  We have analyzed the bivariate distribution of galaxies as a function of
ultraviolet-optical colors and absolute magnitudes in the local universe. The
sample consists of galaxies with redshifts and optical photometry from the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) main galaxy sample matched with detections in
the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and far-ultraviolet (FUV) bands in the Medium
Imaging Survey being carried out by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
satellite. In the (NUV-r)_{0.1} vs. M_{r,0.1} galaxy color-magnitude diagram,
the galaxies separate into two well-defined blue and red sequences. The
(NUV-r)_{0.1} color distribution at each M_{r,0.1} is not well fit by the sum
of two Gaussians due to an excess of galaxies in between the two sequences. The
peaks of both sequences become redder with increasing luminosity with a
distinct blue peak visible up to M_{r,0.1}\sim-23. The r_{0.1}-band luminosity
functions vary systematically with color, with the faint end slope and
characteristic luminosity gradually increasing with color. After correcting for
attenuation due to dust, we find that approximately one quarter of the color
variation along the blue sequence is due to dust with the remainder due to star
formation history and metallicity. Finally, we present the distribution of
galaxies as a function of specific star formation rate and stellar mass. The
specific star formation rates imply that galaxies along the blue sequence
progress from low mass galaxies with star formation rates that increase
somewhat with time to more massive galaxies with a more or less constant star
formation rate. Above a stellar mass of ~10^10.5 M_{sun}, galaxies with low
ratios of current to past averaged star formation rate begin to dominate.
