Going Out - As part of lgbt history month, there is a wealth of events around the UK - here is a round up of some you can see from Monday 8th - Thursday 11th February 2010:

see www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk for full details.

Manga Danger & Anime Media
A discussion of US censorship of same-sex relationships in Anime Sailor Moon, or: How 2 girls went West, lost their pants and were changed from lovers to cousins. Clips from Sailor Moon anime will be shown, featuring the openly gay girl characters Micharu and Haruka and boys Zoisite and Kunzite, as well as cross dressing Fisheye. There will be an opportunity to discuss the differences in the dubbed version of the anime, the rationale behind them, and the reaction of young viewers around the world.
7pm - 8pm, Wensum Lodge, Norwich

News - The British Broadcast Corporation, BBC, does not have one of the best track records when it comes to portrayal of lesbian and gay people. In order to try and turn this around the BBC now asks for our help.

Amanda Rice, Head of Diversity (at the BBC, not the dance group as my sister thought) talks to us about their new research into lgb representation. Will this survey give the Beeb a better score than the UK's leading equality charity Stonewall back in 2006?

QS: What is the new investigation into lgb audiences hoping to achieve?
Amanda Rice (AR):The BBC is a public funded organisation and we're here to service all of our audiences. One of the things our audiences tell us is that they want to be portrayed fairly and accurately. This piece of work researched under public consultation is to really understand our audiences perceptions around current and future portrayal of lgb people and also to an extent look at editorial policy issues around lgb portrayal.

Review - The Devil's Paintbrush by Jake Arnott is out now in paperback, and appropriately for lgbt history month deals with the turn of the century (that's 19th to 20th) dealings of Major General Sir Hector Macdonald.

"Fighting Mac", as he was otherwise known, was a military hero of the Victorian Empire. Then following allegations of homosexuality in 1903, he shot himself in the head while staying in Paris. There are monuments to the war hero's achievements, the most dubious of which must be that he is rumoured to be the model for the man on the Camp coffee label.

VideoW@tch - After taking part in ITV's 'I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here', It was only a question of time before former Mis-teeq star Sabrina Washington would make a return to the charts. And what a return it is.

Music - Lady Gaga is bringing some NYC glam to the UK when she starts the UK leg of her Monster Ball Tour later this month. Gaga, who will start the tour in Manchester, asked New York four-piece Semi Precious Weapons to support her.

Movie - 'The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister', a new BBC Two drama about an early 19th century Yorkshire landowner, industrialist, traveller and prolific lesbian diarist, is set to open the 24th BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (LLGFF). The film will get its world premiere on Thursday 17 March.

Movie - Colin Firth has just been Oscar nominated for his role in Tom Ford's 'A Single Man'. Firth plays George, a mid-fifties English Professor, living in Southern California during the early sixties who is grieving the loss of his long term partner (played by Matthew Goode) who died some time ago in a car accident. We follow George over a single day, from self aware morning rituals, to dinner with Julianne Moore and a naked frolic in the ocean with Nicholas Hoult.

I caught up with Colin on the day of the Oscar announcement to ask him about Ford's style, being intimate with Nicholas, what he thinks of Christopher Isherwood's novel and playing gay for awards!