LGBT parents creating change
By Dana Rudolph Mombian How can LGBT parents create change? I've been pondering the question in light of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's annual Creating Change conference in Detroit this week. Becoming a [...]
Creep of the Week: Stacey Campfield
Remember "Field of Dreams," the movie where ghosts tell Kevin Costner, "If you build it, he will come" to convince him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond? Apparently Tennessee Rep. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) [...]
Parting Glances NGLTF: What’s past is prologue!
This week's National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 20th Annual Conference takes place in the landmark Renaissance Center. 2000-plus participants from all over the United States are attending (and, one suspects, getting gaily and navigationally [...]
All Politics is Loco: People before Task
by Sean Kosofsky Some of the most valuable things we have are our relationships. We spend years developing and repairing them. Yet many of us take our relationships with our peers, co-workers and team-mates for [...]
‘We Are All Floridians’
by Nadine Smith On this cool January morning, a Clearwater grandmother is talking to a conservative Christian health care worker who says she will vote NO in November on the so-called "marriage amendment" because she [...]
NAACP Chair to open national LGBT rights conference
By Sarah Mieras DETROIT - A vocal supporter of gay marriage since 2004, the celebrated chair of the NAACP, the Honorable Julian Bond, will open the 20th Annual National Creating Change Conference Friday. Bond, who [...]
Bishop calls for gay Christians to come out of the spiritual closet
By Sarah Mieras NEW HAMPSHIRE - The most visible and powerful voice for LGBT equality in the Christian community will address thousands of activists on Feb. 9 during the National Creating Change Conference in Detroit. [...]
YODA monologues speaks up on disability issues
Capitol Correspondent DETROIT - As participants of the 20th anniversary Creating Change Conference wander the hallways following plenary sessions and workshops, they might stumble upon some provocative guerrilla theatre. "I am hoping that our performances, [...]
Are you The Gay?
By Dan Smith I'll offer you a typical scenario: I'll be at a party, or a bar, or on an off-day, a family funeral with my girlfriend. We'll mingle; we'll socialize. I normally have my [...]
Michigan native’s decorative art on display at Cranbrook Art Museum
The works of Michigan native John Bloom and photographer Richard Knight will be displayed until March 22 at Crankbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills. From the earliest works of Frank Lloyd Wright to the more [...]
Forever changed
By Cornelius A. Fortune As cautionary tales go, the documentary "Ballot Measure 9" might well be a time capsule more relevant today than it was in 1995. The events depicted in the film echo Michigan's [...]
Getting Dirty
By Jessica Carreras What's sexy to some may not be to others - but for ex-porn star Annie Sprinkle and her girlfriend, college professor Elizabeth Stephens, that's what makes erotic art so fun and daring. [...]
A Sweet, Sweet Fantasy
Just to be saved by the beefy Batman, Travis de Jonk would do anything to piss off the Joker. Being in the mountainous arms of a tight-costumed superhero is his fantasy - one of several [...]
Postive reinforcement guarantees happy, healthy dogs
By Beth Duman Have you watched any of the popular dog training shows that are on TV right now? Have you ever felt queasy while watching the tough and sometimes violent ways that the dogs [...]
Great Dayne
By Lawrence Ferber It took 10 years, but soulful songstress Taylor Dayne has returned to music on her own terms and her own indie label. And she's feeling pretty "Satisfied" about it. Remember 1988 international [...]
Billy Masters
"I was the 'Hannah Montana' of the 80s and I have a lot of experience and knowledge to offer today's aspiring performers." - Deborah Gibson explains why she's started "Camp Electric Youth." A step in [...]
Sweating, and seeking bliss
By Dan Woog The OutField Bliss. Some people seek it through meditation; others through chemicals or sex. Christopher Bergland finds bliss through sweat. Bergland sweats a lot. He has won three Ironman competitions. Each Ironman [...]
A Visual Salute to NGLTF
Art at Afirmations Fifteen artists are taking part in an all media show saluting the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Conference. The Affirmations Center Art Gallery show, entitled "Art Salutes NGLTF!" features the work [...]
Valentine’s Adoption Event
Friends For The Dearborn Animal Shelter Valentine's is the perfect time to meet your best friend for life; and there is no better best friend than a four-legged, furry one! The Friends For the Dearborn [...]
Gay opt-out decision may head to U.S. Supreme Court
By Lisa Keen Keen News Service BOSTON- In a decision that could be destined for the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal appeals panel ruled this month that a public school does not violate the religious [...]
Judge rules in favor of free speech
by Sharon Gittleman {BOLD FERNDALE- }A district court struck down Ferndale's effort to ticket protestors who gathered on street corners in opposition to the war in Iraq and other political issues. The court determined that [...]
Karibu continues quest for people of color community center
DETROIT - Kofi Adoma has dreamed of seeing the creation of a community center for lgbts of color for more than a decade now. The center would institutionalize the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of [...]
The mystery of LeRoy Foster: African American artist
African American artist Julie Mehretu was talking to a gathering of high school students in one of the several galleries of Detroit Institute of Art devoted to her gigantic "City Sitings" canvases. (It was during [...]
An impassioned activist takes over at DHD
Co-Publishers of BTL DETROIT - The Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy has only been in the job just a few months as the new director of HIV/AIDS Programs at the City of Detroit Department of Health [...]
Details slow to emerge in apparent murder of trans woman
DETROIT - The body of a young transgender woman was discovered Monday near the intersection of Canfield and Ellery Streets on Detroit's East Side. At press time, few details are known. "We are trying to [...]
NYS to recognize Canadian marriage
By Lisa Keen Keen News Service In a decision that could have significant political implications beyond its state border, a five-member, mostly Republican, state appeals court in New York State ruled February 1 that a [...]
Bedroom Beats
You know what sucks? Doin' it to the same ol' sex songs ("Sexual Healing"! "Justify My Love"!). Need a less-archaic foreplay-to-finish compilation to spice up the crib with that longtime lover or "friend" - or [...]
Gay folks go gaga, too, ya know
By Jessica Carreras If you're looking for love, cultural anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher can help you - but first she needs to know which is longer, your ring finger or your index finger. Huh? When [...]
BTL GIVEAWAYI Lube You
Nothing says "I love you. Let's screw" better than a bottle of K-Y Intrigue $19.99, http://www.ky.com. This premium ultra-long-lasting personal lubricant (if it had a mascot, it'd be the Energizer Bunny) doesn't beat around the [...]
Cupid ain’t stupid: Valentine’s gifts that’ll getcha some
Rio Grande Let his package shine like the midday sun in swimwear by BoyRio, ($39.99-$54.99) http://www.boyrio.com. Pairing daring prints with flattering fits, this Arizona-based company's concept draws on the exuberance of South American style, inspired [...]
The ‘Art’ of friendship and relationship
By Robert W. Bethune Yasmina Reza wrote a play called "Art," now in performance at Willliamston Theatre, but don't let the title send you astray. She is writing about friendship and relationship, not art, even [...]
A scorching commentary at Breathe Art
By D. A. Blackburn The Breathe Art Theatre Project breathes fire with its latest offering, "Oleanna," delivering a scorching social commentary, and a production sure to spark discussion among intellectuals. Written by David Mamet, "Oleanna" [...]
Irish family dynamics via Chicago and UDM
By Robert W. Bethune Greek philosophers wrote, "Know thyself." Irish playwrights say, "Yeah, right." Since John Millington Synge, Irish playwrights - in Ireland, and in this case Chicago - have had a marvelous knack for [...]
Not perfect justice, but deathly funny
Remind me never to check my aging self into a place like the Riddle Key Retirement Center and Golf Course. Although it's an obvious fact that most people who move into such places eventually "expire" [...]
Wholly romantic and fun at Tipping Point
By D. A. Blackburn With ValentineÕs Day on the horizon, NorthvilleÕs Tipping Point Theatre offers up a production perfect for a romantic and fun-filled date. John CarianiÕs ÒAlmost, Maine,Ó which serves as the fledgling companyÕs [...]
Art & Around for the period Feb. 7-16, 2008
ARCHITECTURE/GARDEN TOURS: Edsel & Eleanor Ford House Special events include: "Enchanted Evening" (Feb. 9; $42 per person, reservations required). General admission: $8. Open Tue.-Sun. Grosse Pointe Shores: 313-884-4222. http://www.fordhouse.org ARTS FESTIVALS The Erotic Poetry & [...]
Theater Events for the period Feb. 7-16, 2008
PROFESSIONAL THEATER/OPERA: All in the Timing A collection of short stories by David Ives. Detroit Ensemble Theatre, Warren. Fri.-Sun., through Feb. 16. $12. 877-636-3320. http://www.detroitensembletheatre.org Almost, Maine The Michigan premiere of the romantic comedy about [...]
Bishop calls for gay Christians to come out of the spiritual closet
By Sarah Mieras NEW HAMPSHIRE - The most visible and powerful voice for LGBT equality in the Christian community will address thousands of activists on Feb. 9 during the National Creating Change Conference in Detroit. [...]
Dancing with Destiny
By Jessica Carreras Cut/Kenn Bing, Timothy Smith and their daughter, Destiny, celebrate Valentine's Day at the Chesterfield Township Daddy Daughter Dance. It's no secret that having or adopting a child can change a couple's life [...]
This weekend, celebrate all Detroit has to offer
Maybe you're celebrating your relationship with an early Valentine's Day weekend trip to the MGM Casino and hotel. Maybe you're checking out the 200 ft. slide, ice skating and entertainment at the downtown Winter Blast. [...]
Police identify transgender murder victim, refuse to release name
DETROIT-- The Detroit Police Department has identified a murdered man found in women's clothing in an empty lot. However, they are refusing to release the name to the public. "We have identified the victim, but [...]