Get in the spirit
Last week, <italic> Cosmopolitan </italic> magazine books editor John Searles plugged David Valdes Greenwood's second release, <italic>A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood In Holidays</italic> (DeCapo Press) as one of 10 gift books for last-minute shoppers on <italic>The Today Show</italic>. Here's a hearty second to Searles's recommendation. Valdes Greenwood, a playwright and author of <italic>Homo Domesticus: Notes From A Same-Sex Marriage</italic>, writes with David Sedaris-like wit about the Christmases he enjoyed as a young, fey boy with his eccentric family in rural Maine.
Gifted and challenged
Every week, Bay Windows is deluged with press releases from lazy publicists who have no idea of what we actually cover in our paper. The inappropriate pitches get downright surreal around the middle of November, as PR flacks try to push all manner of bizarre products on us as "the perfect holiday gift." After scanning through scores of these tree-wasters, we've figured out what we don't want for Christmas.
SpeakOut announces plan to be debt free by April
Last month SpeakOut, the LGBT speaker's bureau, was on the brink of collapse. Faced with declining revenues, IRS debt, the resignation of more than half of the organization's board members and decreased demand for SpeakOut's services, co-chair Bernadette Smith put forward a motion to dissolve the organization. News of Smith's motion brought longtime supporters and former volunteers out of the woodwork, and on Nov. 14, the night of the board meeting to vote on dissolution, they convinced the board to vote to allow the organization to continue.
The devil's in the details: our guide to the candidates
With the Iowa caucuses (Jan. 3) and the New Hampshire primary (Jan. 8) just around the corner, you can't flip on the television, pick up a newspaper or log on to YouTube without encountering images of a weepy Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton trying to soften her edges or Rudy Giuliani perusing holiday tchotchkes at a barn in New Hampshire.
LGBT youth describe harassment, bullying
About 35 high schoolers from Brockton, East Bridgewater, Fall River and Weymouth met with members of the Massachusetts Commission on GLBT Youth Dec. 17 at Brockton High School to give them a glimpse of life inside the region's public schools. The bottom line? They said that in many classrooms homophobic bullies seem to be running the show.
MassEquality formalizes changes to mission, board of directors
The MassEquality Board of Directors approved changes to the group's by-laws and articles of incorporation at its Dec. 12 meeting, thereby formalizing its decision in November to expand the organization's mission to encompass LGBT issues beyond marriage. The board also approved a resolution that dissolved the organization's coalition style of governance. The votes were taken in the aftermath of the resignations of two members of the 18-member board.
MTPC wins Boston Foundation grant
The Boston Foundation last week awarded the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) a $25,000 grant. MTPC co-chair Holly Ryan said much of the funding will go towards paying for a first for the organization, a paid staff member.
Duddy returns to post at Dignity/USA
After an absence of several years, Marianne Duddy-Burke of Hyde Park is once again taking over as the executive director of Dignity USA, a national organization of LGBT Catholics. Duddy-Burke will begin her duties on Jan. 3 at Dignity USA's new headquarters in Boston.
Clothing drive announced for MassResistance
As our design team sorted though some archived photos, something struck them as queer about the images from the previous hearing in the case of Parker v. Lexington on February 7, 2007. It wasn't the comparatively low turn out of pro-Parker activists this time around, nor the seeming lack of any pro-Lexington support. Rather, it was the striking reappearance of a lapis full-length quilted coat and faux leopard hat.
Out on DVD
Brian Jewell gives us the "Dirt" on what's new in DVD's, reminding us that although there was a time when watching "Naked Boys Singing" in the comfort of your own home was "Once" just a dream, but now it's a dream come true!
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