A Good Distraction

Well, I still haven't finished Thomas the Rhymer. I've gotten distracted again. I have a good excuse this time, though. I just got a new issue of Fortean Times yesterday and I spent most of my time reading it.

If you've never read Fortean Times, your missing out on a great thing. I don't mind saying that I think Fortean Times is the greatest magazine in the world. Sure other magazines have stuff going for them too. Playboy has naked women. Weird Tales has weird fiction. People has stupid celebrity gossip. Fortean Times doesn't have any of that stuff (Ok, there might be the occasional naked woman).

This magazine is all about strange phenomena. This issue, number 211, isn't actually the current issue. It's a British import, so it takes a while to make its way to the States. There's an article on the theory that flying saucers are demons. There's another one on the lake monster Ogopogo. There's a piece on those lame ass Christian fundamentalists who keep trying to push "Intelligent Design" by trying to discredit evolution. There's a report on a recent trip to find the mysterious Mongolian Death Worm. Is it just me or would Mongolian Death Worm make a really cool name for a band?

Besides all that, there are tons of regular features. There's the hilarious Hierophant. The Phenomenomox comic strip is pretty funny too. I've always loved "Strange Days," which is a selection of odd and unusual news stories. As always, there are letters and book reviews.

I can't recommend this magazine enough. Pick up an issue at your local comic book store--unfortunately most bookstores and news agents don't seem to carry it. If you like it, buy a subscription. The only bad thing about the magazine is the price; it's currently $10.50 an issue in the U.S. Still it gets 5 yo-yos from me.