Here we are, on the last day of the year.  I don't know about you but I am thrilled that it's over.  For me, it seemed like 2008 was just utter crap on every level -- economic collapse, ongoing war, the revoking of gay rights, "The Love Guru."

If I may give a shoutout to Xtra's sassy little sister, fab magazine, I covered all the highs and lows in 2008: The Year in Gay, trying to laugh through my tears.

And despite the rollercoaster of the utterly insane election campaigns in both Canada and the US, at least pop culture was fun: we had some exhilarating films -- The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Milk -- and while I thought Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" would end up 2008's most ubiquitous song, who knew Beyoncé would take over at year's end? If you're not sick to death of "Single Ladies" yet, this routine by three dancers from Broadway's "The Color Purple" is pretty fantastic:

So let's go kick up our heels tonight and forget this ridiculous, dreadful year. It all reminded me of a little video I once edited for fun -- I mashed up a terrifying film (Terry Gilliam's nightmare future of "Brazil") with the happiest of songs (ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky") and ended up with something that somehow summed up 2008 for me:

I'll be thinking of that line in 2009: "We're all in this together." I hope you all have a great New Year's Eve and don't get trampled to death by Jonas Brothers fans. Perhaps British comic Russell Brand will as he tries to make out with them. One can only hope!

Tomorrow: reasons why 2009 will be better than everyone thinks -- bring 'em on! 

And there was the news:  Drew Barrymore went on a karoake date with my Jason Segal. 

Cow.

But it forced me to accept that, like it or not, despite my best ongoing efforts, some people will stubbornly remain heterosexual -- even Daniel Craig, despite the photos from his Christmas vacation:

But that's okay. Some of my best friends are heterosexual and, believe it or not, gay activism is meant to help them too. Even though I may rail against the evil, evil straight people trying to revoke 18,000 marriages in California, for example, I'm always aware of the many, many more straight people who'll eventually be harmed by what these forces want.

You see, while social conservatives are clearly out to marginalize (if not eradicate) gay people, they won't stop there. While gay sex upsets them more than anything (even child molestation, apparently), their views on heterosexual sex aren't much more positive. Here's just a few recent examples:

-- three cops in Texas beat the 12-year-old girl they thought was a prostitute. That is seriously messed up.

-- there is, of course, the ongoing creepiness of father-daughter "purity balls." Have you heard of these? Clive Barker couldn't make this shit up!

-- meanwhile, there's yet another research study showing that such abstinence pledges don't work.

-- the wingnuts are always going on about "protecting the Biblical definition of marriage" but the delightful bloggers at Pam's House Blend ask, which one?  In the Bible's seven types of marriage, there's polygamy, slavery and rape, oh my!

-- and, speaking of rape, that's what national right-wing radio host Dennis Prager flirts with recommending as he advises good Christian women on how "mood should play little or no role in a woman's determining whether she has sex with her husband." Seriously!

In the end, it all amounts to the same thing: stamping down on "messy" sexuality for the benefit of a tidier, more orderly society -- the kind of vision Dr. Strangelove delighted in, the kind of nightmare Margaret Atwood warned us all about:

Me, I'd rather live in a country where a doomsaying Margaret Atwood is proven wrong and the charming Zen reprobate Leonard Cohen is proven right because, ultimately, sexual freedom for gay people means sexual freedom for straight people. In 2009, we'll continue to advocate for that...even if that freedom extends to Jason Segal!

That purr!  That growl!  Sorry Madonna but no one sang "Santa Baby" quite like Eartha Kitt, who died on Christmas day at the age of 81.  She left behind a legacy of vampy, campy sexiness that even the stoic Batman couldn't resist:

Love that nelly Rudy! And so did Kitt, whose later career arc saw her become a gay dance diva. She adored us and the feeling was mutual -- after all, we all agreed on this:

As we lose an icon like Kitt, we're left hoping that unstable celebs like Courtney Love can stand up for us against the likes of Kim Kardashian. I weep for the future!

Great performers are hard to come by. I wish I'd discovered this clip before the holidays but check out these two to see what I mean:

Can a straight guy be a diva?  If so, New York Times columnist Frank Rich would be one of mine. On Friday, he delivered the last, best word on the Barack Obama/Rick Warren fiasco: "It’s bizarre that Obama, of all people, would allow himself to be on the wrong side of this history." 

No, for me, if we're talking great female performers, I think Sigourney Weaver would be my diva. Comedy, drama, action -- she's an actress who can do anything and now, as producer and star, she's turned the heartbreaking biography "Prayers for Bobby" into a TV-movie I will try my best not to cry through:

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, all of its conventions -- the family gatherings, the desperate shopping, the tacky decorations -- are still awfully fun to mock and no one did it better than John Waters! "Female Trouble" ranks with "It's a Wonderful Life" as a holiday classic:

My own Christmas celebrations haven't been quite so catastrophic. They tend to go more like this:

When family dinner gets extra passive-aggressive, I tend to start imagining this:

And, after staying with my parents for days, I start to thank the underwear people who give us Christmas-themed soft-porn cheese:

Guest-blogging for Boing Boing, sexpert Susie Bright reminds us why children can be a trial this time of year (or any, really):

But maybe, if you're lucky, your holiday just might end up as adorable as Luke and Noah under the mistletoe:

Whoever posted that video, by the way, helpfully labelled it "Luke and Noah Kiss 18" -- number one being a full year-and-a-half ago. Still no sign of any sex yet. Is there an Amnesty International for fictional soap opera characters?

But hey, maybe I'll keep watching, since I'm taking the rest of the week off to eat turkey and defensively explain to relatives that yes, writing is a job and no, I am not done with "that gay thing" yet.  Have a merry week and I'll see you Monday!

Occasionally (okay, yesterday!), I'll get a bit huffy about Bible-thumping wingnuts and someone will say I'm being unfair, that I should respect religion. But I do. I have great respect for religion the way I have great respect for a baseball bat with a nail in it. Believe me, I respect that baseball bat!

But it's the wide berth I try to give the Magisterium that's never respected! They're forever beating us or annulling our marriages or, in today's latest twist, calling us a "threat" akin to the destruction of the rainforests. The Pope says that anything other than heterosexual marriage is "a destruction of God's work." It's as though he pictures the world as a beautiful art museum...and then the gays arrive:

Mind you, when I think of things like the Amsterdam drag nativity scene (so tacky!) or Jonny McGovern performing Beyoncé's "Tranny Ladies," I can't help but wonder if the Pope has a point. Gay men can be destructive and often useless and screechy – why, "Sex and the City" taught us that!

But my job here is to defend 'my people' and, in the long run, everyone else. Gay rights are human rights and ultimately, everyone benefits -- like the straight guy in the UK who's won a lawsuit against his homophobic employers for harrassing him. This is not the progress we had in mind, of course -- letting everyone experience homophobia is NOT the way to go -- but at least it's starting to happen.

And then, just when Pope Nazi the 47th or whatever the hell he's called has me utterly disgusted with religious faith, along comes US presiding Episcopal bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori who says, in an enlightening interview:

"A homosexual orientation is a gift -- in the same way that a heterosexual orientation is a gift."

She's right, of course, but it's thrilling to hear a religious leader speak with rationality and compassion (she even used the word science!). Believe it or not, I'd love to be proven wrong on religion and Christmas is as good a time as any. Thanks, Katharine!