Recent Magazine Reading
Posted on 25 March 2008 by Gary Karbon
Here are some of the stuff I'm reading these days:
Conde Nast Portfolio (April 2008 issue) is fast becoming one of my favorite magazines due to the unique behind-the-scenes angle with which it covers the world of business. In this issue the cover story focuses on the continuing sexism in corporate America. Also notable is the story of an Iraqi good-guy judge who is now hiding in Northern Virginia and spending his days wondering among the isles of his neighborhood Target store. "The Art of Steal" tells how a famous art collector stiffed the rich and famous for many millions of dollars.
Believer's March/April 2008 issue is devoted to the world of Movies. I agree with Devin McKinney that Henry Fonda should have starred in Vertigo instead of Jimmy Stewart. A painstakingly detailed breakdown of an indy flick's $17,973,029 budget is one you'll never find anywhere else. The conversation between Werner Herzog and Errol Morris is not to be missed. Did I mention that this issue also comes with its own DVD?
Zoetrope: All-Story (Spring 2008) designed by Mike Mills is again another collector's issue. "Choice," the new story by Ha Jin uplifts us with its human touch while inspiring with its meticulous prose. Aspiring short story writers would do well study this story with pen and paper in hand.
Wired (April 2008 issue) does a marvelous job of exposing Apple's controversial business practices in the cover story titled "Evil Genius." Sub-title: "How Apple got everything right by doing everything wrong." Can't be said better. I also loved the pictorial essay depicting the exact physical locations where great scientific and technological ideas were conceived.
New Yorker (Mar. 24, 2008) presents a thoughtful "Annals of War" expose of Army Specialist Sabrina Harman who became famous for her cheerful thumbs-up photos taken with the dead and living-dead at Abu Ghraib. David Sedaris takes the cake with his philosophical foray into the "pitfalls of animal passion." The critical story on "Oprah's Big Give" is tough but fair.
The Vintage Mencken, compiled by Alistair Cooke, Vintage Books, New York, 1956. An authoritative collection of essays by the incorrigible sage of Baltimore. Read to learn how it felt to live in Baltimore of the 1880s (flies and insects were a big problem), how ugly Pittsburgh was (according to the author), his no holds barred take on Anglo Saxons, and much more.
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