noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 57 August 2008 - Index

FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Circuit of Life
Advertising Director Gary Steinberg, noiZe boy Anthony Michael, and Publisher
Stephen Ceplenski and at the Zoo Party in San Diego.
This was a particularly hard note to write for this issue. noiZe has always worked
to provide in-depth, thought-provoking articles that stress responsibility and harm
reduction. At the same time, we cover topics that are related to dancing,
relationships, travel, clubbing, and nightlife—all within our over-arching themes of
“Celebrate. Explore. Live.” This issue’s theme stresses “Celebrate,” because in it
we celebrate a great friend who has recently passed away.
Many of you have heard about the untimely passing of DJ Cary Stringfellow, a
talented DJ as well as a personal friend for over ten years. noiZe doesn’t generally
run “news of the day,” so it was a bit of a struggle figuring out how to write about
Cary. Our DJ Profile segment tends to be a long view of a person’s life and career,
not a breaking news story. In the end, we decided that how Cary lived his life was
so much more important than how he died. The circuit of life spins ever on, so it’s
important to take the right lessons from a life well lived.
So in remembering Cary, we chose to focus on the person he was, the events
where he spun, the dozens of CDs he sent as gifts, The Trevor Project
(www.thetrevorproject.org) to which he devoted his talents, the little gifts, the
smiles, the laughing and even the skimpy underwear he wore on the dance floor.
I have a personal collection of over 22,000 digital photos. Flipping through them
to find photos of Cary, I came across dozens of guys that we haven’t seen in
years, or those with whom we haven't stayed in touch. It started to get very
depressing. But when I got to the photos from the past three years, my mood
changed completely. I saw new friends, new faces, big smiles, and some old
friends as well. Girls, promoters, dancers, performers, smiles, smiles, smiles. And I
realized how lucky we are.
There are people we have lost, events that no longer exist, and significant
changes in club culture and in parties across the country—change is constant. But
change brings new experiences. New experiences create new friends and are the
means by which we truly live our lives richly. Keeping a positive attitude always
helps color events in the best light. Remembering the positive aspects of others’
lives, of your life, of a friend, or even of the cute boy you met but didn’t go home
with last weekend is the best way to paint your own life with the brightest colors
possible.
8
Healthy Am I! Happy Am I! holy Am I!