Monocle C/D

http://www.monocle.com/

Search: Mr. Peanut

What you get when you mashup the Simpsons' Mom And Pop Art episode, a couple of randomly chosen TED conference presentations, and the product catalog of a newish James Bond movie. Whenever any of the characters in William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition books get onto a plane/airship/ekranoplan, Monocle is the in-flight magazine.

In the name of full disclosure though, as much as I'm irritated by just how upper-class Monocle is, it's also terribly aspirational. If I won the lottery, I'd immediately become Monocle's target demographic - a pan-national citizen who can hop, skip, and angst my way across continents with no visible means of support other than from some sort of shadowy shell company I set up in Macao.

http://home.roadrunner.com/~lifetime/stroheim.jpg

btw Monocle magazine is a periodical for Tyler Brule's fictional international stylish and cultura-conscious business traveler. pretty sure this person is more fictional than wallpaper magazine's target audience

but it's a supposed ideal that many people aspire to from different directions. fwiw I like the magazine design, but the political view (or lack thereof) is usually groan-worthy.

I really like the Porter Airlines in-flight magazine that is produced by winkreative (ugh bad name), the same creative agency. Regional carrier out of Toronto, really nice service.

there's a very good lego interview and a feature on the game designer who took his street fighter fortunes and bought a vineyard, but the magazine does feel like a very expensive practical joke. is that weird business manga that they insert in every issue still being commissioned? i do feel like if they swapped places with mcsweeneys, no one would notice.

nah, they have different small guides now, the manga thing ended

lol rich ppl have no taste cmon

I don't know much about this magazine but it always seems like its purpose is to sit on independent bookstore shelves for you to think about buying.

fwiw I like the magazine design, but the political view (or lack thereof) is usually groan-worthy.

I get the feeling that magazine looks at politics as an inconvenience at best.

so inelegant

Romenesko interviews Tyler Brule. Answers are about as you expect.

What car do you drive?
I don’t drive; I’m driven.

Do you tweet?
I absolutely do not tweet.

What’s the best thing and worst thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is that I’m constantly on the road; I get to see the world. That’s also the worst thing about my job as well.

Are you a hare or a tortoise?
Hair on my head, tortoise shell frames.

What’s your biggest indulgence?
My biggest indulgence is probably my roaming charges.

What would you like to be remembered for?
Not tweeting.

Bet this asshole already has a Google Glass implant anyway.

No way, his magazine is still riding Blackberry's dick

I went to the Monocle store in NYC this past summer--150 or so square feet in the East Village. Hand-written receipt, everything product in there (shirts, shawls, lamps, etc.) pretty much perfectly made. I like the news stories on their radio station.

I read an interview somewhere where Brule said he doesn't allow beverages with labels on them in the office. So Coke in a glass only, please.

oh, his aesthetic is kind of ok, it's just the world viewpoint that is suspect

still love how they had this glowing "best airport ever!" review of some airport in the UK that ended up being an utter shitshow when it actually opened

While I like Monocle, they are seemingly unable to reconcile “perfectly made” things that are readily accessible. For example:

http://old.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Monocle-bold.jpg

was featured until recently. I also recall it being two or three times more expensive than an iPhone (i.e. a perfectly made thing).

If you’re interested in foreign affairs, their coverage of the defense industry, for whatever reason, is unmatched outside of trade press (i.e. Janes).

Bespoke Italian rocket launchers with hand-stitched trimming, that kind of thing?

I seem to recall Brule being on a CBC kids talk show in the 80s supporting the bombing of Libya.

Ahead of his time, that man.

For my @NewRepublic essay on Monocle's 10-year anniversary, we made a parody Monocle cover. I'm very very happy about it. pic.twitter.com/ZXke0w5fyN

— Kyle Chayka (@chaykak) June 14, 2017

I still want to do some sort of deep analysis of this aesthetic. I feel like it's this bourgeois faux post-nationalism global traveler ideal that doesn't exist but is a hell of a thought exercise

elvis telecom nailed it with his william gibson observation upthread, i think

lol rich ppl have no taste cmon

― HOOS steen is it anyway? (Lamp), Monday, January 16, 2012 10:08 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

feel like Lamp is on to the truth, here -- the world-traveling CEO types who would fit the profile are more likely in my experience to be reading some Thomas Friedman book and not that stylish, and the financial types are either old money and not interested in this stuff, or they're new money and are Trump-esque

lmao

Monocle is launching a weekly newspaper for August. Four issues, £45 including shipping from Italy. Perfect. https://t.co/NaCjvKAh5a

— Dan Frommer (@fromedome) July 27, 2017

pffft