AfterElton Briefs: Gay Travel Awards, Hot Mormons, Larry Johnson, Generous Boy Banders, and more

Things from the Church of Latter Day Saints you might worship

Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear. Yes, we're serious.

• Above, you can see the cover image from the latest Mormons Exposed 2010 calendar. This year they have one exploiting men, and a new one exploiting women called "Hot Mormon Muffins." t/y reader Campion.

• TripOut Gay Travel Awards from Logo have been awarded to some fabulous destinations and companies.

• Speaking of gay travel, it's not welcome in Vatican City, despite them being hard up for tourist dollars. Bishop Kaleta says, "When asked if the Vatican is open to dialogue about welcoming such homosexual groups of tourists in the future, Bishop Kaleta responded that “such demonstrations are just not ethical.”

• Speaking of religious homophobes, James Dobson has announced he's stepping down from Focus on the Family in February, to include his notorious radio show.

Chris Colfer and Dianna Agron before the national anthem.

• The cast of Glee helped a sporting event of some sort get better ratings Saturday by singing before it. Above you can see them pretend to be excited and below do press in support of the sports thingy.

Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, and Kevin McHale at a press conference to bring awareness to the sports thing.

• In other Glee news, in case you're suffering withdrawal leading up to next week's "Wheels" episode, Fox has released a slew of electronic goodies from wallpapers, icons, and screensavers, all for free.

• And in last minute Glee news, the cast can certainly draw a crowd. Above see a short video from Amber Riley from the mall where they're signing CDs. She says the crowd extends outside the mall.

• Evidently a gay boy bander is one heck of a tipper. $400 on a comped meal.

• The Kansas City Chiefs cut Larry "faggot" Johnson's fine to $300k to avoid arbitration on what some are calling a "gray area." Really? That's a gray area?

• Maybe he can hang out with Drew Gooden of the Dallas Mavericks, who according to Outsports, is accused of calling some fans "faggots" at a Clippers game. This is most interesting, because as Outsports notes, the Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the first player to come out would be rich, and any open homophobe would be ostracized. Money-where-your-mouth-is-time, Mark?

• Giovanni's Room of Philadelphia, the oldest gay bookstore in the U.S, is holding a fundraiser with Lambda Literary Foundation on November 21, 2009

The GMHC sponsors an art exhibit

• In other philanthropic news, the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation will donate its gallery starting November 3 in NYC to an exhibition of 50 artists living with HIV/AIDS in conjunction with the Gay Men's Health Crisis called "Art & AIDS: Living for the Moment".

• Oxygen has renewed Dance Your Ass Off for another season. You may recall the inclusive program was won by the out Reuben in the first season.

• There's a sexy rumor going around that the out Paolo Szot will be cast as Georges in La Cage aux Folles. I'd love to see him in the same production as John Barrowman is in, but I fear there might be a global sequin and glitter shortage.

• Above you can see the trailer for a fan produced prequel to Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, called Horrible Turn, which will get the full web premiere on November 10th. I like the idea of seeing the characters growing up, but having watched Neil Patrick Harris actually grow up takes me out of the moment.

• It feels like we haven't covered any of the decorating shows lately. Can we interest you in these mildly-NSFW shower curtains being auctioned on eBay to make it up to you?

• In stories that make you go Aww!, Dan Savage has a piece on Elliott, who's 14-years-old, lives in Los Angeles, and has been out since he was 12-years-old. He wanted to do drag for Halloween, so his mom made him a Lady GaGa costume, and his dad dressed as her bodyguard and took him to the festivities in WeHo. Parents like that give me hope! Video at the link.

Bradley Cooper is one suggestion for Sexiest Man Alive

• The New York Post notes that Hugh Jackman's reign as People's Sexiest Man Alive is nearly over and offers 25 straight men up as choices for the 2009 issue.

• We told you earlier that TNT had saved Southland. What slightly-taller-than-a-normal-Smurf Michael Ausiello is saying now is that some of that mythical lost footage will be added into the season one episodes to extend runtime.

• Jacob Weisberg over at Slate has a slightly surreal piece about why gay marriage, pot, and travel to Cuba will all soon be legal. Surreal or not, I like his thinking.

• Speaking of making things legal, I'd like to take my soapbox here and remind you that in many locales like Maine, Washington (with their efficient mail in ballots), Virginia, New Jersey, and Kalamazoo have hugely important elections happening tomorrow. Take a few minutes tonight to remind your friends and family to vote for equality.

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