Dear Jody: Valentine's Day: Epic fail
Q: My boyfriend "Roy" complains about me every Valentine's Day, and this last Valentine's Day was not an exception. He says that I'm not romantic at all. In the past, I've just agreed with him, [...]
Queeries: ‘Desperately Seeking Sex Online’
By Steven Petrow March 2011 Desperately Seeking Sex Online Q: I need a bit of advice on my sex life. I'm 24 and my main goal at the moment is to have fun and sleep [...]
Book Marks: Annabel, It’s All Relative
by Richard Labonte "Annabel," by Kathleen Winter. Black Cat/Grove Atlantic, 472 pages, $14.95 paper. A baby is born in 1968, in far-from-everywhere northern Labrador, Canada. He is a hermaphrodite - a word unfamiliar to the [...]
Ally women’s art on display at Affirmations
Affirmations in downtown Ferndale will open its latest Pittman/Puckett Art Gallery exhibit, "Four Womyn Only," on Feb. 25. The exhibit features the unique paintings and photography of four straight female artists: Deborah Marlowe Kashdan, Lynn [...]
Touched by an Ailey
By Andrea Poteet When the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre comes to the Detroit Opera House in March, some special guests will be in attendance. Students from Detroit International Academy will attend one of the [...]
The ‘New’ Menjo’s
By Hannah Schwab If you haven't been to Menjo's in the past three years, then you might not recognize it. A staple of Detroit's gay community has a new look and a new name, but [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente 'Coriolanus' wants an Oscar in 2012 One of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, "Coriolanus," based on the life of the Roman leader, just got the big screen treatment thanks to director Ralph Fiennes [...]
Q Scopes: Relax, Scorpio!
By Jack Fertig Socially we are facing a huge uprising over the next few years in the clash between structures of authority (Pluto in Capricorn) and individual freedom and integrity (Jupiter and Uranus in Aries). [...]
Now Don’t Get All Het Up
Across 1 Julianne of "The Hours" 6 Sondheim's Sweeney 10 Deer, or without a dear 14 Some Autobahn autos 15 R.E.M.'s "The ___ Love" 16 Q to a Scrabble player 17 Big Board listing 18 [...]
Ringwald’s ‘Tragedy’ lampoons hit movie
By Bridgette M. Redman Glenn Close (Joe Bailey, back center) looks over Michael Douglas (Jon Ager, front center) and his family, wife Anne Archer (Melissa Beckwith, front left) and daughter Ellen Hamilton Latzen (Tim Kay, [...]
Murder mystery lacks strong choices
By Bridgette M. Redman "The Broadway Onstage Murders" continues through March 19 in Eastpointe. Photo: Broadway Onstage "The Broadway Onstage Murders" takes a page from the Mistress of Murder, Agatha Christie, with a play [...]
Boy bands get spoofed at Go Comedy!
"Menllennium" stars Michael Caldwell, Tommy Simon, Clint Lohman and Andrew Seiler. Photo: Heather Sejnowski Back in the early 1990s, four jocks singing in the shower after a football game were thrust into the limelight [...]
Po’ Girl promotes new album in Ann Arbor
Po' Girl is a modern-day troupe of musical nomads, following their bliss without compromise. Formed from far-flung musical elements, and honed in the crucible of constant touring over the past few years, Allison Russell, Awna [...]
Honk if you love your gay pet
By Tara Cavanaugh Parents of honor roll students shouldn't get all the bumper sticker bragging rights. Javier Monllor is the proud owner of a gay cat, and he created the bumper sticker to prove it. [...]
Keeping people and pets together
The tough economic times mean that people may have to go without the extra niceties in life: Cars get repaired instead of replaced, dinners are eaten in instead of out, pets are even dropped off [...]
My Queer Critter
They say gays are everywhere. In our schools. In our churches. In our very own backyards. And when they're back there, they're usually taking a whiz on a dead bush or flirting with the next-door [...]
Working like a dog
By Tara Cavanaugh Trout the customer service representative will be happy to take care of all your needs at Orion Automotive in Ann Arbor - as long as those needs are playing, petting and getting [...]
Waggs and Wishes seeks donations
FERNDALE - Angie Potter and other dedicated volunteers stepped up last year to fill in the gap left by the city's loss of an animal control officer due to budget cuts. Her organization, Waggs and [...]
200 arrested at ‘gay’ party in Bahrain
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS At least 200 people were arrested Feb. 3 at the Hidd Sports Club in Al Muharraq, Bahrain, for engaging in what local media called "immoral behavior" at a "gay party," [...]
Belarusian gays allowed to stage public protest
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Gays in Belarus staged the nation's first-ever authorized public gay event Feb. 14 in Minsk, reported GayRussia.ru. The LGBT group IDAHO Belarus held a rally against homophobia in a park [...]
Court overturns Budapest pride ban
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Hungary's Budapest Metropolitan Court on Feb. 18 overturned city officials' refusal to grant permission for this year's gay pride parade. The city's ban came after organizers sought to extend the [...]
New Zealand prime minister attends gay event
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS New Zealand Prime Minister John Key attended the Big Gay Out festival in Auckland's Coyle Park for two hours Feb. 13. During an on-site radio interview, Key was asked if [...]
Spanish cities honor gay communities
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Three Spanish cities are recognizing LGBT people via public works. In March, the Barcelona city government will place a large marble pink triangle in Ciudadela Park, where the Catalonian Parliament [...]
Tijuana LGBTI group recognized by city, plans congress
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The group Tijuana LGBTI Cultural Community, or COCUT, was formally inaugurated this month at a ceremony at the offices of the Tijuana Tourism and Conventions Committee. Committee head Alan Bautista [...]
UN shuns ILGA again
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The Non-Governmental Organizations Committee of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Feb. 4 again rejected a request for consultative status from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans [...]
‘Bullying is NOT OK!’
By Tara Cavanaugh The petite Debbie Dingell, wife of U.S. Rep John Dingell, may have been one of the smaller-sized speakers at the LGBT Democratic Caucus last weekend - but she certainly was one of [...]
Perspectives vary on Pride move to Detroit
Within a week of the announcement that Motor City Pride is moving from Downtown Ferndale to Hart Plaza in Detroit, Ferndale citizens are engaging in constructive dialogue about the move. Some hope for alternative events [...]
‘Fools Welcome’ welcomes all to second annual BTL party
DETROIT - Music, dancing, costumes and masks, Cajun cuisine, circus acts, fortune tellers and general revelry returns to Detroit's Roostertail April 1 beginning at 7 p.m. as Between The Lines newspaper presents its second annual [...]
Affirmations progresses on ED search
FERNDALE - As Affirmations continues its fund drive, Campaign for the Future, it's taken a moment to look back into the past. Interim CEO Kevin Howley and members of the board contacted more than 300 [...]
Between Ourselves: Bob Higgins
by Tara Cavanaugh Bob Higgins is a "safe schools consultant" for the Michigan Department of Education. He surveys the safety level of K-12 schools, uses federal grant money to create safe school programs and trainings [...]
Hope College’s new human sexuality policy still discriminatory
By Hannah Schwab HOLLAND - Hope College recently amended its policy on human sexuality http://www.hope.edu/pr/pressreleases/content/view/full/29706 after an influential group of alumni petitioned the board of trustees to throw out its previous policy that discriminated against [...]
KICK receives $180,000 grant
DETROIT- KICK, The Agency for LGBT African Americans, is celebrating a $180,000 grant from the Arcus Foundation. KICK is using the money to hire staff, expand programming and move to a new space in Detroit's [...]
FY 2012 budget and LGBT community: ‘Could have been worse’…and might be still
By Lisa Keen There was relatively little for the LGBT and HIV communities to complain about in the proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget released by President Obama last week. And given the president's proposed five-year [...]
ACLU takes on school Web filtering
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The American Civil Liberties Union and Yale Law School have launched a campaign called "Don't Filter Me" against Web censorship by public high schools. The campaign urges students to check [...]
Hawaii civil-union bill sent to supportive governor
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS A civil-union bill granting Hawaii same-sex couples all the state-level rights, benefits, responsibilities and obligations of marriage cleared the Legislature on Feb. 16 and headed to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who [...]
Indiana Legislature targets same-sex couples
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The Indiana House of Representatives passed a measure Feb. 15 to send to voters a constitutional amendment that blocks recognition of same-sex marriages and any status similar to marriage. House [...]
Prop 8 federal case delayed for several more months
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS A huge new delay was introduced into the federal case against California's Proposition 8 on Feb. 16. The case is before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which, after [...]
We love our circus.
Yogi and Teddy hang out in one of their favorite spots: In front of Jan Stevenson's office. BTL photo: Tara Cavanaugh When interviewing people for this issue's story about people who bring their pets [...]
Donald Trump
By DiAnne Witkowski Creep of the Week Aww, so sweet. Donald Trump thinks gay people are great. Mind you, not so great that they should be allowed to marry. And if there's anyone we should [...]
What do you think of Motor City Pride moving to Detroit?
I prefer Ferndale ... it's way more gay friendly than Hart Plaza ... There is NOTHING to do down there. At least in Ferndale you can go in and out of the stores and bars. [...]
Letter: Black history month
As this year's Black History Month draws to a close, I'd like to take a moment to honor the African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who are a continuing inspiration in the ongoing struggle [...]
When (it) hits the fan . . .
Parting Glances There's really only one four-letter cuss word that over the years I've consistently found offensive by its sound and the olfactory phew it evokes. I once had a friend - a nice enough [...]
LGBT Culture, Rights
S/he said "The very fabric of our society is defined by whom we choose to venerate as our heroes. Things are beginning to change, but for every step forward - and there are some very [...]
Repaying a debt
by John Corvino You may not know Frank Kameny's name. You should. Frank Kameny has sometimes been called the "Rosa Parks" of the LGBT movement. Like most analogies, this one is imperfect. Parks' civil disobedience [...]
Resource center makes elder care resource guide
By Tara Cavanaugh The Jewish Gay Network of Michigan is making an elder care resource guide, in hopes of directing older gay adults to businesses and service providers who are sensitive to the needs of [...]
Supreme Court rules in favor of Westboro Baptist Church
By BTL staff In an 8-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Westboro Baptist Church has the right to protest at soldiers' funerals. The Associated Press reports, "The Rev. Fred Phelps and his [...]