Gay musician Dan Gillespie Sells and his band The Feeling rock Radio 1's Big Weekend in the UK

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.

• "The password is ... gay!" CBS is running six primetime eps of Million Dollar Password with host Regis Philbin over the summer, with celebrity guests including Neil Patrick Harris, Rosie O'Donnell, and more.

• Sad: John Barrowman's dog Lewis died last week, after twelve happy years with John and Scott.

• There's a comedy show about off-duty superheroes called No Heroics in the works for British TV, and an eagle-eyed reader tipped us off that one of the heroes is gay. The character's name is Time Bomb, and he's played by James Lance. (t/y Ben Weldon!)

• Above, adorable gay actor Eric Millegan dishes to Michael Ausiello about the fate of his character (Zach) in the much-hyped Bones finale. Good news: he doesn't die. Bad news: he becomes well-acquainted with hospital pudding.

• Speculation abounds regarding the blind-item-outed figures in the forthcoming Hiding in Hip Hop gay tell-all.

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

You didn't think we'd go into Mother's Day weekend without paying tribute to those wacky ladies (real and otherwise) that gave birth to our fabulousness, did you?  If you can't surprise your Mom with Sunday brunch or a T-shirt with your face on it, be sure to call her/them and express your love and gratitude for raising such a fierce child. 

It is, after all, Mother's Day so just remember, kiddies ... without Mothers there'd be no frakkers; without Mamas there'd be no Mia's, and the most important lesson of all: those lovely ladies that brought you into this world can take you out just as easily (sorry, I had to), so celebrate them!

Sit back and relax as I honor some of my favorite real-life Moms, as well as those from television and movies that represent the good, the bad and the ugly of memorable mamas.

THE NEWBIE
Lily Van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl)

Gossip Girl's Lily Van der Woodsen is a complex character who wants to be a better woman, Mother and lover than her upper crust gal pals and family will allow and I currently heart her. Sure Lily will marry any Tom, Dick or Bart for their money and she'll go to great lengths to save face amongst the Upper East Side elite and yes, she had a mini-meltdown when evil Georgina outed her son Eric at the dinner table but she came around in the end! Kelly Rutherford has taken what could have been a one-note rich bitch and made her a woman to root for. PFLAG will never be the same.

THE SEMI-OLD PRO
Nora Walker (Brothers & Sisters)

Nora Walker meddles and occasionally messes with her children's lives but she's always best friend and supporter to her gay son Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) on ABC's Brothers & Sisters.  Sally Field is a powerful presence on screen and she can dominate the drama like no one else but she always let's her character live and breathe the world of her children (often to a fault) and she's really embraced Kevin's relationship and soon to be marriage to Scotty (played by Luke MacFarlane).  Nora could teach Lily a thing or two about patience and acceptance.

THE TRUE OLD PRO
Debbie Novotny (Queer as Folk - US)

Debbie (or PFLAG The Clown as my friend Armando likes to call her) could school all other Mother's on how to support your gay child and every fey friend that makes up his/her gay gang.  She's been crazy involved in her son Michael's (played by the adorable Hal Sparks) social and sex life so if you have questions on which gay clubs to haunt or which lube works best she's your go-to-gal.  Debbie does the gays proud and I salute her efforts and enthusiasm in grounding the sometimes outrageous Queer as Folk.

THE LEGEND
Anne Bancroft (Torch Song Trilogy's Ma Beckoff | Home For The Holiday's Adele Larson )

Anne Bancroft played two of the most memorable Gay Movie Moms from two of my favorite films with gay characters. In the classic Torch Song Trilogy she was the conflicted, confused, and sometimes pain in the ass Ma to Harvey Fierstein's Arnold Beckoff. In the end she realized that no matter how you raise them, sometimes kids really do "come that way."  In Jodie Foster's Home For The Holidays, she was the Mom most in need of a Silkwood shower and a neurotic nag to her gay son Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.) but she was never anything but amazing.  Rest In Peace Anne Bancroft (1931-2005).

THE ASS KICKER
Sandra Gangel (Beautiful Thing)

Sandra's the kind of woman that's not afraid to stand up to an abusive Father, knock out a whacked out Mama Cass lovin' neighbor, and encourage her gay son to make his own kind of music. Linda Henry's multi-layered performance in Beautiful Thing has always forced me to stand up and cheer.  She's funny, intense, and ruthless but encouraging and nurturing to not only her gay son Jamie but his teenaged lover Ste.  The final scene of the film is one of endless hope and utopia made even more amazing by Sandra's fearless efforts to accept her son.

There are some folks that no matter how much Dramamine they take find the thought of a Rosie O'Donnell video blog post nauseating; well stock up kiddies because to top it all off, her latest vlog is set on the high seas and has some camera work that puts Cloverfield and Blair Witch to shame.

Thankfully a newly out and proud young man is onboard to settle our stomachs! It looks like American Idol castoff Danny Noriega was thrown a life vest and that Rosie delivered on her video blog promise of taking the Tainted Loverboy along.

For some reason I can't stop wondering if young Danny will be forced to sketch Rosie with nothing but The Heart of the Ocean necklace on while pounding his chest and belting out "My Heart Will Go On" over and over again.

Good for Danny Noriega! I'm glad he took Rosie up on her offer and that he's getting the chance to broaden his horizons and be exposed to a loving, supporting (if not captive) audience. Plus, he's sailing with AfterElton Vlogger and Comedian Ant and Ross "The Intern" Mathews!

American Idol's Danny Noriega may have spent the better part of the weekend crying in a hotel room after his undeserving elimination but he could spend the better part of next week on the high seas if Rosie O'Donnell has anything to do with it!

In her latest video blog, the Queen of Mean has professed her love for the boy whose name she can't pronounce ("Norega" is close but come on ... she also thinks Little David Archuleta's last name is "Archella") and wants him to join her, Queer as Folk's Sharon Gless and True Colors' Cyndi Lauper on her next R Family Cruise.

If he makes it onto that cruise, I wouldn't be surprised if he's a special guest on the True Colors tour this summer (if he's not an alternate on the mega Idol tour) which is TMTH!

The dates and lineup for True Colors '08 have been announced. For the full list of dates, visit the official website, but here's the jist of it from the press release...

"The True Colors Tour will hit the road again this summer with an exciting new line-up of legendary and up and coming artists including headliners Cyndi Lauper, The B-52s, Rosie O’Donnell with host Carson Kressley and many more. After receiving rave reviews and a successful debut in 2007, the True Colors Tour is expanding to meet demand in many more cities. The tour will kick off Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month on May 31st at Boston’s Bank of America Pavilion. Produced by True Colors Concerts in partnership once again with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the 24 city North American tour is presented by Logo in support of the newly created True Colors Fund of Stonewall Community Foundation. The concerts feature nearly five hours of nonstop music with exciting special guests appearing on select dates throughout the tour including Wanda Sykes, Tegan and Sara, Regina Spektor, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Joan Armatrading, Indigo Girls, Nona Hendryx, Deborah Cox and The Cliks."

Needless to say, exciting lineup for an exciting event, and great news that the tour is being expanded to reach more cities. We'll be all over this one (and not just because Logo is AfterElton.com's parent company, we swear!).

Denis O'Hare

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.

• When he's not busy crooning in front of digitally-altered backgrounds for Eli Stone, gay pop legend George Michael is busy selling his memoirs for an unprecedented sum. And they say potheads are lazy ... you go, George!

• Gus Van Sant's Milk biopic gets even gayer, with out Broadway powerhouses Denis O'Hare and Stephen Spinella joining the cast (Victor Garber has been cast as well). Now it's a bit of a shame that they couldn't have cast any gay actors as the actual gay couple central to the story, but let's not look a gift civil rights martyr biopic in the mouth. And really, with Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco already locked, is this not shaping up to be one of the strongest male casts ever?

• I strongly urge you to keep this clip of Brenda Vaccaro screaming in Supergirl open at all times and ready for quick-fire use when your boss asks you to do something.

• We just heard that the second season of Logo's Big Gay Sketch Show will feature cameos by Kate Clinton, Chastity Bono, Elaine Stritch, Christine Ebersole and that lady in the center of the above pic, Rosie something-or-other. Whatever, they had me at the cutie-patootie new cast member at the back left.

• "La Morte Boheme": Rent will be put to rest June 1, only about 5 years after the artsy downtown neighborhood from which it sprang was converted to a Starbucks.

• 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.

• The cast of Xanadu, the Gayest Musical Ever, will ring the closing bell today at the NASDAQ. If anything can keep the economy from sliding, it's the sight of Cheyenne Jackson in short-shorts.
  

• James Marsters (looking adorable at top) on his hotly-anticipated Torchwood role: "I'm introduced and kiss the hell out of the male lead and then kick his ass. Or maybe he kicks my ass. We kick each other's ass." Ah, new love...

• Hey, Van fans! Here's an adorable off-the cuff video interview with Hansis on the eve of his off-Broadway debut in Die Mommie Die. (Thanks to QueerTwoCents for the tip!)
  

• Rosie O'Donnell may have inked a deal for a primetime talk show opposite Larry King, on MSNBC. I for one think she will be much easier to take after happy hour.

• This whole Ernie Fletcher anti-gay Hail Mary re-election attempt gets even weirder: running-mate Rudolph referred to Democratic opponent Beshear and his running-mate as "a couple of San Francisco treats" over the weekend. What, they're Rice-a-Roni?!