Dear Jody: Family drama at Xmas
Q: Last Christmas was a nightmare like you wouldn't believe. It could have been a movie script from a crazy movie called "Christmas in the House of Horrors." I don't want to ever be a [...]
Cocktail Chatter: Kahlua, Cream and Fiasco
by Ed Sikov My cold lasted another week, so forget about literary reticence. Let the gross descriptions fly: Snot spewed out of my nose like raw scrambled eggs, only darker, more translucent, and graced by [...]
‘Black Swan’: One of the year’s best – and craziest – movies
Natalie Portman stars as a tortured ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." Photo: Niko Tavernise Some of the best artists are crazy: Van Gogh snipped off his ear, and Virginia Woolf's deeply set depression [...]
Spreading the holiday queer
Nervous But Excited will perform "silly" takes on holiday classics for "Happy HoliGAYs" show in Ann Arbor. The most wonderful time of the year - if you believe that song - is about to [...]
Homo for the Holidays
Annie Lennox performs during Dec. 17's "Christmas in Washington" on TNT. Dec. 16 Gift of the Magi (Hallmark; 8 p.m.) Yes, Virginia (CBS; 8 p.m.) CGI animation steals the spotlight in this re-telling of [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente Gus Van Sant to 'Boss' around Kelsey Grammer Gus Van Sant's career can be divided into high-profile successes like "Milk" and "Good Will Hunting" on one side and arthouse hits like [...]
Q Scopes: Keep perspective, Sagittarius!
By Jack Fertig Mercury backing into Pluto, Mars and the North Node, all in Capricorn, may unleash a torrent of backlogged work, ancient regrets, old failures and feeling old. Face up to the hard work [...]
Comeback for Coming Out
Across 1 Supporters in the bedroom 6 Bump off 10 Like someone blown away 15 Scroll at Beth Chayim Chadashim 16 Giggling Muppet 17 Capone rival 18 Capital of Ghana 19 Groups of games, to [...]
Reindeer Games like you’ve never seen
By John Quinn "The Eight: The Reindeer Monologues" continues its run through Dec. 18. Photo: The Box Theatre Awakening the Morning After befuddled and bemused is not a new experience for me, but is [...]
A few minutes with Nicolas Dromard of ‘Mary Poppins’
Nicolas Dromard stars as Bert in "Mary Poppins" at the Detroit Opera House through Jan. 2, 2011. Photo: Courtesy of Broadway in Detroit On Dec. 16, one of the world's most famous nannies swoops [...]
Judges hint at Prop 8 case twists and turns
The effort to undo California's Proposition 8 inched forward Dec. 6 when a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals entertained nearly three hours of oral arguments from the attorneys in the [...]
Lesbian couple honored at State Department
A U.S. lesbian diplomat and her partner who helped found Albania's gay movement while stationed there were honored at the State Department on Dec. 2 with the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Overseas. [...]
Same-sex couples marry on SAS flight
A German gay couple and a lesbian Polish couple were married on an SAS flight over Sweden on Dec. 6. Germans Aleksander Mijatovic and Shantu Bhattacharjee, and Poles Ewa Tomaszewicz and Gosia Rawinska were married [...]
Straight couple denied civil partnership in London
A heterosexual couple was refused a civil partnership at London's Camden Register Office on Dec. 8. The registrar cited the legal ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships as the reason for the refusal. Stephanie Munro and [...]
U.S. Senate again blocks DADT repeal
The U.S. Senate voted again Dec. 9 against taking action to authorize repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on open gays in the military. The vote was 57-40. Sixty votes were needed to [...]
Between Ourselves
By Tara Cavanaugh Jessica Best is a senior at the University of Michigan. She's a straight ally to the LGBT community and an intern at U of M's Spectrum Center. Here, Jessica chats with us [...]
World-class bowler gives back
By Alexa Stanard Aleta Sill, right, and her partner Michelle Mullen. Here are a couple of fun facts about Detroit: It's the Mecca of the bowling world, and home to the all-time best female [...]
David Coulter to lead AIDS advocacy group
David Coulter, who lost his re-election bid for Oakland County Commissioner in November, will be the new policy director of the group Michigan Community AIDS Advocates. MI-CAA is a group formed by the Michigan AIDS [...]
State considers health benefits for unmarried partners
The Michigan Civil Service Commission is considering a proposal to extend health insurance benefits to unmarried, live-in partners of all state employees, regardless of sexual orientation or relationship. Under the proposed policy, negotiated by the [...]
Warren murder causes concerns about dating site safety
A Thanksgiving Day murder has prompted Equality Michigan to issue safety guidelines for those who use the Internet to make friends or find dates. Robert Miller, 57, of Warren was found dead in his home [...]
BTL welcomes news editor
At any job interview, there's that moment when the applicant is asked if he or she has any questions. It's an important moment: Employers often gauge how prepared and interested a candidate is in the [...]
Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project renamed the Jim Toy Community Center
ANN ARBOR- The Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project changed its name to the Jim Toy Community Center, in honor of renowned activist Jim Toy on Dec. 8. Toy co-founded the first sexual orientation program office at [...]
One on one with Sassafras Lowrey
Sassafras Lowrey is an international author, educator and artist. She edited the Kicked Out anthology, which tells the stories of homeless LGBT youth. She spoke at the kickoff of the ACLU of Michigan and Ruth [...]
ACLU and Ruth Ellis Center announce youth leadership program
Jay Kaplan, head of the ACLU of Michigan's LGBT Project, and Ruth Ellis Center Executive Director Laura Hughes announce the kickoff of Out and Upfront, a collaborative youth leadership program. BTL photo: Jason A. Michael [...]
First guide on sexual health care rights for youth in state custody released
New York, NY- The Center for HIV Law and Policy released the first legal report and guide on the rights of youth in detention and foster care facilities to comprehensive sexual health care, including sexual [...]
Lansing should make sure new police chief is LGBT friendly
The City of Lansing is looking for a new chief of police. Former Chief Mark Alley left the post in February to join Emergent BioSolutions. Alley, who lead the department for a decade, leaves a [...]
Creep of the Week: William Donohue
If there's one thing that makes America uncomfortable, it's art. Because art is gay in a very literal, serious, and horrible way. And it must be stopped. Especially if Jesus is involved. Which is why, [...]
Parting Glances We’re not in Bethlehem, Toto!
There are paths that by chance occasionally mix up in time, space, thought and crazy activation. Some factual. Some fantasy. If stars are auspicious -- and on this particular Night of Nights astronomers say alpha [...]
Trans-Portation Security
Gwendolyn Ann Smith 'Tis the season: The time of ornaments on pine trees - not to mention bell ringers, packed shopping malls, and the same 15 songs you've heard every December since you were a [...]