July 16, 2009
Pets
Out store owners have 4 legs to stand on
The duo opened the store nearly nine years ago with a mission to help pet owners provide their dogs and cats with nutritious and high-quality natural products. Prior to opening 4 Legs, the two owned a dog walking service. While they always fed their own pets (they currently have two dogs and two cats) organic products, they couldn’t help but notice that many of their clients did not. And most clients had no clue as to why natural products were better for their devote friends... Full Story / Comment
Freestyle
Love, goodbye and everything in between: an interview with Casper Andreas
The name of filmmaker Casper Andreas will be familiar to moviegoers who have seen his gay sex comedies “Slutty Summer” (in which he also starred) and “A Four Letter Word.” But his new movie, “Between Love & Goodbye” (Embrem), now on DVD, is a distinctive departure from his previous... Full Story / Comment
Cinema: The ‘gay as punchline’ edition
“Brüno” (Universal)—Flaming and sexually compulsive Austrian fashionista Brüno (the chameleon-like Sacha Baron Cohen), host of TV style program “Funkyzeit,” is schvartz-listed after a mishap involving a Velcro suit and a runway. The world turns on Brüno and he is subsequently dumped by his pygmy flight attendant boyfriend Diesel (Clifford Bañagale) and fired from “Funkyzeit.” With... Full Story / Comment
Check out this week's live performance listing... Full Story / Comment
Music: Goodbye to the seventies
The deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson in June 2009 had a way of putting some finality on the 1970s. As pop culture icons, Fawcett and Jackson, who had begun their respective careers in the 1960s, achieved superstar status in the... Full Story / Comment
Since 1916—nearly a century—Keds sneakers’ reputation has had a reputation for authenticity, quality, performance, style. Today there are a number of styles, from the classic canvas champion sneaker to the ballet flat to this summer’s popular... Full Story / Comment
CFP reviews ‘The Cousins Grimm’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Macbeth’ & ‘Bristol Renaissance Faire’... Full Story / Comment
Marketplace
Pools ‘go green,’ save green without turning green
Swimming pools are notorious for aquatic activity during the summer, but large public pools and small backyard bodies of water can increase energy costs and be environmentally hazardous if not properly maintained... Full Story / Comment
Freetime
There’s a sudden emergence of a resurgence of insurgents in Afghanistan right now. I’ve just read that U.S. Marines in the town of Khan Neshin recently surrounded a Taliban compound. Not knowing how many civilians were inside, though, they held fire. Eventually, after all the women... Full Story / Comment
News
Daley could appoint an anti-gay alderman by Aug. 1
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has just over two weeks to decide who will fill former 26th Ward Ald. Billy Ocasio’s shoes now that he left his seat on the City Council to work for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, and one potential pick is ruffling the GLBT community’s feathers... Full Story / Comment
Local lesbian files discrimination charge against healthcare giant
A Buffalo Grove lesbian who telecommutes for UnitedHealth Group recently filed a discrimination complaint against her employer. Laura Valenziano, 55, a 19-year veteran employee... Full Story / Comment
Burris won’t seek re-election; will focus on DADT
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) formally announced at a South Side Chicago hotel July 10 that he will not seek re-election in 2010. During the announcement, Burris revealed that he is using the time left he has in office (his term expires January 2011) to focus... Full Story / Comment
Trans activist leads local campaign
“They’ve given me virtually everything I need here,” she said of the Center. “I know I’m going to miss it.” Prior to her role as a GLBT activist, and now as a campaign’s chief of staff, LaTrobe worked for 30-plus years in corporate sales... Full Story / Comment
More bad news for Howard Brown Peace Garden
Less than two weeks after a stolen statue in memory of a Chicago lesbian activist was returned to the Howard Brown Health Center Peace Garden, the garden has become the center of more bad news... Full Story / Comment
Gay couple detained near Mormon plaza after kiss
A gay couple say they were detained by security guards on a plaza owned by the Mormon church and later cited by police, claiming it stemmed from a kiss on the cheek. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that the men became argumentative and refused to... Full Story / Comment
Opinion
A more liberal Episcopal Church
It doesn’t matter if you attend religious services weekly or if you have fallen away, if you’re atheist or agnostic, if you think religion is the opiate of the people or the road to peace– established religion in America is an important force... Full Story / Comment
The Chicago school system now has an openly gay head. Earlier this year, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed former Chicago Transit Authority head (and before that mayoral Chief of Staff) Ron Huberman to head the school system with an obvious mandate to improve what are often called “the failing Chicago schools... Full Story / Comment
Editorial
Paul Varnell’s recent column, “Gay Amateur Musicians”, completely overlooked the existence of a twelve-year-old LGBT Chicago instrumental music organization, the Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles. From cellos to oboes for even electric guitars, Lakeside Pride is a place for the adult musician. On average 120 musicians of all skill levels participate annually in one of the... Full Story / Comment
