Lavender Magazine - Minnesota’s GLBT Magazine - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender News - Minneapolis / Saint Paul
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Politics and health always seem to be tricky things to figure out and follow. How does one choose the right health-care plan? What does DFL mean? Red; blue; Green Party? Deductibles and copays. It’s no wonder most people just avoid them to the best of their abilities.
But fret no longer. […]
It does seem odd to start an article on health insurance by referencing the Bible, but the case can be made that there are parallels to Jeremiah 8:11 (“Peace, peace, ‘But there is no peace’”) with the chant that seems to come from the presidential campaign trail when voters are asked what their concerns are: […]
As a relative newcomer to the Twin Cities (though no stranger to the Midwest, stereotyped as the “land of churches and bars”), I’ve been absolutely floored by the abundance of progressive GLBT-welcoming faith communities in the area. In many parts of the country, progressive or inclusive religious institutions are unheard of; in much of the […]
Lavender Media, publisher of Lavender Magazine, welcomes the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as our nonprofit partner in the 2008 edition of Minnesota’s prize-winning GLBT Lavender Yellow Pages Edition. For the sixth consecutive year, we have created a rich directory of information that will benefit Minnesota’s GLBT community.
We are fortunate to have such a wealth of […]
“By the time I was 3 years old, I had personified all the crayons in my 24-count box of Crayolas. I was convinced that individual colors would feel slighted if I didn’t use each crayon equally.”
So artist Jim Dryden, who created this year’s stunning cover piece for our Lavender Yellow Pages issue, fondly recalls his […]
There are a few generalizations you can make about Minnesotans that are almost always true: We will complain bitterly about the weather, even though we know in our hearts there is nothing we can do about it; we have a smug confidence that our way of doing things is better than, say, the way it […]
It’s always been a mystery to me why that old 40’s standard, the “Java Jive”, is sung so slowly. Certainly after “a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, boy”, I think it would be impossible not to pick up the pace. God bless the hallowed bean for that—for its wonderfully indecent effects […]
With the surge of coffee, or perhaps better phrased, explosion of the coffee scene, the popularity of its side, the donut, has also surged. While only a few people still try to order “just a coffee,” people have expanded beyond the donut and started buying bagels. But which one goes best with coffee?
The donut has […]
Sports play an enor-mous role in Twin Cities culture. GLBT spectators can choose from a virtual rainbow of athletic options: the Minnesota Vikings, Wild, Thunder, Twins, Timberwolves, and Lynx compete against each other for the entertainment dollars of sports fans, but many members of our rainbow team would rather play than watch. And the Twin […]
You have my solemn word as a bad guy professional wrestler that the story I am about to tell you is absotively, posilutely true.
After I earned my first title—the Northern Lights Wrestling Midwest Heavyweight Championship—on August 19, 2007, I named the belt Ramon Wladziu Furter Clemont. Then, still dripping with the sweet sweat of salty […]
To many connoisseurs around the country, “Minnesota” and “cuisine” seem like a contradiction in terms—unless you’re one of the rare ones who would lend the name “cuisine” to such staples as hotdish, walleye, and lutefisk. But there’s more to Minnesota’s population than our Nordic forebears, and more to Minnesotan cuisine than our traditional fare.
Lime marinated […]
Sure, shopping is easier than ever these days. Most products are just a double-click away, usually complete with a detailed description and a picture you can examine (and even alter at will). Still, where’s the thrill in that? Shopping isn’t about the purchase. It’s about the chase. It’s about the discovery of amazing bargains in […]
The land of 10,000 lakes has, well, a lot of lakes to look at, but we offer so much more—like trees. We offer a lot of those, too. But perhaps you don’t live in Nevada, and have seen bodies of water and trees before.
Minnesota has more historical, natural, odd, cultural, and even […]
Mobility is at the core of the American identity, and so it is in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Mass transit plays an ever-increasing role in this collective mobility.
The distinguished Metropolitan Council presides over 90 percent of Twin Cities buses via its Metro Transit division, the 18th-largest such system in the world. Fares vary a […]
Sure, snow might coat the ground for what feels like three-fourths of the year, and it’s hard to meet someone who hasn’t been fishing or played hockey at least once. But in this great land o’ lakes, the array of activities for our highly coveted leisure time is more than expansive. So, is there more […]
Whether it’s heading into downtown Minneapolis or venturing out into St. Paul for the night, a bar is out there for you. The bar scene in Minneapolis is diverse enough to give you a night you want, no matter what kind of night you want.
While most bars and clubs in the area don’t care whether […]
Since prehistoric times, beer has been cherished right up there with bread as the twin staffs of life. In fact, the oldest historic document known to man, a Babylonian clay tablet from 6000 B.C., documents brewing instructions.
First things first. By 4000 B.C., those Babylonians had mastered 16 different types of beer, using barley, wheat […]
So, the hundreds of beer choices not enough? Too lazy to go to the bar and buy a beer? Feel like the 1920s were the best decade? Well, here is an easy, simple, at-home method to making your very own beer!
Step 1: Make sure your partner fully agrees with you or you have […]
Did you know that
Minneapolis is home to more Tony Award-winning Regional Theaters than any city in the nation? Those three, the Guthrie, Children’s Theatre Company, and Theatre de la Jeune Lune, are world-class and world-renowned. They also have good records for inclusion of queer-oriented material ranging from overt gay themes to hard-hitting crossgender casting that […]
Despite its harsh
climate, Minnesota is ranked fourth in terms of overall fitness, just behind Massachusetts. Perhaps one of many reasons for our physical well-being is our love affair with dance. Not a weekend goes by that one can’t drop in on a tango night at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar in St. Paul, […]
The music scene in the Twin Cities has become one of the premier stops for up-and-coming acts has it is for the megastars themselves. And its no surprise either, the area has more musical venues in one block than it does seasons. Some of the more notable of these venues come with history […]
not much about
the Twin Cities appearance reveals its unique historical perspective. Our streets have all but turned their backs on the Mississippi and its link to our lumber-mill roots, and much of our architecture looks like it was placed here just the other day by a race of well-intentioned, if indifferent, beings. But never mind […]
Conferrin’ with the flowers isn’t the only to divert oneself here in the Twin Cities. And many of our diversions are season-specific.
Photo by Sophia HantzesMinnesota’s shortest season is summer, and the Best Ten Days of Summer are collectively referred to as the Minneapolis Aquatennial. The City of Lakes’s celebration of life-giving water is an annual […]
According to one study, pets are appearing in progressively more GLBT households each and every year. Obviously, GLBT couples have some biological barriers as far as child bearing is concerned, and oftentimes, companion animals afford us a shortcut to parenthood. In humans, unconditional love is called “codependence”; in pets, it’s the whole point. The unconditional […]
The good news about the Twin Cities is that most areas are welcoming to the alphabet-soup community. That Minneapolis has two out members in the Minnesota Legislature and sent the first Muslim to the United States House of Representatives shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Calhoun Square, Uptown Minneapolis. Photo by Hubert BonnetSt. Paul has a more […]