My dear, dear French fries,

We need to talk.

The years have gone by so fast for us. From my first McDonald’s fry 24 years ago to the wide crinkle cut deliciousness at Glenwood in Connecticut and Town Spa in Stoughton.

It’s always been good. That was never the problem.

Something changed between us. It became all about you. I was changing, and you were staying the same.

We’re going in different places. It’s obvious, and I think we both know that.

Oh, I guess it started in high school when I would order two Wendy’s Biggie Fries with my Crispy Chicken Nuggets. It’s my fault I suppose. I was stuck at a desk sitting on my ass and you were always just there. So convenient. And … God … so good.

But it wasn’t good. When we were together — in the moment — I didn’t really care, but afterward I felt dirty. Unfulfilled.

So that’s where we’re at. We need some time apart, and that’s all there is to it.

I never stopped caring. I just wish there was another way.

Love,
John

There you have it, folks. French fries got dumped. I am pledging to go one year without eating a single French fry.

It’s going to be a year-long feature for Blast, and I’ll be posting 50 side-dish and food ideas and recipes that aren’t fries or as unhealthy as fries.

Stay tuned

It was a long month packed with news, drama and Britney going to the hospital.

In an homage to Letterman’s return to the air, here are the top 10 things you should come away with in January:

10. Your dog will soon take over the world.

9. Don’t stay on the top floor of a casino.

8. Sony may or may not release a white PS3 and they may or may not put Skype into PSP right away.

7. People are jaded as fuck. The first thing readers asked me when Heath Ledger died was whether or not he would still be The Joker.

6. Geek chic is still sexy.

5. Special orders do upset cops.

4. The rich go to Cedars Sinai Medical Center to have their babies. The poor take their chances elsewhere.

3. Don’t trust everything you read on MySpace.

2. Britney Spears won’t outlive any of us.

And the number 1 piece of knowledge you should come away with in January is:

Miley Cyrus is underage. And she will be for a while.

I saw the stats, and I still didn’t believe it. We wrote a 189-word brief about Kyla Ebbert — a Southwest Airlines passenger who was almost kicked off for wearing a skimpy (it wasn’t even that skimpy really…) outfit.

Then the counter started ticking like dollars on a gas pump.

By the end of the day on November 15, more people visited our little story than any other article in the 12 months of Blast Magazine. And every day that number grows.

In many ways it’s a testament to the Internet user, but in another respect, the growth in traffic we received from this 24-year-old vixen was largely due to us getting the article out early and Google rewarding us for our efforts.

I didn’t believe the latter myself until we rushed to get the Mitchell Report online. We put the report out to our readers as soon as it was released to the media, and lo and behold we’re #2 on Google.

So we’re excited about out recent efforts to make search engine optimization an priority, given that the previous owner of Blastmagazine.com abused it like a dog that wouldn’t fight. For the first few months, we weren’t even listed on Google!

The big story this month is that Blast is now one year old! We’ve come a long way, through three major redesigns, but we’ve maintained our major design points, quality photography and written work and, of course, our monthly magazine cover.

As we go into 2008, we’ve already started expanding our coverage to include daily gaming news, ongoing movie reviews, entertainment news and political commentary. We’re looking to add more original video content and keep up our long-form reporting in 2008.

We have some big news this issue. We put out the first major American review of SunAge, an upcoming strategy computer game. We also reported on the controversial dismissal of a Gamespot editor.

In Culture, you have to read newcomer Jocelyn Carleton’s piece on what national restaurant chains are doing to attract local regulars.

We also sat down with fashion designer Paula Hian and talked about her new dress that’s sweeping the couture world.

Speaking of interviews, Bessie King put Dr. Jonathan Katz on her couch this month to talk about his new Comedy Central DVD.

Last but not least, our cover story this month is an excellent, intimate interview with Sara Quin of the sisterly music duo, Tegan and Sara. Don’t miss this one!

That’s December. Happy Birthday to us!

Massachusetts may finally have a chance passing a journalism shield law.

California and 29 other states already have one, but that hasn’t helped Josh Wolf, a video-blogging convergence journalist who videoed an anti-G8 demonstration in 2005 and has been jailed under federal regulations for refusing to turn over footage to the police. It is clear that state shield laws have had no effect on the Federal Government, which has used every excuse it can to jail, threaten or intimidate journalists—journalists who perform a vital and Constitutionally protected task in American society.

Thomas Jefferson said he would prefer to have newspapers without a government to a government without newspapers. Though the word newspapers has evolved over the years to radio, television and the Internet, the message should be no less clear, the founding fathers viewed journalism as a vital check on the government.

It is your job, as the reader, to stand by the media and not buy into the fear.

–

Meghan Gargan has been working to unveil the Internet lately. In our March feature, Affair of the mouse, we get a serious lesson in the seldom-discussed topic of affairs and the disappearing casual sex taboo. The Internet is challenging our inhibitions, and people are all too happy to let them fall.

I’m proud of this piece and the work that went into it.

So, be honest, you know you’ve sported a "kiss me I’m Irish" t-shirt on St. Patrick’s Day despite your Polish ancestry. Blast goes green and orange this month with our cover models, Maureen and Keriann who can wear the shirt and mean it.

But don’t get all leprechauns and shamrocks on me, because Kelly Bodami and The Bitter Irishman, Dan Price explain what’s what in Irish culture.

We also dropped everything and hit Vegas this month to see what Sony’s got up its sleeve lately. Check out "Tech" for more on that.

That’s Blast for now. Stay tuned.