Laura Linney and out Tony nominee Ben Daniels (Photo: Sara Krulwich for the NY Times)

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.

• If it weren't on video, I wouldn't believe it: an old clip of Anderson Cooper reporting from Chelsea BDSM shop The Noose. (Now that's what I call "Headline Noose"! Bah-dum-bum.)

• We're not the only ones who find it interesting that As the World Turns is the only soap to post an increase in young viewers in the months since the Nuke storyline was introduced - The New York Times does, too.

• The Times also profiled gay actor Ben Daniels (Beautiful Thing), who recently snagged a Tony nomination for his breakout performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses opposite Laura Linney. Though the sexuality of his character is center-stage, the piece fails to mention that the actor has been out since forever.

• here! Tunes (the music publishing arm of the gay television network) has announced their debut release for their first signed artist, NYC musician Stewart Lewis. To hear some samples of his pop/folk melodies, check out Lewis's Myspace page, and look for the album, in formation, in early June.

• Out in Hollywood has compiled some notable (and heartwarming) responses from celebs and such to repeal of the California same-sex marriage ban. My favorite has to be Governor Terminator's comment: "I will respect the court's decision." Brings a tear!

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

Ever since Survivor became a big hit in the summer of 2000, there have been people who have claimed that reality TV is the of civilization... and ever since The Mole debuted in January 2001, there have been a lot of sentences that begin with, "I don't usually watch reality TV but..."

After years of waiting (and two seasons of suffering through a "celebrity edition" where Kathy Griffin's ability to make Corbin Bernsen and Stephen Baldwin's personalities tolerable was severely tested), fans of The Mole have a new series to look forward starting in June. The series, where contestants face challenges while being undermined by a Mole posing as an ally, was known for mixing intellectual and physical challenges with an overall whodunit, as the final goal in the game is to figure out "who is The Mole?".

ABC has been slowly releasing information about the contestants and restaurant manager Bobby is openly gay. In fact, he thinks being gay will give him an advantage in the game:

Being gay, he feels that his "gaydar", the ability to recognize other gay people, will help him read people in the game.

In the "Meet Bobby!" video at show's website Bobby adds that being gay and growing up hiding who he really was has made him a good liar, which will probably play well in the show. He also speaks Spanish, which will be helpful since some of the show will film in Chile. I'm sure being a total cutie will be helpful, too. 

The Mole has its place in gay pop culture as it was many TV viewers' introduction to gay fave news anchor Anderson Cooper, but the news of a gay contestant puts the show's long-awaited return squarely on our RADAR. (Can. Not. Wait.)

Neil gets Bruce: NPH and Vilanch co-presenting at the Academy of Magical Arts Awards

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.

• Neil Patrick Harris was the call-in trivia guest on last weekend's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! show on NPR. (You can listen to it via the link.) The hosts asked him about his coming out before grilling him on obscure facts.

• Melbourne news anchor Peter Hitchener recently came out as gay in an interview, for no apparent reason other than that he felt like sharing it after more than 20 years of delivering the news every evening to hundreds of thousands of people. Awesome! (t/y Chris for the tip!)

• Americans for Truth's Peter LaBarbara (and I'm sorry, that's a drag name if I've ever heard one) take Out's naming of Anderson Cooper as an opportunity to bash gay media AND call Coop's integrity into question. All your bases covered, Pete? Yep, two corpses, everything's fine...

• Loath though I am to get anything close to excited about an Adam Sandler movie after the disappointing Chuck & Larry, the above You Don't Mess With the Zohan preview actually made me laugh once. And I'll take more Alec Mapa, even as a sassy hairdresser sidekick.

• This one slipped by us: Van Hansis will be among the soap stars on-hand to announce the Daytime Emmy nominations on The View on April 30.

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

Out magazine has released their second annual "Power 50", their rankings of the 50 most powerful gays and lesbians in the country. It's pretty much a by-the-numbers list as far as those things go, but one name close to the top of the list is not like the others:

3. Anderson Cooper

This is nothing new, considering the mag tried to nudge (shove? bum-rush?) the foxy newsman out last year in the first annual list. (Last year's controversial issue also featured pics of Cooper and Jodie Foster - who appears on the list again this year - on the cover. Foster has notably inched out a smidge in the year since.)

Again the question of whether a publication called Out should be placing a public figure who is NOT "out" on a list of influential gays and lesbians, much less at #3. If an assumedly gay anchor shouts "fire" in a crowded theatre and no one knows that he's gay, is there still a fire? Or something like that?

Ellen DeGeneres takes the top spot, and it's hard to argue there. And Brothers & Sisters creator Greg Berlanti makes the list and rates a feature on the queer-inclusive shows he's gotten on the air.

Full list after the jump ... any thoughts?

AfterElton Hot 100 vet David Beckham plays peek-a-boo at a Seoul press conference

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.

• Why did no one tell me that there was a new episode of Planet Unicorn?! In fine PU form, it's a Christmas episode ... in February. This is your brain on drugs, kids.

• This fella is liveblogging (kinda) the Pink Flight to Sydney Mardi Gras. The updates stopped when he got on the plane, so either he couldn't get online or he had one too many pink martinis and blacked out in the lavatory.

• Anderson Cooper covered the murder of gay teen Lawrence King on his show, but unfortunately the CNN podcast elected to cut that segment in favor of a singing kid in underwear.

• A big happy birthday to Elizabeth Taylor. The legendary actress and tireless AIDS research supporter turns 76 today. 
  

• I know this is awful, but this guy freaking out on Scare Tactics at the "genetically altered rat-boy" is still one of the funniest things ever to air on television.

• Vanessa Williams was given the HRC Equality Award over the weekend, and gave a lovely acceptance speech. Even better, it was presented to her by Becki Newton (Ugly Betty's wonderfully evil Amanda) and Nessie dropped some great UB references and told some great stories about her own growing up with gay colleagues and friends along the way.

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

Vintage Coop

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.

• Think your mother embarrasses you? Well, even internationally-renowned anchors like Anderson Cooper with internationally-renowned fashion designer mothers like Gloria Vanderbilt find themselves blushing from time to time, as in the hilarious clip above.

• Distribution rights for The Universe of Keith Haring, a documentary on the life and works of the celebrated gay artist, have been picked up. It will be great to see a definitive portrait of the man who created some of the most iconic images in terms of gay political art and AIDS activism.

• Some Castro businesses have been complaining that the filming of Milk is hurting their business. Valid complaint, or crying over spoolt Milk?

Opie & Anthony Ben & Dave

• here ! television has announced that their gay podcast The Ben & Dave Show, starring Ben Harvey and Dave Rubin, will make the jump to a television comedy chat show on March 7th.

• The terrifying, jewel-encrusted host of Millionaire Matchmaker says that next season (if there is one) she'd like to feature a gay millionaire. I think this is the first time in history that I'm actually grateful to be poor.

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

Gawker.com has been in the news quite a bit of late. The Sunday New York Times recently ran an article asking "Has Gawker Jumped the Snark" which examined the sites recent turmoil including the departure of a number of senior bloggers as well as a decline in the quality in the site's coverage of the media. Said the article about whether the site has lost its mojo:

Is it so? There are certainly signs that Gawker, delivering a daily dose of gossip and commentary about the news business and selected celebrities since 2002, is in the midst of a particularly intense period of turmoil, which has led to a slide in its once-hypnotic influence on the news media world.

Then came news that Gawker editor Nick Denton announced a new pay scale where bloggers would be paid based on the number of views at a rate of $7.50 for every 1,000 views that postsgenerate. Felix Salmon, who writes the Market Movers blog over at Portfolio.com, then asked what affect that might have on the quality of posts:

At least two things remain to be seen: whether the new pay scheme will increase the amount of salaciousness at the expense of the sites' broader credibility, and whether the new pay scheme will adequately reward the kind of old-fashioned shoe-leather journalism that Denton wants to encourage at Gawker.

We don't yet know the answer to question number two, but judging by this post — Can We Just Call Them Gay — about which newscasters might be gay, the answer to number one might just be yes.

The post purports to criticize New York Magazine for supposedly hinting around that Fox anchor Shepherd Smith might be gay in their weekly Q&A feature. How did they hint exactly? By asking what was the last Broadway show he attended and what art is hanging above his couch. (Blogger Maggie Shnayerson fails to note these are the same questions that NYM asks each celebrity they interview for the column every week, and that they weren't tailored for Smith in the least.)

Gawker then points out that there was also "heavy subtext" when the magazine profiled Anderson Cooper by noting "Cooper couldn’t have looked more put-together in his impeccably modernblack suit, crisp pink shirt, and perfectly knotted purple-and-bluetie."

Apparently noting that Cooper's shirt was pink and his suit impeccable are coded euphemisms for gay. Well, Gawker is going to have none of that! They're going to grab the journalistic bull by the horns and simply rate five newscasters - Fox's Smith, Sean Hannity, and Bill Hemmer, CNN's Anderson Cooper, and ABC's Sam Champion - on the Kinsey scale because they're tired of all that pussyfooting around!

So they analyze some video of each newscaster, repeat rumors and make "subtle" innuendos about each, and then assign them a number from the Kinsey scale which, incidentally, they got backwards at first and had to fix when a reader pointed it out to them.

So is Gawker really upset at NYM for not having the same convictions as they do, or are they using these men's sexuality as a cheap stunt to drive page views? I can't read their minds, of course, but if you take a gander at the page views on their site today you'll see that the post about Smith and the others has over 5,000 views, making it one of the top posts. In fact, it's done so well for Maggie that she just trotted out another post about Smith, this time accusing The New York Observer of doing the same thing.

Gay-baiting: It's fun and it pays! But you know what else pays? Doing actual research and old-fashioned interviews, rather than taking cheap shots and hoping that your targets drop some easy hits. Our own James Hillis worked his tail off on his Gay Newsmen: A Clearer Picture article, and earned a GLAAD Media Award nomination from his thoughtful work. But I guess that's not what post-snark-jump Gawker is all about. 

Kathy Griffin and me a porn star at the gay porn awards

On Saturday night Andy took me to see Kathy Griffin at the Madison Square Garden WaMu Theater (the WaMu part was new to me ... but then the manhole covers in this city will probably have corporate sponsors before Bloomberg's done with it). As we approached the theater, the transient Midtown crowd started more and more to resemble what Noah's Ark might have looked like had he opted not to repopulate the world with animals but instead to preserve paired examples of the many species of gay men who live in New York City.

"Look, it's a pair of Prada-footed Guppies!" "Hey, a Muscle Mary ... and his matched mate! They do tend to travel together ..."

And of course whatever Andy and I would qualify as, other than old, boring, and probably not nearly fabulous enough for a classy event like this. Would they make us sit in the back? What if I went to the gift stand to buy a "MAIN GAY" t-shirt and they told me I wasn't fun or pretty enough?

The night was only beginning and already I was shame-spiraling into disaster. You can take the boy out of the Catholic Church, step-ball-chain, step-ball-chain, repeat...

Fortunately, the minute that Kathy's show started, I forgot about all that (and almost forgot about the private atmosphere of suffocating perfume that hovered over our section, courtesy of the 300 or so women drinking red wine out of plastic cups all around us). Clips of Anderson Cooper calling Kathy "Bitch!" from The Celebrity Mole?! Clips of Kathy on Seinfeld? Clips of Kathy having her face beaten in with a hammer by her pregnant lesbian lover from the white-hot B horror movie The Unborn?!?! 

Okay, this is where I belong after all.

Kathy's act was what you'd expect: polished, wonderfully serpentine, and selectively ruthless. In the show that we saw (which she presaged with the promise that it was ALL NEW), Kathy's main targets were Oprah, Britney, Barbara Walters, the Christians ...

... and Marie Osmond.

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 are upgrading our To Make a Long Story Short ... news roundups to 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.

• Today in feverdream holiday entertainment: Kathy Griffin and Anderson "Andy" Cooper had a grand time ribbing one another (and themselves, in Coop's case) on CNN on New Year's Eve. Never one to be outdone, Andy actually gay-baits himself before Kathy can get around to it.

• These folks think Torchwood's same-sex dalliances are less than gay-friendly. 

• Out actors Raul Esparza, Dennis O'Hare and Cheyenne Jackson (pictured at top) are among the stars participating in the 24-Hour Musicals project, a benefit in NYC that challenges Broadway's best actors, writers, choreographers and directors to create entire shows in just one day. Rita Wilson, Kerry Butler, Tracie Thoms and more will also join the charitable fun.

• After the break, check out a Motorola ad (I think it might be Australian) that mines gay panic to sell cell-phone enabled sunglasses. The most curious thing about the ad is that it makes the guy using the product out to be a jackass, and the confused gay guy to be rather sympathetic. It's a marketing slam-dunk!

• Sean Hayes is among the comedy actors to participate in Funny or Die's New Year's Resolutions video (as well as someone named Fabrice Fabrice, Will Ferrell, and Fergie). His resolution? "Stop having unprotected sex." Watch the video for the full joke...