Magazine Reviews 2005

Please note that this does include Newspapers (States, Foreign, Global)

The Week Magazine (Subscription)
This is an awesome magazine. My first exposure was the “World at a glance” section available on the internet, followed by the “Briefing.” Word at a glance gives quick headlines off of world maps…and is just great. At first I liked it for the newsbits I wasn’t receiving about other countries. After becoming a subscriber, I liked the way they take a few big issues in the news and break them into multiple paragraphs each a digested version from various sources. Containing all kinds of perspectives and crucial insight. It’s beautiful, and runs at an average of 42 pages of simple fast reading.

Discover (Subscription)
I like Discover because it informs about stuff that I wouldn’t normally read about. Plus, scientific information is really cool, I like to learn. If you only read one portion, start at the first four pages or so which contains News about science, medicine, and technology. The rest of the magazine is purely educational and of course interest depends on the topics.

Men’s Health (Subscription)
This is my cut and tear magazine. Exercise tips and pointers as well as technique run as important to me, and I like to have that material handy. So, rip rip rip, it comes right on out. When I start off with the magazine, I have a few sections I will read first off. Starting with the informative “Health Bulletin” section which provides very informative blurbs, then I fall back on all the “Ask Men’s Health: questions and answers. However, if I can find it immediately, I will typically read the “Jimmy the Bartender” before the other Q&A’s. From there I skim and read articles, and tear out all the exercise related material I think that I will use.

CMJ-New Music Monthly (Subscription)
This magazine has almost replaced radio for me. Arriving with a cd full of various artists, new and familiar. The cd is really cool that it lets you hear new and various things. Then I hit up the New music section in the back. I’d say if you knew any in here, you may know about a third. Give it 6 months to a year, and then you will know a lot more who get picked up by radio stations. So, in a way, it lets you see what’s up and coming before they crest. I like that. There are also bands that will never make it there, and they are just as cool to check out. Along with talking about each album, the magazine includes a “sounds like” list to each cd. That is cool too because then you can check out those bands if you like the way one or the other sounds. This magazine has deepened my musical ear, and I enjoy it a lot.

Blender (Subscription)
CMJ doesn’t really dip into the mainstream all that much, and I have found that Blender totally absorbs that field better than any other magazine. Blender talks about the stuff I want to hear about in this aspect, so I like it in that way. However, if you want to know anything else, you definitely need CMJ.

PC World
I’m not that great when it comes to computers. I play a few games, use Word, listen to music…surf the net…that’s about my extent. I’m constantly teaching myself how to take things off the toolbar and clean up loose fragments. I don’t have a subscription to this magazine, but we tend to see almost monthly issues. So, I usually absorb informative bits and blog them for my own use really. They have a great section appropriately titled, “Clip & Save” which discusses all kinds of excellent tips depending on topic. For the most part I hit up the sections “Up Front,” “News & Trends,” “Bugs & Fixes,” “Here’s How-Window Tips, Internet Tips, Hardware Tips, Photo Tips, and Answer Line,” and skim the rest of the for golden nuggets. If we weren’t getting this magazine, I would consider it, but it would be at the bottom of my list (meaning, I would only get it if I could, but all others first).

Seattle Times (Subscription)
Stroke of luck in living situation…I am able to receive a four month full subscription for 20 bucks. That beats the weekday 50 cent price. I grew up with this newspaper, and I like it. If I were to get any other paper, I would like Washington Post, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal just for its front page. However, that’s a lot of reading, and so, ultimately I am very very happy to have the Seattle Times.

Wish List: Popular Mechanics, Advertising Age.
Magazines often available at work: Business Week, Entertainment Weekly, Fader, Fast Company, Filter (sometimes contains a good music compilation), Fortune, Inside TV, Kiplinger's, Money, Newsweek, Outburn, Premier, Psychology Today, Res (sometimes contains compilation cd), Revolver, Rolling Stones, Scratch, Spin, Time, TV Guide, Vibe, Vice (sometimes contains compilation cd), Wired