The Gay Moralist: In defense of pleasure
By John Corvino One of the delights of being a philosophy professor is that I occasionally come across charming texts in the history of ethics. Here's Mary Warnock in her 1960 classic Ethics Since 1900: [...]
Parting Glances: Reruns as metaphor (Pt. 2)
It's the damnedest thing. I plucked this exotic-looking plant while out for a Sunday stroll. It had bright red blossoms, blue-white, intricately woven, pentagonal leaves. I put it in a glass of water at my [...]
Transmissions: Out for good
By Gwendolyn Ann Smith In 1952, Christine Jorgensen made banner headlines on newspapers across the country. She pushed nuclear bomb tests off the front page simply by getting sexual reassignment surgery. She wasn't the first [...]
Coal dust memories: the union forever
by R.J. Beaumia Contained within my DNA is a propensity for male pattern baldness, for being overweight, and for being gay. The evidence for this is scattered throughout family photo albums in the many snapshots [...]
Concert Connections
This Week: Billy Idol Sun. 9/16/05 Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre, Sterling Hts. Sweet Honey in the Rock Mon. 9/17/05 The Whiting, Flint Sigur Rós Tues. 9/20/05 Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor Upcoming: Beck Thurs. 9/22/05 State Theatre, [...]
Theater Events for the period Sept. 15-24
Professional Theater: Altar Boyz A holy-inspiring musical comedy about five small-town boys trying to save the world one screaming fan at a time. City Theatre, Detroit. Tue.-Sun. through Dec. 18. 313-872-1000. http://www.nederlanderdetroit.com. And The Winner [...]
Male Box event to raise funds for hurricane relief Sept. 22
On Thursday, Sept. 22 join Operation Heart to Heart for an evening of charity-minded entertainment at the Male Box. The event will raise funds for the American Red Cross as well as collect donations to [...]
Kosofsky right on ID, praying for ‘Creep’
Dear BTL, Right on, Sean. No one could have said it better ("Intelligent Design is just plain stupid" by Sean Kosofsky in the Sept. 8, 2005 issue of BTL). I went to Bible College and [...]
Catholic Church needs to protect children
Dear BTL, Thank you for publishing Mubarak Dahir's excellent opinion piece "Fit to serve God?" (in the Sept. 8 2005 issue of BTL). I am not a lesbian, and I am no longer a Roman [...]
Let’s hear it for Detroit
Dear BTL, I just read Dr. John Corvino's convincing article regarding the joys of Detroit ("The Gay Moralist: Loving Detroit" from the Aug. 18, 2005 issue of BTL https://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=15375 ). I must admit, I've only [...]
Sober praise for mature writer
Dear BTL, Wow - great article by Charles Alexander ("Parting Glances: One ray at a time" from the Aug. 25, 2005 issue of BTL https://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=15490). He is not afraid to lay his soul bare in [...]
Missing Katrina coverage
Dear BTL, Missing. That is how one could describe last week's issue of BTL. Missing any substantive coverage of Hurricane Katrina, which the exception of the short blurbs on how the Southern Decadence party was [...]
Art & Around for the period Sept. 15-24
Arts Festivals: Michigan Renaissance Festival Return to the days of yore and partake in games of skill, roam the festive village marketplace, enjoy non-stop entertainment or visit the magical children's realm. Hollygrove, Holly. Sat. & [...]
Book Marks
By Richard Labonte Bliss By Fiona Zedde. Kensington Books, 296 pages, $14 paper For its first few chapters, this is a torrid sizzler of a novel. Bliss Sinclair is a straight and straight-laced big-city professional [...]
Curtain Calls
Review: 'King o' the Moon' Times change, not family love at BoarsHead In last season's smash hit, "Over the Tavern," BoarsHead Theatre patrons were introduced to the Pazinski family, a fairly typical blue-collar Catholic family [...]
Curtain Calls XTRA
By John Quinn Review: 'Tape' Memory or Memorex? 'Tape' challenges perceptions For so small a play, "Tape" covers a lot of ground. It has only three characters, one set and runs without intermission. Yet the [...]
Now Playing
Just Out A Sound of Thunder In 2055, tycoon Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley) capitalizes on new time-travel technology by offering prehistoric hunts. One goes wrong, altering evolution, and it's up to safari guide Travis Ryer [...]
Meet Venus the BTL pet of the week
Venus is an adorable two-year-old short hair cat with traditional tabby markings. She is a bit shy and will need some time to adjust to her new surroundings. Venus will do best in a home [...]
Young girls – and gay boys – will swoon over Corey Boardman
Actor plays leader of God-inspired boy band in 'Altar Boyz' DETROIT - He can sing, he can dance and he's got that "all-American boy next door" look that makes young girls swoon. So it's easy [...]
Nightnotes Season opens with ‘If It Ain’t Baroque, Don’t Fix It’
BIRMINGHAM - An evening of baroque masterpieces for winds and continuo will unfold in the charming and intimate setting of Hagopian World of Rugs in Birmingham, as Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings opens its 2005-2006 [...]
Common Ground Sanctuary Art in the Park, Sept. 17-18
BIRMINGHAM - Nearly 200 artists from around the country will showcase original work in the areas of ceramics, jewelry, paintings, sculpture, photography, glass and more in Shain Park for Common Ground Sanctuary's 31st Art in [...]
Sweet Honey in the Rock coming to The Whiting Sept. 17
FLINT - The Grammy award-winning, African-American female a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock will perform at The Whiting Saturday, Sept. 17, 2005 at 8 p.m. Sweet Honey in the Rock uses six powerful [...]
Third annual Gospel & Soul ready to roll
DETROIT - The third annual Gospel & Soul event, sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17. This year's event, which will once again be co-chaired and co-hosted by Michelle Brown [...]
‘Bad boy of modern dance’ opens UMS’s 127th season
ANN ARBOR - The University Musical Society opens its 2005/06 season with a weekend of performances and education events celebrating choreographer Mark Morris and the 25th anniversary of the Mark Morris Dance Group. Centerpieces of [...]
Triangle Foundation dinner Sept. 18
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman DEARBORN - Governor Jennifer Granholm will make a repeat appearance at the Triangle Foundation's annual dinner on Sept. 18. When she first attended, in 2003, she was the first sitting Michigan [...]
Family Town Hall picks up new sponsors
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman FERNDALE - The LGBT community's first-ever Family Town Hall has picked up new sponsors - TransGender Michigan, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, and Pride At Work have joined the Triangle [...]
Creep of the Week: Califrnia Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Earlier this month the California legislature became the first in the country to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. Unfortunately, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to terminate the bill. I'm sorry, [...]
SHe Said Sept. 15, 2005
"Gov. James McGreevey of New Jersey had to resign last year after acknowledging that he had elevated his patronage peccadillo, an Israeli poet named Golan Cipel, to be his special assistant on homeland security without [...]
Katrina: local ways to help OUT
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman Members of the LGBT community who want to funnel their aid to hurricane Katrina victims through LGBT-friendly organizations have a chance to do so locally. Below is a list of what [...]
AIDS Walk Michigan to donate portion of proceeds to Katrina fund
DETROIT - AIDS Walk Michigan announced Sept. 8 that they will donate a portion of their profit from this year's walks to the Katrina HIV/AIDS Emergency Fund at the National AIDS Fund. The decision was [...]
TransGender Michigan adds two board members, seeks more
SWARTZ CREEK - TransGender Michigan appointed two new board members in August. They are Tristia Pettey, a Flint resident and member of the Executive Board of Mott Community College's Gay/Straight Alliance and Theresa Caggiano, a [...]
Support group for family members of transgender individuals forming
ROYAL OAK - Beginning Oct. 4, Rosemary Jozwiak, LPCCSW, and Rachel Crandall, ACSW, will offer a free support group for siblings, parents, and children of transgender individuals. "We've been getting a number of calls from [...]
Governor names openly-gay D.C. office director as new chief of staff
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman LANSING - With the departure of Rick Wiener as Governor Jennifer M. Granholm's chief operating officer, Granholm's office announced on Sept. 13 that openly-gay John Burchett, current director of her Washington [...]
Grosse Pointe News announces same-sex couple’s civil union
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman GROSSE POINTE - It was just another happy announcement. Almost. On Aug. 25, the Grosse Pointe News published an announcement about the civil union of Whitney Monroe Gage and Kara Elise [...]
Project tells LGBT elders’ stories
By Sharon Gittleman FERNDALE - In 1952, Michael Golden was 14 years old - and he had a secret. "I came home and on TV, there was a live program with Sen. McCarthy," said Golden. [...]
Southern Decadence goes on despite storm
By Ed Walsh NEW ORLEANS - In a defiant show of resilience, the planned Southern Decadence parade through New Orleans' French Quarter went on as planned, albeit on a much smaller scale. "Instead of the [...]
Gays should be barred from the priesthood, says Archbishop
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman WASHINGTON - A Sept. 7 online News Service Brief by the Catholic News Service quotes Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, as saying that [...]
LGBT community steps up hurricane relief efforts
The LGBT community and allied organizations are actively involved in hurricane relief efforts at local, state and national levels. The full scope of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina will likely take months to ascertain. [...]
LGBTs nationwide join hurricane relief efforts
By Ed Walsh NEW ORLEANS - The LGBT liaison for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is sharply critical of the American Red Cross's response to Hurricane Katrina. Larry Bagneris is encouraging the LGBT community to [...]
National News Briefs
Compiled by Dawn Wolfe Gutterman Politics Schwarzenegger to veto equal marriage bill SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Sept. 7 he will veto a bill that would have made California the first state to [...]
Editorial: Visibility equals power
Being out is a statement of pride, not in being LGBT per se, but in being you. And it is only by living an authentic, true life that we can effect real change. In this [...]
Community Connections
Get connected! Non-profit organizations are encouraged to send listings of ongoing events to Community Connections via email at [email protected], fax at 248-615-7018 or postal mail: 20793 Farmington Rd., Ste. 25, Farmington, MI 48336. FORTY WORD [...]
Vote For The Ultimate Gay Or Lesbian Car
A few months back Car Talk, the popular radio show on NPR stations throughout the country, asked visitors to vote for the "top five guy cars and chick cars." Thousands of nominations poured in as [...]