Sam Sparro, David Sedaris

As we mentioned earlier, gay fave Kathy Griffin's shameless (and hilarious) attempts to get a Grammy nomination have paid off, with the icon receiving a nod this morning for "Best Comedy Album", but there are also several out artists who have been honored with nominations.

Australian singer/songwriter Sam Sparro received his first Grammy nomination for "Best Dance Recording" for his hit Black & Gold. Unfortunately, he's up against the likes of Madonna and Rhianna, and someone named Lady GaGa (who, despite the name, is not a drag queen).

Writer David Sedaris (aka "the world's greatest living humorist") received a nomination for "Best Spoken Word Album" for the audio version of his When You Are Engulfed In Flames. Unfortunately, he's up against gay ally Stephen Colbert, who will no doubt be using his show to shill for votes.

And gay singers Michael Feinstein and Rufus Wainwright will be competing in the "Traditional Pop Vocal Album" category. Michael for his The Sinatra Project, and Rufus for Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately, they're up against the juggernaut that is Josh Groban's Noel album.

Of course, none of the awards in these categories will be announced on the air at the actual Grammy show, but maybe Kathy will be there at the pre-awards awards show, which I hereby dub The Schlammys!

Out writer/producer Bryan Fuller isn't letting the imminent demise of Pushing Daisies slow him down, as he's close to inking a deal with Universal Media Studios. The two-year deal will allow him to develop his own series, while also bringing him back to help resuscitate the carcass of NBC's Heroes:

Fuller, who is wrapping postproduction on the final episodes of "Daisies" 13-episode second-season order, is expected to officially come on board "Heroes" starting with Episode 20.

His exact role on the sci-fi drama has not been determined, but he is expected to play a key role in the writers room alongside "Heroes" creator/executive producer/showrunner Tim Kring.

If Heroes survives another season, Bryan may stay with it, or move on to another Universal show, but will still be allowed to develop his own series.

I just hope he doesn't let the ratings failure of Pushing Daisies, as well as the short-lived Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls snuff out the Bryan Fuller "quirk" factor that we've come to know and love.

The new season of the French dramedy Clara Sheller has begun, and we've got the first translated clip. See it after the break, and then take our poll and let us know what you thought of the new season ... and new cast!

Sean Penn honors Gus Van Sant at The Gotham Awards (Getty)

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.

• The 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were held in NYC last night with Sean Penn paying tribute to his Milk director Gus Van Sant. The out filmmaker received a special award for his "contributions to independent filmmaking".

• A new poll commissioned by GLAAD shows that a majority of U.S. adults favor legal protections for gay and transgendered Americans. According to The Pulse of Equality Survey, three quarters of those asked want either marriage or domestic partnerships/legal unions for gay and lesbian couples, and seven out of ten oppose laws that would ban qualified gay or lesbian couples from adopting.

• Gay fave Chelsea Handler is the subject of this month's "Big Gay Following" on The Advocate.com. She talks about her late mother (who was Mormon), donating to defeat Prop 8, and she has very harsh words for Tori Spelling, who she feels is using the gay community just to create a fan base: "She doesn’t have compassion for them. She’s not going out doing things for them. She’s like, 'Oh, I have such a huge gay following.' It’s because no one else is following her!"

• Above you can see the out George Takei and Brian Paddick teaming up to complete a jungle ostrich challenge (don't ask) on the UK reality competition I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!. Unfortunately, despite his valiant efforts, former MP Brian was the latest casualty of the show and was voted off, which means we won't be seeing any more koala-baring showers.

• And finally, Details has published a a column about "Alpha Gays" that reads like an Onion parody: "As the 42-foot Norwegian yacht tacked into the wind, the rugged master-of-the-universe types scrambled to adjust the jib. To the casual observer, they appeared to be active men of means on some kind of luxury bonding excursion. And they were. But they also happened to be homosexual." It just gets better from there.

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Time for another one of those time-wasting yet hopelessly addictive online jigsaw puzzles. This one is about the 2008 AfterElton.com Visibility Awards, so after you finish make sure you head on over and cast your votes! Move the pieces around with your mouse - they will snap together when in the right place. How fast can you complete this puzzle? (I know many of you enjoyed the ... challenging aspect of the last Puzzler. This one is tough, but not as "tear your hair out" as the last one.)