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Through the shadows
By Jerome Stuart Nichols Some of the world's greatest works of art were forged in the midst of tragedy. Craig Allen Combs, an openly gay poet living in Toledo, hopes that his debut collection of [...]
Express yourself
The Peacock Room has established itself in Midtown as "the little boutique with big architectural treasure." Not only are people who work and play in Detroit attracted to the museum-quality space, but owner Rachel Lutz [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente 'Glee' and 'Twilight' stars leap to 'White Frog' Somebody must have once given indie filmmaker Quentin Lee good business advice about keeping his overhead low and never giving up. Because while [...]
Hold your ground, Leo!
By Jack Fertig Q Scopes Mars and Neptune are finally moving out of opposition, but not before the Sun aspects them, offering some clarity and lessons to pull out of the recent confusion and fury. [...]
Hear Me Out: Nicki Minaj’s ridiculous ‘Reloaded.’ Plus: Bonnie Raitt’s first in seven years
Nicki Minaj, 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded' Nicki Minaj botched her Grammy performance so bad earlier this year, when she weirdly channeled "The Exorcist" while hawking new single "Roman Holiday," that even that desperate attempt at [...]
What’s He Doing with Her?
Across 1 With 5- and 10-Across, Andrew's mom on "Desperate Housewives" 5 See 1-Across 10 See 1-Across 14 NG: Feels poorly 15 "The Remains of the Day" director James 16 NG: Petri dish medium 17 [...]
Glorious rhythm & blues ‘From My Hometown’
By John Quinn Devotees of both music and theater will recognize the genre of "From My Hometown," a 2004 off-Broadway hit receiving its Michigan premiere at Meadow Brook Theatre. Assemble a selection of evocative songs, [...]
Wedding Dos… and Don’ts
The "big day" is a big deal for Brian Worley. For one of the first weddings he orchestrated, the LA-based party planner went all out: Flowers were [...]
Have some ‘Manners’
Changing times means more union celebrations for LGBT couples, who are recognizing their love in the form of commitment ceremonies, domestic partnerships and weddings. With that comes special wedding etiquette that straight people don't have [...]
Princess charming
"Getting married is not a political statement; it's a lifelong commitment that I hope people will take seriously." Kay Shelton should know. She and her wife Amanda took the plunge on July 22, 2000. The [...]
Setting the stage for love
Planning a wedding can be a lot of fun, especially if you're in show business. Joe Bailey and Joe Plambeck, owners of the Ringwald in Ferndale, held what they called their "big gay wedding" on [...]
Tough love
M Kelley and her wife Bec married legally on July 23, 2010 in a large Grand Rapids church with about 120 friends and family there in support. The marriage is legal despite M's feminine appearance, [...]
Wedding help to the rescue
Dreaming about the big day with the one you love is an exciting time. When it comes time to actually planning the wedding, you'll want to create a budget, get organized and make important decisions [...]
Upstate N.Y.
Out of Town by Andrew The recent legalization of same-sex marriage in New York has given a number of classic romantic vacation spots throughout the state's northern and western regions. Of particular note are the [...]
Amorie Robinson to present for LGBTs of color at MPA
By Crystal Proxmire Dr. Amorie Robinson will be among the speakers at the Michigan Psychological Association's 2012 Spring Convention, which takes places April 27 at the Henry Center in Lansing. The conference theme is LGBT [...]
Ferndale Police Department talks transgender
By Crystal Proxmire Citing a history of violence against transgender people in the prison system, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced plans for a 24-bed holding facility for transgender detainees in their women's facility. [...]
‘Gentlemen’ discuss women’s issues and sexism
By Crystal Proxmire Gentlemen is an antisexist group for men - "For men, not of men," organizers are proud to point out. "We welcome and need voices of different identities so we can all challenge [...]
Status Sexy hits bus stops in Pontiac, Detroit, Washtenaw County
By Crystal Proxmire Positive or negative, knowing your status gives you confidence. And confidence is always sexy. That's the theme behind the Status Sexy campaign, which features slim, muscular, aesthetically pleasing and shirtless men urging [...]
Register now for Rainbow Run
By Crystal Proxmire Ferndale Pride is setting a jovial pace for Father's Day weekend activities. Not only will there be Ferndale Pride Market Daze, the Annual Dyke March, a balloon launch (with biodegradable balloons) and [...]
A power team of employee activism
DETROIT - When one of the founders of Ford Globe met one of the founders of Chrysler's People of Diversity at an employee resource event in 1998, the wheels started turning on a relationship based [...]
Dignity Detroit celebrates 38th anniversary
Dignity Detroit celebrates 38 years of ministry to the LGBTQ community of the metropolitan Detroit area with an evening of dining and dance as well as special liturgy on the weekend of May 19. Dignity [...]
Ex-Affirmations CEO hits Vegas
By Crystal Proxmire Thousands of fans across Michigan and beyond supported comedian Leslie Thompson during the Improv Up Yours Contest, a month-long comedy contest won through online votes. After online votes were tallied at the [...]
Scandal erupts in North Carolina
By Lisa Keen Less than three weeks before voters in North Carolina go to the polls to cast a vote on same-sex marriage early voting has begun, an embarrassing sex scandal involving the state Democratic [...]
Transgenders now have job protection thanks to EEOC Opinion
WASHINGTON D.C. - A ruling by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission means that transgender people who are discriminated against now may have recourse under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits [...]
Creep of the Week: Heather Wilson
I've been reading about Kenneth Weishuhn, a 14-year-old who recently took his own life after reportedly enduring death threats after coming out as gay at school. Especially heartbreaking was that, according to the Huffington Post, [...]
Interesting follow up with the rugby player who suffered a stroke that “turned him gay.” What do you think? Can something like a stroke “turn” someone gay? If so, how does that challenge the nature vs. nurture argument?
Heard on Facebook Sorry; not buying it. More likely he was always gay and is using this as a way of making himself alright with his orientation. -Laura Lynn Please, give me a break ... [...]
Same-Sex Wedding Gospel
Parting Glances 1. In the Year of the Grand Delusion, during the Reign of Lost War Rumors, a decree went out from the Tetrarch of Theocracy, abiding in the Capitol of Divine Cacophony, that all [...]
Rainbows and Glee
Compiled by Howard Israel S/he Said "Do I really think that this is the kind of thing that's contagious? I don't know. When I was a teenager and I saw James Dean smoking, it made [...]
A familiar issue needs to vent
By Leslie Robinson General Gayety I'm Gay Marriage, and I'm mad. Those alleged experts over at the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press--and what a stupidly long name that is--conducted a national [...]
Join the conversation at these two dynamic workshops
2:30 p.m. "Planning for the Future": After the orange blossoms have faded and the wedding presents have been opened the business of normal life returns. As individuals or couples, we have to think about planning [...]
Michigan health dept. probes possible release of confidential HIV information
The Michigan Department of Community Health is investigating whether private health information pertaining to thousands HIV-positive residents and their partners was improperly released, documents obtained by The American Independent show. According to a spokesperson, the [...]
Wake-up call for Trevor Thomas
By Jim Larkin GRAND RAPIDS - Read the political blogs and you can sense the intrigue in the Democratic race for the 3rd District Congressional seat. Can a young gay man (Trevor Thomas) win a [...]
Loss of life partner threatens loss of home
BY BTL STAFF EASTPOINTE - Friends of Ariel's Enchanted Garden, located at 23716 Gratiot Ave. are organizing a Cash Mob on Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to help the owner, Mark [...]
‘Blue Man Group’ invades Detroit: ‘Am I blue?’ Not anymore!
By John Quinn Strolling down the aisle of the Fisher Theatre you are confronted with a stage-filling screen -suitably blue - bearing a quote from the International Diplomacy Handbook. "Ultimately, the best way to forge [...]