Does anyone still subscribe to magazines?

[Reverend Conehead]

Oh...I know! Err, what I mean is, I've heard that about the internet!

Seriously though, Playboy photos were always much better than what you find on the net. They were artistically done, by an actual photographer who knew what he was doing. Also, it may sound cliche, but the articles, reviews, etc., were second to none. That may have continued to be the case after they changed the format, but the whole change seemed to either be pandering to the whims of the repressed, or the new boss (Hef's daughter?) doing things the way they preferred. Whatever the case, it cheapened the product.

I agree totally. There was never anything wrong with Playboy as it was. It offered quality nude photos of women. There's nothing wrong with a man enjoying those. Today's fanatical PC mind police doesn't like that kind of thing, but they're a bunch of whiny Karens. I would have a problem with Playboy if they had forced women to pose nude, but they never did that. It was consensual every single time. I had a subscription at one time. Now that you mention it, I miss it.
...
Another magazine I once subscribed to was Mad. I even subscribed to the German language one when I lived in Germany. It helped me to improve my language skills a lot because it was funny, and that made you remember more. I'm super bummed that Mad is no longer published. I wanted to subscribe to an edgier French magazine similar to Mad named Fluide Glacial. It's naughtier. It's more like National Lampoon. However, a subscription here in the US would be cost prohibitive. It was something like $160 for a year to have it mailed from France to the US. That's just too much money. Instead, I found someone from Quebec on E-Bay selling back issues for a lot less money. So I went for a few of those. Maybe at some point I'll just bite the bullet and subscribe to Fluide Glacial. It's hilarious.

 

[Runwildboys]

I agree totally. There was never anything wrong with Playboy as it was. It offered quality nude photos of women. There's nothing wrong with a man enjoying those. Today's fanatical PC mind police doesn't like that kind of thing, but they're a bunch of whiny Karens. I would have a problem with Playboy if they had forced women to pose nude, but they never did that. It was consensual every single time. I had a subscription at one time. Now that you mention it, I miss it.
...
Another magazine I once subscribed to was Mad. I even subscribed to the German language one when I lived in Germany. It helped me to improve my language skills a lot because it was funny, and that made you remember more. I'm super bummed that Mad is no longer published. I wanted to subscribe to an edgier French magazine similar to Mad named Fluide Glacial. It's naughtier. It's more like National Lampoon. However, a subscription here in the US would be cost prohibitive. It was something like $160 for a year to have it mailed from France to the US. That's just too much money. Instead, I found someone from Quebec on E-Bay selling back issues for a lot less money. So I went for a few of those. Maybe at some point I'll just bite the bullet and subscribe to Fluide Glacial. It's hilarious.

There were women who sought out Playboy, to be in it. I knew one girl who moved to LA, just to try and be in the magazine. Unfortunately, that was right before they changed. Dang shame, I wanted to see that!

 

[The Fonz]

I know. Nowadays a lot of bathing suits basically show a person's behind. I was really surprised when I recently watched some women's diving competitions. They wore one-piece bathing suits that showed almost all of the woman's derriere. In previous decades, they didn't do that. I'm surprised it's allowed, but they didn't put me in charge of the wardrobes of women athletes. I would have chosen something that at least covers their bo-hineys.

I know what you mean.Don't think this is just a spontaneous fad this is a systematic agenda and war on morality and faith. .

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I know what you mean.Don't think this is just a spontaneous fad this is a systematic agenda and war on morality and faith. .

... and on sports. I think it cheapens any sport they use these kind of outfits in. You watch women's diving (or volleyball or whatever sport) for the competition and the amazing athletic things that they do. You don't watch it to amuse yourself by someone's butt hanging out, or at least I don't.

 

[Motorola]

If so, what magazines do you subscribe to?

National Geographic for me​

Not too long ago, one of my frequent flier cards offered me some free magazine subscriptions on my leftover miles. I subscribed to quite a few, but found I don't even read them anymore. Like Dante said, bathroom reading material at best now.

I used to get Consumer Reports but gave it up a couple years ago. That’s the last magazine I had a subscription to.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Thread got me to thinking about magazines. I really did enjoy reading these when I was young. Just another one of those things that kids today will never know about. Not that it matters. They get most of the same info for free now on the internet. But fact checking, editing and writing quality have all gone down now.

• National Geographic used to be the premiere magazine to collect. I remember our family having book shelves of past issues, and they always had that cool hologram cover every once in a while, in the 80s. It was also the only magazine in the house I could see naked women. Albeit, famished tribal villages somewhere in Africa, but when you're a kid, you're not picky.
• Sports Illustrated. Remember the phone they used to give away all the time? It was an annual tradition to re-up your SI subscription and get the free phone celebrating whomever just won the Super Bowl.
• TV Guide. Before the internet days. If you didn't get the Sunday paper, this was your only way to see what was on.
• LIFE. The super-large magazine. Sort of like a National Geographic too, just one of those premiere magazines that families were supposed to have on the coffee table.
• Readers Digest. Housewives everywhere would subscribe to this one along with Better Homes and Gardens.
• Guns & Ammo. Car & Driver. Not a lot of magazines geared towards men, but these were the big ones I remember.
• Political Magazines. Before the internet days, before all these blogs and social media networks took over politics, if you went to any large book store, you could find shelves and shelves of interesting journals along all sides of the political spectrum.
• Military History, World History... there were a few for history buffs. I used to pick these up a lot. Great reads. And again, another thing that you'll never see in the internet age because they were small subscription niche reads.
• Consumer Reports. As mentioned. This is something we've lost, because it's more word of mouth now on the internet for product advice, but I remember Consumer Reports had a detailed testing system for everything. Those were always interesting "bang for you buck" reads.
• MAD Magazine. Even MAD couldn't hang in the internet age and is gone. That was always a funny read. I think CRACKED went out of business a long time ago. I know them more for their website now than any magazine memories.
• And as mentioned in a previous reply... the annual giant-size Sports Previews. Loved to stock up on those before the season began and see how many titles were predicting my team to win it all. That was my draft guide too.

 

[Streifenkarl]

@VaqueroTD , all great memories lol. Playboy (at least in "my" days was never "spanking the monkey" material as the pictures were just too classy and beautiful. There was enough porn available for that lol. But I can see how in earlier decades it was different.

My parents never had the Playboy, but it was the first thing I subscribed to when I moved into my first apartment. It's keenest readers where my girlfriends by the way, as women can better embrace beauty among their own sex I guess. Had a history magazine and a football magazine too.

Now, like everyone else I have none. I wonder how these magazines survive.

 

[dsturgeon]

Instead of buying them at the store, I have been thinking about getting a penny press/dell magazine subscription