Review: The Queen of My Dreams Explores Queer Pakistani Themes

My third indie movie review with Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) characters (watching the fourth now) was a little disappointing. The story focuses on a mother-daughter relationship between Pakistani-Canadian Azra, a young queer filmmaker, and her traditional Pakistani mother, Mariam. Azra’s father and Mariam’s husband dies at the beginning of the film. […]

The Real Reason I’ve Been Blogging for 20 Years

Aun Nppl;et from niblings circa 2019

If you had asked me last year or even last week to specify my blog audience, I would have said “the LGBTQ community” or “white cisgender people who need to read this” or some such statement. Those things are true, but they are not quite complete. I am writing this blog for my six niblings […]

Brian Wilson, Love, Mercy, and What God Only Knows

“I may not always love you” As I move through the transformation of a divorce, I am humbled that I can look back at the past 20+ years and find those exquisite aching moments of happiness, joy, and beauty. Music is a language my spouse shared with me. She helped me level up from pop […]

My Fear of the Police Kept Me From Rallies in the Street

Two pairs of handcuffs

I really wanted to participate in a No Kings rally today. But I was afraid. For 22 months, I’ve coped with the traumas of my interactions with police during and following the fraudulent involuntary civil commitment authorized by Allegheny County OBH on Sunday, August 27, 2023. The police failed me that day and on ensuing […]

Cincinnati Black Trans Woman, Laura Schueler, Shot to Death

Laura Schueler, a Black trans woman, was 47 when she was killed in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday, June 7, 2025. TransVitae and Planet Trans first covered her story. Local police responded to the deadly shooting on the 1500 block of Jonathan Avenue around 6:50 a.m. Saturday in the Evanston neighborhood. They found Laura at the […]

Locally, Puttshack Sponsored Pridefest and Has a Month Long Promotion Supporting ‘It Gets Better’

We spend a lot of our time pointing out the corporate entities who cowed to the Trump Administration’s vicious mandates around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, especially Pride. So here’s a little about one company that is sponsoring Pride events by donating a percentage of profits during June. Puttshack Pittsburgh is partnering once again with the It […]