on 15 April 2003 : 10:16, Anne sez:
on 15 April 2003 : 12:14, Damanda sez:
It would be interesting to meet some of the people that subscribe to these magazines. I'm not quite sure to whom they cater. Reenactment nerds?
I saw something really interesting on the news last night. (tangent alert...) There's a segment where if you don't get satisfaction from a company, you can call the news station and they will contact the company on your behalf. Usually it's someone who has purchased something that doesn't work and the company refuses to repair it or offer a refund. When confronted by a news crew, all the businesses agree to refund money or repair the item. Last night a man was featured in the segment that renewed his subscription to Los Angeles magazine . Not only did he not receive his magazine but they cashed his check and when he mailed them copies of his cancelled checks, they still didn't reinstate his subscription and they wouldn't return his calls. The man said that he first subscribed to the magazine when he saw a yearly issue called "the best of LA' which listed LA's best dogparks, restaurants, drycleaners. etc etc. He said that he was born in LA and has lived here all his life, so he found the issue really enjoyable and informative. He also really enjoys the special dining issues reviewing LAs best restaurants. He says that since he lost his job as a truck driver, the 53 year old man lives vicariously through the reviews since he can no longer afford to eat out. He says that he realizes that $9.95 isn't a lot of money to complain about, but that he's been out of work and he really loves and misses the magazine. When the news station contacted the magazine, they refused to go on camera but agreed to send him the missing issues.
"YAAAAAYYYYYYY!" he said smiling while showing the four missing issues displayed on his coffee table.
Actually the entire segment seemed to be an endorsement for the magazine. It was amazing to me that the man who was unemployed, single and lived in a meager apartment which was shown in the segment wasn't angry at all and only spoke of the joy he got from reading the magazine each month. I almost felt like buying the man another year's subscription to the magazine and was kind of angry at the magazine for not compensating him further. The only magazine that I've ever read that's ever made me that happy was Spy....and sadly I'm no longer able to subscribe to it...and it's gone forever...wah.
on 15 April 2003 : 14:46, Liz sez:
I like the Quaker ideas, violence doesn't appeal to me in any form. I saw Prof Burkes blog linked from Wayne's (former Swattie) site and its great!
on 16 April 2003 : 06:33, Ben sez:
I have always been concerned about Soldier of Fortune magazine. The thought that there is a subculture (maybe even a CULTURE) of people that romanticize the thrill of bounty hunting monthly is unsettling. The worst bits are always in the classified sections. I'm always left with this feeling like there is an underground network of weirdos ready to pick up where the police have to show restraint. Sort of like those shirts that say "Kill them all and let got sort it out". There's a life motto. Facists.
on 16 April 2003 : 06:40, kurt sez:
I would bet that for most Americans, the only history is military history.
Look at the Hitler, um, History Channel.
America is highly militaristic and fascistic -- and has been for a long time. It is amusing to watch folks like Justin -- by his own admission privileged and a bit sheltered, despite all the sex and drugs and whatnot --- express mild shock and bemusement when they brush up against these pop-culture currents.
It confirms my suspicion that that America is two countries: a small educated elite (overrepresented on the 'Net) -- liberalish, elitist, technologically literate -- and a uneducated mass (overrepresented in talk radio) -- right-wingish, religious, AOL users. The two societies rarely mix, and they harbor major misconceptions about one another. And they are only drifting further -- and more dangerously -- apart.
on 17 April 2003 : 17:38, Coe sez:
When exactly did everyone become so uptight, anyway? "In the midwest, without access to some of what we call culture in California, they have drawn on the annals of human endeavor for lessons and entertainment" made me chuckle a bit. To say that the midwest has no culture after glancing at a copy of Military History is a tad alarmist, I think. I'm sure there are just as many "war heads" on the west coast as there are in the midwest.
All this talk of how terrible a time we live in just makes me laugh as well. The world was carved out in violence, our culture is derived from violence, and I doubt we'll see an end to violence anytime soon. I certainly wouldn't call these military fanatics "pop-culture" either, in response to Kurt's comment. The only reason their hobbies/interests come to the foreground is due to our current obsession with violence thanks to psycho kids who shot up their school (which I believe can only be a product of bad parenting) and the current war. The extremists become the majority, right? It's an unending cycle. If we were facing an ice age, I'm sure we would all suddenly become obsessed with geology or penguins, or maybe we'd blame it all on ice cream vendors, because surely those devilish dealers of frosty delight have brought this devestating apocolypse upon us.
on 16 May 2003 : 16:14, Comrade Nachaev sez:
I think it is interesting that lots of gamers have become interested in learning WW2 history due to the ww2-based games they play.
For example, Day of Defeat. It has been a modification game for Half-Life for a couple of years, and was just released retail at the beginning of May.
Check out the Forum for the game. It has a section on WW2 history. The young folks playing this game have definitely had their interest in history tweaked by the game, whereas the "formal education system's" teaching of history was just boring for the most part.
on 24 November 2003 : 19:06, c2inomaha sez:
1)Reading history magazines implies a violent nature? Gee, I will have to look at my history professor in a new light. Previously I had pegged him as a geeky little liberal.
2)Travel through a state. See a magazine on sale. Generalize about the state's population.
Where on earth did you learn journalism? (Then again, it sounds just as inane as some things on the network news).
3)Some people actually study history for the pleasure of whipping up on history-challenged co-workers (and freelance journalists) because it is fun to use facts when the other guy is using empty theory.
4)Facts beat theory pretty regularly in history, turns out. Example "Adam Smith versus Karl Marx" (that would be the Invisible Hand and the 5-year plan if you want to Goggle it). Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it - right?
5)The "elite"...(God, what twit decided they were "In" and others "Out"?). Should have left that behind in high school. About the time my SAT scores made you decide to retest.
6)My recommendation: try learning history instead of just having an opinion about history.
on 20 February 2004 : 05:09, Creno sez:
on 30 March 2004 : 12:51, Cindy Klingler sez:
I was trying to find out some history about a small tin of cigarettes found. This tin just has "cigarettes" inscribed on the top lid and the tin is round. The cigarette has "Capstan Navy Cut, Medium" written on one side and "W. D. & H. O. Wills" written on the other side. The cigarettes are filterless and have a cardboard lining on the inside of the tin with cigarettes in the center. Do you have any info on these. Thank you.
on 17 April 2004 : 14:20, Mary sez:
discount cigarettes store offers cheap and discount marlboro cigarettes online, lights, menthol and other cheap marlboro cigarettes, marlboros
discount cigarettes store offers cheap and discount davidoff cigarettes online. lights, ultra, slims and other cheap davidoff cigarettes
cheap camel cigarettes are of the highest quality!
Cigarettes Cigarettes-Planet.net offers cheap and high quality discount cigarettes online !
discount cigarettes store offers cheap and discount marlboro cigarettes online, lights, menthol and other cheap marlboro cigarettes, marlboros
discount cigarettes store offers cheap and discount davidoff cigarettes online. lights, ultra, slims and other cheap davidoff cigarettes
cheap camel cigarettes are of the highest quality!
parliament cigarettes online,
salem cigarettes online,
winston cigarettes online,
Cigarettes cheap online Premium tobacco products at the best prices on the Internet.
on 29 April 2004 : 15:15, Doc sez:
Oh come on. I admit there's something about people who read military history all the time, but to call them freaks is a little strong. Perhaps the real freaks are the ones who read (!?) HIGH TIMES. If violence disturbs you, perhaps you are that guy Men At Work wrote a song about "Who can it be now?" Violence is all around us and it is a fact of life. The last time I checked, the Quakers weren't filling their quota of converts, either.
on 5 May 2004 : 12:08, John Rickman sez:
As a writer for Military History Magazine I can’t speak to why people read it only why I write for it. Like it or not war has been one of the most important activities humans have engaged in for thousands of years and is likely to be with up for a long time to come. There are even those, such as my self, that believe that it was one of the major motivating forces behind the rise of civilization.
Although I consider myself to be profoundly anti-war I believe that is foolish to stick one’s head in the sand and hope it will go away. If we hope to end war it behooves us to understand it, the real reasons it happens and not simply our knee jerk assumptions, how it works and what impact culture has on war and war has on culture.
There is a saying among real military historians to the effect that “the way a culture organizes itself for war and the way it organizes itself for peace are inextricably linked and one cannot change one without changing the other.”
Through knowlege comes power
on 24 June 2004 : 10:28, Cigarette cheap, cigarettes online sez:
Marlboro cigarettes Cigarettes online store, provides cheapest, fresh, discount, tax free marlboro cigarettes.
Camel cigarettes Cigarettes online store, provides cheapest, fresh, discount, tax free camel cigarettes.
winston cigarettes Cigarettes online store, provides cheapest, fresh, discount, tax free winston cigarettes.
davidoff cigarettes Cigarettes online store, provides cheapest, fresh, discount, tax free davidoff cigarettes.
salem cigarettes Cigarettes online store, provides cheapest, fresh, discount, tax free salem cigarettes.