US Casino Magazine Blog: September 2006

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Travel Girl Magazine

Travel Girl

by Fern Siegel, Wednesday, September 27, 2006

TRAVEL GIRL TREATS THE word "girl" liberally. Cher, Diane von Furstenberg and Paula Zahn have all graced its cover. And whatever their individual achievements, no one could confuse them with adolescents. Which brings us to Travel Girl's larger point: Girl is relative. To its publisher, Renee Werbin, it taps "the young at heart." And, while it may sound a bit corny, it works.

And I don't say that lightly.

"Girl" is either reserved for those who wear size 4 and consider text messaging the equivalent of conversation, or the ladies who lunch. Travel Girl, however, sweeps the prime 25-54 pool, targeting savvy, sexy and sophisticated women. It says so in its tagline--and happily, this 5-year-old bimonthly, geared to affluent readers, delivers. That's thanks to its editor, Stephanie Oswald, who spent 13 years producing and reporting travel news for CNN. Colleagues dubbed her the "travel girl," and she parlayed a nickname into a 300,000-strong circ.

Unlike traditional travel mags, Travel Girl doesn't showcase travel pix on its cover--it relies on cutlines like "Scotland's Castles" or "St. Lucia's Serenity." Instead, its cover girl radiates lifestyle. Travel Girl is travel-plus. A theme exemplified by Danica Patrick, better known as the Princess of Speed. She is what you'd call fast. Her idea of fun is flooring a 1,800-pound, 650 horsepower racecar at 220 mph.

At 24, Patrick is the first woman to lead the Indy 500, finishing in fourth place in 2005, eighth place in 2006. In a field where machismo rules, Patrick rocks. People put her on its World's Most Beautiful list, while her professional credentials would make Nascar winners swoon. No creampuff, Patrick competes in open wheel racing--one of the toughest racing disciplines. Yes, she likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain, but after she's left the boys in the dust.

Travel Girl not only profiles Patrick but gives readers a crash course in Indy racing. Admittedly, it's not the standard where-do-celebs-like-to-party fare, but it is an education. Travel Girl, as you've surmised by now, is not your ordinary travel pub.

Patrick's interview is followed by a first-person account of a Tuscan spa, highlighting the joys of steamy baths in the thermal waters of the Dolomites. Usually, reading about someone else's relaxation aggravates me, but I'm sold on the allure. Happily, the author takes frequent side trips--be it to a Benedictine monastery or the cobblestone streets of Pienza, a gem of Renaissance architecture. I don't mind if the body melts, but I like to keep the brain active.

Happily, Travel Girl never uses the word "hot." Its focus is timeless rather than trendy, though it appreciates beauty--be it Sonoma, Calif., or the Isle of Ornsay. Each story ends with a "411," which earmarks a place or event, then lists key info. Also, the layout is clean, it doesn't have 55 points of entry, nor does it overdose on exclamation marks. Some travel mags make me dizzy. No one should have to take medication just to get through a feature on Europe's top hotels.

When Travel Girl selects a destination, it personalizes it. One contributor heard the call of Ireland and waxed poetic about the "golden gorse-covered hills." (I had to look up the word, too.) But she also discovers a "sojourn in seaweed seduction" on the Emerald Isle. That's right, the writer found the Seaweed Baths in County Sligo as well as the Broc House, a haven for Yeats fans. This is Travel Girl's forte--intimate travel, often with a holistic twist, but celebrating the total experience. Each piece tries to hit the trifecta: health, culture and exquisite landscapes, though the paean to Crested Butte, Montana, gave me pause. It's billed as a "mecca for the fit and the fearless"--of which I am neither. After all, the Unibomber considered Montana his great escape. But in fairness, you can't judge a place by its populace. Where would Washington, D.C. be?

Most impressive, at a time when magazines are either folding or competing in crowded categories, Travel Girl is expanding its newsstand distribution and its presence in Kimpton's boutique hotel chain. At heart, Travel Girl remains a personal expression of its staff, who clearly want women to enjoy the open road--though retire to a four-star at night. Nature is wonderful and culture inspiring, but who says you can't contemplate it from a king-sized bed with pleated cuff Ralph Lauren bedding?

Fern Siegel is Deputy Editor of MediaPost.

Magazine Rack for Wednesday, September 27, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm

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Monday, September 25, 2006

Magazine for Search Industry Professional

Search Marketing Standard Magazine

I haven't see too much press about this magazine. It's being distributed at some search engine marketing trade shows, but I have yet to make it to one of them. They are either too expensive, too far away (as much as I would like to see Tokyo and London again...), or I'm just too darn busy with my Internet consulting work to get away.

I've long thought that there should be a magazine for us. One that covers search engines and the industry in general. Search Marketing Standard does that pretty well, but the focus so far is really on SEM and not SEO. Oh, they do have some articles on the subject, but for someone that's been in the industry for a while they didn't offer me much.

Still, I plan on reading every copy I get. We do some PPC campaign management for clients and I expect more significant change in that area, SEM, that in SEO anyway. Here's some info from their site:

Search Marketing Standard is the first magazine that search marketers can call their own. The ever-growing demand for search marketing services and information has led to a need for a specialized magazine dedicated to make this knowledge easily accessible. Here at Search Marketing Standard weve stepped up to the challenge and set out to create the first publication for the search marketing industry.

Search Marketing Standard is devoted completely to the world of search marketing. It covers pay per click advertising, search engine optimization, web analytics, click fraud, local and contextual search, and other search-related topics. Each publication features articles and advice from leading experts in the field, interviews with the whos-who of the industry, reviews of the most popular tools and services, latest news and trends, and much more.

http://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/

(hris

Suggested keywords include search magazine, search engine magazine, marketing magazine, web marketing magazine, internet marketing magazine, sem magazine.

Free subscriptions to non-search industry magazines can be found here.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Home Electronics Survival Guide Useless In IPOD Attack

Technology Finally Made Simple, Author to Sign Books, Answer Technology Questions

Barb Gonzalez, Technology Simplification Guru will be signing her book, "The Home Electronics Survival Guide" at Frys Electronics Stores in San Francisco bay area on Sept 22 and Sept 23.

Grass Valley, CA (PRWEB) September 20, 2006 -- This week electronics consumers will get the chance to translate technology into understandable terms by asking questions of Technology Simplification Guru, Barb Gonzalez. Gonzalez will be at bay area Frys Electronics stores signing her recent book, The Home Electronics Survival Guide: the Simple Guide to buying, hooking up, and understanding your home theater, tv's, dvd's, dvr's, remote controls and more.

The author, Barb Gonzalez, will be autographing books and answering questions, Friday September 22nd at Frys Electronics in Sunnyvale located at 1077 East Arques Avenue and Saturday, September 23rd in Fremont at 43800 Osgood Road.

About "The Home Electronics Survival Guide: The book fills the need to simplify terms and technologies for consumers who continue to be baffled by todays electronics as well as the never-ending introduction of new innovations like hd-dvd, extended digital surround sound and more. Step by step brief, plain English instructions and over 300 illustrations make the book easy to follow for those of us who struggle to understand how to put together and use our tv's and components. As innovations like iptv, and convergence with our computers loom in the years to come, its important to get some of the basic concepts down so the future is less confusing.

About the Author: Barb Gonzalez is a leader in the movement to make home entertainment easier for the consumer to use and understand. As the author and illustrator of The Home Electronics Survival Guide--The simple guide to understanding, hooking up and buying tv, hdtv, dvds, Home Theater, Remote Controls and more!, she is the first to use cartoon illustrations, photographs and brief explanations to simplify technology.

Years of experience helping consumers in retail electronics, inspired Barb to write and illustrate a series of books called The Home Electronics Survival Guide. With these books, she increases the average consumers understanding of their home electronics systems. In addition to the books, Home Electronics Survival gives tips and information through the website, www.easier.tv, an e-book shopping guide, monthly tech news explained in a monthy e-zine. To further educate the public, she is a frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows and is a guest speaker to the trade. Consumers can also attend workshops, seminars/book signings at select retail stores throughout the United States.

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Press Contact: Barbara Gonzalez
Company Name: Home Electronics Survival
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 530-271-2227
Website: www.easier.tv

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

England as an Irish Legend

New Book Portrays 16th Century England as an Irish Legend

Encinitas, CA, September 19, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- D. A. Karr's new novel, "The Legend of Pendyne" portrays the Irish rebellion occurring in 16th century England as war created progress and treachery created slavery and power. The thirst for gold dominated the cultures past and legends.

The ravens feather still clutched in his hand and his own blood spilled on the English soil, Albert, the old stable master, stood in front of the empty stall. Pendyne, the last battle horse of the Crown, has been stolen. As two men and a boy embark on a personal journey to bring the last battle horse home, they must endure many hardships and fight off both pirates and the Black Guard to protect the secret of a lost royal medallion that threatens the future of the Crown in the sixteenth century that could change the world forever.

This young adult periodic fiction novel stages the clashing of progress and the challenge of the past living the future as beliefs and legends collide in what could become an epoch event.

ISBN: 1-4241-5161-9, 153 pages, Publish America, $19.95

Excerpt (Copyrighted material)

Suddenly a blast sent a shudder through the ship as the Delight fired its cannon. The approaching pirate ship sent another blast across the bow. It was dark and Master Albert leaned out the hatch door to see if Donegal had cleared the ship. He said, "I cant see him so he must be on his way."

Captain Griffith shouted orders at the sailors on the deck, "Load the cannon on the port bow, fire!" A blast from the cannon made the ship lurch and sent smoke across the deck. Pendyne reared and neighed in fright.

Master Albert ran to him and yelled to Ahren, "Make him a blindfold out of your shirt boy! We have to calm him down!"

Ahren shouted back, "Aye sir! What happens if we get boarded? What happens to Pendyne?"

Master Albert said, "Dont ye go worryin about that now. We have to get through this first! Now put that blindfold over the horses eyes so he cant see."

Another blast and shouting could be heard over the roar of the cannon. Captain Griffith shouted, "That will take care of the devil dogs for now. My cargo must be mighty interestin enough to that scallywag Lefroy to come up this way just to pick a fight! Up the sails! We will make a run for it! Heave too boys!"

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Contact Information
D. A. Karr
858-395-0601
barrettbbear@sbcglobal.net
www.racehorsewithmagicshoes.com

Monday, September 18, 2006

New On-line Youth Forum Launched

Teens Get New Internet Forum for Support, Advice, and Friendship

Youth Empowerment Center expands reach to cyberspace to offer teens a safe environment and support beyond the limitations of geography and time

San Diego, CA - September 20, 2006 - The Eugene Bowman Economic Empowerment Center announced today that it has created a new online message board/Internet forum for teens. Teens that register can access the forum 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and read messages, ask questions, discuss issues, and share information about things that are important to them, but that they may have trouble discussing with current friends or family. There is no fee to use the forum, which is located at: http://forum.empowering-youth.org/

We want to reach out to kids who have access to computers, but may not be able to come to our youth center, said Lorraine Bowman, president of the EBEEC. The forum also allows kids to keep their identity confidential if they are in trouble or scared. We want kids to feel safe in getting the help and advice they need.

Teens do not often get a sounding board for issues that affect them on a daily basis the goal of the forum is to provide one where feedback and advice is provided not only by peers, but also experienced staff as needed so that youth can benefit from those with age and experience beyond what they may receive on teen-only systems, or public forums were caring adult supervision may not always be available. The staff members do not police the forums, but monitor activity and step in when as needed to present a more rounded view of situations, or present other options that may not be suggested by other teens. The staff does constantly watch for any possible forum visitors that may not be who they seem and who communicate or act in an inappropriate manner.

About The Eugene Bowman Economic Empowerment Center
The Eugene Bowman Economic Empowerment Center is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization located in San Diego, California that is dedicated to providing personal support, counseling, and long-term programs to low-income, at-risk youth and families in a compassionate and healing environment.

Since May 2003, the Youth Empowerment Center has providing counseling and information to victims of violence. They believe it is important for survivors of all types of violence to regain control of their lives. The Center empowers them to make their own decisions through the recovery process. This includes such decisions as reporting their victimization to the police, and seeking medical services and counseling.

With a particular concern for at-risk youth, the EBEEC works to improve the conditions of all youth. Past programs have included Emphasis on Moms, Project Success, Girl Talk, Lasting Family Connections, Young Males United, and many more. Visit http://www.empowering-youth.org/

Contact:
The Eugene Bowman Economic Empowerment Center
Jon Gold, Media Coordinator
Lorraine Bowman, President/Founder
4249 Manzanita Drive
San Diego, CA 92105
Phone: (619) 281-3312
Fax: (619) 281-8023

Press Release Unleashed By:
Nielsen Technical Service
http://www.NielsenTech.com
Be what theyre searching for!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Can You Buy Designer Furniture For Less?

Chic On A Shoestring: How To Buy Designer Furniture For Less

Consumers want stylish, cost-effective and chic architectural furniture. But how can a shopper buy high end product without getting ripped off? We know a Beverly Hills secret website that offers rock bottom prices, for high end designer goods, named Gibraltar Furniture. This internet store smokes any other retail source on the internet and offers name brand furniture products for wholesale.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 6, 2006 -- Do you want to know how to buy architectural reproductions & originals for wholesale on the internet? We can enlighten you regarding the best sources on the web to purchase furniture at factory direct warehouse prices and tell you how to differentiate the frogs from the princes.

We know a Beverly Hills little known website that offers rock bottom prices, for high end designer goods, named Gibraltar Furniture (www.gibraltarfurniture.com).

This 90210 Internet store offers name brand furniture products, from world famous designers, for wholesale.

Consumers want stylish, cost-effective and chic design products from the Deco, Mid-Century, Pop, and Post-Modern eras. But how can a consumer buy high end product without getting ripped off? What should consumers look for to locate the good knock offs, avoid the bad, and the ugly ones?

20th century modern architectural furniture has inspired avante garde designers, collectors, and home owners. Are you interested in finding out the differences between high priced original furniture and a reproduction?

We can advise you about all of the insider dark and dirty secrets which include price fixing, cost manipulation, and miss-information campaigns. Stay tuned and we will even name names.

Public demand for stylish designers such as Mies Van Der Rohe, Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray, Poul Kjærholm, Isamu Noguchi, and Harry Bertoia is sky high. Film, print, and television life style shows on the Home Channel have all fueled a massive demand for gorgeous furniture that is both comfortable and artistic.

Bauhaus is the common term for the Staatliches Bauhaus, an art and architecture school in Germany that operated from 1919 to 1933 and briefly in the United States from 1937-1938. The name Art Deco derived from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a World's Fair held in Paris, France in 1925.

In the past consumers who wanted blue chip architectural furniture could only buy items from designers who worked directly with manufactures like Knoll, Herman Miller, Steelform, and Cassina. Prices from the official manufactures where stratospheric for Art Deco, Bauhaus and Mid-Century reproductions of high end furniture. The results were pricey units with costs far out of range for normal income families and collectors.

In the 1990s a major change occurred in the market place. For the first time Buyers could now purchase product from high end firms like DWR, and avoid having to hire a decorator. However, on the down side the end user still had to pay full list prices, taxes, and still had to wait several months for delivery.

Now a second revolution has occurred in the retail market place that has transformed the buying process for consumers. For the first time in history home owners and collectors are purchasing factory direct goods at wholesale prices via the web. The internet has created a reverse auction process where the consumer wins by finding the lowest price, for the highest value. This is a totally transparent process that has turned the world on end and changed the entire buyer/seller paradigm.

Many of the designs that DWR, Herman Miller and Knoll sell are now in the public domain. This includes most classic Bauhaus, Art Deco, and mid century pieces. In the past, manufactures had to pay an extra fee for the use of these designs and the artist was paid a royalty fee for each product that was produced. However many of these designs no longer require such as their copyright protection has expired.

However instead of lowering the retail price these industry leaders have opted to just hold onto their savings instead. They do this to capitalize on their gains and to assuage prior buyers that their purchases have not been devalued. So rather than decreasing the list the big players are more than happy to gouge you for even more money.

With releases from Herman Miller, Knoll, Vitra, and Cassina the consumer is lead to always pay more for the use of licensed products than a reproduction. However all of the pieces that these companies sell are duplicates of the originals as well.

We did a Goggle search for designers and we found, One company that features a wide array of discount architectural modern, high quality furniture including prices made by world famous artists. Gibraltar Furniture is one of the leaders in the world for internet modern architectural products. Gibraltar sells both original and reproduction furniture manufactured in Italy, and in Asia based on the original specifications, and offers exceptional, finest quality at popular prices.

The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman is a highly prized mid century functional art piece. Eames first produced this architectural master piece as a birthday present for his best friend, noted Hollywood producer Billy Wilder. It was first unveiled on the Today Show and has played an important part in furniture history. This set occupies a prominent place in the hall of design fame.

We searched the internet and found that DWR retails this piece for $3125. They offer this reproduction in a very limited range of leather choices. In comparison, we discovered that the Gibraltar release of this classic set sells for only $1595. This collection can be ordered in a rainbow of different leather selections and also can be fabricated in COL (Customer Own Leather) or COM (Customer Own Material). This model can be ordered in Black, Bright White, Ivory, Camel, Chocolate, Ivory, Lemon, Saddle Tan, Brandywine, Cognac, and Golden tan in your choice of a walnut or a rosewood shell. These are options that Herman Miller does not even support.

An official Fritz Hansen Poul Kjærholm PK24 Chaise Lounge in wicker, with a stainless steel frame, and leather roll headrest sales for $10,858 from the manufacture. At Gibraltar we found a replica of this price for only $1500. A prudent shopper would save $9358 in one fell click!

Located at www.gibralatarfurnitre.com (Telephone 800 416-3635), this west coast Company and has been in operation for over 50 years. Gibraltar is based in Beverly Hills, 90210, and is an insider secret for blue chip merchandise at warehouse prices. Designers like their clean, well lead out website, and say that this supplier to be an excellent resource for factory direct pricing for high end furniture.

Yahoo has this to say about Gibraltar, This Company is wonderful, prices are unbeatable their customer service is great. They go the extra mile to please the customer. I definitely recommend this company. Another Yahoo contributor states Best Company that we have ever found on the internet. Beats DWR by a mile. Great personal service and unbeatable prices. We would recommend this company to our friends."

Any piece you see for sale, whether its an Eileen Gray table or a Le Corbusier chaise, is not a piece the designer ever actually touched. Sure they designed it, and even created prototypes, but times have changed and, more importantly, so have technology. What you see for sale at stores like DWR are reproductions or, as licensees and licensors like to say, Re-editions, and, more often than not, they are revised.

An internet review by Designdecormodern states that Gibraltar Furnitures Beverly Hills store is nirvana for people who want designer furniture at wholesale. I purchased a Le Corbusier lounge reproduction for only $799. This compares to $2195 from companies like Hive, and DWR which sell the Cassina original. The Gibraltar LC 4 is a perfect copy, at a fraction of the list price, and saved me $1400. My chaise arrived on a pallet that was packed like a Sherman tank. When I unpacked the pallet the piece was even better than my expectations. The leather was indeed 100% Italian and the piece is flawless. In addition to loads of high end furniture at discount prices, they will also take 5% off your purchase if you place them over the phone. They ship straight from the factory to get consumers warehouse prices. I will be defiantly shopping here again soon.

Gibraltar also discounts the entire line of products from Blu Dot, Emeco, Gordon International, Modern Outdoor, Serralunga, Compar, Dare Décor, David Edwards, .Fabulox, Color & Life, Firefarm, Girari, Gray, Havaseat Chairs, Innovation, IQMatics, Janke, Jet Age. Kenshoma, Lunar Lounge, Malik. Modern Outdoor, Offi, Oeuf, OFM, Ogus Design, The Phillips Collection, Studio4LA, Touch Design, Trevi Outdoor, Veneman, Zuo, and 100Times Better among others.

All in all, savvy consumers should look for factory direct, wholesale prices, instead of the top dollar retail price that old line brick and mortar stores charge. Then just sit back and you can laugh all the way to the bank!

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release contact Bradley Friedman, director of Pubic Relations.

Images for all products can be obtained at www.gibraltarfurniture.com
Contact:
Bradley Friedman, Director of Public Relations
ACMETOYS
310 276-5509
http://www.gibraltarfurniture.com

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Press Contact: Bradley Friedman
Company Name: ACME
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 310 276 5509
Website: www.gibraltarfurniture.com

Guitar World Magazine

Guitar World

by Larry Dobrow, Thursday, September 14, 2006

I ROCK. REALLY, I do. I've got the tattoos, the liver cirrhosis and the war stories ("this one time, at the Ramada Inn in Portsmouth...") to prove it. My hair swishes to and fro, all Eddie Van Halen-like, in the rare instances that my bloated frame breaks into a gallop. I regularly gnaw on bat carcasses, just for sport.

Plus I can actually play a little geee-tar, which is why Guitar World has been an on-and-off companion since Guitar went under. And while the publication has gone out of its way to lure younger readers in recent years -- these kids, with the loud music and the fast cars and the dungarees -- it remains one of the few enthusiast titles that ably appeals to aficionado and newbie alike. This stands in direct contrast to its younger sibling, Guitar World Acoustic, which is only useful to neophyte players hoping to bait the ladies with sensitive campfire renditions of "Southern Cross."

The October Guitar World showcases just about all of what the mag has done well over the years. It includes the expected slate of mini-lessons, guitarist blurbs and transcriptions (even "More Than a Feeling," for those players unfamiliar with the enigma that is the basic D chord). It gets axemen like Dave Navarro to answer "Dear Guitar Hero" reader questions and sits down with lesser-known musicians, like underrated bluesman Joe Bonamassa, to get their quick-hit impressions on a range of riffs.

For free magazine subscriptions to other magazines, please click here.

What elevates the October issue above the mag's usual standard is the cover feature on "The Greatest 100 Guitar Albums of All Time." While I'm generally not nuts about lists that exist solely to prompt debate and blog responses and such, Guitar World tries a different approach with the feature: it lets its readers do the choosin'. Judging by the choices -- "Led Zeppelin IV," also Mike Damone's pick for makeout sessions, tops the chart -- they took their responsibility quite seriously. The decision to allow readers free reign results in a host of interesting juxtapositions, such as "Highway 61 Revisited" turning up within a position or three of someone/something called "Hate Crew Deathroll." Maybe democracy isn't such a bad idea after all.

The mag buttresses the list with a smattering of smart sidebars, everything from Q&As to guitar-dork analyses of Pete Townshend's "Who's Next" wizardry to overly fawning examinations of the aforementioned Zep CD (note to music writers: please expunge the adjectives "astonishing" and "explosive" from your vocabulary). Better still are the in-depth looks at seminal guitar records like "Disraeli Gears," "Machine Head" and "Destroyer." If you need me to tell you which bands made those records, you're a total square, man. Get bent.

Guitar World could probably use a little help on the design front, especially in its overuse of several layouts: on six straight editorial pages, the mag stacks text atop two ads of the exact same size. Additionally, I wish the pub would exercise its critical faculties a bit more often, as nearly every instrument review heralds its subject as six-stringed manna delivered straight from the heavens ("The Babicz is a remarkable instrument. It's one of the most responsive and expressive guitars I've ever played"... and this isn't even the issue's most positive notice).

Two other random observations: First, I totally dig the forbidding, I-am-the-human-embodiment-of-evil cover shot of Metallica's Kirk Hammett. At the same time, I wonder what it would take to convince the perpetually stern axeman to pose in a baby-blue track suit with a puppy nestled on his lap, bathed in the soft-focus glow usually seen in People features on washed-up celebs going public with some personal trial. Second: a $7.99 price tag? Ouch. Good thing they pay me 8 cents per word for this column. I can afford a few pieces of taffy AND all my happy, lovely magazines.

So yeah, Guitar World still does it for me. When I plug in later today -- who's kidding whom, I have a guitar on my lap right now -- I'll actually have a few new phrasings and riffs to noodle around with. Given how few musician-oriented magazines provide legit fodder for thought, that's about the highest endorsement I can give Guitar World.

Larry Dobrow is a Contributing Writer.

Magazine Rack for Thursday, September 14, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm

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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Bitch Magazine

Bitch

by Fern Siegel, Wednesday, September 13, 2006

BITCH. IT IS, HANDS-DOWN, the best title--ever--for a magazine. And its tagline, "feminist response to pop culture," seals the deal. A sassy quarterly with a thoughtful edge, Bitch takes issue with the issues. It has the audacity--what some in the Fourth Estate would call an obligation--to challenge the status quo. Clearly, intelligent debate vs. name-calling and fear-mongering is a hallmark of a free society. Just ask any Third World despot his views on dissidents. Hallmark doesn't make a card with his response.

Bitch, which has been kicking butt for 10 years, is serious, though-provoking and appreciates the ironies that define pop culture. By culture, it means politics, arts, entertainment and society--and no less an esteemed institution than Duke University houses it in its archives.

Happily, the pub escapes the stench of earnestness that can envelop do-gooders. Sure, it's preaching to believers, but so is Rush Limbaugh. The difference is its take--and take it from me, Bitch isn't strident or a left-wing apologia. For openers, it notes that feminism is complex; women often disagree--intensely--on its mission and tactics. Plus, Bitch is a nonprofit magazine. According to its Web site, ad revenues count for less than 10 percent of the budget. In short, its survival is hard-won.

Click for free subscriptions to other magazines

The magazine does not justify any particular ideology; it critiques mainstream culture. And it made me think about topics or viewpoints I hadn't previously considered. Be honest--how often does that happen? Most people read magazines that tell them what they want to hear. Opposite view? Perish the thought! The polarity in current political discourse, never mind the venom spewed on talk shows, is enough to convince the most obstinate: Discussion is a lost art in America. (That's why I love The Week: one topic, myriad views.)

Given its quarterly status, Bitch's articles are deliberately long. Like New Yorker long. They are often compelling and well-written, though I still subscribe to Frank Lloyd Wright's dictum: Less is more.

Yet the piece on "Miss Interpreted--Beauty Pageants Meet Their New Ideal" made important points about the history of such contests. For instance, some Miss Americas have used their terms to promote public policy, such as hospice care. The 1973 winner was the first to use her scholarship for professional education (law school) and lobbied to add an interview portion. Ms. Wheelchair American is judged on public-speaking abilities and knowledge of disability issues, not beauty. Miss Earth promotes eco-awareness, albeit alongside the swimsuit competition. Apparently, the environment in question is, as Walt Whitman put it, "the body electric." My favorite pageant is Miss Gay Metropolitan Tokyo, featuring male-to-female transsexuals. I'd like to see Bob Barker emcee that one. Whether pageants are a cheesy, outdated idea isn't the point. Bitch takes an insightful look at a cultural icon.

Similarly, "Bare Necessity" addresses the hot topic of porn in a Q&A with Carly Milne, the author of Naked Ambition--Women Who Are Changing Pornography. I was taken aback by Milne's casual tone--porn has its down side, but she says it's not degrading women, it's--wait for it--"sex positive." Tell that to Linda Lovelace! I can't claim--thankfully, my mother would kill me--a stint in the porn industry to research a book. (It gives new meaning to getting in bed with a subject.) Nor do I trust the author's overly breezy explanations. But she did raise provocative, unsettling points.

For music fans, the discussion of Dolly Parton and Madonna was downright smart. Madonna's obsessive reinvention, which skirts class, gender and race, is juxtaposed with Parton's busty blonde personae. Both have flirted with kitschy versions of themselves, but Parton's artifice is seen as authentic. By contrast, the Material Girl's authenticity rests on her chameleon-like abilities. When she decides she's no longer a Kabbalah devotee and morphs into a voodoo priestess who only wears brightly patterned hemp and speaks in a Haitian accent, will any of us be surprised? I, for one, will be disappointed if she doesn't.

In short, Bitch is a big-picture magazine, be it features on a child-free life or a reproductive-rights reading list, which reviewed five books that took both a scientific and historical approach. The section gave a synopsis, and an informative "good/not so good" appraisal. The FDA should be this detailed. Yes, it's another hot topic, but if we separate myth from reality, science from politics, we approach a loaded subject with knowledge and understanding. We don't have to agree; we do, however, have to agree to stick to the facts.

Finally, cheers to the copywriter who came up with this gem on the subscription card: "Bitch, because your brain is your most important body part." Anna Wintour, are you listening?

Fern Siegel is Deputy Editor of MediaPost.

Magazine Rack for Wednesday, September 13, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Poker Life Magazine

Poker Life

by Larry Dobrow, Tuesday, September 5, 2006

AS HAS BEEN STATED before in this space, I'm not a fan of "gambling lifestyle" magazines, few of which do much beyond relate insipid war stories and plug semi-relevant products. I also believe Las Vegas to be one of the sadder places on the planet, though I likely surrender my cool-guy credentials by admitting it... not that I ever had much cool-guy cred in the first place. For instance, I listen to lots of Billy Joel.

Anyhow, for these reasons and more, the summer issue of Poker Life wasn't likely to float my boat. But of the gambling-lifestyle mags that have flocked to newsstands like ants to a poorly secured picnic basket, Poker Life probably ranks among the best, and not merely by default.

For one thing, the title has been assembled with more than a thimbleful of professionalism. As opposed to Avery Cardoza's Player or Bluff, both of which appear to be written in a language other than English, Poker Life's editorial minions have clearly familiarized themselves with the quaint, timeless notions of spell- and grammar-check. The mag boasts three actual, bona fide, legit non-gambling-related advertisers (Izod, Tourneau, and the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection... which, judging by its massive presence here, must have some kind of stake in the publication). In its expansive story selection and its relatively artful design, Poker Life feels like a real magazine, as opposed to a quickie pamphlet printed up on higher-stock paper.

Which isn't to suggest that this year's American Magazine Super-Award winners ought to be cowering in their thigh-high alligator-skin booties. A publication dubbed Poker Life necessarily must fill its pages with any number of "see, there was this one time, when I was all-in and I caught a club on the flop, then the waitress brought me a glass of tomato juice..." stories, none of which stimulates the imagination more than a lecture on grain subsidies. Additionally, the Las Vegas fascination among twerps who took "Swingers" way, way too seriously endures in its pages, what with yet another "Best of Vegas" feature.

The mag devotes too much space to a Q&A with some sublime piece of ass--I'm sorry, but I don't know how else to describe her--who "already auditioned with Scorsese and De Niro." She didn't get the part and the movie in question was made 12 years ago, mind you, but the audition itself surely qualifies her as a face to watch. The "Ante Up" piece on chanteuse Cassandra Wilson tackily segues from poker to Hurricane Katrina in a single sentence, while the "Vices" item on topless pools (in Las Vegas, naturally) comes across as edgy as a spork.

I also worry about Poker Life's pluggy ways. No, I don't believe an ad/edit line truly exists in any title that accepts dollars from marketers. But gosh, don't be so brazen about trampling all over it. On the scale of shamelessness, the front-of-book "stories" about gambling Web sites and stores rank only slightly below the "Toys" plug for running shoes (judging by the photographic evidence at hand, poker fiends don't make exercise much of a priority in their lives). How's this for a wimpily worded blurb: "The $12.50 ride on Manhattan Express at New York New York proves more fun than even the wildest New York City cab ride." Wow, I didn't know that machine-operated roller coasters could be whacked out on crystal meth, too.

And yet the summer issue still provides more than its share of diverting fodder. Rather than wasting its time with poker tips -- the mag correctly assumes that people reading a magazine with "poker" in its title know their way around a full house -- Poker Life mines the world of entertainment for editorial fodder. Director Curtis Hanson chats about his upcoming gambling flick (to answer your question: yes, of course it includes a subplot about daddy issues) and cover boy Burt Reynolds remains as amiable as ever, babbling about a regular game that includes "Charlie" Durning, "Jimmy" Woods and Angie Dickinson. Poor, sweet "Dommy" DeLuise must've pissed somebody off, eh?

Poker Life also connects with its "Fairer Sex?" column by Kathy Liebert, which advises male players to think like a woman at the poker table (it does not extend that advice to other settings, like the department store or the shower). And as annoying as poker war stories can get -- seriously, could you tell me instead about your fantasy-baseball team, or show me eight carousels of slides from your Kenyan safari? -- there's something oddly endearing about the time-blurred recollections of past winners of the World Series of Poker.

To beat yet another pseudo-literary witticism into the ground, reading about poker is like dancing about architecture or perhaps farting about plumbing. Poker Life, then, grabs the gambling-mag diamond-flecked title belt for its forays into the world of entertainment and its comparative avoidance of the "the game's the thing" tripe that usually packs such titles. It may not be the most original magazine out there, but its professionalism and occasional bursts of creativity lift it above the poker-rag pack.