Magazine madness.
23 March 2010
I was too restless to read this weekend, so imagine my disappointment when not much was on TV other than "March Madness"--the beginning of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
I have always been a bit stymied by the popularity of this tournament. I never knew that many people watched or cared about college basketball; I don't mind watching the last minute or so of close games, but other than that, who cares? Then Mr. CR explained that lots of people have lots of money riding on the tournament in lots of ways, and that made it more clear.
Anyway, Mr. CR IS a fan, so that's what was on our TV. To block it out I turned to a different sort of reading than I normally do: magazines! I went crazy with them, because they're nice to read if you just want to read a bit here and there. Mr. CR had just been to the library, so he had Kiplinger's and Wired sitting around, and my sister bought us a subscription to New York magazine, and we had a pile of Economists recycled from the same sister. Throw in the Sunday paper and I was pretty much set.
So which did I enjoy the most? Well, I inhale the New York Magazines the day they come (I read them literally cover to cover, even all the profiles of New York City people, although I have no idea who they are), so they weren't really part of the mix.* I do enjoy Kiplinger's, because you can find some interesting financial tips and tidbits, although most of it is over my head (Mr. CR tries on a weekly basis to explain the difference between ETFs and mutual funds to me, and I just can't get it). But Wired magazine I can only glance at, as its focus on technology, gadgets, and how great both of those things are making our modern lives makes me a little bit depressed. And then there's The Economist. I like this magazine, but you can only read about 1/90th of it before you start to poop out (it's unbelievably packed with articles). All in all, though, all of these magazines made for kind of eclectic reading and thinking. I'd recommend taking an all-magazine weekend sometime.
*I also like looking at the real estate ads and fantasizing about the million-dollar, one-bedroom lofts available.