Four Wettings and a Funeral
By Anthony Paull I'm mistaken; I thought dating was over, passe, pedestrian, but I've come to find we've simply altered the rules. Blame it on evolution or survival of the indiscriminate if you will, but [...]
Dear Jody: Addicted to bathhouses … should I tell him?
Q: One year ago, I met the love of my life, "Roger." I've had other relationships, but nothing like this one. Roger and I are absolutely meant for each other, and Roger feels the same [...]
Book Marks: Insignificant Others, The Side Door, Role Models
by Richard Labonte "Insignificant Others," by Stephen McCauley. Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, $25 hardcover. On the surface, Conrad and Richard are everybody's ideal of a comfortable queer couple. Together for eight years, they've settled [...]
Eat Gay Love
Glee is all Ryan Murphy must be feeling these days. Already on fire from his gay-worshipped TV megahit, the 44-year-old director's second feature, "Eat Pray Love," adapted from the wildly popular memoir and out Aug. [...]
Julia Roberts: Somebody to ‘Love’
Julia Roberts could never be a carb-conscious gay man. While filming "Eat Pray Love," she ate starch like she was making a fashion statement. Take after take of pizza-shoveling and pasta-sucking left the lovable A-list [...]
Pride a win in Windsor
A week full of events enveloped the city of Windsor, Ontario in LGBT pride Aug. 3-8, featuring family and trans-specific events, a wine tour and bowling, plus the annual parade and festival at Riverfront Plaza. [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente A different 'View' for Sara Gilbert "As The World Turns" is 54 this year. And it's being cancelled. But when networks close a door they open a window, which means something's [...]
Q Scopes: Play it up, Virgo!
By Jack Fertig From mid-Leo, the Sun is aggravating Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto, which could create brilliant political insights, but that will take extraordinary work and humility. Rampant megalomaniacal egotism is much likelier. Being attuned [...]
Not Gaga About Gold
Across 1 Major and minor, to Bernstein 6 Isle of exile in Brando's "Desiree" 10 Reinaldo Arenas' Peter 15 Lower in rank 16 ___ ex machina 17 One that lies on the bottom 18 Start [...]
‘Phantom’ fitting summer fare
By John Quinn Let's start with the basics. Yes, it's a musical. Yes, it's called "Phantom." No, it's not by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit, fresh from their successful collaboration, "Nine," chose [...]
It’s women’s time to shine at BoxFest – Part 1
Each summer, women directors from throughout Southeast Michigan come together to showcase their talents in an annual festival called BoxFest Detroit. The event has morphed over the years from a one-weekend and six-play affair in [...]
Dexter is alive with ‘Sound of Music
For The Encore Musical Theatre's current production of "The Sound of Music," the question isn't so much "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria" as it is "How do you pack an abbey full [...]
‘Spelling Bee’ funny, but lacks punch
By Bridgette M. Redman "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" hinges on broad stereotypes that are slowly transformed to real people with real concerns. The Tibbits Opera House production features talented actors in an [...]
Laughs come out loud at The Ringwald
By Jenn McKee In Douglas Carter Beane's "The Little Dog Laughed," now being staged by Who Wants Cake? at Ferndale's Ringwald Theatre, a closeted movie actor named Mitchell (Vince Kelley) scoffs at the chest-thumping notion [...]
‘The Marvelous Wonderettes’ live up to their name
By Bridgette M. Redman When tensions are running high between the four friends performing at their 1958 senior prom, Suzy hisses a phrase of encouragement reminding her friend to "Be Marvelous!" It wasn't a reminder [...]
Out of Town: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
by Andrew Collins Reminiscent in historic ambience, manageable size, mountainous elevation and dynamic arts scene to Santa Fe, New Mexico, the small city of San Miguel de Allende was established in the mid-16th century and [...]
Australia blocks gay couples from marrying overseas
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs There will be no change in Australia's policy of attempting to block its gay citizens from getting married in other countries, the government said in late July. Australia will [...]
Marriage: Next stop, Chile
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs A bill to legalize same-sex marriage was introduced in Chile's Congress Aug. 3. Sen. Fulvio Rossi, president of the Socialist Party, said the bill would rewrite the Civil Code [...]
Mexico City gay marriage law upheld
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs Mexico City's 5-month-old gay marriage law was upheld by the nation's Supreme Court on Aug. 5. The vote was 8-2. The justices said marriage is a matter of equal [...]
Reykjavik mayor goes to gay pride in drag
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs Jon Gnarr, mayor of Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, went to gay pride in drag Aug. 5, British media reported. Gnarr kicked off gay pride week wearing a blond wig, red [...]
Sudan flogs cross-dressers
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs Nineteen young men in Sudan were lashed 30 times each Aug. 3 immediately after being convicted of wearing women's clothes and makeup, local media reported. They had been arrested [...]
Tewksbury heads Canadian 2012 Olympics team
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs Openly gay former Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury will lead Canada's team to the 2012 Games in London. The Canadian Olympic Committee selected the three-time medalist as the nation's "chef [...]
High-school girls arrested in Zimbabwe
by Rex Wockner International News Briefs African media outlets reported that some 15 high school-aged girls in Zimbabwe's second-largest city, Bulawayo, were arrested for alleged homosexual activities July 30. The students, reportedly all soccer players, [...]
Openly gay former Ford CFO to head WSU
by BTL staff The Wayne State University Board of Governors has unanimously elected former Ford Motor Company executive Allan Gilmour as the school's interim president. Gilmour spent nearly 35 years with Ford, retiring as vice [...]
A month of firsts
The increasing recognition and acceptance of transpeople has never been more evident in southeast Michigan than in this month, which is full of trans-friendly activities and groundbreaking news of statewide trans advocacy organization Transgender Michigan [...]
EMU defends counseling student’s dismissal
by Lucy Hough Eastern Michigan University is known for being accepting of LGBT students and staff alike. It has a vibrant and prominent gay student population, sweeping non-discrimination policies and an LGBT Resource Center. Recently, [...]
Battle Creek stabbing possible anti-gay hate crime
This article ran in full on MichiganMessenger.com. BATTLE CREEK - While attention in Calhoun county has been focused on the massive oil spill in Marshall, on the same day as the leak, July 25, a [...]
Between Ourselves: Gale Crooks
by Jessica Carreras Gale Crooks, who lives just outside of Columbiaville, Mich., is a founding member and current co-chair of the Lapeer County Equal Rights Alliance, which hosts LGBT educational events and works toward equal [...]
Full Truth welcomes new pastor
DETROIT - Full Truth Fellowship of Christ Church, an LGBT-affirming congregation located in Detroit, is settling in as Rev. Ronchele Andres takes the reigns as the church's newest pastor. Andres joined the Full Truth family [...]
Bernero takes the primaries in landslide vote
by Jessica Carreras LANSING - Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, who was most gay groups' top pick for the Democratic candidate for governor of Michigan, soared to a win in the Aug. 3 primaries, garnering 59 [...]
Lansing activist, physical therapist Norman Pross dies
Norman "Bear" Pross passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones, on Tuesday, July 20 at Hospice of Lansing, Stoneleigh Residence. He was 60. Bear, as he was known to all, was born Aug. 14, [...]
Prop. 8 overturned!
by Rex Wockner Prop. 8 ruling march in San Diego Wednesday night. Photo by David Poller {Editor's Note: Judge Vaughn Walker has lifted his stay and effective Aug. 18, same-sex couples will be allowed [...]
Lady Gaga denounces Arizona immigrants law
by Rex Wockner Lady Gaga forcefully denounced Arizona's anti-immigrant law during a July 31 concert in Phoenix. Gaga said she had been asked to boycott Arizona "and I said, 'You really think that us dumb [...]
Why not Detroit?
Los Angeles. San Francisco. San Diego. Sacramento. Long Beach. New York City. Boston. Denver. Anchorage. Salt Lake City. San Antonio. Dallas. The list goes on - hitting a total of, by some estimates, almost 50 [...]
Creep of the Week: Gary Cass
With Prop. 8 being overturned in California, some folks are a little pissed. And the fact that Vaughn R. Walker, the judge who ruled that it's not cool to deny gay and lesbian folks the [...]
Parting Glances: Kraft nicht bei who?
Within months of Adolf Hitler's appointment as Germany's Chancellor in 1933, Nazi S.S. thugs in Berlin stood menacingly in front of Jewish owned businesses. They held up signs in their grubby, beat-opponents-to-a-pulp hands that read, [...]
S/he said: Being queer, Jerusalem Pride and Judy Shepard
compiled by Howard Israel "As a young woman who had never, ever fit in, I had always felt left-of-center, off-kilter, weird. It took the early part of my 20s to not only come to grips [...]
Transmissions: A child is dead
by Gwendolyn Ann Smith Seventeen-month-old Roy A. Jones is dead. His killer, Pedro Jones, is in custody. The child's mother and her family are distraught, angry and full of deep, heart-wrenching sorrow. Pedro Jones, Roy [...]
Viewpoint: Bullseye
Somebody call Tom Cruise. The Human Rights Campaign is on a Mission: Impossible. Its goal? To convince two of the world's largest corporations, Target and Best Buy, to donate a combined quarter-million dollars to pro-equality [...]
Scene Check: Gigi’s
1. John, Jim and Matt 2. Sidney, Meagan, Lindsey and Nicolay 3. Mariel and Neeko 4. Nikki
Antique Market offers unique finds
ANN ARBOR - If you have ever searched for the perfect accent item, or that piece of furniture that is simply missing from your living room, look no further. The Ann Arbor Antiques Market will [...]