· On Feb. 22--that's Tuesday, for those of you calendarless folks out there--the Weekly will celebrate its 21st birthday. We don't have any celebrations planned (unlike last year, when we did a large Anniversary Issue at the same time we launched a brand-new paper size and design, nearly killing the entire staff in the process). This is how newspapers in the 21st century differ from people. For newspapers, round numbers like 20 are big deals. For people, numbers like 21, that bring with them legal rights--like drinking--are what matter. Heck, we have a no-alcohol policy at the Weekly offices, so turning 21 does us NO good.
· I was in New York City last weekend, and I got to see the highly publicized Christo/Jeanne-Claude "exhibit" in Central Park. It supposedly cost $21 million (of the artists' money) and took decades of planning. What is it? A bunch of orange "gates" looming over the park's paths with what look like cheap, hunter-orange shower curtains hanging on them. That's it. Let me hearken back to my art-reviewing days to say: The exhibit was pointless and sucky. From the mutterings I heard walking around Central Park on opening day, this was a fairly common opinion.
· Be sure to pick up next week's Weekly, which will be our third-annual Rant Issue. These are always wildly popular issues that bring in tons of letters. (While I love the Rant Issue, too, I have no idea why it's wildly popular. It just is.) So, look for that.
· Pitchers and catchers are reporting. Yay. Play ball!
