Bye-bye pork rinds, hello Recess
The glamorous world of sportswriting--gone. Pressrooms brimming with yesterday's pork rinds and 300-pound "writers" with entire chicken wings stuck in their unkempt beards recounting tales of how they once (wink-wink) struck up a conversation with a broad--vanished.
I have forsaken my journalistic roots in an attempt to screw up yet another section of the paper.
As you may have guessed, I am not the typical Recess editor. First, I can actually explain the infield fly rule. Second, I have absolutely no idea what the hell I'm doing.
That may actually work to my advantage, however. From an outsider's perspective, Recess, with its hyper-critical reviews, can sometimes seem like that pompous kid who tries to dominate your Public Policy seminar. Sure, he oftentimes makes good points, but you wish that he'd get over himself and choke on his Dasani.
At its best though, Recess, with an educated voice and a sense of humor, conveys the sense of invention that makes the entertainment world so compelling. Without question some albums or movies or plays will be better than others, but I want to create an atmosphere where even when we have to write disparagingly on a topic, we do it because we expect more out of the artists who have influenced us over the years--not because we think it'll win us some indie credibility for not liking anything.
After all those pressroom pork rinds, my indie credibility waved bye-bye long ago anyway.
--Greg Veis
Love story in a pair of gray pj pants
I pull on my trusty gray pj pants (the good ones with the pockets) and my 2001 men's basketball championship t-shirt. Lace up my New Balances and throw on a sweatshirt jacket. This isn't an ordinary date--it has to be special.
My love affair with Recess has not been nearly as flashy as mine was with the news department. When I was a senior City and State editor, I'd pull on gray pants (real ones, nice ones) and a good sweater to interview movers and shakers in the Triangle, cover election returns or even cover the ongoing Michael Peterson murder case. I only wore my pajamas when I awoke at the crack of dawn to call a particularly busy source for a story.
As I move from City and State's slick business pants into my pajama pants, I hope we at Volume 5 of Recess can put out a magazine that's as fun for you to read as it is for us to make.
--Meg Lawson
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