Gay Place

ALL WE WANT FOR XMESS IS YOU The members of the Gay Place Krewe took to the blog (austinchronicle.com/gayplaceblog) to send out their own personal holiday wishes. So, here we present a few of our own. Here is our list of what we would like to have more of in our life or at least in our stocking, please, Mr. Ess Claus:

1) More Folks in the Gay Place Fold We are family – extended family. And we'd like to invite you to join us. We love bloggers, thinkers, stinkers, artists, bon vivants, freaks, and especially readers. We also have a soft spot for perpetual partygoers, as the Gay Place will be throwing (hopefully perpetual) parties in the new year. Keep your panties peeled. Or tell us why you'd like to join us via gayplace@austinchronicle.com.

2) Sexy Queer Activists What's your passion? Your plague? Your hangnail? Your area of expertise? All these things can help define your life's work, and the community would like to suckle a bit from your creative teat. Hold up. Rewind for a second: Activists are, just by their nature, sexy, so you've already got that going for you. "Sexy," in this case, does not modify "activist"; it defines it.

3) Whimsical Pragmatists Another thing we find terribly sexy: staying lighthearted and open to the ridiculous while keeping eyes on the prize and seeking reasonable solutions within societal strictures. Why, that's positively heart-melting. And that's why we have crushes on people like Rachel Maddow and Mark Strama, even though they are not our type.

4) A Dangerous Edge There's nothing juicier than the unpredictable, the imbalanced, the monkey wrench, the hairpin turn. As much as we are settling gently into a comfortable and somewhat healthy middle age, we'd be lying if we didn't own up to this teeny and often harrowing fetish for the art of the quick change, the shape-shifting, the mighty morphin'. Shock us with your new ideas, and get into the pants of our mind!

5) Singers and Dancers Because the world could always use a few more singers and dancers.

That's all we want. Seriously. Can you make sure it gets in our sock? Thanks!

Happiest of happy holidays*, darlings. *Yes, we know that's what the terrorists say, but so do the terribly thoughtful and considerate. (The reason for the season is reason, after all.)

Send gay bits to gayplace@austinchronicle.com.

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