Pittsburgh Meme FB Page Renews Transphobic, Racist Content

It is a little disheartening to realize that several more of my friends “liked” this page (although one told he is monitoring the enemy – ahem, okay.)  You can look at the page without liking it. I wonder if they realize this fact? But even more disheartening to see this transphobic meme moved back up […]

Growing Up Irish Under False Pretenses

With a surname of “Kerr” you probably aren’t too shocked to learn that I’m part Irish. What was shocking to me was when I learned the whole story about my ethnicity. I grew up in blue-collar West Mifflin, the daughter of a steel family. We were Kerr’s and Pryor’s – and everyone told me that […]

Britney Cosby, Crystal Jackson – Their Lives As Queer Women of Color Mattered

Crystal Jackson and Britney Crosbey

The tragic murders of 24-year-old lesbian couple Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson continues to unfold with few leads. The police are circulating a sketch and believe that the women were killed and their bodies moved to the spot where they were discovered, next to a dumpster in Galveston, Texas. There’s no indication if this crime […]

Leaving Pittsburgh

Leaving Pittsburgh

Life is a series of beginnings and endings. We leave one job to start another; we quit cities, countries, or continents for a fresh start; we leave lovers and begin new relationships. What was the last thing you contemplated leaving? What were the pros and cons? Have you made up your mind? What will you […]

Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Parade Does Not Discriminate Based on Sexual Orientation

In response to my inquiries, the Irish Society for Education & Charity issued the following statement: Be assured that the Parade Committee does not discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability, and has never denied anyone entry in the parade based on this criteria.  Criteria for selection include, but is not limited […]

Do Pgh Memes Inherently Have To Be Racist, Transphobic and Vicious?

Social Media Hate

This is why we can’t have nice things in Pittsburgh. Content Notes: lots of hate. And few allies calling it out. I pretty much think of any new “rah rah Pittsburgh” effort as a reflection on the #NextPgh concept. And this is not always good. There’s a new Facebook Page called “Pittsburgh Meme” that is […]

I Dropped Out of Grad School To Become a Missionary

Todd County Kentucky

 What’s the most crazy, outrageously impulsive thing you’ve ever done?  I was not an impulsive kid. I was unhappy and anxious, but I did what was expected of me for the most part. I also learned early on to carefully watch for opportunities – an extension of  a survival instinct. I rarely did the unexpected […]

I’m Officially a Social Media Maven

It has been a long climb from the valley of the shadows of the person most likely to post their cereal choices on Facebook, but I made it! A ha! I may have carpal tunnel syndrome from 8+ years of blogging, composing 30K tweets and hanging out with my 2600 best friends on Facebook, but […]

What Sort of Music – Just Sing a Song

Sesame Street Sing

Have you ever played in a band? Tell us all about that experience of making music with friends. If you’ve never been in a band, imagine you’re forming a band with some good friends. What instrument do you play in the band and why? What sort of music will you play? Fun question. I was […]

Eric Himan Tells Arizona He’s “Not Going Anywhere Tonight”

Eric Himan song about Arizona

I couldn’t take it. I had to write this song and put it out there.” I urge everyone to take it seriously. Bills like this could easily find its way across our country. Let’s stop it now and continue our fight for our freedom to live as ordinary citizens with equal rights under the law. […]