Op-Ed

I discovered Deepwood last year, when word spread like lightening through the vegan community that they had begun to offer a special and comprehensive vegan menu. So, when you are looking for another fine dining experience for that special event, Deepwood is another great local option. Our vegan meet-up of 40 thoroughly enjoyed the creative and delectable spread they created for us this time last year. Their current vegan menu features locally sourced, organically grown options and I’m salivating while anticipating sinking my teeth into that fresh baked bread, cauliflower steak with mustard greens, cashew, date, raisin, caper pickled mustard with date compote, and their vegan chocolate cake and coconut ice-cream to celebrate finishing finals this week and mom’s birthday. I had a conversation with one of their staff members about the benefits of veganic (also known as “stock free”) agriculture. By eliminating livestock from our agricultural production, we largely eliminate all kinds of infectious diseases from contaminating the food chain, such as: salmonella, e-coli, MRSA, pfiesteria, and campylobacter.

It started early Monday. It always starts on Monday, the yelling, that is. It doesn't stop until late Tuesday. It comes from downstairs, where the bulk of the Free Press work takes place. It's where the fellow who edits this publication plies his trade. He also startles our cats. Like clockwork, every Monday morning, we hear him holler out from below, “Godfrey Daniel!” he yells, but he doesn't really say “Godfrey Daniel.” What he does say I'm not comfortable typing. It's also the mildest of the expletives he spouts. He is crude and foul-mouthed, this editor person. “Mother Pussbucket,” he screamed 10 minutes after letting loose with his first audio bomb of the morning. Wobbles leapt into the air and ran under the bed. She doesn't care for the sound of his voice, not to mention the fact that he startles her with his cursing. “Son-of-a-Bitch!” he wails soon after. His outburst is accompanied by the sound of a fist battering a desk top.

It probably should have occurred to me beforehand that late November would be a busy time for Archie Griffin. Being the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, an Ohio State legend, nay, institution and all around good guy, certainly media inquiries would take up a lot of his time as we near the end of the college football season. But I hadn't thought that far ahead when I sought an interview with Griffin. I was mildly surprised to find that the president and CEO of the Ohio State Alumni Association had a person designated to handle interview requests for him. I contacted that person, Jay Hansen, last week in an attempt to set up an interview. “He's pretty busy right now,” Hansen informed me. It suddenly dawned on me that we were approaching Heisman voting time. Certainly Griffin would be up to his eyebrows in interviews. I would need to play the ace up my sleeve. “Well, if it makes any difference,” I said. “Archie knows me, we went to high school together.” Hensen wedged me into Griffin's busy schedule the next day.

In honor of last week's Trans Day of Rememberance and Trans Awareness Week, I asked International Dancer and Burlesque Performer, Fonda Lingue some questions. I follow her on Facebook and we have become friends, meeting at burlesque festivals. She has been extraordinarily forthcoming about her journey coming out as a woman, including taking hormones, battling cancer and getting surgery. Please take a moment to learn more, feel the love that pours out of this incredible person, and think about others who either have or want to make this journey. Fonda Lingue traveled the world as a professional ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer for twenty years and now travels the world as a burlesque performer and instructor. LM: What is your history as a performer? When did you become Fonda Lingue? Fonda Lingue: Fonda Started as a drag performer in Atlanta back in 2006. After doing drag for a while I was tired of the lip syncing and standing there and decided to use my dance training in my numbers. These numbers evolved into burlesque numbers. Vagina Jenkins saw me perform and asked me to perform in one of her shows.

I can't tell you how upset I am to even be writing this column. It's Hate Michigan Week, I was going to insult the state and defend Detroit #atthesamedamntime. But when chicanery in the state legislature is afoot, Ain't No Love In The Heart shall ride. HB 203, aka the Stand Your Ground bill, passed the House last Wednesday. The chances of it becoming law are high (I mean, can you really count on Kasich doing something that resembles the actions of a caring, humane individual TWICE?), but there' still time, and if we raise enough hell, then maybe, just maybe, because on the real y'all, Stand Your Ground laws are the embodiment of everything that prevents us from actually living together in peace. Most of the arguments against Stand Your Ground are about the ways in which it disproportionately affects black and brown youths, that people's latent racism can now serve as a justifiable reason for killing another human being, that black and brown people must live in constant fear that their actions will be misconstrued by some angry (almost always a) dude and the result will be their death.

One man's overthrow of a democratically elected government is another man's fodder for a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk. Key in white and Western colonial projects is a sovereign nation all too willing to play host. Since 2009, Honduras has been that nation. Its story is a tragedy that even Shakespeare would have deemed as too emo, the bad old days of imperial neoliberalism in Latin America all over again. Honduras's presidential elections are Saturday, and its people, and the Libre party, no matter what deity, algorithm or currency system you happen to worship, need you to pray for them. On June 28, 2009, six months after Obama's inauguration and two months after his supposed apology tour, President Manuel Zelaya was woken up in his pajamas by the military and forcibly removed from the country. Every country in the world except the United States and Israel called it for what it was, a military coup, which conveniently allowed the US to continue to provide. In the sham elections that followed, the Dynamic Duo were the only countries to recognize the new government. For the right, even this wasn't enough.

Question: How can I ask my wife for sex? We have been married for 19-plus years, and have not had sex for ten years now. I am desperate. IT is complicated. Any ideas? Dear Reader:Thank you for your question. I can feel your frustration. There are many factors to consider. It brings up many more questions that can be directed to both you and/or your wife. * What else is happening with your relationship? * Is there depression or other mental illness? Is depression medication a factor? This can dramatically change a person's desire or inclination towards sex. * Was there a recovered memory of sexual trauma or abuse as a child? * Was there an injury? Is there now a disability that makes sex uncomfortable or painful? * Has an affair occurred? Do both parties know about the affair? Are you certain that either party is unaware? * Has there been a history of drug or alcohol abuse? * Has there been a history of domestic violence, in any way? Verbal, emotional, mental, physical, sexual? * Did she have a child, was it a traumatic delivery? * Have either of you gained a lot of weight? Has this weight created negative feelings? * Do you watch a lot of pornography?