News: Wicked, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mars, Mamma Mia, Ron Paul

The NYT on the potential repeal of the 1913 Massachusetts marriage law.

The Martian landscape revealed...

Cristiano Ronaldo hits L.A. on crutches and doesn't waste any time snubbing Paris Hilton.

Ron Paul's openly gay campaign chair dies of pneumonia at 49, without health insurance: "Snyder, who served as Paul’s campaign chair, died of pneumonia on June 26 after being hospitalized for about two months and after running up medical bills exceeding $400,000, according to friends and family members, who said he did not have health insurance."

A Mamma-Mia cheat sheet.

Moscow authorities ban gay picket of Iranian embassy set for July 19: "About 30 people were due to take part, Moscow gay pride parade organizer Nikolay Alexeyev told the Interfax-Religion. He said the application was submitted last Friday in strict compliance with Russian laws, but the prefecture retorted it could not guarantee the security of those taking part in the picket. 'This is a flagrant violation of the Russian constitution and laws on public actions,' Alexeyev said."

Will the knowledge that Banksy may be bourgeois make his works less valuable?

The L.A. Times profiles Paul Colichman and his growing "gay media empire": "Five years ago, Colichman and his business partner launched Here, television's only premium gay cable network. Now, with an eye toward building their empire, they recently made a $6.5-million deal to buy the popular news magazine the Advocate, style monthly Out and other sister publications. Colichman, who also owns the gay entertainment Internet portal GayWired.com, plans to expand the online presence of his new publications once the acquisition closes. 'People say, 'Why would you buy a print publication when you're really in the television business?'' said Colichman. 'But our point of view is that everything is cross-platformed now -- we are in the content business, and to generate profit you need to be everywhere.'"

Tyson shows off his tatts.

Broadway's Wicked coming to the big screen.

Chris Evans to answer questions at San Diego's Comic-Con.

First openly gay leader of a national labor union elected: "New York based United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has been elected to succeed Edward McElroy as President of the American Federation of Teachers...Weingarten served for 10 years as UFT head and under her tenure she negotiated a 43 percent increase in educator salaries and helped organize 28,000 home childcare workers."

Andy Dick in sex and drugs arrest.

North Carolina Family Policy Council supports bullying of LGBT kids in schools...

Pew Poll: 28% say gay marriage will affect their vote. "As it did in October 2004, gay marriage ranks lowest in importance among 16 campaign issues for the average U.S. voter; overall, 28% say gay marriage will be very important to their vote, down slightly from 32% in 2004. Far more Republicans than Democrats (19 points) rate gay marriage as very important. White evangelical Protestants (49%) place the most importance on the issue. Currently, 49% of the public opposes allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, while 38% support gay marriage."

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LOGO Announces NewNowNext Awards

LOGO today announced the NewNowNext Awards, a multi-platform awards event focusing on the 'new and up-and-coming' and covering a range of categories on the internet, film, television and music. They'll be telecast on June 7th and feature musical performances by The Cliks, Lady GaGa and Dangerous Muse and presenters will include filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell (Short Bus), actress Heather Matarazzo (Exes & Ohs), designer Christian Siriano (Project Runway) and musician Cyndi Lauper. Viewers will be able to experience different aspects of the event across a number of platforms, including on-air, online at the event’s principal website and on mobile devices.

This morning LOGO released the clip above featuring Cazwell and Amanda Lepore to announce the nominees and I'm honored that Towleroad was included (along with Dlisted, Queerty, and Dorothy Surrenders) under the category of "Totally Most Rad Sickest Blog Ever." I think it goes without saying that we'd love your vote. I guess I just said it.

Towleroad and a few other blogs and third-party sites were asked to host additional award categories that aren't included in these nominations. More on that later.

NewNowNext Awards [official site]

You can view the other categories and nominees AFTER THE JUMP...

Brink of Fame: Actor

Candis Cayne
Cheyenne Jackson
Ellen Page
John Barrowman
Michelle Paradise

OMFG Internet Award

Failblog
I'm F***ing Ben Affleck, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, ABC
Planet Unicorn

Best Show You're Not Watching

Bad Girls, Logo
Greek, ABC
Family Mad Men, AMC
The Sarah Silverman Program, Comedy Central
Torchwood, BBC America

Most Guiltiest Pleasure

3Way
A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
Dante's Cove
Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency
Xanadu

Most Addictive Reality Star

Christian Siriano, Project Runway
Heidi & Spencer, The Hills
Jackie Warner, Work Out
New York, I Love New York
Ronnie, Make Me a Supermodel

Totally Most Rad Sickest Blog Ever

Dlisted.com
Dorothy Surrenders
Queerty.com
Towleroad.com

Cause You're Hot

Candis Cayne
Cheyenne Jackson
Jensen Atwood
Jill Bennett
Tina Fey

Brink of Fame: Comic

Billy Eichner
Bridget McManus
Julie Goldman
Scott Ryan
Vidur Kapur

Brink of Fame: Music Artist

Chris Garneau
Eric Himan
God-des & She
Missy Higgins
The Cliks

Best Future Feature

Another Gay Sequel
Breakfast with Scot
Finn's Girl
Milk
Out at the Wedding
The Gymnast

Brink of Fame: Filmmaker

Ash Christian
Carter Smith
Dee Rees
Jamie Babbitt
Maurice Jamal
Soman Chainani

The Kylie Award: Next International Crossover

Leona Lewis
Robyn
Sia
Duffy

BreakOut Destination

Bahia, Brazil
Granada, Nicaragua
Tel Aviv, Israel
Reykjavík, Iceland
Nuuk, Greenland

Brink of Fame: Author

T. Cooper
Perry Moore
Robert Leleux
Christopher Barzak
Tom Dolby

Because You Deserve An Award

Ari Gold
Luke McFarlane
Margaret Cho
Gossip Girl
Andre J

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PlanetOut Sells Magazine and Book Publishing Biz

In a $6 million cash deal, PlanetOut Inc. agreed to sell its magazine and book publishing business — including Out and The Advocate — to Regent Releasing, owner of Here! network, today.

According to San Francisco Business Times, "A formal agreement should be done by April 30 and the deal should close by August 31."

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News: Ben Cohen, Ryerson, Bachelor, Illinois, Arctic Icecap

Bad sign for the future of the Arctic ice cap: thickest, oldest, toughest ice melting...

British rugby stud Ben Cohen releases details on a night with his gay fans: "'Moving away from the more traditional rugby testimonial theme, the Ben Cohen Testimonial Committee is holding a ground breaking event at The Dorchester in London,' his publicist Jill Tipping said. 'BENediction is an exclusive evening of fun, feasting and frivolity aimed primarily at including his legions of fans in the gay community in the testimonial celebrations. Guests are promised a 'whole host of treats and surprises making this event a real one off and not to be missed. Ben Cohen fans need to make sure that they reserve their places quickly as they are expected to snapped up fast,' Tipping said. Of course, we are not sure how far Cohen will take the concept of 'one off,' but he has never been shy about marketing his physical assets."

If you missed the first episode of this season's The Bachelor (and I have a feeling many of you did), you can catch up real quick: this mess was what it was all about.

AfterElton looks at Jimmy Kimmel and the gays.

Beckham power shops and rocks the plain white tee.

Central Illinois' only gay newspaper shuts its doors: "The Flame is out. After 111/2 years of publication, Prairie Flame, central Illinois’ only newspaper that concentrated solely on gay issues and events, has called it a day...Volunteers distributed copies of each edition over much of the state, from Springfield to the Quad Cities, Joliet, Champaign and Effingham. Circulation was more than 8,000, and there were more than 200 places where the free newspaper could be found. But production costs kept rising, and ad revenue could not keep up."

Anderson Cooper underwent surgery for skin cancer: "I’ve been off for the last couple of days. I had minor surgery on Monday. I hadn’t planned on mentioning this, but I still have stitches and you’ll no doubt notice them tonight. Don’t want you to think I got into a fist fight with Charlie Rose."

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo under fire for bullfight commercial: "The advertisement, for Fuji Xerox, shows the Portuguese winger taunting the bull with a football in the manner of a matador with a cape."

Ryerson University in Toronto sees gay bashing spike: "Ryerson's queer student group is scared homophobia is spreading across campus after its door was vandalized and grafitti saying 'gays must be exterminated' was left on a bathroom stall for at least three weeks. 'I have no doubt that we were targeted,' said RyePRIDE member Jesse Trautmann about a series of students' union stickers pasted on the group's door and nearby positive space posters on March 10. The office is located on the second floor of the Student Campus Centre. 'The amount of time it would have taken to cover the entire Rye- PRIDE sign — it was intentional.'"

Group pushes for "gay village" in Ottawa, Canada.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie still together, or just playing for the cameras?

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News: John McCain, Madonna, Knut, Colombia, Ellen Page, Ireland

California state Supreme Court to hear same-sex marriage arguments this week: "The Supreme Court's intervention has been inevitable since February 2004, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ignited a national furor by giving same-sex couples the short-lived right to marry at City Hall. But now that the justices have the issue in their hands, the outcome is anything but predictable - and the stakes for all corners of the divisive social issue could not be higher."

Madonna/Timberlake single leaks.

PlanetOut posts loss of $51.2 million for 2007: " In 2006, the San Francisco company (NASDAQ: LGBT) lost $3.7 million. Sales fell to $53 million for 2007, down slightly from 2006 sales of $58.8 million. PlanetOut, which owns Gay.com, Advocate.com, Out.com and other web sites, as well as a book publisher, Alyson Publications, recorded a $25.9 million charge for impairment of goodwill and intangible assets in 2007, which contributed to its loss."

Venezuela and Ecuador on brink of war with Colombia? "Venezuela and Ecuador ordered troops to their borders with Colombia, sharply raising tensions after Colombia killed a top rebel leader on Ecuadorean soil. President Hugo Chavez on Sunday promised Venezuela would respond militarily if Colombia violates its border, where he ordered tanks as well as thousands of troops. He also ordered closed Venezuela's embassy in Bogota. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said he deployed troops to the border while also withdrawing his government's ambassador from Bogota and expelling Colombia's top diplomat."

At New York's Bailey House Auction, Tim Gunn elaborates on his recent comments regarding Hillary Clinton's 'gender-confused' fashion sense: "Let me put it this way. I believe in the semiotics of fashion."

Ellen Page wants to "hug a woman with her legs in friendship."

Caged animal: Knut in captivity, one year later.

HIV/AIDS infections surge among gay men in Australia: "Based on current trends in condom use, testing for HIV and other epidemiological factors, the centre predicted new infections would increase from the 234 recorded among Victorian gay men in 2006 to 406 in 2015, an increase of 73.5%. For the same period, infections are predicted to decrease in NSW by 12% and increase in Queensland by 20%. If national trends continue, new infections among gay men in Australia overall would increase from 725 reported in 2006 to 786 in 2015, an 8.5% increase."

T.R. Knight and beau Mark Cornelsen appear at UCLA benefit to help crew members affected by the writer's strike. Previously...

John McCain asked to denounce the support of evangelical pastor John Hagee. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Hagee said: "All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are—were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades."

Madonna and Guy Ritchie bought their neighborhood pub, The Punchbowl.

Olivia Newton-John basks in gay love at Sydney Mardi Gras...

San Francisco launches gay tourism campaign.

Weeklong documentary series on photographers begins tonight on The Sundance Channel: "The documentaries, made over the last decade by 10 independent filmmakers and assembled for the series, feature a broad range of photographers including William Eggleston, Tina Barney, Helmut Newton, and Robert Mapplethorpe and his mentor Sam Wagstaff, among other lesser-known artists."

Jason Preston engaged to Marc Jacobs?

After review of the case, cover-up of gay relationship remains at center of mystery over theft of the Irish crown jewels: "The mystery popped back into the news recently after the safe that held the jewels, known as the regalia of the Illustrious Order of St Patrick, was moved to the Irish police, or Garda, museum where it is now on public display. 'It is a never ending and continually fascinating mystery,' said Murphy. His study, which took a fresh look at all available evidence, backed up the notion that there was a whitewash over the theft to cover up a homosexual ring at the centre of the British colonial establishment in Dublin."

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Financially Troubled PlanetOut Inc Considering Sale of Company

PlanetOut Inc, which owns Gay.com, PlanetOut.com and LPI Media (The Advocate, Out Magazine, HIV Plus, and Alyson Books) has retained Allen & Co. LLC to "evaluate strategic alternatives" including a possible sale of the company, PlanetOut reports.

According to financial website Seeking Alpha, "For the first nine months of 2007, PlanetOut reported a loss of $33.1 million on revenues of $39.8 million. The company last July raised $26.2 million in equity financing from a group of investors that included Special Situations Funds, Cascade Investment LLC, SF Capital Partners, PAR Investment Partners LP and Allen & Co. It sold its its travel business, RSVP, to Atlantis Events Inc. for an undisclosed sum in October, a little more than a year after acquiring it. Trading at $6.20 on Monday, PlanetOut has a market capitalization of $25.4 million. With such a cheap price and obvious appeal as a provider of information to a niche market, PlanetOut should be able to find a buyer, unless its finances scare everyone off."

Reuters reports that "The company said it will no longer provide quarterly or annual earnings outlook and will not hold quarterly earnings calls. It will report its results through its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

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GLAAD Changes Course, Opens its Awards to Gay Media

Last spring, media watchdog GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) came under criticism for its policy barring gay media outlets from submitting work for consideration in the annual GLAAD awards.

In a letter to the organization, Here! Networks' Stephen Macias said: "We believe that all gay media companies should be allowed to submit work for consideration. That collective group of LGBT voices in print and online journalism, radio, television, Telco, podcasts, and videocasts are quite literally changing the world. The New Gay Media has grown, matured and in many cases is taking the lead on groundbreaking points of view, yet GLAAD remains entrenched in old 'mainstream' thinking."

GLAAD recently announced the dates for the four media awards ceremonies taking place in 2008, as well as changes that have been made in policies regarding the awards:

"Effective immediately, GLAAD is opening its call for entries and will be accepting submissions for the GLAAD Media Awards on a year-round basis from this point forward. The second change enacted at the Board’s June 2007 meeting is the decision that LGBT media images appearing in media created by and for the LGBT community are now eligible to compete for nomination in the existing categories."

The Huffington Post's Gabriel Rotello adds: "GLAAD's president Neil Giuliano told me his group will accept these submissions in the existing categories, inviting the gay media to compete head-on with the mainstream media rather than in some 'gays-only' category. That's as it should be. The LGBT media have come of age. When it comes to covering the wide spectrum of gay life, gay outlets can, and do, compete with the mainstream media in the breadth of their coverage and programming. They also struggle, and often succeed, in competing with the mainstream media in terms of excellence, despite having a lot less money."

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The Goings-On at Genre Magazine

The folks at New York magazine have published some rumblings about what's going on over at Genre magazine following the installation of new (married with kids) editor Neal Boulton, as well as his alleged romantic link to Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner:

"...sources tell us the pair has been stepping out together again. (Which Wenner's spokesman of course denied to us again yesterday.) While Boulton is still married, a pal says he and his wife live separately and have a friendly 'arrangement' that’s been going on some time. 'I’m out; I’m gay,' said Boulton, who recently took over Genre magazine, the fleshy gay monthly. 'We're friends,' he added, not quite denying things. Meantime, the other editors at Genre have fled since Boulton was installed, and he's revamping its look. The October issue will feature a black-and-white cover shot with a red title and black cover lines, much like his old Men's Fitness — though, fortunately, not too much like Wenner's Men's Journal."

And, as a matter of disclosure, this blogger was once an editor of Genre.

Jann Wenner and Neal Boulton: Still Going On? [ny mag intelligencer]

You may ahve missed...
Reggie Bush Sexes Up Men's Fitness [tr]

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News: Michael Bloomberg, B52s, Siskel & Ebert & Roeper, Hairspray

The New York Times does a "sting" job on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's claims that he takes the subway to work "virtually every day" and finds that while Bloomberg is telling the truth, he may not be telling all of it: "On mornings that he takes the subway from home, Mr. Bloomberg is picked up at his Upper East Side town house by a pair of king-size Chevrolet Suburbans. The mayor is driven 22 blocks to the subway station at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, where he can board an express train to City Hall. His drivers zip past his neighborhood station, a local subway stop a five-minute walk away." The mayor's response to the brouhaha: "Some people focus on important things, some people don't."

Bass boytoy Pedro Andrade shows what he's got.

Are the Democratic contenders for president in 2008 feeling more liberated about their relationship with the gay voting base? "The Democrats' apparent newfound confidence on gay issues -- a confidence, to be fair, that hasn't yet been tested by general election pressures -- has two sources. There's a broad cultural shift, indicated by polling, toward public support for gay rights. And the shift comes as Democrats feel confident that Republicans -- weakened and tied to an unpopular war in Iraq -- will be unable to turn gay rights into the high-profile wedge issue it was in 2004."

Singapore on gay rights: one step forward, two steps back.

Online archive of Siskel & Ebert & Roeper is created, showcasing more than 1,000 shows and reviews of over 5,000 movies. Ebert: "Gene and I knew those old shows would be worth saving, but for a long time nobody agreed with us. In the years before home video, it seemed like a waste of expensive video tape to preserve hundreds of episodes of our earlier incarnations on “Opening Soon at a Theater Near You,” “Sneak Previews” or “At the Movies.” After all, the movies we were reviewing weren’t going to be opening again, and who’d want to watch a show of old movie reviews? Right?"

Cindy Wilson on the new B-52s album: "It's the best thing we've ever done. This is the worst time in the world to put out a record. We should have our heads examined for even trying to do something new the way things are now, but that's just the way it's happened. We'd recorded in the Bahamas but never in Athens. There's an 'Athens vibe,' even though it's changed so much over there. I think it's the magical kiss we needed. We're bringing everything that's happened to us in 30 years to this record. There's a maturity to it, but we're not about to grow up. It's still us, you know."

Hairspray: Sing-along Edition coming to a city near you.

Rosie O'Donnell turned down $2 million to appear on The Apprentice.

PlanetOut reports second quarter 2007 results. CEO Magee: "During the second quarter we made significant progress in our efforts to solidify PlanetOut's balance sheet and position the company for future growth. During the quarter, we signed an agreement to raise $26.2 million through an equity financing transaction, which closed in early July 2007; and we examined every aspect of our business to identify ways to simplify and focus the company, and reduce expenses. Our recent announcement to close PlanetOut's international offices was a direct result of this effort. We are making strategic changes to enable us to increase focus throughout the organization on the most critical issues and opportunities in front of us during an important time of transition and rebuilding for the company." (LGBT)

Jealous of the Beckhams, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes want to do a W naked photoshoot of their own: "A friend of the couple told Australia's 'New Weekly' magazine: 'They have already started planning some of the photos. One suggestion they were keen on was a shot of them posing together in the shower, dripping wet and covered by nothing but steam.'"

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News: Yasser Arafat, Enigma Machine, Annie Lennox, Emmys

Did Yasser Arafat really die of AIDS? One Palestinian leader insists, yes.

William Hamilton Martin and Bernon Mitchell, NSA traitors whose treason was blamed in part on their homosexuality, are proven to be straight after documents are declassified: "After interviewing more than 450 individuals about the twosome’s character, habits, and sex lives—right down to the skin rash on Martin’s stomach—the NSA, in a 1961 report, could find no conclusive evidence the two men were gay. “Martin and Mitchell were known to be close friends and somewhat anti-social, but no one had any knowledge of a homosexual relationship between them,” investigators reported. Both, in fact, had American girlfriends, and Martin married a Russian woman four months after his arrival there. Mitchell also wed later."

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Sopranos, Ugly Betty lead Emmy nominations. Full list.

Gone before its time: Who killed A Mighty Heart?

Kylie Minogue teams up with Stuart Price, Madonna's producer on Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Courtney Love: Orange you glad she's back?

Spit-tune: If you're going to one of Amy Winehouse's concerts, be sure to stay out of range of her salivary glands.

Conservative Episcopal priest from Boston defects to become a bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya: "The Rev. William L. Murdoch, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in West Newbury, will fly to Nairobi next month for his consecration as a Kenyan bishop, then return to Massachusetts to minister to other disaffected conservatives who are leaving the Episcopal Church over its 2003 decision to ordain an openly gay priest as the bishop of New Hampshire."

Fancy yourself the next Alan Turing? Have a bit of practice decoding some of the messages from this 1938 Enigma machine for sale on eBay. Bidding is currently near $20,000 but the reserve has not yet been met.

Window Media President Peter Polimino to step down, and will be replaced by three co-presidents: "Mike Kitchens is Window Media's chief operating officer, Steve Myers is chief financial officer, and Bill Kapfer is responsible for marketing and Genre's publisher."

Lover of flesh Spencer Tunick will make his next project a commentary on global warming and photograph hundreds of naked folk in the Alps. He is encouraging those who wish to participate to arrive there by public transportation.

Annie Lennox is back with Songs of Mass Destruction, a new album featuring the track "Sing" to which Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Celine Dion, Fergie, Faith Hill, Pink, Dido, Gladys Knight, kd Lang, Angelique Kidjo, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Melissa Etheridge, Anastasia, Joss Stone, KT Tunstall and many others will add their voices. The track will raise awareness and funding for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) - organizations fighting for human rights, education and health care for those affected by the HIV AIDS virus.

Do you take it? (warning: NSFW)

Nova Scotia tries to get in on the gay travel market with Rainbow Halifax.

"I could hear them.": Be careful when traveling in Belize and don't read this post while you're eating lunch.

Channel 4 in the UK presents 40 Years Out, a week of programming meant to mark the passing of the Homosexual Reform Act in 1967, which decriminalized homosexual acts in private between two adult men aged 21 and over.

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The Advocate Comes Out of the Closet

The Advocate has shed its skin and will be arriving in the mail without the paper wrapper that for so long has been forced on subscribers due to concerns for discretion in a world that is not always so tolerant.

Publisher Michael Phelps told the NYT: "The majority no longer wanted the covering. For some, they said they were environmentally conscious and wanted to cut down on waste. For others, it was more of an out-and-proud issue."

PlanetOut says OUT magazine will soon follow suit. The covering will, however, remain an option for those who want it.

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News: Seattle's Pony, Tyrese, Planet Out, Chris Benoit

SCOTUS strikes down voluntary school integration. From Stevens dissent: "The Court has changed significantly since it decided School Comm. of Boston in 1968 [a major busing case]. It was then more faithful to Brown and more respectful of our precedent than it is today. It is my firm conviction that no Member of the Court that I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today's decision."

Its little pony: Seattle gets a new gay bar.

Breakthrough: Scientists discover way to remove the HIV virus from infected cells.

Who knew? The Wikipedia page on WWE wrestler Chris Benoit's death was updated with information about his wife's death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.

The Economist looks at "out and proud" parents: "The kind of gay activists who think you can't be authentically gay unless you are permanently in opposition to the mainstream find the prospect of gay assimilation appalling. So does the religious right. A black preacher named Wellington Boone, for example, has circulated a pamphlet entitled 'The Rape of the Civil Rights Movement: How Sodomites Are Using Civil Rights Rhetoric to Advance Their Preference for Sexual Perversion'. But he is howling at the incoming tide."

Two gays in this year's Big Brother house?

Advocate: PlanetOut faces June 30th financing deadline. "It was PlanetOut’s last earnings call in May that set off alarms in the financial community, even as a report was released weeks later that showed ad spending in gay media reached record highs in 2006. In addition to the $6.9 million loss, the San Francisco-based company—owner of Planetout.com, Gay.com, The Advocate , Out , and RSVP Vacations, among others—projected a $7-9 million loss for the entire year. That sent its stock price plummeting to an all-time low on May 22 of 86 cents a share, a drop of 89% from its 52-week high of $7.95. PlanetOut also has two outstanding loans: one for $7 million due over the next six months; and a second loan of $10 million, most of which is due over the next four years. The company has been hamstrung more than anything by the poor performance of its travel and cruise subsidiary, RSVP Vacations, in particular lackluster bookings on a trans-Atlantic cruise aboard the Queen Mary that culminated earlier this month. The low occupancy, plus related fines, resulted in a $700,000 hit on first-quarter earnings."

Lance Bass knows a thing or two about "transforming".

Tyrese announces ban on men at upcoming "Shirts Off" tour: "We’re putting a ban on all dudes from coming to the show."

Queen Latifah takes a spin on her hog.

Brighton, England gay basher avoids prison sentence: "On Friday October 27 last year Whittam drank six pints of strong Stella Artois, had four shots of Sambuca and took half a gramme of cocaine, the court heard. He approached lesbian couple Sarah Lavis and Rachel Moorey in London Road in Brighton at 11pm. They were looking through some records left outside a charity shop. He told Miss Moorey: 'If you don't leave them alone I'm going to batter you.' He kicked Miss Lavis in the back, and called the couple obscenities including 'dirty lesbians'.

Jesse Metcalfe wants to be a singer.

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Kroger Stores Charged with Discrimination by Tennessee Gay Paper

Kroger grocery stores have been charged with discrimination by the publisher of regional Tennessee gay and lesbian publication Out and About Newspaper after what its publisher claims is an arbitrary decision to pull the paper from stores.

Publisher Jerry Jones (above) says he was told of the decision on Monday by the DistribuTech, with whom the paper has a contract to be distributed in 34 Kroger stores in the middle Tennessee and Nashville area.

Said Jones: "Mr. Duhame informed me that he was enforcing the wishes and policy of Kroger and Harris Teeter stores. He also said the two corporations would not approve publications that are controversial, religious or political...in the decision to remove Out & About Newspapers, DistribuTech was following our own policy, and in your situation not solely the policy and wishes of the retailer. On behalf of management, I sincerely apologize for any confusion or frustration this situation may have caused the publication and its readers."

Jones notes that also appearing alongside Out and About in the stores is the Southern Voice, another regional gay publication based out of Atlanta. Kroger reportedly advertises in the Southern Voice as well.

Jones notes that although the magazine has no sexual or explicit content, gay publications are often stigmatized for that: "The local Kroger managers that I've talked to received no complaints. If Kroger were to review the paper, they would find it is a very clean and well-produced newspaper. The public perception of anything within the gay community is that it's sexual in nature. I think they are reacting to perception, which is not necessarily the reality."

Gay Paper Pulled From Grocery Stores [ap]
Kroger officially says ‘no’ to distributing GLBT newspaper [out and about]

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News: Joel Madden, Bush Impeachment, Brad Pitt, PlanetOut

Stock of beleaguered gay media powerhouse PlanetOut in free fall.

Which one of these men is named Tim and which is named Bob? Researchers at Miami University have "shown quantitatively that certain names are associated with certain facial features." So when somebody says, "You look like a (insert name here)" they may be right.

T.R. Knight to appear at Billy Eichner's Creation Nation in NYC tomorrow night. I had the opportunity to see this "live talk show" in January when Joan Rivers was the guest. It's a lot of fun and definitely recommended. Official Site.

Celebrity-stacked (Cyndi Lauper, Hal Sparks, Whoopi Goldberg, Lance Bass, Alan Cumming) AIDS Walk NY takes in $6,857,527.

Arjan chats with Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden who reveals his man-crush to be...Johnny Depp: "I support equality for all people. To me people are people and we really should live and let live. What others want to do with their life doesn’t affect me so people should have the freedom to do that. I really think we’re making progress. There would be less problems and hate in the world, if people stop thinking about others and just worry about themselves."

David Beckham meets The Queen.

New York's new legally married same-sex couples: Secure or not?

Ted Haggard in Alexandra Pelosi doc Friends of God: "You know all the surveys say that evangelicals have the best sex life of any other group." Pelosi: "Because Pastor Ted was my tour guide, he was so good to me. He took me under his wing. Most people think of evangelicals as being these holy roller, Jesus freaks, and Ted wasn't like that," she said. "It was interesting for me to say, these are good people. He was a reasonable, normal everyday man. So, it was hard to stomach what had happened."

Pitt's red carpet Gatsby moment. More here...

Ricky Martin plops down $8 million for a Miami recording studio.

SALON: Why Bush hasn't been impeached. "The truth is that Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors, far from being too small, are too great. What has saved Bush is the fact that his lies were, literally, a matter of life and death. They were about war. And they were sanctified by 9/11. Bush tapped into a deep American strain of fearful, reflexive bellicosity, which Congress and the media went along with for a long time and which has remained largely unexamined to this day. Congress, the media and most of the American people have yet to turn decisively against Bush because to do so would be to turn against some part of themselves. This doesn't mean we support Bush, simply that at some dim, half-conscious level we're too confused -- not least by our own complicity -- to work up the cold, final anger we'd need to go through impeachment. We haven't done the necessary work to separate ourselves from our abusive spouse. We need therapy -- not to save this disastrous marriage, but to end it."

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Financial Situation "Dire" at Gay Media Powerhouse PlanetOut

Once the stock market's great gay hope, PlanetOut Inc. saw its shares tumble 33% last week to close at $1.64, its lowest valuation since the company went public as gay media's first big IPO three years ago.

Reports the San Francisco Chronicle: "The San Francisco owner of Gay.com, along with the Advocate and Out magazines, disclosed this week that it will run out of money before the end of the year without an infusion of cash. The dire situation is a consequence of PlanetOut's declining subscriptions for personal ads, a shortfall in advertising revenue and trouble booking passengers on its gay-oriented cruises. A dismal first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday hammered the reality home. Virtually every piece of the business needs fixing, according to management."

PlanetOut's CEO Karen Magee told analysts late last week: "This is deeply disappointing and concerning to me and the rest of the management team. We've got major work to do at PlanetOut to generate the healthy revenue growth and solid earnings performance that I believe this company is capable of producing."

The company's financial situation is grave, reports the paper: "PlanetOut is under the gun to come up with an additional $15 million to meet the terms of an existing loan, or face default. If it's unable to get the financing, the lender could foreclose on PlanetOut's assets, a potential death knell. The company, which had $11 million in cash and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter, said it would run out of money by year's end without additional financing."

Cash crisis closing in on PlanetOut [sf chronicle]

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Annual Blogads Survey

Please take our blog reader survey!

We hope you can find 10 minutes. The survey does not report personally identifiable information and could mean a better site.

When you read Towleroad, you give us your valuable attention. Knowing more about you will help us decide  how to improve it.

Also, as you know, we sublease some of your "attention" to advertisers to keep Towleroad free. But currently marketers will spend 10-20 times as much on non-gay sites for "attention" with the same demographics as yours. We know that many of you are engaged, well travelled, culturally literate, politically involved, media savvy, successful guys who adopt technolgy early and look great in a bathing suit. (or  other equally attractive marketing litanies).

This data in the hands of the right marketers will mean our ads continue to be a great value and you'll get an even better, still free, Towleroad with fewer, more-relevant ads. So...

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Vermont's Only Gay Newspaper Folds after 21 Years

Citing competition from the internet and other gay papers, Vermont's only gay newspaper, "Out in the Mountains", has announced they're ceasing publication.

The most significant change appears to be the mainstream press' willingness to cover gay interest stories that in earlier years would have only been covered in the niche publication.

Said Board President Brian Cote: "Part of the success of Out in the Mountains over the last 21 years has been a voice for the community. But today there are other newspapers that are willing to cover our community and stories about our community that they would never have covered ten years ago. Times have changed since the state passed the first civil union law in the country."

At its peak, Out in the Mountains had a circulation of 7,000.

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Gay Ad Network & Advertising on Towleroad

                           

Coming Soon...New (and more fun) ways to reach the high-end demographic, the influencers leading the gay market and the media world.

Towleroad continues to have advertising space available with our friends at Blogads:Buy a Towleroad Super Premium Ad -- GUARANTEED the top position. Buy a Towleroad Premium Ad -- upper strip. Branding & Response. All Pages

 That said, things are getting more interesting...

We've recently started offering banners (Leaderboard 728x90px), medium boxes (300x250) --perfect for video and clicks, and the classic skyscraper in a 120x600 or 160x600 classic. Purchase direct online or get in touch with me for a first timer discount and info on email, rss feed, and some more creative upcoming inventory.

Click the "contact" link top right of any page.
Email me: "mike" and "towleroad.com"
Call me: Click this button, type you're number and we'll be connected. (allows you to keep your number private) for free.

Or call direct: 646-202-1663

Tell me what you're working on and i'm likely to have some ideas. (and those are free)

Thanks,
Michael Goff Chief Executive
Modurban Media's Gay Ad Club.

646-248-6004

Things are starting to get interesting as we approach the launch of Modurban Media, our Gay Ad Network; that teams Towleroad with our friends at the best gay blogs and top sites to target the influential, city-living, top-shelf swilling, men about town. We're the guys who like to go opening night. We get upgrades, order by brand, tip well and don't fight. In public. Somewhat even to our surprise, to a great extent we're building the culture. And it couldn't be  a more interesting time for that. Recent studies showed us that our readers are to a large degree living in the big cities and doing some interesting things. We had only one ranch hand, but 72 writers (or about 5% of our sample). With others, we found a total of almost 40% of our readers working in Arts, Entertainment, Media, and Technology. We also have advertising options available in our daily and weekly newsletter and on our feeds and can work out customized solutions for advertisers wanting more comprehensive placement.

Towleroad's readers are media-savvy gay men and creative,
style-oriented individuals interested in reading about and discussing
international pop culture, current events, media, sports, and
entertainment in a visually-engaging and ahead-of-the-curve forum.

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