Bill Gates Rescues PlanetOut

Word leaked out over the holiday break that someone had come to the rescue of troubled gay media empire PlanetOut, whose stock (Nasdaq: LGBT) closed at a paltry $1.66 a share on Tuesday. A news release said that the company had (mysteriously) raised "$26.2 million in private placement financing." The Seattlest is now reporting that it was Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, aka the second richest man in the world, who did the good deed, keeping the doors open at The Advocate, Gay.com, PlanetOut.com and Out magazine for the foreseeable future.

Some have suggested this may be Gates' attempt at redeeming himself for letting Microsoft go neutral on Washington state gay rights legislation a couple of years ago, but given the fact that that the gays are just wild about Macs, perhaps he's trying to woo some to the PC world.

Whatever the case may be, it's good that The Advocate will be around. It would be sad to see another 40-year-old gay put out to pasture. And with the sharp-as-a-tack Anne Stockwell in charge over there, the seemingly erstwhile magazine could still have its best years ahead of it. And the boys still need Gay.com for those hookups dating purposes, don't they? Nice work, Mr. Gates!

Awards Given to Best Magazine Covers of the Year

The New Yorker cover that made fun of Dick Cheney's now infamous hunting accident (in which he peppered 78-year-old Harry Whittington in the face with birdshot) by utilizing the cultural trope of the moment, the much-parodied Brokeback Mountain poster, won the award for "Best News Cover" of the year from the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Magazine Publishers of America. The cover was titled "Watch Your Back Mountain".

Said the judges: "[Mark] Ulriksen’s image evokes both the smugness of a vice president implicated in catastrophe and the cluelessness of a president incapable of stopping him. The image shows a couple of hapless chaps, prisoners of their fate and unable to alter the course of events they have set in motion." Truer words were never spoken. Of course, some of you may prefer the less-refined version: Dumbfuck Mountain.

The Out Traveler tied for third place in the "Best Service Cover" category (that's service industry-oriented, not what the model looks like he's waiting for).

Said the panel: "A great travel cover is a glimpse into a moment, transporting a reader to another place and another frame of mind. It provides not only the encouragement to open the next page, but inspires a reader to think one important thought, 'I wish I were there!' This Istanbul cover evokes such a moment. Presenting a mix of quiet escape and sexy solitude, this repose in a classic hammam becomes a perfect passport to the Turkish city, and the compelling motivation to continue the journey inside."

After the jump, this year's winners for "Best Cover" along with the rationale behind the decisions.

Out Magazine Gets a Refresh

Everything old is new again over at Out magazine as the 14-year-old publication gets its latest refresh.

Editor-in-chief Aaron Hicklin (formerly of BlackBook) took the helm of the magazine a few months ago and his editorship is beginning to bear some fruit, the latest being this hot-off-the-press redesign (a bit retro, perhaps?) which should start showing up on newsstands later this week. Cover guy is Jamie Dornan, Calvin Klein model/actor who plays boytoy to Marie Antoinette in the latest Sofia Coppola film.

Incidentally, there's a great new remix of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" from the same film floating around. You can pick it up here or here if it's still up.

Fantastic Man: Helmut Lang Loves a Big Black Cock

I've mentioned Fantastic Man magazine here before. Via Gawker comes this shot of their latest Bruce Weber cover (preview the issue here) featuring designer Helmut Lang, which gets its point across.

Such humor is par for the course from the folks who bring you the wickedly irreverent Butt (NSFW).

Fotolog Leaps Out of the Blogosphere

Over the past couple of years I've posted occasionally about various sexy Brazilian fotologs, though my friend at Made in Brazil has made an art of it.

Fotolog has now leapt from the virtual world to the real world in the form of fotolog.book: A Global Snapshot for the Digital Age (Thames & Hudson), a book which anthologizes many of the best user-created sites out there. Fotolog (the book) is not all sexy Brazilians (though maybe that would be a great subject for their sequel tome) but it does provide a unique window into some stunning amateur photography that otherwise might get lost among the millions of click-thrus in the blogosphere.

They've also started a fotolog site expressly for folks to post pictures of themselves reading and, uh, wearing the book.

Among the book's contributors are a NYC member named Luce, who has an affection for double portraits, and Gazelle, a chronicler of NYC nightlife. But there are many other contributors included here, even Fotolog co-founder and CEO Adam Seifer, who has photographed every meal he has eaten since 2002 (now that's an obsession), and the book's editor Andrew Long, who was once the photography critic for the New Yorker.

The 344-page book is nothing if not inspiring, and at moments, sublime. Great idea.

Cargo and Radar Back as Real Laddie Mags

You may have heard the rumblings recently about the collapse of Cargo and the resurrection of Radar. What you haven't heard is that both pubs. have been subject to intense scrutiny and focus groups, and have decided to relaunch, acknowledging their audiences in a more appropriate way.