letter from the editor

Dear UD fans,

For those of you who are new, or just weren't paying attention for the last few years, Urban Desires pioneered as "the" cultural e-zine. Birthed by myself, my hubby Kyle and Chan Suh somewhere back in the pleistocene era, UD has been hip, irreverant, thought provoking, provocative, and overall, highly successful. It covered the worlds of art and film and software and fashion and literature and, well, you get the idea.

When we started we chose the magazine format because it was familiar to us as well as our readers. We played out the metaphor so to speak and it's time to move on. You may have noticed we have not had an issue up since the end of last year. We've been busy thinking about the future.

The time has come for change. Major change.

Change is good and ohhh so necessary. And with a mixture of great excitement and some trepidation I am announcing the time has come for a new and improved URBAN DESIRES.

One of the great questions raised by modern marketers is this: how can something be "new and improved!"? Don't these claims necessarily cancel each other out? If something is new, how can it be improved? If it's an improvement on what was before, how can it be new?

It is precisely this inherent contradiction that we must now tackle.

The nineteen original issues will still be found at http://www.urbandesires.com.

That brings us to the here and now...

The new UD will not be a zine. It will not have issues and articles. It will not cover beats or review products.

I am very pleased to announce Aaron Sugermam will be joining me as Creative Director on this new venture, two brains are better than one and his is very large.

Together we will create a venue for the distribution of new-school new media: highly visual pieces, not so linear storytelling, interactive explorations, short films, animations, games, experiments, media hoaxes.... and who knows what else.

The sharp wit, intriguing visuals and metropolitan savvy that have always characterized Urban Desires remain unchanged. Our focus remains on creating the most exciting, metropolis on the Web.

So... that's the update on the new and improved UD, new directions and improved scope - an expedition I am thrilled to be embarking upon.

Hold on it's coming.

Gabrielle Shannon
Editor in Chief