I was expecting to hate this. It has a clunky, black-and-white cartoon of angry protestors with placards on the cover; there’s a quote from Ayn Rand on the Contents page. Articles have subtle, thought-provoking titles like “Pigs at the Trough: The Corporate Welfare State in America”. Don’t get me wrong, I hate corporations as much as the next guy, but there’s a genre of activist publication – you know the type – sigh…I have to admit that I find the thought of all the smeary newsprint and poor proofreading we have to look forward to After the Revolution a bit depressing. In the end, though, I kind of liked it in spite of myself. Articles on global warming and wealthfare and legalizing prostitution seemed to be supported with research, and they all ended with concrete advice on what ordinary citizens can do to change things. In-depth analysis was a little bit lacking – the piece comparing Blockbuster Video to the Nazi Party circa 1938 wasn’t particularly well thought out. Still, it got me a bit riled up about the state of the world, and in the end I felt no less inclined to activism than I had before, so let’s call this one even. (Wendy Banks)
magazine, #31, Craig Mazer (Ed.), 56 pages, $2 , PMB 361, 10151University Blvd., Orlando, FL 32817