In the latest Two Gay Guys vlog, Michael and Brent ask just what it is about gay people that late night comics find so incredibly punchline-worthy. Was Brokeback Mountain really so hilarious that it merited a year's worth of monologue mentions? The guys suggest that late night needs a makeover, and decide to make over themselves as well. Yes, that's Michael sticking some sort of torture device up his nose.

Check it out below...

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Elton, Hillary, and that other guy

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.

• I'm with Simon Doonan - those NYC street fairs really need to dial down the aromas a titch or three. There's nothing like going out to Blood Bath & Beyond for vacuum filters and coming home smelling like you just spent the night in a smokehouse.

• Last night our reluctant namesake, Sir Elton John, did what he does best: play music. Meanwhile, the subject of his tribute concert, Hillary Clinton, did what she does best: made bad puns with song titles. (Oh, I keed, I keed ... she's alright.)

• Soccer fans listen up: the folks behind the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) have announced that on May 17th anti-hate events will take place in over 50 countries.

• This gay-inclusive ad for a first aid ointment from Brazil, made my day. And I don't even speak Portuguese. (from MadeInBrazil via Queerty)

• I came across this op-ed by a gay writer for the otherwise straight Falls Church News that did a great job of summing up just why it is the Jay Leno "gayest look" gag rubbed a lot of us the wrong way: On its own, "Gay" just isn't funny anymore.

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

Really? Who on Earth decided that that last joke was even remotely appropriate? Much less funny? I mean, come on ... Michael Jackson jokes in 2008? Forget offensive, that's just plain lazy.

The first nine jokes in the Top Ten List about pregnant transgender man Thomas Beatie showed that yes, you can make jokes about an undeniably odd situation without being offensive. And being a longtime fan of Letterman, I'm really shocked to see him resort to such a nasty low.

Leno, Kimmel, move over. Three's a crowd.

That breeze you feel is extended middle fingers all over the world waving in triumph. Jay Leno has issued an apology for his cringe-inducing interview with Ryan Phillippe two weeks ago. He released this statement to People magazine:

"In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong. I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."

Even though the apology was close to "sorry about the misunderstanding", and he made it to a magazine and not on his show (where people would actually see it), this should put an end to the story. Interesting that it took considerable backlash from the media and a weigh-in from GLAAD for Leno to act. The only sad thing is that we won't get a chance to see more colorful birds from around the world.

While Jay is doling out the apologies, I've been patiently waiting for years for him to apologize about another horrifying incident, which you can see after the break. (and Horshak, how could you?)

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.

• Mattel is upset over lesbian Barbie. And all this time they’ve had no problem with Ken?

• Rod 2.0 wants you to know that the Reverend Wright, Barack Obama's pastor, whatever his flaws, is most definitely not homophobic. And he marshalls some pretty strong evidence. Definitely worth a read if that ranting vid of the pastor had you worried.

• An Oregon man is 22 weeks pregnant. Which is really cool if it's not a hoax as some people are claiming. Thomas Beattie, the transgender man at the center of this story gave The Advocate a first-person account of how it feels to be pregnant, and how his family and doctors are reacting.

• Mario Lopez flexes his abs for the cover of his ghostwritten and completely beside the point fitness book. Come on admit it, you'd just be buying it for the shirtless pics of Le Lopez because no amount of crunches is ever going to give you abs like that.

• Shakesville is offering "More 'Gay Looks' for Leno!" It's an ever expanding collection of photos responding to Jay Leno's most recent gay hack humor idiocy.

And this edition of Briefs are brought to you by...

I know that you're probably thinking "What does a pic of Ryan Phillippe in a Santa suit have to do with this post?" The answer is: absolutely nothing, I just needed something to get the sour taste of his appearance last week with Jay Leno out of my mouth.

Ryan appeared on The Tonight Show last Wednesday to promote his upcoming movie Stop/Loss, but Jay, ever the Junior High Schooler, wanted to needle Ryan about his role as Billy Douglas years ago on One Life To Live. As you probably know, back in the early 90's Ryan played the first openly gay soap opera teenager, and Jay found the whole idea Hilarious!. After asking Ryan if his character's name was "Lance Bedrock", he asked Ryan to turn to the camera and give his "gayest look". Ryan tried his best to maintain his composure, but he was obviously uncomfortable.

You may remember that two years ago, Jeff Whitty wrote an "open letter" to Jay about his gay-baiting. After this latest incident, Jeff has released details about the conversation he had with Jay about the letter, including Jay's assertion that he was well aware of gay history, including the famous "StoneHILL Rebellion". To get the sour taste of that out of your mouth, after the break you can see Ryan in his Armani jeans commercial.

You don't need me to tell you that this weekend is really about getting together with friends and family, taking time to reflect on our nation's heroes, and officially welcoming the arrival of the warm-weather months (usually by scraping off the barbecue and knocking back a few cold ones). But in the event that you find yourself locked in a small dark room with nothing but a television equipped with basic cable (and DVR! What is this, a torture chamber?!), here are a few gay pics to make the chalkmarks fly by.

Friday

The Big Gay Sketch Show (Logo) 7:00PM and 7:30PM EDT
If you haven't seen the BGSS yet, there's no better time to catch up than when you're getting ready for dinner or a night on the town or Bible study class or what-have you. And the first of these back-to-backs features the very funny Rachel Ray in New York sketch and one of my faves. the evil airline desk agent.

The Tonight Show with That Guy (NBC) 11:35PM EDT
It's no secret, I can't stand Jay Leno and his decades-stale brand of "you young crazy whippernappers with your rock and roll and matchin' shoes!" humor. Case in point: the continued appearances of Ross the Intern, who in my opinion is treated like a punching bag more often than not in these segments. Might be worth tuning in to see how insulting the self-professed macho men will be tonight.

Saturday

Shear Genius Marathon (Bravo) 10:00AM EDT
In the leadup to next week's season finale, Bravo is airing every episode of the surprisingly entertaining Shampoo Opera back-to-back. Not a bad way to kill some hours, if only to revisit the glorious crazy of Dr. Boogie. Oh -- and I would have recommended Rene Fris' appearance this morning on Today, but there's no way I would recommend anyone getting up at 5AM on a Saturday for anything, period.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (IFC) 8:00PM EDT
Sexploitation master Russ Meyer's only studio picture (penned by Roger Ebert, of all people, and proudly bearing no relation whatsoever to the original), Beyond is probably one of the 10 most amazingly crazy movies ever made (and yes, it even beats Baby Geniuses). Gays, lesbians, transgendered superheroes, and one of the most legitimately awesome original soundtracks ever recorded (long live the Carrie Nations!) make this an absolute must-see, full stop. As the amazing Z-Man puts it (long before Austin Powers borrowed the line), "this is my happening and it freaks me out!"

Sunday

Polyester (IFC) 9:45PM EDT
John Waters' classic (which stars Divine, of course, as well as gay former matinee idol Tab Hunter) screens tonight -- wow, is IFC getting their camp on this weekend, or what? You can recreate the infamous "scratch-and-sniff" promotion that accompanied the film in theatres by setting up your own smelly items at home. Although, for your sake, I would hope that you don't have some of the scents handy...

Monday

Oh, come on -- go outside and get some sun. You've been looking a bit pasty anyway.

I'm not one to randomly start harping about a celebrity just because they get on my nerves (we have more important things to worry about here, after all -- and besides, there's not nearly enough room on this site to handle that much complaining), but for some reason the interview I watched this morning of Dominic Monaghan on Jay Leno just won't leave me be. Monaghan is of course the reformed Hobbit who has been playing an ex-junkie rocker on Lost, and Leno is the guy that stumbled into one of the cushiest hosting gigs in television history despite having little or no talent.

Get a load of the diaper-bomb that Archie -- sorry, Jay -- drops upon noticing that Monaghan has what appears to be black nail polish on one of his fingers:

Jay Leno: I'm hoping -- I'm hoping you slammed that in a door.

Dominic Monaghan: Well, you'd have to slam it pretty hard to do that...

JL: Maybe an engine block fell on it, it turned it black...

DM: No.

JL: Don't tell me that you actually painted it. Now, why --

DM: I'm going to disarm you here and say that it's nail polish.

JL: (visibly disgusted) Now why -- what is the advantage of that?

DM: Maybe no one ever told me that makeup's just for girls -- maybe they should have

JL: I'm telling you now...

I'll give you three guesses where the discussion goes from there: Jay trots out the "don't the girls you date get jealous of your hogging the mirror?" line (no, they don't), the "do you share makeup" line (yes, they do), and even an inspired, "well, do you do other normal guy things like refuse to stop to ask for directions, or are you a total alien?" line of questioning (Monaghan replies that of course he stops to ask for directions, like any sane person). Leno even asks if Monaghan is wearing panties under his suit.

Is it just me, or are Leno's "battle of the sexes" comedy chestnuts about 20 years stale? How does this guy still have a show? I love how Monaghan just keeps saying, "well, I like it" and letting it drop, but that Leno keeps coming back to the topic like a dog who's too stupid to remember that his water dish has been moved. And perhaps the real joke here is that Monaghan is notably involved with amazingly gorgeous costar Evangeline Lilly, so what Leno and his 350 classic cars apparently see as a lack of manliness isn't exactly doing him any harm in the dating department.

Anyway, I'll shut up -- but the clip is after the jump, and it's worth watching if you're in the mood to revisit some timely comedy circa 1983.