• BRUTUS (639) asks “How do you live?” and reports with a look at the ways people find to make their homes what they are. I tend to be quite fascinated by these peaks into people’s homes (an obsession I share with the way people work as well), and so I love this sort of feature. The magazine’s insert, the “Interior Book 2008,” covers furniture ideas in various style categories.
• STUDIO VOICE (390) presents its “Temporary Guide for Absolute DVD Collectors,” and as you’d imagine, they manage to offer a pretty decent list of the titles (280 in all) that you should include in your collection. There were a few that I didn’t really get though — Kim Basinger’s CELLULAR?
• This month’s EYESCREAM (2008/06) is the skateboard culture issue and features coverage of plenty of skaters, as well as artists, brands, and companies that revolve around the world of skating.
• Can’t say that I found much to like in the latest PEN (221), with its “Discovering Dino World” feature. I’ve just never had much of an interest in dinosaurs, even as a child (unless they’re biting off someone’s head on the big screen or in a game).
• Even though I didn’t care much for the cover feature on business tools (mostly covering suits and leather accessories), there’s always a lot of good stuff to find in the pages of REAL DESIGN, and the latest issue (24) is no different.

• PEN (220) heads to Spain and bids us “Welcome to Basque Country.” The feature covers major cities, and all the spots and eats you’ll want to take in on a trip there.
• The latest PAPER SKY (25) is all about the “California Morning,” covering all the sorts of things — from cafes to markets — that you could be enjoying on the coast.
• BRUTUS (638) is all about bread, and I wouldn’t recommend leafing through it on an empty stomach (like I did). It covers everything you need to know about bread, from types found at bakeries to the bakeries to check out (in Paris and in Tokyo), even how to make it. Really makes me want to change my breakfast routine (typically limited to a cup of yogurt these days).
• It’s a must-buy issue of CASA BRUTUS (98) this month, with their annual feature covering “The Best of Tokyo.”
• The latest issue of AXIS (133) has Stefano Marzano on the cover, and a very interesting feature on “Concept Design.” I really liked the piece that looks at concept design in Hollywood, with some pretty amazing images to illustrate the work of all the designers who get covered.

In its new fashion issue, VICE offers up a global trend report for 2008, including a look at what the kids in Tokyo are wearing. Via PSFK.

I was slow in picking up the latest issue of MONOCLE (April 2008) — only did so today — and was absolutely shocked to see that this month’s “Expo” piece was on the Moncton Flight College in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. See, Moncton is my hometown, and it’s definitely not the kind of place that gets much international coverage (even national coverage, for that matter). Certainly a pleasant surprise.

Also, make sure to take a look at Dan Hill’s fascinating rundown of the work he did as web and broadcast director for the magazine. He left the magazine at the end of March, and so it also acts as a farewell piece to the magazine and brand he helped build.

Over at META no TAME, Marxy reports on the end of BOON, a men’s street wear magazine that in the nineties had print runs as high as 800 000!

HESO is a free bilingual culture magazine that you can pick up around town (at these places). The current issue is #11, but this is the first I hear of it. I’ll try finding an issue soon. Yuki has an illustration in the current issue.

Mari Mukai, who acted as MC at the inaugural TAB Talks last week with guest Yoshio Suzuki, an editor at BRUTUS, offers up a report on the event over at TABlog. The next TAB Talks happens March 11.

I have a piece in the new issue of KATEIGAHO INTERNATIONAL EDITION (Spring 2008 Issue, Vol. 19). It takes a look at last year’s Tokyo Design Week, with a focus on the JAPAN BRAND initiative. The same issue also features a nice fashion piece that covers four new Japanese designers/labels.

Last night I attended the first edition of TAB Talks in Gotanda at the new Gotanda Sonic event space. The guest speaker was Yoshio Suzuki, long-time editor at BRUTUS magazine who is behind most of the magazine’s art features. Expect a TABlog entry to sum up the talk sometime soon.

It looks like they’re off to a very promising start, with over 120 people making it out on a cold rainy night. It remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to keep the momentum on a weekly basis — yes, WEEKLY!

Paul Baron’s “Uroko House” sleeping area, designed by Point Architects, makes an appearance in the current issue of SHINKENCHIKU magazine.

SMART GIRLS, “the world’s favorite hipster booby magazine” (so says Marxy), is back on newsstands. It had stopped a while back — you may remember the final issue, featuring a pictorial by Karia Nomoto — after founder and photographer Yasumasa Yonehara had a falling out with the publisher, but Yonehara is again involved in this re-launch. I haven’t looked through the issue yet, but according to Marxy, it features less nudity, but still has the same vibe as before.

A few months back I met up with the travel editor of FOOD & WINE magazine, who was in town doing a piece on Tokyo. Salma’s article appeared in the February 2008 issue, and she writes a bit about what we did on that day in this part.

After we had lunch at Maisen, we were walking down Omostesando, and got stopped by an editor and photographer from TOKYO GRAFFITI magazine. If you’ve never seen it, each issue is mostly made up of shots of people holding up whiteboards in which they’ve written an answer to something. The question they asked us was something in the lines of “what do you contribute to society,” and I honestly can’t remember what I wrote. They said that we would appear in a future issue, maybe the December one, but I completely forgot to check.

• I’ve never included INVITATION in these posts, but the latest issue (59) caught my attention with its “TOKYO (written in kanji) VS Tokyo” cover. In the feature, they first offer a look at the city through the eyes of foreigners — for the most part creators and celebrities — and then switch things around by seeing how it compares to the Tokyo of the Japanese. Either way, it makes for some great highlights of things you’d probably want to take in when coming for a visit.
• STUDIO VOICE (386) devotes an issue to SHONEN JUMP, the top-selling weekly comics magazines that has spawned countless famous manga series. It’s a look at the past and present of the magazine, with spotlights on both series and creators.
• PEN (214) goes to London, which means you get a pretty good guide to what is worth checking out in the city, with a strong focus on design and architecture.
• If you only pick up one issue of REAL DESIGN this year, it should definitely be the latest one (21). It offers a terrific look at the current Japanese design scene, with the “2008 DESIGN” feature providing a handy guide to the creators you need to be keeping an eye on.
• Although I haven’t mentioned any yet, over the past few months I’ve been looking through quite a few cycling magazines. My favorite, and the one I buy, is called BICYCLE NAVI, and the latest issue (29) features a cover illustration by Shu-Thang Grafix and suggestions on how to start your cycling life for under 100 000 yen. Another magazine I was leafing through recently is called JITENSHA JIN, the “magazine for bicycle people.” It’s a quarterly, and the latest issue (Winter 2008) has an interesting look at a few independent Japanese bicycle and parts makers (”Made in Japan 4″). Even better, that article gets translated in English (but nothing else in the magazine).

I have a piece in this week’s issue of TIME (Vol. 171, No. 3, Asian edition), which you can read online here. It’s on Swatch Japan’s HQ in Ginza, the Nicolas G. Hayek Center.

Momus loves the slow life/LOHAS magazine KU:NEL, and tell us why in his latest Click Opera post. I don’t usually cover KU:NEL in my magazine round-ups, but I always pick it up for Cafe Pause.