The Orange & Blue magazine

Editor's Note and Staff Page

When choosing a special topic for this issue of the Orange & Blue, the staff considered some options that included trekking through small towns, discovering Florida’s wildlife (both animal and human varieties) and highlighting counter cultures. We were trying to discover something unique about Florida, a previously uncovered eccentricity about the home of Walt Disney World and orange juice – an alternative to the common ideas, places and people of the Sunshine State. After some deliberation, we embraced counter culture as our topic.

Following the declaration of our theme, the next, and perhaps most challenging, task was to define it. What is counter culture? Obviously, it is that which counters the norm; but how does one define the normal without limiting that definition? After a courageous attempt, our results (active for change, dedication to a rare cause) barely bested those written by Merriam-Webster. We chose to abandon our intent of defining the theme, and decided instead to find story ideas that could be classified as counter culture. Brainstorming such ideas as nudism, rare religions and artistic graffiti, we believed our stories would define our theme.

As our story ideas of circus towns, artistic havens and attending college barefoot transformed into 1,800-word journeys through the lives of people in these situations, it became apparent the magazine could no longer embrace its counter culture theme. We discovered that the Wiccan priestess, non-explicit rapper, student drug dealer and dreadlocked tattoo artist did not choose their lifestyles with the intention of countering society’s accepted ideals. Rather, they are leading their lives with a freedom to be themselves, in their own way and with their own styles. They are not necessarily counter culture, but they certainly do not fit into the everyday, humdrum and mundane of society; these are the stories of alternative Florida.

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Special Thanks

Ted Spiker, Terry Hynes, William McKeen, Helga Williams, Hal Herman, Arlindo Albuquerque, The University of Florida News Bureau, David Carlson, Dave Hendryx and Sue Artega at Storter Child’s Printing Company, Ralph Lowenstein, AP Philips Foundation of Orlando, Patricia Shannon Magazine Fund, the Readers Digest Foundation and Tom Cochran for contributing the background inked image.

Orange & Blue is published by UF College of Journalism and Communications students in the Applied Magazines course. This issue was printed by Storter Child’s Printing Company in Gainesville, FL. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without written permission. Orange & Blue is protected through trademark registration in the United States.

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