Well, reader, if you are anything like this author then the increasing proximity to Valentine’s Day is probably inciting an incendiary cynicism within you. It’s a burning, bilious rage. But even the hardest of hearts will fail to resist the warmth and intimacy of I ♥ Alice ♥ I, a piece of documentary theatre that is deeply personal, funny and refreshing.

Rock Hudson was the first public “face” of AIDS. Diagnosed in 1984, he disclosed his diagnosis in 1985 and made the general public reconsider the notions they had about who could get AIDS. A new play by Aidan Harney, Hollywood Valhalla, explores the time between Hudson’s diagnosis and his disclosure: how the first public figure with AIDS decided to tell the world.

This week DIT’s LGBT Society will be holding DIT Rainbow Week 2012. With workshops galore, there’ll be speakers on trans issues, a homophobia discussion and a coming out workshop – not to mention bake sales and quizzes.

The Bliss Festival, which will be Ireland’s first sex festival, invites us all to ‘Come join Ireland’s first Sexual Health, Freedom and Pleasure event’. Oh ok then…

Following the heads-up about our appearance on yesterday’s installment of Near FM’s Pride Time, now you can listen back to the programme in all its glory! (Scarlet for me, scarlet for me ma for havin’ me, etc.)

Eek! We’re starting to feel very nervous here: two of Gaelick’s finest are due to appear on Dublin’s Near FM this Sunday, 22nd January, at 5:30pm for Pride Time with the fabulous Sinéad Ní Chonaill. Is there anything you think we should mention?

Happy New Year, bitches! If you need a little sojourn away from the sobriety of dreary January, fear not: Bitches Be Crazy is back for 2012 – same Bitch time, same Bitch channel. There’s a 99% chance you will lose your shit every time a track starts playing, the music is just that good.

Meeting people online gives you the chance to come across as less of a plonker than you do in real life. But only if you make an effort to stand out. New Gaelick contributor, Tole, takes you through the ups and downs of being an online Casanova.

Yesterday morning, in the aftermath of Bitches Be Crazy’s Christmas hoe-down, bitches were seriously hazy. Now that we’ve recovered, here are some of the highlights. (If you missed it, believe me, you seriously missed out.) Thanks to all the crazy bitches for throwing an epic party!

Bitches Be Crazy, Dublin’s best queer pop-up DIY night, is back for the holidays! And this time, Bitches Be Crackers. The party takes place this Friday, 16th December. Doors 9pm. It’s a fiver in before 10pm, and €10 after that. BYOB and get loco. (Bitches be recession-aware.)

As some of us recover from festive celebrations, we can ease through this week with plenty in the way of gentle socialising, and nothing too taxing. Praise be!

Events are picking up in pace and frequency as the festive season hots up. Wherever you are this weekend, there’ll be shindigs and shenanigans nearby!

Perhaps with people saving their energy for festivities later in the month, it’s a quieter week this week – but there are still events happening around the country to keep you occupied!

The Union of Students in Ireland’s annual Pink Training weekend took place this year in Galway. Gaelick’s roving reporter and committed DIT head, Soapie, brings us word of the meetings, the greetings, the learnings and the doings.

Finally! Tis the season: December is here, the month of World AIDS Day, Tractor Day, Human Rights Day, the winter solstice, and a festival of some kind towards the end of the month. (…What’s the name again..?) But that’s not all, there’s plenty more besides. Read on for this weekend’s festive offerings!

As December approaches, the social and festive events keep a-coming – from Dublin to Cork to Galway, and from Limerick to Leitrim to Fermanagh. So get out there!

This is one busy weekend around the country, including the Gay Prom, festive highlights, the return of Bitches Be Crazy, regular youth group meetings, and the start of 16 Days. Clear the diaries, folks!