Every once in a while, I post a review of a magazine. Usually, it's done something to tick me off and I want to vent. Unreadable print ranks high on my list of no-nos.
For many years, I was a fan of a healthy cooking magazine. It provided me with wonderful recipes and articles about the chemistry of cooking. It changed its name, and I faithfully followed it into new territory. If there were fewer recipes that appealed to me, there were more articles on how food is grown, as well as other aspects of health. Last year, that incarnation went belly-up. I received a notification that the remainder of my subscription - all 3 months of it - was being transferred to a general "good living" magazine. I was assured of many healthful, delicious recipes.
The first issue had one, exactly one, article I was interested in (the varieties of lavender bushes).
The next issue (summer 2022) contained:
The cover features a man wearing huge beads, nail polish, and a tattoo of a cross. He is grinning widely, showing unnaturally white teeth. I've never heard of him.
Article 1: A list of "summer fun" events sure to be Covid super-spreaders.
Article 2: "For the dad who has it all": a collection of gender-stereotyped merchandise I'd never buy for anyone.
Article 3: "Pool party" featuring blow-up pools large enough to accommodate several adults. In my area, water restrictions forbid filling pools. Don't the magazine folks realize that some of us live in drought zones?
A bunch of articles on makeup, with or without SPF. Yawn.
Article 4. A remodeled porch, with many pages of interior decoration porn.
Articles too-many, more interior decoration that would be way beyond my budget even if I could stand to look at it. Chairs designed to give you crippling back pain. Fabric upholstery my cats would love as scratching posts. Wall paint so dark as to create instant depression. Kids' rooms no self-respecting child would enter.
Article 5. Ah, gardening. Planters with trellises. Nope, nope, nope. Well, maybe, if I wanted to grow only 2 bean plants. Nope, nope, nope.
Articles more-too-many. You've-got-to-be-kidding-me style decor, complete with a plaque that says, "You're a mess." Yep, you are.
More sure-to-drive-kids-insane decor. More gloom-inspiring wall paint.
Article 6: "Egg bites"???
Article 7: Ah, some actual recipes, beginning with hearty salads. I think maybe I can work with this...until I look at the nutrition information and see sodium levels that start at 500 mg/serving and go upwards of 1,500 mg/serving. In what universe is this healthy??? (The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg.) You could get your entire day's allowance of sodium in just one salad!
Article 8: Cover guy in "Finding Home." Wearing pajamas, then wearing 1890s-style onesies. Wearing...what is that thing? I'm so uninterested in this person I don't recognize and who seems bent on warping his spine that I'm anti-interested.
Article 9: Drinks, all of them containing alcohol. Many pages' worth.
Article 10: Summer gatherings in this family's garden. Same back-pain-inducing furniture, but the garden looks nice. They have a cute dog. Maybe an outdoor meal might be safe...oh no, now they're indoors. Still, they look like a nice family.
Article 11: More decor, described as "exuberant patterns and joyful color." Too busy, too impersonal, too aggressive on the eyeballs. Does anyone actually spend time in these rooms?
Article 12: More salads, these arranged on large platters that look pretty but are designed to make sure (a) ingredients are distributed unequally; (b) there will be unusable leftovers. But I'll take a look. I like salads. I see 654 mg sodium...1.064 mg sodium...wow, here's one with only 470 mg. sodium but 42 grams of fat...at least most of it's unsaturated, but depending on your caloric intake, that could be an entire day's fat allowance. (See the above-recommended limits on sodium.)
I'll pass.
After I toss the issue in recycle bin.
There, I feel much better.
