November is National Novel Writing Month, when aspiring novelists are challenged to write a 50,000-word work (about 175 pages) in 30 days. In 2006, over 79,000 people participated and nearly 13,000 reached the 50,000-word goal. The organizers say: Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought […]
Last spring, I interviewed the founder of CareSquare, an online service that matches families with caregivers (babysitters and nannies) in their area. Now, a new entrant joins this field, Care.com. As with CareSquare, the usefulness of the service depends largely on where one lives. In a small town or remote location, there may not be
Famous LGBT enclaves like the Castro District in San Francisco, Key West, Florida, and West Hollywood “struggle to maintain cultural relevance in the face of gentrification,” claims the New York Times. “In the Castro, the influx of baby strollers—some being pushed by straight parents, some by gay parents—is perhaps the most blatant sign of change,”
Continuing the theme of education from earlier this week: In the U.K., the Commons education committee has warned that creativity is a “second-order priority” in the country’s schools, but should be a fundamental part of learning, with adequate funding. “We believe that the best education has creativity at its very heart,” they say. I couldn’t
Living near the capitol of Red Sox Nation, it’s hard not to get caught up in the collective euphoria over our sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series (and yes, for true fans, the first-person plural is warranted). Sunday’s victory had another meaning for me as well. The winning pitcher was Jon
Here’s this week’s post in my Family Voices series. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) member Isabel talks about having a mother who came out, the importance of being yourself and letting your children be themselves, and why COLAGE means so much to her. Tell us a little about the family in which you
CBS’s The Amazing Race will feature a lesbian couple for the first time when it starts its new season November 4, reports After Ellen. The couple, 49-year-old Kate Lewis and 65-year-old Pat Hendrickson, are both Episcopalian ministers, and should be fun to watch, especially as they compete against couples half their age and a pair
This Sunday’s Boston Globe Magazine had an exposé on the Better Baby Institute, which claims to have created a method for accelerating babies’ development. Physical therapist Glenn Doman founded the Institute to help brain-damaged children recover function, and he (along with daughter Janet) is now applying his findings to well infants and toddlers. “We are
The Baldwin Amendment, which would have added gender-identity and -expression protections back into ENDA, is dead, and a vote on ENDA has been delayed. Presidential candidate Barack Obama incurred the wrath of many LGBT advocates when he scheduled an appearance with homophobic gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. Obama countered by also scheduling openly gay minister Andy
When scientists at the University of Utah flipped a certain genetic switch in the brains of female worms, it caused them to be attracted to other female worms, further proof that sexual orientation is genetic. Now the nematodes are forming a softball team and planning a music festival. (What does a lesbian worm bring on
