From the Stacks: October 13, 2006

By Staff Utne.Com
Published on October 1, 2006

Utne receives some 1,200 magazines, newsletters, journals,
weeklies, and zines. Add in hundreds of books, CDs, and DVDs, and
it’s a flood of media that lines the walls of our library and piles
high on our desks. All the ideas, people, and stories inspire
lively daily chatter, but they can’t all fit into our bimonthly
magazine. So we share the gems here in our weekly editions of ‘From
the Stacks.’ Check in every Friday for the freshest highlights of
the independent and alternative media.

The
Public Eye
, the newsletter of the Massachusetts-based
think tank Political Research Associates, features in-depth
reporting on the activities and rhetoric of the right in the United
States. The Fall issue includes ‘The Art of the Slur,’ a lengthy
analysis of liberal-gone-conservative writer David Horowitz’s
self-proclaimed ‘political warfare’ strategies, comparing them to
Joe McCarthy’s. Another essay, ‘Cruising on Military Drive,’
deciphers the framing of immigration as a national security issue,
whereby Latinos are represented as either ‘good’ (pro-war,
assimilationist, legal) or ‘bad’ (anti-war, gang members,
undocumented). There’s also a thorough piece by Michelle Goldberg
that looks at Mississippi — with its single abortion clinic — as
the vanguard of the slow-but-steady movement to erode abortion
rights throughout the United States. — Danielle
Maestretti

The East Bay Monthly out of Northern
California offers the standard alternative press fare: local arts
and culture reviews and listings of upcoming events. The September
issue, however, highlights some innovative services that could
inspire readers everywhere. A piece called ‘Taking Turns’ showcases
car-sharing services that, though local, could help any urban
driver avoid the costly upkeep and parking nightmares of owning a
car in a metropolitan area. ‘Yuppie Puppy’ examines some
higher-quality alternatives to stashing the dog at a bleak kennel.
And ‘Eco Opportunity’ may plant ideas in the minds of those curious
about building environmental homes. — Rachel Anderson

Just
in time for Halloween,
AMC Outdoors shares a half-dozen tales of
haunting legends circulating throughout the New England woods.
Those eager for what executive editor Ed Winchester calls ‘a case
of the willies’ can read through stories of unexplained
disappearances, mountain poltergeists, and mysterious rock
formations. This member magazine of the Appalachian Mountain Club
is published 10 times a year. And, besides items on trail equipment
and the best sugar maple groves to hike, the AMC Outdoors
includes a section on dozens of upcoming member events in its
latter half. — Rachel Anderson

Green Futures’ coverage of all things
sustainable manages to resonate with today’s urgent need for
lifestyle changes without making didactic demands that people
deprive themselves of comfort. In the UK-based magazine’s
September/October issue, a string of articles under the umbrella
title ‘Greening the Catwalk’ looks at advances in
sustainable-but-hip clothing, how ethical threads are quickly
becoming the next fad, and the origins of our need for
ever-changing, ultimately landfill-bound fashions. Elsewhere, Kay
Sexton’s ‘Roof of Life’ profiles Dusty Gedge, the brain behind
Living Roofs, an organization that promotes turning roofs into
green spaces and habitat for wildlife. Gedge outlines the value of
biologically diverse roof-tops and highlights the nuanced
differences between ‘green’ and ‘living’ roofs — the latter
prioritizes sustainability and self-sufficiency over appearance.
— Suzanne Lindgren

Orin Domenico recently sent us Doubly Mad, a charming
bimonthly journal he and his wife, Kim, publish in Utica, New York.
In the September/October issue, Domenico re-examines the mysterious
shooting of a local resident in the early 1900s, an incident that
involved his great-grandfather. Also included, a column dubbed
‘Slow Food Dude’ reflects tongue-in-cheek on how the small city
compares to the Big Apple for entertainment and food: ‘Truth is,
New York does not have the corner on the constant stimulation
industry. We have a fix available here in Utica but only the Coor’s
Lite version.’ Whether I was reading a rant on local leisure
activities or a wine review, I felt like I was part of an inside
conversation with the owner of a local coffee shop (fitting then,
that the publisher of the newsletter is the owner of a coffee shop
in Utica). — Jenna Fisher

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