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Dear Jody: Holiday parties not what I planned for
Q: It's getting close to holiday time again, and I can feel myself starting to get depressed. I just know that this happens every year and, usually, I just wait it out. Once the holidays [...]
Cocktail Chatter
by Ed Sikov "Let's go to Italy," Dan suggested out of the blue. "Yay!" I cried and jumped onto his lap. He was reading "The Economist," which got badly crushed, and he spilled his seltzer, [...]
Book Marks: By Nightfall, Missed Her, The Right to Be Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in America
by Richard Labonte "By Nightfall," by Michael Cunningham. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 256 pages, $25 hardcover. The allure of astounding beauty and how the mind can betray the body are the core of Cunningham's elegant [...]
Simply Cher
They don't make 'em like Cher anymore. The superdiva, and queen of all gay icons, has been able to successfully pull off singing and acting throughout her nearly 50-year career - and she does both [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente Does Tom Cruise wanna 'Rock'? When you think of Tom Cruise and the 1980s, what's the first thing that comes to mind? "Cocktail" is the right answer, obviously, and it's clearly [...]
Q Scopes: Don’t change now, Capricorn!
By Jack Fertig Venus turning direct in Libra offers new chances to fix love affairs, creative projects and political efforts that have been recently going nowhere. Embrace new ideas and inspirations, even if they may [...]
Beyond Brady
Across 1 Well endowed 5 Cole Porter's Indiana hometown 9 Tie it to become wife and wife 13 Seesaw sitter of verse 14 Sparkle 15 Wilde land 16 Harvey Milk portrayer Sean 17 Send tumbling [...]
The Gem serves up a sweet holiday treat
The Gem Theatre presents "Plaid Tidings" through Dec. 31. Photo: Courtesy of The Gem Theatre To be totally honest, the last place I wanted to be on a recent Thursday night was sitting in [...]
‘Cabaret’: Whistling past the graveyard
By John Quinn Maxwell Bolton as the Master of Ceremonies in the UDM Theatre Company's production of "Cabaret." Photo: Greg Grobis "There was a cabaret, and there was a master of ceremonies ... and [...]
Play and playwright make a delightful debut
By Martin F. Kohn Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company's "The Current" can be seen at 1515 Broadway in Detroit through Dec. 4. Photo: Charles Nowak In the first act of his first produced play, a [...]
‘Rock of Ages’ rocks many audience members, but not me
By Jenn McKee The Tony Award-nominated jukebox musical "Rock of Ages" has come to Detroit, but it's likely to primarily rock those of a certain age - namely, Generation X, many of whom grew up [...]
‘The art of the possible’ at The Box
When you think about the Tony Award-winning musical "Evita," what comes to mind? Most people, I imagine, envision a large, splashy production with about four dozen actors parading about a huge stage with expensive sets [...]
MOT makes a meal out of Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’
By Michael H. Margolin "La Boheme" is the comfort food of opera - you know what to expect, it goes down easily and it is very satisfying. In the production that Michigan Opera Theatre opened [...]
SNAP TO IT
Ramona Singer infamously called Kodak antiquated, much to the chagrin of Jill Zarin, who was hosting an event on the company's behalf during a season three episode of The Real Housewives of New York. Points [...]
RINSE & REPEAT
Shower time is sacred. And simplehuman aims to make it even better with its twin wall mounts with basket. Wide openings on the shampoo and conditioner dispensers prevent messy spills (is there a such thing [...]
DRINK TANK
If you're still buying bottle water on a daily basis, you're behind the times. Not only is it expensive, but it's also bad for the environment. In fact, you probably own a small part of [...]
OFF THE CUFF
Picture it: You're at your fave guppie's Chrismukkah party (because he's still "in lurve" with Seth Cohen) when tragedy strikes; the batteries in the electric bottle opener have died and your sanity is in danger. [...]
PRODIGAL SUN
Go green while gettin' down with Solar Sound 2, the new and improved sun-powered portable speakers from pioneering company Devotec. Building upon the success of the original Solar Sound, this upgrade promises a superior listening [...]
THE BIGGER PICTURE
There are digital photo frames, and then there's the CEIVA digital photo frame. What's the difference? For starters, CEIVA frames come preloaded with your favorite pics, so when the recipient opens the box your pearly [...]
GARDEN VARIETY
Paging Peg Bundy! Al's trophy wife loved her some bonbons - but probably not this kind. Moulton's Bon Bons are truffle-shaped mounds of clay and organic compost combined with seeds. The Garden pack features two [...]
THE POTTY EXPRESS
Small children do exactly three things - eat, sleep and wail. That is, when they're not relieving themselves wherever they want like incontinent animals. Since you can't outfit the kid with an electronic collar that'll [...]
COME WHAT CLAY
Crate & Barrel and Bed Bath & Beyond deserve mad props - mostly because they've got the wedding-gift market on lock. Think about it. Even when you don't know where a dear friend (or a [...]
BIKES FOR DYKES
Sexy ladies have long had a love affair with motorcycles. Seems unlikely, but examine the evidence; nobody's forcing those busty blonds and brunettes to bend over the handlebars in every bike rag sitting on newsstands. [...]
SHAVE THE WAY
This ain't your daddy's razor. The Philips Norelco SensoTouch 3D uses GyroFlex 3D technology to enable three-dimensional contouring that pivots around, tilts inward and flexes outward to adjust seamlessly to every curve of the face [...]
GO THE EXTRA SMILE
Unless your dentist looks like John Stamos, you'd rather stay away. Which presents a problem if you covet bright white chompers. Sure, there are over-the-counter bleaching methods - and they're relatively inexpensive - but they're [...]
NEURAL TUBE
While movie tickets continue to climb, the ultimate in home-viewing entertainment gets more accessible. The Toshiba WX800 Cinema Series 3D LED HDTV delivers an impressive three-dimensional experience within a premium, ultra-thin package. Beyond its luxe [...]
The Ultimate Guide to Gay Gift Giving: Stocking Stuffers
BUZZED ABOUT Handcrafted. All natural. Sulfate-free. These are the words that describe Beecology, a line of skin and hair care products from the family-owned and -operated, Ohio-based company. Stock up on earthy soaps, shampoos and [...]
Colombian high court refuses to rule on same-sex marriage
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Colombia's Constitutional Court refused to rule in a same-sex marriage case Nov. 11, saying the plaintiffs' legal arguments were not good enough to warrant a hearing from the court. The [...]
LGBT issues included in EU accession reports
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS LGBT issues figure prominently in the European Commission's Nov. 9 progress reports on the hoped-for addition to the European Union of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, [...]
Lesbian couple denied marriage license in London
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS A lesbian couple who tried to get a marriage license were turned away at the Greenwich registry office in southeast London on Nov. 2. Sharon Ferguson and Franka Strietzel were [...]
Muslims protest for sexual rights in 12 nations
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Members of the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies staged simultaneous actions in 12 nations Nov. 9 under the theme "One Day One Struggle." Hundreds of members [...]
Tasmania to see same-sex marriage bill
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The Tasmanian Greens party said Nov. 7 that it will introduce a bill in the Australian state's Parliament to legalize same-sex marriage. "If we are fair dinkum about removing discrimination [...]
U.S. defends its human rights record to U.N.
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS More than 30 U.S. officials, including senior officials from 11 federal departments and agencies, defended the country's human rights record before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva Nov. [...]
New non-profit to serve Thanksgiving dinner to homeless LGBT youth
DETROIT - Mike Matthews, Jr. is a man on a mission. At 24, he's now the CEO and founder of his own non-profit organization, the Red Tie for Youth Foundation. The agency received its 501c3 [...]
‘How could it get that bad?’
FERNDALE - Announcements of cut hours and services at Affirmations have sent shock waves through the community, leaving many to wonder what has been happening at the Center. "Personally I am very concerned the cutbacks [...]
Oakland U moves forward on DP benefits
ROCHESTER - Oakland University has come one step closer to restoring domestic partnership benefits to LGBT employees, though that won't be what they're called and there's no set date for their restoration. However, with the [...]
Gay flag burned at Albion College
BTL Staff Report BATTLE CREEK - Students and alumni reacted sharply to reports that three students will not be punished for allegedly burning a gay flag Oct. 18 on the campus of Albion College. The [...]
Video goes viral of gay teen at Howell School Board
BTL Staff Report HOWELL - It's rare that video from a school board meeting becomes a viral hit but that is just what happened to a video of Graham Taylor, 14, who delivered a passionate [...]
DVD partners embrace in faith
DETROIT - Two ten minute, thought-provoking DVD videos, "Embracing Inclusion in Communities of Faith" and "Come As You Are," premiered in Detroit last week, co-sponsored by the Arcus Foundation and the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity [...]
Michigan GOP landslide could doom equality legislation
LANSING - With both chambers of the state legislature and all the top offices in state government about to be filled with a Republican majority, leaders of the state's major LGBT organizations said that pro-equality [...]
Arcus Foundation names new CEO
by BTL staff NEW YORK - Following an extensive search, the Arcus Foundation named Dr. Yvette C. Burton as its new chief executive officer, effective Jan. 4, 2011. She replaces Urvashi Vaid, who left in [...]
East Lansing High target of Westboro hate
EAST LANSING - As BTL goes to press the community in East Lansing and around the region, have been meeting and discussing the best way to respond to the announcement by Westboro Baptist Church of [...]
Between Ourselves: Chene Koppitz
Chene Koppitz is a doctoral student in Womens' Studies and Communication at the University of Michigan Dearborn. She is active in both the women's organizations and the GSA on campus. As a former staffer at [...]
Supremes refuse to block DADT
By Rex Wockner The Supremes are keeping Don't Ask, Don't Tell in force. The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 12 refused to vacate an order from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that suspended [...]
Gays sue feds over marriage again
by Rex Wockner The New England legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders filed a multiplaintiff lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on Nov. 9. In Pedersen v. Office [...]
It’s our job to help our Center
Affirmations is going through a really tough time. Because of severe budget cuts, the Center has been forced to drastically cut its hours and to lay off a number of staffers. People who rely on [...]
Creep of the Week: Cindy McCain
For about a day Cindy McCain was literally a poster woman against anti-gay bullying. She appears, along with a bunch of celebrities including Gene Simmons, Dr. Drew, Slash, - and a lot of young and [...]
Parting Glances: Is your restroom SAVED?
This just in from Wacco TX. Headline: Undercover cops make Sunday surprise restroom arrests. Source: Lone Star Police Gazette & Badge Polisher. Mark your activist desk calendar... ...While thousands were inside the Hallelujah Handclap of [...]
She/He Said: Shirvell, Suicide contagion, Dems are heartbreak
compiled by Howard Israel "Shirvell used religion and the constitution to defend his bullying. Is there any doubt that some nutty fundamentalist organizations will use this incident to falsely claim that the goal of the [...]