I saw two new journals on the shelf in my department's workroom today. Now, I know that it's difficult to create a name for a publication. It has to be catchy, easy to remember, and give some indication of the content of the publication. So, Time fits that category, as does The New Republic or The Economist. Others are harder, such as Mother Jones or Rolling Stone.
The new arrivals has striven mightily to be hip, relevant, avante garde, post-modern, and classic all at the same time. The results, I feel, are disastrous.
The first magazine is entitled LIBERALIS (all in caps). It's supposed to highlight the nature of a liberal education, but what the reader sees (hindered by the caps) is Liberals. I saw the journal two or three times before I realized there was an extra "i" hidden at the end of the piece.
The second magazine is a literary offering, with the name First Inkling. Only that's not the way it's presented. The title is all caps (What is it with these guys?) and the two words are run together. The First is in a black font and the Inkling is in a gray font. What one reads is FIRSTINKLING, which I read as Firs Tinkling. Or, it could be read as Fir Stinkling. I thought those were funny names for a journal, but on reflection, maybe it's better than the one the editors chose.
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