My Current Interest

Over the Net Kate Dorsey Years ago, when I first started this blog, I wrote a post about Roger Federer but never put it up. I’m not fully sure why. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to alienate anyone by saying who my favorite tennis player was. Or maybe I felt I would jinx Roger (which is what we call Roger Federer in our house) by writing about him. Whatever the reason, once Roger announced his retirement, I felt ready to write and put up a post about him. This post is definitely different than what I originally intended to write about years ago, but it is time. The end of an era I found out from my brother that Roger had retired. He messaged me the morning of the announcement. Not long later, my mom called. Everyone in my family knows Roger is my favorite tennis player and always has been. They wanted me to know what was going on. The funny thing is, I would have found out about Roger’s retirement all on my own had I checked the sports news. I was about to, then I thought the...

I almost stopped reading I Was Better Last Night part way through. It was getting too heavy for me, which makes me sound like I have watched far too much Back to the Future . Although, I probably have. I watch a lot of Back to the Future . After deciding I was going to stop reading, I looked at the index to see if there was any topic I still wanted to read about before I returned the book to the library . What I found was “AIDS Memorial Quilt.” A quilter myself, I was curious how the author, Harvey Fierstein, was connected to the quilt. As I tried to find the page about the quilt, I came across the stage musical Kinky Boots . I wanted to see this show in its Chicago previews (having loved the movie ) but did not get the chance. Even with this Kinky Boots memory, I kept moving to the page about the quilt. What I discovered when I found the page was the fact Mr. Fierstein himself is a quilter. Between that and Kinky Boots , I decided I had to continue with the book. I Was Better L...

How Y'all Doing? Leslie Jordan T he day I finished How Y’all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived , I read an article about librarians facing an increase in filings about “books of concern.” Books mostly about either the LGBTQ+ community or race. For some reason, people are petitioning libraries to take these books off the shelves. Books they have possibly never even read but decided no one should. After reading the article, I decided I had to write about this book from Leslie Jordan. Some would believe How Y’all Doing? should not be read simply because Mr. Jordan is gay. That his story should be silenced. Neither Mr. Jordan’s nor anyone else’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or race should determine whether or not their story is told. They all have a right to be heard. On that exact same day, I started reading the Harvey Fierstein autobiography. Leslie Jordan is one of those actors you just know. You may not know his name, as I didn’t, but probably rec...

How Women Won the Vote Susan Campbell Bartoletti We are in a terrifying time. A time where governments through the United States are taking away rights, and are being backed by the courts. Rights for women.  Rights for LGBTQ+. Rights for voting, seemingly* directed at hindering the right to vote for anyone whose race is other than white.  (*Note: I write “seemingly” only because I have yet to see one of these new voting laws specifically mention race. However, based on what I have read and observed, I have come to this conclusion as to who these new voting laws are targeted against.)  They are doing this simply because they can. Each one knows the right they are removing will never affect them. And if by chance one day it does, they have the means and the power to get around the laws they themselves have put into place. These events are why everyone needs to read How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. It is a remi...

All About Me! Photo of book cover taken by Kate Dorsey      Mel Brooks movies were introduced to me at a young age. With Spaceballs , to be exact. Then Robin Hood: Men in Tights . Somewhere along the line I saw Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles for the first time. All funny movies in their own way. All Mel Brooks.      When I put All About Me! on the library reserve list, it was the behind the scenes of the films Mr. Brooks has created I wanted to know about. I understood what I was reserving was an autobiography and there would be other elements to the book besides the films. What I didn’t expect was there would be so many other elements. Some I found interesting and read the entire chapter. Others did not keep my attention and I ended up skimming. At first, I was going to skip these chapters altogether, until I discovered there were small stories in them I wanted to read about. One being Mr. Brooks’s relationship with Cary Grant. That was a sto...

     The past several months I have watched a lot of Bohemian Rhapsody .  I mean A LOT.  Nearly every time it is on, I watch some part of it.  Each time, I wonder when Rocketman is going to begin airing on regular cable.  So far, I have been unable to find it.  Which is why I decided to get it from the library and watch it for a second time on DVD.  I did a short review about Rocketman before, but I always felt it deserved a longer one.  Here it is.      Reginald “Reggie” Dwight (Matthew Illesley) has a talent no one expects.   He can play the piano by ear after hearing something only once.   It is a talent his grandmother, Ivy (Gemma Jones), wants encouraged with piano lessons.   Reginald’s mother, Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard), agrees.   Not out of care for her son.   But because it will keep Reggie out of her hair.   This attitude from Sheila should not come as too much of a surprise. ...

     It took me quite a while to watch On the Basis of Sex .  First for superstitious reasons.  Then because I thought it was going to be a dreary film, and I was not up for dreary.  Finally, I just sat down and watched it.  Not only was it not dreary, but I found this film to be another important film to watch.      Mrs. Ruth Ginsburg ( Felicity Jones ) is in law school.   Harvard law school, to be exact.   A school where Ruth is one of the very few women who have been allowed to enroll.   The dean, Erwin Griswold ( Sam Waterston ), makes it very clear he thinks little of the women who have enrolled.   He believes their spots in the school should have gone to men.   The professors are not far behind with these beliefs.      Still, Ruth pursues her law degree.   She also purses the degree of her husband, Martin (Armie Hammer), when he is diagnosed with cancer.   During this time, Ruth...

     Just as there are important books to read, there are important films to watch.   Harriet is one of those films.      Araminta “Minty” Ross (Cynthia Erivo) has spent her entire life as a slave.   According to the will of her master’s ancestor, she, along with other members of her family, should be free.   It is right there on paper, but her master, Edward Brodess (Michael Marunde), refuses to acknowledge the will.   Angry, Minty runs into the woods and prays for Edward’s demise.      He dies shortly after.      The master’s son, Gideon (Joe Alwyn), caught Minty making her prayer.   With his father dead, he is the master now, and puts Minty up for sale.      Sensing a sale is about to happen, Minty goes on the run.   She leaves her entire family behind, including her husband, John Tubman (Zackary Momoh).   He offered to go with Minty, but she went on her own as John ...