BigGayNews.com Update
Regarding “Commission: Catholic Magazine Not Hateful,” [“BigGayNews.com,” Lavender, July 18]:
The outrageous decision of the Canadian Human Rights Commission to dismiss the complaint of hate messages against Catholic Insight has been appealed to the Federal Court of Canada. It has also recently been disclosed that the Government of Canada’s Heritage Department had investigated Catholic Insight […]
Back in the fall of 2002, Clare Housing and Park House got together to talk about the phenomenon of Gay Bingo in Seattle and Philadelphia: “Would the Twin Cities GBLT community support such an event? Where could we do it? Who could do it? Would we make enough money to make it worth our time?” […]
It’s a beautiful summer day in June.The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch; the reception, full of elegant decor and food to amaze the masses, was full of delightfully intoxicated friends and family; and the happy couple of honor were at peace. The wedding they had been dreaming of and planning for the past […]
Bill Bertrand knows all too well the acerbic sting of stigma. He has heard the sniggering at cocktail parties, noticed the long stares inside restaurants, and perceived the downcast eyes in parks—all because of who he is. You see, he’s the manager of a car dealership.
Bill Bertrand. Photo by Mike Hnida
“The stigma used to be […]
According to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), some corporations are more equal than others, as well.
Everyone knows HRC, which describes itself as “America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality.”
Toward the laudable […]
National News
Kentucky Court Strikes Down Lesbian Adoption
The Kentucky Court of Appeals says lesbians cannot be allowed to adopt children as though they are stepparents. It handed down a unanimous 3-0 ruling in a case in which it ruled that Jefferson County Family Court Judge Eleanore Garber ignored the law by allowing a lesbian couple to […]
The League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions holds its 37th annual conference on October 4 at the Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester. It celebrates 60 years of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the theme “Strategies to Strengthen and Invigorate Our Communities.”
Photo Courtesy of Kristen Lindbloom
Individuals from Minnesota’s GLBT community will be […]
Enjoying the campaign so far? If not, don’t worry: It soon will be all over, and no one will give a good tinker’s damn about pigs, pit bulls, or lipstick—until the next campaign starts, which, I’m guessing, will be about 15 minutes after this one ends.
On the docket this issue is the Green Party of […]
It used to be that only a few large cities had any sort of organized leather scene. But in recent years, with the help of the Internet, leather/BDSM/fetish activities have spread to many smaller cities and towns. It is a measure, I think, of how the scene has grown over the years that currently, some […]
The signs were not good. Team Spatula—my partner, Chad; my friend, Mona; and I—had not made all the training rides to prepare for AIDS Trek XXII. The “Pink Dragon,” Mona’s bicycle, was out of commission at the last moment—she used her daughter’s bike. Then, I took a spill moving a lawn sprinkler, crashing down on […]
Photo by George Holdgrafer
Who
Layne
What
Recipe
Fruit Tart
1 part Malibu Coconut Rum
1 part Malibu Banana Rum
1 part Midori
Orange Juice
Pineapple Juice
When
Monday-Friday
Where
Innuendo/Rumours,
213 E. 4th St., St. Paul
(651) 225-4528
www.rumours-stpaul.com
Why
“Everyone’s welcome here. No attitudes. Great place to hang. We’re the ‘Cheers’ of the Twin Cities.”
Intimacy
Bloc Party
Current technology allows music—any off-the-cuff work —to be recorded and released at amazing speeds to an eager public. Of course, it’s a fine line between off-the-cuff and half-assed. Here, Bloc Party goes for the latter, producing a disco-tinged 10-song affair that leaves the brain almost as soon as it is done playing. An online-only […]
Old Wicked Songs. Photo by George Byron Griffiths.
Old Wicked Songs
Through Oct. 5
Guthrie Theater
818 S. 2nd St., Mpls.
(612) 377-2224
www.guthrietheater.orgThe title is from the final song of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe: “The old, wicked songs, the dreams wicked and grim, let us bury them.”
Theatre Latte Da Artistic Director Peter Rothstein, who has staged the show at Guthrie’s Dowling […]
October 7 marks the 10th anniversary of the harrowing beating and abandonment to death of Laramie, Wyoming, college student Matthew Shepard. For 18 hours, he hung between life and death, tied to the fence where his attackers left him, before he was found. Five days later, October 12, Shepard, 22, died.
This mindless savagery resonated worldwide, […]
The Queen is coming to Minneapolis! No, not the Queen of England. We don’t care about that Queen. We’re talking the Queen all gay men worship: Kathy Griffin. We can thank Hennepin Theatre Trust for getting us five amazing shows at the Historic Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis (the most the comedian ever has done at […]
On The Runway Section
That chill in the air can mean only one thing – it’s time to go out and buy new fall clothes! Sweaters are a fall must-have for any Minnesotan, and lucky for us they were also one of the hottest trends spotted on the runways this season. Who knew fashion and function […]
On The Runway Section
Welcome to the start of a brand-new monthly feature we are calling “Isn’t Fashion Fun.” I’m Kevin Quinn, owner/founder of nationally recognized retail store STYLEDLIFE® and our sister at-home wardrobe consulting company, styledlook®.
STYLEDLIFE® and styledlook® have partnered with Lavender, as the magazine evolves into more lifestyle editorial content for its readers. Lavender […]
If you ever have gone to a new barber, only to receive a cut that’s less than perfect, Brian Preston, co-owner of Barbers on Bryant, has some surprising advice: Give him or her a second chance.
“You have to let them give you more than one haircut,” Preston says. “It takes two or three times of […]
Pabón Is New District 202 Transitional Director
Angelines Pabón is the new Transitional Director of District 202, replacing Interim Director Alex Nelson. Pabón will be responsible for managing everyday operations at the center, as well as facilitating a wholly for-youth and by-youth experience. She has an impressive background in leadership empowerment and involvement throughout the country. […]
Horoscope for Sept. 26-Oct. 9 Get ready for National Coming Out Month! October is no time to sit and wait for the world to knock. Saturn, the planet of life lessons, opposes explosive retro Uranus. Anything and everything can happen now. ’Bout time!
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20)
Even though you may feel like a mangy rat on […]
Sometimes, things happen for a reason. My dining partner was running late, and I was encouraged to have a drink in La Belle Vie’s lounge until his arrival. As I was sipping my tempranillo, admiring the interplay between masculine chandeliers and intricate crown moldings, and mentally plotting out a paragraph or two, I decided to […]
Dear Ms. Behavior:
My friend, Terry, had a boyfriend of 10 years who died quickly and tragically last winter. Terry has been a mess, and has not taken good care of himself—he doesn’t eat right, drinks too much, and doesn’t sleep. He never has done well when he was single anyway, so my partner and I […]
It’s raining out, and I’m bored, so I had no other option than to go to one of the online dating sites, and send titillating IMs to a married lady looking for a little action on the side. This is how adulterous affairs begin—because of dreary weather and boredom.
I always…always!…have wanted to be a mistress. […]
Iver’s Country Kitchen Buffet began offering midafternoon discounts on September 8 from 2:30 to 4 every weekday. Those not burdened by societal interaction can take advantage of Iver’s smorgasbord delights. The early afternoon of that day, as corroborated by my diary, was spent determining the date I purchased an aging, but resilient, cucumber.
While sorting through […]
I did not watch any of the Democratic or Republican conventions. Nothing important gets decided at conventions nowadays, so how can anyone care? Mostly, conventions are spectacle and show (with bands, demonstrations, and the occasional balloon drop), designed to excite the party faithful.
Because candidates generally get a brief postconvention “bounce” in opinion polls, that is […]
A new health column written by the staff of Allina Medical Clinic-The Doctors Uptown debuts.
In 1985, seeing a need for open care for gay men, two gay physicians, Dr. Hanan Rosenstein and Dr. John Weiser, created The Doctors. They left their private practices to join forces to serve the underserved needs of men like themselves. […]
A couple of weeks ago, I was headed home from a particularly uneventful night at the club. I had stopped at a red light a few blocks from my apartment, when a large white SUV rumbled up from behind me. Out the passenger window, I glanced down, only to notice the word “hybrid” emblazoned in […]
It’s a wonderful and terrible bit of irony to learn, only now, that such a thing as circus school exists. When I was growing up in rural South Dakota, the only available extracurricular activities outside of sports (I am not competitive, and getting kicked in the head makes me unhappy) were the budget-challenged band and […]
Sorry, but nothing’s perfect; there are serpents in Eden, flies in the ointment, and—maybe—microbes in your sex life. And while much attention is focused on HIV, there’s a whole range of other STDs that are lurking out there, too, ready to pounce on your penis.
Some nasty symptoms, like gonorrhea’s brutally burning discharge, are tough to […]
The Distance Between Us
by Bart Yates
Kensington Books
304 pages
$24 hardcover
Hester Parker is a quirky, cheap-wine-sipping, septuagenarian piano teacher with a simmering cauldron of issues. Her virtuoso concert career was cut short by a hand injury. Her husband has left her for a younger woman. Two of her children don’t want much to do with her. And […]
Across
1 Bit of salt, for Stephen Pyles
5 Hayes of Will & Grace reruns
9 Like an ACT UP protester
14 Wine region of Michelangelo’s land
15 Isle of exile in Brando’s Desiree
16 Word that may follow sperm or organ
17 Lindsay Lohan’s ___ Girls
18 Santa’s got a long one
19 Make up
20 Well-endowed barbarian?
23 Caligula’s arts
24 Composer Copland
25 Billie Jean’s […]
It may just be the most expensive city in the world, especially for travelers from the United States and Canada, but there’s no denying that London makes for an enchanting and exciting big-city getaway. Interestingly, the London neighborhood that most interests GLBT visitors, Soho, lacks any museums or formal attractions. But this colorful, slightly risque […]
