With the website relaunch, I feel the need to clear the air about something.
The Tribute & Bio featured on this site was first published online on Feb. 13, 2008, and it has barely been updated in the years since. During that time, I've had countless exchanges with many, many people -- some of whom were dear friends with Richard Amsel, others who were professional colleagues, acquaintances, or admirers. The sheer wealth of new information is almost impossible to summarize -- for every paragraph you currently see, there's a volume of other material that remains, at this time, unwritten.
Many times I have been tempted to completely rewrite the tribute and bio page from scratch. I've abstained from doing so for a number of reasons. It warrants far more than just an expanded article, and I'm working on sharing them through another venue soon. (More on that layer, so stay tuned!)
For now, most of the writing appears here in its original form, shortcomings and all.