First, some housekeeping. We're going to be a bit light this week. I'm taking Christmas Day and the day after off from Meme. 
We'll have Briefs every day except Christmas, but we will bring you some content that day. And snicks is liveblogging Days of Our Lives Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. From our dysfunctional AfterElton family to yours, have a great holiday, be it a Merry Christmas or just a day off from work.
When Gareth Thomas visited Mickey Rourke in Los Angeles, he found something that under different circumstances might have been a bit creepy. “I stayed with Mickey for a few weeks in his house. I walked into his living room and he had 10ft framed pictures of me all over his walls. It was so strange. If he wasn’t playing me in the film I would have been a bit freaked out but he said he wants to get into my mind." Honestly, that's still a bit creepy.
To wipe that image out of your head, Gareth also talked about how his family reacted to his coming out. His father, once over the shock, stepped up. "My family were amazing - once it was taken in, my dad, who is a very tough man, sat me down at home with the family; he opened a bottle of champagne and said 'this is a toast to the rest of your life son.' It was overwhelming, and my family as a whole have been superb.
The Iowa Supreme Court says it's perfectly legal to fire someone because you find them too attractive to resist, even if they're not flirting with you in any way.
Remember when we couldn't stop talking about Tim Tebow? He was having a good year in Denver, big speaking engagements, and his virginity was front and center? Yeah, that all came to a crashing halt in 2012.
You really need to readFrank Bruni's account of his being out to his father, who didn't discuss it for years. Still, it all has a happy ending, with dad telling him “I almost think I love you more for it — for being what you are rather than what was expected of you.”
The cutest seals you've ever seen have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because their habitat of sea ice is disappearing. So what does the state of Alaska plan to do about it? Sue the federal government. "The ESA was not enacted to protect healthy animal populations. Despite this fact, the NMFS continues the federal government's misguided policy to list healthy species based mostly on speculated impacts from future climate change, adding additional regulatory burdens and costs upon the State of Alaska and its communities."
Phillippe Stark has had Steve Jobsyacht repossessed because he says he was only paid €6 million for designing it, and not the €9 million he deserves. There was no detailed contract for the yacht, designed for his friend Steve Jobs, but he says a verbal agreement entitled him to a percentage of the cost of building it, which is in dispute. Jobs never lived to sail the $100 million yacht.
The Archbishop of Walesis planning to meet with the UK government to ask them not to statutorily ban his church
from performing same-sex marriages, instead allowing them to opt out like any other religion. He fears that should the Church ever change its mind, getting the government to repeal the law would take too long. And it makes them look bad.
Fran Dreschersays that whileHappily Divorced is loosely based on her real life marriage, there are differences. "I'm not as dependent on my ex-husband in the way that Fran is. We're very, very close, and we're like family, and I would certainly call him first if I needed anything or anyone. Our lives aren't intertwined in the way that theirs are. They really haven't experienced being single in the way Peter and I have been able to, and I think that that helps make me a more well rounded person."
This picture of Matt Doyle and Ryan Steele at the Book of Mormon Christmas party is sweet
While this pic of Matt Doyle with Jon Bass brings entirely different thoughts
Sofia Vergara knows how to party
While her costar Jesse Tyler Ferguson jets off somewhere warm with his fiance Justin Mikita
Joe McElderry is keeping both of us warm with this picture in his long johns
Chris Hayes knows there's only one way to deal with guests on Sunday morning shows
Colton Haynes hangs out with his new Arrow costar Colin Donnell
The other night, Jay Leno went around to help some folks get ready to celebrate the holidays. The second segment has him helping a gay couple who he suspects may not be a real gay couple. But then they visit Chick-Fil-A, so we know all is right in the world.
Henri the Existential Cat is not ready for Christmas, despite what the other cats he's forced to share a home with think. Honestly, if this cat wasn't a cat, he'd be my soul mate.
Community, is in theory, coming back in February, which will make their Halloween episode that much more special. But before we get to Halloween or Valentine's Day, Joel McHale has a Christmas gift to share with all of us.
Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian, has some advice for those Christians at the Westboro Baptist Church, who she thinks could learn a thing or two from her mastery.
Since I don't think it's likely I'll ever see The Hunger Games or The Hobbit, I have absolutely no problem with this mashup of the two, although that is one heck of a weird look for Gandalf.
A newspaper group in Belgium wanted to prove to their advertisers that newspapers were great at keeping readers' attention, so they arranged to drive each of the advertisers to work in a chauffeured car, gave them a newspaper, and attempted to distract them from their reading.
I've always felt that building a snowman was a solitary activity, so I completely identity with this little boy from the Doctor Who Christmas Special. But I do hope my Christmas turns out better than I assume his does.
Supposedly, Lindsay Lohan is upset about the sight gag on the television in this trailer for Scary Movie 5, but honestly, I'd be more concerned that this was going to appear in my IMDb filmography. Then again, considering her work options lately, maybe she can be proud of this somehow.
Jimmy Kimmel stopped people on the street and asked them if they'd ever hooked up at an office Christmas party, and they got a surprising number of yes answers. It's worth waiting until the end for the little barista. Or former barista.
