down. As I understand it, your heart becomes this squishy thing, not like a strong muscle, so your blood kind of swishes around, instead of squirting properly all over. Your legs are what the medical profession calls a “second heart.” That is, when you walk, they push the blood back up to your heart that gravity has let fall down to your feet. So, it’s healthy to walk. And not so healthy that she was in a wheelchair the last few years.

Turns out I’ve hardly seen any of her movies. Mostly, I admire her for being outspoken, and for appearing in public without much (any?) plastic surgery. You have no idea how hard it is for older women in Hollywood. Hell, even a good number of the girls on The Bachelor have had things done, even at 25! (although it’s mostly boob jobs.)

My Elizabeth Taylor filmography:

Jane EyreI think I saw it. I read the book, great girls book.

National Velvet Yes, read the book (all the horse books I could find) and saw the movie. There may have been some tears.

Little Women – probably. I saw one version, and liked it a lot. Who was she, Jo? And I read the book several times.

Screenshot of Elizabeth Taylor from the traile...
Image via Wikipedia - Elizabeth Taylor taking off her shoe

IvanhoeI think I had to see it in high school. But I might be getting it mixed up with the Ivanhoe Reservoir I see every day.

Cleopatra – Yes. I remember thinking she didn’t look that beautiful to me. She and Richard B. had some chemistry, though.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?I hate this play. It was originally a play, then a movie. A married couple battle it out, and they’re not as clever as they think they are, but they sure are mean. It makes you squirm. If you saw the Emmy- nominated episode of The Office where Michael and Jan give a dinner party (the only dinner party) — like that.

A Little Night MusicI love this movie! Saw it as a play, too. It’s kind of like Glee for theater-goers, romantics, and sophisticates.

Cartoon after the jump. 

Entertainment Sad Cartoons

It’s come to my attention that some people don’t think the same way I do! Astonishing!

For instance, one thing that I’m extremely passionate about is privacy. For others, as well as myself. And couthness. Uncouth is not cool. This includes making fun of others’ sex lives, or asking them about it directly. So rude! (However, a little bit of gossip is okay among friends, in hushed tones.)

john edwards book was not written with love and compassion

I saw Andrew Young and his wife on 20/20, talking about this book he had written about the years he worked with John Edwards, The Politician: An Insider’s Account of John Edwards’s Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down. Oh, and about a dirty sex tape he found of Edwards. Nice. Young has written a tell-all as he rolls out all the dirty secrets of John Edwards and his mistress. Only this is a revenge- book, and as the Youngs described how pious they are, the whole thing stank, so I did this cartoon shortly after the show. I think I’m the only cartoonist on Slate or cagle.com who did one on this topic. I don’t know why! I know it’s not hard news, but it’s still important, and very sad, when a politician gets outed by his former best friend.

Mainstream Media Politicians who aren't Obama

Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, is out! Oprah honored her with a  TV chat. All forgiven.
Sarah Palin and book on Oprah cartoon

I see Top of the Ticket in the LA Times just reviewed Going Rogue: An American Life.

No, not really! (The LA Times hates her.) Instead, Andrew Malcolm just quoted from a review in the WaPo written by Ana Marie Cox, the original Wonkette from Gawker.

One thing is clear: No one can say today with any certainty what lies ahead in national politics for the hockey mom and Todd’s biggest snow-machine racer fan.

Now, one minor disclaimer: We haven’t actually read Palin’s new book. Not one single page. We have a copy. We intend to read it. And we imagine it’s fairly entertaining, perhaps revealing, as self-serving inside political stories go. We may even autograph it to ourselves from her.

Also, hopefully, it’s short on exclamation marks!!!

Entertainment Politicians who aren't Obama

And we’ll be showing Halloween cartoons all week, folks!

going as Sarah Palin for Halloween?

Sarah Palin for Halloween!

Sarah, I’ll never forget you! Everyone knows Sarah Palin dropped out of her cool Governor job in Alaska to be… well, so far, an author –with her first book. Whoa, it gets released on November 17, but it’s on sale now for only 9 bucks! Is that high or low?

I want to support Sarah, really, but dropping out of the election at this stage of the game was a mistake. I know, she didn’t “drop” the GOP, but Going Rogue? maybe in other things, but not this. What does she think will happen, after her book? Books are fun, as I know from my own, but it’s not like you feel like you’ve made it afterwards. What’s next? Well, when I looked this up on Google, I find a blog with that title! What’s next Sarah? (with no comma). It says:

Sarah Palin is going to be on Oprah publicizing her book “Going Rogue” on November 17, 2009. Check your local t.v. listing.

Okay, then!

Cartoon caption: “Sorry! I was going to go as Sarah Palin (Sarah Palin Sash And Glasses Halloween Costume Kit,) but I decided to drop the party, and write a book, instead.”

Notable Holidays Politicians who aren't Obama

Google steals books. It has also broken the DMCA and copyright law, which was already shaky. Hey, everything online is free, right? Why not pictures, photos, cartoons, articles, and books? Google is the new Establishment, killing content with unlawful competition.

I was trying to decide what to do for my Slate cartoon today, and found that once again Google was in the news for lifting not just orphan books, but every book ever written.  I did my first Slate cartoon about Google a few weeks ago, and  the news then was that FINALLY the Justice Department was investigating Google for anti-trust violations and being an obvious monopoly and stealing all books for itself. Today, however, the New York Times reports:

The Justice Department, which submitted a 32-page filing to the court on Sept. 18, said it was concerned the agreement could violate antitrust law by giving Google “de facto exclusive rights for the digital distribution of orphan works.” Orphan works are books whose authors are unknown or cannot be found. The Justice Department also said it wanted the settlement to comply with procedures for class-action lawsuits.

But the department also said it hoped the agreement could be saved because of its many benefits to readers and scholars.

google book settlement

So the Justice Department has been bought. What benefits to readers are more important than benefits to the authors??? Scholars? Hello, if a writer wanted her work to be given away for free she’d start a frigging blog, or post research on a forum. And the f -ing readers can go BUY THE DAMN BOOK. Does the Justice Department understand anything at all about intellectual property? How about merchandise? Merchandise is not DONATED, it is SOLD.

Christopher S. Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, said the settlement would bring benefits for the visually impaired because the more than seven million books scanned by Google would be made available in audio editions.

Did you notice that part? SEVEN MILLION BOOKS STOLEN BY GOOGLE? Oh, and guess who else decided they wanted all these books for themselves, besides the blind? The League of United Latin American Citizens. Apparently this group forgot to go to school,  or go to the library, and don’t know what a bookstore is.  

Not that High Tech