Creep of the Week: Don Wildmon
The end is near. It's what right-wing religious Christians have been going on about for years. It's the plot of the inexplicably popular Left Behind series. Make sure you're wearing clean underpants and have washed [...]
Parting Glances: HTJA (as in Julie)!
I've just returned from Sedona, Arizona, the New Age mecca, where - either by karmic misstep on a loose rock or a senior-moment's carelessness on a hard place - I got caught up in one [...]
John McCain should talk to the real expert on my family – me
By Alan O'Brien-Myers Viewpoint As someone who was adopted by two lesbian moms, I was certainly disappointed to find out that John McCain, a candidate for President of the United States, doesn't "believe in gay [...]
Newsweek does a disservice to murder victim
Viewpoint Larry King was a flamboyant 15-year-old murdered in February in what some have labeled a gay-bias crime. Newsweek's coverage of the murder shows exactly why anti-bias laws have to be expanded in Michigan - [...]
Local professor’s ‘The Day Everything Went Wrong’ to premier at Ann Arbor theater
Performance Network Theatre will present the world premier of "The Day Everything Went Wrong," written, directed by and starring Malcolm Tulip from Aug. 7-Sept. 7. Using a craft learned at the famed French school of [...]
Book Marks
By Richard Labonte "Band Fags!," by Frank Anthony Polito. Kensington Books, 448 pages, $15 paper. A decade ago, who'd have thunk there would be a glut of high-school coming-out novels. Bret Hartinger, Robin Reardon, Brian [...]
Thank you for being a friend
It almost seems too predictable to say I came out to my mom while "The Golden Girls" played on her bedroom television. But I sure did. And how fitting it was, considering the long-running show [...]
Rewriting the rules of humor
By Cornelius A. Fortune When author Kage Alan first heard the suggestion that his second book be called "Lord of the Loins," he hated the idea - and not just because he thought it slightly [...]
‘An Extension of Myself’
By Dan Smith Eugene Harris, or "Geno" as he's more commonly known, began making his art out of necessity. His apartment needed to be adorned, and he got the idea to start in decoupage while [...]
Melissa Rocks!
7. SHE'S GOT A MUTE MAN And wouldn't we all dig one of those? Except hers - the Oscar for Best Song ("I Need to Wake Up" from Al Gore's docu-pic "An Inconvenient Truth") - [...]
New eateries open in Northville
Red Pepper Deli offers healthy choices For those who are looking to jump start their healthy eating habits by making better choices while eating out, downtown Northville's August-opening restaurant, Red Pepper Deli, is serving up [...]
“Clear out the old, Gemini!”
By Jack Fertig Q Scopes Mars in Virgo brings out a critical fury excellent for cleaning up messes and re-organizing, if you can resist the tendency to dither. Fault-finding comes easily now, so remember that [...]
35,000 at EuroGames
by Rex Wockner International News Some 5,000 athletes and 30,000 spectators attended the EuroGames, the European Gay & Lesbian Championships, July 24-27 in Barcelona. The games were expected to inject $47 million into the local [...]
Finnish pastor breaks rules, blesses lesbian couple
by Rex Wockner International News In violation of church rules, a pastor of Finland's state-supported Evangelical Lutheran Church has blessed the partnership of a lesbian couple, the Finnish Broadcasting Company reported July 23. The bishop [...]
Court: Germans who change their sex can remain married
by Rex Wockner International News Germany's Federal Constitutional Court struck down a law July 24 that required married postoperative transsexuals to get divorced before their new gender could be legally recognized. The court said the [...]
Iran nabs HIV doctors
by Rex Wockner International News Iranian authorities should immediately release or charge two physicians who are internationally recognized for their work on HIV and AIDS, Human Rights Watch said July 21. Arash and Kamyar Alaei, [...]
Lesbos residents lose ‘lesbian’ lawsuit
by Rex Wockner International News Three residents of the Greek island of Lesbos who filed suit to reclaim the word "lesbian" and stop the group Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE) from using it [...]
Moscow gays to try Pride a 4th time, with a twist
by Rex Wockner International News After being banned for three years running, Moscow activists will try a fourth time to stage a gay pride parade next May 16. But with a twist: They will do [...]
Northern Ireland pol in trouble with gays
by Rex Wockner International News British MP Iris Robinson, who is married to Peter Robinson, leader of the regional government in Northern Ireland, has come under fire for saying homosexuality is worse than child molestation. [...]
Religious cop sues employer over pink ribbon
by Rex Wockner International News A policeman in the English county of Norfolk who resisted an official recommendation that he wear a pink ribbon on his uniform for Gay History Month has taken the Norfolk [...]
Californians still oppose marriage discrimination
by Rex Wockner National Briefs A second Field Poll has found that Californians do not plan to amend the state constitution Nov. 4 to re-ban same-sex marriage. Poll results released July 18 showed that 51 [...]
GLAAD unhappy about Dobson’s Hall of Fame recognition
by Rex Wockner National Briefs The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation expressed displeasure July 18 over the induction of the Focus on the Family ministry into the National Radio Hall of Fame. "For 20 [...]
Americans support open gays in the military
by Rex Wockner National Briefs A Washington Post-ABC News poll released July 21 found that 75 percent of Americans oppose the military's ban on openly gay service members, the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy [...]
H&R Block to reimburse gay couples who couldn’t file
by Rex Wockner National Briefs H&R Block will give a $100 coupon or free TaxCut software to married and civil-union gay couples who were blocked from using TaxCut Online to prepare their 2007 income taxes. [...]
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ slammed in House hearing
by Bob Roehr WASHINGTON, DC - The first congressional hearing on repeal of the antigay military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) was a heavy dose of inspirational patriotism from witnesses and representatives, [...]
Detroit Candlelight Vigil to be held Wednesday in Response to Anti-Gay Church Shooting
DETROIT - A candlelight vigil will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit in solidarity with a community near Knoxville, Tenn. that was violently attacked in [...]
Open ears and open mind
HUNTINGTON WOODS - "Involved and Innovative." That's what it says under Democrat Ellen Cogen Lipton's name on the yard signs that dot lawns in Michigan's 27th District prior to the Aug. 5 primary election. For [...]
HTJ film festival a ‘SPICE-y’ night
DETROIT - A crowd of 75 people came out to enjoy the Hotter Than July Film Festival last Thursday night. The event, which took place in the intimate amphitheatre of the Legal Aid and Defender's [...]
Michigan activist gets hot seat treatment
FERNDALE - Sean Kosofsky, Triangle Foundation's out-going director of policy, sat smiling by the metaphorical open fire during a July 28 roast held in his honor. Over 100 people attended the send-off for Kosofsky, who [...]
Anti-bias crime bills introduced in state House and Senate
LANSING - A broad coalition of civil rights organizations stood with State Senator Hansen Clark and State Representative Paul Condino to announce the introduction of legislation which will strengthen Michigan's anti-bias crimes laws. Also in [...]
Latest HIV vaccine trial canceled
by Bob Roehr The path of HIV vaccine research got rockier on July 17 when the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced that is will not move forward with PAVE 100, the [...]
Michigan Equality Political Action Committee and Triangle Pride Political Action Committee endorsements
1st: Timothy Bledsoe (D), Grosse Point (MEPAC and PridePAC both) 2nd: LaMar Lemmons, Jr. (D), Detroit (MEPAC and PridePAC both) 3rd: Bettie Cook Scott (D), Detroit (MEPAC and PridePAC both) 4th: Coleman Young (D), Detroit [...]
A beautiful day for black gay pride
by Jessica Carreras Ruth Ellis Center Executive Director Grace McClelland smoked a cigarette and stared out at the road running the length of Detroit's Palmer Park. "I wonder what he'll be driving," she said. Michigan [...]
PFLAG Tri-Cities co-founder died
J. Richard (Rich) Kormelink, co-founder of the Midland, Bay City and Saginaw chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG Tri-Cities) and retired biology Delta College professor, died on June 2 in [...]
‘Sleepless on the campaign trail’
by Jessica Carreras Sandi Smith hasn't slept much lately. Instead, the Ann Arbor resident and co-owner of Trillium Real Estate with her partner Linda Lombardini has been what she calls "sleepless on the campaign trail." [...]
Thanking God for pride
by Jessica Carreras It was an unforgettable night. Gospel music filled the air, candles glowed and everyone remembered why they still have pride. Thursday evening's vigil, held on July 24, drew well over 100 people [...]
August primaries a much-overlooked opportunity to enact change
The primaries are coming up on Aug, 5, and no one seems to care. But they should. Everyone knows what Nov. 4 is this year, and has probably already picked their candidate for at least [...]
‘Palmer Park’ revisits separate but equal
By D. A. Blackburn From the Sweet trials of the 1920s to white flight and Malice Green, the city of Detroit has frequently found itself at the forefront in discussions of race relations in America. [...]
Garden-variety Shakespeare in the park
By Robert Bethune It is difficult to kill Shakespeare, and even more difficult to kill "Romeo and Juliet," now in production by the Water Works Theatre Company out-of-doors at Jaycee Park in Royal Oak. However, [...]
Actor’s penis gets sequel in straight-to-DVD flick
Billy Masters "Actors are basically drag queens. People will tell you they act because they want to heal mankind or, you know, explore the nature of the human psyche. Yes, maybe. But basically we just [...]