Yeah, the joke back in the day was that guys would say they “read Playboy for the articles” as a cover story so they didn’t have to say they were looking at porn. But at the same time, they did have really good articles. Funny, thought provoking, and surprisingly progressive.
They were also one of the first print magazines to embrace the internet. I remember them posting a really cool Hellboy motion comic on their website back in the 90s.
It would be so simple too. A little notch with a sheet of the same plastic they use in Canadian currency that is moved up or down the bill based on the denomination would be enough.
That one seems like a bad option. It’d be fine if you have a copy of every bill, but if you’re handed like a 50, how are you supposed to know it’s a 50 and not a 100 or a 20?
It’s better than nothing, but if we’re going to do it I’m betting there’s a better way.
I imagine experience. I bet if something like that were released, then people with visual impairments would be one of the first peoples in line to learn the difference so they would be able to quickly tell by texture exactly what denomination they’re holding.
And also, a lot of the world is on digital, so I’m sure most visually-impaired people would just swipe a card.
Hear hear! I have just noticed since I was a kid in the 80s the slow creep of just… not doing braille anymore in public spaces. Used to seem pretty common, now it seems rare.
There’s one from 1970 that had a great interview with Stanley Kubrick that ended with a quote that has stuck with me:
No matter how vast the darkness, we must create our own light
The last question & answer was this, which is even better:
Playboy: If life is so purposeless, do you feel that it’s worth living?
Kubrick: Yes, for those of us who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning.
Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre, their idealism—and their assumption of immortality. As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in faith and in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong—and lucky—he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan. Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.
The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death—however mutable man may be able to make them—our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment.
However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
And incredibly popular writers would publish short stories and think-pieces in there. Playboy was genuinely quality content. The writing was arguably a higher bar than the photography.
I met the guy who invented the Reebok pumps technology, and successfully sued Reebok for stealing his invention. He also invented the football flack jacket. The November 1980 Playboy had the most in-depth article that also focused on the person behind the inventions.
The joke rubric is alleged by my mother to have been exceptional and funny and a great reason to buy playboy back then.
It wasn’t just a porn magazine.
Yeah, the joke back in the day was that guys would say they “read Playboy for the articles” as a cover story so they didn’t have to say they were looking at porn. But at the same time, they did have really good articles. Funny, thought provoking, and surprisingly progressive.
They were also one of the first print magazines to embrace the internet. I remember them posting a really cool Hellboy motion comic on their website back in the 90s.
My favorite iteration of this joke is in the movie Smeakers, where Whistler, a blind character, is reading a braille edition of Playboy.
I guess they made the same joke in men in tights.
deleted by creator
Blinkin reading a Braille edition of Playboy on the toilet?
in my comment thread, you are answering to a different comment. The braille comment is further down than yours.
looking at .org while not logged in it looks correct. might be an issue with your client.
Yes, seems to be an voyager issue
One of my favorite movies and it kills me how much less people seem to care about the blind than ever.
I’m been saying for years that it’s not okay that US currency isn’t accessible to the blind.
It would be so simple too. A little notch with a sheet of the same plastic they use in Canadian currency that is moved up or down the bill based on the denomination would be enough.
Most people wouldn’t even notice it.
That one seems like a bad option. It’d be fine if you have a copy of every bill, but if you’re handed like a 50, how are you supposed to know it’s a 50 and not a 100 or a 20?
It’s better than nothing, but if we’re going to do it I’m betting there’s a better way.
I imagine experience. I bet if something like that were released, then people with visual impairments would be one of the first peoples in line to learn the difference so they would be able to quickly tell by texture exactly what denomination they’re holding.
And also, a lot of the world is on digital, so I’m sure most visually-impaired people would just swipe a card.
Hear hear! I have just noticed since I was a kid in the 80s the slow creep of just… not doing braille anymore in public spaces. Used to seem pretty common, now it seems rare.
It’s widespread ableism across the board.
You even have people in the UK calling for disability benefits to be suspended because “those people can work but choose not to”
I fucking love that movie.
They had also great and deep articles from what I gather
There’s one from 1970 that had a great interview with Stanley Kubrick that ended with a quote that has stuck with me:
The last question & answer was this, which is even better:
Playboy: If life is so purposeless, do you feel that it’s worth living?
Kubrick: Yes, for those of us who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning.
Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre, their idealism—and their assumption of immortality. As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in faith and in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong—and lucky—he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan. Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.
The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death—however mutable man may be able to make them—our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment.
However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
Entire interview was text with original pages scanned: https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/movies/playboy-interview-stanley-kubrick/
And incredibly popular writers would publish short stories and think-pieces in there. Playboy was genuinely quality content. The writing was arguably a higher bar than the photography.
Those were writers like Hunter Thompson, Norman Mailer, and Kurt Vonnegut. ‘Popular’ is an understatement for guys like that.
Also Isaac Asimov if I’m not mistaken.
Shel Silverstein of Giving Tree fame was also a frequent writer for them.
I met the guy who invented the Reebok pumps technology, and successfully sued Reebok for stealing his invention. He also invented the football flack jacket. The November 1980 Playboy had the most in-depth article that also focused on the person behind the inventions.
It was the “classy” porn magazine, if there can be such a thing. Good articles and jokes.
That’s the 80s version of watching hentai for the plot lol