In our latest adventure in globe-trotting, Bridget and I make our mark on the gay Mecca, San Francisco.

The good people at the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau invited us to come play, and flew us out courtesy of Southwest Airlines. We hit the ground running, with an educational tour of the gayest part of the city, led by Cruisin' the Castro Tours owner Kathy Amendola. Learning is exhausting, so we stopped for a treat at Hot Cookie along the way.

After our tour, we checked into our super fabulous hotel, the Hotel Monaco (a Kimpton Hotel), a took an extended tour of their gorgeous lobby, and enjoyed some complimentary wine and cheese there later in the afternoon. For dinner, we entered the madcap world of Teatro ZinZanni, wolfing down a gourmet meal while watching contortionists bend and acrobats hurl themselves through the air. Bridget auditioned for them and is still waiting for a callback. Would someone please help her put her shoulder back in its socket?

We made the most of our time in San Francisco by trying to cram in as many activities as we could. We visited Alcatraz courtesy of Hornblower Cruises & Events (they released us on our own recognizance), savored The San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour, dined at the wild and decadent Supperclub, and caught some great films at the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. But the most exciting moment was when, after completing our training, our guided Segway Tour leader Amy Tripelle (of San Francisco and Sausalito Electric Tour Company) turned us loose on the streets of San Francisco. Bridget and I, naturally, turned our friendly little tour into a race to the death. Then, after all of that excitement, we headed over to Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Spa for a luxurious spa treatment.

Thanks to all the people who helped welcome us to San Francisco, especially the SFCVB, Southwest Airlines, and Kimpton Hotels. We can't wait to come back!

Stay tuned for our next adventure, an Olivia river cruise through France. Oh no! Lesbian overboard!

On a recent trip to San Francisco for our travel show, You Can't Take Them Anywhere, Bridget had the good fortune to finally meet artist and graphic designer extraordinaire, Kayla Jones.

Kayla designed the header graphic you see above for Bridget's show, as well as other eye-catching images for AfterEllen.com (including the most recent graphic for the AE Hot 100, Gay Girls Who Game, YCTTA, and others).

Kayla is also a dancer and, gasp, former cheerleader! So in addition to discussing her coming out story and her adventures in art, they also have a cheer-off and do some late night interpretive dance in the hallway of the Hotel Monaco.

Along the way, they also have a memorial service for Kayla's beaver skull, Pontus. It's just as weird as it sounds.

Check out Kayla's myspace page here! … continue reading

Last week Lori, Sarah, Bridget and I flew to France for an Olivia cruise, and along the way had two opportunities to meet yet more of our fabulous AfterEllen.com readers.

Our first stop was in Paris, over what just happened to be gay pride weekend. We were blown away by the big turnout, and so grateful to make some new friends!

Paris Meet-Up

Lori and an AE reader

Sarah and one of the Paris meet-up organizers, Mari

Bridget gives Alex a lift

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This week while sailing through France on an Olivia river cruise, Bridget talks finance with fellow passenger Cassandra Toroian, money manager and the Chief Investment Officer of Bell Rock Capital. (Check out Cassandra's finance blog, Wealthy And Wise.)

Cassandra is full of helpful advice about how lesbians can protect ourselves financially in our relationships (no, the answer is not to get a bigger, meaner cat that can kick your ex's ass) and how to plan for the future by making smart investment decisions now.

In addition to being an occasional commentator on CNBC's After The Bell, Cassandra is also a savvy gambler and an expert on making the most of her stays in luxury hotels (let's just say that her pantry is filled with a lot of miniature toiletries, and leave it at that). Will Bridget learn to manage her money? Can a pillow-fight be rigged? Watch and learn.

This week while visiting Boston, Bridget talks to the woman who made Brunch possible, her mom, Diane, and her first lesbian crush, Lizzie.

Bridget and her mom talk about Bridget's athletic prowess, the Boston Red Sox, and how wicked pissah it is to have two gay daughters. Afterwards, Bridget talks to her high school pal Lizzie about the difference between archaeology and paleontology, why working as a movie usher is the path to greatness, and how Bridget's devotion to Lizzie in the typically boy-crazy teen years was less about loyalty than unrequited love.

Brunch will be on hiatus next week for the July 4 holiday weekend while Bridget is in Paris with Sarah, Lori and me shooting our first international episode of You Can't Take Them Anywhere. Bridget will be back with another Brunch again on July 13. … continue reading

Last Sunday, much fun was had by all who attended the AfterEllen.com Meet-Up in San Francisco. Karman Kregloe, Bridget McManus, Malinda Lo and Sarah Pecora were in attendance, and a guest appearance was made by She Got Me Pregnant vloggers Dana and Helen. Here are some of the pictures from the meet-up to give you a taste of what went on (I'm leaving out photos of what happened after the Jell-O shots arrived!).

Apologies in advance if you were there and you don't see yourself. I tried to include as many different folks as possible but I know I missed a lot of you. Thanks so much for coming out and meeting up!

Sarah, AE reader AJ, and Malinda

Malinda's Asian posse! (non-Asians welcome)

Bridget, an AE reader, and her personalized autographs

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This week, Bridget McManus brunches with comedian Gloria Bigelow, who co-stars with Bridget in the upcoming documentary Laughing Matters...Next Gen, and can currently be seen every Friday on the AfterEllen.com talk show vlog Cherry Bomb.

Gloria and Bridget reminisce about their cheerleader days, Gloria reveals the perils of coaching seventh grade cheerleaders, and they share strategies for performing stand-up in front of hostile straight audiences.

They also attempt to create a gay cheer, and pretty much fail —but it's fun watching them try!

Check out Gloria on Cherry Bomb, and on GloBigelow.com or her MySpace page, and watch previous episodes of Brunch With Bridget.

This week, Bridget welcomes Linda Villarosa, out journalist and author of the steamy new novel Passing For Black.

Linda talks with Bridget about her career as a writer, including her days at Essence magazine, when she shocked the readership by coming out in print. She also tells us all about her adventures in motherhood, the biggest fish she ever caught, and who she thinks should play the leads in the cinematic version of her new book. (Here's a hint: It's Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie.)

Finally, Linda teaches Bridget how to fish using a chopstick, which is pretty much just as ridiculous as it sounds.

Buy Passing for Black from Logo or Amazon.com.

This past Sunday marked the annual Pride celebration in Los Angeles, and since many of us were already out getting farmer's tans and paying too much for bottled water anyway, we gathered for an informal meet-up at the end of the parade route outside of The Normandie Room.

A few of us AfterEllen.com vloggers (from Cherry Bomb, Ghostella's Tomb, We're Getting Nowhere, and Brunch with Bridget) and some of the women from 3Way were in attendance, and we were all thrilled to meet our fellow readers. Thanks to everyone who braved the mayhem and came out to say hello.

Below are some of the photos we took at the event, and some from readers who sent them in (thanks!). Happy Pride!

AE reader Carmen and Cathy DeBuono

Cherry Bomb vlogger Dalila with Cherry Bomb's producer Bethany Landing, and fellow
Cherry Bomb vloggers Tatum and Nikki … continue reading

In the first episode of comedian and football player Jennie Mcnulty's "walking talk show," Jennie talks with Bridget McManus while walking through Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles.

They discuss Bridget's past struggles with weight and how she started doing comedy, and Jennie gets a chance to apologize to Bridget for the last time they were in bed together.

Check out Jennie's website for funny outtakes from the episode ("The Extra Mile"), read our Q&A with Jennie, and look for new episodes of Jennie McNulty Presents: Walking Funny With... on Wednesdays.

This week, Bridget welcomes guests Mandy Musgrave and Gabrielle Christian from South of Nowhere.

We haven't seen Spashley in action in what seems like forever, but this week they're back together again, accepting an award for Best Couple and reliving the big "Oh no you didn't with my daughter" scene from SoN with Bridget. (Warning: In order to best recreate the original episode, pigtails were pulled in the making of this video.) In addition to all of that tomfoolery, Gabrielle Christian talks about some of her charitable work with the organizations Fairfund and SIDS Educational Services.

(Caption this photo to win a Save Spashley t-shirt!)

As a special bonus, Gabrielle, Mandy, and Bridget sign a Save Spashley t-shirt that will be gifted to the AE reader who comes up with the best caption for the above picture (keep it clean, kids!).

And here's a picture of the shirt:

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The women of AfterEllen.com count down the top 25 women of The 2008 AfterEllen.com Hot 100!

Learn why Gloria Bigelow thinks Mary-Louise Parker is really empathetic; what Jackie Jones loved about Bad Santa; why Bridget McManus forgives Ellen Page; the first time Dee fell under Mandy Musgrave's spell; why Trish and Jamie loved Sara Ramirez from her "Got Milk" commercials; and how Ellen DeGeneres played a role in Tracy and Angela's relationship.

Plus: Lindy Zucker's poem to Renee O'Connor, and Jill Bennett's open letter to Tina Fey.

Watch the first three installments of the countdown here!

Comedian Jackie Jones joins other AE vloggers to tell you why women like Rachel Shelley, Olivia Wilde, Angie Harmon, Salma Hayek, and Lauren Graham are hot, as our video countdown of The 2008 AfterEllen.com Hot 100 continues.

Plus: a special appearance by Kate McKinnon...

You can watch other installments of the countdown here, including the women who ranked at the top of the list!

Continuing their commentary on the results of the 2008 AfterEllen.com Hot 100, the stars of AfterEllen.com's video blogs and web series tackle those women who ranked between 75 and 51 in this installment of the 2008 Hot 100 Countdown.

This time, AfterEllen.com vloggers Dee and Cathy DeBuono join in the discussion of women like Cat Cora, Alicia Keys, and Emily Deschanel. (and if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out Liz Feldman's interview with Emily about being No. 69 on the Hot 100).

Watch more installments of the countdown here!

Now that we know the results of the 2008 AfterEllen.com Hot 100, I asked the stars of AfterEllen.com's video blogs and web series to give us their take on why these women deserved to be on the list. Some took a funny approach, others a more serious one, but all are entertaining.

And unlike most TV countdown shows, this one is very, very gay.

To keep the video manageable, I've broken it into four parts. The first one is below, and the next three will be rolled out each day this week through Thursday. Not all the vloggers appear in every segment — Dee and Cathy DeBuono, for example, are in the next three, but not this one; and Liz Feldman was too swamped with working on the (awesome) upcoming episode of her show to participate at all — but you should find at least a few of your personal favorites represented in each video, talking about women they think are hot. (Does it get much better than that?)

First up! The women who ranked on the list between 100 to 76, which includes P!nk, Cat Cora, and Naomi Watts, plus a few of the vloggers themselves. Enjoy!

Watch the 75 - 51 countdown, and check out the entire list of women on the 2008 AfterEllen.com Hot 100. … continue reading