Spendthrift Shoestring

The 2008 Media Graveyard, Plus One (Alive & Healthy) Discovery

This has been a year of spectacular financial collapses, and the world of magazine and newspaper publishing has not been spared any pain. The New York Sun, with its very good arts coverage, fell at the end of September. I especially miss the contributions of the Sun's London correspondent Zoe Strimpel, which made London feel immediate and nearby.

Then there's Organize Magazine, which closed up shop over the summer. Until recently, I knew nothing about the "organizing" craze, which turns on the mass desire to reduce clutter. I found a copy of the May/June issue of Organize just a few weeks ago on a Target store magazine rack and, needing something to distract me, snapped it up. It quickly became clear how much I needed it. The article on refrigerator reorganization in particular was pretty irresistible. Articles on storage, home and office electronics recycling, and a family reunion planning primer may all, granted, send the obsessive-compulsive-leaning into rages of perfectionism, yet they simultaneously provide much-needed encouragement for the organization-challenged. Oh how I wish Organize were still around. I'd love to pen a list of trip organizing tips for them.

Through a mess of links I came across while researching Organize, I discovered Re-Nest, a great blog within the Apartment Therapy family focused on green living. Its object refurbishment and reuse suggestions are particularly strong.

Print Crush: Vogue Entertaining + Travel

My latest print crush comes from Australia. Vogue Entertaining + Travel is big and bold, an oversize glossy that fuses the pleasures of high-end grub and travel. The default attention to trends and events in Australia makes it feel very fresh. The Australian restaurant scene is very exciting, and the magazine hits this point home again and again. If the cuisine scene in Australia doesn't excite you then you probably don't really like eating in the first place.

The Aug/Sept issue, which I picked up yesterday, is full of interesting features and enthralling nuggets. Most exciting are the bulletins relating to Aussie food and drink, like the news that Sydney's Toby's Estate has opened up a Melbourne outpost, or the tidbit that the fabulously named Elvis Abrahanowicz has opened a casual Argentinian diner-bar next to his extremely popular Bodega (in Sydney.)

There's also a splashy feature on Las Vegas by Michael Walters, with pretty pictures by Julien Capmeil. It reimagines Vegas as a home of old-fashioned kitsch, and points to the town's eco-friendly park and arts district. It's made me actually want to visit Las Vegas, something that the past decade and a half of hype and bluster has failed to do. Also of note: a food tour of Hyderabad by Matt Preston and a whirl through Melbourne's retail and restaurants, also by Matt Preston.

I shelled out $13.95 for a copy of the August/September issue, and I don't regret dropping the cash. In Australia, the magazine retails for AUD8.95 (about $6).

Good Travel Media Roundup: hidden europe, NYT, Monocle

My very favorite publication under the enormous umbrella of European travel is hidden europe, a mesmerizing chronicle of the continent's forgotten corners and terrains. The magazine's September issue includes a fascinating piece by Karlos Zurutuza on the pseudostate of Transdniestr. Read an excerpt here. And then order a copy or two of the magazine.

My sister's very good friend Sophia Kishkovsky had a bang-up piece in the New York Times yesterday on Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. Kishkovsky looks at the presence of Muslim and Russian Orthodox monuments in the city and provides a context for the city's emergent status as a tourist destination.

In the October issue of Monocle, I liked the Lisbon recommendations, which include a mention of A Vida Portuguesa, a shop selling a range of traditional Portuguese products. The "Inventory" section is also good. (Choice item: the beautifully packaged Laitilan sodas.) Also exciting is the overview of Montserrat, a lovely neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

Five German Discoveries

I really enjoyed the time I had in Germany before and after my Balkans adventure. I haven't spent any time in Germany since 2006, and it was great to immerse myself in German idioms for several days.

Following is a list of five discoveries that delighted and intrigued me.

1. Milka with Daim. The mere sight of Milka's violet wrapping paper makes me hungry. I know that my love of milk chocolate disqualifies me from the good chocolate snob leagues, but I don't really care. Everyone knows that nothing makes milk chocolate better than liberal sprinklings of toffee throughout. This confection does just that, and it's dreamily perfect. Apparently, drfossie agrees.

2. Turkish language signage. This may not be new at all, but my recollection is that most public signage in Germany—regarding, say, which objects should not be thrown into toilets—has historically been restricted to German, English, French, Italian, and occasionally Spanish. The appearance of the Turkish language in such contexts is a no-brainer, considering that Germans of Turkish descent comprise the largest immigrant group in Germany by far. (Incidentally, I was also much more aware of the presence of Deutschtürken/innen in the German media on this visit. One media phenomenon, Gülcan Kamps (née Karahanci) seemed to follow me everywhere I went.)

3. How awesome the Süddeutsche Zeitung is. I think it might just be the best newspaper in the world. I really enjoyed Robert Knight's article in Monday's edition on the Germanization of southern Carinthia. It was fifty years ago this autumn that the southern Austrian state limited bilingual education dramatically. Knight writes about the introduction of bilingual education in the first years after the Second World War. The system was the brainchild of Josef Tischler, an ethnic Slovene who for a time was a member of the state government. Tischler sought to create a "second Switzerland" in Carinthia, within which Slovenian and German would coexist fruitfully. Alas, as we all know, Carinthia chose a more provincial path.

4. Great trashy pop tunes. Every time I turned on VIVA I came across delightful poppy songs, like "Florida Lady" by Frauenarzt & Manny Marc featuring Alexander Marcus, which samples Fancy's drastically underappreciated 1984 disco tune "Slice Me Nice." Also satisfying: sugary "2 Herzen" by Kate & Ben; the moody "So Soll Es Bleiben" by Ich & Ich; and, because shame is unknown to me, "Häschenparty" by Schnuffel.

5. Air Berlin. Free drinks, a sandwich, and newspapers and magazines on my cheap flight? Yes please.

Three Stylish Yet Affordable Guesthouses

Yesterday I finally got ahold of the July Wallpaper, which is fashioned as an insider's guide. This theme produces an interesting smattering of properties in the "Arrivals" section, a few of which are moderately priced. Room National, a tiny, very stylish b&b in Antwerp, grabbed my attention (lowest double €95). Another gem for the budget-conscious courtesy of the feature is Moorstone Guest House in Devon, where doubles begin at £60 (singles at £50).

And then, beyond the pages of the magazine, there's Pebble Hotel in St. Ives (Cornwall), where I'll be staying for a night week after next. I'll surely have much more to say about it after my visit, but all signs point to a night of affordable style (high-season doubles begin at £47; singles at £45.)

Weekend UK Travel Media Highlights

I found it funny—or something else short of ironic—that the travel sections of two UK newspapers this weekend contained features on two places I wanted badly to find a way to visit during my stint here in London: Northern Cyprus and the Faroe Islands. It turned out to be either impractical or too expensive to make journeys to these spots during my time in London, but they both remain at the top of my list of places to visit as soon as schedule and finances allow.

In the Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Alistair Fraser's "Fresh tracks in the forgotten North," is an adventure travel feature focused on hiking, beaches, ruins, Nicosia, and the territory's unique cultural situation. The north of Cyprus is full of deserted beaches and easily accessible ruins. It's also got a little bit of an outlaw atmosphere; without any extradition treaties, it's thought to be home to a fair number of criminals on the lam. Obviously, the prospect of a solution to the island's partition is a great cause for hope, and I would love to see continued movement in this direction. That said, I hope to visit before its coastlines get developed and its unusual atmosphere dissipates entirely—both likely scenarios in the event of reunification or federation.

In yesterday's Observer, Ruaridh Nicoll writes about the Faroe Islands, which he visited with his father-in-law, James Watt, who spent part of the summer for two decades painting in the Faroes. It's a very nice feature, weaving an acknowledgment of the Faroes' modern, rich Nordic credentials in with a sense of its quiet and insular particularities.

Also in the Observer: an "Instant Weekend" feature on Pristina by Sophie Middlemiss and an ode to no-frills campsites by Kate Edgely. The former makes me excited, again, to visit Kosovo in September; the latter just makes me wish I had camping gear with me in London, not to mention lots and lots of idle time.

London's Free Afternoon Dailies

Every weekday afternoon and evening in London, the free newspaper war is on. Copies of two free papers, London Lite and thelondonpaper, are passed out in enormous volume by uniformed representatives at innumerable crowded spots across London.

With their soft news coverage, the two are strictly commuter reading material, though their snappy celeb tidbits are well done. Yesterday's photos in London Lite of Pixie Geldof rolling a cigarette and of Alesha Dixon smiling her ass off in the back seat of a convertible Bentley are representative of the tenor of the publication's coverage of local celebrities.

The best feature of all is thelondonpaper's "24 hrs in pictures," which graces page two of the newspaper. Yesterday's photo of Boris Johnson and Wednesday's pic of Denise van Outen were both snapped earlier on their publication days. The same-day shots make the feature feel extremely current. In turn, the feature imbues countless commutes with a sense of random immediacy.

Monocle's Exciting May Issue

The May issue of Monocle is a thrill a minute. As far as I can tell, the magazine's broad focus on business, politics, fashion, and brands is without parallel in the English-language media sphere. No other magazine makes me itchy to get out of my chair and onto a plane the way that Monocle does, and I think this is due to the fact that it's not a magazine about travel. It's a magazine about objects and places and phenomena and money.

There's a feature on the effort to rebrand the Faroe Islands as a more modern, more forward-thinking spot. There's an interesting pairing of Nicosia and Beirut, which notes efforts toward Greek-Turkish reconciliation in the former and laments continued volatility in the latter. There's a piece on Finnish healthy fast-food chain Sis. Deli+Café, which made me recognize for the millionth time that I'm a complete sucker for tight, crisp café interiors. There's a business report on the southern Brazilian city of Florianópolis. And then, in the final of my favorite pieces, there is a profile of property, shops, restaurants, and hotels in Phnom Penh.

So exciting, all the way through.