Tag Archives: interviews

Book Club: Hunger by Roxane Gay Pt. 2

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Part 2 for each book is typically where we dive into other works by the author of our current read. So, let’s get to it!

Roxane Gay is currently a visiting professor at Yale University as well as a writer and editor. If you enjoyed Hunger, you should absolutely pick up some of her other work…

An Untamed State

A novel about a woman kidnapped for ransom, her captivity as her father refuses to pay and her husband fights for her release over thirteen days, and her struggle to come to terms with the ordeal in its aftermath.

 

Bad Feminist

A collection of essays  spanning politics, criticism, and feminism. Through this collection, Gay reveals herself as one of our most interesting and important cultural critics.

 

World of Wakanda

Roxane Gay and Yona Harvey were the first black women to be lead writers for Marvel in this spin-off from the company’s Black Panther title. In it, Gay spins a Wakandan love story.

 

Difficult Women

A collection of fictional short stories that follow different women as they journey through a traumatic experience or something that sets them apart from the societal norm.

 

More on SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter
More to READ: The Year I Learned Everything, We Do Not Speak of Graceful Things, On the Death of Sandra Bland and Our Vulnerable Bodies, and MORE.
More to WATCH: On writing tips, The Nickel Boys, and Pretty Woman.

Pictured above – Roxane Gay presenting “Confessions of a Bad Feminist” which you can watch HERE. 

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Got any thoughts? Leave ’em below! 

Part 3, coming soon!

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Book Club: I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight Pt. 3

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Last week, we learned a bit more about Margaret Cho. I shared some of her career highs, as well as links to read/listen/watch her elsewhere. I hope you enjoyed checking those out.

Today, I’d like to do something a little different and provide you with a round-up videos to watch. Enjoy…

On Fresh Off the Boat

On her mother

On sex positivity and feminism

On “Christian” groups

On her vagina

Stay tuned for Part 4! xoxo

Book Club: I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight Pt. 2

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Let’s learn a bit more about the author of our current book club book, shall we? Margaret Cho is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is best known for her stand-up routines in which she critiques current political and social problems.

For a complete run-down of her career highlights, I recommend checking out this IMDb bio HERE. There are just too many for me to cover in detail.

Her groundbreaking ABC sitcom, All-American Girl (1994), while short lived, was the first sitcom to feature an all Asian-American cast. The show was based on her own life and stand-up comedy act.

Later, her 1999 off Broadway one-woman show, I’m the One That I Want, toured nationally to great critical acclaim and was even turned into a book and feature film.

I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight is her second book and was released in 2005 alongside an audio reading, a DVD of a live taping of her Assassin tour, and a national book tour.

While she continues to earn accolades in both TV and comedy, her activism is also highly celebrated. She has been honored by GLAAD, American Women in Radio and Television, Lamda Legal Defense, NGLTF, PFLAG, and many more for her work in promoting equal rights for all. She has received the First Amendment Award from the ACLU and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at LA Pride in 2011.

“If you say you’re not a feminist, you’re almost denying your own existence.
To be a feminist is to be alive.”

More from Margaret Cho —

Read:
I’m the One That I Want
Listen:
The Margaret Cho podcast
Watch:
Margaret Cho: Beautiful (FREE w/ Amazon Prime)

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Got any thoughts? Leave ’em below! 

Part 3, coming soon!

Book Club: The True Memoirs of Little K Pt. 3

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Last week, we learned a bit more about the author of The True Memoirs of Little K. I shared some of her other books, and a few interviews, which hopefully highlighted how Adrienne Sharp’s experience with ballet strengthens her fiction.

Today, I’d like to offer some extended reading about the historical context of our current book. While the work is fiction, it is based on fact. Mathilde Kschessinska is an actual person and her place in history is well documented. Let’s learn a bit more…

Continue Reading:

Continue Watching: 

Continue Listening:

Continue Experiencing: 

  • Look up a ballet company near you and consider purchasing a ticket for their next show! 

Stay tuned for Part 4! xoxo

Book Club: The True Memoirs of Little K Pt. 2

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Let’s learn a bit more about the author of our current book club book, shall we? Adrienne Sharp is a critically acclaimed author and national bestseller.

Her work often immerses readers in the world of ballet. She knows it well. She began her ballet career at the age of seven. Sharp trained at the prestigious Harkness Ballet in New York.

But in the midst of her grueling and rigorous training, Sharp began to question her life’s path.

“One day, while doing grands battements at the barre, I had a traitorous thought, which was simply: I’m sick of doing this. So I left ballet and began the task of assembling a regular life – a difficult task when you don’t have the glamorous discipline of tooling the body. I began to write to help me get through it. And when I started to write about ballet, the two halves of my life came together.” 

She received her M.A. from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and was awarded a Henry Hoyns Fellowship at the University of Virginia.

Her other books include The Magnificent Esme Wells, First Love, The Sleeping Beauty, and White Swan, Black Swan. 

The True Memoirs of Little K was a finalist for the California Book Award, an Oprah Book Club selection, and has been translated into six languages.

More from Adrienne Sharp —
Read:
On The Magnificent Esme Wells
On historical ballet
Listen:
On Old Hollywood
Watch:
On Mathilde Kschessinska – Pt. 1 and Pt. 2

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Got any thoughts? Leave ’em below! 

Part 3, coming soon! 

Book Club: The Truths We Hold Pt. 2

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Let’s learn a bit more about the author of our current book club book, shall we? Kamala Harris is an attorney and politician who has served as the junior U.S. senator from California since 2017. She launched her presidential campaign on January 27, 2019.

As a senator, she has supported lowering taxes for middle and working class folk, DREAMers, sanctuary cities, marijuana legalization, and single-payer healthcare. Harris doesn’t back down from a battle and has taken on the criminal justice system, Wall Street Banks, and opponents of marriage equality.

She was born in Oakland, California and graduated from Howard University and UC, Hastings College of Law. She’s worked in the San Francisco D.A.’s office and the City Attorney of San Francisco’s office. She was elected the District Attorney of San Francisco in 2004.

In 2010, she became California’s Attorney General, and was reelected in 2014. Next, she became U.S. senator–the first of Jamaican or Indian ancestry.

Harris is married to Douglas Emhoff, through which she has two stepchildren–they call her their Momala.

“My mother had a saying: ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things,
but make sure you’re not the last.’“

More with Kamala Harris

Interviews —

KAMALA An interview on Call Your Girlfriend
In Pitch For President An interview on NPR’s Morning Edition
Seeking the Presidency to Preserve “The Truths We Hold” An interview on The Daily Show

Articles & Other Books —

To Shrink Jails, Let’s Reform Bail Op-ed in The New York Times
Senate Passage of SESTA Press release
Smart on Crime A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer
Superheroes Are Everywhere A children’s book

Videos —

Launches 2020 Campaign Oakland rally
On Giving Every Teacher in America a Raise An interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers
On Truancy Rates View from the Bay in 2009

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Got any thoughts? Leave ’em below! 

Book Club: Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower Pt. 3

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Last week, we learned a bit more about the man behind Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower. (Well, the author, Tom Krattenmaker. Not Jesus. LOL) I shared some of his other work, and a few interviews, which hopefully placed the book in the broader context of why Krattenmaker, again and again, finds himself turning to the figure of Jesus.

Today, I’d like to widen the horizons of that context even further and offer some extended reading. Perhaps these pieces will bolster the book’s argument for where to find inspiration and input in your own life, perhaps not. Either way, I hope they are illuminating.

I must admit, Krattenmaker’s NOTES section made the process of discovering “further reading” super easy. Most of what follows was pulled from those pages; I selected the ones I felt best broadened the scope of each chapter and linked them for you here…

First, listen to this —
On Being with Krista Tippett – The Equation of Change

For more on contemporary American Religion —
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert Putnam and David Campbell

For a deeper dive into exploring the modern world in theological terms —
The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium by Walter Wink

I’d love to know, what do you think about the interpretation of modesty in this article? 
Yoga Pants and What the Bible Really Says about Modesty
and here’s another opinion piece the book makes reference to in Chapter 3 —
The Caligulan Thrill

To enter into a conversation with Jesus —
Let Me Ask You a Question: Conversations with Jesus by Matthew Croasmun

For more on questioning the meaning of life —
What Makes Life With Living? Take a Moment to Ask 

* QUICK INTERMISSION *
So much to read and take in, amirite? How about a little break in the action for some tunes! Click  HERE for my Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower playlist on Spotify. 🙂

For a greater understanding of the “urban age” discussed in Chapter 6–
America’s Urban Future

Some further reading on who we lock up —
The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty

The invisible and forgotten —
The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration

For more on religion and politics —
God’s Name in Vain: The Wrongs and Rights of Religion in Politics by Stephen Carter
and an interview with Jonathan Haidt —
Defusing Political Conflicts

How to approach the resurrection as a nonbeliever —
Easter for Atheists

Some more secular inspiration —
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly

Ok, that should keep us all busy for a bit. Happy reading!
And, one more time,…here’s the link to the Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower SPOTIFY PLAYLIST. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for Part 4! xoxo

Book Club: Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower Pt. 2

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Let’s learn a bit more about the author of our first book club book, shall we? Tom Krattenmaker is a columnist for USA Today and the Director of Communications at Yale Divinity School.

His work primarily explores the discord, problems, and potential that arises from the intersection of religion and culture. Tom considers himself a secular progressive, and Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower stemmed from his idea that crucial moral guidance and insight can be gleaned from the Jesus found on the pages of the New Testament.

Previous books include Onward Christian Athletes (2009), a critique of Christianity in sports, and The Evangelicals You Don’t Know (2013), about the “new evangelicals” in our post-Christian America.

Not only an author and journalist, Krattenmaker is also a speaker — at the American Humanist Association conference on multiple occasions, as well as countless other events and many universities. He’s won awards from organizations like the American Academy of Religion, Religion Newswriters Association, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and the Muslim Educational Trust.

He currently calls New Haven, Connecticut home and you can follow him on Twitter HERE.

“On the mountains I’ve climbed, figuratively speaking, I’ve discovered, and then rediscovered again and again, the anchor that means the most to me, the anchor I find most worthy of my trust. It’s the ethic and the inspiration and, indeed, the way of an ancient figure with whom we are acquainted, but whose relevance to our lives and society might not be so readily apparent, and whose availability to us, if we are secular might come as a complete surprise.”

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More with Tom Krattenmaker

Posts and articles —

Real men get help when it’s needed–as it so often is Recent blog post
Christmas is a Time to Celebrate Jesus’s Moral Insights USA Today column
White progressives shouldn’t be smug about racism … USA Today column
Don’t Domesticate MLK Commentary in Religion News Service

Interviews —

Can You Be Secular and Still Love Jesus? An interview in Psychology Today
Reading is FUNdamental An interview on The Brain Candy Podcast
Do Religion and Pro Sports Mix? Faith Matters series on NPR

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Got any thoughts? Leave ’em below! Part 3, coming soon!

5 reasons I can’t get enough Dolly.

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dollyparton

This big-hair, big-boobs, big-voice country music icon is my everything! Her songs are catchy as all get out and I could watch “9 to 5” any day of the week and twice on Sundays. I also love that when she got rich and famous, she invested her earnings into business opportunities in East Tennessee. Creating jobs and helping the economy of a struggling part of the country. Even if Pigeon Forge is tacky as all hell, just like her, it is my Mecca and she is my Queen. I can not get enough Dolly Parton. Here’s why…

1. This hauntingly beautiful song which might not be about what everyone thinks — 

Dolly has said in many interviews over the years that “Jolene” was inspired by a young girl who came up to her after one of her shows. Red hair, green eyes, fair skin; Dolly thought Jolene was the prettiest name she’d ever heard and promised to write a song about the child. Dolly and her husband couldn’t have children. Which makes the song take on a whole new context. Perhaps Dolly was afraid to lose her love to someone who could give him a child? Is that what he was talking about in his sleep?

2. These quotes are speaking to my soul — 

“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”

“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”

“If anyone tells you your hair is too big, get rid of them. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.”

3. Dolly doesn’t have time for judgmental bullshit —

She speaks out about her love for ALL people and believes judgement is the greatest sin of all.

4. Leaving a little something to mystery —

Is her body covered in secret tattoos? Still leaving the world guessing at 69 years young.

5. Just in case it was unclear —

dalai dolly

This photo I posted to my Facebook profile, circa 2006, spells it out for you. Basically these two are the samesies. So samesies that I labelled them. In short, I’ve never encountered a Dolly/Dalai I didn’t like.

Do you love Dolly, too? Ever been to Dollywood? What’s your favorite thing about this bombshell? Let’s all load up the van and head down to Pigeon Forge! 

Check out 5 reasons I can’t get enough RuPaul.

P.S. Here’s a picture of Katie and I straight KILLING IT at Dollywood about a decade ago.

dollywood

P.P.S. If anyone wants to get me THIS for my birthday, I would obviously be really into that. Not that I worship false idols or anything…I worship ACTUAL idols. Different.

mid-week round-up

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foggyfarm

Happy Wednesday! Hope you’re warm, cozy and dry today…maybe in a fuzzy sweater or with a mug of tea. Chet returns to Kentucky this week and I couldn’t be more excited!!! We’re looking forward to listening to “Charlie Brown Christmas” and decorating my apartment for the holiday as as possible. And  I know we will have lots of fun winter adventures to share! Have a marvelous week, and here are some link I thought you’d enjoy…

23 clever ways to use apple cider vinegar.

One woman’s journey to get rid of waste.

This must have taken a lot of concentration!

My favorite legal analyst in her 50’s loves Burning Man.

73 rapid fire answers from Anna Wintour.

Old people reacting to the “50 Shades of Grey” trailer. Dead.

Summer. #TBT

I love this resourceful Christmas decoration DIY.

Father-gone-too-soon writes his own kick-ass obituary.

No need to join a gym when you have YouTube!

Powerful art project.

Well, I just stocked up on lentils…