The news totally gets us down. So, in order to bring a little fashionable light into our lives, we headed on over to Refinery 29 to see what they have cooking. Imagine our elation when we came across The Power Issue subject, Gert Jonkers: publisher of fantastic fag-rag, BUTT.

Profiled in the website's "Hot For..." section, Jonkers tells the reader that he's recently adopted a " bourgeois" aesthetic and can't wait to see more Henley tank-tops out and about. Why is he so psyched about that particular item? Because the Amsterdam-based homo's positively itching for warm weather:

I'm really ready for some sun right now, and I love sunshine in general. I think it's okay to care about the environment and to switch off the light when you go out and stuff, but if global warming would lead to warmer summers and more sun, I'm all for it!

Well at least now we know who to blame...

Those kids over at Next Magazine have great senses of humor. You may recall our totally conjectured post yesterday in which we passed along some gossip concerning editor Gregory T. Angelo's unceremonious sacking - a sacking one source said would be presented as an amicable split. Another source confirmed the existence of said press release, but would say no more.

Well, today we received what Nexters claim to be the release. It's possibly one of the funniest things we've ever read. So says Associate Publisher Jeff Woodward:

The important thing is that Gregory T. Angelo’s reign of terror is officially over... It’s going to be difficult to pick up the pieces, though. But if my years in publishing taught me one thing, it’s that in the aftermath of Gregory T. Angelo’s historically epic failure, Next Magazine needed the best Editor money could buy. Unfortunately our budgets don’t allow for that kind of spending, so we got the best Editor we could afford. I’m proud to announce that Justin Ocean will be assuming the responsibilities as Editor of Next Magazine starting Monday, January 29.

Very clever. But, wait, it gets better...

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While W's heating things up with Dolce and Gabanna, it seems Brit fag-rag attitude may be going cold. Via Pink New UK, we hear the popular twelve-year old pub's gone missing. Regular subscribers have not yet received their January issue, nor have their long-time printer been contracted to publish said issue. What's more, it seems the entire staff's vanished. Homo-journo Tony Grew reports:

PinkNews.co.uk reporters have spent most of the day trying to contact the offices of attitude by phone, but there is no response.

attitude is owned by Remnant Media, who are also not answering the phone.

The receptionist at the Northern and Shell Tower in London's Docklands says the attitude offices are locked up and no one is there.

The fax number listed on the magazine's masthead appears to be disconnected.

In addition, the magazine's website is down, displaying an "access denied" message.

We took a look at some of Remnant's other websites, including Hot Dog Magazine and What Medicine? While What Medicine? still maintains its web presence, there's a note saying the print edition's on "hiatus". Hot Dog, meanwhile, doesn't load - although we have a feeling that may be a good thing.

So, we're stumped. Anyone have any insight?

Who says print media's dead? Certainly not 29-year old Eric Bogs, publisher of the "new" Qr Magazine, another addition to the already congested world of homo-lications. Run by the former staff of XY Magazine, Qr promises to bring a new perspective to the table, giving young faglings a magazine by and for them. Aligning himself against the Out's and Genre's of the publishing world, Bogs says:

The current top U.S. gay publications are mostly aimed towards an older gay and lesbian readership, and lack the authenticity and punch that Qr delivers.

In addition to legitimate op-eds and bonafide features, the mag will also feature the most indubitable example of all homo-journalism: a monthly photographic feature of boys kissing. Now that's authentic.

Organized around monthly themes (hmmm, wonder where they got that idea), editor Kevin Joffre insists,

Qr is our readers' magazine... It's a user-generated product for a user-focused era. The boys who read Qr also drive MySpace and YouTube - they know the value of producing content and enjoy seeing themselves in print. Qr is a magazine for gay youth because we're the only magazine that won't talk down to you... We speak to the pierced, the punks, the skaters, the geeks and clubaholics who feel ignored by gay media.

So, basically, all the nerds got together to make their own magazine. Great. Sounds like a regular thrill ride. But, seriously, we're nerds - in fact, as we've said before, "we're total fucking nerds" - so we think they should do a cover story on our geekish, oh-so-outcasted ways. Jesse Trautmann can write the accompanying story.

For more information on Qr, check out their website.

We haven't received this week's New York Magazine, but our friend Jack Pierson directed us to their cover story on the downtown art scene's bad boy three: graffiti legend-cum-art star Dash Snow, homo-photog Ryan McGinley and multi-media creative Dan Colen.

Ariel Levy's piece gives an outsider a great view at the insanity that is New York's art world. And, if nothing else, provides a little hope for the next aesthetic frontier.

The article revolves around the elusive Snow, a danger loving madman whose distinct take on art have cemented his urban mythology. And swirling about this fabled figure, one finds an art world rejuvenated by youthful rebellion, ingenuity and, at time, irreverence. In London for a show at Charles Saatchi's gallery, Snow and Colen were put up in a ritzy hotel: the perfect locale for their wild child antics:

They had to flee it in the middle of the night with their suitcases before it was discovered that they’d created one of their Hamster’s Nests, which they’ve done quite a few times before. To make a Hamster’s Nest, Snow and Colen shred up 30 to 50 phone books, yank around all the blankets and drapes, turn on the taps, take off their clothes, and do drugs—mushrooms, coke, ecstasy—until they feel like hamsters.

Amen, brothers. There's nothing we like more than getting all drugged-up and rolling around in ink-drenched paper. Although, we usually save that for the come down.

(It's worth noting that Pierson received word of the article from McGinley. So, it's almost like McGinley himself told us. You know, in that not really sort of way.)

Here's a bit of news for all you homo-journos and their admirers: two New England gay publishing companies, Bay Windows Inc. and Edge Publications Inc., have joined forces to form the biggest queer periodical publishing company in New England.

Bay Windows is one of the country's most recognized GLBT brands, delivering high-caliber news and entertainment coverage to New England for over 25 years; combined with EDGE, a network of GLBT local online magazines that deliver eight major channels of local and national coverage to over 550,000 readers per month in major cities across the Northeast US, the new chain of publications in print and on the web will offer readers a definitive resource for news and entertainment coverage.

"The Bay Windows/EDGE connection strengthens two well-established, respected brands," said Bay Windows co-publisher Sue O'Connell. "We have some truly exciting plans for the next evolution of gay media."

While we're sure the plans are exciting, indeed, we suspect O'Connell's blowing just a bit of smoke to entice advertisers.

More important than ad revenue, of course, are the changes that will no doubt follow this merger. While no hirings or firings have been announced, such collisions typically have more than a few casualties.

So, if you're a homo-journo in New England, we advise you to keep an ear to the ground. Sure, it's pretty shitty to profit from someone else's misfortune, but we all gotta make a buck.

We've pasted the entire press release after the jump. You're welcome.

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We were tooling around Parisian Boys yesterday and came across their post lauding the forthcoming "Porn Issue" of Brit Fag-Rag Attitude.

Needless to say, we got a little excited. Head on over to Parisian Boys for some preview shots!

(Note: The site's a rough Google translation, so it's a bit disjointed.)

Nothing like a good trilogy, huh?

It may surprise you to know that we read every single comment that comes our way. Rarely, however, do we respond to the lovely (and, of course, not so lovely) musings left behind.

We can't resist posting a note left by the one and only Owen Hawk.

With regard to our last Michael Lucas/HX Magazine-related post, the handsome porn star writes:

I don't think our company is all that little anymore, but thanks for the sympathy. You left out one detail: Matthew Bank gladly accepted 10,000 dollars worth of advertising from Dark Alley this summer, for our major release The Show. Despite this, they still kicked us out of their expo. But, you know, whatever. This was good reporting!

Straight from the (hung like a) horse's mouth.

Thanks for writing, Owen. We feel like super stars knowing that you're out there reading our daily babbles. And double gold star for the flagrant plug of The Show. Shameless self-promotion always gets our attention.

(Also, on the same post, there's a rather catty comment from someone named Reichen. Could it be the Reichen? We don't know, but we'd like to think so...)

Previously:
Michael Lucas Publishing Scandal Revealed!
Michael Lucas Publishing Scandal II: This Time It's Personal

We thought you guys would get a kick out of this cartoon by Danny Shanahan found in this week's New Yorker.

Why? Because you're all sick, twisted individuals. How do we know this? Just call it a hunch.

We don't know what the cover says; something about "disaffected youth" we think, but the photos inside the new Pref magazine are what caught our eye (though an article about disaffected 18-year-olds does sound fascinating).

With images from photographers Anthony Gayton, David Roemers, and Aymeric Giraudel, we would be tempted to say this magazine has stayed tastefully on the side of art. However, we won't be tricked by all those French words and soft lighting. It is still basically softcore porn, but there's nothing wrong with that!

See some quasi-naughty photos after the jump, and get your own copy of the new Pref in newsstands on September 1.

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As we've documented this week, mainstream gay mags often aren't all things to all people. Nor should they be. Which is why, even if we're not huge consumers of DNA, Instinct, or Blue, we're glad to see them out there. But when we stumbled upon A Bear's Life, we knew we hit on something big: a mag aimed at a niche of an already narrow audience.

A Bear's Life is for, as you may have guessed, the bears and cubs out there tired of seeing their "masculine" lifestyles all but ignored in the pages of Genre and Out. What's more impressive, however, is the magazine's approach to its readers: They aren't cast as outsiders, but an "integral part of society."

We never thought we'd see the day when a burly, hairy man graced the cover of a magazine. Glad we can check that one of our list.

A Bear's Life

Why yes, as one commenter pointed out, a good portion of Queerty's Morning Goods photo spreads feature heteros that cater to the homo eye. Those are there for your masturbatory enjoyment. But when it comes to a magazine like Out – which we showed you the first cover from new editor Aaron Hicklin yesterday – the cover is more than a photo spread: It's a statement.

Learning where Hicklin is taking the title, however, means we'll let his Footballer's Wives go by with a shrug.

While Hicklin won't be altering Out's sexual identity, he does plan to make it, like his own, a bit harder to pin down. "My buzzword has been, 'Let's be [David] Bowie gay rather than Cher gay,'" he said this week, at the end of his first month on the job.

Just as Bowie recorded concept albums, Out, said Hicklin, will publish more themed issues in hopes of stimulating the creativity of its writers and photographers. Hicklin's first full issue as editor, September, will have a back-to-school motif, complete with a fashion shoot inspired by "Lord of the Flies." "The fashion is where you can get all the pictures of cute, sexy boys you want, but shot in a way that's radical and thoughtful," he said.

But alongside the beefcake will be a beefed-up supply of serious reportage, with the goal to produce journalism that could just as easily be found in The New Yorker or Vanity Fair, said Hicklin. "The question I ask myself is, 'What would those magazines do if they were gay?'" he said. "I'd rather have mainstream magazines with an aesthetic I admire as the competition" than other gay titles, he added. "For an editor, you create the magazine you want to read. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that."

And while we'd love to read 12,000 words on the love life of some 1920s glamour girl a la Vanity Fair, we're sure Aaron will find a way to tie energy security in with choosing the best Wednesday night leather bar.

Memo Pad: Out Editor's Straight Talk [WWD]