Stephen Mejias

Sunday, May 1, marked John Atkinson’s 25th anniversary as editor of Stereophile&#151an outstanding and admirable accomplishment, and one increasingly rare in this fast-paced, ever-changing modern world.

John celebrated in typical fashion: He didn’t mention the achievement to anyone, but kept his head down, eyes buried in a great pile of ink-stained proofs, as we raced to ship our July 2011 issue to pre-press. Such effort and diligence should come as no surprise: It was John who transformed Stereophile, once a rough and rogue ’zine abiding by no particular publishing schedule, into the professional, dependable, influential magazine it is today.

I can’t imagine anyone working as hard or as purposefully as my boss, John Atkinson. Each day is an honor. The man sets a high and excellent example: I want to be just like him.

Congratulations, John! Enjoy that beer tonight. Or, uh, that tutti-frutti martini thing, whichever you prefer. After 25 years of service, I guess you’re allowed to drink whatever you want.

Corrina sent me a link to this video for "70 Million" by Hold Your Horses, a band I know nothing about. It must have been so much fun to make this.

Though it was a sort of sanctuary for me as a kid, these days, I almost never listen to the radio. This day, however, has been spent listening to lots of WKCR's Dizzy Gillespie 90th Birthday broadcast.

Well, Elizabeth is off to Italy. Ciao, bella!

They're opening a Starbucks and a Duane Reade directly across from the Grove Street PATH station, where I catch the train to work each morning. This will certainly bring more people to my growing neighborhood. This morning, the train was so crowded that I couldn't read my book, Murakami's colorful Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. So, instead, I did what I always do when there's no room to read:

I know, I know. Things were going pretty fast, but it all felt so natural and neither one of us wanted it to stop. When it all got a bit too heated, we slowly moved on to the couch.