Laura Linney and out Tony nominee Ben Daniels (Photo: Sara Krulwich for the NY Times)

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.

• If it weren't on video, I wouldn't believe it: an old clip of Anderson Cooper reporting from Chelsea BDSM shop The Noose. (Now that's what I call "Headline Noose"! Bah-dum-bum.)

• We're not the only ones who find it interesting that As the World Turns is the only soap to post an increase in young viewers in the months since the Nuke storyline was introduced - The New York Times does, too.

• The Times also profiled gay actor Ben Daniels (Beautiful Thing), who recently snagged a Tony nomination for his breakout performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses opposite Laura Linney. Though the sexuality of his character is center-stage, the piece fails to mention that the actor has been out since forever.

• here! Tunes (the music publishing arm of the gay television network) has announced their debut release for their first signed artist, NYC musician Stewart Lewis. To hear some samples of his pop/folk melodies, check out Lewis's Myspace page, and look for the album, in formation, in early June.

• Out in Hollywood has compiled some notable (and heartwarming) responses from celebs and such to repeal of the California same-sex marriage ban. My favorite has to be Governor Terminator's comment: "I will respect the court's decision." Brings a tear!

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

Wow. It's a great week to be a wedding planner in California, let me tell ya.

First, Brothers & Sisters has Kevin and Scotty wed in the groundbreaking season finale (leading us to get all kinds of rice-throwy with an article about gay weddings in TV and movies).

And now, the California Supreme Court has overturned the same-sex marriage ban (Woo-hoo!), making it the second state in the country (after Massacheusetts) to allow same-sex couples to legally wed.

Which got me thinking, and leads to this week's Pop! Quiz ...

And as always, feel free to elaborate in the comments!

The Gay Agenda returns today (Jay was out of town traveling for a bit. So jealous!) and today’s topics are the big ones of the week: The Obama/Wright fall-out and hashing out last Sunday’s NY Times Magazine cover story on gay marriage. (Now, if only we could get Rev. Wright to preside at some gay weddings, all of these stories could come full circle, right?)

Check it out after the jump!

The latest New York Times Magazine has a great cover story on how young gay guys view marriage — basically, how gay folks under 30 are different from their older counterparts when it comes to tying the knot. The author profiles a number of younger gay couples in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is now legal. (Interestingly, the couples are all white, something the author acknowledges, but doesn't explore.)

What's it all about in a nutshell? Basically, a lot of young gay men no longer see themselves as all that different from their straight counterparts, so of course they want to get married (and most who get married want to have kids, too). But at the same time, having been excluded from full participation in society for so long (and being, well, gay), some of these folks feel they can "pick and choose" the aspects of heterosexual marriage they like while ignoring those they don't (and others were pretty traditional).

In other words, it will pretty much drive Bill Bennett, Maggie Gallagher, and every other outspoken critic of same-sex marriage berserk. How dare gay people sully the noble institution of marriage with their egalitarian, sometimes non-traditional ways!

From left to right: Maggie Gallagher, Andrew Sullivan, Bill Bennett

But there's more to it than that. It seems to me the article pretty much proves exactly what Andrew Sullivan has been arguing for over fifteen years now: that same-sex marriage is a normalizing force on the gay community, and, perhaps, a positive, liberalizing force on the straight community, too. (Sullivan is a disingenuous lunatic with a disastrous record as a pundit during the Clinton and Bush years, but he was right about same-sex marriage looooong before anyone else was even talking about it, so credit must go where credit is due.)

In other words, the article will probably drive the gay radicals even crazier than it does Bill and Maggie. Sell outs! Assimilationists!

Hmmm, something to piss off the irrational fringe on both the right-wing and the gay left? Now that's a good article!

This week on Flaming Politics, Japhy covers headlines about Cuba's proposed gay-inclusive policies, the largest gift ever given to a gay organization, Idaho's gay marriage ban, and of course the continuing question of why HIllary Clinton has so many gay fans, including a certain pop legend whose name has been co-opted for this very site.

Click below for it all!

Dateline December, 2005 — Captain America and crime-fighting life partner, Bucky, today disappointed fans by calling off their 66-year engagement. The pair met fighting Nazis during World War Two and despite many twists and turns in their tumultuous relationship, had finally set a date for a Massachusetts wedding this Spring.

“Cap just got cold feet, I guess,” said Bucky tearfully. ”I was so ready to settle down, adopt a kid, maybe start up a Bed & Breakfast or something, but the big jerk said he felt smothered and broke it off."

The shield-wielding superhero released a separate statement through his publicist. “It is with a heavy heart that I, Captain America, must admit I’m simply not ready for gay marriage. I tried to meet my beloved Bucky halfway. I suggested a symbolic commitment ceremony. Even offered him a domestic-partnership type arrangement, but no, he wanted the full rights and privileges of legal marriage. I think he’s being very unreasonable when I’ve tried my best to compromise.”

“Compromise? Hah! That’s a laugh.” Said Bucky. “All he wants to do is go clubbing with his Avenger pals. Well he can go jump in a lake for all I care. Let’s see if Iron Man can keep him warm at night. I don’t think so!”

In the second installment of Flaming Politics, Japhy Grant tackles the political headlines that you need to know this week, and most of them seem to involve the subject of gay marriage/civil partnerships/three-legged-races. What's going on in what state?

Japhy also discusses how the party ideologies of Pubs and Dems actually flip when it comes to same-sex marriage and wonders whether the Clintons might be the reason that you and your fella won't be walking down any aisles (other than those at Shop-Rite) anytime soon.

My love for Stephen Colbert (both the actor and his insanopundit alter-ego) is almost as well-documented as his support of gay visibility by this point. But in a typical one-up, last night Colbert pulled a hilarious move in an interview with South Carolina's fourth district Representative Bob Inglis, asking the Republican rep could support gay marriage.

When Inglis notes that it's the heterosexuals who are threatening marriage and not the gays, Colbert counters that the gays have already ruined moustaches and short-shorts for "the rest of us" and gives some photographic evidence to support his claim.

Check it out after the jump. You'll like.