It was all about the weather this year at Southern Decadence. The hurricane that bore down on the East Coast left the Big Easy sunny, hot and relatively free of humidity this year, thankfully. The temperature was still warm, though, prompting these boys (and a few girls) outside of Bourbon Pub to loosen up the clothing.

Aahhh, the view from Oz. Boys are waiting for the day’s Southern Decadence parade, though I’m surprised that the balcony was so crowded when down below were the masses.

TWINS!!!! Oh, and these two dancing Oz boys were friendly. Coordinated outfits, plenty of butt-smacks. These boys had a very good weekend.

Pittsburgh does not get the respect it deserves as a surprisingly gay friendly city situated on three scenic rivers. This shot was taken by GayCities member Bart Smyth, aka Trabster, who also happens to be a wonderful photographer. In his free time Bart has been photographing the Pittsburgh gay scene–hometown of the popular Showtime series Queer As Folk–for GayCities.

“This is a relatively rare view of the city in that it was necessary for me to stop on the freeway bridge – being technically against the law and dangerous as hell – to get this shot Sunday, Sept. 5,” writes Bart. “It was worth the risk, however.”

Add “harsh spotlights” to the list that includes religious fanatics as among the few downsides of New Orleans‘ Southern Decadence. They were placed at some of the key intersections of the French Quarter, this one at St. Anne near Bourbon Street. Surely it was done for “safety reasons,” but overall it felt unwelcoming for a city that’s trying to rebuild its tourism industry and reach out ever more to gay men. The lights diminished the friskiness of the crowd.

But no worries! The boys were still out in force and hit the streets, particularly at this famed intersection of Bourbon and Anne streets, where Oz, Bourbon Pub and Napolean’s Itch battle it out for the gay dollar. Lucky for all three, there was plenty of business to share. These boys are thirsty!

And this picture just about sums up Southern Decadence. Empty kegs, empty cups, soaked livers. These kegs were lined up outside of Oz on Saturday night. There will surely be dozens more by the end of the weekend.

This year’s theme for Southern Decadence in New Orleans is “Leather and Feathers” and these two boys strutted the best of their leather gear while posing on the street in front of Bourbon Pub. Many revelers strutted in similar attire, accented with many hard-earned beads, of course.

Decadence isn’t just for boys, either! This girl was having a blast with her buddies outside of Oz on Saturday night.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown will not be forced to defend Prop 8 in another setback for supporters of the anti-gay initiative.

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Appeal will not be ordered for Prop 8 originally appeared on About.com Gay Life on Saturday, September 4th, 2010 at 11:50:06.

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Southern Decadence is in full swing in New Orleans. Friday night kicked off a new Friday night parade with mini Mardi Gras floats filled with shirtless boys snaking their way through the crowds on Bourbon Street. If you’re in New Orleans and on your iPhone, checkin of the GayCities iPhone app and see where members are going everywhere.

Photos by Dan DeBerardinis

Post by GayCities New York Editor JJ Keyes

Looking to have the ultimate gay wedding? Take your lover to the skies this winter with SAS Scandinavian Airlines. The airline has teamed up with VisitSweden, Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network, and ICEHOTEL to host the world’s first same-sex wedding on a plane, with the the ceremonial flight taking place between Stockholm and New York on December 6^th as part of their “Love is in the air” campaign.

The grooms (or brides) getting hitched will be Swedish, but one couple from America will also win a wedding and honeymoon package, from New York to Sweden, including SAS business class seats, two nights at the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Skeppsholmen in Stockholm, a VIP Stockholm package organized by Stockholm Visitor’s Board and cooler than “Mile High Club” status. The competition is only open to US-based residents, while the European-based winners will win a trip to New York and Los Angeles.

The weddings will be valid: Sweden was one of the first countries to legalize same-sex partnerships and marriage. But if same-sex marriage is not legal in your state (yet!), Swedish law unfortunately will not prevail but you will still be married by Swedish standards. But, What the Hell, you get to be the first of your friends to say you got married at the ICEHOTEL!

If you win or if you just wan to visit an awesomely gay city, you’ve got to take your new beau to F12, Danyel Couet’s sexy restaurant, for your first dinner in Stockholm. Explore the Vasa Museum, Hallwyl Museum, and Millesgården, and hit the Absolut Ice Ba, before breaking it down with your beau at Torget and Patricia.

Love is in the Air image courtesy of Visit Sweden and SAS

Photo credits:  JJ Keyes

Lady Gaga and Apple have a lot in common. They’re both known for their stunning design and larger-than-life performances. But it seems they part ways when it comes to politics.

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Gaga gets gagged by Apple originally appeared on About.com Gay Life on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 19:59:17.

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Nothing can stand in the way of an eager couple ready to marry. Not the law or the friendly skies. And certain eager companies, like SAS Scandinavian Airlines, from cashing in on the festivities. Scandinavian Air is redefining the mile-high club by planning the first gay wedding in the sky.

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Scandinavian Airlines plans first gay wedding in the sky originally appeared on About.com Gay Life on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 18:37:43.

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We all know Sweden is a fabulously gay-friendly travel destination. Stockholm is a gorgeous city with a thumping gay scene, uber-stylish design and shopping, world-class restaurants, and well — stunning Swedes. Now the folks at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) are taking it up a notch, hosting a contest to grant a lucky couple the wedding of their dreams–at 35,000 feet!

As part of SAS Airlines’ big new social media contest campaign titled “Love Is in the Air,” on December 6, the winning gay or lesbian European-based couple get flown via SAS from Stockholm to New York, and on the way they’ll take over an entire business class cabin and have their same-sex nuptials performing in-flight by the plane’s captain. And yes, gay marriage is legal in Sweden, so it’s all very legit. (The ceremony will take place in Swedish airspace.) Plus, SAS plans to bust out a wedding cake, and host a reception with dancing in the aisles! (Does Robyn have a good wedding song?)

Once they land, the newlyweds will enjoy a glam U.S. honeymoon, staying two nights at one of NYC’s finer W Hotels and then jetting off to L.A. for three nights at the hip new Andaz West Hollywood hotel.

But Americans can get in on the wedding-tastic prize package, too! On December 7th, a flight will transport a winning U.S. based same-sex couple from New York City to Stockholm (in SAS Business Class), and then on to Kiruna way up in northern Sweden, where the pair will be wed at the stylish and otherworldly IceHotel. They’ll stay there for two swank nights, and then head down to Stockholm for three nights at the brilliant Hotel Skeppsholmen, smack dab in the center of the city. Plus, the newlyweds will receive a VIP package from Stockholm Visitors’ Board, full of perks.

This could be your frosty honeymoon suite at the IceHotel. And your wedding photo op might look like this! But gayer.

To win, couples have to enter the “Love Is in the Air” contest and share information about themselves (photos, answer some cute personal questions about how they met, even videos) and then be voted on by visitors to the special Love Is in the Air site. For the best chance to win, couples are recommended to share their profile with as many friends as possible via various social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, in order to increase the number of votes.

So, you wanna get hitched at the IceHotel in Sweden? Go for it! Enter! And if you’re Euro-based, you could be the world’s first gay couple to ever tie the knot in-flight. That’s major!

Note: SAS wants to bestow these two major wedding prizes on couples who haven’t gotten married yet, so if you’ve already gotten married, you should step aside and let another couple snatch this bit of blissful glory.

Or if you just want to see the cute couples hoping to win, go check them out at http://love.flysas.net.

For more great Stockholm travel info, visit our TripOut Gay Travel Stockholm Destination Guide. And also be sure to visit SAS Airlines’ gay site, too!