NOVI - Oct. 15 the Michigan Humane Society will host its first-ever Animal Welfare Conference at the Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The conference, featuring expert speakers from across the [...]

ANN ARBOR - The Lesbian Mom's Network of Washtenaw County is organizing "Rainbow Families in the 21st Century: Through the Kaleidoscope," a conference aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents and their children, friends, [...]

Get connected! Non-profit organizations are encouraged to send listings of ongoing events to Community Connections via email at dawnwolfe@pridesource.com, fax at 248-615-7018 or postal mail: 20793 Farmington Rd., Ste. 25, Farmington, MI 48336. FORTY WORD [...]

Compiled by Dawn Wolfe Arkansas: The state Supreme Court ruled Oct. 7 that voters may consider an anti-gay constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot. The court rejected arguments that the proposed amendment didn't fully [...]

Compiled by Dawn Wolfe Politics House GOP leadership blocks hate crimes legislation WASHINGTON, DC - The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act has been stripped from the Defense Department authorization bill, despite a procedural vote in [...]

Amernet String Quartet opens Pro Musica season DETROIT - Continuing its uninterrupted tradition of presenting emerging world-class artists and important new composers, Pro Musica Society of Detroit opens its 78th season on Saturday, Oct. 23. [...]

DETROIT - John Corvino, Ph.D, BTL columnist, author, and philosophy instructor at Wayne State University, will examine the various stereotypes with which people attempt to conflate homosexuality with immorality. The lecture will include a special [...]

DETROIT - On Oct. 3, at a special congregational meeting, the First Unitarian- Universalist Church of Detroit unanimously passed a resolution supporting legal recognition of marriage between members of the same sex on an equal [...]

This week: Jamie CullumThurs. 10/14/04Magic Bag, Ferndale PJ HarveyThurs. 10/14/04State Theatre, Detroit Indigo GirlsThurs. 10/14/04MSU's Wharton Center, E. Lansing InterpolFri. 10/15/04 7:30 p.m.State Theatre, Detroit Cheryl WheelerFri. 10/15/04 8 p.m.The Ark, Ann Arbor The Lord [...]

Review: 'The Rainbow' {HEADLINE Controversial 1915 novel has much to say to 21st century audiences} If nothing else, the cast of "The Rainbow" at Ann Arbor's Blackbird Theatre deserves a hardy round of applause for [...]

By John Quinn Review: 'Blithe Spirit' Hilberry's classic farce sure to raise your 'spirits' Noel Coward never had a Coming Out Day. He never said he was gay, nor allowed his biographer Sheridan Morley to [...]

By John Quinn : Review: 'The Moonlight Room' A small slice of the 'real world' provides for sobering drama A terrible realism highlights The Theatre Company's opening play of its 34th season. Terrible, because "The [...]

By Romeo San Vicente Kudrow and King stage a 'Comeback' Move over "Joey." Matt LeBlanc isn't the only "Friends" alum with a new sitcom. Lisa Kudrow will be there for you soon enough with one [...]

By Kevin Wang Ask Dr. Wang is BTL's new medical advice column and will appear once a month. My name is Kevin Wang and I am a recent graduate from Wayne State University's School of [...]

The opposition to Proposal 2 is widening and is building bridges between groups across Michigan. The newest voice to join the fight against this discriminatory amendment is Michigan's largest labor union, the AFL-CIO. At issue: [...]

Just Out I Heart Huckabees Existentialist detectives Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) and Vivian (Lily Tomlin) believe everything is connected. Their former pupil, Caterine (Isabelle Huppert), has gone nihilist, stressing the cruel randomness of life. These high-minded [...]

I was browsing in a New Age bookstore following the night of full Harvest Moon -- a lunar display that was bright and silvery this year when viewed from my favorite street corner. (The brightness [...]

Across1 Master's partner6 Oscar-night transport10 Danny of "Hans Christian Andersen"14 Circles over Mary and Peter15 Theocritus creation16 Straight17 Long Island town18 It's glorious, in "Oliver!"19 " ___ It Like Beckham"20 City with a Fruit Loop23 [...]

By Jack Fertig Mars in Libra points to teamwork and other ways to work up a sweat in good company! Trine to Neptune, he makes our efforts more fuzzy, sensuous, and ethereal, but less productive. [...]

Professional Theater: The Adventures of Captain Neat-O Man & Space F*ckers Two one-act comedies that serve up healthy portions of surrealism and absurdity. Presented Friday and Saturday at the Abreact Performance Space, Detroit, through Oct. [...]

By Gwendolyn Ann Smith In 1996 I attended a transgender conference in Atlanta called Southern Comfort. While there - and over successive years - I had the pleasure to meet many wonderful people. One of [...]

Detroit - The Past Forward radio program hosted by Senior Voice will move "Gayly Forward" on Friday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. Past Forward is a live-reminiscence, special interest radio program and Friday's show will [...]

DETROIT - Ken Christopher, a friend to many in the LGBT community, died Oct. 2 of an apparent heart attack. He was 43. A life long Detroit resident, Christopher graduated from Southeastern High School in [...]

ANN ARBOR - Calling all band geeks! The "Return of the Band-O-Rama" is coming to Hill Auditorium after a two-year absence on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. For those of us who are marching [...]

You have just met a person whom you think may be transgender - in a bathroom, at work, or at the mall - and you want to use courtesy in addressing that person. However, Emily [...]

ANN ARBOR - Trans students and faculty of the University of Michigan have organized Transforum to support trans students, faculty and alumni of the University. According to their brochure, "Transforum is dedicated to the civil [...]

DETROIT - Carnivale...A Celebration of Life! will take place on Sunday, Oct. 17 from 8 p.m. - 1 a.m. at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. There will be a DJ spinning music from Caribbean and [...]

LIVONIA - The Michigan State AFL-CIO announced its formal opposition to Proposal 2, the so-called "marriage amendment," Oct. 6, making it the latest union in Michigan to come out against the proposal. It is also [...]

Affirmations is sponsoring a trip to Blake's Orchard in Armada. Activities during the day include a hay ride, apple and pumpkin picking, visiting the petting farm, haunted barn and corn maze, racing on a tricycle [...]

Community artist and BTL columnist Charles Alexander has been invited to participate in the Biannual Artists Competition 2005 (Biennale Internazionale dell'Arte Contempranea) in Florence, Italy. He is among several American artists so honored. The international [...]

By BTL Staff After wowing us as a murdering bisexual prostitute Aileen Wuornos in last year's "Monster," Charlize Theron pretties it up as lesbian-curious Gilda BessŽ in "Head In The Clouds." In pre-World War II [...]

Young velvet-throated hotties singing old - and soon to be new - standards a la Frank Sinatra seem to be coming out of the woodwork, a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey [...]

LANSING - A brutal attack at Eastern High School last month was an act of gay bashing, police and prosecutors have confirmed. Police say accused assailant Jeremy Lee, 17, entered Lansing Eastern High School and [...]

By Sharon Gittleman ROYAL OAK - A new skyscraper will rework Royal Oak's skyline next year when the finishing touches are made to the suburb's latest condominium project. The Fifth Royal Oak will soar 18 [...]

DEARBORN - The HOPE Fund, a fund of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan, celebrated its tenth anniversary Oct. 10 at a reception held at the Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn. The HOPE Fund began in 1994 [...]

Searching for the meaning of life and your place in the world can be painful and exciting and confusing and absurd. One minute you're the head of an environmental coalition working to preserve open spaces, [...]

By Dawn Wolfe Even though, at present, neither state nor federal law protect workers from being discriminated against because of gender identity or orientation, a Federal case decided this past August offers trans folk the [...]

By Dawn Wolfe Poet and novelist Jane Summer makes an excellent point in her introduction to "Not the Only One," the latest in a series of anthologies for gay and lesbian teens: "What exactly is [...]

by Dawn Wolfe DETROIT - Congressman John Conyers and Detroit City Council President MaryAnn Mahaffey joined Metro Detroit AFL-CIO President Donald Boggs and Michigan ACLU Executive Director Kary Moss at an Oct. 11 news conference [...]

Suzanne Westenhoefer has earned her living making people laugh for a dozen years now. She's appeared on Sally Jesse Raphael, Comedy Central, Politically Incorrect and was even nominated for a Cable Ace Award for being [...]

"I said then and I believe today that freedom does mean freedom for everybody. People ought to be free to choose any arrangement they want. It's really no one else's business. That's a separate question [...]

By Bob Roehr WASHINGTON D.C. - "Civil rights seldom comes as a bolt of lightening, it takes patience, it takes careful planning, it takes hard work," said Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's Executive Director C. Dixon [...]

EAST LANSING - At an Oct. 7 press conference on the campus of Michigan State University, the Association of Michigan Universities announced that it had passed a resolution opposing Proposal 2, the anti-marriage amendment that [...]

When it comes down to it, everyone could probably make a documentary about his or her relationship with their mother. But few people start documenting their lives on film at age 11 like Jonathan Caouette, [...]

By Mubarak Dahir It would be easy to be down about the immediate prospects around the country for winning equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. And the voices of discontent within the gay and [...]

by Dawn Wolfe On Sept. 21, Gallup released a CNN-sponsored poll which seemed to indicate that Proposal 2 was losing by six points. Another poll showed a decided drop in support for the anti-gay measure [...]

By Dawn Wolfe FARMINGTON - After the questions about Iraq and an exchange on equal marriage rights, both Vice Presidential candidates gave less than direct answers during the Oct. 5 debate to a question about [...]