Spring Cleaning

I've been spring cleaning for a few weeks now.  I'm trying to organize what I do use and reduce the amount of things that just no longer serve a logical function.  A lot of the April magazine issues arriving have tips to help with spring cleaning.  In the April issue of Ladies Home Journal I found some great ideas (see the de-cluttering article here which names digitizing websites) for reducing the volume of stuff I own.  It recommends digitizing documents and recipes (I clip a lot, but it doesn't mean I use them).  I am definitely going to check out converting  photos onto DVDs.  This is a great idea, as I really hate the shoeboxes of photos hanging around in my closets that for sentimental reasons I can't bring myself to throw away.  I'm imagining all the extra space I'm going to claim in my closets and storage chests.  And the less stuff I'll have to move when I have to move closer to work to avoid spending my whole paycheck on gas!

The New New York Times Magazine

No, the title of this post is not an error.  This weeks' New York Times Magazine has been reworked and very appealingly updated.  The cover has changed by enlarging the Old English type script logo and adding feature article blurbs with their corresponding page numbers across the top.  The table of contents has been progressively revamped and the editors must have saved some of their most interesting articles for this unveiling. Look, a new photo essay layout, is a welcome addition while the crossword holds its revered space in the back.  I'm also going to be following the blog of the New York Times Magazine called the 6th Floor, which I'm sure will prove as engrossing as the print issue.  My only wish is that the Times offer an individual subscription to the magazine.  After all, my second favorite part of the Sunday Times, the Book Review, offers an individual subscription, so I can read it before Sunday.  How about the magazine?

Iditarod!

Lance Mackey after his 2008 win

The race is on from the ceremonial starting point in Anchorage to Nome.  This year 62 mushers and their teams will try to be the first to Nome on the 1000+ mile course.  Since 2011 is an odd-numbered year the southern route will be run.  After the ceremonial start on Saturday, the restart (and real race) begins on Sunday in Willow Lake.  This point is has been moved further north in recent years because of warming temperatures (can you say global warming??). Called the Last Great Race on Earth, mushers and their teams of 12-16 dogs will endure the harsh elements on their 8+ days to the finish (current temp in Wasilla, Alaska 14 degrees.)  Progress of the race and current standings are available on the Official Site of the Iditarod.  This year Lance Mackey will be trying to win his 5th straight Iditarod.  Sports Illustrated (March 7th issue) had a great article on his training techniques and a fabulous photo of his kennels.  Each of his 120 dogs has their own wooden dog house and it looks like a miniature snow covered village.  I had immediately thought about how expensive it would be to feed all those dogs, but the article explained that a dog food company does sponsor him and provides food. 
The March 2011 issue of Alaska, 'the magazine of life on the last frontier' has a very informative article on the breeding of both long distance and sprint dogs and the careful selection that is involved in choosing a winning team.  And, of course, the photos in Alaska are stunning.
I'll be enjoying the race from the comfort of my couch.  I think I might even wrap up in a Snuggie.  Just looking at all that snow makes me cold.

The Week

If you are going to read a news magazine every week, I highly recommend The Week.  It was first published in 2001 and carries the tagline 'All you need to know about everything that matters.'  It is sort of like a condensed version of the Sunday New York Times and covers all areas from politics to the arts. In short articles, compiled from global newspapers, magazines and online media, it gives the concise version of current events.  I especially like the World at a Glance feature which has short paragraphs of international news plus points the locations out on a map.  I was a heavy CNN watcher, but when I decided to go cable-free in my home, I found The Week among other news sources to catch me up on the smaller CNN stories I might not have caught during my workout time at the gym.  Do I go to the gym to workout or watch CNN?  Well, it's really convenient to do both simultaneously.  I'm not sure which I look forward to more.  In any regard, try The Week.  In about an hour of reading it cover to cover you'll be able to confidently discuss current events and the state of the world.

Thursday's tidbits

I didn't have much time to read today as I spent my lunch hour with a lovely friend.  But, like Charlie Sheen's rants on his Vatican warlock powers, I always have something to share - hopefully something more intelligent.
You might not realize it, but there were over 800 new magazines published in 2010.  Some of those will have a few issues and never get off the ground.  Others may grow in circulation to become mainstream.  Check out Mr. Magazine's blog for other odd facts.

Distressing news from the January/February issue of Information Outlook:
The US is home to less than 5% of the world's population, however it houses 25% of the world's prisoners.
Another from Information Outlook:

The US leads the world in leading researchers on climate change with 9,211, so why can't we do anything about it?

I think the answer to the two questions above may be tied to the fact that Charlie Sheen now has over a million followers on twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/charliesheen

A matter of economics

If you've never seen the Robb Report Exceptional Properties magazine, it's worth seeing how the other half might live.  The images of luxury homes for sale are unreal (not to mention the prices)!  It seems unbelievable that any one needs (or wants?) 20,000 square feet of living space-and some of these offering are obviously meant to be second homes!  It's a real curiosity as well as a bit nauseating to imagine.
On a more realistic note, Mary Hunt's Debt-Proof Living newsletter contained a reader letter about how paying just $10 more per month on a student loan for 14 months reduced the payback period by 10 months.  $10 a month is much more feasible for us normal folks who don't live in a $20 million dollar home.  I'll never have an 'exceptional property' but I see a shorter repayment period in my future-that's always good news.

March Magazines

I haven't been written for a while.  I hadn't realized that it has been more than a month.  I've been so busy, but am resolving to blog regularly, no matter how short the posts might be.  At my new job as a periodicals librarian (which I am so thrilled to have), I'm being exposed to a lot of different magazines, journals, newsletters, and email updates.  I find something of interest every day, so of course I thought I'd share. 
Two tidbits I drew a correlation between today were relatively frightening (considering the news on CNN lately).  The first came in a Trends Journal email alert titled Trends Journal Predicted Global Anti-Gov't Protests:  What's Next? which discusses the impact of social media on global politics and seems to predict dire consequences.  See the Top Trends of 2011 (from the Trends Research Institute).  I am told that studying trends is really a key strategy for media this year.  Early this year I was able to sit in on a webinar by The Futures Company (formerly Yankelovich) which discussed the importance of trends in media.  I would like to hope the Trends Journal prediction is not going to come to pass.  However, in the March 1st issue of Bottom Line/Personal, I found an article titled How to survive a nuclear bomb (including decontamination methods).  The Bottom Line web site claims they have over 1 million readers (who may be in a frenzy of panic as I type).  How long before these types of articles show up in Woman's Day or worse, Newsweek? 
I'm glad I read a bit of everything.  Everyone should so they can evaluate and form their own opinions.  There is an overwhelming plethora of information.  Each reader needs to decide for themselves what to believe.  I hope this 'trend' is purely hype, but what do you believe?

Is this a scary new trend beginning?  Or just media hype to sell print?