Tomorrow is the National Day of Silence, and this year's observance is a memorial to the life and tragic death of Lawrence King:

"The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. This year’s event will be held in memory of Lawrence King, a California 8th-grader who was shot and killed Feb. 12 by a classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Hundreds of thousands of students will come together on April 25 to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior."

After the break, you can see the Day of Silence PSA from Lance Bass.

Ronnie: How cute thou art

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.

• Bravo snuck us this delicious shot of Ronnie from tonight's Make Me a Supermodel. Be sure to come back at 10PM EST for Dan's liveblog of the art-class-nude-posing, body-paint-gallery-installation-rocking fun!

• Daddy bear designers Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra get lots of acclaim but no love from the masses. Give it up, people! Fur isn't murder when it's growing on your back, you know.

• Out Traveler ran a fun piece earlier this week on the gay New York of the past. How would Walt Whitman feel if he saw that the "city of orgies" had become the "city of bland romantic comedies, $20 martinis and designer cupcakes"?

• Happy birthday, Portia! Ellen's ladylove turns 34 today.

• Towleroad got hold of a PSA on barebacking porn made by gay porn director/waxing enthusiast Chi Chi LaRue. Um, NSFW, obvs.

Shock jock Don Imus has had his radio show back for only two weeks and he's already stuck his foot in his mouth. In talking with conservative talker Jay Severin, Imus asked Severin if not supporting prediential candidate Mike Huckabee makes him "gay or what": 

“Why don’t you like Huckabee, because you’re gay or what?” Imus inquired. 

To which Severin replied: “I’m very happy, yes, and I would think that would make me like Huckabee.”

Imus then admitted he was being rude to Severin who, he said, “couldn’t be more loyal.” Then he asked Jay he would come back on the show if invited. 

“I’ll think about it,” Severin said, which prompted Imus’ sidekick Charles McCord to quip “if the phone works from the closet.”

Severin tells the Boston Herald that he wasn't offended by Imus' comment. To make his heterosexuality clear he added, "I am only too happy to submit myself for a ‘field test’ with Gisele (Bundchen) and any of her friends, if you can arrange it." Ah, you stay classy Jay!

This isn't the first time Imus' show insulted gays. Earlier this year, he "jokingly" used a Spanish anti-gay slur in an interview with presidential candidate Bill Richardson. After complimenting Chris Matthews' appearance in January 2006, he asserted his manliness by repeating jokes that referred to Brokeback Mountain as "Fudgepack Mountain." In 2000, his reaction to serial killer's Andrew Cunanan went, "Why are they bothering to catch this guy? He's just whacking off freaks!" In April, AmericaBlog posted a four-minute segment where he laughs at jokes at a series of anti-gay jokes.

Imus' history of offensive comments includes women, racial minorities and gays. The controversy over his remarks about the Rutgers Basketball team was a matter of time, as he says things that deserve that kind of furor pretty frequently. It sounds like he's playing that game all over again.

On last night's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams introduced a story about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip's wedding anniversary in a rather strange way. Williams declared:

"In an era when marriage is under attack, the united Kingdom these days is celebrating a 60th wedding anniversary, the longest marriage of any monarchy"

We're in an era when "marriage is under attack," Brian? As Good As You noted, that phrase is pretty commonly used by anti-gay forces to frame arguments against same-sex marriage in their favor. It's not something that should be used on a news program claiming neutrality, especially in a segment that has nothing to do with politics or civil rights.

Two years ago, media watchdog group Media Matters noted that Williams was named "the go-to network anchor" by Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster whose success is largely built on an effective use of creating terminology to frame political discourse (Daily Show fans might recognize him for his frequent appearances, including one where Samantha Bee declared him her "amoral Yoda"), so hearing Williams use a phrase like that should ring some alarms.

Now, I have heard gay friendly speakers make a mention of marriage being under attack. They're typically being facetious and trying to turn the phrase around to say that heterosexuals who take the right to marry for granted - who feel free to get married impulsively to people they barely know and end those marriages just as quickly. So, there's a potential exit for Williams - he can just say that he was referring to Britney Spears 12-hour marriage to Jason Alexander.

Jon Robin Baitz, out writer/creator of ABC's Brothers and Sisters (and whom AfterElton.com has previously profiled), weighs in on the ongoing (and going and going...) writer's strike in an essay written for The Huffington Post yesterday.

Baitz's main concern is the damning bit of evidence currently circulating the nets; a nifty little video put together by Unitedhollywood.com which edits together some choice interviews with various network CEOs gleefully espousing on digital downloads and the profits they intend to rake in as a result.

Their statements in these clips obviously fly in the face of their claims, when writers first asked for a portion of these profits, that digital downloads and online content are "for promotion only". Baitz is hopeful that this key bit of evidence will persuade anyone not already in support of the WGA that the studios don't have a leg to stand on. He writes:

Will this make a difference? I don't know, a smarter man than me would give them room to find a dignified and graceful exit policy from their miscalculation. But I can't help it. Watch this clip and if you still do not understand why the WGA is striking -- with the full support of actors and teamsters, little old ladies and dogs all over the world -- then it is hopeless. Because this gorgeous little Exhibit A is quite simply all you need.

And, though I've always sided with the writers, I have to agree. If the execs' comments in these interviews don't convince you, nothin' will. You can take a look at the footage in question for yourself, after the break.

The Commercial Closet Association, which monitors gay representation in advertising, have named American Express and Absolut Vodka as the "gold standard" for sensitive LGBT portrayals in their advertising. The CCA praised the two companies for great work in the past year, but also for a history of supporting the gay community. These sponsors' support includes not just marketing to gay customers and advertising in gay media, but also sponsoring and participating in community events.

American Express' history includes ads using out celebrities in such as Tom Ford, Ellen DeGeneres and Queer Eye producer David Collins. The company's has also addressed LGBT concerns with ads that bring up the different financial issues same-sex couples face.

Meanwhile, the CCA notes that Absolut has been buying ads in gay media since 1981, and was the first major advertiser to target LGBT customers. Absolut also has a history of incorporating queer imagery in national advertising, including Spada, the creator of the gay pride rings, in their 1992 "Absolut Spada" ad and the art of Keith Haring in the 1995 "Absolut Haring" ad.

The CCA is also launching their new AdRespect Score, which will attempt to rate how well national advertisers treat the LGBT community. The CCA's ideal advertiser is one who responsibly includes LGBT imagery, buys space in gay media and participates in community events. The scores will be included on the Commercial Closet's website, helping add context when browsing the site's collection of LGBT-themed ads.

In the tradition of our own "Twenty Most Groundbreaking Gay Films" Entertainment Weekly writer Mark S. Luckie takes a look back at some of the defining moments in the portrayal of the LGBT community (in both film and television) in his video essay, "Landmark Moments in Gay Hollywood".

Spanning from the cross-dressing comedy of Some Like It Hot in 1959 up through the dramatic misadventures of Luke and Noah on As the World Turns in 2007, the list is surprisingly comprehensive (there are even YouTube clips accompanying each entry!). Most of the major advances are covered, with such varied titles as Making Love, Cruising (which associate editor Brian Juergens recently examined in honor of its release to DVD), Ellen, Noah's Arc, and, of course, Brokeback Mountain garnering mention.

Personally, I might add Beautiful Thing, the best of the bumper crop of gay coming-of-age films in the 90s, and Shortbus, a film which managed to shrug off its unabashedly frank portrayals of gay sex as no big deal, to the list. What do you guys think? Are these truly the most landmark developments in gay Hollywood? Which moments would make your list?

A priest in the Vatican participated "anonymously" in a television special on gay priests by responding to an ad on a gay S&M site and meeting with a young man who recorded their conversation. Another reason to avoid Internet dating.

The priest, who is being identified as Monsignor Tommaso Stenico, met with the young man in his office and made comments that he did not believe homosexual activity was a sin (the Church's standing is that while homosexual tendencies are not sinful, to act on them is) while being secretly filmed, as well as vague passes at the man. When Church officials learned of his comments, he was suspended and then came forth publicly to defend his comments, which he claims were part of his "psychoanalyst work" for the Church, which included understanding the hot gay S&M underworld first-hand.

The Times has the bizarre details of the double-sting (if Stenico is to be believed), noting that Stenico has been attempting to uncover a sinister plot to seduce priests into having gay sex, noting, "There are people who go after them ... I really believe there is a diabolical plan by groups of Satanists."

The AP notes that the priest has now said of his play-acting that he routinely goes undercover,

"to better understand this mysterious and faraway world which, by the fault of a few people — among them some priests — is doing so much harm to the Church."

In other words, when Stenico was in Never Neverland, Peter Pan told him to clap his hands if he believed in fairies, and so he did. Real hard.

I have a hard time believing that a high-ranking Vatican official would invite a stranger from a sex site to his office for a bondage session ... but then again, I could never have imagined what kind of things went down in the Oval Office, either. But whether Stenico's defenses are legit or not, I find it amusing that anyone, anywhere would buy that whole "Satanists" story. Has be been using the same excuse since Rosemary's Baby? Get with it, Padre: Satanists are old news. Blame the terrorists!

Whether he's lying or not, expect Monsignor Stenico/Larry Craig Vatican Bathroom Toe-Tapping Slashfic to flood the Web within the hour (not to mention the political cartoons in the New York Post).

Nothing makes me laugh quite like a little gay-bashing humor. How about you?

Last night Tucker Carlson, Dan Abrams, and Joe Scarborough had a falling-down-laughing good time with the Larry Craig story on MSNBC. When Abrams seemed curious as to why Tucker had once indicated a person's sexual orientation wasn't actually anyone else's business, Carlson hastened to reassure him of the most important thing:

“Let me be clear, Dan. I’m not gay. I’ve never been gay. Over-reacted and made a poor decision…” (laughter)

To which Abrams, who isn’t just a big name at MSNBC but an attorney, responded, also laughing:

“And let me just say for the record, I’m not gay either.”

I mean, come on. This is funny stuff. But not anywhere near as funny as Abram's reaction when he found out Carlson has been approached by men for sex in public places; such things have apparently never happened to Abrams. What exactly did Carlson do, he asked, when he was approached?

In the manliest tone possible to use when one is giggling, Tucker replied:

“I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy.. and grabbed him… and hit him against the stall, actually.”

Then they all basically wet their pants laughing.