Patt reads the magazines

For the cover feature in the Times' Weekend Calendar today, Patt Morrison peruses and critiques a small sampling of the magazines published in and (more or less) about greater L.A. Some snippets:

Los Angeles Confidential: The best I can say about this is that it doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is: derivative, empty, glossy, utterly indulgent, guilty-pleasure junk-food gossip calories.

Ingenue: It's mastered the clichés of the insider-faux-color interview. This month's star in question, Cillian Murphy, "walked back from a meeting at the Chateau Marmont, stowed away his iPod, and ordered a Heineken."

Metro Pop: It calls itself "the fashion magazine for the rest of us" and it's published in Long Beach, so it's already two points ahead.

Accompanying the story is a list of newstands that sell a bigger array of mags than most. Also: Defamer today passes along reader gossip about Los Angeles Confidential's latest party (think C-list actors in a Mercedes dealership...)