By Olivia Haveron The 2020 Holiday season has officially begun as the countdown to Christmas begins now. While we start binging on holiday movies, gift shopping and Christmas carols, we become eager to spread cheer and merry spirit to everyone all around us. This year especially, since the COVID-19 Pandemic has taken control of our lives, finding the Christmas Spirit is something that more people want to seek out in 2020. And because of all of the chaos that has ensued this y

By Lori Perkins Just hours after the Elton John Barbie doll went on sale, the entire production of dolls has sold out. I believe the last time this happened was in 2018, when Mattel offered the Frieda Kahlo doll. The Elton John Barbie joins other rock Barbie’s such as Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett and Blondie. The Elton John Barbie was designed with the iconic gay singer who dressed her in a glitter rainbow bomber jacket with the word “Elton” across the front and bell-bottom jeans

By David T. Valentin In an effort to save The Strand, the famous downtown New York City bookstore, owner Nancy Wyden posted a heartfelt letter imploring book lovers to buy from the store in order to #Savethestrand. Within only two days, customers contributed to $170,550 in sales. The letter, posted with the hashtag #savethestrand, was posted on the bookstore’s social media platforms. As of the end of October, the post received over 16.5 thousand retweets and 26.3 likes, makin

The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan Reviewed by Cardyn Brooks Historical romance ★★★★ In The Duke Who Didn't, Courtney Milan offers readers a thoroughly delightful historical rom-com with substantive cultural research and emotional family legacies seamlessly combined. Forthright entrepreneur Chloe Fong is a Type A planner. Undercover Duke Jeremy Wentworth is a Type B improviser who has loved Chloe since they were children. He wants to build a life with her, but there's one

By Lori Perkins Like most of us, I was hoping to get a jump on holiday shopping this year online, but as my mailbox fills up with Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers, it amazes me to see how many of them as still for real life services, events, and activities. No, I do not want 50% off on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I don’t care how much a room at Caesar’s in Las Vegas is – I won’t be booking it. Likewise for the Botox, spa treatments, dental cleaning, eyebrow waxing, axe thr

By Olivia Haveron As the COVID-19 Pandemic carries on amidst the end of the year, Black Friday shopping nears closer and closer, urging for the start of the Christmas season to begin. Black Friday usually means packed, long lines, people fighting over random items, and deals galore. However, with COVID-19 seemingly getting much worse before it gets remotely better, as the U.S averages 173,165 cases per day over the past week, stores get prepared to see massive crowds this Fri

By Lori Perkins So every year, after the guests leave, my son and I turn to each other and ask, “Do you want to watch a Thanksgiving movie?” and every year we settle for Planes, Trains and Automobiles (which is from 1987) because we can’t find anything else that is the right combo of holiday and fun. So, this year, I did a little prep work for all of us. I went through lists and lists of Thanksgiving movies and threw out the perennial clunkers IMHO – Alice’s Restaurant, A Cha

By Lori Perkins It should be no secret to any of you that Stacey Abrams, the genius behind turning Georgia blue for Biden, is a romance writer, among many other incredible things. So it should come as no surprise to any of you that the romance community has gotten behind her efforts to get the massive blue vote out again on January 5th when there is a runoff election for two Senate seats that could turn the entire Senate blue. Organized by best selling romance writers Courtn

By David T. Valentin A new law in San Francisco – the Caren Act – seeks to eliminate emergency calls motived by discrimination. The Caren Act – Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies – seeks to fine people up to $1,000 for calling in for supposed “emergencies” after a slew of “Karins” made headlines for calling in 911 claiming they feel “threatened” by POC and BIPOC. One such incident, now known as the “Central Park birdwatching incident” started because a whit

By Olivia Haveron Photo: Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com It’s official! Broadway is back! Well, at least for one night only it is. Broadway has been missing from our experiences for the past year due to the Coronavirus pandemic and there is very little sign of it coming back anytime soon. However, soon we will have a glimpse at the future of Broadway for what we wish would be permanent. One Night Only: The Best of Broadway, hosted by “Mean Girls” Tony Nominee and creator Tina

By David T. Valentin The 117th U.S. Congress will be the most diverse congress in the United States’ history. According to The Advocate, Congress now holds over 100 women, over 50 black members, 39 Hispanic members, two Native American women, and two Muslim women. For the 117th U.S. of this year’s election that number has gone from only nine LGBTQ legislators to 10, as Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres in New York became the first openly gay black men to win election to Congr

By Lori Perkins So much has been taken away from us this year – holidays with family, concerts, birthday gatherings, attending sporting events – it’s almost hard to have something besides a new show on Netflix or Hulu to look forward to. But they cant’ take the Beaujolais Nouveau away from us. November 19th is the third Thursday of this month and the date on which this often delicious imported French new wine is allowed to be sold in the United States. If the 2020 batch is

By Lori Perkins Image taken from Essence/ Michael Rowe In a time line where nothing seems to really happen in pop culture, I was actually looking forward to People Magazine’s annual hot man declaration (which I used to scoff at when I was a younger woman). Although I am sad to see John Legend give up this crown, I am looking forward to being amused by the antics of Michael B. Jordan, a very hot actor who knows how to speak his mind and take a stand. So good choice. Jordan,

By Richard Perkins The film begins with Brendan Sheehan, an Ohio judge who was working in Cleveland, alongside Judge Burt Griffin, a member of the 1960’s counsel on the Warren Commission. Working together they reexamine the Warren Commission’s report through a thorough investigation into the Warren Commission, its motivation and the driving forces behind it. All the living members of the commission are assembled, along with famed lawyer Vincent Bugliosi to document their inv

By Olivia Haveron The Vatican: the last place that anyone would expect to meet the love of their life, especially if one of those people is Roman Catholic priest. However, that was not the case for Kaitlyn Fulmer and Johnathan Morris seven years ago when their worlds collided in the religious center of the world. The New York Times covered their unique and unimaginable love story in Vincent Mallozzi’s article “She Married the Priest.” Now, it’s imperative to note that Morris