Not Exactly What I Expected: I Am SOOOOO Glad!

I've never been much of a fan of men's lifestyle magazines. Too much hype of really ugly "fashions", too many too-shallow articles, and too many gratuitous photos of babes in bikinis (when it comes to men's magazines, either lose the bikinis or lose the babes, I say). Men's Journal pretty much loses the babes. I can respect that.

I can also respect their mix of articles and their occasional hard-hitting deeper article. I didn't really expect that.

I've never been a regular reader of this magazine. In fact, I just got it as a fluke because the magazine was lying on the nightstand when I checked into my room at the Omni Houston hotel. I really expected to read it with disdain, but I was surprised to find myself poring over at least three of the articles for at least three reasons: they were well written, interesting, and relevant.

The magazine does a good mix of articles, but they have a strong focus on active, outdoor international travel. They do interesting, hard-hitting, very timely profiles. They throw in a few informed, relevant articles that are more news and politics.


Notebook...
The magazine kicks off with a whole slew of articles that cover a ton of things in very shallow depth. It's the typical pablum that usually turns me off of schlocky mass-market magazines.

Example: an article about overpriced and overhyped burgers. Somebody evidently wasted their time digging around to find the most ridiculous burgers in America (winner: at $41, "The Burger" at the Old Homestead in NYC). To add insult to injury, the article talks about effeminate burger toppers like foie gras and little foo-foo green things that don't look like no normal lettuce to me! Who freakin' cares?

Now I have nothing against reading about burgers. Just not poseur burgers for the fat of wallet and weak of mind. I'd have found a place in my heart for a great discussion of the myriad greasy glories of a true great burger, along with some pointers to places where you could find something along the lines of 2/3 pound of beef, cooked to perfection, and topped off with any of a veritable smorgasbord of lip-smacking taste tempters, and at prices more like $6. But then again, the authors would have had to visit Hutt's in to find such a truly praise-worthy morsel.

Movin' on, we have a short blurb hyping the America's Cup...so-called because most red-blooded American sports fans will switch the channel when somebody talks about sailboat racing as "a sport".

Movin' on...9 book reviews in just 6 paragraphs. A couple that sound good, a couple of formulaic bad thrillers centered around tired old retread characters written by well-known "New York Times Bestselling Authors", and a couple that sound like they'd put me to sleep faster than reading one of my own Epinions reviews.

Hmmm....a Sergio Leone anthology is going to be coming out on DVD. Could be interesting...

Head-to-head comparison of a and a GMC Sierra. I can tell the author has actually driven both vehicles because he tells you the Sierra is the better truck.

Couple snippet travel pieces...mountain biking through small towns in China. Could be cool (just don't use the toothpaste). A camel-back trek through Mongolia. Could be cool. Review of the Harley Nighster...looks very cool.


The Deeper Content...
Feature articles seem to be pretty well done. I read every word of the articles on the pollution threat of Canada's tar sands, the heavy-hitting profile on Nebraska senator Jon Tester (sounds like the kind of guy every state should elect), and a great outdoor travel article about whitewater kayaking/rafting/canoeing in the mountains near .

The whitewater article was very cool. It talked about kayaking down the Rio Alseseca. Some of it sounded great, but the thought of shooting over the edge of a sheer 64-foot high waterfall would pretty much mean it was laundry day for my trousers. Insane people looking for thrills will probably love it.


Health...
All men's magazines feature a few articles about excercise, diet, and various hot-topic debates, and Men's Journal is no exception. Their feature article about building up your brain health was informative and entertaining. (And I appreciated that I can build up the mind by eating and sleeping....no contortionist excercise machines for me! (Though there's some brain-building exercises mentioned too.)


Bottom Line...
Men's Journal is a decent enough magazine. Although it's core is a substanceless fluff lifestyle magazine, it redeems itself with a more worldly perspective and enough good, in-depth articles to make it worth picking up once in a while.

I know I'm surprised...I like this magazine better than most of its ilk.