-
Hope and Faith
Sen. Obama, give me something to believe in.
(October 6, 2008) -
Why the Right is Right About Barack Obama
And why you should
vote for him anyway.
(September 29, 2008) -
Political “Crunch” Time
The US presidential race
finally arrives at Crunchable.
(September 22, 2008)
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Still Crunchy! (after all these years)
“I think it’s finally safe to say that the Web is at a pivotal moment in its history.”
— Chris Klimas, in Crunchable’s first article.
In October 2001, Chris Klimas and a few also-just-graduated-from-college friends wandered into this corner of the Internet and set up shop. They had Web design skill, loads of writing talent, and a simple idea: Why should we stop writing and editing and publishing just because we’ve stopped living in dorm rooms and eating at a dining hall?
After five years, a half dozen redesigns, one change in ownership, and some 300 articles by a total of more than 30 writers, Crunchable is still here. In this anniversary issue, we’re celebrating with a look back at some of the pieces that inspired us, made us laugh, and made us proud.
So pull up a comfy chair, help yourself to a piece of cake, and have fun getting lost in the archives. And here’s to the next five years.
— Michael Duck (Crunchable’s current editor guy)
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First Loves
Crunchable’s founder writes about love, editing, and three favorite articles from the site’s first year:
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When Crunchable Started Out Five Years Ago
Stability, chaos, and what the hell we were thinking.
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The Omnipresence of Story
“Achievement #145 to leave off the resumé: my first job out of college was working for a food company solely concerned with cheese sauces and puddings. ...”
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“Matter is Merely Frozen Light ...”
“It was like an awakening from a coma to read these words ...”
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Think Back
“These are the people whose faces, when you think of your life’s earliest, intelligent fumblings, rise up out of the mist like hot breath on cold glass. ...”
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Riding Shotgun: Where’s my Motherf#@%ing Jet Pack?
“My gosh, golly, gee-whiz. Who, peering through some as-yet-undiscovered cosmic oracle from past to future, could have foreseen the wonderful, amazing, technological ... grimy, boring, repetitive, crap world we live in? ...”
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Dear stickfigures
“This is how found you, stickfigures. This is how I started to read your stories. ...”
- Adventures in Seminary:
God Bless You Please, Bishop Robinson Talking with Bishop Gene RobinsonFirst, Jonathan Ratican wrote about his reaction to V. Gene Robinson’s election as an Episcopal bishop, when he became the church’s first openly gay bishop in a committed relationship. Then, the man himself sat down for an interview, talking about his spirituality, his family, and what it was like to be a bishop in the middle of a media blitz.
- This Old Game: Glider
Talking with John Calhoun (part 1)
Talking with John Calhoun (part 2)
John Calhoun is a legendary Mac programmer — the author of the classic game Glider and the brains behind some of Mac OS X’s nifty features. These are some of the most-viewed articles on Crunchable, thanks mostly to links on Wikipedia and on Calhoun's own Web page.
- Prittle-Prattle: A Conversation with Chuck D
He’s a Hip Hop pioneer, the founder of Public Enemy, and the star of that arts-in-school public service announcement. He talked with Jonathan Ratican about rap, activism, and what would happen if he were elected to political office.
- Talking with Nerissa Nields
One of the biggest names in contemporary folk music talked with J-Tron about what inspires her and how she started writing.
- Talking with Kyp Malone and Papatunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio
This summer, Spin magazine published an item about indie-rock band TV on the Radio. More than two years ago, they sat down with us for an interview. (Message to Spin: neener neener neener!)
- Hot Wheels
- Talking with Aiden Enns, founder of Buy Nothing Christmas and Geez magazine
- Prittle Prattle: Brian Gundersdorf, Folk Musician
- Prittle Prattle: My Duty as a Citizen
- Prittle Prattle: My Day with the Queen
- Wherefore Art Thou Crunchable?
Crunchable’s very first article. It’s also the source for a lot of the language in our current manifesto.
- The Joy of Crunch
In this piece celebrating the site’s first six months, Crunchable founder/editor Chris Klimas also explained how the heck this site got its name.
- And Now, a Clip Episode
Joel Haddock, then a co-editor, marked the site’s first anniversary with a retrospective featuring articles from the archives. (Sound familiar?)
- Read Me
After more than four and a half years of Crunchable, submissions from writers were drying up, and the site was about to collapse on itself. Chris Klimas posted this just before Crunchable went on hiatus. In addition to being his most personal essay about what drove him to create the site, the piece also foreshadowed the work he does today with interactive online stories. (Confused? It’ll make sense when you read it.)
- (re)Birth
Crunchable returned a few months later, now with the monthly issue format we still use.
- Web Design for Complete Flutzes
After lots of soul-searching on both sides, Chris Klimas decided to turn Crunchable over to contributor Mike Duck. We posted a notice announcing the change in December, but frankly this Snackable piece from January communicates the same idea while being much more entertaining.
- Scotia
“I spent hours [here] with family and friends, eating delicious food (sometimes fresh-caught fish fried up for breakfast), solving puzzles, playing guitar and games. It was the place my father and aunts brought the people they loved, and the place all my cousins and I would bring ours.
“There was magic in this house. ...”
- Chrysalis
“Rarely do I feel like I am living in an authentic moment. Everything is immediately enveloped in language. My friends and I dine by candlelight one evening and the experience is already narrated for us. ...”
- Sisters
“It’s a crazy notion, to love before knowledge, before sight, before anything at all. But with my sisters, I did not have a choice ...”
- Cobain
“Nirvana will always be synonymous with a particular time in my life. ... But today, I shudder and recoil from Nirvana. And I hate you all for it.”
- Alan
“It was just after lunch. He said something and then gently placed his hands on each of my shoulders and kissed me solemnly. Good bye. Take care. ...”
- Dear Tommy
“[T]here’s so much to say. So many stories already, and you’re only two weeks old. ...”
- All I Want for Christmas is a Bag of Crap
“The Bag of Crap is also versatile. You can buy crap particular to your loved ones, or general crap everyone can enjoy ...”
- Sew What?
“Home ec marked my introduction to the sewing machine and to the realization that I would probably never measure up as a domestic goddess. ...”
- Riding Shotgun: Kill All Astronomers
“If there were two things I knew for certain as a child, it was that there were nine planets in the solar system and that the Ice Age killed the dinosaurs.
“What?! Oh, those whores! ...”