But the only place you'll find Omni for sale today is in a junk shop or on eBay. To look over old issues of Omni is to experience equal parts amazement (a science mag by Penthouse's founder interviews Richard Feynman?) and amusement (by 2010, robots will—yes!—"clean the rug, iron the clothes, and shovel the snow.") It was in a 1981 Omni piece that William Gibson coined the word "cyberspace," while the provoking lede "For this I spent two thousand dollars? To kill imaginary Martians?" exhorted Omni-readers to go online in 1983—where, they predicted, everything from entire libraries to consumer product reviews would soon migrate. A year later, the magazine ran one of the earliest accounts of telecommuting with Doug Garr's "Home Is Where the Work Is," which might have also marked the first appearance of this deathless standby of modern reportage: "I went to work in my pajamas."
4 comments:
I had an idea for a magazine, but no idea how I'd ever pull it off. When I saw an ad for charter subscribers for a magazine called Nova, which between then and production became Omni I was floored. As advertised, if not so much in final form, Omni was very much what I had imagined. I didn't read it very much, as it turned out, initially in part because I was miffed, but it was indeed cool.
Jay,
I recall buying one copy of Omni at a newstand but I never subscribed. I think that today the market for a magazine of that type would be much better.
Michael
I have a collection of Omni magazines in my basement which are still great to reread. Glad to hear they are being talked about. I first saw the ad for "Nova" in a Smithsonian magazine then remember being confused when it appeared as Omni. Such a disappointment when they folded.
I have never enjoyed a magazine as much as the beloved Omni. I have about a dozen that survived moves, floods and all other destructive venues. Even after all this time I still miss this ride for the brain!
Beverly
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