Monday, October 20, 2003

Turn On the Bright Lights

A busy weekend (two zine fairs) and a hectic upcoming few days. (Apologizing for being harried is the blogging equivalent of being sorry about publishing a zine later than anticipated.)

Still, a few quick things.

First, as predicted by me, the redesigned Saturday Night (October 2003) looks much, much, much better. Thank you, Mark Loudis, new art director. But rather than have me praise the improved visual and economic fortunes of SN, I give you an excerpt from the Editor’s Letter:

The good news is, starting in January, we will be publishing 10 times a year, up from the six issues we have produced in each of the past two years. This development is exciting: it bespeaks a confidence on the part of our owners that it’s time to further grow the brand – as owners are apt to put it – and enables us to better reach our readership, expanding our purview . . .

Second, I received an invoice for The Walrus last week. An excerpt from that:

Thank you for your confidence and support. It feels as though a crippling logjam has been swept away and thoughtful discourse about ideas and issues has a broad channel through which to flow again.

Finally, everyone who voted for Arnold should be forced to read A Massive Swelling by Cintra Wilson, along with everyone else in North America, the best book written about the problems with celebrity culture. Period.

More soon. I have a stack of interesting stuff to share with you all as soon as possible. And I hope by next week to return to publishing my blog three times a week, to further grow the brand, so that thoughtful discourse about ideas and issues can once again flow through the crippling logjam known as the Internet.