I'm happy to be taking the helm at Better Than Sliced Bread with such a great issue. While I've been an active contributor and editor at BTSB for the past three years, taking up the mantle of the Lizard King - ah ahem - that is, the Editor in Chief, necessitates a shift in perspective. A sloughing as it were. This recalls a recent trip to Tallinn. I'd been four times previously on day trips with visiting family and friends. Somehow I'd not discoved the little trimaran ferry, and I'd been subjecting loved ones to those damn booze cruises as a form of transport. Then we'd see the medieval old town because the US doesn't have those and maybe make it to the nearby cat cafe because cats.
Well, this most recent time I went to run the marathon which necessitated a hotel, good coffee, and a couple of vegan restaurants with reputations for large, high protein dishes. Also, marathons are an efficient means of extensively exploring a city on foot.
Happily, and predictably, my perception of Tallinn underwent a shift on this trip. My favorite part of Helsinki, the shore from Suvilahti to Arabia, has been developed out of existence, so I was excited to find a former industrial area in Tallinn filled with some of the same stuff - artistic graffitti, weird-smelling abandoned buildings, and coffee shops in shipping containers. Tallinn one-upped Helsinki, throwing in bars with vege food, a flea market full of cool stuff, and what looked to be a little bakery that doubled as a playground, all with a rough-around-the-edges, DIY vibe. Tallinn also has a lovely shore line. I should know; I ran along the damn thing four times. Not that I minded much with that view of the Baltic and a delicious, four course meal for about 20€ waiting. Rich are the comforts there.
With this altogether broader view of Tallinn in mind, I highly recommend visiting if you haven't or taking a different tack on the city if, like me, you've been there for the old buildings and the cheap alcohol. Perhaps it's because I'm an incurable academic, but I've always viewed the start of the academic year as a chance to discover new perspectives, try new approaches, and learn a pile of fascinating new stuff. Whether you're just starting at the university or a veteran, enjoy a perspective shift or two this autumn!
And, with an Editor in Chief's broadened view of BTSB, I highly recommend jumping into our autumn issue. Perspectives abound, but this issue is especially freshmen friendly. Get to know the incoming English majors in Kaisa's interview article Meet the Freshmen. Already dreaming of an exchange? Check out Saara's advice in Need an (Ex)change in Your Life?. Or perhaps you have been weighing the pros and cons of pedagogical studies? Read about the ups and downs of teaching in Jesper's A Month in the Life of Mr. Teacher.
This issue embraces shifting perspectives and broadening views from Eve's article on rethinking vegetarianism to Danielle's essay on life with narcolepsy. Hanna's short fiction plays with controlling viewpoint, Petteri explores our attraction to sad stories, Inka amuses us with her dead pets, and Esko discusses a comic that takes on big topics through the adventures of a cat, a witch, and an owl. And I make an observation about the aesthetics of unpredictability.
Nothing left to do but read, read, read. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AfMf70gxbY
-Elizabeth Oakes Editor in Chief
