Bohemian Hellhole Volume 2

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vol. 2

fall 2008


Alice’s Letter

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Alice’s Letter

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COLOR THEORY

Check out John W Golden's* Etsy Shop!

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COLOR THEORY

Red and Turquoise, always a good choice. These colors are always friends, can be endlessly re-mixed with other colors, while being as bright or as muted as you like. Perfect for accents like pillows, rugs, tables and art, this color team will add some fire to your fall while being easy on your budget {no need to purchase a giant red and turquoise sofa, unless you really really want one}.

Even the creamiest of backdrops are striking when introduced to vibrant color.

John W Golden*

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COLOR THEORY

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Michelle ramin

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everything you do is art

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

{medium} I have a background in drawing and painting and tend to go through phases with each. I have been mostly drawing lately with pen and ink and marker. I also just finished a series of pen and ink and watercolor pieces. I do also work in oils and mixed media a lot. {inspiration} Mostly my surroundings, especially here in Portland and my hometown of Williamsport in Pennsylvania. Portland has such beautiful architecture and vegetation; I would attribute most of my inspiration lately to those two things. I love looking and deciding with my eye what parts of what I'm looking at I'm going to keep and what parts I'm going to change. Creative license is my favorite part of making art; I can choose just about everything about the piece as its progressing.

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

{art history} Since I can remember... as a kid, I would draw with a set of berol color pencils that my Mimi (my grandma) gave me when I was probably 3 or 4. My parents used to buy me paints all of the time too, even oil paint by numbers sometimes. My dad taught me perspective when I was in second grade; I think that's what got me into drawing architecture.

{holiday locale} I love going everywhere. Traveling is one of my favorite things to do. I love Portland; pretty much everything about it. I love the drive down to San Francisco from here through wine country with the beautiful mountains, farms and wineries. SanFran is so beautiful too! and the Southwest desert... there's something very spiritual about that area of the country. I also can't help but love central Pennsylvania, with its gentle rolling hills and sweet deciduous trees... and lighting bugs! and lighting! I miss those things... In Portland, some of my favorite places to hang out and grab a beer and good food are the Virginia Cafe, the Night Light, East End, and the Basement Pub. I also LOVE going to concerts with my favorite venue probably being the Doug Fir and then maybe Holocene and the Towne Lounge. My favorite restaurant in Portland is Baan Thai up by P.S.U. and my favorite store, besides every thrift store and vintage shop in town, is House of Vintage on Hawthorne.

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

{domestic locale}*** My backyard for sure... I have a beautiful huge garden with everything from tomatoes to rosemary to kiwi. It's one of the most inspiring places in my life. It's also a gathering place for bbqs and we hold backyard drawing sessions there every Tuesday evening. {inclination} cheap antique furniture meets friends' artwork (a.k.a. DIY Bohemian maybe?) cozy little rooms filled with lots of natural light and surrounded outside by lots of lush green vegetation... with an awesome backyard!

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

***Portland based photographer Steve Harmon paid Michelle Ramin a visit at her studio, which turned out to be a fantastic abandoned loft.

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Michelle ramin

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everything you do is art

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

{demolition} i wish i had a little more room in my apartment (i share a relatively large one bedroom with my boyfriend joel) with my own studio attached... and depending on my mood, i sometimes want to be closer to the city (we live about 2 and half miles out in se portland)... and sometimes i wish i were a little further away in the country.

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

{cache} 1. my boyfriend (my favorite personal treasure!) 2. my drum set 3. my great grammy's jewelry box that she willed to me when she passed away 4. drawing paper and micron pens 5. my music collection 6. my cat 7. coffee

{castle in the sky} so many things! i want to travel the world and photograph then draw/ paint all of it! on a smaller scale, i'd like to in the near future cut back hours at work and work a lot more on my art and music. {recreation} this is kind of silly... but i love getting a group of my friends together, driving out to Sauvie Island (about 10 miles north of Portland) and going to the corn maze... we look forward to that every fall. i think i like it so much because it reminds me of growing up next to corn fields in central Pennsylvania.

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Michelle ramin

everything you do is art

{available to view or purchase} Always on my website at www.michelleramin.com and on etsy at www.michelleramin.etsy.com. I usually have at least one show per month going on in the Portland area as well to check out my work in person. If you see a piece you like on my website, you can click on the work and it will take you directly to my etsy site to make a purchase. {price range} $25 to $500 {email inquiries to} michelleramin@gmail.com

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fit to eat

my favorite macaroni*

*fall=cold=comfort food=macaroni & cheese It may sound mundane, but nothing beats a heaping plate of fantastic mac-n-cheese on a cold evening. You can try and get gourmet with the cheeses, but I believe it's best with the old standby, cheddar.

Macaroni & Cheese Preparation time = 5 min cooking time=45-50 min makes a big pan of macaroni 1-2 cans of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup* 1 big bag of Large elbow macaroni {small will not do} 1-2 lbs medium cheddar cheese** 1/2 cup milk {more soup means more milk} juice of 1 small lemon {to taste} 1-2 T minced garlic {to taste} Salt and Pepper

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fit to eat

my favorite macaroni*

Preheat the oven to 350 1. Fill a large pot of water and bring to a boil 2. Cook pasta according to package directions 3. Cut cheese into small cubes 4. Mix cooked pasta, cheddar cheese soup, cheese cubes, milk, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl 5. Stir well 6. Pour mixture into a 9x13" baking dish, or large dutch oven 7. Bake at 325째 until top is golden brown and cheese is melted 8. Serve with ketchup {my personal must-have} *Soup- use more for creamier macaroni **Sometimes you just need more cheese. ***photo via recipe4living.com

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happy hour

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miss jane

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happy hour

miss jane

Miss Jane Ingredients: Quality gin* Good vodka Lillet blanc** Lemon juice Simple syrup Ice Tools: Cocktail shaker Strainer Juicer Citrus twister Steps: Squeeze one half lemon to yield 1 oz of juice. Add several ice cubes to a shaker or mixing glass, then add 1 oz gin, 1 oz vodka, 1 oz Lillet, the lemon juice and 3/4 oz simple syrup. Shake vigorously. Put some elbow into it. Strain into a chilled martini-shaped glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel. *It’s not just juniper anymore: If you’re not a lover of gin, you may be surprised at the range of flavors to be discovered in various brands of the spirit. In recent years, some small-batch distillers have entered the market with new offerings, like the velvety, iconoclastic Hendrick’s, from Ayrshire, Scotland, which adds cucumber and rose to the mix. It’s a brilliant choice for this cocktail. ** Lillet, an apéritif wine from the Bordeaux region of France, is available in blanc {white} and rouge (red) varieties. Lillet blanc also features in the Vesper, the cocktail created by James Bond in Casino Royale.

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hellhole celebrity

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home free

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hellhole celebrity

home free

When I visit the homes of my good friends, they seem so right. Coffee cups just so on the table, not quite as many bills in the mailbox. It is so easy to see myself with less magic than the rest {go media!}, and getting comfortable in my own skin {or house} is harder than it should be. I am not going to name names, but this particular house is a trophy of editing prowess. Each photo, dish, pillow, lamp and book is there with intent. Every piece of art has a story, and each volume on the bookshelf has been read and loved.

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hellhole celebrity

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home free

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hellhole celebrity

home free

I love the idea of an office that is beautiful. This one actually exists in real life, and it works. I am in awe. {Magnetic bulletin boards are a good way to display photos without perforating their corners into oblivion.}

Welcome to the most carefree sofa ever. The large scale of the cushions keep them from being a huge pile of decorative accent pillows, moving them into the category of comfort and easy good looks.

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hellhole celebrity

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home free

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hellhole celebrity

home free

The fact that all the little touches in this home are so personal, gives weight to even the simplest of items. Let that be a lesson to us all. Just because it's pretty, or new will not insure that it will make your house a home, or even a place you want to be. Put yourself in there. At least you will have some company.

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hellhole celebrity

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home free

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horti-culture

out driving the weeds

Weeds need three things to grow: soil, sun, and water. You can use black plastic, lava rocks, pavement or parked cars on cinder blocks to keep the light of day and water from hitting those weed seeds. Those things are nice and all, but I prefer to keep weeds from getting those necessities by offering them to a more worthy plant first. When that parking space in your garden is gone, that weed will just have to keep driving. Few plants are more worthy than the mighty ground cover. You can get them for free, and they are really easy to propagate. I am writing about this in the Fall because mother nature waters them for you at this time, granting you the wish of more time for hay rides, apple-bobbing or wild, drunken nakedness in the pumpkin patch. If you live in a place that snows, just make sure to get the plants in early so they can establish their roots before the freeze. You are also granted permission to leave your socks on in the pumpkin patch. If leaves fall on your ground cover, just brush them aside periodically so they don't smother your newly installed loved-ones. The leaves will help keep out the weeds as your ground cover grows.

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horti-culture

out driving the weeds

We may love to blow money at the nursery, but sometimes we have to pay rent. Here are some ways to get ground cover for free: 1) Go out late at night with a small plastic bucket, gardening knife and headlamp and collect some from a neighbor who has so much they won't notice some missing. I say a garden knife because the shovel is a dead giveaway. Of course the headlamp isn't so smooth either, but at least you could say that you were late-night slug hunting or looking for your cat. Be sure to hide the knife. They always alert the authorities when they see the knife. 2) As you pass a nice patch of ground cover during your daily walk, casually lean over, pretending your sole intention is admiration, then snatch some up. This works especially well with succulents like sedum. They root from any part of the plant so easily. Make sure not to mangle the plant. You are a plant collector, not a hoodlum. 3) Trade them with friends. In fact, you don't have to trade plants for plants. You can trade ANYTHING. 4) For those not seeking so much adventure, ask the neighbor in daylight hours if you could take some ground cover (yawn!). How much ground cover should you nab? You'd be surprised how quickly a little patch will grow. In our back yard we have a patch about two feet wide that started as a tiny sprig that we tore out of another area last fall. Getting some roots with your cutting is ideal, but as mentioned before, there are some ground covers that will grow from any piece of the plant. The important thing is to keep it watered until it's established. Make sure to weed around your ground cover until it fills the space. It's a pain between the buttocks to get weeds out of a ground cover after they've grown attached to each other. Grass especially should be ushered out immediately. Weeding is a time-consuming aspect of ground cover cultivation, but those who take the challenge seriously will be greatly rewarded. Some organic fertilizer, compost and loose soil helps hasten the process, but keep in mind that it also helps the weeds, so weed more frequently if you go that route. My favorite ground covers are Blue and White Star Creeper, any Sedum, Chicks and Hens, Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' or 'Claridge Druce,' Veronica peduncularis, Scotch Moss, Irish Moss and Elfin Thyme. These are ground covers that are easy to grow and spread quickly, but are not invasive and give solid coverage. Those need some sun, but if you have a lot of shade, use Baby's Tears, Pachysandra or Corydalis. If you want to go native, try Deer Fern, Sword Fern and Maidenhair fern. A lot of people like the native Kinnickinnic, but it lets in too many weeds for my taste and its spelling annoys me. I also tend to steer away from Wild Ginger*, Gallium* and Brass Buttons*, not for their spelling but for the amount of weeds they allow into their space.

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horti-culture

out driving the weeds

It takes 2-3 years for the ground cover to really start its work, but once the ground cover fills in, you'll be chasing the weeds less and less. You'll stop seeing the garden as yet another chore and more as a place to relax...a place where you can kick back with your beer and watch the neighbors weed their yards. *These plants are native to the Pacific Northwest, check with your local garden center for ground covers that will thrive in your area. Diedre Muns owns and operates a wonderful landscaping business in Seattle. Visit Florabunga.com and Leap from Yard to Garden!

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mr. antique meets ms. modern

Martha Brown

Once upon a time there was an antique dining room that lived in an old house. He loved being the largest and sunniest room in the house, so he could show off his stained glass windows. Then he saw her- a beautiful modern dining room set. She was light and graceful with lots of storage for his collections of table cloths and glassware, but he hesitated. Could this relationship really work? They hit it off wonderfully. He loved her legs and she laughed at his stuffy jokes! When he proposed she accepted on one condition- a design prenup.

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mr. antique meets ms. modern

Martha Brown

The pre-nuptial agreement between Antique and Modern 1. His architectural envelope had to be right. {key words- repair and restore!} 2. His antique things had to balance with her modern ones. {His- light fixture, vintage mirror, oil painting, tea service, traditional fabric and wallpaper & Hers- set of furniture, textured rug, plates and window treatment} 3. They both had to be brave and trust their instincts! Mr. Antique and Ms. Modern are now married and they couldn't be happier. {All pictures of our dining room- Martha B.} Thanks to Martha Brown {author of Nibs blog} for writing a bit for Bohemian Hellhole!

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musicale

Autumn. It provides a good excuse for staying in, Shutting the blinds, and sleeping late Coffee tastes better in the fall. Depression is less depressing in the fall... It just seems more normal, somehow. Peeling paint doesn’t want to be fixed, And no one mows the freaking lawn. Women (and men) that shouldn’t be wearing shorts don’t. Wedding season is over, You will not feel obliged to go to that co-worker’s barbeque. All in all, a perfect time of year. So, here’s to that one house on the block, That kids dare one another to trick-or-treat at. La charité s'il-vous-plaît! (French for trick-or-treat, you moron!)

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musicale

1. Artist: Elliott Smith Song: Thirteen Album: New Moon “Won’t you let me walk you home from school?” This cover of Big Star’s classic is arguably better than the original. Plus, what could be more autumn than going back to school, and believing you’ve completely transformed your identity - just because your mother bought you a Hypercolor wardrobe? 2. Artist: Radiohead Song: Scatterbrain (Dead as Leaves) Album: Hail to the Thief No reason is ever needed for adding Radiohead to a play list. However, if we did need a reason, this song references “leaves,” and also includes the line “walking out in a force ten gale.” Enough said. 3. Artist: Jens Lekman Song: Maple Leaves Album: Oh, You’re So Silent Jens “She says...make believe, but I thought she said maple leaves.” An understandable mistake. This song also references Mark E. Smith (The Fall). See the following selection. 4. Artist: The Fall Song: I Can Hear the Grass Grow Album: Fall heads Roll How could we put together a play list of fall music without including The Fall? Even if this particular song is a cover (The Move.) 5. Artist: The Magnetic Fields Song: All the Umbrellas in London Album: Get Lost “I will sit in the bar where the cocktails are, but I really don’t feel like talking.” Hey, it’s enough that you made it out of bed. No one’s asking you to talk to anyone. Especially if you’re just going to slur your words.

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musicale

6. Artist: Sonic Youth Song: Sunday Album: A Thousand Leaves This is from the album “A Thousand Leaves,” and it just plain sounds like autumn. 7. Artist: The Flaming Lips Song: My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion Album: At War With the Mystics This song features chirping bird sounds. And, duh, it has the word “autumn” in the title. 8. Artist: Edith Piaf Song: Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves) Album: Edith Piaf: 30eme Anniversaire We’ve always believed that autumn is the perfect time to visit France. An apropos song for the occasion, featuring France’s best-loved songstress. Please leave your American flag pin at home (along with your fanny pack). Just saying. 9. Artist: Yo La Tengo Song: Autumn Sweater Album: Prisoners of Love This choice is so obvious it hurts. However, if your feeling a bit adventurous, you can replace the original with the Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) re-mix. 10. Artist: Catherine Wheel Song: Black Metallic Album: Ferment Alas, “you can’t stay all day under the covers.” And it can’t be autumn forever. Enjoy it while it lasts. Pretty soon it will be spring, and you’ll be expected to get up and clean things.

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On the Map

The Ave

The Varsity theater, where I saw Donnie Darko, thanks to my lovely neighbors. "The Varsity Theater currently features an eclectic mix of Hollywood favorites, independent film and foreign language cinema. Located on University Way in the heart of Seattle's University District, it has been operating as a movie theater since 1940. Since there was no room to build outward, the theater was expanded vertically with the addition of two upstairs screens in 1985. These smaller auditoriums feature high-back ultra-cushy seats with large wall-to-wall screens. The original downstairs auditorium currently hosts the Varsity Film Calendar, whose programming changes quarterly."

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On the Map

The Ave

The Neptune Theater, where I saw the Fifth Element, and loved it {I also saw King Kong there, and hated it}. The fact that King Neptune's eyes glow even when the lights are out is unbeatable. It is also one of the last single-screen theaters in the city. Just up University Way a few blocks is the Grand Illusion Theater, my dad’s favorite place to see a film. I am always in favor of any street that has multiple movie houses.

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On the Map

The Ave

University Heights, where my mom went to grade school, is now home to all kinds of productive, community-minded people. They host a year-round farmer's market on Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.

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On the Map

The Ave

Lucky is just a fun store, where I nearly bought ruffled under-shorts, but got grossed out at the last minute. When will they start making those new again?

All neighborhoods need a hardware store.

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On the Map

The Ave

Your source for Hello Kitty and fantastic blank notebooks.

The alley behind Magus Books, also home to Cafe Allegro, one of Seattle's oldest coffee shops. They have live music as well as great joe.

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On the Map

The Ave

The ostensible home of Bruce Lee's third studio, where he lived in 1963. Love that crazy 'Ave' font. Read more about The Ave here: www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/dec95/ave.html. For a more complete list of businesses located on University Way, visit Mapquest.com and use their Neighborhood Search feature.

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sweater set

Let me begin by saying I love the name of this sweater. Who can resist something called the Yoda Sweater for a wrinkly little baby? I sure can’t. Learning to knit was bound to happen eventually. I have always loved hand knits - their texture, smell, and endless variety. I learned to knit more out of desperation than anything else, and I did it in my typical manner - the quickest way possible. Needless to say, there were a lot of mistakes. There still are but I am learning that practice makes perfect…or closer to it. I started out with scarves, the natural beginners knit. But it got old quick. Hats came next followed by log cabin blankets, and then my ambitions got a bit ahead of my skill(or patience). I attempted a sweater. Not just any sweater mind you, but one for my husband, with tons of special designs of my own thrown into the basic pattern - enough to get me thoroughly confused whenever I picked it up. It was a big project. So big that I found myself taking little “breaks” from it - picking up a little simpler project here and there, just to avoid the thing. Then my friend had a baby. And I decided that maybe if I could make a tiny sweater I could begin to wrap my brain around how to finish the large one that has taken up over a year of my free time.

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sweater set

So I went a-searching on www.ravelry.com {the most fantastic virtual knitting community} where I found the perfect baby sweater pattern. The designer of this pattern is Cari, who has her own blog - Dispatches from Utopia. She crafted a wonderful, easy to understand, and completely wearable garment. She began the process while pregnant with her son, and as she puts it, in a hormonal fit. "I couldn't find a single sweater in all of my knitting library that exactly matched what I had in mind for him. Thus, the Yoda sweater was born.� I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you can’t find it out there in the world, you make it yourself. My gift was well received and put to use right away. The project took about five days for me, start to finish. Now that it's done, I suppose the next item on the list is to finish the man size sweater glaring down at me from the shelf I tried to hide it on.

The lovely Cari has generously offered to share her pattern with us so we all can make our own little Yoda Sweater. {You can download it by visiting this web address: http://www.ravelry.com/dl/ cari-luna-designs/4956?filename=babyyoda.pdf } Jenn Adams is a dear talented friend who also runs Peony, an Etsy shop full of handmade treasures.

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where credit is due

BOHEMIAN HELLHOLE Vol. 2

etching by Abraham Bosse Alice Almighty editor-in-chief *************************************************************************** Contributing Editors color Shelley Dael Walker art Shelley Dael Walker, Vegas Rannon Walker Harmon food Shelley Dael Walker, Diane Baker drinks Amy Allsopp garden Diedre Muns features Shelley Dael Walker projects Jenn Adams music Tim Harmon bits & pieces Shelley Dael Walker, Martha Brown photography Steve Harmon, Shelley Dael Walker {unless otherwise noted} Production copy editor Amy Allsopp executive assistant to the editor-in-chief Tim Harmon

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