Rating: 
Summary: Might makes right
Review: As a reader of the late, lamented Might magazine, what could thrill me more than a collection of its greatest hits, so to speak (except perhaps a big, oversized compilation of the best of Spy magazine before it got really bad around 1992)? I thought I'd walk over to the campus library on my lunch hour today and check it out but the online card catalog doesn't list it. The suburban public library I use a lot does have a copy on the shelf, so I may drive up there after work tonight, even though I have a lot of math homework and I think I read some of the articles when they originally appeared in the magazine.
Rating:
Summary: something to remember Might by
Review: I cried the day I got my last issue of Might Magazine. Not because I had just bought a subcription and was out 19 bucks, but because I felt like I was loosing a friend. Might was smart, funny, and lovable. If I had lived in San Francisco I'd have been a Might groupie. Buy this book and experience some of the Might genius.
Rating:
Summary: something to remember Might by
Review: I cried the day I got my last issue of Might Magazine. Not because I had just bought a subcription and was out 19 bucks, but because I felt like I was loosing a friend. Might was smart, funny, and lovable. If I had lived in San Francisco I'd have been a Might groupie. Buy this book and experience some of the Might genius.
Rating: 
Summary: eclectic, interesting mix
Review: I originally bought this book through Amazon.com because I first learned about it as having an article written by Mark Dougherty, the vocalist for a music group called Soul Coughing. I was intrigued because, in addition to being briliant, wacky musicians, the lyrics to much of their work are some of the funniest, catchiest, nonsensical clips of genius that I have ever heard. Naturally, I had to read-on. What I found was something that I didn't even know existed: a semi-underground, irreverent and now extinct publication called 'Might Magazine'. Although I was never exposed to it firsthand, I can see how many might have considered this publication to have a lot of potential, if uneven and frustrating at times. There is such a thing as too much tongue-in-cheek, and the collective smirk on the faces of all the contributors included in this book could create enough energy to power the sun for a year. This wouldn't be so bad if, after reading all that, one weren't left with the feeling that half these guys are making the smug and annoying assumption that they are smarter than you. Still, this collection has a lot of things going for it, including some truly quirky and original humor. Three of my favorites are: 'Are Black People Really Cooler Than White People?', the story on Adam Rich's death, and the essay attacking outdoor extreme sports as a trendy fetish. Many others, like the essay on the ubiquity of the American caesar salad, seem truly trivial in a weak attempt at quirky, camp humor. In fact, many of these essays make you wonder, 'Why would anyone ever want to write on this subject?', and on more than one occasion, I sometimes wished that they would stop. Despite this, the celebration of camp culture is a topic that is very worthy of publication. This book comes as a recommendation largely for that reason alone.
Rating:
Summary: eclectic, interesting mix
Review: I originally bought this book through Amazon.com because I first learned about it as having an article written by Mark Dougherty, the vocalist for a music group called Soul Coughing. I was intrigued because, in addition to being briliant, wacky musicians, the lyrics to much of their work are some of the funniest, catchiest, nonsensical clips of genius that I have ever heard. Naturally, I had to read-on. What I found was something that I didn't even know existed: a semi-underground, irreverent and now extinct publication called 'Might Magazine'. Although I was never exposed to it firsthand, I can see how many might have considered this publication to have a lot of potential, if uneven and frustrating at times. There is such a thing as too much tongue-in-cheek, and the collective smirk on the faces of all the contributors included in this book could create enough energy to power the sun for a year. This wouldn't be so bad if, after reading all that, one weren't left with the feeling that half these guys are making the smug and annoying assumption that they are smarter than you. Still, this collection has a lot of things going for it, including some truly quirky and original humor. Three of my favorites are: 'Are Black People Really Cooler Than White People?', the story on Adam Rich's death, and the essay attacking outdoor extreme sports as a trendy fetish. Many others, like the essay on the ubiquity of the American caesar salad, seem truly trivial in a weak attempt at quirky, camp humor. In fact, many of these essays make you wonder, 'Why would anyone ever want to write on this subject?', and on more than one occasion, I sometimes wished that they would stop. Despite this, the celebration of camp culture is a topic that is very worthy of publication. This book comes as a recommendation largely for that reason alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Words: Adam Rich
Review: I purchased this book for one reason and one reason only... Might's post-mortem tribute to "Eight is Enough" star, Adam Rich. Of course, it was just a parody of such tributes and Adam was in on it, but it started one of the better celebrity death rumors to run rampant on the internet. The other articles range from bitingly funny, to mildly amusing, to the kind of pseudo-intellectual stuff written by people who *think* they're a lot more intelligent than everyone around them. It's an interesting mix. Overall... I kept it as a bathroom book. Worth the lettuce if you like eclectic reading and have a decent education. But if you listen to Top 40 radio and love shows like "Boy Meets World," it's probably going to be too weird for you.
Rating:
Summary: Two Words: Adam Rich
Review: I purchased this book for one reason and one reason only... Might's post-mortem tribute to "Eight is Enough" star, Adam Rich. Of course, it was just a parody of such tributes and Adam was in on it, but it started one of the better celebrity death rumors to run rampant on the internet. The other articles range from bitingly funny, to mildly amusing, to the kind of pseudo-intellectual stuff written by people who *think* they're a lot more intelligent than everyone around them. It's an interesting mix. Overall... I kept it as a bathroom book. Worth the lettuce if you like eclectic reading and have a decent education. But if you listen to Top 40 radio and love shows like "Boy Meets World," it's probably going to be too weird for you.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the real one
Review: I recently saw the former editor of Might reading from his book and he mentioned that his new magazine, McSweeney's, would be publishing books, and that one of them would be a 'much, much better' version of this book. He was complaining about how this Shiny book was cheap-looking and that the publisher had screwed up the cover, etc, so McSweeney's would put a new collection together, in a hardcover I think, and it'd be out sometime in the next six months or so. I saw this Shiny book in a store and it did look kind of cheap. Why do they print books with that newsprint type paper? Anyway, I think I'll wait for the real version.
Rating:
Summary: Funny Funny Funny
Review: In A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggars talks a bit about the short-lived magazine he and a group of friends founded. This is a collection of the best articles from that magazine. Very intelligent, sarcastic, and funny if not always important, they cover such topics as the annual meeting of Phil Campbell's from around the world in Phil Campbell, Alabama (written by Phillip G. Campbell), why black people are cooler than white people, how the world's conflicts can be solved through simple design principles, and "The Thing About Men and Nail Polish." A good friend bought me this book, which was very nice because it was one of those rare gifts for no reason that make you feel especially good. Now I will lend it back to him because he should read it too.
Rating:
Summary: Might makes right
Review: It's sad when things die, especially when those things are good magazines like Might. Based in San Francisco, the five times yearly pub went belly up last year despite a small and loyal readership. But alas, in the big, ugly world of glossy magazines, it's always the little guy that gets his insides handed to him on a platter. The editorial staff seems to be taking the sudden loss of employment in stride and recouped enough to compile a selection of some writing from issues past. The writing works best when it gets to the point, and rearranges what we think we know into what actually is. The brief rambling by Soul Coughing lead singer M.Doughty injects a dose of reality into the insanity of celebrity (whatever the caliber) and syndicated cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall spews venom at the institution of higher learning with "College is for Suckers." The longer musings on pop-culture like "Adidas Track Suit," "Cool Like Me," and "T-Shirts" are required reading! ! , but the fictional tome on the death of Adam Rich is lacking without the visual punch of the 1977 Eight is Enough publicity photos from the article. The selection is varied and arguably not the best of the best, but the essays give the newcomer a glimpse into the sublime joy of an issue of Might. Considering that they never paid for their writing, they attracted quite a group of contributors including David Foster Wallace, Donnell Alexander and R.U. Sirius. I think the best work was done inbetween the lines, in the small print with the recognizable and sarcastic voice that the magazine shouted with. They were smart-alecs most of the time, but could shift gears into just plain smart when needed. They were cool enough to turn the tables on people like Michael Moore (Roger & Me) and Elle MacPherson, but silly enough to `out' people who weren't really gay. The periodical racks are a cold and unfeeling place without the well-meaning magazine that cared,and eve! ! n though I ache from the idea I'll never hold a crisp new i! ssue in my hands - this book helps dull the pain.
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