I had an embarassing moment the other night. I met Alan Kropf for the first time, live in my living room. I won't hold you in suspense, what embarassed me was his thanks for our early support for his efforts with Mutineer Magazine. Why would a kind "thank you" make me feel this way? Because it's like John Coltrane stopping by to thank me for liking his new "sheets of sound" thing. I realize Alan isn't the whole story behind Mutineer Magazine, there's a growing team of folks behind it and to them I say: "Thanks! Keep doing what you're doing!"  Writers, I love reading you. Photographers, I devour your images. Layout designers, I love every page of the rag mag, cover, stories, reviews...

Mutineer Magazine is what Mad Magazine was to you when you were a kid. It's what Playboy was when "you bought it for the jazz articles". It's what Omni Magazine was to sci-fi. It's what Wired Magazine should be now, but isn't and never was. Mutineer interviews are attention-capturing in this day of zapping and the subjects aren't just an endless list of winemakers. The article topics are a continuous stream of creative thinking. There's an endless series of cocktail and food recipes. Oh, there's an occasional tasting note, too, but even these have an original tone. Articles like "Hunt for the Cherry Phosphate" prove that MM isn't just young and trendy, since no one under 55 has probably even heard of a phosphate, which we went to the drug store to drink in another century. "Civilization and Its Discontents" reads like a story from my favorite era of science fiction, of Robert Silverburg, Joe Haldeman, or maybe Doctorow if we need to talk 21st century. These people are crazy - but in a good way.

If you have any interest in wine, beer, food, events, alcohol, movies, books that mean something, find yourself a copy of Mutineer Magazine, better yet, subscribe to it, go to one of their events if you can. You will be experiencing the the most entertaining, thought-provoking and innovate Literature (with a big L) on the subject. And if it isn't clear yet, I still think MM is the best thing to ever happen to alcohol, and I hope to see a lot more of it.