Ask The Debt Free Diva
By Dee Dee Sung Q. I'm determined to get my finances on track this year and would welcome a few pointers on where to start. There's so much information out there that it becomes confusing. [...]
Parting Glances: Oranges & lemons sliced
When I was a kid my mother would dose me with castor oil for what she perceived as alimentary crankiness on my part. This extract of the humble castor bean tastes horrid; its end result, [...]
All Politics is Loco: Governor picks on bullies
by Sean Kosofsky It finally happened! Legislation to curb bullying in Michigan's public schools got a huge boost last week when Governor Jennifer Granholm mentioned it in her State of the State address. The momentum [...]
Last rights
By Mubarak Dahir In the video, Laurel Hester is shown bald from her cancer treatments. She is wearing a simple black shirt with a silver necklace dangling around her neck, and she is seated on [...]
Art & Around for the period Feb. 2-11
Art, Historical & Science Museums: Cranbrook Art Museum "Shoot the Family," contemporary photography and video exploring the undercurrents of domestic life. Feb. 4-March 26. Free with $6 museum admission. Bloomfield Hills: 1-877-462-7262. www.cranbrook.edu. Detroit Historical [...]
Concert Connections
This Week: Patti Labelle & Friends Fri. 2/3/06 Masonic Temple, Detroit Aimee Mann Sat. 2/4/06 Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor Smokey Robinson Sat. 2/4/06 Music Hall Center, Detroit Little Richard Sun. 2/5/06 Music Hall Center, Detroit [...]
Theater Events for the period Feb. 2-11
Professional Theater/Opera: Bad Dates How one woman copes with that bizarre social ritual between men and women. BoarsHead Theatre, Lansing. Thu.-Sun., through Feb. 12. $21-$33. 517-484-7805. www.boarshead.org. Blast A celebration of movement and music born [...]
Book Marks
By Richard Labonte The Man Who Would Marry Susan Sontag, and Other Intimate Portraits of the Bohemian Era By Edward Field. University of Wisconsin Press, 296 pages, $29.95 hardcover Live in one place for 60 [...]
Curtain Calls
Review: 'Guest Artist' It's the truth: Powerful premiere at PRTC By Donald V. Calamia Wow! That was my initial reaction after reading a draft of Jeff Daniel's newest play, "Guest Artist," his tenth original work [...]
Now Playing
Just Out End of the Spear Missionary Nate Saint (Chad Allen) goes to South America to work with, evangelize, and tame the violent Waodani tribe. They're a fervently warring bunch, and for his efforts he [...]
Meet Rocky the BTL pet of the week
Rocky is a very handsome four-year-old shorthair cat with a beautiful apricot coat. He is looking for a new home because his previous guardian no longer had time for him. Rocky is a bit shy [...]
Q Puzzle Clues
Adopt Instead Across 1 State, to Renee Vivien 5 Orgasm, e.g. 10 "Show Boat" rank 14 Like sex for one 15 Sample some buns, e.g. 16 Trojan Horse, e.g. 17 With 31-Across, result of too [...]
The gloves are off
Creative writing students are often told, "Write what you know." So when Aimee Mann, one of pop music's most literary songwriters, released a concept album telling the story of a drug-addicted boxer, it struck the [...]
Review: ‘Bad Dates’
Charming actress, killer shoes at the BoarsHead If there's one universal truth that all men and women equally share, it's that at some point in our lives, all of us have been on at least [...]
Curtain Calls ONLINE
Review: 'Monday Nights @ Planet Ant' Jam at the Ant on Monday nights It has long been a tradition in the world of theater to leave Monday nights "dark." That is, to have one night [...]
Royal Oak invites you to a ‘Super Tailgate’
ROYAL OAK - All Eyes will be on Metro Detroit leading up to and during Super Bowl XL. Guests to Downtown Royal Oak will score quite a few touchdowns this week with a locally designed [...]
Hear Me OUT
B In the Mix Britney Spears (Jive) Remember when people used to say that Britney Spears was the next Madonna? In 2005, Madonna's "Confessions On A Dance Floor" proved that, in fact, Madonna is the [...]
So happy together
Do you believe in love at first sight? Rachel doesn't - not until the day of her wedding at least. Unfortunately, the person on the other end of this discovery isn't the man waiting in [...]
Freedom, to Mary
by John Polly Yes, she's had drama. Born in the Bronx and raised in the projects of Yonkers, New York, she's fought for everything she's had. And all the while, as Mary J. Blige battled [...]
Marriage News from Around the Country
Compiled by Dawn Wolfe Gutterman Lawmaker plans equal marriage bill MONTPELIER, Vt. - A Burlington lawmaker introduced a bill to expand marriage to same-sex couples. Same-sex Vermont couples currently are able to enter into civil [...]
Creep of the Week: Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas)
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) "Fruity" is in the eye of the beholder, to riff on a famous proverb. This week gay groups are buzzing about a comment made by notoriously anti-gay Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) [...]
SHe Said Feb. 2, 2005
"No child in Michigan should have to be the victim of a schoolyard bully, and no child should have their learning disrupted by a child who's unruly. That is why, tonight, I am urging this [...]
Affirmations exceeds capital campaign goal
By BTL Staff FERNDALE - With less than two years of public fundraising, Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center has successfully reached and surpassed its $5.3 million capital and endowment goal to build a new [...]
Senate confirms Alito to Supreme Court
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman WASHINGTON - Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. became the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice on Jan. 31, confirmed with one of the most partisan victories in modern history after a fierce battle [...]
Affirmations to host Mind-Body-Spirit fair
FERNDALE - Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center will step into the New Age on March 11. That day, the LGBT community center plans to host its first Mind-Body-Spirit Fair, complete with Yogis, aroma-and-massage therapists, [...]
Michigan Pride holds 2006 logo contest
LANSING - Calling all queer, LGBT and allied artists, graphic designers and otherwise creative individuals! Michigan Pride is seeking help to create the look and feel of the 2006 statewide events at the state Capitol [...]
Black gays ask clergy for tolerance
By The Associated Press ATLANTA, Jan. 21 - Churches have an obligation to help end the "poisoned atmosphere" surrounding the acceptance of gay men and lesbians, the Rev. Al Sharpton said at a weekend summit [...]
CARE hires Gardner to help pass child protection law
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman ANN ARBOR - The Coalition for Adoption Rights Equality has hired Penny Gardner, former program director for Michigan Equality, as its community organizer. Gardner has been hired to mobilize constituents in [...]
EMU committee pushes for trans protections
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman YPSILANTI - According to the Jan. 23 edition of the Eastern Echo, the Student Affairs Committee of the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents has approved a position paper urging that [...]
Gay in the NFL
Esera Tuaolo struck fear into the hearts of every opposing National Football League quarterback. As one of the best defensive nose tackles in the NFL, it was his job to attack the quarterbacks, and he [...]
University expels gay student
by The Associated Press SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. - A former John Brown University student said he was expelled from the school where his parents work after the administration raised questions about his homosexuality and imposed [...]
Coretta Scott King dies
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman ATLANTA - Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78. [...]
Ingham County to hold special election to fill state Senate seat
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman LANSING - A special election will be held on March 14 to fill the vacant state Senate seat that was created when pro-equality candidate Virg Bernero won his race for Mayor [...]
Safe School Law aims to protect all children
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman LANSING - On Jan. 25, state Representative Glenn Anderson introduced a bill that, if adopted, will make Michigan schools safer for all of the children who attend them. "Matt's Safe School [...]
Triangle welcomes LGBT fans on Super Sunday
BY SHARON GITTLEMAN DETROIT - If thoughts of your partner sprawled in a lounge chair screaming advice to football players on TV, beer can in hand, has frazzled your nerves this week, the Triangle Foundation [...]
National Briefs
Compiled by Dawn Wolfe Gutterman Justice Three sentenced in Araujo murder HAYWARD, Calif. - Michael Magidson, 25, and Jose Merel, 26, were sentenced to the mandatory terms of 15 years-to-life for second-degree murder on Jan. [...]
Gay couple not a ‘family’ in Warren
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman WARREN - On Jan. 23, the Detroit News reported that a gay couple has been refused family membership by the Warren Community Center. Mark Jeason and his partner, Martin Murdick, have [...]
The NFL’s super-sized closet
The Super Bowl is the world's largest sporting event, with billions of TV viewers, hundreds of millions of dollars in promotions and events and the attention of the world on the two teams who will [...]
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 [...]