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Grace Anne Stevens: My Transgender Life – The Measure of a Man
Grace Anne Stevens Grace Anne Stevens
My Transgender LifeAs the month of June 2018 is coming to a close, I am reflecting on my gratitude to have spent half this month traveling, between my 10-day boat and bike adventure in Bordeaux France and a 5-day seminar/adventure in Toronto. As I review some of my pictures, there is one that captures me and takes me on another one of those time traveling trips I often find myself on. The picture is of a fruit stand in Bordeaux.
As I am drawn into this scene of a fruit stand on the street, that is still making my mouth water, I find myself tripping back over 50-60 years ago to my old neighborhood on Avenue J in Brooklyn, when each block seemed to have an outdoor fruit stand similar to this one.
If you wanted anything, you had to ask the vendor for what you wanted. This is a long distance from today, where you pick what you want, bag and weigh it, and probably could not find help when you need it in today’s supermarkets. -
Featured Book: Beowulf for Cretins, by Ann McMan
Read the review by Velvet Lounger HERE.English professor and aspiring novelist, Grace Warner spends her days teaching four sections of “Beowulf for Cretins” to bored and disinterested students at one of New England’s “hidden ivy” colleges. Not long after she is dumped by her longtime girlfriend, Grace meets the engaging and mysterious Abbie on a cross-country flight. Sparks fly on and off the plane as the two strangers give in to one night of reckless passion with no strings attached, and no contact information exchanged.
Back home at St. Albans, the college rocks Grace’s world when it announces the appointment of a new president, the first woman in its 165-year history. Cue Abbie—and cue Grace’s collision course with a neurotic dog named Grendel, a fractious rival for tenure, and a woman called Ochre, in what very well might be Grace’s last real shot at happiness.
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Book Review: Beowulf for Cretins by Ann McMan, Reviewed by Velvet Lounger
The following review first appeared at the Lesbian Reading RoomBeowulf for Cretins, by Ann McMan
Print Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Bywater Books (June 26, 2018)Take one rather lost and lonely English professor and sit her next to a gorgeous, intellectual and amusing woman on a flight to San Francisco. Bring them back together for a madcap costume party that evening, and make both of them brave enough to step out of their comfort zones and “go there.” That’s the basic plot of Ann McMan’s wonderful short story “Falling from Grace” in her anthology “Sidecar,” which led to the idea of “Beowulf for Cretins.”
Don’t worry if you haven’t read “Sidecar” (although if not, why not?) as the slightly amended story is repeated as chapter one of the full-length version. And once Grace and Abbie go their separate ways the morning after the party, with no contact details, not even last names shared, then surely it will take an act of fate, or possibly an act of God, to make their paths cross a second time.
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The Twist Podcast #69: Millennial Malaise, Fascist Emojis, and America Makes Child Abuse Great Again
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we take a look at the headlines, shrinking prospects for millennials, ‘F’ is for fascist, and America’s current fondness for abusing migrant children.Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, YouTube, and right here at The Twist Podcast page.
Copyright 2018 MadeMark Publishing
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Murder Came Early: Black Cat White Paws Release Date Now June 27
The release date for the eBook edition of Black Cat White Paws has been moved to June 27. You can still get it at the special preorder price of $1.99 (regular $4.99).
In Black Cat White Paws, recently widowed Maggie Dahl finds herself faced with challenges on all fronts: life alone in a new town, running a business she and her husband had dreamed of and started together, and now pursuing a killer. Her sister Gerri moves from Philadelphia to Lambertville, New Jersey, to support her sister and start a new life of her own. Together the women search for a murderer, helped in critical ways by their neighbor’s cat. A black cat with white paws. A cat whose independence sets it all in motion and sees it through to the end.
Black Cat White Paws finds Maggie moving from New York City to Lambertville, an idyllic river town with artists, restaurants, incredible landscapes, and enough local characters to populate a murder mystery. Join Maggie, Gerri, Checks the cat, and a cast of colorful small town natives just as eager—and as shocked—to find a killer in their midst.
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Tired Old Queen at the Movies: The Boys in the Band
From Steve Hayes/Tired Old Queen at the Movies
Mart Crowley’s iconic play about the lives of several gay men in the 1970’s comes alive in William Friedkin’s THE BOYS IN THE BAND (’70). Featuring the brilliant original Broadway cast, its alternately hysterical, funny, sensitive, touching, at times lacerating and ultimately unforgettable.
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Q Audiobooks: A Queer History of the United States, by Michael Bronski, Narrated by Vikas Adams
A Queer History of the United States
By: Michael Bronski
Narrated by: Vikas Adams
Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 06-12-18
Publisher: Random House AudioAbout ‘A Queer History of the United States’:
Winner of a 2012 Stonewall Book Award in nonfiction
The first book to cover the entirety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from pre-1492 to the present.
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Gadgets, Gizmos and Tech: VicTsing Bluetooth Mini Speaker
Gadgets, Gizmos and Tech is a regular feature at LGBTSr offering cool things you can live without but might not want to.A friend of ours gives us the most interesting gifts every year when she visits. This year she brought us Alexa, Echo, and this marvelous little VicTsing portable speaker. Billed as a shower speaker, probably because it has a suction cup attached so you can stick it on a bathroom mirror or shower wall, it works just as well sitting on a hotel night stand. It’s very basic, and very handy. It doesn’t take up much more space than the palm of your hand, but once you’ve connected your iPhone or other Bluetooth device, it serves as a small portable speaker. You can listen to anything you’d hear or stream on your phone through this little dynamo–music, audiobooks, or a podcast. If you can hear it through your phone, you can hear it through the VicTsing. We recently took it on a trip to Atlantic City and had our own portable sound system in the room.
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Point Foundation Announces 2018 Scholarship Recipients
Via Press Release from the Point Foundation:
Awards to 45 LGBTQ Students in Programs Ranging from Community College to Advanced Degrees
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 20, 2018 — Point Foundation (Point), the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students, today announced its 2018 scholarship recipients. The 20 LGBTQ students were chosen to be Point Scholars from more than 2,000 applicants. Point is also welcoming 25 LGBTQ students to its Community College Scholarship Program.
This year’s scholarship recipients include seasoned advocates for LGBTQ rights and social justice, impressive young scientists, industrious medical students, and competent young people who will undoubtedly impact professions from law to business and the arts. In addition to their accomplishments, many of the scholarship recipients have overcome barriers to their success that are all too common among LGBTQ individuals, including discrimination, immigration status, homelessness, family rejection, and abuse.
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The Savvy Senior: Tips for Living with Low Vision
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
What resources can you recommend to help seniors with vision loss? My husband, who’s 76, has macular degeneration that has progressed to the point that he can’t do a lot of his routine activities anymore, and has become very discouraged.
Looking for Help
Dear Looking,
Unfortunately, there are around 15 million Americans, like your husband, living with macular degeneration today. Over time, this progressive disease can rob people of their central vision, making everyday tasks like driving a car, reading the newspaper or watching television extremely challenging. Here are some resources that can help.
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Travel Time: Amsterdam and Utrecht Travelogue, by Sue Katz
Reprinted with permission from Sue Katz’s Consenting Adult Blog
By Sue Katz
All photos courtesy of Sue Katz
May 19
The taxi driver at the Amsterdam Centraal Station tries to rip me off. That’ll be €20, he says. What? says I. No way. Oh, says he, I meant to say €10. Turn on the machine, I suggest. Too late, he says.
The delightful flat where we’re staying is up two narrow steep flights of steps and luckily my friend Sue has already arrived and comes to help me wrestle my modest suitcase up. The problem is that the width of the first flight is cut in half by the rails of a Stairmaster. And it is also missing a bannister. Bannisters are essential to anyone who does not bounce up stairs with athletic buoyancy and tightrope walker balance.
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David Webb: U.S. Pastor Council Poses Growing Threat to LGBTQ Communities
David Webb By David Webb
The Rare ReporterA coordinated attack by powerful conservatives threatens LGBTQ communities in every major urban area as an anti-gay Houston extremist makes plans to grow his organization.
U.S. Pastor Council President Dave Welch boasts about his prowess in trampling on LGBTQ rights in Houston, and he makes clear his ambition to expand the group — also known as the Houston Area Pastor Council and the Texas Pastor Council — beyond its current regional boundaries. Given his previous successes, Welch could succeed in his expansion plans.