Editorial 11.3, March 2009, by Deirdre Helfferich Hearty Party Saturday, March 7 was the day that we celebrated The Ester Republic’s tenth birthday. The actual birthday was January 27th, but it took a while to get the party organized. In part, that was because it was a really big party. Mostly, it was because the publisher was just plain tardy, which is nothing new (ask my parents about that). And it was one heck of a party. If you missed it, well, nanny-nanny-boo-boo to you. (And there will be one next year, albeit a much smaller event.) First, a few thanks are in order: Su Tate, a newcomer to Alaska and a former professional event planner, donated her time, skill, and enthusiasm to keeping the publisher on track and to organizing much of the details. The Slippin’ Mickeys and the Bac’untry Bruthers provided great foot-stomping music, and James Bartlett volunteered his mixing board and sound system skills. Corwyn Wilkey created a great poster for the event. Doug Carrol let us use the Golden Eagle as a temporary party palace, and Amy Cameron and Hannah Hill were hopping all night behind the bar and still managed to keep smiling. Hans Mölders, noble spousal unit, put up posters, ran unscheduled errands, did extra grocery shopping, and kept the publisher from losing it. Kate Billington took photos and brought her wasabi guacamole. Bernie Coakley brought a great salad; Neal Matson brought moose nuggets; others brought more edibles. Several hundred happy people showed up to the party and maintained good cheer. Carla Helfferich and Peter McRoy came all the way from Hawaii to surprise yours truly (and boy, was I!). Jeremy Harrod helped scoot the last stragglers out at the end of the night. And, last but definitely not least, hundreds of contributors to the paper over the last decade made it the quirky, interesting, opinionated, and independent rag of the People’s Republic of Ester that it is. Thank you. Next, the Picks: these are the annual awards presented in recognition of the kind of fine writing and other contributions that you just don’t find elsewhere. Some of these categories might qualify in, say, the Alaska Press Club Awards (and have, actually, for several years running), but this year, since the publisher was sore distracted come submission deadline time, they will be the only awards for 2008 that her hapless contributors will receive. Sigh. Sorry about that, folks—but at least you are the recipients of truly unique and oddball acknowledgement hereabouts. All winners received a genuine Ester Republic tote bag and certificate of award, and those who were at the 10th anniversary party got an unpunctured copy of the birthday bash poster. Here are the lucky winners: • Satire: this award went to "Ester Thought Posse Report," to the Ester Thought Posse Company, Dr. Bhagat, Deepa Bhagat, and Soo Ichy, who were foiled in their attempts to make Ester a clean-thinking environment (and had quite a lot to say about economic and social policies in several different countries along the way). • Review: runner-up in this category went to Gabriel Hill, for “Hot Off the Griddle,” a review of the Easton Stagger Phillips CD, One for the Ditch. Gabe, after listening to the album, believes the world is gonna be alright. The Publisher's Pick for Review went to David A. James for his review, “Shwing!” of the book, A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis. He figured it was time to review a book about dicks, and said so. • Letter to the Editor: this was a tie between two letters by the same author, Eric Forrer, an observer of human endeavor, for “Six-Pack Punctuation” & "Stupid Watery Ideas", on the value of substance and eduction in politics and the folly of water sports, respectively. There was a dishonorable mention in this category again this year, for “Trying for Another Dishonorable Mention,” a short insult-filled diatribe railing against the paper (just like last year), by W.J. Stringer, subscriber (also known as His Very Fine Excellency, William the First, Emperor), whose post in government has gone to his head. • Poesy: this was awarded for “Before the Riot,” a marvelous free-verse poem by Shanna Karella, who longs for spring. • Travel Writing: went to “Ticolandia,” about a journey to Costa Rica, by Dan Darrow, whose house is full of monkeys. • Wildlife Photograph: this was awarded for “the Bear-tender,” a cover photo taken by CP McRoy, Intrepid Wildlife Photographer, who kept safely on the other side of the window. • Portrait: this was awarded for “Joe Geiss, EHL player,” a cover photo capturing the essence of Interior masculinity in the wintertime, taken by Monique Musick, another intrepid photographer. • Sports Writing: this went to “Fairbanks Spring Hysteria,” a story on the origins of the Great Tanana Raft Classic, written by Admiral Merritt Helfferich and Commodore George Cresswell, instigators of inspired lunacy. • Cartoon: this, as always, was a tough category. The first runner-up was for “Bail-Out,” an editorial cartoon by Jamie Smith, economic prognosticator. The Publisher's Pick in this category was "Tom DeLong: Party Crasher,” an editorial cartoon by Dan Darrow, who was rooting for the underdog. • Column: this award was given for “Dose of Reality,” a journey through the Byzantine world of medical finance, by Neil Davis, who is slogging through the morass for the rest of us. • Most Delicious: this went to “Greek New Year,” recipes by Mary Wagner, who watches Dr. Zhivago every New Year's Eve. • Most Independent: this was awarded for the article, “In Defense of the Lunatics,” on winter bicycling, by Mary Wagner, an all-weather bike commuter. • Most republican (note the lower-case "r"): this Publisher's Pick was awarded for “The Long View,” a column on the history of Alaska by Ross Coen, who, by reminding us of where we've been, helps us keep an eye on where we're going. • Esteroidia: this is awarded for an item illustrating or exemplary of life in the People's Republic of Ester. This year, the Pick was “The Center of the Universe,” a letter to the editor on the geography of Ester by Average John Reeves, subscriber. and last but not least, • the Mike Kelly Award, presented to those who provide a much-needed civics lesson, science education, or sex advice (or all of the above): this went to “Live Free or Die,” a column by irregulars Hannah Hill & Kate Billington, who kept Lady Liberty's torch lit in dark and troubled times. | ||
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