It's easy to forget that just because a state has legalized gay marriage doesn't mean the whole state accepts les gays. In a solid reminder, it look like lesbian athletic director and dean of students at a Catholic high school in Springfield, Massachusetts was laid off after tying the knot with her partner.

Her name is Christine Judd and she's worked at Cathedral High School since 1998. Though the diocese filed her sudden departure as a resignation, Judd said she was given the choice of resignation or termination. "I was hoping that my loyalty, my professionalism the last 12 years would supersede the current hypocrisy that has already been shown with the Diocese of Springfield," she said.

Judd is pursuing her legal options but has no hard feelings for the school as a whole. "I'm hurt, but I wish nothing but the best for Cathedral, its students, the parents, the athletic teams, administration and faculty. I bleed purple (the school's color)." Gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004.

Savvy fans are predicting a return for Bryan Batt to the three-time Emmy-winning drama Mad Men. First, the current art director of Sterling Cooper, Draper Pryce (played by Jay R. Ferguson), is butting heads with our favorite female Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss). That could open the door for Batt's closeted Salvatore, though he was dismissed in effect for not sleeping with a Lucky Strike exec, and that company is more important to their bottom line than ever. (Watching that nasty cigarette exec humiliate John Slattery's Roger Sterling was a painful high point of the office Christmas party.)

One more good indication? Batt was part of the Mad Men team at the Emmys, and both he and creator Matthew Weiner responded to questions about whether Sal would come back by saying simply, "He's not dead." In other words, the door is open. If he weren't coming back, surely they'd be less coy.

And on the very positive side, Batt isn't just sitting at home waiting for the call. His book She Ain't Heavy -- She's My Mother is a memoir combined with an ode to his wonderfully supportive and eccentric mom. It came out in May, was a summer pick by Janet Maslin of The New York Times, and is garlanded with praise by Paul Rudnick, Alan Cumming, and Mario Cantone. Plus, he is appearing at Feinstein's on October 3 and 4 with his one-man show Batt on a Hot Tin Roof (a title so silly, it's good). So Batt doesn't need Mad Men, but Mad Men does need him.

And our first suggestion about who Sal should eyeball or, even better, sexually harass at work? That would be Joey, the illustrator played by the very talented and appealing (okay, hot) actor Matt Long of the late lamented TV series Jack & Bobby.

After the jump, check out Batt's red carpet interview at the Emmys and a clip featuring Matt from his Jack & Bobby days.

Okay, okay, so it's not a competition. But since we missed Neil Patrick Harris' recent staging of the musical Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, we were intrigued to see some of the performances that popped up on YouTube. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls was definitely the break-out performance of the three-day event as Maureen. Broadway is in her future (if she wants it).

Playing Mimi, however, Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical unfortunately got a failing grade from most critics -- and the video proves the point. However, most critics said Hudgens had charm, some said she got better as the performance went on, and everyone gave her props for tackling the very challenging role with just two weeks rehearsal.

Swiss artist Lukas Beyeler creates portraits of people like Jake Shears, Pharrell, Amanda Lepore, and himself (p.s. he's easy on the eyes). In his other work, he takes worlds you know and don't think too much about and twists them until you're snapped out of simply gawking.

Why is that police car sitting inside a gallery with its lights on? What if you could clone yourself and then lick your own ear while visiting Versailles? What if a friendly Asian girl narrated a trippy Swiss travelogue? What if gay porn star François Sagat filled in for the girl who hosts the weird, slutty Euro TV quiz/commercial? These are the questions he asks ...and doesn't answer.

With Tea Partiers trying to pin down an exclusionary "patriot," and gay equality inching toward achievement, the United States are looking pretty divided these days. One thing, however, will never change: the tenacity, ingenuity and talent of Americans.

Our historical review of notable homosexuals has brought us men and women of arts, letters, sport and feature film. Some of the subjects in this installment of Gays You Should Know could fit into some of those categories, but all are notable for their special role forging Americana in its many forms. Whether it be an aesthetic, a political zeitgeist or a tune, these queer men and women seized and shaped the nation's spirit and history.

And that's not always a good thing...

People have been correcting me all week. First because I forgot to mention that Casanova won last week's challenge, and then because, apparently, my eyes really are failing and everyone except me knew about Swatch the Dog. He's been on the show a lot, they say. Tim Gunn's spoken to him frequently, and I must have been in the kitchen getting cookies every single time it happened. So thanks for the gentle comments. ("LISTEN IDIOT, THE DOG'S BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME. PAY ATTENTION.")

The theme of this week's show is turning ugly bridesmaid dresses into un-ugly, divorced-27-year-old-out-at-da-club dresses. The other theme is "Let's Keep Beating Up Michael C."

But first, the challenge. I got married to my man, and do you know what the three female friends and three male friends up in front of our crowd of guests wore? Whatever they damn well felt like wearing, that's what. And they all looked amazing. Are straight people so tied to this tradition that they have to go around making their friends look like big lavender turds? It makes no sense.

Anyway, here we are, looking at 11 women in punishment dresses. The designers pick them, one by one, until only the biggest specimens are left. Unsurprising. I hate fashion designers who think that fat women should be locked out of looking awesome. I'm a fat guy myself but that's not why I hate them for that. I wear Dickies and t-shirts, and I don't care if Rei Kawakubo won't make something in a true XXL. I'm happy with the socks and wallets. No skin off my ass. But ladies like to look pretty and stuff, and if you're a designer who can't or won't do that for women of every size then you can't really do it well and you should be ashamed of yourself. At least Casanova, who knows nothing of American fake politeness, says it openly when picking the most actual-model-looking of the real women on stage: "Toll! Skeenee!"

Michael D picks last and says, on interview cam: "I got the worst dress..." and the sentence trails off. C'mon man, SAY IT. You know you want to. It gets even grosser when, during his visit with Tim Gunn, he low-voices his concerns about being able to make a good dress with the two-yards allowance that everyone got. OK, I get it, fat people require more fabric. That's a fact. But can you maybe mewl a little less about it, Gay? "There's no way I'm tackling all of this siiiiiizzze," he whimpers, "I'm trying to be very kind."

No you're not. You're a dumbass. And your model doesn't need your kind of "kind." She needs you to do your damn job and make a good dress. Casanova helps by mocking Michael D's work: "He don't make any changes, he just poot lace on de dress and he cut de dress." This proves that limited English doesn't always mean limited competency in communicating exactly what needs to be said.

Okay, onward...

Meghan McCain recently said on Fox News that the Republican Party gets a bad rap purely for opposing gay marriage. This statement is possibly the most shocking and offensive thing I've heard in months. I'll address its inaccuracy later, but let's first discuss why she said it.

We're sure all the diehard Kylie fans -- are there any other kind on our side of the pond? -- caught Miss Minogue making a rare U.S. TV appearance earlier this week on America's Got Talent. (If you didn't, you can watch it here. Look at those heels!) And don't even get us started on all those lucky bitches in the New York area who got to see her perform alongside Rufus Wainwright as his special guest at "The Last Song of Summer" show at the Watermill Center on Saturday, August 28.

Those of us stuck in the hinterlands, meanwhile, can look forward to seeing some uncommon turns by Kylie very soon, too. The new DVD Kylie: Rare and Unseen collects a hour's worth of ephemera that you could spend months looking for on YouTube, including clips long thought lost, such as the singer and her original face on UK kids show Ghost Train in 1989. You get TV interviews from throughout her 20+ year career, footage from the launch of her fragrance, chit-chat about her movie roles (don't you want the inside scoop on The Magic Roundabout and The Deliquents?), and lots more.

Alas, it doesn't look like the DVD includes her infamous "banned" lingerie commercial... but maybe they'll tack it on as an Easter egg.