Brandon

I’m back! After a hiatus of several months, I’m happy to announce I’ll be blogging again for The Urbane Life.  I hope to continue covering gay rights issues, an issue that is particularly exciting right now.  My goal is to post at least once a week.  I’m also planning to continue covering politics, zeitgeist,...
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First, the Republicans attacked the health care reform bill.  Remember those crazies activists at the town hall meetings shouting and hollering expressing their views last August? Now, some Democrats and independent progressives are lining up against The Bill as well.  First, Howard Dean, appearing on NPR, MSNBC, and writing in the Washington Post, sounded...
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iPhone users, angry at recent comments by AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega regarding his company’s plans to “incentivize” mobile data hogs to cut back on their usage, are not a happy bunch of campers.  One of them, known as Fake Steve Jobs, has publicly called for a “digital flash mob.” “Operation Chokehold” encourages...
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The holiday season is here, friends and fam are coming to visit, but you’ve already spent a mint on gifts (and, let’s be honest, some assorted Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases that you’ve made for yourself).  And your eager visitors want to do something.  It would be cool to take them to Coach...
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Dwell, a cool monthly magazine on modern architecture and design, has long occupied a place on UrbaneBlog’s blogroll.  It’s a great source for ideas for building a house or for beautiful pieces to upgrade an apartment or loft.  Besides their magazine, which is popular with both influential architects and mere mortals interested in modern...
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Good news for residents of Pleasant Ridge!  Well, those non-crotchedy one who like to have fun. Nancy Crutchfield will be opening Cork, the first business serving alcohol since prohibition to be opened in that city.  Michael P. McConnell, writing for the Daily Tribune, reports that the Pleasant Ridge City Commission recently approved a request...
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Jessica Carreras wrote a touching story in Between the Lines this week profiling two Catholic parents who are working hard to help other parents reconcile their faith with the fact that they have a gay person in their family.  Tom Nelson, 80, and Linda Karie-Nelson, 69, each have a gay child from a prior...
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One of the great parts about living and playing in and around Royal Oak is that it has a strong contingent of local businesses that like to have fun — whether that be sampling crepes and wine, making special chocolate treats, or serving the best damned Laos/Thai food in the state. Salon 6, located...
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American Idol celbri-rocker Adam Lambert set the entertainment and punditry world on fire Sunday night as the closing act of the American Music Awards.  (The video clip on Youtube has been taken down by the censor-nazis.)  His performance of “For Your Entertainment” (see clip above) featured the openly-gay rocker walking a dancer on a...
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I wanted to watch a movie last night with a friend of mine.  It was cold and rainy, so we decided to skip a trek out to the theater to see Where the Wild Things Are.  The only Netflix DVD I had was from the year of my high school graduation, What’s Eating Gilbert...
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Great news for barbecue lovers!  One of Detroit’s most popular eateries, Slows, is expanding by opening up a takeout and catering business in Midtown Detroit.  Slows originally opened about four years ago in a smartly renovated building near the old Tiger Stadium.  It serves a wide variety of southern-inspired, slow-comfort food — including ribs,...
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I had the chance to attend the National Equality March in Washington, DC this past Sunday.  Around 150,000 gay, lesbian, and transgendered people (along with numerous straight allies) marched from the White House to the Capitol in support of equal rights for all Americans.  The March came a day after a passionate speech by...
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