LOOK CLOSER
ONCE A YEAR, THE WHOLE staff meets to brainstorm ideas for new issue themes. I recently started wearing eyeglasses, and right before our latest planning session, I decided to tighten them up (so they’d stay on my face during bouts of extreme editing). I reached for my trusty mini-stuff tool kit, figured I’d clean the hinge while I was in there, disassembled my specs, and promptly lost one of the screws that held them together. Mission not accomplished! I marveled at how such an insignificant (and basically invisible) widget could make such a big difference in my day. Later, during the free association portion of our brainstorm, I wrote the word “screws” on a sticky note, smiling to myself because the world had presented us with such a wonderful subject to…