SXSW is over and I can breathe a sigh of relief. And not for the reasons you’re thinking … the end of the ceaseless work and information overload … blah, blah. SXSW is over and I can breathe a sigh of relief because my boss, Nick Barbaro, played on the winning team in the annual Softball Tournament. Again. To know Nick (a SXSW co-director, in addition to being the Chronicle publisher) is to know that, in his mind, the Softball Tournament and Barbecue is the raison d’être of SXSW. Bar(bq) none. However, to be a member of The Austin Chronicle staff is to know that Nick’s winning the tournament (held every year on the final Sunday of the festival) means a happy Nick/365. And a happy Nick all year long translates into more happiness for everyone all around – his wife, son, dog, and staff … and ultimately, you the reader, vendor, associate, whatever – all year long. Yay.

This article appears in March 16 • 2007.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.