Dear Jody: Sad over sister’s suicide
Q: I'm in such despair that I can hardly function, let alone write this letter, but I feel I must. My youngest sister "Sarah" committed suicide two weeks ago. I was able to get through [...]
Q: I'm in such despair that I can hardly function, let alone write this letter, but I feel I must. My youngest sister "Sarah" committed suicide two weeks ago. I was able to get through [...]
by Ed Sikov "You drink too much." This was Dan's opener at dinner the night after I passed out from too many Old Fashioneds. I reacted with instant hostility, since I'd spent the afternoon making [...]
"As a human being there are moments when we're angry, when we're funny, and when we want change. And folk music embraces all of those impulses. Somebody's got to put something at risk and say [...]
George Michael, 'Faith (Special Edition)' When he wasn't setting his own monkey free, George Michael was singing about it. The single "Monkey" was, and remains, one of the weakest tracks on this classic - but [...]
By Lawrence Ferber On Jan. 24, the third season of Logo's hit "RuPaul's Drag Race" exits the gate at full speed, and it's running on some seriously premium fuel this year: fiercer contestants; more elaborate [...]
By Romeo San Vicente Jodie Foster, Matt Damon join Blomkamp's 'Elysium' The sleeper hit alien invasion allegory "District 9" was South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp's calling card and Hollywood has been eager to return his [...]
By Jack Fertig Mercury lining up with Pluto in Capricorn helps us to focus our minds, although it can feed obsession over details and plans. ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Figure out how to [...]
Across 1 Ellen and Vance, e.g. 5 Cut, as wool 10 On ___ with 14 Cross inscription 15 Utensil for giving Oliver "more" 16 Tubbies' prefix 17 Plod through the mire 18 Phantom of the [...]
By Dan Woog When the World Cup kicks off in Qatar in 2022 there will be no alcohol. There will also be few gay people in the stands, watching the most popular sports event on [...]
By Martin F. Kohn Romulus Linney's stage adaptation of "A Lesson Before Dying" is now playing at the Detroit Repertory Theatre. Photo: Bruce Millan There are many ways of being condemned. One kind comes [...]
By John Quinn Keith Kalinowski and Jonathan Davidson in Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company's "The Agony & The Agony." Photo: Charles Nowak Nicky Silver's dark comedy of ill-manners, "The Agony & The Agony," is a [...]
By John Quinn Ronnie Shaughnessy (Vince Kelley, front) has a special present for the Pope and his family (back row, L to R, Lisa Jesswein, Dave Davies, Melissa Beckwith) in John Guare's "The House of [...]
By Bridgette M. Redman Mother Superior tells us there are seven deadly sins. If there is an eighth one, it might be lambasting a holy sister. If so, then a confessional is in my future. [...]
While it's true that certain politicians, pundits and factions among the citizenry decry and bemoan the current state of television programming - it's terrible, they claim - there's also this: MTV recently announced its highest [...]
INTERNATIONAL NEWS #873 January 17, 2011 by Rex Wockner A poll has found that openly gay Irish Senator David Norris leads the pack seeking to be the nation's next president. The Red C poll conducted [...]
Well-known openly gay Portuguese journalist Carlos Castro, 65, was killed in his New York City hotel room Jan. 7. Reports said he was tortured at length, poked in the eye with a corkscrew and castrated [...]
McDonald's has come under fire in New Zealand for blocking access to gay websites on the free Wi-Fi available at restaurants. The banned sites included GayNZ, PFLAG, and Rainbow Youth. The company responded that it [...]
Marriage commissioners in Canada's Saskatchewan province cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples, the Court of Appeal ruled Jan. 10. The top court ruled in advance on a proposed law that would have let commissioners opt [...]
Several transgender people have been killed in Honduras within the past month, with two of them being set on fire, according to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. The victims include Alexis Alvarado [...]
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council on Jan. 12 banned the old Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" from the airwaves because the lyrics contain the word "faggot." The council said broadcasting the word violates both [...]
The Toronto gay newspaper Xtra says its newspaper boxes are under attack from suspected homophobes. The hapless containers have been stolen, set on fire, glued shut, filled with garbage and defaced with the word "fag." [...]
FERDNALE-Affirmations Community Center has been plagued by financial difficulties since it opened its new $5.3 million building in downtown. The move, along with unexpected expenses and a harsh economy, has put the community center $1.2 [...]
By Tara Cavanaugh What is a "climate"? You can't touch one or carry one. Weather-wise, a climate is defined by a variety of factors, such as rainfall, elevation, temperature and so on. But what about [...]
By Hannah Schwab GRAND RAPIDS-Wealthy Street Theater Director Erin Wilson is extremely proud to offer to QUEERIES Night, a once-a-month film night that features LGBT and ally-friendly films. The theater has hosted many nonprofit events, [...]
"I like book clubs because you get to share what you're reading with your friends. You get to learn from their different perspective."-Jackie Walker Ferndale -The city is full of book clubs, and the LGBT [...]
FERNDALE-The 10th annual Bud Light Ferndale Blues Festival, which donates proceeds to the Michigan AIDS Coalition and Ferndale Youth Assistance, runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 5. Donations and sponsorships help the festival raise $20,000 [...]
LANSING- A proposed piece of legislation introduced by Grandville Republican Dave Agema is raising alarms in the public health community. Agema has proposed eliminating the Michigan Health Fund Initiative, which is a special Michigan Department [...]
by Rex Wockner Obama has said he supports civil unions for gays but thinks marriage is for straight couples. The Human Rights Campaign called on President Barack Obama Jan. 13 to abandon his opposition to [...]
By Lisa Keen Daniel Hernandez Jr., the openly gay intern who ran to the rescue of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords during last Saturday's shooting in Tucson, was seated next to President Obama Wednesday during a [...]
Daniel Hernandez, the intern who is credited with saving Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' life, received two waves of attention in the aftermath of the tragic shootings: The first for his fast thinking and aid to [...]
For many years people have been trying to figure out what makes a person gay. Scientists, psychologists, and theologists alike have been stumped. Of course, all they have to do is ask Schenectady City Council [...]
Yes, it absolutely should! Parents should be the front line, but that isn't happening, nor is it going to change overnight. I have kids in kindergarten to high school but our school district does not [...]
Alfred Kinsey - the sexologist who 62 years ago turned American morals head over heels (position sound familiar?) - said that "sex is an ocean." We've been swimming, backstroking - naked to be sure - [...]
"In a messy world where rights often collide, we can't avoid arguing about where legitimate dissent ends and intolerable discrimination begins. What we can do is avoid a trap the other side has set for [...]
By Eric Rader As the nation reels from the horrible tragedy in Arizona, it's important to consider what lessons we can draw from this awful episode. Over the past few years, the political debate in [...]
By John Corvino This is my first column after a month's hiatus. My biggest news during my break was the birth of my niece, Tess, followed a few weeks later by the birth of my [...]
WASHINGTON--The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Jan. 20 proposed housing-related regulatory changes explicitly protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Data from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center [...]
By Tara Cavanaugh The Human Rights Campaign released its yearly list of best places to work based on treatment of LGBT employees Jan 21. Michigan businesses that made the list include Chrysler, LLC in Auburn [...]
Craig Covey, left, and Dave Coulter switch jobs. BTL photo: Crystal A. Proxmire. FERNDALE-Leadership in Ferndale has taken an interesting twist. Craig Covey (former mayor, now Oakland county commissioner) switched spots with Dave Coulter [...]
by Rex Wockner The night before President Barack Obama gives the State of the Union address, the lights of the U.S. Capitol are seen in an ice-covered reflecting pool on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday, [...]
By Tara Cavanaugh In a 3-1 vote, the Michigan Civil Service Commission decided Jan. 26 to offer health care benefits to the domestic partners of state employees. The language offers one "other eligible adult" -- [...]