ciao samin

this might be considered jumping the gun a bit, but i can't wait anymore....

issue five of meatpaper is on its way out, and my piece on bill and nicolette niman is (i think) the first article in there!!!

i was totally scooped by kim severson, even though i'd already turned in my piece long before, but the turnaround with magazines is a lot longer than papers. plus, i'm not really upset at all, since we got to be in the NYT!

i wish i could adequately convey the depth and breadth of my respect and admiration for bill and nicolette niman. but i can't. they have given me so much to think about, and taught me so much. there is no one else who has done anything for the meat industry that can come close to rivaling what bill has done over the last thirty-five years. and, the man just has such an amazing understanding of and appreciation for the way nature works. and nicolette, jeez--she is just so, so intelligent. i haven't known many people that smart in my life.

novella told me a while ago, when i expressed anguish over not being able to include all of the information i wanted to in one article, that the writing process is like having a bank account, and each piece gives you a lot more to deposit than you use in one sitting. so you save bits and pieces from each article, each experience, each interview, and you save it for later, pulling it out when you need to invest it in another piece. well, my time with the nimans gave me a lot (and 6 hours of recordings!), and at least my next piece or two will derive from what i learned from them.


update: i got my copy today and i lurve the piece!!! the photos are amazing-i'm so proud!!!!