Shaun and Paul from Janice Dickinson (Photo: Brook Pifer)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• It looks like gay couple Shaun and Paul from last season's Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency have been cut from the next season (does this mean they're still models?).

• We wrote about tonight's episode of 30 Days yesterday, focusing on the show's exploration of a conservative religious woman who lives with a gay couple and their kids. GLAAD has criticized the episode for the way that false anti-gay information is presented in it uncorrected.

• For hardcore Torchwoodies: the show's official magazine (from Titan, who specializes in this kind of thing) came out last week and it covers everything from Ianto's rise to prominence to the fashions of Captain Jack.

George Carlin

• The Independent has released its annual Pink List of the UK's most influential gays and lesbians, and it's filled to the brim with our faves, ranging from Sir Ian McKellen to Russell T Davies to Derren Brown.

• A reader kindly pointed out that comic legend George Carlin, who passed away over the weekend from heart failure at age 71, played Nick Nolte's gay neighbor in The Prince of Tides (directed, of course, by Barbra Streisand). Here's an interesting interview with Carlin from the time about how he approached the role: "I've always admired gay humor," he said. "It's bittersweet, bitchy, to-the-point and honest. So that was already in me somewhere." (t/y Booker Guy!)

• And just because it's close to my heart, today marks the 38th anniversary of the release of the colossally bizarre and pretty much disastrous (and therefore totally awesome) film adaptation of Gore Vidal's gender-bending masterwork Myra Breckinridge.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

In honor of tonight's Grey's Anatomy dealing with gay servicemembers, here's a sampling of gay military men on television. In researching this list, I was expecting to find stories to be either be recent (as the issue of gays in the military is a current topic) or to boom around 1993, when "Don't Ask Don't Tell" began, but the topic has popped up off and on throughout the years.

Take a look at some of the gay men we've seen serve their country on the small screen ...

Paul Dill
From: The Real World: New Orleans

By its ninth season, The Real World had its share of trainwreck personalities but still hadn't devolved into the parade of sexual promiscuity and inane arguments the show is today. At that point, it was still a show able to provoke discussion of social issues, as it did when gay housemate Danny Roberts introduced his boyfriend Paul to the nation. Paul was an US Army Ranger Captain at the time and, to protect him from a dishonorable discharge, the show blurred his face when he came to see Danny. After leaving the military, Paul appeared with Danny in an MTV special without hiding his identity. Danny and Paul have gone on to speak out about gay issues, especially the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

Jeffrey Lindley
From: Melrose Place

In 1994, things were looking up for Melrose Place's gay resident Matt Fielding (Doug Savant) as he met Jeff, a guy who managed to stick around beyond the first date (Jeff Beghe). As with many Melrose Place guests, Jeff behaved oddly and eventually revealed that he was hiding a secret: he was a closeted Navy officer. Jeffrey was quickly transferred to the East Coast, breaking up him and Matt. He returned the next season, holding another topical secret ... that he was HIV positive.

Enos Fry
From: Futurama

In one of the irreverent animated comedy's most memorable stories, putting aluminum foil into a microwave sends the Planet Express crew back to Roswell, New Mexico in the 1950s. Fry is sternly warned not to do anything to do anything to change the future. Fry being Fry, that warning doesn't stop him from seeking out his grandfather, Enos Fry, whose life on base turns out to be fraught with dangers. In order to protect his eventual birth, Fry tries to protect him from harm. However, to Fry's horror, Enos confesses that he might be gay and is hesitant to follow through on his engagement to the woman who will be Fry's grandmother. Worried about taking himself out of history, he pushes Enos back in the closet, only to see him die in a freak accident. In true Futurama style, Fry makes up for it by becoming his own grandfather.

Reichen Lehmkuhl
From: The Amazing Race

In The Amazing Race's fourth season saw the show's second same-sex couple, Chip and Reichen, charge through the globe-spanning reality competition, eventually winning the big prize. Reichen was a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and served for five years, eventually reaching the rank of captain and being honorably discharged. While Riechen is best known nowadays for who he is dating or his TV roles (like a recent gig on Dante's Cove), he's also a spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and raises money for the advocacy group.

Lots more after the jump!

• I meant to post this yesterday ... so Happy Belated Birthday, Gore Vidal! I just kissed my framed Myra Breckenridge onesheet in your honor.

• A nice article about gay hockey film Breakfast With Scot, in which the director notes, "Now that I think about it, Breakfast with Scot really does pay homage to two great Canadian achievements -- the game of hockey, and the ability to embrace difference." Um, you left out what is perhaps Canada's greatest achievement ever: Ryan Reynolds.

• An asteroid is named for gay actor George Takei (Sulu from Star Trek). Notes Takei, "I am now a heavenly body."
  

• For you horror nuts: gay writer/director (and all-around great guy) Don Mancini, who created the Child's Play franchise, will be one of the special guests at this Friday's Universal Halloween Horror Nights kickoff (along with Patricia Arquette, Roger Corman, and more). Do check it out if you find yourself in Los Angeles.

• Former Liverpool and Sweden footballer speaks out against homophobia at Stockholm Pride, as well as his own touchy anti-gay incident.
  
• Elton John wants the Interwebs shut down because they are destroying music. (Note: this website and my paycheck are in no way affiliated with Elton John)
• Notorious art-porn Caligula gets a loving special edition DVD release, coming this October. Gay author Gore Vidal (who tried to disassociate himself from the final, penetration-embellished, Penthouse-produced product), Helen Mirren, Malcolm McDowell, and director Tinto Brass will all be featured in bonus materials.
  
• Why I will always love Tim Gunn: (in discussing the recently-wrapped Project Runway season four) "I can tell you this with affording impunity: It is the most talented group of designers [yet], in terms of point of view and execution."
• As was rumored last week and confirmed yesterday, Whoopi Goldberg has joined The View. Based entirely on my love for Jumpin' Jack Flash and the way she gave it to Perez, I celebrate this choice.