In the magazine business, it's hard to argue with pedigree. So there's no denying the tagline in every issue of The Saturday Evening Post is a beaut: "Founded A.D. 1728 by Benjamin Franklin." Take that, Jann Wenner. Any mag that can safely get away with inserting A.D. into its year of birth would seem to be in no need of introduction. Yet Ben Franklin's SEP was not Norman Rockwell's SEP, and today's version is another periodical altogether.

I'll admit it: I'm a little jealous of those who are fortunate enough to be collecting Social Security while there's still some left. And as it turns out, they get a fairly interesting magazine to read as part of their $16 per year AARP membership fee.

Any metropolis in America big enough to boast of a professional sports team or a sitcom setting already has a regional magazine. But the quality of so many of those periodicals is rather cookie-cutter, sustained by cover profiles of local newscasters or advertorials disguised as "weekend getaway" vacations. In fact, I have a journalist friend who told me many such mags survive on the advertising generated by the annual Best Local Pizza Issue or Best Local Ice Cream Issue or Best Local Dentists Issue (chances are each of the winners and runners-up bought at least a quarter-page ad).Yankee is different. …

This magazine is in its 25th year, billing itself as "All Travel, All the Time." In this economy, I'd be happy with some of the time -- or at least once before Thanksgiving. As a former travel writer, I love seeing the world. It expands your mind. It touches your soul. It makes your friends jealous, which is why we send postcards in the first place! As NGT notes, "Cities are postcards to the world. Complex, alluring, dynamic and intoxicating." I agree. I don't feel safe unless I have concrete beneath my feet. These boots are made for walking, so …