JJ Abrams may or may not have cast Mike Vogel as Captain Kirk in the forthcoming Star Trek big screen adventure. Says IESB:

After months of speculation, industry chatter is indicating that JJ Abrams has found a front runner for his new James T. Kirk.

We have been hearing his name for weeks but in the last couple of days the rumor has picked up steam with tips from several inside sources. The IESB has been told that 28-year-old Pennsylvania native Mike Vogel (Poseidon, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) is the front runner to play James T. Kirk in the 11th Star Trek film.

Mikey can beam us up any day, whatever that means.

• Some queer Star Trek super fans are looking to recreate a gay episode barred by producers. They're so deep in this shit, they even got the original writer to direct their younger, twinkier remake. Wow. [AfterElton]

• The death of a local fag rag: Sonoma's We The People shutters after 18 years. [The Bay Area Reporter]

• One a related note: Turkish fag-rag editor Umut Guner has been acquitted on charges of "peddling pornography". His fag-rag? Totally deemed obscene. Sentence: delivery in brown envelope. Tough break. [Pink News UK]

• Is this video of Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares For Me" racist? We can't tell. [YouTube]

• Christ-loving Pepperdine University won't recognize a gay club. Now the club's being forced to associate with those heathens at Malibu chapter. Jesus just rolled over in his grave. [The Graphic]

&bull: Here's another question: will the CIA let Warner Brothers make a movie about former CIA operative Valerie Plame and former ambassador hubby, Joseph Wilson? Our answer: only if it's fiction. [Eat The Press]

• The unauthorized Star Trek spin-off Hidden Frontier takes the show's gay undertones one step further. Yep, it's possible. [AfterElton]

• On college campuses, out goes beer and in comes iPod as the "must have" thing. Threesomes with your frat brothers didn't even place! [GenDigital]

• The new HomoMojo lets you queens decide which queer crap you want to read. [HomoMojo]

• Just when the Los Angeles Times devotes quite a few column inches to the disintegrating interest of celebrities dedicated to the AIDS cause comes word that none other than David Beckham has teamed up with Motorola for MOTO(RED), a campaign to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa. [Gizmodo]

It is time for another So Gay! list and having yesterday listed the year’s villains, today we’re listing those worthy of respect and praise: 2005’s biggest coming out stories.

5. George Takei. Actor George Takei, best known as Mr. Sulu from Star Trek, surprised Trekkies around the world when he declared his homosexuality and spoke of his sibling’s lack of compassion. However, he did not comment on the Richard Gere/Tribble rumor.

4. Logo. MTV Networks launched their little gay channel that could this summer with a great mix of original programming and news. And the network’s commitment to blogs (we’ve been featured) makes us happy it came out this year even more.

3. Tab Hunter. The one time sex symbol and Hollywood star wrote a book, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, and in doing so came out of the closet. At 74, we’d just wish he’d done it sooner. But we totally think it’s never too late for the truth.

2. Sheryl Swoopes. Sheryl Swoopes is the bomb. She is a sport’s hero, a strong woman, and now an out and proud carpet muncher. In a field where gays are not supposed to show their faces, Ms. Swoopes did just that. We got mad love for you, baby.

The top coming out story of 2005 after the jump.

CONTINUED »

This is proving to be an absolutely fabulous week for celebrities coming out of the damn closet. First we had Sheryl Swoopes, a forward for the Houston Comets basketball team, publicly announcing that she only wants to get slam dunked by another woman. Her coming out was facilitated by a six figure endorsement deal with Olivia lesbian cruises.

Now, actor George Takei will be bringing declosetration to the world of science fiction. Famous for playing Mr. Sulu on Star Trek, Takei penned an autobiography To The Stars. Commenting on Amazon’s web site, one reader noted that in the book, Takei made no mention whatsoever of his love life. Wasn’t that reader perspicacious?

Still, as a victim of anti-Japanese prejudice in the United States during the Second World War, Takei has in the past shown himself capable of raising his voice in defense of oppressed minorities. Queerty hopes he will do so in defense of that delightful alphabet soup we call LGBT. If he doesn’t, may a pigeon leave a dropping in his hand print in cement at the Chinese Theater.

• The Killers pull a Martha Stewart and unveil a fashion line at K-Mart. Psyche.

• In the second of this week’s big D-list outings Mr. Sulu declares his love of men. No tribble jokes please.

• Most accurate blog post title we’ve seen in a long time.

• Gay porn star and gay blogger Hunter James is featured in Italian Vogue. With his clothes on!

• We were not sold on the video iPod just yet. But the thought of having gay porn in our pocket is appealing.