TIRED of political and economic newsmagazines? Bored with magazines with sexy women as cover girls? Oist! and Flip are two magazines that provide refreshing alternative reads.
If your usual magazine flashes colorful full-page advertisements on their first four pages, Oist! has its table of contents. Except the cover, everything else is in black, white and gray¯contrasting with the colorful stories of its articles.
Making The Scene is a section where Oist keeps the readers aware on what is happening where and when¯from bangketa bazaars to exhibits, new products, theater, music, workshop and movies.
After an amusing editor’s note which tells so much of the personality of the over-all editor, J. L. Chua (who is outspoken), are the cover stories. In its maiden issue is “Manila¯The Dark City of Dreams.” This about going back to Manila and observing the changes that have taken place. A long four-page read, writer Ramil Digal Gulle manages to keep readers interested throughout.
Alien, nerd, weird, praning or whatever you may be, Eksena Skene makes you feel that you are not alone. It provides updates on the arts and culture.
Tone, on the other hand, is a musical bulletin, consisting of in-depth interviews with musicians and articles by musicians themselves.
Wat u Want dispenses beauty tips, fashion trends, and lifestyle fads.
Oist!’s literary section is called Symbols and Metaphors. With UST Faculty of Philosophy and Letters alumnus Cirilo F. Bautista as section editor, it is rich with poetry, short story, and essays.
Other sections of Oist! are Road Runner (about road, traffic, and mobility), G-Spot (an ultimate board on lovers, relationships, and anything related to sex), and Pananagutan (focusing on the conflicts of the world).
The 88-paged magazine ends with Huling Oist!, a free expression corner for personal essays from contributors that are published unedited.
Oist! is published once every two months by Promo and Merchandising Experts Corporation and is written in English, Filipino, and Taglish with bits of kanto words.
World domination
Two words: we rule.
According to the popular self-confessed geek and columnist Jessica Zafra, Filipinos invented globalization. She has in fact come up with Flip, a magazine that shows the progress of the Filipinos in world domination.
The magazine promises catchy sections: Traffic (or anything to do while stuck in it), Sports (featuring sports where Filipinos have the chance to win an Olympic gold), and Technology, (information such as the iMac G4 or on-line shopping that you’ve been dreaming of).
People contains the very interesting Almost Famous section, showing pictures of Filipinos with international celebrities.
Meanwhile, Flip Notes is the interactive review section of food, music, and books. You can e-mail your own review which could be published next issue.
The remarkably senseless but funny section is Personals. It makes up words like Nochengga (which means nothing or anything) and gives you a chance to voice out anything you want to say in paragraph form.
A favorite of many is You’ve Got A Problem, the advice section. Buddha Boy will never fail to give his view of what irks you. And because he says it all in a deadpan way, you crack up just after the first two paragraphs.
Another interesting section is Blamestorming, in which the reader gets to blame somebody else for his troubles.
Other sections are Entertainment and Media, Style, New Products, Literature, and Travel.
Flip is published monthly by the Flip Publishing Group. Jhervy C. Nuez
