Kevin (Matthew Rhys) parts with one of his dolls in the October 19th episode of Brothers & Sisters

Following this 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.

• In today's non-news, Miley Cyrus has reportedly asked that Disneyland be closed for her big birthday party this weekend, leading some hysterical pubs to announce that she's "leaving the gay community out in the cold", as that is part of Disney Gay Days weekend. Never mind that the gays are scheduled to be at a different park that day or that it's pretty hard to leave anyone "out in the cold" in Southern California.

• Alan Ball has a few movie ideas in mind once he's got Season 2 of True Blood written: one's a 1930's screwball comedy and another's a feminist horror comedy "with a body count". Hey, why not do both together? He could call it Adam's Ribs!

• Swingtown, which had its share of fans here, will be heading to Bravo for an exclusive full-series run. The show did get pretty gay-inclusive by the end, and let's face it, what's not to love about some syndicated Tom and Trina Decker?

• Above, from our sibs at 365Gay.com: A report on the recent deposition of an Episcopal Bishop who tried to split the Church after it appointed its first openly gay Bishop.

• Now that Xanadu on Broadway has closed (pauses to wipe away tear), out badunka-hunk Cheyenne Jackson is moving on to other projects, including playing the lead in George Bernard Shaw's The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, a wild west melodrama being mounted as a part of The Project Shaw. Let's hope there are chaps involved.

• Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and Penn Badgley (all of Gossip Girl) appear on the cover of this month's Details and inside they mourn the media obsession with their sexualities. I may be more inclined to take the discussion seriously were it not sharing front-page space with the headline "Do You Have Douchebag Hair?".

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

A production of Cinderella On Ice is causing an uproar in Australia, where it's making its debut before embarking on a world tour.

What's causing the commotion is a "gay love sequence" in the production by two of the peripheral characters, played by dancers Yuri Salimanov and Andrei Benikov.

It isn't explained what a "gay love sequence" is, but obviously it's enough to draw the ire of the usual "family" groups, who rant about "protecting children", and "compromising the role of parents", yadda-yadda-yadda (and if you get a chance, read the comments after the article for some down under looniness).

All of this got us thinking about other fairy tales, and how much better they would be with the inclusion of openly gay characters. Here are a couple of wishful examples.

Gaston

Oh baby. Yes, it's shallow and superficial, but the first name I thought of was Gaston. After all, there's no one as burly and brawny, as you see he's got biceps to spare. Not a bit of him's scraggly or scrawny, and ev'ry last inch of him's covered with hair! He's the perfect bear!

Hansel & Hansel

Surely you've already heard of the classic fairy tale Hansel & Hansel, by Hans Christian Luckerhueven? It's very popular in St. Olaf.

What classic fairy tales would you like to see updated with a gay sensibility?

In this edition of "Chewing the Fat", Brent and I ruminate over what is happening with gay teens in the popular culture. There seems to be a bit of a "moment" going on as they are popping up in various incarnations of late. Brent and I discuss the great — Luke and Noah on As The World Turns, Calvin on Greek. The barely there — possibly Ryan in High School Musical 2. And the "What you talkin' 'bout Willis — Seth in Superbad.

Watch the vlog after the jump!

• Well this is ... weird? A gospel singer and preacher named Tonex has a song out that contains lyrics that some people think indicate that he's coming out as gay. What, "This Little Light of Mine" isn't good enough anymore? BTW, NSFW.
  
• The voting is getting scary close on As the World Turns' Luke/Noah relationship poll. Don't let the homophobes win. Vote now!
• The ever-scooptacular Michael Ausiello talked up Jeremy Piven at the Entourage premiere, and Piven said of his toxic character Ari: "He will prove himself to be the biggest homophobe and the biggest friend to the gay man in the history of humanity." Um ... wow!
• Mariah Carey to perform at Disney's One Mighty Party gay event ... at Paris's Euro Disney park. Chances are, everyone will look either gay or European.
• Isaiah Washington compares himself to Malcolm X and Paul Robeson. Yeah -- remember when Malcolm X called Fidel Castro a "faggot" in 1960? No? Well, that's because it never happened. Moving on...
• Queerty.com asks "Is Gay Pride Even Relevant Anymore?" We're so ashamed.
  
• NewNowNext wants your vote for the Ultimate Queer Videos. And I don't think they mean Reverend Ted Haggard's.
• Meet retired Broadway dancer Michael Vita who is doing all kinds of good works.

Well, it's the end of another week and since I wasn't around last Friday for our final weekend post, I feel like there is even more to cover than usual. And that's before even getting to all the stuff that happened today, including the reaction to the Disney story.

Speaking of New York, it was great, especially because I missed all the really awful weather from the week before. Of course, the weather was even nicer in Palm Springs where I met up with the staff from AfterEllen for our staff retreat. That meant it was me and a gazillion lesbians all there for the Dinah Shore Weekend. Hanging out with the gals from AfterEllen was a lot of fun and very interesting, and, woohee, the things I learned about lesbians! Unfortunately, I'm now sworn to secrecy upon penalty of having my head shaved and being forced getting to attend the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.

Last month I wrote an article about how Disney was keeping same-sex couples from celebrating their commitment ceremonies on their California and Florida properties--and consequently Reuters is now reporting that Disney will start allowing same-couples to participate in their Fairy Tale Wedding program. (Reuters even specifically cites our article.)

Said Disney Parks and Resorts spokesman Donn Walker, "We are updating our Fairy Tale Wedding guidelines to include commitment ceremonies. This is consistent with our policy of creating a welcoming, respectful and inclusive environment for all of our guests."

When I first contacted Disney about this situation, they basically argued that since neither Florida nor California recognize same-sex marriage, Disney's hands were tied and they couldn't offer their services to gay and lesbian couples. This wasn't true, but it was Disney's argument.

The legal situation was slightly different in California where same-sex couples were allowed to celebrate their commitment ceremonies on Disney properties, but not using the same planners as straight couples nor could they use the Rose Court Garden which was strictly reserved for heterosexuals.

So what prompted the change? Walker said it was because of a "an inquiry from a guest that asked about this service." Walker then said he had to go have lunch with Tinker Bell and Goofy.

(Click read more to learn the rest of what happened.)