• Columns,  Savvy Senior

    The Savvy Senior: Trikes for Grown-Ups


    By Jim MillerS

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    What can you tell me about three-wheeled bicycles? I’m 65 years old and would like to start cycling again but I have some occasional balance problems and don’t trust myself on a two-wheeler. What can you recommend?

    Ready to Ride

    Dear Ready,

    Three-wheeled bikes – also known as adult trikes – are a great cycling option for older adults, especially those who have concerns with their balance or stamina. Here’s what you should know, along with some tips to help you shop for one.

  • Audiobooks,  Q Audiobooks

    Q Audiobooks: The Aging Brain, by Thad A. Polk, Narrated by Thad A. Polk


    Q Audiobooks is a regular feature at LGBTSr highlighting audiobooks of interest to the LGBTQ listener.

    By: Thad A. PolkThe Great Courses
    Narrated by: Thad A. Polk
    Series: The Great Courses: Better Living
    Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
    Release date: 06-24-16
    Publisher: The Great Courses

    About ‘The Aging Brain’

    We’re all getting older every day, and scientific research has shown that starting in our 20s, some brain functions begin a linear decline. But is old age all doom and gloom?

    Not at all! While it’s true that some functions in the aging brain decline, neuroscientists have discovered that many other brain functions remain stable – or even improve – as we age. Furthermore, nurture plays as significant a role as nature, and there are a number of strategies you can implement to stave off declining brain function, including:

    • Incorporating physical activity into your routine
    • Eating a healthy diet
    • Maintaining a vibrant social life
    • Reducing your stress

    The science behind the aging brain tells a fascinating – and often counterintuitive – story. Is “aging” a disease or merely a natural occurrence that produces disease-like symptoms? If humans are biologically programmed to survive and thrive, why do we age at all? Is it possible (or even desirable) to “cure” aging altogether?


    Are you listening?

  • Columns,  Lee Lynch

    Lee Lynch’s Amazon Trail: Femmes and Their Gadgets

    Photo by Sue Hardesty

    By Lee Lynch  
    The Amazon Trail

    I have the patience to write a novel, but not to read directions. Especially when something comes along like the OBD2 which, she had to explain to me, is an automotive onboard diagnostic tool.

    It’s a shame, the things they don’t teach us at Butch School. In the Femme Gadgets class, I learned the basics of eyelash brushes and powdering noses and hoop, stud, drop, climber, and jacket earrings. The femme who has been cutting my hair for about twenty years was today appropriately made up and earring-ed, her own hair mostly blue with a complementary green streak along the part. She obviously has great fun with her various girly tools.

    But that’s not what she was all excited about. It was Vector, her Kickstarter miniature robot. Vector is not without its useful functions, but is mainly an adorable, irresistible gadget that has learned to say her name.

  • Podcasts,  The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #93: Messing with Texas, We Heart #AOC, Let’s Play Yes or No, and the Week in Headlines


    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we take a look at Texas’ hate-a-palooza, what to love about Alexadria Ocasio-Cortez, our new ‘Yes or No’ fun feature, the Twist List, and the week in headlines.

    Enjoy The Twist on LibsyniTunesSoundCloud, Stitcher, Castbox, Spotify, and TheTwistPodcast.com

    Copyright 2019 MadeMark Publishing

  • Columns,  Sue Katz

    Review: Sue Katz on ‘Alleged Lesbian Activities’ at Jacques Cabaret (Boston)

    Sue Katz
    Sue Katz

    The following is reprinted with permission from Sue Katz: Consenting Adult

    By Sue Katz

    The New Orleans-based ensemble Last Call brought Alleged Lesbian Activities to Boston thanks to our incomparable The Theatre Offensive. This production asks: What happened to all the lesbian bars? And examines what our lives were like back when the underground bars – sleazy, criminal, and too often raided – were the only venues where we could gather.


    Alleged Lesbian Activities drew sell-out crowds for five performances at Jacques Cabaret, a dive bar in what used to be known as Boston’s Combat Zone when it was surrounded by other queer bars, topless joints, and the sex trade in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I remember it well because I ‘grew up’ as a baby dyke in Jacques from the late ‘60s. At age 22, I met one of the great loves of my life in that bar, after secretly slipping her a copy of Lavender Vision, one of the first gay liberation publications of the new movement, put out by my collective. I haven’t been back there since the 1970s.

  • Audiobooks,  Q Audiobooks

    Q Audiobooks: Before I Had the Words (On Being a Transgender Young Adult), by Skylar Kergil, Narrated by Skylar Kergil


    Q Audiobooks is a regular feature at LGBTSr highlighting audiobooks of interest to the LGBTQ listener.

    Before I Had the Words
    By: Skylar Kergil
    Narrated by: Skylar Kergil
    Length: 7 hours, 7 minutes
    Release date: 11-13-18
    Publisher: Audible Studios

    About ‘Before I Had the Words’

    At the beginning of his physical transition from female to male, then-17-year-old Skylar Kergil posted his first video on YouTube. In the months and years that followed, he recorded weekly update videos about the physical and emotional changes he experienced. Skylar’s openness and positivity attracted thousands of viewers, who followed along as his voice deepened and his body changed shape. Through surgeries and recovery, highs and lows, from high school to college to the real world, Skylar welcomed others on his journey.

  • Columns,  Savvy Senior

    The Savvy Senior: How SSI Can Help Low-Income Seniors and the Disabled


    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    What can you tell me about the Supplemental Security Income program and what are the eligibility requirements? My father is very low-income, so I’m wondering if this is something he may qualify for.

    Searching Daughter                                                                    

    Dear Searching,

    Supplemental Security Income (or SSI) is a program administered by the Social Security Administration that provides monthly cash benefits to people that are disabled or over 65 based on financial need. Currently, more than 8 million people are receiving SSI benefits. Here’s what you should know.

  • Columns,  Grace Anne Stevens

    Grace Anne Stevens: Maybe, Just Maybe, Change is Happening

    Grace Anne Stevens

    By Grace Anne Stevens

    A few weeks ago, I had one of those head colds that just would not seem to go away.  I was congested and had a sore throat that had some ebb and flow to it.   I thought I was getting better and then…  my face turned a shade of red that would have made Santa a bit envious.

    After a few days, I made my way to the ER and was admitted with an infection called Cellulitis.  Although I had never heard of this before, I quickly learned that this is a staph infection and required IV antibiotics.

  • Columns,  One Thing or Another Columns

    One Thing or Another: Chew On That

    By Mark McNease

    It’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.

    “You can miss the color of someone’s eyes, or the shape of their nose, but a grin with no teeth dares you to ignore it.”

    You know you’re getting older when half your teeth have abandoned you, leaving your mouth like homeowners who’ve found a better neighborhood. You want them to stay. You offer incentives (“No more sugar, I promise!”), but they leave anyway, wiggling their way from the root up until they either fall out or get pulled out by a dentist who’s been lecturing you for ten years to use an electric toothbrush.

  • Audiobooks,  Latest,  Q Audiobooks

    Q Audiobooks: Backwards to Oregon, by Jae, Narrated by Hayden Bishop


    Q Audiobooks is a regular feature at LGBTSr highlighting audiobooks of interest to the LGBTQ listener.

    Hat tip: Lesbian Audiobooks.com

    Backwards to Oregon
    By: Jae
    Narrated by: Hayden Bishop
    Length: 15 hours, 30 minutes
    Release date: 03-2017
    Publisher: Ylva Publishing

    About ‘Backwards to Oregon’

    “Luke” Hamilton has always been sure she’d never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she chose to live her life disguised as a man.

  • Columns,  Savvy Senior

    The Savvy Senior: Finding Health Insurance Before Medicare Kicks In

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    I will be retiring in a few months and need to get some health insurance for my wife and me until we can enroll in Medicare. What are my options?

    About to Retire

    Dear About,

    There are several places early retirees can find health insurance coverage before Medicare kicks in, but the best option for you and your wife will depend on your income level and your health care needs. Here’s where to look.

    Government Marketplace

    If your yearly income falls below the 400 percent poverty level after you retire, the Affordable Care Act (ACA aka Obamacare) marketplace is probably your best option for getting health coverage because of the premium subsidies they offer, which will reduce the amount you’ll have to pay for a policy.

    ACA health insurance is major medical insurance that covers essential health benefits with no annual or lifetime coverage maximums. And they can’t charge you more or deny you coverage because of a pre-existing health condition.

  • LGBTravel,  Travel,  Travel Time

    Gay Travelers Magazine Visits The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

    This article first appeared in Gay Travelers Magazine

    By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong

    The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is a place that everyone should visit. Learn about the exciting “space race,” climb inside space capsules and a Space Shuttle, watch IMAX movies, dine on-site, eat with an astronaut or watch an actual thundering, ground shaking rocket launch. 

    Each year, more than 1.5 million guests from around the world experience their very own space adventure by exploring the exciting past, present and future of America’s space program at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Built in 1967, today the Visitor Complex is one of Central Florida’s most popular tourist destinations.

    SUGGESTED ITINERARIES

    ONE DAY VISITS

    One Day Visit: Family with Children Under 10 Years of Age

    • Heroes & Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing® – 1 hour
    • Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour including Apollo/Saturn V Center – 2 hours
    • Space Shuttle Atlantis® with Shuttle Launch Experience® – 2 hours
    • Journey To Mars: Explorers Wanted – 30 minutes
    • Children’s Playdome for Junior Astronauts – 30 minutes
    • Dining and shopping – 1 hour