Charcoal absorbs odors. Try putting the magazines in a plastic bag with a couple of Dr. Scholl's "Odoreaters" insoles with charcoal in them. Someone else suggested a fish filter, which has the charcoal completely enclosed.
Are you talking about squaring up a block, or a quilt, or fabric? Blocks can be "blocked" using spray starch on an ironing board. Sharon Schamber has a Youtube video that demonstrates how to true up a block.
Otherwise, if you need to square up and trim something like a quilt corner, you can use a combination of a long straight ruler and a large triangle to create a perfect 90-degree angle (right angle). Butt the triangle up against the ruler.