December
Pied Piper Christmas and New Year's CruiseCaribbean, via New YorkCunard Queen Mary 2Dec. 22-Jan. 3piedpipertravel.com
Mega G5Taipei, TaiwanDec. 29-Jan. 1g5-taipei.com
January
Arosa Gay Ski WeekArosa, SwitzerlandJan. 6-13arosa-gayskiweek.com
Mid-Atlantic Leather WeekendWashingtonJan. 11-14leatherweekend.com
Aspen Gay Ski WeekAspen, Colo.Jan. 13-20gayskiweek.com
MidsummaMelbourne, AustraliaJan. 13-Feb. 3midsumma.org.au
Leatherpride BelgiumAntwerpJan. 17-21leatherpride.be
Winter RendezvousStowe, Vt.Jan. 23-27gayskiweekend.com
Sno-BearBangor, MaineJan. 25-27mainedenmen.com
Beef Dip Leather & Bear WeekPuerto Vallarta, MexicoJan. 27-Feb. 3beefdip.com
Olivia's 40th Anniversary Cruise ICaribbean, via Fort LauderdaleHAL Nieuw AmsterdamJan. 27-Feb. 3olivia.com
Rainbow ReykjavikReykjavik, IcelandJan. 31-Feb. 3rainbowreykjavik.com
February
Bear Your SoulGreenwich, N.Y.Feb. 1-3eastonmountain.org
Killington Winter Gay PrideKillington Resort, Vt.Feb. 1-3gnarwinterpride.com
Regenbogenball Ball 2013ViennaFeb. 2regenbogenball.at
Atlantis Caribbean CruiseVia Fort LauderdaleRCI Independence of the SeasFeb. 2-10atlantisevents.com
Olivia's 40th Anniversary Cruise IICaribbean, via Fort Lauderdale, Fla.HAL Nieuw AmsterdamFeb. 3-10olivia.com
Sitges Gay Carnival, CarnivalSitges, SpainFeb. 2-6, Feb.6-13gaysitgesguide.com
WinterPrideWhistler, B.C.Feb. 3-10gaywhistler.com
Gay Mardi GrasNew OrleansFeb. 8-12gaymardigras.com
Sydney Mardi GrasFeb. 8-March 3mardigras.org.au
RSVP Southern Caribbean CruiseVia Fort Lauderdale, Fla.HAL EurodamFeb. 9-16rsvpvacations.com
Get It On! Big Gay OutAuckland, New ZealandFeb. 10getiton.co.nz
Fire and Ice Ball at Seashore PointProvincetown, Mass.Feb. 11seashorepoint.org
LUEY 40HoustonFeb. 14-17lueyweekend.com
SF Bear WeekendSan FranciscoFeb. 14-18sfbearweekend.com
Sail the Caribbean with Amy & Freddy!Via Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Celebrity SilhouetteFeb. 17-24conciergetravel.cc
Aquafest Southeast Asia CruiseHong Kong to SingaporeCelebrity MillenniumFeb. 17-March 3aquafestcruises.com
Atlantis Mardi Gras CruiseAuckland, New Zealand, to SydneyHAL OosterdamFeb. 20-March 3atlantisevents.com
Elevation: UtahPark City, UtahFeb. 21-24|utahgayski.com
Cape Pride WeekCape Town, South AfricaFeb. 22-March 2capetownpride.org
North American Bear WeekendLexington, Ky.Feb. 22-24mrnabear.com
Snowbound Leather Weekend VIProvincetown, Mass.Feb. 22-24matesleatherweekend.com
Telluride Gay Ski WeekTelluride, Colo.Feb. 22-March 3telluridegayskiweek.com
Caribbean Bear CruiseVia Port Canaveral, Fla.RCI Freedom of the SeasFeb. 24-March 3bearcruiseusa.com
Fur Flee VISuperior, Wis.Feb. 28-March 3ncbears.com
Gay & Lesbian Festival of BelgiumBrusselsFeb. 28-March 10fglb.org
March
NYC Bear CruiseBahamas, via New YorkNorwegian JewelMarch 3-10cruiserich.com
Winter Party FestivalMiami Beach, Fla.March 6-11winterparty.com
PrideFestFort Lauderdale, Fla.March 9-10pridesouthflorida.org
WinterFestLake Tahoe, Nev.2013 dates TBAlaketahoewinterfest.com
Elevation: Mammoth Gay Ski WeekMammoth Lakes, Calif.March 13-17mammothgayski.com
BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film FestivalMarch 14-24bfi.org.uk
Brand g Argentina and BrazilMarch 14-24brandgvacations.com
European Gay Ski WeekAlpe d'Huez, FranceMarch 16-23europeangayskiweek.com
OutBoardWinter Park, Colo.March 19-24outboard.org
...moreSo, after weeks and months of careful consideration, voluminous reading and personal consultations with friends and family, I'm finally ready to make an important announcement: I've decided to officially endorse Barack Obama for re-election as president of the United States.
See what happens when you wait too long?
Seriously, this post-election season has been all about waiting, in particular for Congress to figure out a way to avoid the fiscal cliff it has been willingly and merrily barreling toward for a couple years now. And then there's the ongoing waiting game that the Supreme Court has snagged all of us in, waiting for them to decide which gay-marriage case they're going to hear, if they're going to hear one at all.
Waiting is the hardest part, as a wise sage once said. And the closer you get to where you're going, the harder the waiting becomes. Like a long car trip, it's those last few miles, when you're well past the excitement of leaving home and beyond the middle section where you can numb your mind with iPads and audiobooks, that are the hardest to bear. Why aren't we there yet?
(As an aside, I had to use a car trip for that metaphor because in these days of government-mandated security theater and the increasing similarity of airplane passenger cabins to veal-fattening pens, every last moment of air travel feels like a hangnail rubbed with salt.)
So waiting on the Supreme Court isn't just hard because they have yet to make up their minds about how they are going to proceed about making up their minds, but because history is getting away from them. It may be cliché at this point because it's being repeated so often, but it's a good cliché to have from our perspective: It is amazing in terms of marriage equality that we have come this far, this fast.
At the risk of straining the metaphor, the history of marriage equality is about to take the final exit for its destination, while the Supreme Court and much of our government is still two states back dithering over the Sizzler buffet.
That sense of history leaving the courts behind really hit home when a Nevada judge released a ruling against same-sex marriage in that state because nothing says ''traditional'' values like the world capital of slot machines, free drinks and legal hookers making sure that no one can get gay married at a drive-through chapel. I sense that this particular ruling may be part of the history lessons of the future, the ones where our children's children — or my nephew's children's children, in my case — look back and laugh at the strange little man in black robes declaring that homosexuals already have the right to get married since they can marry opposite-sex people just like heterosexuals can.
These things grate because they fly in the face of what we know is coming. It's not hubristic to say that we gays are winning the long game on marriage, nor to say that equality for all LGBT people will advance further as a result. It's provable at this point, even if we should lose a Supreme Court case. And, anyway, we should be seriously reconsidering what it means for civil rights in this country when equality seems to be legally determined by whatever Anthony Kennedy happens to think.
This point in time is by no means the hardest part of the journey — that part was done by people past and present who simply asked that they be treated equally. The final stretch only feels hard, because time can stretch on forever while we wait for the world to catch up.
...moreWashington State will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Thursday, and couples can begin marrying Sunday.
The Modern Family star talked about his new line of bow ties and upcoming nuptials in a recent interview with Celebuzz.
Two polls released today provide further evidence that Americans are increasingly accepting of their LGBT friends and neighbors, and believe they should be afforded the same rights as st
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