BS: National Geographic passe?

Subject: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 01:10 PM

I had $20.00 worth of goods I needed in my Amazon inbox, I could pay 6.85 shipping or $12.00 for a year of National Geographic Magazine and have it all shipped for free. I received three magazines so far, one is unread, two are unopened. I realize that in today's information market National Geo is simply not as unique or marginally informative as it was when I last read it, as a teenager in the 1970's.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 01:22 PM

One of my favorite magazines these days is National Geographic TRAVELER. Every issue takes you to places you have never been or to places you have always been curious about or to the place where you grew up.

National Geographic, itself, is still good, imo, it is just that I am not as young as I used to be.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Midchuck
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 01:35 PM

Who else is so old that they remember when National Geographic was the only place you could see pictures of nekkid wimmen and not get in trouble for having it?

P.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 01:45 PM

My son in law some years back surprised me for seeming to equate the NG with porn. I gathered that he and his siblings were not allowed easy access to the magazine.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Rapparee
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 01:46 PM

Nothing impolite intended, but it you don't read it how do you know it's irrelevant?

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 01:57 PM

A somewhat more current source that I usually actually read is Smithsonian Magazine. While it's perhaps more directly appropriate to US readers, the coverage is worldwide, and could be of interest to those elsewhere. One of it's advantages over NG is that it covers a much broader subject range, and includes frequent articles on history, art, technology, and "a bunch of other stuff" rather than the more limited interest range of NG.

The last time I looked at National Geographic the natives had all been too "civilized" to have many "good" pictures, so it was almost like Playboy - you had to read the articles to get much out of it.

John

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 02:44 PM

Scanned the TOC, looked at the pictures, of course! it's NatGeo! And being as it is NatGeo I looked at the "free" map.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 02:55 PM

I too like the Smithsonian Magazine, but my favorite these days is the The Atlantic. Great articles, long and comprehensive.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 02:55 PM

I read NG for years. As time went on I realized I was reading less and less of it and leaving issues mostly unread but piled up thinking I would get back to them. I mostly never did.

I eventually switched to Smithsonian. I am with J in K on this one, it has a wider range of subject matter. Still, I got to a point with Smithsonian where I wasn't reading enough of it to make it worth paying for so do not get it now. I expect to start up again someday, I still read it at the barbershop for instance.

My 16 yo son said just a couple of days ago that NG was past it. I asked why he thought that but didn't argue with him. His thinking was that their model is old school, not how people get info any more. He got a gift subscription a couple of years ago but doesn't even open the plastic anymore. I open it up and read some but not enough to want a copy in my name.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 02:59 PM

Ebbie, my 16 yo son has just gotten a subscription the The Atlantic.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 07:49 PM

I have heaps of older NGs I am re-reading (well...back to the 70s, anyway.) Amazing stuff that is not all out of date.

And every day I visit NG photo of the day

I also have a heap of older Smithsonian issues.... I read newer NGs at the Drs office.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 08:21 PM

Reading the "old" NG also exposed one to unadulterated ethnocentrism.

But the photos were great!

I still enjoy working my way through it and the text has much improved in the last 30 years.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 02:26 AM

I'll admit I don't read National Geographic enough to justify my subscription, but I've found many articles to be very interesting. Last month there was a lengthy article on Egypt, and it arrived just before my visit to Egypt. The article gave me an excellent overview, and was a good preparation for my trip.
I agree with Ebbie - I do like National Geographic Traveler much better.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:50 AM

Give your copies to a grade school. Somewhere a twelve-year-0ld is ready to read about the big world.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 11:20 AM

Leena that pretty much gets to my point. Nowadays, the things we used to read National Geographic to find out about have their own cable TV channels. Not to mention Wiki, image search and University websites.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 09:38 AM

I'm pretty sure the Hispanic kids down at my local Catholic grade school are not seeing any of those things. And if they did, it would jsut impede learning to read and to think.
=======
One thing that I've noticed over the years is the homogeneity of NG's prose. How do they get all writers to sound exactly the same? Year in and year out, the bland, smooth, rolling prosody of NG comes off the presses.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 09:47 AM

Leenia, it's formats and editing.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: ranger1
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 10:32 AM

I, for one, love National Geographic. I also love Smithsonian. My grandmother gives J-boy a gift subscription of NG for Christmas and we both read it cover to cover. I give my grandmother a gift subscription to Smithsonian, and she gives us the magazines when she's done with them. I don't get as much out of surfing the web as I do flipping pages. and I love the smell of a fresh NG.

Subject: RE: BS: National Geographic passe?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 12:40 PM

I used to love that too ranger1. But I would also love their maps and charts showing, for example, all the species of whales or the history of US fighter jets. I would love their relevance and their windows on things unknown to me.

Google Earth and Bing are way more fun than the old national geo maps. ant technological items can be found with plans, history and videos for most items on the web. So much of the magazine's usefulness has gone for me.