-
And the Emmy Goes to … Me!
Show co-creator Rick Rose accepts the award Correction: the Emmy goes to us, everyone who has worked on the children’s TV program Into the Outdoors for the past 20 years. The show is dedicated to teaching kids about nature and the outdoors. I co-created it with my longtime friend a collaborator Rick Rose (the co-host of our weekly Twist Podcast), and it’s so nice to be included in the entry. My statue from 2001 will soon have a BFF to share shelf space with. – Mark/Editor
-
One Thing or Another: The Joys of Being a (Almost) Halloween Baby
By Mark McNease
It’s always One Thing or Another … a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
I’m reprinting this column as an annual tradition. The pandemic changed things dramatically last year, but Halloween is back. Nothing can keep a good witch down!
October has always been my favorite month. It’s the month when autumn really makes its presence felt, especially if you live where the seasons are discernible. (It recently went from air conditioner weather at the tail end of a relentlessly hot summer, to a sudden and unexpected freeze with a 30-degree drop). It’s flu season, which is always good for a sick day or two spent lying on the couch taking over-the-counter cold remedies that do nothing to stop you from feeling like death is close by. Honey, is the healthcare directive in place? You’re sure you’ve still got your copy? And how about the will? Can I change it by tomorrow? My sister forgot my birthday, I’m not sure she deserves the belt buckles.
-
Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: Technology Tutoring for Seniors in 5 Easy Steps with Proven Strategies
This article is excerpted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources. You can listen to my conversation with Angelica here. – Mark/Editor
By Angelica Herrera Venson,DrPH, MPH
Angelica Herrera Venson I’ll never forget when an aunt bought a foot massager for my 105-year-old great grandmother. As soon as she dipped her feet in the water, heard the rumbling vibrations, and saw the LED lights come on, she almost fell out of her chair with fright. My aunt had the best intentions, but clearly this was alien technology as far as my great-gramma was concerned.
-
Savvy Senior: How Does Social Security Work When a Spouse or Ex-Spouse Dies?
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
Who qualifies for Social Security survivor benefits? My ex-husband died last year, so I would like to find out if me or my 17-year-old daughter are eligible for anything?
Divorced Survivor
Dear Divorced,
If your ex-husband worked and paid Social Security taxes and you and/or your daughter meet the eligibility requirements, you may very well be eligible for survivor benefits, but you should act quickly because benefits are generally retroactive only up to six months. Here’s what you should know.
-
The Weekly Readlines October 8
The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) is a feature at LGBTSr.com, offering news you can use every Friday morning. Subscribe here for virtual delivery.
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIESThe good news first: Facebook was down for six hours on Monday. A billion people suddenly discovered they could do something else with their time. And my adopted state, New Jersey, is home to two of the nation’s most LGBTQ-friendly colleges! We love the Garden State.
A massive document dump called the Pandora Papers revealed how the filthy rich hide their assets and no one cared. They’re too busy blaming Joe Biden for the rising cost of chickens.
A debt ceiling deal was reached in the Senate, two infrastructure bills still hang by a thread, and Lindsey Graham yapped some more about impeaching Biden because … what else do they have to do?
-
Review: Ken Burns’s ‘Muhammad Ali,’ by Sue Katz
This review is reprinted with permission from Sue Katz: Consenting Adult.
By Sue Katz
The Greatest: Burns was not up to the challengeKen Burns, his daughter Sarah Burns, and her husband David McMahon, were not the right people to make the lengthy documentary on Muhammed Ali for PBS. I felt the long series had a subtly hostile tone to Ali and a more explicit hostility to boxing. Despite having the resources to access piles of stunning archival footage and despite having a massive eight hours of airtime, the entire work was devoid of emotion. Muhammed Ali was a passionate, emotional figure, but this was not reflected in the deadpan commentary, not the least by the guy they presented as the biographer of Ali, who seemed barely conscious.
-
Savvy Senior: Simple and Inexpensive Final Farewells
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
My husband and I are looking for the simplest and least expensive way to dispose of our bodies when we die. We hate the idea of wasting a lot of money on high-priced funerals and would like some advice on some simple and cheap send-offs.
Simple Seniors
Dear Simple,
With the average cost of a full-service funeral running around $11,000 today, many people are seeking simple ways to make their final farewell more affordable. Depending on how you want to go, here are several low-cost options to consider.
-
Book Review: Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence, by Anita Hill
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence, by Anita Hill
c.2021, Viking $30.00 / $40.00 Canada 352 pagesThe grab was savage.
You yelped because you weren’t expecting it. Because it shouldn’t have happened. It was rough enough to leave marks on your skin, little round marks like fingertips; for sure, it left marks on your self-confidence but complain, and it’ll all be denied. You know the truth, though, and when you read “Believing” by Anita Hill, you’ll know someone else does, too.
Twenty-five percent of American women today “experience intimate partner violence…” Thirty-three percent say they’ve endured harassment at work. The rate’s higher for women of color, highest in the LGBTQ community. Similar statistics were available in 1991 when Anita Hill testified before Congress about the harassment she’d said she’d experienced from then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, testimony that later contributed to Hill’s becoming one of the country’s leaders in the fight against sexual harassment and gender violence.
-
The Twist Podcast #172: October At Last, Platonic Parenting, Swing Low Alabama, and Our New Twist Tops Must List
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we consider platonic parenting, appreciate the arrival of October, boo the Alabama prison craze, and introduce our new ‘Twist Tops’ must list. Plus headlines!
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing
-
Ronni Sanlo’s This Day in LGBTQ History (September 24 – 30)
Ronni Sanlo’s This Day in LGBTQ History makes the past ever-present with daily rundowns of historic events and people.
Ronni Sanlo
THIS DAY in LGBTQ HISTORY
SEPTEMBER 30
1924
Truman Capote (born Truman Streckfus Persons, September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) is born. He was an American novelist, screen-writer, playwright, and actor, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized as literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966) which he labeled as a nonfiction novel. At least 20 films and television dramas have been produced of Capote novels, stories, and plays. Capote was openly homosexual. One of his first serious lovers was Smith College literature professor Newton Arvin. Although Capote seemed never really to embrace the gay rights movement, his own openness about homosexuality and his encouragement for openness in others makes him an important player in the realm of gay rights nonetheless. Capote died in Bel Air, Los Angeles, on August 25, 1984, age 59. According to the coroner’s report, the cause of death was liver disease complicated by phlebitis and multiple drug intoxication. He died at the home of his old friend Joanne Carson, ex-wife of late-night TV host Johnny Carson on whose program Capote had been a frequent guest. Gore Vidal responded to news of Capote’s death by calling it “a wise career move.”1935
Johnny Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is born. A beloved velvet-voiced jazz and pop singer, Johnny came out to his public in an interview for Us magazine in June 1982.1959, Paraguay
The first public action for gay rights takes place after the Paraguayan government arrests hundreds of gay men without warrant and tortures them for being gay.1983
New York State sues a West 12th Street co-op for trying to evict Dr. Joseph Sonnabend for treating AIDS patients. He later receives $10,000 and a new lease. -
The Weekly Readlines October 1
The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) is a feature at LGBTSr.com, offering news you can use every Friday morning. Subscribe here for virtual delivery.
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIESThe good news first: October has arrived! Falling leaves, fun sweaters, ghoul weather! And my birthday … don’t miss the LGBTSr coffee cup giveaway. Also from the good news file, voters in Switzerland approved same-sex marriage.
The government avoided a scary Halloween shutdown and candy shortage in the nick of time, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed a vote on the critical bipartisan infrastructure bill due to Democratic infighting over how much free stuff to give people. Dental care for Granny? Babysitters on the federal dime? Will the empire survive? Watch for updates in your information bubble of choice.
-
Savvy Senior: How to Manage an Inherited IRA from a Parent
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What are the rules regarding inherited IRAs? When my mom died this year, I inherited her traditional IRA and would like to know what I need to do to execute it properly.
Confused Daughter
Dear Confused,
I’m very sorry about the loss of you mother. Inheriting an IRA from a parent has a unique set of rules you need to know, which will help you make the most of the money you inherit and avoid a tax-time surprise. Here are some basics you should know.
Set-Up Inherited Account
Many people think they can roll an inherited IRA into their own IRA. But if you inherit an IRA from a parent, aunt, uncle, sibling or friend you cannot roll the account into your own IRA or treat the IRA as your own. Instead, you’ll have to transfer your portion of the assets into a new IRA set up and formally named as an inherited IRA – for example, (name of deceased owner) for the benefit of (your name).