• We can't even attempt to do Jim David's attack on the anti-gay GOP justice:

The hysterical right wing response to the House passage of the hate crimes bill [equates] gays with terrorists: if Al Qaeda doesn't get you, Al Gayda will.

They claim that the bill will criminalize antigay speech, which of course it won't. They will still be able to say nasty things about gays, they just won't be able to beat them up, which, of course, most of them want to do.

And it only gets better, especially when he goes after the gay conservatives. Bitch is on a roll...

• Mollygood - our Hollywood-obsessed virtual cousin - has a new look. Oh, and we think straight editor Cord Jefferson has a crush on the newly-hunky Marc Jacobs. Pass it on...

• Meanwhile, we totally have a crush on Brothers and Sisters' queer creator, Robbie Baitz.

• And Liv Tyler wants Karolina Kurkova's titties. (Also, Jessica Simpson and reality have apparently had a nasty break-up. Tragic.)

• What's queer about fall's television schedule? How about Bryan Singer, Footballer's Wives, Darren Star and Bobby Cannavale, of Will & Grace, The Night Listener and a slew of other gay-themed shows/movies/etc...

• The Bible-spouting, gay-hating Floridian airport employee totally got canned. Now you queens can fly into Fort Lauderdale without hearing the blasphemous manipulation of Biblical text. Hooray!

• We never knew Isabella Blow, but we still think she's rad.

• Out's Equus-inspired, Chad White-starring, Francois Rousseau-shot, Sam Jaradeh-styled photo shoot may be one of the hottest spreads we've seen in a long time. (In print, of course.) Even if you've seen the paper edition, you'll definitely want to head over to the magazine's website to take an exclusive peek at White's oh-so-beautiful bum. It's really quite delicious...

Sanjaya Malakar may be one of the most puzzling cultural icons in recent memory. Why did so many people vote for someone everyone agreed blew? Where does a 17-year old kid get the gumption to sport a pony-hawk? What does his contradictory success mean for the "merit" of American Idol? (And, yes, the show does have merit, evidenced most readily by Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson.) In Gayville, our terrain, many have speculated about whether the young "singer" qualifies as queer. Such Idol speculation's nothing new - just look at Clay Aiken and lawsuit plagued Mario Vazquez.

CONTINUED »

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann has some choice words for CNN's Anderson Cooper. Speaking with New York, the journo blasted Cooper's decision to stay in "The Glass Closet":

Don’t tell me you don’t want to talk about personal life when you wrote a book about your father’s death and your brother’s death. You can’t move this big mass of personal stuff out for public display, then people ask questions and you say, ‘Oh, no, I didn’t say there was going to be any questions.’ It’s the same thing as the Bush administration saying, ‘We’re going to war, but you really aren’t allowed to know why.

But, wait, there's more:

Don’t tell me you can’t talk about your personal life and then, when they send you overseas and you do a report that consists of your voice-over and pictures of you in a custom-made, blue-to-match-your-eyes bulletproof vest, looking somberly at these scenes of human devastation—like a tourist—and that’s your report. Your shtick is your personal life.

We can just hear Olbermann getting all revved up in that adorable way of his. And, we have to say we totally agree - it's a bit disingenuous to sell your family tragedy but to keep other things secret in the name of "credibility".

Although, rumor has it CNN's the one keeping Cooper under wraps. We wonder if that's a part of his alleged $50 million contract extension...

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann takes on Anderson Cooper [AfterElton]

• The Mark Foley scandal may have been the best thing for the Congressional page program.

• Viktors Birze, the man accused of inciting the attack on last year's Latvian gay pride, has been charged with public disorder. Sweet, sweet, justice.

• Wait, maybe Details did deserve that GLAAD award. Psych!

• Hayden Panettiere does not appreciate being called Lindsay Lohan. Motherfucker.

• Want to read the entire Michael Musto Out article on "The Glass Closet"? Click here to live your dream.

• The mystery of Helvetica: it's bigger than you think.

• Colt star Gage Weston (seriously?) gets down on Workout!

• The A Brief Smile scandal gets some ink. And we're quoted! Read our editor's entire statement, after the jump.

• It's Wednesday. You know what that means. Well, yes, the week's half-way over. But, more importantly, it's time for some Good Times: the Queerty-sponsored, eastern bloc-housed, Jimmy Im-spun, Svedka-soaked weekly party. This week's special treats: guest DJ Kurvin and the launch of Genre's spring break issue. Hopefully they'll make up for that MOTY scandal. Get the deets, after the jump.

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In her groundbreaking and certainly still relevant book, Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick asserts, “The closet is the defining structure for gay oppression in this century". The closet - out or in - it's always there, hovering like a socially-constructed apparition. Out's May issue wonders if, like an actual apparition, the closet can seen through. That is, can it be made of glass, rather than wood, brick or reinforced steel?

Michael Musto's cover essay, "The Glass Closet", sheds some light on - or, rather, through - this underreported, yet not entirely new, phenomenon:

The glass closet is nothing new in Hollywood. Back in the 1920s and '30s, leading man William Haines was gay in everything except magazine interviews...In the '70s performers like Paul Lynde and post-Liza Peter Allen similarly went as far as seemed possible...And today, the press still gives a free pass to people like Good Morning America weather anchor Sam Champion and CNN presence Anderson Cooper, helping to keep their glass doors shut so they can lead gay social lives while carefully skirting the issue.

Musto concludes with disdain, insisting it's better to be completely out than sorta-kinda out, like Mr. Cooper

Musto may be a bit irked to read, then, that the Coop's number two rank on Out's surely controverial compilation: The 50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America. The homo-journo's squeezed right between David Geffen and Ellen Degeneres. The list also includes the likes of filmmaker Chi Chi LaRue (36), designer Tom Ford (23) and director Bryan Singer (32). A bit of a queer mix, certainly, but by no means an accident. Out EIC Hicklin explains his editorial philosophy:

We expect some flak for daring to create a list like this. But it’s a mark of real progress that the vast majority of men and women who made our Power 50 have attained their positions without feeling the need to hide their sexuality to do so.

We took the task very seriously. We wanted the list to reflect, as accurately as possible, the standing of the people on it.

One can't feel bad for the so called New York Times gay mafia: Richard Berke, Ben Brantley, Frank Bruni, Stuart Elliot, Adam Nagourney, Stefano Tonchi, and Eric Wilson. They all got clumped together in the stinky number 7 slot. You'd better watch out, Out.

Out Ranks the Top 50 Gays; Anderson Is No. 2 [New York]

Gay gossip monger Perez Hilton has been called out for calling gay celebs out of the closet - most notably Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris - but now he's being called out for not calling someone out: Mika.

Hilton recently introduced the sexually mum British pop star at a Time Warner Center in-store show and the boys at AfterElton wonder why he's become some chummy with someone that should, ideologically speaking, be his enemy:

Those of us who have been following Mika's Stateside invasion have noticed that Perez has been oddly prominent at the early appearances of this particular musician. Odd, in that Hilton isn't a music critic and doesn't run a music site - he's a gossip writer who has made his politics crystal clear when it comes to celebrities whose sexualities fall under public scrutiny... How interesting, then, that Hilton is now an honorary member of the PR posse of a man who flat-out refuses to discuss his sexuality publicly. Isn't Mika exactly the kind of celeb that Perez would usually attack for his coyness? Could it be that Hilton has compromised his well-documented principles for the chance to be part of an album launch and for a place in the pocket of a pop star?

Is there something rotten in the state of Gayville?

We have to say, however, that picture of Mika and Hilton's kind of cute. Mostly Mika, of course. Speaking of photos, Mika apparently showed up late to the TW gig - he got tied up at an Out shoot. Something to look forward to...

Matthew Goode may be straight, but that doesn't mean he can't admire another chap's good looks. Out's Stylelist recently chopped up the dashing British actor about his forthcoming role as Charles Ryder in the screen adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's gayish classic, Brideshead Revisisted.

Not only did Goode tell them he longed for the role, but there's no question about why co-star Ben Wishaw's playing the more sissified Sebastian:

I wasn't pretty enough. They gave it to Ben because when the camera settles on him you gasp at his beauty. I mean I have a girlfriend and all, but still...

One can't help but feel bad for the theater staff - all that drool's going to be a bitch to clean up.

Goode went on to say that he "can't complain about filling [Jeremy] Irons' shoes". Irons, you may recall, played Ryder in the 1981 television version opposite Anthony Andrews.

My Goodeness! [Stylelist]

• Floridian gay activists still fighting for anti-gay bully bill. Three students sat down with Republican Rep. Alan Hays to discuss the matter. One of the students, 22-year old Jessica Osborn recalls the meeting, "After telling him my story he proceeded to say he was repulsed by homosexuals, and we needed extensive psychological treatment." For his part, Hays says he doesn't remember saying gays repulse him, but he does admit he told them they need psychological treatment. What a guy. [The News-Press]

• Brideshead Revisted will be revisited on the big screen. So, who will play Charles and Sebastian? Matthew Goode and Ben Whishaw, respectively. [New Now Next]

• Kenneth Hill stressed out about coming out to his grandparents. Considering he's the biggest fag this side of the rainbow, however, they already knew. [QueerSighted]

• Wait, Clay Aiken was kidding when he asked people to invent the most scandalous gossip about him? Now we have to cancel that gallon of motor oil, fifty nipple clamps, a dozen Japanese Macaque, those loaves of French bread and that call to Matt Sanchez. Fuck. [The Clay Aiken Fraud Squad]

• Ryan Davis' directorial take on marriage in the United States. Largely improved and strangely captivating. [YouTube]

• Is Cord Jefferson's penis an Uncle Tom? We don't know, but his crush on Kristen Davis makes him worry... [Mollygood]

• Why the gays love Ugly Betty. [Out]

• Don't forget the Queerty-sponsored, Svedka-stocked, eastern bloc-housed Good Times tonight. We've included the flyer after the jump. We would have included last week's pictures, too, but we've been too lazy busy to resize them. Thankfully guest DJ, Sparber posted them on his blog. Thanks, Sparber. You're the breast. And, yes, those boys are cute. [Twerking]

CONTINUED »

Less than a year after snatching EIC Aaron Hicklin from the cultured pages of BlackBook, Out publisher and senior vice-president Joe Landry has announced that he's leaving the fag-rag.

So, where's Landry sowing his publishing oats? BlackBook, of course. Don't you love the rat fuck known as magazine publishing?

We asked around for a bit of explanation, but have yet to turn up anything concrete. One thing's for sure, the formerly LA-centric Landry's going to spending a lot of time in New York, where Blackbook and Out both have offices. If any of you kids have more information, we'll gladly accept...

As for who will fill Landry's seat? Your guess is as good as Out's - they're apparently on the prowl.

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors got had a bit of a shake-up after Allen Morgan resigned yesterday. He'll be replaced by Phillip Kleweno, former president of Princess Cruises. How appropriate...

(Update: FYI, Landry published all of LPI's illustrious titles, including The Advocate, Out Traveler and HIV Plus.)

In sort of related news, British homo-journo Mark Simpson continues to get press for his metrosexuality replacement: sporno. The word first appeared in last July's edition of Out Magazine. Like a wordage wild fire, it started to spread, passing the lips of gays and straights alike and ultimately landing on The New York Times' Ideas of the Year list. Of course, the word's influence can't be contained to 2006 and has thus spawned an enjoyable Doron Halutz penned piece in Israel's Haaretz.

CONTINUED »

If there's one person we love, it's that adorable scamp Rupert Everett. Sure, he may have a reputation for being a bit of a diva, but that doesn't mean he hasn't got some valid points to make, so we're thrilled to itty-bits that Out Magazine's taken some time to sit down with the gay actor to chat about his new memoir, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins.

Sitting down with fellow Brit and Out EIC, Aaron Hicklin, Everett chats about his new book, growing up gay and the state of the gay celebrity nation. While he laments the dearth of out gay celebrities - a shortage that's particularly irksome when straight actors land the choice gay roles - Everett's not looking to be the go-to gay in the celebrity village.

CONTINUED »

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.