on reading material

every tuesday and thursday -- and the occasional friday when things get really hectic -- i ride the train to the downtown office of my foundation supporting avant-garde san franciscan art. the ride is always a special treat, as seeing men pretend culture by reading the new yorker never fails to bring a smile to my face. do they know are reading a women's magazine?

before i continue, i must digress. some consider public transportation beneath someone of my unquestioned stature. on this point, i concede. inconsistent hygiene of commuters is no small hassle to deal with! but i find driving such menial work; the lowest form of manual labor, really, and one to be avoided by all except the bluest of blue collars.

for god's sake the magazine has cartoons! at some point (i call it adolescence), the new yorker possessed some value. but these days, it's no more than a coffee table prop. no issue of the new yorker has ever layed face down. no, the obscurement of the comic-esque cover would deny the poseur-owners the credit they so crave for having opinions, knowledge of (new york) current events, and appreciation of good writing. as if removing the jump substitutes for substance. does this compensate for the front third being littered with advertisements for diversion -- movies, plays, art exhibits, and the like. why not just advertise whores!

a serious literary magazine. far from it. try a well-dressed cousin of time out.

for this reason, i turn the pages of the atlantic monthly exclusively. with regularity, a simpleton holding the latest issue of the new yorker will inquire about the publication i peruse.

commoner: i have a friend who raves about the atlantic
i: my junior year of university, the tri-delt i was dating canceled her subscription to the new yorker in favor of vogue. did you know they're both advance publications? well anyways, i was looking for something a bit more mature, and ran across the atlantic. it's a bit of a thinking MAN's version of what you hold.

and with that, i return my gaze to the serious words of my serious magazine.