like a lot of you, i spend a lot of time thinking about skiing. of course, whenever i'm out there doing it, there's no thought needed, because the pure joy of the activity eliminates any need to actually express something in words about it. when i'm on the hill i don't have time to think about things like what new sponsor an athlete picked up, what colors next years siver stuff is going to be, or what a certain pro skier thinks is cool or not cool. however, we can't ski all the time, and that's why NS is there- a place for skiers to come to relive and share the enjoyment of skiing. however, NS as a forum and a media outlet is also a hot spot for the peripheral events and discussion that accompany any great pasttime like skiing. this is the business, the manufacturing, the marketing, the journalism, the market research, the science of cool- and for many of this site's members, this stuff is not just something to indulge in in order to forget about school or to get stoked for skiing tomorrow - it's a job. in this environment its easy for things to become negative. to remember that at the end of the day we're all skiers, and the recognition of that bond, when we all realize it, and start taking ourselves and our sport less seriously, and start ENJOYING it more, would eliminate the petty conflicts and controversy that seem to occupy so much of NS's forum space.

of the petty conflicts that i mention, there are and always will be dozens of them around at all the time - in such a close-knit and passionate community, it's impossible not to elbow somebody in the gut now and then, whether you meant to or not. simple conflicts of interest or misunderstandings are expected and hell, they're fun and help shake things up a bit. but of late I've noticed that there seem to be a lot of skiers with way too much overzealous pride and ignorant, presumptuous notions about other skiers and how they go about their business of enjoying and making a living through their sport. i can understand people clashing from time to time, but i cant understand it when people have their heads so far up their ass as to think that it's their job as professional skiers or company employees or graphic designers or weekend warriors to tell the rest of us how we should ski, how we should dress, and to tell us how gay things like one-foot grinds, this company or that company, and that skier's style are.

i get a kick out of these people and their pettiness, but it also brings me down, because i know the both the content and potential of the skiing community, and because NS is the most diverse mouthpiece in the world for that community, it in effect is the distributor of a lot of this feuding and negativity. i've been a longtime NS member and employee, and I'd just like to say that in the future I'm really looking forward to helping NS and skiing freshen up a bit and turn our thoughts from insulting and criticizing each other to enjoying and appreciating the sport of skiing and the stories of people who love it.

rest in peace teddy knape, this one's for you.