3.5 stars out of 5
Yes, I attend Joe Hurley’s All-Star Irish Rock Revue every year, hoping Don Fleming will sing “The Bogside Man,” and in the early 90s I was in the Tir na nÓg pub in Trenton at midnight one night when they had a moment of silence for Bobby Sands. But the truth is, I’ve had very little grasp of “The Troubles.” This movie, loosely based on writer/director Kenneth Branagh’s own childhood, helped fill in some gaps. That history looms large in this coming-of-age tale which I liked if didn’t really love.
I did not have a lot of Branagh experience to base expectations on. I’d only seen two previous films he’d directed: Dead Again (1991) and the meh Murder on the Orient Express (2017). I know he used to be with Emma Thompson, and that the dude digs Shakespeare. He knows his way around a motion picture, and having been a kid in Belfast in the late 1960s, was certainly able to summon innocent recollections of the time and place. I just wish he could’ve done it with a tad more skill and depth.
The cast is solid but there aren’t any real standout performances. Jude Hill plays our 9-year-old protagonist Buddy. He looks like a young Conan O’Brien, is quite likable, comes dangerously close to hamming it up but holds it together throughout. I was most impressed with Dame Judi Dench as the grandma. It’s a sweet, down-to-earth portrayal, and the deep lines on her face speak volumes. I guess she’s playing about a decade younger, while trusty Ciarán Hinds is playing a decade older as the charming grandpa.
The movie is shot in black-and-white, though rather than looking sumptuous, reminded me of switching to a B&W filter on Instagram. Oh and there is a ton of Van Morrison on the soundtrack, which definitely fits, but alas his modern-day anti-Covid safety stance somewhat spoiled the listening experience for me. (Maybe Branagh took advantage of a heavy discount on Van the Man’s out-of-flavor catalog?)
Branagh’s screenplay is easy enough to follow, and successfully captures a family caught in societal and interpersonal upheaval. It has a few too many one-liners for a realistic story, leaves a couple of loose ends, and contains a leap of logic or two.
Bottom line: It’s a good small film but in this crowded field of quality end-of-year films, you can wait to sruth, uh, I mean, stream this one.
Movie Review: Belfast
Movie Review: West Side Story
5 stars out of 5
The closest I ever came to seeing West Side Story before was the Michael Jackson “Bad” video, and Chris Elliott as Marv Albert singing “Somewhere” on Letterman. (“There’s a place for us — YES!!”) But Spielberg is my boy, so I figured I’d give the new version a shot. And all I can say is: Wow.
OK, OK, I’ll say a little bit more. I tend to avoid musicals due to all the clichés of the form: the phoniness, corniness, slickness, and, sure, the randomly bursting into song thing. Watching this film, though, I didn’t notice an ounce of cliché. It’s big, bold, visceral, thrilling. There isn’t a wrong note, musically or cinematically.
Yes, it’s set in 1957, but the underlying social issues totally resonate today: gentrification, fear of immigrants taking over, the lack of realization that we’re all immigrants, police profiling (Latino Lives Matter), rage boiling over into bloodshed. At their crudest, the Jets come across like Proud Boys, and it’s chilling. The Sharks ain’t exactly the glee club, neither. There’s blanket distrust of anyone who isn’t Puerto Rican and the twin desire/repulsion of assimilation.
In the middle of it all: our star-crossed lovers, Tony and Maria, portrayed by Ansel “Baby Driver” Elgort and New Jersey’s own Rachel Zegler. Elgort’s Tony is a big, dumb, sweet kid, with lessons learned from violence in his past. Zegler’s Maria is innocent but tired of being treated like a child; respectful but unwilling to be pushed around. Both actors are phenomenal. When the closing credits said “And introducing Rachel Zegler” I was pleasantly stunned by her lack of experience. As Jerry Orbach once said, “You’re going out there a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!”
Across the board, the performances are top-rate. Ariana DeBose kills it as Anita, showing us all the emotions. Mike Faist is te-riff-ic as Riff; cocky, troubled, scared. Newcomer Josh Andrés Rivera is great as Chino — kind, nervous, above the fray until he isn’t anymore. Corey Stoll is having a good year between playing Uncle Junior among the many saints and now non-singing Lt. Schrank here. And Rita Moreno lends the proceedings all sorts of gravitas, the young Anita grown into the wise old Valentina, with a gut-punch song at the ready too.
The music is indeed glorious — not rock but something close. (I don’t know what became of these kids Bernstein and Sondheim but they showed a lot of promise.) Catchy, finger-popping, toe-tapping, heart-thumping. And rather than coming across as characters randomly bursting into song, Spielberg makes it a natural flow. Like conversation can no longer do justice to their swelling feelings, and the only thing that can possibly come out is music. Same deal for the knockout dancing.
The streets and sets look amazing — not fake but hyper-real. The camera is a wide-eyed observer, not missing a carefully-rendered detail. And if you’re not a sucker for the love story, check yer pulse, you might not have one. Steven Spielberg remains at the very top of his game, delivering perfection in yet another genre. See it on the big screen if you can.
Aquarium Playlist, 12/14/21
EPISODE #465: HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2021
Darlene Love — “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Laura Cantrell and Michael Shelley — “Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus”
The Spaminato Brothers — “The Very Best Gift of All”
The Porchistas — “3 a.m. Santa”
worldsucks — “Must Be Santa”
The Polyphonic Spree — “It’s Christmas”
Nicole Atkins — “Every Single Christmas”
Swansea Sound — “Happy Christmas to Me”
Jack Skuller — “Empty Stocking Blues”
Phoebe Bridgers — “Christmas Song”
Gordon McIntyre — “Me and You and the Ghosts of Christmas Past”
The Beths — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
The Monkees — “The Christmas Song” r.i.p. Michael Nesmith
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl — “Fairytale of New York”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 12/7/21
EPISODE #464: 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (RADIO IX)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Hank Williams — “Happy Rovin’ Cowboy” [Health and Happiness Show theme]
soundbite — Jack on WNYC’s Morning Edition, 12/19/12
Gary Stewart — “Ten Years of This”
Mac McCaughan — “I Hear a Radio”
Hearty Har — “Radio Man ’56”
All Ashore! — “Radio Sunshine”
Freedy Johnston — “Radio for Heartache”
R.E.M. — “Radio Song” [BBC’s Into the Night Nicky Campbell session]
Robyn Hitchcock — “The Devil’s Radio”
Marshall Crenshaw — “Radio Girl”
Steve Wynn — “Bring the Magic”
Talking Heads — “Radio Head”
soundbite — listener Hoboken Jack legal ID on WFMU’s Michael Shelley show
Wussy — “Teenage Wasteland”
The Yardbirds — “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Movie Review: Ghostbusters — Afterlife
4 stars out of 5
Ghostbusters is my jam. It was perfection when I was 15: an ideal blend of smart, silly, juvenile, and flat-out funny. I’ll always remember being at my buddy John’s house for New Year’s Eve; at midnight we discovered that HBO was playing Ghostbusters, and even though we’d both seen it in the theater, that was the best thing ever. In short, bustin’ makes me feel good.
So I was incredibly excited when this reboot was announced, with involvement from… Bill Murray! Dan Aykroyd! The black Ghostbuster! And then Covid delayed it, building my anticipation even more.
I am not shocked that when I finally got to see the movie, I was a bit disappointed. Where were my guys? Where were the zingers? Was this a kindler, gentler Ghostbusters? In a word, yes. But when I shifted my expectations, I began to enjoy the movie, and by the end (no spoilers) I truly enjoyed it quite a lot.
This is what’s known as a family movie, and hey, that’s OK. There’s plenty of family to go around here: Carrie Coon is the single mom of teen Trevor and tween Phoebe, who moves the kids to a weird old farmhouse that was owned by her late dad who had abandoned her… Dr. Egon Spengler. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Jason Reitman takes over the reins as director from his dad, Ivan.
The pace is slow but pleasant for a long while, as the family explores its new rural environment, of course ghosts start to pop up, and the kids — especially Phoebe — eventually learn their ancestral link to a 1980s group of beige jumpsuit-wearing gentlemen who busted ghosts in Manhattan. McKenna Grace (who I saw in one of those Conjuring flicks) is especially good as nerdy, friendless, but really trying Phoebe. Finn Wolfhard, who I know from IT but not from Stranger Things, is likable and non-punk Joey Ramone-looking as Trevor. Carrie Coon’s frazzledness gets a little tiresome but perhaps her character has an arc, so please be patient. And Paul Rudd is the awkward nice guy as per usual.
As ghost activity and resultant busting picks up, so does the film, with fun action sequences and effects that kids and Peter Pan syndrome adults will enjoy. When the OG Ghostbusters arrived, I got seriously verklempt. And the memory of Harold Ramis is shown proper respect. Why wouldn’t it be? Those guys are our family too.
Aquarium Playlist, 11/23/21
EPISODE #462: THANKSGIVING 2021 (PARADES)
live from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Genuine Diamelles — “Underdog” [ALTERNATE THEME]
My Chemical Romance — “Welcome to the Black Parade”
Aberdeen — “Marine Parade”
The Undertones — “The Love Parade”
The Dream Academy — “The Love Parade”
M. Ward — “Sweethearts on Parade”
The Magnetic Fields — “Parades Go By”
Of Montreal — “The March of the Gay Parade”
Delta Spirit — “Parade”
ballboy — “Disney’s Ice Parade”
Elvis Costello — “London’s Brilliant Parade”
The Clash — “The Street Parade”
The Oswalds — “Santa’s at the End of the Parade”
Mary Gauthier — “Thanksgiving”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XXI
Though life is a lot more normal now, thankfully there’s still plenty of TV time. Oh who am I kidding, there’s always TV time! (Plus my newish WiFi extender and Amazon Firestick made it much easier to watch streaming stuff on my television.) Here’s another annotated rundown of shows I’ve checked out in recent months.
LOVED
White Lotus (HBO) I am a big fan of Mike White’s work and he hit the bullseye yet again. Part Fantasy Island, part Fawlty Towers, we followed separate stories of delightfully unlikeable and/or damaged people. There was such sharp, devastatingly funny writing delivered by tremendous performances across the board. (Alexandra Daddario, I love you.) The show often made me wonderfully uncomfortable. And the true genius was the contrast of all that tension and dysfunction in an amazingly gorgeous and peaceful Hawaiian setting.
Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+) I was excited about the cast — Cecily Strong, Keegan Michael-Key, Fred Armisen, etc. —but I was hesitant. Here was a show about a troubled couple suddenly trapped in a never-ending musical. And musicals are not my thing. But reading an article where director Barry Sonnenfeld said he didn’t like musicals either inspired me to give it a shot! Am so glad I did because I was totally charmed by this joyous, very funny series, liked it more and more as it went along, and then they totally stuck the landing. Kristin Chenoweth’s show-stopping number may be the TV highlight of the year.
2020 Summer Olympics (NBC) Didn’t have quite the star power of previous Games (no Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Bob Costas, and yeah I’m looking at you Simone Biles) but skateboarding was a cool addition and I do love watching all the odd competitions at odd hours. Note to future me: I didn’t make a typo; despite the Olympics being delayed till 2021 they still called it 2020, go figure.
NYC Epicenters 9/11 –> 2021.5 (HBO) Spike Lee’s first-person interviews brought me right back to the heart of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and then all the way to September 2001, leaving no stone unturned. He revealed himself to be a superb interviewer, knowing when to hang back and let someone tell their story, knowing when to prod a little, when to comfort, and when to lighten the mood. He famously deleted, under pressure, exposure to planned-implosion theorists. (Really, Spike?) But he snuck in someone on a United flight crew saying they were pretty sure flight 93 was shot out of the sky. Chilling.
Muhammad Ali (PBS) Ken Burns’ latest documentary series, with assistance from daughter Sarah, didn’t pull any punches. A fascinating, heroic, infuriating, and depressing life arc that is ultimately celebratory.
Reservation Dogs (Hulu) It was Taika Waititi’s name in the credits that convinced me to check out this series, which I think in the ’90s would’ve been labeled a dramedy. But the terrific young Indigenous actors and the compelling Oklahoma reservation setting is what kept me tuned in. Let’s give co-creator Sterlin Harjo credit for the gentle humor, heartache, and occasional bursts of real sweetness here.
LIKED A LOT
Midnight Diner (Netflix) Thanks to my friend Carol for recommending this charming Japanese series, of which there are currently three seasons available in the U.S. I like to have something to watch late at night, and a show about a Tokyo diner only open midnight to 7 a.m. fit the bill perfectly. There are regulars and sometimes the stories are about them, but often a new character is introduced to drive the plot. I love that the series is inclusive without forcing the issue; sex workers and different gender identities are treated with total respect and normalcy. “Master,” who runs the place, doesn’t have a lot to say, but he quietly influences his customers to do the right thing. Usually.
Beef House (Adult Swim) I missed the original run of this latest Tim & Eric series so watched what I could for free online, and liked it enough to rent a couple of episodes on Amazon. In a sitcom format, five weirdo men, including Tim and relatively straitlaced Eric, live together in the house of Eric and his wife, portrayed by (bonus points here) Jamie-Lynn “Meadow Soprano” Sigler. This series is more crude than Tim & Eric’s recent offerings but does regain some of that early raw spirit.
McCartney 3, 2, 1 (Hulu) Between this and the new book of lyrics he’s been promoting, I hope we don’t suffer from Macca burnout by the time the Peter Jackson thing arrives imminently. Nevertheless, this was charming, fairly informational even for devoted fans, and easily digested. Going in I expected more from Rick Rubin besides smiling, nodding, saying “cool!”, and futzing with masking tape. But I’d guess the fact that McCartney knew about Rubin’s track record allowed Paul to speak more knowledgeably about music than we would’ve in a, oh let’s say, puffball piece with James Corden. My real great hope here is that McCartney hires Rubin to produce a very-late-era classic.
Normal People (Hulu) My cousin Steve recommended two shows but this was the only one I could watch for free. (The other was some French FBI thing?) For a while there, I couldn’t avoid Irish author Sally Rooney. She had a short story in the New Yorker that I liked but did not love. A book of hers was reviewed in Entertainment Weekly (which I think comes out quarterly and I forget why I receive it for free). And this one-season series is based on one of her books. There was a similarity to the short fiction I’d read — bookish girl gets laid a lot — so I wondered if it’s semi-autobiography (or wishful autobiography?) that Rooney keeps writing over and over. Regardless, the mismatched but actually maybe pretty well-matched lovers, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, are excellent, plus they do it a lot if you like that sort of thing, and you know that you do. And it’s a pretty realistic portrayal of the person who only blossoms after reaching college (or whatever they call it in Ireland), the shifting dynamics of a multi-year relationship, crippling self-doubt and depression, etc. And did I mention they really go at it quite a bit?
LIKED
Scenes From a Marriage (HBO) I’ll pretty much watch anything with Oscar Isaac in it, and he and Jessica Chastain are terrific in this remake of an Ingmar Bergman thingmar. It is indeed very well made. But, as I made clear in my review of Marriage Story, I don’t really enjoy watching couples YELL AT EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME!!!
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) I was thrilled when they announced that Steve Martin and Martin Short, two of my absolute all-time favorites, would be again working together, this time on a series. And Serena Gomez had handled deadpan comedy admirably in A Rainy Day in New York (which I still think you should watch). Indeed, I thought this started very strongly — cleverly written and performed by both the leads and several humorous cameos. But as the series wore on, the writing seemed more interested in the convoluted mystery (not why most of us were watching, I’d imagine) and less in the comedy.
KIND OF LIKED, KIND OF DIDN’T
The Story of Late Night (CNN) I loved the subject matter and appreciated many of the interviewees (my man Dave skipped it but was well-represented by staffers), but these CNN documentaries are so flimsy! Ken and Sarah Burns probably tune in just to laugh derisively.
The Premise (Hulu) B.J. Novak was humorous enough on The Office and his The Book With No Pictures is a hilarious storytime favorite, but it wasn’t until his Fresh Air interview that I decided to watch this series. (Point, full-court-press promotion.) Well, anthology series are famously hit-or-miss, but the hit ratio wasn’t quite strong enough, and ultimately this felt like a poor man’s Black Mirror.
DIDN’T LIKE
Lisey’s Story (Apple TV+) If any of you tell my girlfriend Julianne Moore that I didn’t like this show, I will find you and I will kill you. It had seemed Too Big To Fail: J.J. Abrams presents a Steven King adaptation starring Moore and Clive Owen. And yet it failed big. Now, I am not a Steven King guy, but a lot of the overly complicated fantasy stuff here seemed just plain stupid. I felt bad for the very talented Joan Allen, who literally stays catatonic for most of the series. And the level of violence here, met with extreme bloodlust, left a bad taste in my mouth. Julianne Moore is, of course, amazingly good and has never looked better and deserves an Emmy or whatever they give to these streamy things.
TWO AND DONE
Kevin Can F**k Himself (AMC) Clever concept (happy sitcom character often steps into the dark reality of her character’s situation), piss-poor execution.
ONE AND DONE
Small Town News (HBO) I was intrigued by a documentary series about a tiny TV station, but this was not at all compelling and felt like Tiger King Lite. A rare misfire from HBO!
American Rust (Showtime) It’s certainly no Mare of Easttown, the obvious comparison. Plus it looked, um, what I want to call “Showtime cheap.”
BAILED AFTER 7 MINUTES
Dummy (Roku) A sex doll comes to life and bonds with its owner’s girlfriend… I wasn’t sure if this was an actual show on an 8th-rate streaming service, or a second Moderna shot fever dream. My darling Anna Kendrick, you deserve so much better. And Donal Logue, I think it’s high time for a Knights of Prosperity reboot.
YES, I STILL WATCH THE SIMPSONS
I daresay it’s another halfway-decent season!
THANKS AND GOODBYE
The final season of Atypical was its weakest, but they came up with the solid ending this sweet, smart series deserved. I only thank Brooklyn Nine-Nine for putting itself out of its misery. Absurdly trying to address Black Lives Matter and police reform showed just how lightweight this series always was.
LOOKING FORWARD TO
Winter Olympics less than a year after the Summer Games — wow, thanks, global pandemic! The aforementioned Peter Jackson thing. Plus… are we having fun yet? No we are not, but we most likely will when the Party Down reboot arrives with most of the original cast.
SHOWS I USED TO WATCH AND IN MANY CASES STILL DO
Links to Edition I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XX.
Aquarium Playlist, 11/16/21
EPISODE #461: GREAT
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Mountain Goats — “Prowl Great Cain”
The Connells — “Really Great”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions — “The Great Unknown”
The Beths — “Great No One”
Gang of Four — “Not Great Men”
The Shangri-Las — “Give Him a Great Big Kiss”
Honeybunch — “The Great Divide”
The Glands — “Great Waves”
The Lemonheads — “The Great Big No”
The Postal Service — “Such Great Heights”
Franklin Bruno — “Great Fool”
R.E.M. — “The Great Beyond”
Marybeth D’Amico — “Great & Solemn Wild”
Billy Bragg — “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Ten Years Ago: Goodbye Scholastic
On November 11, 2011, after 19+ years of employment, I left Scholastic’s Classroom Magazines division. This is the farewell e-mail I sent to my co-workers.
It’s hard to believe I’m typing these words, and this will be a shock to many of you. But with a ridiculously heavy heart, I must announce I have decided to leave Scholastic. During my long time here, I’ve realized so many of my dreams. However, I still have a few to chase, especially in terms of devoting serious time to writing, and I just feel the time is right. Tomorrow is my last day in the office. (Psst… you can skip to the end now if you just want my e-mail address.)
I arrived in 1990 as recipient of the Maurice Robinson Award. I was a 21-year-old summer intern randomly assigned to the math magazines (what? I’m a creative writing major!!). I’m 42 now, so, that’s half my life. (See? Math!)
I started full-time at age 23, in 1992, as an assistant editor. 730 Broadway. Floppy disks. Dot matrix printers. No e-mail. No cafeteria. By 1995 I was the editor of Math Power (R.I.P.) and in ‘97 I took over MATH.
I met lifelong friends. Traveled around the country, manning convention booths. Signed autographs for kids in classrooms. Attended weddings and funerals. (Clarence, Jerry, Herman, Renee, Rhoda, Maggie, I’ll remember you always.) Hugged and cried when tragedies struck. Welcomed babies and congratulated graduates and retirees. Saw co-workers’ plays, bands, dance performances, art shows, photo exhibits, book signings….
I won a Chairman’s Gold Star Award in 2004; MATH Magazine won the Association of Educational Publishers’ Best-Periodical Golden Lamp in 2009. Interviewed Tiger Woods at the start of his career and Shaquille O’Neal at the end of his. Wore the Clifford costume in a children’s hospital on Valentine’s Day. Wore a dress on “Magazine Day.” Wore a suit on Saturdays at Advisory Board meetings. Modeled for photo shoots as a waiter, dad, and — with the Map Man — old-timey gangsters. Painted schools uptown. Read to first graders downtown. Eighteen consecutive years of Corporate Challenge races. Seventeen consecutive years of AIDS Walks. Represented the company at the AEP Awards (after reminding people how to enter). Co-captain of blood drives. Recommended a few people who were actually hired! Emcee’d corporate award presentations and children’s holiday parties.
Wrote for SuperScience, Science World, Storyworks, Scholastic News, Parent & Child, Search (R.I.P.), Futures (R.I.P.), e-Scholastic, Teaching Resources, Book Clubs, Traits Writing, and others I’m forgetting. Drew a cartoon for the old corporate newsletter. Edited the moving-to-557 newsletter. Edited a Madison Square Garden after-school magazine. Worked on projects with SMP, Tom Snyder, Read 180, Math 180, the Scholastic Store, Human Resources, Internal Communications, Real Estate, IT, Facilities, Art & Writing Awards, Corporate Conventions, Customer Service, and the Chairman’s Office.
Met so many fantastic people!!! Kind and smart and generous and talented and funny and interesting and righteous and idealistic and weird. From security to cleaning crews to reception to administrative staff to the mailroom to the old gym to the Wellness Center to the library to the Greenhouse and everywhere in-between. You inspired me and cheered me up and made it a pleasure to come in every morning. You taught me so much, about your areas of expertise, but also about life, about humanity.
I never stopped learning. How to write for 2nd graders, 5th graders, 7th graders. How to edit articles so they are as clear and concise as possible (this farewell doesn’t count). Management training workshops. Collaborating with designers, photo editors, copy editors, production editors, digital imagers, freelancers. Figuring out budgets and contracts, invoices and expense reports. Lessons from the legal department. Understanding how marketing and promotion and publicity works, and the steps in the manufacturing and shipping process. Modernization in all areas. Parsing corporate lingo. A new set of educational standards (and another new set, and another…). And then so many online tasks to learn and marvel at: podcasts, videos, interactive Web pages, annotated PDFs, pop-up windows, games, breaking news, etc. etc….
I am so proud of my comrades in the math magazine trenches, past and present. They’ve never totally known what to make of us, have they? Always felt kind of like underdogs, like the strange kids at the end of the hall. That camaraderie added fuel in our quest to create the liveliest, wackiest educational magazines anywhere. We fought math phobia and innumeracy every step of the way, occasionally within this very building. We did amazing work together that I’ll always take pride in.
Meeting and corresponding with countless teachers and students was probably the most fulfilling aspect of the job. A sweet misspelled letter from a reader could brighten the gloomiest day. Being able to answer questions, accept ideas, and deal with the occasional complaint was endlessly satisfying. Too often we’re stuck at our desks; it helps to have a reminder that there are flesh-and-blood on the other end of this equation. That contact was invaluable. And it provided constant proof that we were really making a difference.
I can never thank the company enough for all the opportunities it has provided me. I certainly tried to repay it whenever I could. It’s been an extreme pleasure working with all you wonderful magazine folk—I didn’t even mind looking at your graphs, suggesting headlines, and reminding you how to find a percent increase. The years I was vice chairperson of our Newspaper Guild unit were a tremendous honor, and I tried to do right by you. Being a deputy fire warden was something I took very seriously as well (even if I didn’t have my fluorescent arm band that one time). I’ve experienced every possible emotion within these walls during the past 19 years, and I’m experiencing a lot of them right now.
Please be good to one another.
Please look out for each other.
And when you’re getting bogged down in the nonsense, as we all do from time to time, try to remember: It’s all for the kids. So relax. Smile. Laugh. It’ll come through in the work, I promise.
Jack
Jack Silbert, curator