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  • The Weekly Readlines,  Weekly Readlines Podcast

    Fasten Your Headphones! The Weekly Readlines Podcast Edition Starts Now – Show #1

    Call me a recovering news junkie who learned to digest the news in moderation. It is possible! These days I put out The Weekly Readlines (“rhymes with ‘headlines'”) every week as part of the LGBTSr.com landscape, and at my own website. I’ve long wanted to augment it with an audio edition, which in modern parlance means a podcast. I’m finally launching it with this very first episode. In it you’ll get a brief weekly introduction, followed by some headlines, commentary, and a few deeper dives into the news driving us all to distraction.

    This week: Biden unites NATO and the West against Putin’s grotesque land grab of Ukraine; Florida students stage a walk out against the state’s sure-to-pass “Don’t Say Gay” bill; praise for SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson (surely no harder to pronounce that Reince Priebus); and a look at the headlines grabbing our attention this week.

    Listen for a new Readlines podcast each week with the online edition. If you don’t want to miss either one, just subscribe to LGBTSr.com HERE. That’s the list that gets them every Saturday. Peace, everyone! The alternatives are worse.

  • LGBTSR,  The Weekly Readlines,  Weekly Readlines Podcast

    The Weekly Readlines March 4

     

    The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) offers news you can use every Saturday morning. You can view the archives here. And now you can listen to the podcast edition HERE! pleasure!

    CLICK FOR THE PODCAST EDITION!

      BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES 

    First the good news: President Biden united NATO and the West against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and high school students across Florida staged a walk out over the ever-so-hateful Don’t Say Gay bill.

    Texas unleashed the state against trans kids and their parents, while millions of children were plunged into poverty with the expiration of the expanded child tax credit killed by Joe Manchin. Not to be outdone in the race to the bottom, the Wyoming Senate defunded the Gender Studies program at the state university, since women belong in the kitchen and the maternity ward.

  • Q Audiobooks

    Q Audiobooks: Michael Craft’s Mark Manning Series Concludes with ‘Bitch Slap’, Narrated by David Phillips

    Q Audiobooks is a regular feature offering audiobooks of interest for the LGBTQ+ listener.

    Listen up! The seventh and final installment of Michael Craft’s iconic Mark Manning mysteries has just been released as an audiobook, completing the series. ‘Bitch Slap’, first published in 2004, joins the other six audiobooks, all narrated by David PhillipsThe combined audiobooks offer nearly 84 hours of listening pleasure, so start with one and don’t stop until you’ve heard them all.

    About ‘Bitch Slap’

    Journalist Mark Manning has been successfully running his family’s newspaper, The Dumont Daily Register, for several years now, and he sits on the board of two local companies, Quatro Press and Ashton Mills. So, when the respective CEOs of these companies discuss a merger, it is only natural that Manning be interested in the proceedings. What’s more, Manning’s lover Neil, an architect, is designing a new house for Ashton’s CEO, Gillian Reece.

  • LGBTSR

    Steve Hayes’ Tired Old Queen at the Movies: Classic Movie Review – Sidney Poitier in ‘Paris Blues’ (VIDEO)

    From Steve Hayes on YouTube

    CLASSIC MOVIE REVIEW : All of us at STEVE HAYES: Tired Old Queen at the Movies honor the work and memory of the great SIDNEY POITIER. He joins Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll in 1960’s swinging Paris in Martin Ritt’s romantic PARIS BLUES. Shot on location with a terrific score by Duke Ellington and an amazing appearance by Louis Armstrong. It’s sexy, nostalgic, and romantic – just like Paris.

    PARIS BLUES, DVD https://amzn.to/3pm5qbb
    “Great Summit / PARIS BLUES Tracks”: Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington CD
    https://amzn.to/3JVyL3S
    PARIS BLUES original 1961 27×41 one sheet movie poster PAUL NEWMAN/SIDNEY POITIER/LOUIS ARMSTRONG
    https://amzn.to/3hkmQ3D
    “The Measure of a Man : A Memoir” by Sidney Poitier
    https://amzn.to/3584pg8 “This Life” by Sidney Poitier https://amzn.to/3HlR6FK

  • Kapok

    Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: Checklist for Elderly Living Alone – What to Look for When You Visit

    By Angelica Herrera Venson, DrPH, MPH

    The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources.

    Many seniors live alone without any problems. However, this isn’t always the case. Aging brings with it many challenges and a person’s ability to care for themselves may decrease over time, to the point that living alone becomes dangerous.

    This is why it’s so important for you to have a checklist for elderly living alone. Adult children can use such a checklist to make sure their aging parents are still doing well and taking care of themselves.

    A good checklist will highlight critical areas for you to keep an eye on, ones that you can look at discreetly. For example, a fridge full of out-of-date food may suggest memory issues. If the senior appears to be eating some of this out-of-date food, their health may be even more at risk.

  • LGBTSR

    Savvy Senior: Can COVID-19 Cause Shingles?

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    How effective is the shingles vaccine and what is the CDC recommendation for getting it? My older brother and sister, both in their fifties, got COVID a few months back followed by shingles. Do you know if there is a connection between these viruses, and would the shingles vaccine have protected them?

    Scared of Shingles                                                               

    Dear Scared,

    Great question! Many healthcare professionals across the country have been urging their older patients to get the shingles vaccine (in addition to the COVID-19 vaccinations) during the pandemic because getting COVID-19 can increase your chances of developing shingles. And the more severe case of COVID you get, the greater your risk for shingles.

  • LGBTSR

    Subscriber Delivery Moves to Saturday!

    As my retirement from full-time work fast approaches, my options grow. I’ve been sending out The Weekly Readlines and content updates on Wednesday morning because it’s been one of my days off. With more choices available soon, I’m moving the delivery to Saturdays. You can enjoy the news roundup, soon to include a podcast edition for those who like to listen, and any content updates. I’ll also be expanding the content, with a lot more time to do it! SUBSCRIBE HERE. See you Saturday – Mark

  • The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #185: Florida Takes the Hate Cake, Day Tripping Treasures, the Gen Z Zone, and This Week’s Headlines

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we shed a tear for Florida’s LGBTQ kids, praise the pleasures of day tripping, give props to Gen Z, and scan the week in headlines.  Twist Top picks and our listicles, too!

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com

  • The Weekly Readlines

    The Weekly Readlines February 22

    The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) offers news you can use every Wednesday morning.  You can view the archives here. And coming this spring: an audio edition of the Readlines. Fasten your headphones! 

      BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES 

    First the good news: the Trump crime family inched closer to indictment on racketeering charges, with the organization’s accounting firm cutting and running. That may be it for an otherwise bleak news cycle.

    Vladimir Putin “recognized” two separatist regions of Ukraine, in preparation for what everyone assumes will be a full scale invasion of the sovereign nation.

    Taking this week’s hate cake, Florida’s sure-to-pass Don’t Say Gay Bill includes an amendment requiring schools to out LGBTQ students to their parents, with a “harm exemption” removed. So much for saving the children.

  • On the Map

    On the Map: A Day Trip to Chester, NJ

    By Mark McNease

    On the Map is a travelogue of places, restaurants and landscapes for your travel considerations. Sometimes near, sometimes far, always interesting.

    My husband Frank and I have been enjoying day trips for several years now, especially since we moved to our New Jersey house full-time almost five years ago. And while we also like to take short two night getaways, which have fit well into my three-day-off weekly schedule, there’s a lot to be said for just getting in the car—or on a bus or train—and exploring towns and destinations that have you back by dinner.

    This past Wednesday we headed to a city just an hour’s drive away: Chester, NJ. We found a town that’s perfect for short-term exploring and meeting friendly locals. This isn’t always the case, by the way. Heading off into the unknown for an afternoon means risking that you may not be so thrilled with the place when you get there, but that’s part of the fun. A surprise is what you’re looking for when it’s somewhere you’ve never been.

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    Chester is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 1,649, not counting tourists and day trippers! Chester is completely surrounded by Chester Township, making it part of 21 pairs of  “doughnut towns” in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another. The borough’s name is derived from the township, which was named for Chestershire in England. (Wikipedia)

  • Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: Do I Have to File Income Tax Returns This Year?

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    What is the IRS standard tax deduction for 2021? I didn’t file a tax return last tax year (2020) because I lost my job and my income in March due to COVID. But I got a part-time job in 2021 and am wondering if I made enough money that requires me to file this year.

    Part-Time Retiree

    Dear Retiree,

    Whether or not you are required to file a federal income tax return this year depends not only on how much you earned last year (in 2021), but also the source of that income, as well as your age and your filing status.