Yesterday I was dispatched on a top-secret mission in New York City ... to find Luke and Noah! Actually, given what's currently going on in the boys' storyline on As the World Turns, it was rather timely to be invited to the NYC studios yesterday to meet actors Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann and watch the taping of an appearance of a very special guest to Oakdale ...

Cyndi Lauper!

Yes, we're thrilled to be delivering the scoop that the pop legend will be making an appearance on the soap in connection with Luke and Noah. While I'm sworn to secrecy on the details, I can say that Lauper will be performing a few songs at Yo's, the Oakdale dive bar that for this particular occasion has been gussied up for a little celebration known as "Gay Pride".

Go ahead and re-read that if you like. Gay Pride. In Oakdale. Heck, on any soap! It was a complete trip to see the set festooned with rainbow flags and True Colors Tour posters and to watch Oakdale's Gay Finest (yes, there are more gays in the village!) whoop it up with Cyndi and the fellas. Luke interviews Cyndi for Oakdale U's paper and the boys enjoy a few performances.

I also got the chance to chat with Cyndi, Van, and Jake about the show and what's up with our beloved Alpha Gay Couple, but that will have to wait until closer to airdate (I also got to sit at Emma's kitchen table and pretend I was a houseguest at the Snyder Home for Wayward Gay Teens!). But I can say that it was amazing to see Cyndi play a part in this groundbreaking storyline, especially given how dedicated she has been to gay causes in recent years. Just last week I watched her perform at the NewNowNext Awards, and her second annual True Colors Tour starts this week in Boston, and there's no sign that she's slowing down anytime soon.

For now, be sure to check out Cyndi's new dance album Bring Ya to the Brink (it hit stores yesterday and is streaming on AOL as we speak), and be sure your rainbow flags are dusted off for the July 3rd episode of ATWT. 

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

• The Pugliese Collection will be auctioning off a ridiculous number of pop culture items in Las Vegas next week. Gay-related items include the Wicked Witch's hat from The Wizard of Oz, enough Bob Mackie to choke a horse (or Cher), and much, much more.

• Thanks to the efforts of Luke and Noah fansites including vanhansis.net and lukeandnoah.com, the traditional press is really starting to cover the story including the Associated Press, the BBC, and CNN. Which isn't to say the coverage has been particularly thorough, and most Nuke fans aren't thrilled with it.

• Barry Humphries, better known as Dame Edna, is set to join John Barrowman on I'd Do Anything. That may sound like one of Fox's crap reality shows, but it's actually a British reality show that will cast a new stage version of Oliver!

• John Polly who does double duty interviewing Project Runwya's aufd contestants for us, recently interviewed the Sex and the City gals for NewNowNext. Cynthia Nixon talks about dating a woman, Kristin talks about how the shows hurt their feet, and Kim Cattrall talks about playing a gay man.

• Andy Towle of Towleroad talks with fillmaker John Krokidas, the gay man who, along with Bruce Cohen (American Beauty), created Hillary Clinton's viral ad featuring Jack Nicholson.

• Starting next week Paolo Andino and Jonny McGovern of Logo's (AfterElton.com's parent company) Big Gay Sketch Show will be bringing you a weekly vlog, but Paolo was so eager to make his AfterElton.com debut that he shanghaied his boyfriend into doing one this week!

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

Okay, I know I used the Mirror Has Two Faces gag a while back, but I was a bit premature in the "cast xenophobic suspicion on the new girl" trick, as the show hasn't really gotten around to suggesting that "Miss Baghdad '08" (as the Aberzombies so charmingly christened her), aka Miss St. Olaf '08 (as I prefer to consider her), Ameera, might be up to no-goodies. And of course, it's Miss Intuition and Mother of the Year herself, Lily, who first suggests that Ameera might be putting Luke and Noah in harm's way and could possibly be aligned with dark and Pervy forces.

Anyway, today As the World Turns picks up in the aftermath of the Least Convincing Auto Accident in Television History and pulls Casey and Matt, who have become many readers' favorite new HoYay couple, into the fray. Will Lily re-don her favorite hausfrau hooker investigation outfit for the occasion? Will Ameera be revealed to have a face on the back of her head like that evil professor in the Harry Potter books? And most importantly, will the boys have a chance to kiss amidst all this intrigue?

Oh please, like that's gonna happen (the Nuke Liplock Clock takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', eh?). But for everything else, click through the jump and refresh often to follow along... 

You know what? I got nothin'. The Law of Diminishing Nuke Returns has kicked in, and I can't think of anything funny to say about what could or could not happen on today's episode, which will apparently feature a cameo from our favorite Hot Oakdale Gay Teens.

At this point they're given about as much to do as the Golden Girls' housekeeper, Coco, after the pilot episode (read: nothing), so I can't imagine that there's much to get excited about. They don't even appear in any o the spoilers for the week, so what can we guess? Will Noah's newfound coffee addiction lead to an unexpected dabbling in Arabica beans? Will Luke have to make Hot Pockets for his sisters and accidentally overheat them, causing them to burn the roofs of their precious little mouths?

THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME

Oh, despite having zero to do since - I don't know, September? - Nuke appeared in Entertainment Weekly's online list of 17 favorite soap supercouples alongside Bo & Hope ("Fancyface"!) from Days and other long-lasting unions. What do you think, too soon? Too little? (t/y Not_So_Witty for the tip!)

Anyway, click on through the jump for all the breaking shizz on these topics, killer puppets, pill-popping hausfrau hooker moms, and more! 

This is Avatar of the Week: Best Animation Edition. Ratatouille seems destined to take top honors for best animated feature at the Oscars, but here on AfterElton.com it’s a tough call to pick the best animated avatar. There are so many great ones to choose from. I know I must be missing a number of incredibly worthy nominees, but here are the folks that leapt out at me (feel free to nominate other great animated avatars in the comments!)

First up is wewdie and his Yaoi money-shot movie clip. I’m wondering if wewdie has always been a YAOI fan, or if his avatar was inspired by our recent feature article on the Japanese gay anime phenomenon. I’m also curious where he got his clip from – I’m familiar with YAOI in print, but I don’t recall ever seeing any movies. Or is this that fabled Speed Racer home sex tape I’ve heard has been making the rounds on the internet? Go Speed Racer, Go!

Second up is Liz and her futuristic go go dancer. Liz is a 22 year old classic movie fan in Washington DC. From her bio:

"In my spare time, i surf the web, watch old classic movies that mainly consist of judy garland films and if not that, i am watching Animal Planet."

We’ve recognized Liz before, but her most recent avatar is brilliant and earns her a second commendation. I’m curious, is this Kylie Minogue’s latest video? Or has Sporty Spice had an extreme makeover? Who knows. Whatever the case, this clip is hot hot hot.. I just wish it had a dance track to go with it.

This week’s winner was brought to my attention by VioletFemme. Violet, I so agree that Fansprez’s Luke and Noah avatar deserves recognition. It’s a clever use of animation to get the point across that our favorite Oakdale teens need some intimacy in their storyline.

Fansprez is 25, single, and hails from Denver, Colorado.

Congratulations to wewdie & Liz, and a special tip of the hat to this week's winner: Fansprez!

... We know Major Tom's a junkie ... or wait, isn't that Lily?

Anyway, here we are, back to liveblog today's episode of As the World Turns against our own better judgment. Why? Because even though we've been assured by the chocolate-barraged powers-that-be that Oakdale's Alpha Gay Teens, Luke and Noah, will be on today's episode, we can't imagine that they'll have much to do other than perhaps take out the trash or pick up Little Miss Stormcloud and The Other One from ballet class or something.

But given that today promises some white-hot soap action in the form of a Very Big Thing happening to someone in Nuke's ever-dwindling circle of acquaintances, we'll have some fun with this one regardless. Here's how I'm imagining the couple's entrance:

INT SNYDER FARM KITCHEN - DAY

LUKE sits at the kitchen table, knitting what appears to be a tea cozy. He has a wistful half-smile as he loops and purls with the grace of a seasoned pro, perhaps remembering his younger, wilder days.

With a flourish and a flash of pearly white, NOAH enters through the screen door carrying a white plastic bag.

NOAH: I've found it! And Michael's was MOMENTS away from closing...

LUKE: You didn't!

NOAH: I did! (pulls a spool of green yarn from the bag) Now we can finish the tea cozy for Grandma Emma AND knit a pair of rehab mittens for your mom. Those facilities can be so drafty.

LUKE: Oh Noah, this is the best. Aren't you glad my grandma inexplicably changed her mind and let you live here? Now we can live like normal gay teenagers and not have to worry about anyone disturbing us!

NOAH: (looking sweetly into Luke's eyes) We sure can.

LUKE: (gazing back into Noah's eyes) Yeah.

(pause)

NOAH: So who's up for a nice hot corned beef sandwich?

(End scene)

Click on through the jump to see if this is what happens, and refresh often for breaking updates!

Hot on the heels of our whining about Luke and Noah not ever being on As the World Turns anymore, we've received word from CBS (via chocolate-stained keystrokes? Let's hope so!) that the boys will be on tomorrow despite not appearing in any spoilers or previews or anything.

Granted, they likely won't have too much to do, especially since we have on good authority that a rather Big Thing goes down tomorrow that doesn't directly involve them. And given that said Big Thing probably doesn't happen in the kitchen at Snyder Farm, I can't imagine they'll be there for it.

Still, we will be here tomorrow to liveblog the Big Thing and get all googly-eyed over our favorite Oakdale Gay Teens at 2PM EST. In the meantime, do check out these adorable videos that were posted today in which Van Hansis (Luke) answers some fan questions. My favorite bit is when Van makes it clear that he does not consider himself an icon, a symbol, or Jesus. Because really, if he were Jesus, he probably would have gotten himself out of that wheelchair a little sooner, right?

Check 'em out after the jump!

Have you buried CBS Daytime in cheap American chocolate in the name of soapdom's only gay teen couple? If not, get to it!

Since AfterElton.com reader Jerome posted his idea for the "Kiss Campaign" in the forums, word about the effort to raise a sweet, chocolatey stink about As the World Turns' recent handling of the Luke and Noah storyline has spread like wildfire through soap sites and message boards, with oodles of Nuke fans getting on board with the campaign and pledging their support.

In case you need to be reminded: despite being Oakdale's most stable and mature couple (translation: "maiden aunts"), Luke and Noah haven't kissed since September, and have only appeared on screen in one episode in 2008. What gives?

Those joining the cause come from all walks of life, ranging from tween fangirls all the way up to the soaps editor for TV Guide, Matt Webb Mitovich ... here's a sampling of the ragtag army assembling in the name of gay soap teens everywhere:  

Daytime Confidential

Luke & Noah Wiki

NoahandLuke.com

T.V. Guide's Suds Report

JakeSilbermann.net

CBS Daytime Message Boards

The Soap Dispenser

T.V. Guide Soap editor Matt Mitovich's blog

VanHansis.net

We've taken the cause to heart here too, of course. Just this week Andy and I posted a handy instructional video in which we brave the subways, the cold, and a giant monster attack on the island of Manhattan just to get those creamy goodies into the mail.

What's next? Well, we're speaking to the head of Televest Daytime programming about the Luke and Noah situation and will report back with our findings. And beyond that, who knows ... but keep spreading the word and maybe eventually this will go all the way to the top! (And by "the top" I of course mean either a spot in the prime directives of the Gay Mafia or a mention on The Colbert Report. Same diff.)