From the Editor's Desk | #10
CONNECT + INSPIRE
CADET is a bi-annual magazine about West Point culture.
Highly independent, quite unofficial, aggressively dedicated.
Based in DC @chrisWpestel @carolinepestel
Things from the Desk of the Editor-in-Chief
CADET - THE MAGAZINE
VOL III IS OFF TO THE PRINTER so its just days now until we have it in hand and will be mailing our latest effort to our subscribers. If you’d like to join in on the fun SUBSCRIBE HERE and be one of the first to get your hands on VOL III, or you can PRE-ORDER an individual copy of the magazine. Either way, we are super-dooper-proud of VOL III and we just know you are going to love it as well.
ILLUSTRATION IDEAS so our big idea this week is that there’s gotta be a way to incorporate the Airline safety card illustrations for West Point events/rites of passage, right? Some sort of hilarious sequential comic explainer? Maybe firstie Marina Camacho and her fantastic Doodles can play a part, plus our collaboration with another cadet illustrator resulted in what will be our tribute to AOG’s 2019 Distinguished Grads…more to come. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE illustrations, especially West Point focused illustrations.
FOR EVERY HEART IN GRAY
WHERE IN THE WORLD spring break started with Plebe Parent Weekend and immediately hit high gear with Rugby’s + Volleyball’s European Vacations. Following so many cadets on Instagram gave us peak into all the worldly places West Pointers find themselves during the week of spring break and a yearning for our own Spring Break 2019 Trip - where are we headed??? Stay tuned.
RADIO GA GA
THE BOOJ we were introduced to a new podcast (Twenty Thousand Hertz via 99pi) this week about sound. You may think that this episode (The Booj) gets nit-picky on cliches in movie trailers, but once you give it a listen you will be enlightened and never look at trailers the same way. Even creativity can fall victim to the dulling agents of equations and formulas. This also led us to a YouTube channel called Auralnauts, which were excited to check out.
FOR YOUR EYEBALLS
CAPTAIN MARVEL the Pestel family took a trip section to see Captain Marvel on Thursday before opening day. Now, despite Carol Danvers being an Air Force Academy grad, we really enjoyed this addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, it wasn’t without its problems. But it was a solid introduction and possible precursor to Avengers: Endgame. It was a nice exploration on the concept of villian(s)/opponents being external vs internal and a nice trip back to the 90’s. PLUS Stan Lee’s Marvel Logo tribute made me react, out-loud…like the comic nerd I am, and his cameo in the movie was pretty meta and Kevin Smith’s reaction was heart-warming…more from Army veteran, Stan Lee in our next Letter from the Editor.
THE MATRIX
DAYLIGHT AND THE END OF GLOOM? we’re nearing the end of the 1st quarter of 2019 and days are longer and brighter, which ushers in the end of the gloom period, spring, spring break and ultimately graduation. Here’s this days calculator we shared earlier this year, don’t let time pass you by!
The Design of Things
BOOK LISTS I finally bought Steal Like an Artist, and Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed. I also pre-ordered a couple of books that will be released on April 2nd - Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson and Keep Going by Austin Kleon.
INDIE MAGS LIST Here’s a running list of some indie mags we enjoy: Gym Class Magazine, Racquet Magazine, Victory Journal, Rugby Journal, Legacy Magazine, A Profound Waste of Time. Maybe one day CADET can contribute to one or more of these titles.
West Point 100
STUNNING PORTRAITURE AND MILITARY EDUCATION CARD DECKS if there is one thing we are supremely inspired by it is creative couples. Introducing USMA’s very own Liza Willey and Zach Willey. We don’t know them personally but they are tremendous creative problem solvers. One half of this dynamic duo is a fabulous photographer and the other has an entrepreneurial spirit rooted in making military history education engaging, lively and fun. Check them out, support them.
PODCAST FROM THIS WEEK
99% INVISIBLE Cartoon Sound Effects, The Booj (mentioned above) and Sonic Branding from Twenty Thousand Hertz, the part of Southwest hijacking the seatbelt click and airplane BING sound is especially enthralling.
PHOTOGRAPHY
THE POINTER PHOTOSHOOT as we closed out production of VOL III of CADET we created the final layouts for the article on the beginnings of The Pointer and had a great time during our photo shoot with inanimate magazines.
THE PHOTO ESSAY Scott Strazzante’s Jason Bell photo essay is a reminder of the power of long term projects.
SOCIAL MEDIA
@CADETBORROWED we started a new companion Instagram account to try out a new project. The new account @cadetborrowed is inspired by @drawawalk a baseball doodle account and the terrific and impactful and often fun imagery of the USMA community.
Things from the Desk of the Editor-in-Chief
Grant Hall Oil Painting + Old School Pins + 1-Year of Beautiful Things + West Pointers in the Arts FB Group + A List of Iconic Army Football Moments + What I’m Reading