Every Woman Magazine

Every Woman

 

by Phyllis Fine, Thursday, August 31, 2006

 

CAN A small trade publication take off its glasses and revamp into the relative glamour of a mainstream women's mag, competing with the big girls on the newsstand? That's the question for HealthSpring Communications, which transformed the journal of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and National Nurses into the quarterly consumer book Every Woman.

 

In its push to be more like Health and less like JAMA, Every Woman has incorporated many basic elements of women's consumer magazines. Celeb cover photo and interview? Check: Teri Hatcher, who looks almost too young and pretty. Cover lines featuring numbers and diet/fitness content? Check: "7 Diet Myths Busted." Silly psychological quiz? Check: "Are You Nice Enough to Yourself?"

 

But do we really need another women's health/lifestyle book, especially one with such a goofily generic title? (And, according to the book's managing editor, the mag isn't targeted to every woman, but to the over-40 demo.)

 

With a tagline of "Your prescription for healthy living," Every Woman tries to milk its one big point of difference from other titles. Almost every article is written by nurses instead of journalists. The diagnosis: it's an approach that doesn't entirely work.

 

For example, while the writing is fairly clear and professional--I caught only one major typo when I put my copy editor's hat on--it sometimes reads as flat as a prescription ("At your drugstore is a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug...") Many articles feature straightforward presentations of information about a particular illness or condition, as in pieces on how to prevent strokes, handle a diagnosis of breast cancer or prevent migraine headaches. But it's how health journalists and editors shape such information--adding the important elements of newsworthiness and/or reader identification--that makes compelling reading. And that's sometimes missing in Every Woman.

 

Another disadvantage of the expert-only voice is being perceived as too close to the medical establishment to provide a nuanced view. I caught a nauseatingly self-promoting quote from a Federal Drug Administration official--"This is another example of our endeavor to counter rising health care costs"--and an uncritical mention of two weight-loss drugs that got slammed in other reports. The fact that the book majors in drug ads didn't reassure me that it was impartial, either.

 

There should be more that the pub can do with its access to nurses, who are often closer to patients than doctors--perhaps insider pieces focused on patient interactions? In the fall issue, Every Woman's best articles go beyond the drug-pamphlet approach by grappling with medical trends, like the short piece explaining why your next mammogram should be a digital one. Journalist Andrea King Collier writes about The Sister Study, which is surveying sisters of breast-cancer victims. The story illustrates the human face of the disease with emotionally revealing photos of survey participants. Some pose, tellingly, without the sisters they lost to cancer.

 

This article, though, has some layout problems: the piece lacks a title, and the opening spread features a photo of a house that seems to have nothing to do with the subject. These are the only big art boo-boos; the rest of the book is up to par with appealing graphics. Special kudos to the realistic shot of a woman with a surgery scar, illustrating a story on women's reactions to how cancer changes their bodies.

 

Rounding out the more serious articles are a mixed bag of lifestyle pieces--not badly done, but not really necessary. Like the Teri Hatcher Q&A. She talks intelligently about topics like breast cancer and sexual abuse--but does the world need celebrity interview No. 155,825? I like "Freewheeling," about cycling and its health benefits, because it makes me want to buy a bike and hit the road. "The Wonder Of The Bra"--how to buy and care for one--is OK service journalism, but the sidebar on the history of the bra is, um, padded with facts that nobody except a lingerie fetishist would enjoy. Then there's that psychological quiz, with its generic advice to "buy flowers" and "gaze at the sky."

 

In short, Every Woman would do better if it stopped trying so hard to be like every other woman's magazine.

 

Phyllis Fine is columns editor for MediaPost.

 

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Weekend Magazine

Weekend

by Larry Dobrow, Thursday, August 24, 2006

HAPPILY, I ENJOY A life outside work so robust, so bustling that I have no need for a publication that advises me on weekend activities. When the laptop screen goes down and the Saturday sun comes up, you might find me napping, watching sports on TV, or napping while watching sports on TV. I have a gal Friday on retainer to keep the tabloids abreast of my social exploits.

Alas, not everybody has the energy to maintain this manic pace. And so it is that publications like weekend worm their way into our mailboxes to pick up the slack for the socially and organizationally inert. A travel/shelter/food hybrid, the mag presents readers with a veritable smorgasbord of options for their idle hours, ranging from wax museums to home pedicures to--gasp!--Canada.

That, actually, may be the main problem with weekend: its everything-including-the-kitchen-sink-and-cobbler-recipes-too approach doesn't make a lot of sense, given the number of titles that cover the same topics in greater detail. Lumping them together under a "stuff you can do on the weekend, if you're so inclined" umbrella seems nothing more than the lazy way out, as if the publisher had a bunch of magazine concepts but couldn't choose between them.

Make no mistake, this is a title for the pathologically unimaginative. The "northern exposure" piece on Canadian travel assumes utter ignorance on the reader's part of our tuque-wearing neighbor to the north. The features section can be neatly encapsulated as "a cabin here, a mansion there"... except for the 32,000th story in the last three months that proclaims rosé to be 2006's hottest wine. Was there a here-are-the-features-you're-going-to-write party for magazine editors that I missed, or does rosé just have the best publicist in the history of fluids?

Tonally, I can't think of a way that weekend could be any less offensive. Every word, every picture, every caption seemingly goes out of its way to soothe. A page-long prelude to the features section begins with "September reminds us that nothing lasts forever" and ends with "Think big, make plans, live." Oooh, happy-lovey affirmation with a seasonal subcontext! The lesson, as always: words can be quite dangerous in the wrong writer's hands.

I'll spare you another rant about the peculiarity of placing all headlines in lower cases, but I can't let weekend off the hook for its pun-happy ways. The mag slaps "hay fever" (get it?) onto a story about vacation farms, "plane crazy" (get it? get it?) onto a listing of aerospace museums and "foam sweet foam" (getitgetitgetitgetit?) onto a feature about breweries. As a profession, as a civilized society, let's agree to bury the headline pun 20 feet deep in the backyard. We're better than that.

(Pet peeve interlude: The next time any of you use "His Aim Is True"-- a play on an early album title -- as a headline for a story about Elvis Costello, I will track you down and pull your hair.)

I'll give weekend credit for its organizational moxie, however. Quite sensibly, the mag is divided into three main sections: "weekend at home," "weekend away" and "features"; the subdivisions within each section are similarly well thought-out. It also excels on the design front, with the cleanest and comeliest layout this side of Real Simple. Its image choices may be a touch bland for my tastes -- can somebody please illustrate a morning-themed item with something other than a fetching model sipping a drink as a worked-over newspaper and jam-slathered English muffin sit idly in the foreground? -- but they nonetheless lend appropriate visual support to the stories at hand.

To me, the weakest compliment in the world is "nice," as in "nice column!" or "nice pants!" (I rarely hear either one, except on the days I wear shorts and onlookers mistake my circus-freakishly hairy legs for mohair dungarees.) "Nice" is the default adjective for "I can't be bothered to form an actual opinion, but I also don't see the point in offending anybody." Well, weekend is a very nice magazine. Whether there exists a pressing reason for its existence is another question entirely


Larry Dobrow is a Contributing Writer.

Magazine Rack for Thursday, August 24, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/

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House & Garden Magazine

House & Garden

 

by Dorothy Parker, Wednesday, August 23, 2006

 

UNLIKE ITS fashion sisterhood at Conde Nast, (the latest Vogue actually weighs in at 4 pounds) the September issue of House & Garden is entirely portable, no door stopper. Still, it's thicker than usual, and boasts a purple and gold cover promoting ''Exotic Luxury and Global Style.''

 

I guess we can thank a variety of upscale furnishings advertisers for the added plump. So I was absolutely gobsmacked to read Editor Dominique Browning's letter about ''smartsizing.'' Hey, you're an editor in chief--practically a publisher! How can you possibly make fun of rich people and their vulgar habits? She does, though, in an amazingly straightforward and honest way.

 

Beyond mere McMansions, what Browning's addressing is the penchant toward the 27,000-square-foot houses in the new ''feudal Connecticut'' in which ''there are dressing rooms, spas... elaborate gymnasiums complete with climbing walls, swimming pools, tennis courts, their own skating rinks... carousels... putting greens... Perhaps every generation of wealth addresses the same question: How much is too much?''

 

As the inhabitant of a two-bedroom apartment in New York City that could probably fit inside Mrs. McMansion's infinity tub (her husband's is separate), I could not agree more.

 

Browning's concept of smartsizing means that ''people need different dwellings at different stages of their lives. It means that thinking trumps showing off.''

 

I'm sure it has not eluded Browning that the need for supersizing and ''showing off'' is exactly why many of her readers pick up the magazine, not to mention what allows her high-end advertisers to stay in business.

 

So are the advertisers apoplectic? Probably not. Because as I thought about it, I realized that the rich are different from you or me: someone like Laurie David (wife of Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm") is introduced with a straight face as a ''contributing editor committed to eco-conscious living.'' (Never mind the house in L.A., and the lavish spread in Martha's Vineyard, and the inevitable private plane trips between them.) Such people think that other people's excesses are excessive, not their own. To be honest, though, the issue promotes a higher level of domestic hypocrisy: why can't we all just get along and be comfy?

 

And on to the show. The mixed message/straddling two worlds/high-low theme remains throughout. On the ''Fabric Obsession'' page, the editors "imagined a decadent study fit for Anna Freud,'' complete with a $5,100 white leather chaise.

 

The ''Vanity'' page, which purports to talk about the reemergence of '80s style, is little more than an ad for Chanel.

 

Less disappointing is the ''Things We Love'' section. I indeed love the 9' x 6' rug that spells out the letters in ''Shag''--although I wouldn't pay $8,995 for it.

 

For holier-than-thou-ers who make fun of other people's hypocrisy, here's the rub with this magazine: It's much more fun to look at ''an old Paris apartment with theatrical proportions and stunning 19th century details'' (it gets 10 pages) than slog through the article about buying energy-saving appliances (a real snooze.)

 

Don't hate me because I hate Jay McInerney. The now middle-aged author of the early '80s phenom, Bright Lights, BigCity, has for some time written the wine column (''Uncorked") for HG. He never ceases to offend, or to make it all about him. Honestly, I went into this column, about Ann Colgin's wines, with an open mind. But I could not get past the fourth line before he started describing Colgin as a ''babe'' and being jealous of her husband. Apparently, she has redefined the concept of Napa cabernet, but do we really need to know that Jay finds himself '' racing through a series of steep switchbacks up Pritchard Hill in Colgin's little Mercedes (my girlfriend, Anne, sitting in my lap.)'' P.S., reader, he married her, (an heiress) but that's another story. Meanwhile, by the end of the column, the now-hitched Jay writes that Colgin complains that her husband will only allow her to travel with carry-on bags. Here's his witty aside: ''Confidential to A.C.: I'd let you check as many pieces as you wished.'' It's enough to make you want to spit out your Syrah.

 

By contrast, a piece by Rick Moody, who has also taken his share of knocks among the literati, practically sings. He's vaguely embarrassed about the luck that allowed him to buy a summer place on Fisher's Island, where he now lives almost year-round, and has started gardening. He describes the precariousness of his new obsession: ''One year the tomatoes are unstoppable and the ladybugs swarm like they've been watching 'The Ten Commandments.' The next year your water bill is outrageous, the tomatoes all crack, but you have never had sugar snaps that tasted so fine. But it's failure that keeps you coming back.''

 

Rounding out the issue is a smart and incisive review of architect Cesar Pelli's new Minneapolis Library, and a piece on collecting exotic things, like snuff bottles.

 

After all, collecting ''turned ivories'' or ''American portrait miniatures'' does not require a home of at least 20,000 square feet--just the purse strings required to run one.

 

Magazine Rack for Wednesday, August 23, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/
 
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Nick Jr. Family Magazine From Nickelodeon

Nick Jr. Family Magazine

 

by Fern Siegel, Wednesday, August 16, 2006

 

IF YOU want to prove something works, spawn it. And if the mothership is Nickelodeon, sit back and enjoy the ride. First came the network--and lovers of Sponge Bob are forever grateful. Then the kids' magazines--Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. And, building on brand power, Nick Jr. Family Magazine. Seven years young, NJFM is billed as the magazine that brings parents and kids together. Geared to folks with progeny 0-11, the mag, on a yearly schedule of nine issues, was named to Adweek's hot list four times in the past five years. That's nifty for the marketing department, while the 1.1 circ is a boon to sales for Nickelodeon.

 

From a strictly PR standpoint, it all sounds swell. And it even has a zippy "Nick Jr. Noodle," a kids' pullout that lets them draw and analyze pictures. I liked the "Welcome to Puppyville" best. It's "Where's Waldo?" for the preschool set. (And tired adults--when you read The New Yorker religiously, searching for Colors Puppy is a welcome relief.)

 

But does it stand out?

 

This is a crowded category: Parents, Parenting, Child, American Baby, Cookie, Working Mother, etc. A Jeep Cherokee to the first reader who can tell them apart. In short, they all have experts, useful advice and, judging from their covers, the happiest people in America. Though I applaud the genre, one quibble: The advice is occasionally surface. Exercise is important, say no to kids. But what if your kid defies teachers? What happens when timeouts don't work? Full disclosure: As an aunt, I haven't needed to worry about such things. My job is to tout the glories of Gershwin, slip the boys money in their teens and remind them that foreplay is dinner and a movie. But for parents, who pull a 24/7 shift, it helps to have backup.

 

Nick Jr. Family Magazine's August issue is a first. Twelve parents--10 moms and two dads--produced the guest editors' issue. In the "Parents Sound Off" section, the editors address everything from overbooked kids to obese ones. On the fat score, some parents blame the schools--no recess. Others slam parents' poor food choices. But hats off to the woman who pointed the figure closer to home--at her husband. He wolfs down chips, she pushes fruits and vegetables. Guess who wins? Health is good, but it doesn't taste like Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey.

 

Of the 10 women, only four are currently pursuing careers outside the home. Given the cost of living, that's an interesting stat. Every mother is a working woman, but isn't a 50-50 balance between at-home moms and those juggling home and work more realistic? There is also a stay-at-home dad, an important reminder that men are often primary caregivers. And one Florida mom, born with spina bifida, has an upbeat attitude that is inspirational. Disability doesn't stop her parenting: She bathed her baby son in the sink and used suspenders so she could lift him.

 

The parents' ages range from 24-40, but the real surprise is family size. One 36-year-old has four kids; a 32-year-old has five. If you lived in Manhattan, you'd understand my shock. Unless you're Jerry Seinfeld or a cast member on Grey's Anatomy, you can't afford an apartment large enough to house your brood. Which is why we don't hear from the Big Apple. Wayzata, Minn. is represented; so is Gresgam, Oregon.

 

We do, however, hear about "genius parenting," which sounds a lot like common sense: Buy birthday gifts in bulk. Fold laundry into outfits for the week. I liked the travel tip: The Astronomer's Inn in Benson, Arizona, an hour from Tucson, has "Star Wars/Star Trek" décor and an on-site observatory, so pack your telescopes. Everyone isn't going to Disneyland.

 

The dicey bit: Dr. Harold Koplewicz, who runs the NYU Child Study Center, says you should listen to kids and let them make mistakes. All true, but you need an M.D. to tell you this? Maybe that's why Dr. K's "Talk the Talk" entry stunned me. He says parents should tell kids their values. Here's his: "I've told my sons that I don't lie because I have a bad memory and couldn't remember my lies." That's a great big oy vey, Doc. Is it OK to lie if you have a good memory? Remember, the usual answer on the witness stand, and I'm thinking Ken Lay here, is, "I do not recall." Here's my two cents, and I only have an M.A.: Don't lie, because it destroys trust. Because kids, your word is your bond. It's important to be a trustworthy, caring, ethical person. And if you should happen to win a Nobel Prize along the way, your mother won't mind.

 

Fern Siegel is Deputy Editor of MediaPost.

 

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RE: Race Car 2000 Classifieds (Classified Ad Added)

Dear Hamisi,

Thanks for creating your free ad. I am sorry to tell you that your ad has been deleted and your IP address blocked from our servers. Your ad is against several of our rules since it is not about auto racing and the information in the ad is false. Have you tried Craig's List yet...?

Thanks,
Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Race Car 2000 Classifieds [mailto:ads@racecar2000.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 2:24 AM
To: hamisi hasani <reddy_sesha84@yahoo.com>
Subject: Race Car 2000 Classifieds (Classified Ad Added)

Dear hamisi hasani,

Thank you for posting your ad to "Race Car 2000 Classifieds". Please make a note of your username, password, and ad number, as you will need them if you ever want to modify or delete this ad.

Ad Number = 17140
UserName = reddy_sesha84
Password = 010684
Link = http://www.racecar2000.com/classifieds/view-ad-17140.html

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Race Car 2000 Classifieds
http://www.racecar2000.com/

Thanks for creating a new classified ad!

Title
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=========================================

RE: Race Car 2000 Classifieds (Advertising Request)

Hi Hamisi,

I just tried to call you, but it said the phone number was not in service.

I was just wondering why you are sending these messages when your phone does not work, and why you are trying to place ads for 7500books.com when you do not own the domain and there are no books or reports being sold there?

As it so happens, I OWN THE DOMAIN, not you or anyone else. I bought it about a year ago when I found that despite it being promoted with spam classified ads, it was not registered. So I registered it, not realizing at first that people would think I was responsible for all the spam...

Now after all this time it seems that you and other people are still trying to promote it, and I just can't understand why...? Is this just spamming practice for new classified ad spammers? Did someone make a mistake when creating the classifed ad spam order at your main office? Please let me know...

Thank you,
Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: hamisi [mailto:reddy_sesha84@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 2:18 AM
To: Race Car 2000 Classifieds; Race Car 2000 Classifieds
Subject: Race Car 2000 Classifieds (Advertising Request)

Name = hamisi

Email Address = reddy_sesha84@yahoo.com

Phone # = 561-582-1874

Website URL = http://www.7500books.com

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Bible Book Says No Beatings Or Beratings

Outskirts Press Releases New Book, "A Walk Through The Pauline Epistles: Christianity 101 For The 21st Century Believer," by Wesley Clark

 

Orlando, FL, August 05, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Christians and non-Christians alike often quote Biblical Scripture to suit a particular agenda, but very few are actually familiar with the contents of the Bible. A Walk Through the Pauline Epistles provides a key to understanding the most foundational knowledge revealed in Scripture so that the reader can come away with the same understanding known to early believers — without all the trappings of organized religion.

 

Give me understanding to learn Your commands.
Psalm 119:73

 

Everyone talks about the Bible, but very few people — including a good number of Christians — are familiar with its contents. Many use it as a means to carry out a particular agenda, or to beat people over the head and grind their own political or religious axe, without ever having a clear understanding of what is actually in the Bible. Now the reader can relax. There will be no beatings, no humiliation, and no self-righteous judgment inflicted between these covers. This book examines the most fundamental knowledge revealed by God in Scripture, a “Christianity 101” course, without bogging down the reader with the dogmas of organized religion.

 

Author Wesley Clark takes a serious, straightforward approach to the Bible and defines the basic doctrines of Christianity in an accessible and easy-to-understand format geared toward Christians and non-Christians alike. In so doing, Clark hopes the reader will come away empowered by the same knowledge known to the believers of the first century.

 

A Walk Through the Pauline Epistles is a down-to-earth survey of Christianity that takes us back to its early roots so we can understand and appreciate the Bible’s relevance today — this is the knowledge that has always been available to you, but you probably did not hear in Sunday School!

 

Wesley Clark is the author of Through the Valley of Deception, a groundbreaking work that looks at the UFO and alien abduction phenomena through a uniquely Biblical perspective.

 

Book Statistics:
ISBN 1598003739
Pages: 292
Format: 5.5 x 8.5 paperback
Price: $19.95 (US); $24.95 (Canada)

 

Publisher Contact:
Jeanine Sampson
Outskirts Press, Inc.
10940 S. Parker Rd – 515
Parker, CO 80134
jeanine@outskirtspress.com
(888) 672.6657 ext. 704

 

Author Contact:
Wesley M. Clark
3725 W. Powder Horn Rd.
Titusville, FL 32796
(321) 268-4949
wes@wes-clark.com
www.outskirtspress.com/awalkthroughthepaulineepistles

 

Contact Information

 

Outskirts Press, Inc.
Jeanine Sampson
888.672.6657 ext. 704
jeanine@outskirtspress.com
www.outskirtspress.com

Criminal Secrets Revealed In New Book

Outskirts Press Releaes New Book, "Stay Alert, Stay Alive: Criminals Reveal Their Secrets," by Michael P.S. Williams

Duluth, GA, August 04, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Stay Alert, Stay Alive begins with a quick Street Smarts IQ Test, and then focuses on how we can train ourselves to be both street and driving smart. It shows how we can protect ourselves at the ATM machine, what to do if someone tries to rob us, how to protect ourselves when waiting for or riding on buses and subways, how to survive if we are carjacked, and how to avoid the "bump and rob."

Williams then takes us into the home arena, and explains how best to create a safe environment, no matter if we live in the city or have convinced ourselves that country living poses no risks. He looks at the responses people have to burglars, and shows how we can better safeguard our homes, and even our livestock, through simple, inexpensive measures. He also talks about the pros and cons of alarm systems, chemical deterrents, and guns.

For eighteen years Mike Williams served in the U.S. military and received two Bronze Stars for heroism. In 1990, he was the recipient of the General Douglas McArthur Leadership Award. For more than twenty years he has worked in the field of law enforcement in the United States and in fourteen foreign countries. He has been responsible for security operations and training for major corporations and government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration Inspectors. He directed the loss prevention and physical security programs during the Gulf War. He was the director of security for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He was a Probation Officer in Hall and Clayton Counties, Georgia, and the lead investigator for PC Investigations, Inc. He has conducted more than one-hundred Drug and Alcohol Awareness Education (D.A.R.E) seminars for youths, ages 15 to 19, and Crime Prevention and Anti-Terrorism Seminars for Home Depot, BellSouth, GMAC, First Union National Bank, the IRS, State Farm Insurance, Sprint, Rockwell International and Smith-Barney.

Book Statistics:
ISBN: 1598001868
Retail Price: $16.95
Size and Format: 5.5 x 8.5 Paperback
Page count: 156
Publication Date: December 2005
Availability: Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,
www.outskirtspress.com/stayalertstayalive

Author Contact:
Mike Williams
Address: 2603 Bronco Trail
Duluth, GA 30096
Phone: 404 786-4286
Email: willgp2@yahoo.com
Websiteshttp://www.stayalertstayaliveseminars.com

Contact Information

Outskirts Press, Inc.
Jeanine Sampson
888.672.6657 ext. 704
jeanine@outskirtspress.com
www.outskirtspress.com
 

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Teen People Magazine

Teen People

by Dorothy Parker

SPEAKING OF THE DIMINISHING teen magazine market (and who isn't?) it came as
a shock last week when Time Inc. announced the abrupt shuttering of the
print version of Teen People. (The dear departed will continue to live a
half life, digitally, on the Web.)

Attention must be paid! (''Do I have to?'' Sound of slamming door, and, '' I
hate you! You're ruining my life!'')

Anyway, making a big deal over whether kids read print or on the Internet is
so, like, eight years ago. To paraphrase the Randy Newman song, does Teen
People (in print) have reason to live?

When it was launched in 1998, it was groundbreaking. Who else was going to
cover all those boy bands? Justin Timberlake was such a hearthrob! And
Britney was just starting to tart up her schoolgirl outfits.

The need for such an outlet has changed with teens' growing sophistication
in music and all the customization they seek on the Web (My Space, Face
Book, are factors, but even 10-year-olds are downloading songs to their
iPods and their phones) Plus, Teen People generally appeals to Girl People,
who, while forced to turn their phones off while getting manicures and
pedicures, would rather move up to Us Weekly or InStyle or Glamour (Or even
pick up regular People People, for those touching humanitarian stories.)
They're so inundated with up-to-the-microsecond celebrity news on sites like
TMZ or Pink is the New Blog that a monthly becomes hopelessly dated.

But let us examine the August issue. (September will be the last.)

OK, here's the problem with monthly print deadlines:

The cover girl is "American Idol" loser Katharine McPhee ("Her secret weight
struggle.") The story says she will begin working on a CD while on the
"American Idol" tour, which kicks off July 5--though she famously delayed
her start due to a ''sore throat'' or some such. Still, we do get to see
that she says ''I love being a role model! It's great.''

There's lots more of "Idol." "Taylor Talks!" is an exclusive interview with
"Teen People's special celebrity correspondent, Paula Abdul." The newest
"Idol" winner admits that the he took his moves from "Soul Train" and he
practiced in his room, alone, in front of the mirror (paging Napolean
Dynamite!). An item easily moveable to the Web.

Indeed, a feature like ''What's your ringtone?'' which provides answers from
three celebs, is wasting trees. ''10 ways to make the month of August
rock!''do not require the printed page. Ditto with ''Would you take back a
cheater?'' or ''Embarrassing Moments'' (If a maxi pad falls out of a pocket,
but nobody's around to hear it...) All those, plus horoscopes, would
probably be better suited to the Internet.

"My Super Sweet Bat Mitzvah" chronicles, with no editorial comment and a
straight face, the $500,000 Bat Mitzvah of Amber Ridinger, daughter of
dot-com millionaires James and Loren Ridinger. (The "Sunday Styles" section
of The New York Times covered the blow-out about six months ago.) Musical
guests included Ashanti and Ja Rule, and, as a caption tells us, ''We had a
candy room with chocolate fountains, says Amber (here with Mike Piazza and
his wife.) And we hired little people to pass out the candy!'' I guess they
figured it would be politically incorrect to mention the word ''dwarf.''
Better suited nowhere. There's a photo special on Orlando! (the cute Brit
Bloom, not the Disney outlet) that's easily transferable to the Web, as
well.

Obviously, the Interact works best for simple interactive stuff, and I found
the quizzes on teenpeople.com quite satisfying. The voting majority agrees
with me that watching Nick Lachey kissing his new girlfriend on MTV's "TRL"
was ''awkward'' and that Christina Aguilera's outfit was way too skanky. I
also took a quiz on whether I'm meant to be famous, and I was told I like to
hide from the spotlight and ought to come out of my shell more.

And, despite the fact that the editorial didn't especially deserve to live,
to put it in context, this is a shut-down case only for a company as large
as Time Inc. At closing, the magazine still had a circulation of more than
one million, even if ad revenue was diminishing.

But someone should alert the Webmaster about the news. On the site, there's
a box offering ''2 Free Preview Issues of Teen People.''

Magazine Rack for Thursday, August 3, 2006:
http://publications.mediapost.com

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Poets & Writers Magazine

Poets & Writers

 

by Larry Dobrow, Tuesday, August 1, 2006

 

OFTENTIMES, I PREFER BAD writing to good writing (and so do many of you, judging by the fact that this column's circulation has soared into the mid-double-digits). I'll take the chewing-gum-is-like-SO-totally-hard entries in Lindsay Lohan's journal over Philip Roth's 723rd Jewish-Identity-in-Modern-America tract. For poetry, give me Jewel's densely worded musings about yodeling and unicorns, or yodeling unicorns, over an Archie Ammons meditation on a fig leaf. Really, there are only so many shots of Pete Dexter one can knock back without a chaser of non-literary Juicey Juice, like "Chicken Soup For the Soul Patch."

 

Thus I dove into the July/August issue of Poets & Writers fully expecting to be bored senseless by the Long-Faced Literati showcased therein. This is not a group of professionals that takes itself or its work lightly. If a single item in the issue prompts a giggle, either you're one of them or your medication kicked in a bit early.

 

And yet I'd recommend Poets & Writers to anybody with even a cursory interest in the printed word--serious-writer types as well as folks who read casually. The mag doesn't attempt to explain the creative process so much as spotlight those writers who seem to have dodged many of its obstacles. Though decidedly (and intentionally, I imagine) short on charisma, Poets & Writers provides illumination of a sort found in few other titles.

 

"The Literary Life" offers a plainly but sharply observed first-person tale of a New Orleans writer who lost all her books to Hurricane Katrina; it runs alongside a borderline heartbreaking pic of the soggy remains of her library. "Two Books Are Better Than One," its clumsy title notwithstanding, does an equally precise job of framing the challenges faced by two writers, Emily Barton and Gary Shteyngart, coming off absurdly warm notices for their first novels.

 

The mag also serves as a resource, whether through its back-of-book grants/awards/conferences listings or the stories housed under the banner "The Practical Writer." In the July/August issue, the latter section contains two pieces on setting up a writer's Web site: one a how-to and the other a first-person tale of seeing it through. Given the unfortunate necessity of marketing one's work through the Web, especially for unestablished scribes and poets, the items render a daunting process quite manageable.

 

Poets & Writers also does pretty well on the news front, which is something of an achievement for a long-lead publication. A feature on the Poetry Foundation's report on American attitudes towards poetry delivers much more than the expected "these 'Lost'-addicted dolts don't know what they're missing" squawks, while a piece on the LibraryThing "virtual library" makes the online community sound like something more than a MySpace for well-read shut-ins.

 

Even the piece on a marketing hookup between Penguin Classics and the NBA--designed to "highlight the unique connection between basketball's greatest stars and literature's most enduring works," according to the Penguin Web site--somehow makes the program seem like something more than a well-intentioned waste of time. I, for one, can't wait for the day when Nuggets forward Yakhouba Diawara weighs in on "The Turn of the Screw."

 

Poets & Writers does, however, show its subjects almost too much respect at times. The questions posed to Feminist Press chief Gloria Jacobs and New Yorker editor David Remnick feel like something out of a Chris Farley "Saturday Night Live" interview ("You remember when you were with The Beatles? That was AWESOME!"). The kissy-kissy mini-profiles on five debut authors pale beside the excerpts from their work. And from a design perspective, the mag could use a bit more color, both figuratively and literally.

 

I was an English major as an undergrad and, as should be evident by now, generally prefer the company of the printed word to that of other human beings. I suspect most of the artistes featured in Poets & Writers, not to mention its readers, feel the same way. For anyone with even a slightly literary bent, Poets & Writers is a godsend.

 

Larry Dobrow is a Contributing Writer.

 

Magazine Rack for Tuesday, August 1, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/
 
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Private Mortgage Investing Book

New Book by Teri B. Clark: Private Mortgage Investing: How to Earn 12% or More on Your Savings, Investments, IRA Accounts, and Personal Equity

This new book by Teri B. Clark and published by Atlantic Publishing Company provides an alternate to investors who are tired of the lagging and volatile stock market.

Sanford, NC, July 26, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Private Mortgage Investing: How to Earn 12% or More on Your Savings, Investments, IRA Accounts, and Personal Equity: A Complete Resource Guide with 100s of Hints, Tips & Secrets from Experts Who Do It Every Day

In recent years, stock market investing has been proven unstable and not very rewarding. In fact, many people have seen their retirement and personal holding accounts dwindle. This new book by Atlantic Publishing Company provides an alternate to investors. They spent two years putting together this new guide which provides detailed information on how to put money to work in a relatively safe private mortgage investment with a high return of 12 to 15 percent (or more) in most cases.

Private mortgages have grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry. This market allows investors to earn substantially higher yields-while offering the security of real property to back the loan. Private mortgages have become an important fixed income vehicle for many investors with their personal funds, equity, and self-directed IRA accounts.

Private mortgage investing isn't for the get-rich-quick type of person. However, you can comfortably double your money every 4 to 6 years. For example, should you invest in your self-directed IRA and re-invest as notes pay off? $100,000 at 12 percent grows to over $200,000 in six years, to $500,000 in 13 years and to over $1 million in 19 years.

Private mortgage loans are backed by real property. Generally, you would not lend more than 55 percent on the value of the property, thus the investment is again relatively safe. Instead of concentrating on the borrower's credit history, private mortgage lenders concentrate their investment decisions on the real property itself. However, like any business or investment, there are a lot of details to learn, and you do not need to learn them on your own. Learning them on your own can be costly. In this economic environment of very low interest rates, you can still earn high yields with virtually little or no risk to your investment.

Take a moment to visit http://private-mortgage-investing.blogspot.com to learn more.

Contact: Teri B. Clark 919-776-9311
Author: Teri B. Clark & Matthew Stewart Tabacchi
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company
1405 SW 6th Ave.
Ocala, FL 34474
ISBN 10: 0-910627-62-2
ISBN 13: 978-0910627-62-7
CIP: 2006012582
Pub Date: July 20, 2006
Binding: Soft Cover, Perfect Bound, Acid Free, Alkaline Free Paper
CD-ROM: No
Pages: 400
Retail Price: $29.95
Street Pub Date: July 20, 2006

###

Contact Information

Teri B. Clark
919-776-9311
teribclark@gmail.com
private-mortgage-investing.blogspot.com
 

Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine

Martha Stewart Weddings

 

by Larry Dobrow, Thursday, July 20, 2006

 

WITH A MERE THREE weeks to go until my darling little sister's wedding, it's looking increasingly certain that I'll go down as its MVP. Granted, I'm not planning on picking up the tab, nor did I scout out locations or taste-test the mushroom-patootie appetizers. But I've suggested a few songs to the band (no "Safety Dance" = no Larry) and have pledged to both show up on time and monitor Uncle Mal's martini consumption. That alone makes my presence as pivotal as that of the officiant and the caterer combined.

 

To prep myself for the mirth-fueled tumult that lies ahead, I did what I always do in times of profound personal need: dip my pinky toe into the wading pool of magazines. Confronted by a stack of 400-page behemoths--the covers of which depicted near-identical beaming brides--I went with the brand I knew.

 

Martha Stewart Weddings, much to its credit, goes out of its way to differentiate itself from the competition. Whereas a majority of the bride books do little beyond flog the same tired products, MSW emphasizes do-it-yourself creativity. Granted, you've gotta have a ton of time and cash to avail yourself of the solutions it presents, but heaven knows there are plenty of delusional brides-to-be with the will to try.

 

The Summer 2006 issue's creativity is best showcased in "Good Things" (rejected alternate titles: "Neat Stuff," "Cool Objects"), which throws a gaggle of clever ideas out there for consideration--everything from cork card holders to an "instant album" of wedding-day Polaroids. "Perfect Palettes," on the other hand, looses the mag's creative minions to devise all sorts of goodies (program pockets, jellybean-laden party favors) in the hues of aqua and red. And while "Fresh Ideas for Eyelet" may prompt a question or two from the ignorant among us--namely, what the f&$#% is "eyelet"?--it invests a simple concept with considerable flair.

 

MSW doesn't entirely dispense with the wedding-day nitty-gritty. How-to pieces on charitable gifts and destination weddings list a range of options without opining which may be best. Slightly less useful is the feature on parental roles in the wedding ceremony. If there's anything here that hasn't already dawned on you, your maternal/paternal relationships could likely benefit from a few getting-to-know-you sessions.

 

Still, MSW ain't exactly the magazine equivalent of those delightful Duff sisters in the charisma department. The dull-as-a-debutante primer on eye makeup and "month-by-month beauty countdown" barely squeak by on actionable info alone (though the latter reminded me that I should be shaping my brows this weekend--thanks, M-Stew!). And though the mag presents them quite elegantly, the featured weddings could also use a personality injection, not to mention a splash of diversity. A Berkshires wedding with lots of white people and vegetable gardens prominently involved... what are the odds?

 

Too, much of the issue's advice borders on duh-really? territory. An item on registering for bath linens instructs couples to "choose towels that feel heavy and thick," while a super-straight-faced piece on wedding vows tells them to "begin thinking about what you'd like to say at least a month before the wedding." Similarly, the "Ask Martha" column suggests--nay, demands!--that wedding-makers should "decorate the younger kids' table to appeal to their sense of fun." Gosh, maybe my sister should rethink that "Death and Taxes" centerpiece for the nieces and nephews.

 

Should I have the good fortune to locate a gal with the vast wellspring of patience required to spend more than 45 minutes in my presence, I want my wedding to be exactly like the one depicted in Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" video, minus the unfortunate fatalities. Martha Stewart Weddings won't offer me or my heavy-metal honey a lot of help in that regard, but the mag's creative pulse elevates it above a sizable percentage of the competition. And goldarnit, that's a good thing.

 

Larry Dobrow is a Contributing Writer.

 

See what others are saying on the Magazine Rack BLOG.

 

Magazine Rack for Thursday, July 20, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/

 

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