“Look, mom: I’ve found yet another blog-stroke-forum site about film.  No, wait — it’s about comics.  No, it’s economics. No — poetry, essays, photographs.  Mom, what’s a feminism?  There’s not a lot of porn here, mom. It’s boring.  Oh, wait — I think I found some.”

“Don’t waste your time on stupid nonsense, Johnny.  Find a site with a point.  ‘Playtime.’ What is that all about, anyway?”

Your mom’s question is a pretty good one.  You’ve made it this far, so I guess you’re itching to know just exactly why you’re here — beyond the fact that your best friend/spouse/live-in partner/one night stand/cousin/dog/alien/significant other told you that it was the best site on the Internets, and that you should check it out.

Playtime Magazine is an online publication dedicated to arts and culture both popular and highbrow, featuring reviews, commentary, essays, poetry, fiction, politics, photography, humour, and the skeptical panda.

More than that, Playtime is a creative collective, currently comprising sixteen people.  We are dedicated to finding new ways of communicating, working, and inspiring.  Here you will find a host of highly opinionated, provocative pieces written by people who believe that good (and not-so-good) art demands a good response.  What you won’t find is a straight-jacketed ideology that demands you to be left or right wing, atheist or Christian, or a devotee to highbrow arthouse instead of popular cinema.

We strongly believe that a variety of opinions count, and that’s what you’ll find here.  The only limitations are those of thoughtfulness and quality.  We’re not going to tell you how or what to think.

We’ve thrown open a public forum, where you will find monthly book and film circles (members get to pick next month’s choice in rotation), and unruly discussions of everything from music to money, from pop culture to pornography.  Whilst we are not a porno mag in any shape or form, some of the wackier, more liberal thinking contributors seem to think that posting images of and content about sex, nudity and violence is appropriate.  Nobody has the guts to tell them not to, not even Skeptical Panda.

Enjoy!