Media Notice

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Lisa Proctor/Utne Marketing Director
612-338-5040, ext. 338/lproctor@utne.com; or
Martin Keller/Media Savant Communications Co.
612-729-8585/kelmart@aol.com

FIND SANCTUARY FROM STRESS, MEDIA, WORK, FAMILY, WORLD, SELF: CURRENT UTNE STORIES EXPLORE HOW TO TAKE BACK TIME AND LIVE AT DEPTH, NOT SPEED -- PLUS THE TOP 10 CENSORED NEWS STORIES FROM 2004

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., -- January 6, 2005 -- Comedian Ellen DeGeneres calls it TBS: Too-Busy Syndrome. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins notes that Americans are worn out from living in "this culture's mad theology of speed." The nonpartisan Take Back Your Time lobbying organization in Washington is working on Congress to legislate mandatory vacation time of three weeks and other perks to allow us to live at a tempo musicians call tempo giusto -- "the right speed," according to author Carl Honore in his new book, In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed. Utne magazine's Anjula Razdan surveys the landscape of busyness. She finds in it a growing number of people who are saying, "Enough, already!" -- and looks at the desperate need for sanctuary from three perspectives: cultural, political and personal.

"Perhaps it's too much to hope for, but taking on the modern culture of busyness may be one way to bridge our ideological divide," Razdan writes. "Lack of free time, after all, is an everyday civic issue that affects us all. Busyness remains our national theology, but if we slow down and allow ourselves to just be, we may start to heal." In an age when we are increasingly chained to information and the systems that deliver it, and more than a bit overwhelmed by the demands of work, consumerism and family life, the search for ways to take a break has even taken on moral overtones and prompted many to look for a release, as other Utne writers report in this current issue's sidebars:

• Contributing writer Jon Spayde looks at the importance of having a place -- "a hut" or "a womb with a view" -- to turn off all the noise in order to clear away the physical and mental clutter of our lives." Spayde's piece comes complete with a look at ReadyMade magazine's makeshift sanctuary you can build in your own backyard.
• In an excerpt from the book Mercury Retrograde, writer Pythia Peay explores the astrological periods throughout the year when the planet Mercury appears to spin backwards, sending all matters under its influence -- communications, transactions, trade, commerce and transportation -- into a temporary tailspin. This period is a "perfect opportunity to give ourselves a break from frantically trying to achieve our goals and get ahead," Peay says. There are unseen rewards and "delightful surprises" if we allow Mercury to be our guide rather than a nemesis. (The next retrograde period is March 19 - April 12.)

Returning to the perplexities and complexities of modern life, the current Utne also features the TOP 10 CENSORED NEWS STORIES FROM 2004, including:

• Radiation poisoning on and off the battlefield in Iraq due to the use of depleted uranium in ammunition that creates radioactive dust and ensuing damage to DNA in American soldiers and Iraqi civilians
• Bad science fostered by the White House in its skewed attempts to ignore global warming and drive its anti-environmental agenda, which runs contrary to solid science and growing global opinion on the consequences of such actions
• How economic inequality threatens democracy, especially when the top 400 income earners in the U.S. alone make as much per year as the 20 poorest countries in Africa, thus exacerbating global discord and undermining democracy here and abroad

Also of Note

As in every issue of Utne, there's much more to read, including:

• Winners of the Utne Independent Press Awards
• Profile of an Economic Hit Man
• Underground Comic Book Artists to Watch
• Not Depressed, Just British (a new take on mental health)

About Utne

Utne is a national progressive lifestyle magazine with an audience of nearly 600,000, now celebrating its 20th year. Since 1984, Utne has been a leading voice for the alternative and independent press, bringing readers the "other side of the story" on issues ranging from the environment to the economy and from politics to pop culture. Utne provokes thought and inspires action by offering the best of the independent press as well as original writing, Read more at: www.utne.com

For more information, please contact Lisa Proctor at 612-338-5040, ext. 338, or online at lproctor@utne.com, or contact Martin Keller at Media Savant Communications Co., 612-729-8585/kelmart@aol.com