The Chutzpah Factor

by Libby Hellmann

For me one of the joys of writing fiction is creating larger-than-life characters -- brash, colorful people whose personality and behavior jump off the page and stay with you long after the story ends. Think Emma Bovary, Willy Stark, Jay Gatsby. Some prevailed. Some didn’t. Some prevailed temporarily. But all of them had certain qualities in common. Boldness. Nerve. Chutzpah.

These days though, you don’t have to go into fiction to find characters with chutzpah. And while people in public life aren't known to be shy and retiring, the things some are doing and saying are so out there you can't even label them clichés. I continue to be amazed and shocked– shocked -- at their antics. I suspect some of you do as well.

So, I thought a vote might be in order. Who do you think has the most chutzpah these days? And why? I’ll offer up a few candidates to start.

First he didn’t. Then he did. Maybe a little. Well, more than a little. A lot. But it was all legal. He has nothing to hide. You can believe him.



Suspected of killing wives #3 and #4, ex-cop Drew Peterson crowed to reporters last week about his 23-year old girlfriend moving back in: “Looks like the Devil won this round.”




Wore out his welcome in Illinois. Wearing out his welcome on National TV. Likely to be welcomed into a federal correctional institution with open arms.





He stole billions and didn’t buy a single stock with the cash. Then had his wife withdraw $15 million from the brokerage days before he was arrested. Pocket change.




GOP Congressmen:
The ones who gave thumbs down to the Stimulus package are now climbing all over it to make sure they get their share. Let’s throw Bobby Jindal in too, for refusing $90 million for Louisiana. Good way to build your 2012 platform, Bobby.




Mortgage lenders. Also the Big 3 Automaker CEOs who flew into DC the first time on corporate jets. Enough said.



Finally, it wasn’t enough that she spent $150,000 on clothes. Now she’s charging the state of Alaska a $60 for a phone call.


The polls are open. Vote early and often.


BTW, those of you who want to see Pay-to-Play/Chicago style might enjoy this. (Thanks for the heads-up, Sara)

And the Winner Is!!!

It's that time of year, winter bleeding into spring, when we celebrate Black History, Women's History, and the Oscars.  So here's a little quiz to get you in the mood.

1...Who is Loveleen Tandan?

2.  Recent reviews of work Tandan co-created appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, the New Yorker, and Time-Out Chicago.  Plus or minus two, how many times was Tandan's name mentioned in total in all these reviews?

3.  Age Cannot Wither Her

a.  What was the age difference between Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate?

b.  What is the age difference between Hoffman and Emma Thompson in Last Chance Harvey?

c.  How old was Julia Roberts when the studios decided she was too old for the dramatic love interest and was now the quirky aging feminist, Katherine Watson, in Mona Lisa Smile?

Note: This just in--Roberts may be brought out of mothballs by an industry desperate for a big female box-office draw

4.  Match the person to the organization/movement they founded or led

i.  Ella Baker 11 James Bevel iii. John Lewis  iv. Doris Nash  v.  Fannie Lou Hamer  vi.  Dorothy Height  

   vii.  Martin Luther King, Jr.

a. SNCC (Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee

b.  Mississippi Freedom Party

c.  National Council of Negro Women

d. Nashville-Jackson Freedom Ride (kick-off for the Freedom Rider & voter registration SNCC projects)

5.  Which of the women leaders listed (or others not listed here) were invited to speak and appear with Dr. King in front of the Lincoln Memorial when he made his famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963?

6. Sticks and Stones

"Hottie," "chick," and "babe" are often used as synonyms for the noun "woman."

List three synonyms for "man" that are in common parlance and convey, to you, a similar meaning

7.  Three years after graduating from university, women's salaries are what percentage of men in the same jobs, both working full time?

a. 100 (equal)

b. 62

c. 127

d. 75

8.  Thirty years after graduating from university, women's salaries are what percentage of men in the same jobs, both working full time?

a.  127

b. 62

c. 75

d. 100

9.  Before becoming White House social secretary, Desiree Rogers headed:

a. The Social REgister

b. North Shore Gas

c. The Illinois State Lottery

d. The North Shore Gourmet Club

e. People's GAs

10.  Support for contraception for low-income women was removed from the economic stimulus bill because:

a. Women need to have more babies to pay for the stimulus package down the road.

b. Babies require women to spend money on health care and diapers which will provide important economic stimulus

c. Women who decide when and whether to get pregnant are "playing God" with t heir bodies and need men in religion and/or government to tell them "how to live their lives right."

11.  What percentage of movies released between 2004 and 2008 depict the female lead as a stripper, a hooker, or both?

a. 13

b. 33

c.  53

d. 83

The person with the fewest correct answers gets a free copy of Freedom's Daughters.  The person with the most gets a copy of Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial.  Answers will be posted at a later time.