I revisited IV. Largo yesterday and just started plugging in some new stuff. You may recall that I had a sweet little variation that I had plugged some weeks ago and wasn’t sure I liked. I still not sure about that, and now it’s got two more bits plugged in after that. I’m creating this Frankenstein of a score, all kinds of crap just stitched together. It’s getting less organic by the minute. But I’m going to try just sticking stuff in there and then taking stuff out. However, my major accomplishment yesterday was to realize an ending for III. Allegro gracioso. I’m not telling you what it is. I can now start orchestrating for real, and you’ll hear it when I’m done. I think it’s going to surprise you.
I’ve been getting The Atlantic for a couple of months now. Some airline that I had a few points with sent me a letter saying I needed to get rid of them, and here were all these magazines I could get for free. So I loaded up: Architectural Digest, The Week, Time, Bon Appetit, and The Atlantic.
The articles are good, usually, but what caught my eye yesterday were the ads. Not the ones up front, the full-page numbers from national corporations that are sandwiched in between the lead articles. No, I finally noticed that the back third of the magazine goes from a two-column layout to a three-column, and the editorial content is shoved to the center and the outside column is given over to advertisement that, taken as a whole, give you a pretty good snapshot of the kind of person The Atlantic‘s ad sales division is convinced reads their magazine. Or at least has convinced these advertisers.
A tour: a book ad for Who’s your city?, by Richard Florida, the man who gave us “the creative class.” Now he’s trying to show you how you, as a member of the creative class, can decide where to live. www.WhosYourCity.com. I smell marketing.
Full-page ad from Oxford University Press with their latest offerings: Fixing failed states: a framework for rebuilding a fractured world, Fair trade for all: how trade can promote development, The bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it, How to change the world: social entrepreneurs and the power of new ideas, and In defense of globalization. Sorry, no more books for me.
StressEraser. Grundig shortwave radios. Another book, 10 excellent reasons not to hate taxes, from The New Press, a “short, snappy, essential handbook that counters the anti-tax, anti-government rhetoric that permeates our culture.” Tempting, but no more books.
Gary Weeks & Company, furniture makers.
“The World’s Most Wonderful Enamels: 800 original designs of art, science, and culture. Visit us on your trip to Alaska.”
w. end ave: an e-journal of culture & politics (That was the entire ad.)
Another book: Blessed unrest: how the largest social movement in history is restoring grace, justice, and beauty in the world. From Penguin Books. Sorry, no more books, and also, I must have missed the evidence in my world because I cannot think what this social movement might be.
The HP Printing Mailbox with Presto Service, so you can spam those aged relations who don’t want a computer. (It took me a moment to realize: it’s a color fax machine.)
Some garish rings from John Christian Designers & Craftsmen.
An interesting painting of a tiny figure on a beach, approaching an enormous man, loinclothed and topknotted. THINK BIG: The thief of Baghdad special edition DVD, from the Criterion Collection.
The Bow Tie Club. (We’re getting into the really small ads now.)
SnowLion Expeditions: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Everest, India, Japan, Koreas, K2, Mongolia, Tibet, Vietnam.
Some more books…
Hats! Panamas, Akubra Hats (?), more, from David Morgan.
Daffodil bulbs. A kik-step! Inuit art. Cruises on what appears to be a three-masted yacht. Upton Tea Imports. Andrew Sullivan.
More books: Harvard University Press, University of Wisconsin Press, Grove/Atlantic Press.
Special introductory price! $19.95 (reg. $39.50-49.50) for 100% cotton pintpoint oxford dress shirt! Paul Frederick Menstyle.
Endless Pool! (I really want one of these.) CoffeeMakersEtc. Grace Rare Tea. The Wallet Pen: now, you always have a pen! (One of Oprah’s favorite things!)
Retire to Fearrington: a charming country village near Chapel Hill, NC, with bluebirds, belted cows, and fascinating people of all ages. (I’ve actually seen billboards for this one.)
And we’re done. There is the whole “emporium” section, where you can find pheromones, Celtic jewelry, handcrafted wooden jigsaw puzzles, 14K gold eagle rings, and cufflinks made from Yankee Stadium seats, but on the whole, I think we now have a pretty good idea of the kind of person who reads The Atlantic.
“Akubra” is a brand-name, an Australian hat company. Got it.
Dear Dale:
I wanted to thank you for your mention of the HP Printing Mailbox and Presto Service. Our little company needs all the awareness it can get! As for Presto being a color fax machine, I offer the following differences between Presto and Fax:
– Accepts incoming email, not faxes
– No junk mail can get through
– Beautifully formatted printouts
– Accepts PDF attachments
– Attached photos resized, formatted and embedded on the page
– No toll charges on the user’s phone line
– Printing Mailbox phones OUT on programmed schedule (doesn’t accept incoming calls)
– Uses plain paper and snap-in cartridge
– Uses existing phone line
– Designed to not interrupt phone calls
– MAKES GRANDMA AND GRANDPA HAPPY!
And just as importantly, makes it easier for their computer-savvy family and friends to send email, photos and documents beinging them into the broader family.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Peter Radsliff, VP Marketing
Presto Services Inc.
There you go, then.