Recently in Magazines Category

My partner in crime, "Mr. H", just returned from a wild adventure in the trenches of glittery Hollywood. Lucky for me, he brought gifts back with him. Here are some new additions to our cabinet of curiosities courtesy of the always awesome LA stores, Time Travel Mart, Family and Ooga Booga.

A vintage book:

Mono Kultur magazine featuring Miranda July:

Back of Mono Kultur:

A book Jen recommended:

Here and There magazine:

Cosmic Wonder Free Press:

And some vinyl for the ol' collection:

Ah, The Sads. So fantastic!

This album from The Sads is designed by Mike Mills:

I plan to sit cross-legged on the floor to feed my brain and ears with these West Coast delights. Mr. H may have gone on an intergalactic flashbulb ride with James Bond and Princess Leia's mom, but I'm gonna come out of the sticks with new tunes to hum and new quotes to strum.

"Glad you're back. Next time, I'm a comin'."

R.I.P. Domino magazine

First they killed Sassy. Then Jane. Then there were the random assassinations of Budget Living and Blueprint. Now? Domino magazine was just given last rites. What is going ON here, Magazine Industry? Please don't say it's "the economic market." I just feel like you're not giving the right publications a chance in the right way. Wake up and smell the Dawn of Dot Com.

Let's think about this for a minute. There are no shelter magazines for the younger demographic (see above for all of the ones killed off). Yes, there's the DIY ReadyMade magazine, but that's more craft oriented. House Beautiful and Elle Decor are geared towards an older demographic (and, frankly, those with more money). Domino spoke to those of us on a budget while still appealing to the high-end reader. More than any of the other shelter mags (with the exception of the UK pubs Elle Decoration and Living Etc.), it focused on providing inspiring ideas to a wide audience and actually looked like it was having fun while doing it.

[Side note: Why are all of the fun magazines the ones that get shut down?]

Isn't the Domino demographic the very one making home decor and interior design blogs a big deal right now? If you want to cut costs, then go digital like Missbehave magazine just did. They have the right idea! With fantastic home decor blogs like Design*Sponge, Apartment Therapy, and The Selby becoming daily reads for many of us, why not capitalize on THAT and go digital? Why not strike up partnerships with other blogs and help each other out? Why not make more well-known bloggers writers for your corporate-backed website? Perhaps bring already strong blog readerships to your already strong print readership? This sounds like common sense to me, and in this "economic market" it will help the staffers of Domino retain their jobs while also bringing your company to the forefront of the rapidly advancing onset of an online media age.

Face it: digital media is the direction we're moving in. PERIOD. Why not get ahead of the curve and start focusing more energy on that? You can get all of your fancy ads on a website easily. Better yet, you can rotate them at a faster rate (Style.com seems to do this effectively and it's a popular website already stabled in your coterie). I just don't think killing a publication that brings joy to so many readers, especially in these depressing times, is the answer. I think changing the way you think is.

That is all. I'm really upset.

I have long been a fan of Francis Ford Coppola's fiction and design magazine, Zoetrope All-Story. Chock full of some of the best short stories you'll ever read, this magazine is the perfect companion for morning subway commuting or downtime on the couch some winsome evening. Heck, it's fantastic company any time of the day (like right now with a biscuit and some tea)! Check out this month's issue featuring a new short story from the exceptional writer/director/performer/all-around-genius Miranda July. And if you live in New York, go get on the waiting list for one of Miss Miranda's rare performances this week at The Kitchen.