Cultural Institution Sir Ian McKellen

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.

• A Conversation with Sir Ian has been nominated for a 2008 Webby Award, under the "Cultural Institutions" category. I don't know that I'd put the man out to pasture just yet with that designation, but I suppose we've all probably been called worse things.

• I don't know if anyone has been catching EW's America's Next Top Doll webseries, but this week's makeover episode is just crazy enough reason to start tuning in. (I particularly like the mermaid's makeover, where they cut off her fins so she can be "where the people are".)

• Is He Who Blogs Behind the Rows really cleaning up his act? We'll believe it when the shocking footage of him rescuing a kitten out of a tree surfaces on TMZ.

• Why is Harvey Fierstein serenading Kathie Lee Gifford? Or is MadTV syndicating sketches to The Today Show now?

• Dan Savage, the outspoken gay writer behind Savage Love (I started reading him way back when it was called "Hey, Faggot") and the brilliant Skipping Towards Gomorrah, has lost his mother. His column today is a heartfelt remembrance of her, and our sympathies are with him and his family.

• Jerry Mitchell (whom we recently interviewed about Step It Up & Dance) is publishing a photo-filled book this summer about his other campfest, Broadway Bares, the strip-show that has raised a heck of a lot of money for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. The racy cover can be found after the break.

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

NewNowNext grabbed Kate and Fred of The B-52s for a quick chat. Check it out!

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.

• A 1948 W.H. Auden poem about gay oral sex was deemed "too dirty" to mention in a Times book review of erotic poetry. Why? Because it's downright hot filthy!

• Probably the funniest thing I've read all week: Stuff White People Like #88: Having Gay Friends

• TIME magazine is running a readers poll of their best covers, and Ellen DeGeneres' "Yep, I'm Gay" cover is #1, with almost five times the votes of the next entry, 9/11. Take note, publishers: Gay people good, terrorism bad.

• Above, another preview clip from tomorrow's Make Me a Supermodel featuring special guest mentor ... Christian Siriano! He's there to help make their catwalks ... wait for it ... fierce.

• The Stranger's Dan Savage uses this week's column as an opportunity to answer some young readers' questions about coming out, and doesn't bother sugar-coating anything: "In two short years ... you'll be able to come out to your mom and dad - and, even better, you'll be able to tell them to suck it."

• The kids at Cracked list their 6 favorite offensive Hollywood stereotypes, and whaddayaknow, the "Gay/Effeminate Serial Killer is on the list. Glad we're not the only ones complaining about these things.

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

• Best. Trading. Day. Ever. (Xanadu cast ringing the NASDAQ closing bell earlier this week)

• Out actor Richard Griffiths to reprise his Equus role on Broadway. Oh, and that naked wizard kid, too.

• MSNBC not coming up Rosie.

• LGBT documentary series In the Life will receive the Academy's Ribbon of Hope Award for their coverage of HIV/AIDS issues on World AIDS Day (December 1st). Big congrats to In the Lifer Daniel Karslake (whom we recently interviewed about his film For the Bible Tells Me So) and his colleagues.

• 30 years ago today, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay person to hold that office. He was assassinated a little over one year later along with Mayor George Moscone. There are currently two biopics in motion about the gay rights pioneer, from gay filmmakers Bryan Singer and Gus Van Sant.

• Anyone see the John Cusack thriller 1408, about the haunted room? (crickets...) Ever-amusing Dan Savage pulled the same trick in visiting the hotel defamed by shamed, hustler-lovin' Republican Washington rep Richard Curtis, and it's just as scary/hilarious.

• Harry Potter star and noted horse aficionado Daniel Radcliffe says he has no qualms about playing gay someday. Heck, he's been wearing a dress for most of his on-screen career already.

• For those of you who read my review of Eastern Promises but only registered the words "Viggo Mortensen full-frontal nude Russian bath knife fight," it's your lucky day. (Note: Very NSFW and likely won't be around for long.)

• Miller Brewing has pulled their logo from a controversial Last Supper-themed ad that raised the hackles of a Christian group.

• Dan Savage (pictured above) appears in Slate's sex issue talking about ... um ... sex?

• For you American Idol fans, here's a preview of Jordin Sparks' first single.

Preview MP3 of Jordin Sparks new single, "Tattoo":

One of the most welcome changes wrought by the gay movement is that these days we at least have some gay voices that can reach a mainstream audience and put forth a gay point of view. Case in point is author and gay activist Dan Savage who is a fantastic voice for our community. He recently appeared on CNN putting in context a large part of this story that has gone unreported — namely, why this behavior exists and who engages in it. His is also one of the few voices I've heard expressing the fact that most gay folks are as put off by this behavior as are straight people. When you've got ABC News writing articles with headline such as "Secret Signals: How Gay Men Cruise For Sex" the value of a voice like Dan's can't be underestimated. Here is the clip.

Last week I covered Garrison Keillor's moronic column about the good old days when families stayed nice and nuclear and gay men pretty much weren't found anywhere outside of hair salons and antique stores. And they definitely weren't trying to get married or have kids. Turns out those of us that took offense at Keillor's were just missing the joke.

Yeah, that's right, Garrison wasn't really serious when he said:

And now gay marriage will produce a whole new string of hyphenated relatives. In addition to the ex-stepson and ex-in-laws and your wife’s first husband’s second wife, there now will be Bruce and Kevin’s in-laws and Bruce’s ex, Mark, and Mark’s current partner, and I suppose we’ll get used to it.

The country has come to accept stereotypical gay men—sardonic fellows with fussy hair who live in over-decorated apartments with a striped sofa and a small weird dog and who worship campy performers and go in for flamboyance now and then themselves. If they want to be accepted as couples and daddies, however, the flamboyance may have to be brought under control. Parents are supposed to stand in back and not wear chartreuse pants and black polka-dot shirts. That’s for the kids. It’s their show.

It was all tongue-in cheek, you see. Dan Savage over at the SLOG has Garrison's whole "I'm sorry if you're feelings got hurt" apology. Nice example Keillor's setting for Maia, his daughter by his third wife (that's a little something Keillor forgot to mention in his column). Dan does a great job of blowing apart how lame Keillor's Bush-ian apology is, but what got me were the comments posted by Dan's readers. A shocking number of them tell Dan to just get over it and it's not that big of a deal anyway, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Frankly, it reminds me of the reaction to our coverage of 300 which we were apparently too dumb to just understand is only a movie and who cares if the villain is a giant queen coming to get the straight boys? Don't we know most folks are really tolerant of gay folks today? Just like with 300, folks think Dan is being a nag and not focusing his attention those really hurting gays and lesbians.

Poppycock. Dan Savage has done as much to combat homophobia as almost anyone else out there. He's earned the right to criticize pretty much whomever he wants and if he thinks something is worth criticizing, you can pretty much bet he's right. And he's completely on target to call Keillor out for his bigoted comments. As for those who think 300 and Keillor's homophobia don't matter or aren't enough to worry about, the only reason society has changed as drastically as it has is because of people like Dan being willing to step forward and speak up. And not just in comments.

Thanks to Wayman for the head's up on the apology!