CoffeeHouse Tour 2014: Delanie’s Coffee on the South Side

Coffee House Review

Part of my 2014 Adventures in New Experiences is a little mini-resolution to try at least one new coffeehouse each month. For January, I chose Delanie’s Coffee on the South Side. It in the 1700 block near our favorite restaurant (Cambod-Ican Kitchen) so we’ve walked by a dozen times. Usually a soon to be expiring […]

Goal Achieved: Cathy Cairns Final Wishes Are Met Thanks to You

Cathy Cairns

This is mixed emotion type of blog post. I want to thank you for your donations to help pay for the final expenses of local social worker and advocate Cathy Cairns. Friday evening, one of the organizers posted this: Everyone,  Including the many checks we have received in Cathy’s name, you have raised $8725. This […]

How a Dying Mall Taught Me Survival Skills

You’ve been kidnapped and given a choice: would you rather be stranded on an island, dropped into an unknown forest, or locked in a strange building? As a fan of procedural dramas on television as well having spent more of my life working inside buildings, I would have the best chance to survive inside a […]

The Man Who Shovels Snow

Shovel Neighbor's Walk

Who was the first person you encountered today? Write about him or her. I’m going to exclude my partner Laura from this question since I write about her all of the time. That would make the first person I encountered to be my neighbor’s great-nephew. My neighbor, Ms. M, is in her 80’s and lives […]

The Debut of Lucas Jones on General Hospital

Ryan Carnes Lucas Jones

Well, he finally arrived in town – Lucas Jones is back to help find his missing sister, Carly Jacks, and in one episode he collided with Luke Spencer then his other sister, Sam Morgan, while his biological father sat unknowingly sipping coffee in Kelly’s Diner. I am unsure if I like Luke calling Lucas “LL” […]

Gold Star Lesbian

Gold Star Lesbian

So this made me laugh. I recently earned my “Gold Star” status from Starbucks thanks to copious amount of dark roast and chai lattes for Ledcat. Now I get free refills! You might be familiar with the term “Gold Star” lesbian which usually refers to a lesbian who has not had sexual intercourse with a […]

Keep away from-a Runaround Sue

Dangerous Blogger

Do you have a reputation? What is it, and where did it come from? Is it accurate? What do you think about it? Oh, ha ha, this is an amusing prompt. Of course I have a reputation, multiple reputations. I am a woman with opinions who has the audacity to voice them and not always […]

How To Fold A Tote Bag (Project)

Tell us about a time things came this close to working out… but didn’t. What happened next? Would you like the chance to try again, or are you happy with how things eventually worked out? This is a prompt guaranteed to launch a thousand “what might have been” tales of woe and heartache. Once upon a time, […]

Pitt Health Study Explores Disparities in LGBT Research

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on new research published today. The National Institutes of Health funded only a negligible number of studies researching the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people over more than two decades, according to an analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Because of that, health […]

Five Year Anniversary of a Public Hearing Should Generate More Activism in Pennsylvania

Franco Harris Pittsburgh

Tell us about a time when everything actually turned out exactly as you’d hoped. Five years ago today, Allegheny County Council held a public hearing on a non-discrimination ordinance which included sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. You can read 78 pages of public testimony here. Some of it is brilliant, some of it […]