Stephen Mejias

First and only? Oh, the dramatic irony.
-SM

***

I have been swamped these past few days with faxes. John Hurley, our publisher who I occasionally share popcorn with, asked me yesterday morning if I had spent the night near the fax; Last he had seen me, I was faxing. First thing this morning... I was still faxing. Needless to say, we have not had popcorn since, but the worst is over and our "Recommended Components" issue is in its earliest, baby-stage.

Aside from the busy signal that I occasionally hear in my sleep, the tedious portion of the issue is quickly dwindling and I will soon ask Stephen, "Do you have anything for me to do?" Until then, I thought it would be a good time to write about some more interesting Stereophile paraphernalia John Atkinson was kind enough to lend.

"Where were you in '62?"
...Reads the yellow and black button handed to me by none other than John Atkinson. Indeed, where were we in '62? I was negative 42 years old, and therefore cannot remember much of the 60's. :Smile: I do know, however, that John Lennon was off secretly marrying Cynthia Powell, The Rolling Stones were making their debut in London, and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa visited the U.S. for the first time ever. Kennedy was in the White House, our soldiers were in Vietnam and John Glenn was watching the madness from outer space.

Part of me can't help but think about Volkswagens and flower children, but I will certainly make one addition to my mental rolodex for the year 1962: Stereophile's birth. Yes, the 60s were an exciting time, but it was probably more exciting than ever for audiophiles across the world.

And Thirty Years Later...
...Stereophile made another button. This one, an exact copy of Stereophile's January 1992 cover, celebrates 30 years in the publishing industry with a bold, yellow "XXX". Roman numerals typically make me think of the Super Bowl. That is until John mentioned that "XXX" is short-hand for pornography.

"Did you know that 'XXX' means porn?"

I laughed, "Yes, I did know that."

To which he replied, "My God, I had no idea until we got letters to the editor the following month."

And so 1992 marks Stereophile's first and only pornographic publishing-foul. A lesson well learned I'm sure.

Stereophile Rules!
The long and short of it all is that Stereophile has come a long way from its first issue back in 1962 and, along the way, editors and other staff members have crafted kooky memorabilia. I have a wooden ruler that reads: "Stereophile Rules!" and is marked in red at 10 inches. The magazine, not having always been published at 10 inches, graduated at some point down the road from pamphlet sized to normal magazine sized. Indeed, it is now a respectable audiophile coffee table-worthy magazine... and we couldn't be happier.

And so I am left with two buttons and a ruler. As time goes on, the merchandise gets a little weirder but remains, nonetheless, amusing.

I am finished for today because Latarria just handed me an orange icy and I cannot scoop and type at the same time. I am contemplating returning the wooden spoon to her with "Latarria Rules" written on it.