Aurorean

I've read many issues of The Aurorean, and it's always been a pleasure. The editor has a knack for choosing thoughtful, evocative, interesting, and accessible poems for her magazine. I'm not a poet (and I know it), but I always enjoy Ms. Brackett-Vincent's selections.

Uu World

Well-written, warm, and often thought-provoking and inspiring, this magazine will appeal not only to Unitarian Universalists but also to the liberally religious in general, whatever their denominational affiliation (or lack thereof). The topics covered by the magazine range broadly, from same-sex marriage to a new spiritual vision of evolution (the "Great Story" articulated by Brian Swimme etal) to the importance of reverence for the natural world to the practical power of love.

Officiel 1000 Modeles

This is a valuable investment.

I would never loan one to a friend, throw an issue out ,or cut it up. The first year I ordered the subscription from Amazon and was irked to go to the news stand and see an issue I didn't get. A full years subscription (I had to order directly from the publisher) sends you issues for all of the collections: men's and women's wear, couture; and accessories right off the runways from around the world.

I have been in the clothing business for over 20 years. This magazine is well worth the price and ends up being a little lower than buying them off the news stand (where not every issue gets ordered).

Not everything can be found on the internet when a collection gets older, so I have a shelf of back issues (full of post-it's) for great inspiration and problem solving.

If your business is fashion or you're passion is high style I highly suggest this magazine.

No fashionista should be without this magazine. Fresh from the catwalk, gives one a first look!

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Chile Pepper

CHILE PEPPER is one of the more interesting cooking magazines out there. The recipes tend to emphasize Cajun, Creole, and Carribean styles. Not all of the recipes include chile peppers or have a great deal of heat, but most recipes would likely appeal to chileheads. Having grown up in the Southwest, I love these types of recipes and have made several with excellent results. The stories are also interesting, focusing on restaurants and manufacturers involved in the chile pepper businesss, such as the folks at Tabasco. There are also many stories on various hot sauces. Recommended for people looking for something a little different or who like Lousiana or hot foods.

This is THE magazine for those who like it hot.

While there is plenty of coverage of the so-hot-it-will-burn-your-face-off items, the bulk of the magazine covers mouth watering cooking that will be sure to please at any level of heat. Each issue includes about 50-75 recipes, all of which are high quality, useful, and practical. A recipe index in the front of the magazine lists all the recipes by category.

Chili Pepper is printed on glossy paper and contains loads of beautiful photographs. In fact, the ads are also exceptionally beautiful and colorful, and in no way detract from the overall aesthetics of the magazine. Hot sauces, salsa, powders, kitchen gadgets, pepper plants, and a host of other things can be found in the ads.

This is a great gift for those who like to spice it up!

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This is one of the most fun food magazines I have ever come across. It has plenty of good recipes that are relatively accessible to the average cook, but it also has lots of articles that are both informative & entertaining.

The primary focus (of course) is on hot and spicy foods, but it also concentrates on any number of regional cuisines that are not necessarily scorching hot. A issue highlighting salsas, for example, will have a fair number of high-Scoville recipes, but will also include flavorful salsas that are intended to enhance a main course rather bring beads of sweat to your forehead. A neophyte will better understand that a salsa isn't necessarily a hot sauce but actually covers a much wider spectrum. The same would apply to their issues on barbeque as well as cuisines from Mexico, Thailand & India, among others.

If you want to know how to grow peppers, you will also find this magazine informative, as it addresses many different aspects of pepper horticulture. There is also plenty of information on the frighteningly extensive array of hot sauces that are commercially available. If you come from a region where it isn't easy to grow your own peppers, finding a resource for peppers is important, and this magazine definitely helps.

Even if you aren't a pepper-head, there is plenty within this magazine that you will find useful.

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I've subscribed to this mag since it started--when it was called "Chili Pepper" in the early/mid nineties. I've noticed recently that delivery has been a little erratic, so I used a little google-fu and found out that not only has their website been down for months (I had already noticed that),they sold the food convention,they are not paying their writers, nor returning calls from subscribers. I fear that this one is also going down the path to its demise, if it hasn't already. This was always one of my favorite magazines. Just a heads up to fellow chile heads.

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This is a very good magazine, I have been getting it since 1988 and has improved 100% since the early days of this publication! Well written, great pictures of food! They travel all around the world bringing new and exciting food's that we do not have here in America! You will be very pleased!

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Scientific American (1-year auto-renewal)

Scientific American was once a great magazine, but now it is just a good magazine. I read Scientific American as a teenager in the 80's, I read it as a student and as an engineer in the 90's and I am still reading Scientific American and subscribing to it. Even today I enjoy reading Scientific American very much, but I am not pleased with the fact that the depth of the articles has decreased.

In the olden days the writers for Scientific American were not afraid of putting mathematical formulas, algorithms, in depth analysis, and statistics as well as references to research articles in their articles. Today's Scientific American is not written by scientists, but by journalists and free lancers.

It used to be that scientists and engineers interested in fields outside their own areas of expertise were the magazine's target audience. Now, however, Scientific American is aimed at general readers who are interested in science. Scientific American is now looking more like Discover magazine. In my opinion Discover magazine and Scientific American should complement each other (in depth reading vs. light reading) and not be so similar.

Another wrong turn that they have taken is that they have become slightly political with a noticeable left-wing agenda. For example, the attack on Björn Lomborg should never have occurred and would have been unthinkable 15 years ago. Scientific American should be apolitical in my opinion. I understand that these changes were made for business reasons.

However, the illustrations are great, the topics are varied and include, for example, medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, cosmology, artificial intelligence, economics, geology, archeology, and social science. I am interested in all of these subjects, but I enjoy reading about physics, cosmology and artificial intelligence the most. I always find something interesting to read in Scientific American. I highly recommend Scientific American even though I would like them to take one step back with regards to the depth of the content.

UPDATE an hour after I wrote the following review I checked out American Scientist magazine I am now a proud subscriber. AmSci is everything that SciAm used to be! I'll keep my SciAm subscription for another year, and then will probably drop SciAm.

I'm so frustrated with Sci Am I could scream. I've been a subscriber since 1975; I have all the back issues lovingly stored in expensive magazine cases. I used to look forward to each new issue with excited, joyful anticipation. Now I dread the arrival of each pitiful rag. The only reason I have not dropped my subscription is the fading hope that they will fire most of the editorial board, starting with DiChristina, who is doing her best to morph SciAm into a Frankenstein's Monster of Popular Science (she used to be the editor of PopSci).

The "new" format is just another step down the long road to failure. The glued-binding keeps the magazine from sitting flat on a table, and if a page is torn there is no easy way to repair it.

It is distressingly skinny, a mere 82-96 pages per issue. When I complain about this, the response is that paper and ink are so, so terribly expensive but if that is the problem, why do they squander page after page with either full-color pictures and graphics that add nothing to the content, or even worse, waste almost all of a page with nothing at all no text, no images? Can't they afford to pay for a few thousand more words to fill the empty space? Here's a list of the wasted pages in the January 2011 issue: 34,35,40,41,46,47,half of 52, 53,58,65,half of 69,72,78, half of 79 and half of 88! This represents nearly 20% of the pages available for non-advertising content!

The layout has moved some of the few remaining decent features such as "50,100 & 150 Years Ago" to the back of the magazine. Even worse, the middle now has "feature articles" that are only two or three pages and a few hundred words long (because they are mostly whitespace or useless photos).

In the current issue, only two "full length" articles are written by actual research scientists the rest of the fluff is penned by "science writers" from failing institutions such as the New York Times or grad students! Issue after issue goes by without a single equation appearing anywhere (except in ads for software)

Even the few decent articles, written by real scientists have been shortened to 6 pages or less, and the quality of the writing has deteriorated. Even as recently as 2004 I would LEARN things when I read Sci Am; now I am teased, confused and forced to research on the web to figure out what the author was trying to express, or (even worse) spending time scribbling corrections in the margins.

Long gone are former delights such as "Mathematical Games" or the "Amateur Scientist"

The content is consistently, disturbingly political, and always slanted to the left. I'm no right-winger, but anyone with a shred of objectivity can see the blatant bias that permeates the magazine. Essay after essay bemoaning human-caused climate change by hacks that can't do simple math that would tell them that if every one of the fruitless carbon-saving recommendations were adopted, the reduction in greenhouse gases would amount to an insignificant fraction of the total atmospheric mass of same. Every point in the "Political Wish List" on page 12 is stupid and just plain incorrect ignoring for the moment the idiocy of even having a page devoted to a "Political Wish List" in a magazine purportedly devoted to science!

Even in the esoteric realm of theoretical physics, you will no longer find any essay that does not toe the "superstrings or the highway" mindset.

I'm not sure if circulation has increased since the dumbing-down started, and I really don't care. If it has gone up, it just means that I have nothing in common with the new subscriber base.

I'm genuinely freaked-out and at a loss. I don't want to see a gap in my unbroken swath of issues, but it galls me every time I write a check and send it to this bunch of losers. Perhaps I should just go to Walmart and snap hi-res photos of every page of every new issue, print and bind them, and wait until I see the problems have been corrected before sending them any more of my hard-earned money!

Disgusted,

Steve Crye

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Yes, I'm one of those who sadly dropped my subscription over a decade ago, when the magazine abandoned content written by scientists in favour of populist journalism written by staff.

Before that, I had been a faithful subscriber and enthusiastic reader since the early 1970s.

I now subscribe to American Scientist. I'm not a scientist, but I like my updates on science to be dinkum, as we say in Australia.

**********

That's what I wrote back in 2007, and I still think it was true then.

But emboldened by comments on my review, I bought the December 2012 edition to see if I still think it's true now. I don't. While I wasn't watching, someone has picked up my one-time favourite magazine out of the gutter of glib populism, and given it status again.

Welcome back, Sci Am!

The letters pages once again debate and enlarge topics from past articles. The prose has stopped trying to be cute and undemanding, and is again written to inform and lead the mind. The tone has returned to literate adult discourse. Content is written by real scientists, and by journalists who know science and like it. The investigative piece on pharmacology research and big pharma pulls no punches.

Boy, what a relief!

One small point: my airport copy cost AUD$15.95, stickered over a cover price of USD$5.99. With the two currencies hovering within a bull's roar of parity, that looks like an opportunity for a parallel importer.

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Witnessing the editorial deterioration of Scientific American over the years has been a sad disappointment. I began to read SA in my high school library nearly fifty years ago. From the 60's through the 80s' it was a serious and dignified journal with explanations by major scientists of their own work. The Amateur Scientist and Mathematical Recreations columns had many devotees. In these years many who chose careers in science credited SA as an inspiration. Apparently it was not considered cool or profitable enough by its publishers however; sometime in the 90's SA was taken over by a new crowd, the articles now written by journalists, and it became strongly politicized, with a shrill liberal agenda. They turned away from hard science and devoted more pages to psychology and social issues, often with a clear bias attached. Many of the columnists were no longer significant thinkers but just some cronies of the editor borderline cranks whose monthly "thoughts" are not worth the paper. Steve Mirsky, the "humorist," is simply a waste of a page and Michael Shermer has nothing new to say. (Jeff Sachs however is an exception he is a genuine leader in international development.)

There has also been an ongoing obsession with the evolution / creationist debate, not bringing any new scientific insights as a leading science magazine could and should have done, just elitist religion-bashing and constant ridicule of the "stupid" creationists. Embarrassing even to non-religious readers. Even the art direction is wacky, highly impressionistic (people with blue heads and swoopy arcs in outer space seem to be used for ALL subjects) and of no value for illustrating the content.

During most of this phase the editor was John Rennie, a mediocre mind who had no business leading such an important institution. He guided Scientific American down a soft path which dissipated fifty years of prestige. Very sad. Recently his understudy Mariette DiChristina has taken over. She also is a journalist rather than an intellectual leader with a personal grasp of the vastness of modern science. None of these people are PhDs. The advisory board of famous scientists seems to be only for show; I am surprised they allow their names to be used as the magazine slides downhill.

The bottom point so far has been the September, 2009 issue where the magazine's hack staff (not a panel of real scientists) took it upon themselves to choose the greatest "origins" in the history of the universe. Among their choices; Scotch tape, the vibrator (female sex toy), the paper clip, intermittent windshield wipers, and cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes. The venerable Scientific American, continuously published for 160 years, chose the paper clip and the cupcake as two of the most important innovations of all time. What a pack of idiots. This is what happens when Nobel Prize winners are replaced by Steve Mirsky.

It didn't have to be like that. Magazines like Smithsonian and National Geographic have maintained their identity and high editorial standards consistently, decade after decade, while SA has lost it. During a period where science itself has exploded on every front, Scientific American has been surpassed by many other sources in print and on the Web. HowStuffWorks attracts ten times the readership of the SA website, likewise Discovery. Popular Science has become much more sophisticated in recent years. Wired News is brilliant. PhysOrg is an excellent way to keep up across the sciences. The Web pages of Science and Nature highlight recent discoveries. Physical Review Focus interprets recent developments for students and non-experts, and does a very good job.

After forty years of subscribing, I will not renew. Others who may not be renewing include your local library or university after being taken over recently by the Nature Group, the most aggressively profit hungry of the academic publishers, Scientific American announced they were raising their subscription price to libraries by a factor of 10X as if they were a major archival research journal rather than a pop-science disposable like Psychology Today. Good strategy folks piddling away the uniqueness of your franchise while arrogantly raising the price.

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I've subscribed to this magazine for around 15 years now, and I have always loved it. There is a great variety of science and technology subjects covered and the articles have always seemed to have the right level of technical detail for me.

Unfortunately this magazine has changed over the past year or two. The past six months have been so bad that I'm finally throwing in the towel and cancelling my subscription and looking for a replacement. Every issue now contains a steady dose of environmentalism that often only vaguely resembles science and could be better described as sensationalism. I've also noticed a recent trend of religion bashing, with the underlying message being that anyone who believes in God must be an ignorant rube.

It is really a shame because before this trend it was an excellent, un-biased magazine that was pretty much a perfect fit for me. Had I written this review a couple years ago I would have certainly given it 5 stars. Maybe in a couple years I'll check and see if they've gotten it back on track and removed much of the bias. This magazine has been around for over 150 years, so I suspect they are adept at change.

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Revolver (1-year)

Okay, so my title would probably scare off the Heavy Metal purists...but if you opted to actually pick up a copy, you'd realize it does the scene some justice. Revolver covers all aspects of rock music including it's sub-genres(Heavy/Black/Thrash/Death Metal as well as Punk,Pop Rock(i said unbiased,remember?) and everything in between. Advice colums; mostly high school-aged kids seeking guidance on what to do about being picked on for how they dress or sappy love advice; and yes, even a 'who's wearing what and what their getting inked' articles fill the pages between Band news and album reviews-Every copy comes with a free pull-out poster usually with the Cover artist(s) on it. Want to hear about the return of Bad Brains? Gorgoroth's chuch-burning high jinks? or a review of a recent Black Dahlia Murder concert? Well look no further and pick up a copy today.

I like Revolver, Revolver is one of my favorite Magazines. I've been reading Revolver for five years now, and I've seen a lot of changes in Revolver since then. The Magazine is about 100 pages, and is bi monthly, it comes out 6 times a year. I wish that Revolver could have 50 more pages, with more interviews, and music reviews. Overall I'm happy that Revolver still stands as a publication after ten years, because the Magazine is great. Many Magazines have come, and gone the last few years, I just hope Revolver will be around forever.

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If you're into metal music then this magazine is for you...they give TRUE reviews (not like Rolling Stone). All the articles in this magazine are interesting and from different points of view. They do musician meets musician articles where they interview 2 different musicians from 2 different bands that is very interesting. They do articles about album art. They go to the past and pull up history from the older bands of metal. I LOVE THIS MAGAZINE!

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I have been an uber-loyal reader of Revolver for well over 6 years now. They cover all of the sub-genres of Rock, and Metal, and even some of the Emo-style poopy (not a fan, can ya tell?). They do have some cheesy articles, like how to dress like so-and-so, but I do like the page that showcases a musician and shows a few tattoos and talks about them. Vinny Paul (pantera, damageplan, etc..) and Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) both have thier "advice" columns. I have been turned on to new bands through Revolver, since 90% of what I like is not regular radio airplay (oh how I want sirius). I love -LOVEthe yearly "Hottest Chicks in Metal" issue, which they have now added a page for the monthly hottest chick in metal. If ya love metal, finding out new artists, and love hot chicks this is for you! Oh, and did I mention I'm a married 30 year old mother of 2 toddlers? Yea, this mag is for all into Rock and Metal!

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I am still waiting for the first issue. I bought in January, and it says I am not getting anything till May.

That is plain ridiculous. Should say that from the beginning.

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The Economist (1-year auto-renewal)

Reading The Economist is a very different experience from that of reading the "big three"-Time, Newsweek, and US News-for two reasons.

First, it's a British publication, written in a very British manner. It's tone can vary from flatly dry to dryly ironic to jarringly blunt. There's nothing here that one can call politically correct; the authors and editors call 'em as they see 'em.

Second, it's a serious news magazine. Each issue is packed with stories about current affairs, politics, economics, and business. There are also book and movie reviews. However, there is almost no pop culture news and absolutely none of the celebrity gossip that has begun to corrupt the "big three."

It's important to understand that reading The Economist takes some commitment of time and effort, probably at least two or three hours an issue. Every article is deeply analytical, and many stories are revisited weekly for updates. This is a NEWS magazine, not a news MAGAZINE, if that makes sense.

The issue of political bias always arises with the media. The Economist takes definite stands on nearly every issue, and those editorial stands are clearly stated and defended. However, it is at the same time scrupulously fair and balanced. That's quite a trick, but the staff pulls it off week after week.

So, if you're ready and willing to spend some time reading thoughtful, thought-provoking, in-depth analysis of the news of the world, you won't find a better news magazine than The Economist.

(You might want to buy a copy on a magazine rack somewhere and check the subscription offers on the insert cards. They're almost certain to be better than the Amazon price.)

Bill Gates once said in an interview that he reads every page of The Economist. It's no coincidence that so do a lot of other smart and influential political, business, academic and media leaders throughout the world. If you want to know everything about everything, you need to start reading this on a weekly basis.

The Economist's tightly argued and balanced expository pieces illuminate realm after realm of the world's politics, history, economics, business, finance, books, arts, science and technology. Its often lighthearted, wry tone does nothing to conceal its serious purpose and curiousity in the progression of human events.

The magazine pulls no punches and offers a range of sharp, unsentimental opinions from its well-known free market, liberal democratic perch. I myself don't often agree with The Economist's take on things (though I even more often do--there's a lot of stuff in every issue). Nonetheless, I always respect its reasoning and objectivity.

Also, regular extensive readers like Mr. Gates know well and have almost come to depend upon the magazine's more tangibly personal benefits: imagine what the absorption and consideration of so much incisive argumentation and news background on a weekly basis does to the mind! At the risk of sounding a bit far-fetched, I always feel sharper and wiser when I've been reading The Economist.

I apologize for the effusiveness of this review, but if you can't tell by now, I can't say enough great things about this magazine. Highly recommended.

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I subscribed to The Economist over a year ago after having found myself purchasing copies at some six dollars per pop at local bookstores. The price for a magazine subscription was higher than I would normally pay (some two dollars per copy was the best rate I could locate). But the in-store issues I had purchased were just so good that I found myself returning every week for the next copy, and that was turning out to be TRULY expensive. So, I made the plunge for a subscription to try it out.

I was not disappointed. The Economist has turned out for me to be without doubt one of the best magazines to which I've ever subscribed. The publication reads more like a detailed world briefing than a magazine, and its coverage of events from around the world is impressive in nearly every respect. I find that a weekly perusal of the magazine has broadened my horizons immeasurably, allowing me to learn about important people, events, and issues both within and outside the North American context. It is a publication that I look forward to reading each week, and it has shown me how very little "news" one gets by simply sitting down in front of the television (which has a significant portion of its time dedicated to running inane commercials, and the rest a playing of little "news reports" that are cycled endlessly, even over days) and assuming that what one is receiving is the sum of the news for the day. (It isn't.)

The Economist breaks up its print edition each week into geographical regions (The United States, the Americas, Europe, The Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Britain) and other topical categories (International, Business, Finance and Economics, Science and Technology, Books and Arts, Obituary, and Economic and Financial Indicators). There are also the regular weekly repeating columns, such as "The World this Week" (a summary digest of the world's news in short paragraphs). Opinion pieces each week include Charlemagne (covering issues within the European Union), Bagehot (covering Britain), Lexington (covering the United States), and Buttonwood (covering financial issues), in addition to current issues of interest (recent issues focused on Sarkozy's bid for the French Presidency, and The Economist openly supported Sarkozy, even printing one issue with Sarkozy in the place of the famous Napoleon portrait by David). In addition, the magazine regularly publishes "special features," insets to the magazine, typically some 15 pages in length, covering either a specific region of the world, a city, or a financial issue. Many of these special features are also available as individual reprints for educational use.

Most articles in The Economist are just the right length to make sitting down with the issue for half an hour a day the perfect schedule for working through the magazine in time for the next weekly issue to arrive. A web-based edition of the magazine, complete with a searchable index of articles that have appeared in the magazine over the years in addition to the current issue, is available free to all print subscribers (one must use the customer number from the print edition to create the free online account). This is a perfect magazine for daily reading.

In a day and age when publications seem to be getting dumbed-down by the minute, The Economist is a place where one can find a comprehensive review and digest of news from around the world. We don't have to agree with all the perspectives the magazine takes, but we can certainly benefit from the outstanding coverage the publication provides. Reading it each week becomes an education in itself, and due to its wide-ranging scope, I now realize that purchasing my own subscription was a truly "economical" thing to do.

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The Economist is a British weekly news and international affairs magazine which contains high quality articles on current affairs, economy, business, and some science and technology. It contains articles that cover many countries and regions of the world. The articles are often analytical in nature and do not reflect any obvious political bias despite the fact that the economist takes an argued editorial stance based on classical liberalism. The target readership is educated people in general (not just economists or business people).

The Economist also contains interesting financial data and statistics of various kinds. The economic and financial indicators are published at the end of the magazine in every issue. The statistics is often used to compare countries, economically, politically, socially, and in other respects, which is something I am personally interested in. The magazine is sold extensively in both Europe and North America. Some people in Europe consider the Economist to be "conservative" and some people in North America consider it "secular humanist". In my opinion both viewpoints are more or less correct. I used to read Newsweek, Time and the U.S. News, and I still do sometimes, however, the Economist is a more interesting magazine that is still easily accessible. Reading the Economist is for me, one of the best ways to relax.

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The best place to get this magazine is through your airlines mileage program. Delta Skymiles program offers 51 issues (1 year subscription) for only 3,200 miles, which is less than $50 no matter how you calculate the value of miles. It is even cheaper than the student discount offered by the Economist.

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Wired (1-year auto-renewal)

This magazine was really good over 10 years ago, was thick and filled with awesome articles. I find these days it is filled with tons of ads, and not many core computer science type articles. Some of the articles are too futuristic and filled with all pop terms/buzz words and not much substance. I like a simple, powerful technological type magazine. Nevertheless, it is one of those magazines that cater to a tech crows. I like MIT Technology review far better than this magazine.

I subscribe to only 1 magazine: Wired. I am an older female, not the typical demographic, and although I have always loved techy stuff, Wired goes far beyond that to cover an amazingly wide array of topics. The articles are in-depth and educational. Even though some terminology and subjects (like gaming) are beyond my interests, I find myself reading every issue cover-to-cover.

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Given that you can get any and all information from the web and in real time I have dumped all my magazines or switched to digital versions. Wired is the one I can not let go of. For anyone why loves technology this is the newsweek equivalent. It is packed with great articles.

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The only thing I would really like Wired to improve is their access to the digital version. I've been a happy subscriber for years, which means I can access the digital version as well as the print that is delivered to my house. Problem is, I don't own an iPad or a Nook; since I have a Nexus 7 I appear to be out of luck. This just doesn't seem right and I hope they resolve it very soon.

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I have to say that I get my copy of Wired for free. It is simply not worth subscribing to.

Why? The writers either fawn excessively over some product or person or they are so naive that they believe anything a celebrity/writer/etc tells them. You could sell them just about any story as real even if it was about aliens in Roswell. I have never encountered a magazine that continually passes off truths based on total hearsay. Ex; the story about Facebook and the movie was ludicrous to say the least.

On the other hand, Wired usually have at least one interesting article in each magazine. As such if you can get a subscription cheap enough, it might be worth it.

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Architectural Digest (1-year auto-renewal)

'Architectural Digest' has changed over the years to become fussier and more lifestyle oriented than substantial architecture and design commentary. I still have a subscription, but intend to allow it to lapse when it expires for three primary reasons:

1) The magazine is huge and cumbersome, largely due to the massive quantity of advertisements;

2) The magazine exclusively highlights gazillion dollar homes, that only are a factor for celebrities;

3) Stylistically, the magazine seems stuck in a rut of cluttered end tables and credenzas, overstuffed pillows, and no space on a wall unoccupied by a huge, gold, gilded framed picture from eighteenth century France.

I don't like clutter, and I don't like being ornate to make a house look rich. That's why I no longer think this is a magazine that I really need. For me I will read 'Architecture' for serious architectural commentary, and 'Dwell' for reasonable (and financially attainable) interior design commentary. Thanks, but no thanks.

Architectural Digest is not an "architecture" magazine as many people believe it is. It began as an architecture magazine, but slowly became known for its coverage of building interiors that consumers wanted to see. This is true today, as the cover article is generally the about the interior of a famed actor, politician, designer, or artist's home. These articles are remniscent of a paper version of MTV's show "Cribs." While the articles about the interiors dominate, an accompanying photograph of the exterior tags along when appropriate. The articles discuss the ideas, sources, materials and inspiration behind the designs pictured. Each magazine generally has about one dozen such articles plus features.

The magazine caters to the needs of interior designers and those who can, or wish they could hire them. The magazine does not promote or favor either traditional or modern design.

AD (as it calls itself) is full of advertisements. Some people may find this irritating, but for a designer, decorator, or client searching for inspiration or sources this information is equally valuable as the articles and features. Ads are just as telling of where the industry is going and where it has been as any picture or text.

If you subscribe, do it because you know and want what AD is. It is expensive, thick, and very useful if you are interested with the cutting edge of interior design. Do not get it to learn more about architecture or for the quality or readability of its text. Pictures and advertisements are the game with AD.If you are still unsure, pick up one at the newsstand and check it out before you buy 12 issues most issues are like the others and "special" issues are frequent but not really that different from the norm.

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I used to love Architectural Digest. I got to admire and be inspired by incredible homes, and I couldn't wait to get my issue every month.

However, lately, I have seen less Architecture than Interior Design, and more ads than ever. I've even let my subscription lapse. Every now and again, I'll pick it up on the magazine rack, but only if the issue is architecture heavy, or covers a particularly interesting project in depth.

Architectural Digest used to be the pinnacle in the field, but now it is just a mixed bag.

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In summary, this magazine portrays houses that you can't possibly ever hope to own in an "airbrushed" presentation that can't possibly match real life; it is "house pornography". It is exciting to read and puts plenty of ideas into your head.

You have to determine whether repeated exposure to this type of media will enhance your life or make you miserable. Hey, if you have a spare million dollars and need someone to tell you what is fashionable or in good taste--this is for you!

People complain about the ads--I complain about the articles. People get in the way. I note that none of the owners of these showpiece homes have children--most are living alternative lifestyles. Actually, the house becomes the product of the relationship instead of children. It is a fascinating cultural phenomenon and this magazine is the leading journal of the movement.

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AD has lost its edge over the years as it has become more focused on life style rather than interior design (witness the extensive sections dedicated to world hotels and properties for sale, or look at the breezy, non-substantive "Letters to the Editor" to get an idea that AD is not taken seriously by designers).

Still, AD usually presents one designer, or two, whose work is inspiring, and it's Special Editions ("before and after," or "designers' own homes") usually make up for some disappointing months.

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Mojo

Music, music, music. That's what "Mojo" is about, and ALL it's about. If you're looking for info on pop stars' latest paramours, or rants about the government, look elsewhere. This magazine is a sleek, polished, well-informed music magazine that focuses on the core of what people listen to.

"Mojo" covers all the bases with information about rock (present and classic), country, R&B, alternative, punk, and a speckling of other types. In-depth, professional articles -at least one big one, and a number of smaller ones, interviews and analysis alike. Not to mention, of course, the wealth of reviews and concert reports.

Unlike many music magazines, "Mojo" focuses both on the past and present. Present: Norah Jones, Outkast, Ryan Adams, Flaming Lips, Strokes and David Bowie. Past: Led Zeppelin, Elvis, Ramones, the Beatles (naturally!), Pink Floyd, Nirvana, and so forth. They also take a hard look at up-and-coming new bands and performers, without letting hype get in the way. They balance out respect for rock's illustrious past, while acknowledging the worth of new bands and music.

As an extra bonus, nearly every issue of "Mojo" comes with a CD firmly attached to it. For example, one was a collection of classic blues songs that have since been covered by everybody from Jimi Hendrix to Aerosmith to the White Stripes. It's the icing on a cake that is already sweet on its own.

"Mojo" is music-lover's Bible. One thing it isn't: it's not people who love trends and celebrity. It's a solid, ultra-informative collection of info about every kind of good music under the sun. A winner.

If you are a fan of a certain genre of music,be it mainstream pop, punk or hip-hop, there are at least a few magazines to cater to your taste. The rarity is a magazine that caters to the all-around pop music fanatic, and Mojo Magazine tops that obscure list.

This is a pricey publication, but well worth the money. Since discovering the magazine several years ago, I have been amazed at the diversity in the cover features alone: The Beatles, ABBA, Frank Zappa, Kate Bush, The White Stripes, Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, Madonna... there is something for everybody's taste, and plenty for people with a wide range of musical taste.

Cover features inside, I am always amazed at the space they give to performers and/or bands that have a small cult following. I especially enjoyed the piece they did on The Incredible String Band several years back. As they usually do when covering a group's history, the Mojo writers do not shy away from the friction and low points involved in the band's career. No tabloid trash-talking or finger pointing, just good solid journalism; showing the strengths that makes an icon's popularity endure, and the bumps in the road that ended the ride.

The reviews of CDs are plenty, and I often find myself discovering something new to add to my collection. You'll find reviews of pop, punk, folk, blues, country, classic rock, you name it! I also find the reviewers to be a lot more open minded when reviewing albums, which is a welcome holiday from the plethora of snobbish music critics who go out of their way to trash good efforts.

Mojo, in my humble opinion, is top of the music mags. If you are an over all pop-culture fan like I am, and are always on the lookout for something new to add to your collection, then Mojo Magazine should be a key resource in your database!

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Hands down, Mojo is the most well-written, informed magazine concerning popular (not pop) music published today; covering rock & roll, rhythm & blues, country...I'm talking the vintage stuff. A fat wealth of information without the pandering BS and hype contained in nearly ALL comparable U.S. publications. Reviews are well-informed and referenced, interviews and articles are well-researched and do not insult the intelligence of either the reader or the subject. Ever wanna' know what went on in the studio with Alex Chilton and The Replacements? Did Johnny Cash really set a mountain on fire? Mojo usually does a couple of massive feature articles on popular and/or influential bands of the past,plus short interviews with personalities (ever wonder what Tony Blair listens to when he gets up in the morning?), a few hundred record and concert reviews, new releases, UK club dates. Makes Rolling Stone and SPIN look like the TeenBeat rags they truly are. Well worth the price. The only thing the US produces that comes close is MAGNET.

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Actually, it deserves 4.5 stars. This is a Brit magazine that offers great articles that cover classic bands' tales as much as keeping you tuned in to the latest waves of musicians, from Americana to Blues to Brit Pop. There's at least one excellent, long article per issue which will tell you more about bands you thought you knew about than any magazine published in USA (check old issues for Dylan's or Pink Floyd's, for instance).

If you are old enough to remember Rolling Stone when it concerned itself with musicians and other artists creating new boundaries for popular art, rather than catering the current, pathetic BritneySpear-NightmareMachine ... you would enjoy Mojo. Tip: you can get any single issue at B&N, Borders or Tower Records for the same amount, that way if you don't like it you won't have to mourn 100 bucks.

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If you are one whose definition of rock music is fairly elastic and whose taste in rock music is eclectic, then I recommend Mojo Magazine to you. I haven't read all magazines relating to music of course, but of those I have, Mojo does the best job covering the music scene today. Its approach is fresh and its appeal wide.

Unlike some of the other music mags around, it is one that the whole family can read and probably find something musically meaningful to each. Its writers, whose taste in music is broad, approach music without allowing personal prejudices to color their articles. They can find as much merit in a new Nick Cave CD as they do in a new Bert Bacharach effort, if the music is worthwhile and they do it without gushing. A recent issue highlighted Bob Dylan, Marianne Faithfull, and Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols each of which certainly appeal to different audiences.

The thing I like best about Mojo is that each issue comes with a CD featuring various artists doing whatever type of music that is the focus of the month's lead article. The CD really adds value and has me anticipating the next one. I never thought I'd like the Sex Pistols, but when I heard the feature CD of songs that influenced them, I understood their music a lot better.

You might get a better deal on the magazine than is offered here if you go to the bookstore, find the magazine, and look for an insert bearing a special offer. That's what I did. Whatever way you decide to try the magazine is up to you, but I'd be surprised if you didn't find it informative, enjoyable, and money well spent.

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