It’s getting to be the time of year that we start thinking about replacing that old wall calendar and we’re happy to see our friends over at Payback Baby offering a hot 2010 calendar to take it’s place. I really enjoy Mette Th13teen’s photos as well as a lot of the people she has contributing sets to Payback Baby and her models seem really cool and real. This looks like a good product for my office. Featured pictures include some of our favorite models too, like Siren, Ivony Heart, Yvette Star, Aylin Tempest, Cherry Darlin, Gayle Fett, Kiwi, Sarah, and Mette Th13teen herself. You can check out the Artamatik site to see the layout and pick up your copy.

I can’t decide if I love Beth Ditto or I hate her. I am not alone in this. Every time she is mentioned anywhere, there are those declaring their love for her and their hatred. The argument seems to center around whether she is a genuinely alt person who has received a gratifying amount of media attention or if she is just a shameless self-promoter who will do (or claim to do) anything to get her name mentioned.

Beth Ditto is a Southern Fried BBW frontwoman for a sort of punk Portland band The Gossip and she takes her clothes off occasionally and gets a surprising amount of mainstream attention in England for someone who doesn’t shave her armpits and dates a transgendered person. This week, Love magazine debuted their first issue with Beth Ditto on the cover. Love is a new magazine from, believe it or not, mainstream corporate publishing giant Condenast. Condenast also publishes Vogue, Glamour, Brides, Allure, Golf Digest, and Wired. In 2006, when NME, in a departure for them, ran a nude (hairy armpitted) photo of Beth Ditto on its cover, it declared her the “coolest person in rock” for their yearly countdown. Last year, Spike (men’s television) declared Beth Ditto one of the seven “baddest women in rock” and Condenast’s Glamour declared her the International Artist of the Year for 2008. Supposedly Beth Ditto first took her clothes off with her transman lover for the lesbian magazine On Our Backs, but I bought what I thought was a complete collection of On Our Backs at a garage sale a while back and I can’t seem to find her pictorial. If anyone has that issue, it is supposed to have come out in 2003 and you can contact me care of AltPorn.net and I’d really like to see her spread.

In the media kit for Love magazine, Condenast tells prospective advertisers that the concept of the mag, with its one and a half million dollar launch promo budget, is to cover areas of music and art which influence fashion. This sort of makes sense of putting someone fairly alternative on the cover. Love is also planned to be distributed primarily in England and in cities important to the fashion industry. The problematic issue for me in these situations is that I know so many people who have some of the characteristics of a Beth Ditto who never ever ever get mentioned in mainstream press. Condenast might think an unashamed, sexually adventurous, fat woman with hairy armpits is radical, but don’t you know more than one of those? This makes me wonder what is different about her.

I do have to admit that I distrust the alt cred of anything out of Portland claiming to be cool these days and that is really not Beth Ditto’s fault. I think we all know who is to blame for making everything supposedly altcool from Portland of questionable credibility. Love Beth Ditto or hate Beth Ditto, think working for Condenast is punk subversive or sell-out loser, the cover of the first issue of Love magazine is pretty hot.

Just in time for the reddest holiday, our friend April Flores, AKA FattyD, announced that she’s spicing up the cover of the latest issue of Plumpers magazine. She looks so sexy in this shot, I can’t wait to check the news rack and see when they have on the inside. That looks like a HOT Valentines Day right there. April has some hot new movies on the way that we’ll be sure to keep you up to date on too.

Kryztof Nemeth is now taking pre-orders on his new book X : The Pin-Up Art of Krysztof Nemeth.

Over 40 of Krysztof’s best pin-up illustrations, featuring his signature stylizations of Fetish, Gothic, Retro, and Alterna Babes. Available for pre-sale now, shipping in January.

• Hardbound Book Only: $20
• Hardbound Book, Limited Edition Silkscreened Print, and Dead City Bike Club Sticker: $30

Kryztof is a fabulous artist with a unique take on fetish and sexuality. Support indie artists like him!

Stellan Stebe submitted a link that I think bears special mention: Senze Magazine, a free fetish fashion mag available only on the web. It features gorgeous photography and art from the likes of Stellan himself, Ed Mironiuk, and George Vernon, wrapped in beautiful layouts. Very cool!