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A Good Girl

Associate publisher, Keith Pray leads a parade of Primedia staffers from the office, down the hall, through the revolving doors, onto Madison Avenue, and into Mulligan's Irish Pub. On his way, he sings out:

Let's go. Let's get drunk. Let's go. Let's get a beer.

We've closed the issue. That's what all the singing signifies.

As the parade passes Kristina's cube, it's all:

Come on, Kristina. Let's get drunk.
Kristina can't come. She's too young.
Come on, Kristina. Let's get drunk.
Kristina's in college: She drinks like a fish.

And,…

Audio for the Right Minded Listener

While doing some research for our November issue, I found myself clicking around the Bel Canto site, and guess what I discovered:

A blog!

Modern Sound — Audio for the Right Minded Listener — was created by Bel Canto's founder, John Stronczer, to communicate his and Bel Canto's philosophies on music, audio, and life.

I asked John about the significance of the name, "Modern Sound." He explained:

Modern Sound is a reference that encompasses both the old and new. It coincides with my personal return to the 'old' 2 channel values (as opposed to the Home…

Teen Sex Surveys Can Ruin Your Love Life

"Many young people claim to be regularly taking part in two surveys a day, often with different research organisations."

Training Hubby

Apparently Amy Sutherland's essay on using positive reinforcements techniques she learned from animal trainers to "condition" her husband's behavior was the most linked-to article The New York Times published this summer.

Ho-hum thought I, you mean nagging really doesn't work? How newsworthy. But you know, if she could train her husband to pick up his dirty socks, I might just be able to teach Huckleberry to skateboard.

Now That's Art!

My buddy Jon Iverson is cuckoo for car shows and has regaled me for hours with his photos of awesome rides (it's a California thing). I've always admired the artistry, but it never occurred to me that so much of the incredible pin stripe art was free hand.

You Mean We're Not Talking About Fox News?

"Jets of carbon dioxide gas erupting from the ice cap as it warms in the spring carry dark sand and dust high aloft. " Oh, it's just springtime on Mars.

"Salesmen, Cheats and Liars," <i>Shakespeare, My Butt...</i>, Lowest of the Low

The song title is fitting, considering some of the "miracle tweaks" that exist in the audiophile world.

I wish somebody would give this band a miracle tweak. This song sounds like 1991 and I don't really like it. Actually: I almost hate it. It has that fat, clunky, doo-da-dum chug-a-lug-lug lead bass crap that, if I follow too closely, makes me want to slice my ears off. I remember John Atkinson once saying that Pencey Prep's bass player was "too busy." My god, Lowest's bass player makes Pencey's sound like a complete slacker.

I can say, though, that the Arros are…

The History of Felt Hats and Hat Making

I'm posting this link because it reminds me of my father-in-law, the least macho man I ever met—and one of the toughest. How tough was he? Well, in the 1930s he traveled through the South as a labor organizer for the hatter's union. He stood down thugs with axe-handles—and, having seen him get angry a time or two, I feel sorry for those poor ol' peckerwoods.

Max told only one hatter's joke—heck, for all I know, there may be only one hatter's joke: Any two-bit magician can pull a rabbit out of a hat, but it takes a hatter to pull a hat out of a rabbit.

What the . . .

As often as I photograph Bagheera, you'd think she get over being surprised by it.

On the Comfy Chair

"You don't understand," said Huckleberry. "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it."