Philip Shane
designer
Jonathan Kravetz
editor
ducts
2000!
greetings
from our editor
Phil and I have once again put aside our differences (he's for Swiss cheese with corned beef on rye, I'm against) to produce another issue of ducts. We are happy to say that the magazine is taking off and our readership continues to grow. This winter edition of ducts is bigger, stronger, faster and tastier than the premier issue and we owe this to our multi and varied contributors.
Tom Fast returns once again with another edition of his Naked Man journals. This one is funnier (and hairier) than the last. Mark Goldblatt is also back with another bit of his humor/wisdom/politics/radical thinking. Brian Huskey returns with more photographs from a journey through his inner soul. And, of course, Jeffrey Parker Thompson -- one ear on the music biz and the other on American culture -- is back with a spanking new music review. This time he takes on David Bowie.
The winter edition, we are pleased to say, will also feature a number of new contributors. After careful scrutiny, we discovered that all of them bathe regularly and have shiny, white teeth. They can also write like a house on fire.
We are introducing two columnists to you in this edition. Both bring years of wisdom, a sense of humor and a lot of facial hair to the project.
The introductions: Benjamin Malcolm is our new Washington, D.C. correspondent. This issue he writes about the professional soccer phenomenon in D.C. We are so happy with Ben's work that if he promises to climb down from the tree he scaled last week and agrees to stop throwing acorns at our readers, we are going to give him a big ol' pat on the back.
Bill Bilodeau is our other, equally bearded, columnist. He is a going to write a regular piece about... well, about whatever strikes his fancy. Check out his thoughts on technophobia.
Our feature article is a special report from Randall Woods, our Seattle correspondent. He brings you a first person account of Seattle's Thanksgiving riots. You'll practically smell the tear gas.
We have four entries in our personal essays duct for the winter issue. J. Stefan-Cole writes about how the history of World War II plays an important role in her relationship with her father. The essay is riveting and horrifying. Margaret Hundley Parker tells us about her obsession with a new computer game. Anyone who's ever bought a new computer will relate to this story. We also have a contribution by a writer who wishes to remain anonymous. She writes about her harrowing experiences as a mental health professional while undergoing treatment herself for Bipolar Disorder. Finally, Alexandra Hoffman, in a moving essay, explains why cancer patients might be better off if they were treated more like... well, like dogs and cats.
Of course: don't forget to check out that Kravetz guy's new humor and criticism. He just kills me.
And don't miss the Trumpet Fiction duct. We have three diverse pieces for you right now and will be adding more in our next issue.
Finally, you will notice that this issue is peppered with a variety of illustrations. We want to thank our new artist, Jenny Oh, for all of these. We cannot put into words how much we love her work. You will too.
Our mission remains the same. We want to bring the best, most insightful writing and art to you. We think this issue will be the cornerstone of many, many more. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Jonathan Kravetz,
Editor
