a few mini reviews for a heat wave

a few mini reviews for a heat wave

Bookin' It DIY by Allysa G
a responsible guide$4.00 /14 pages/ Half size

Time to dip into my recent archives & write a few reviews. July heat has been intense; not weather that is conducive to reading (unless maybe you're stretched out beneath a tree in a hammock). These zines, however, are perfect for a breezy summer read. 

DIY type zines tend to be my favorite genre. If you're interested in booking bands and musicians, Bookin' It DIY will get you pointed in the right direction with clear, useful information. Folks playing music for one another is a complete joy & a way to stave off the tyranny of the music "industry". WHat better time for a concert under the stars than Summer?

How to Send a Letter is a fun mini-zine that reminds us there are a million ways to send a letter. Or ... you can just send one! I found this one on etsy.  

Another mini-zine treasure I found on etsy not too long ago is Gatherer: A Pocket Foraging Handbook by Isabella Rotman. Mother Earth created everything we need for our survival. One doesn't need a PhD in botany to learn how to feed yourself in the woods and fields.  Gatherer: A Pocket Foraging Handbook is a beautifully lettered and illustrated guide to common wild foods: wild leeks, dandelions, fiddleheads & more. Concise, yet packed with useful tips and a brisk, enjoyable zine. 

When all else fails during a heat wave you can enjoy a nice cool ... ginger beer! Annie Soga has written and illustrated a fantastic field guide to ginger ales, packed with historical info and beverage reviews. Lots of love (and tasting) went into this zine - gorgeously printed and presented; if I weren't on a self-imposed nutrition plan, I would be sipping some Chelmsford Golden Ginger Ale right now (which wasn't reviewed in this zine.) 

Publications Received: Hand Job Zine #4

Publications Received: Hand Job Zine #4

The folks at Hand Job Zine sent me a wonderful note along with this issue of their lit-zine. It reads in part: "We are a UK zine on our fourth issue, and like to keep the righting very British so there may be a few dubious slang words in there for you. You seem to share our love for the printed word though, which is the main reason for sending this. We need to keep it alive instead of reading on migraine inducing machines."

Amen to that. Hand Job Zine is definitely keeping the tradition of underground lit zines alive and well. There's poetry, art, short fiction, and too much cool stuff to mention in this issue - made with real sweat and tears by real hands and real people. I love the anarchic feel that is captured in these pages. No gods, no masters. No shit. Hand Job is the kind of zine that stops talking about freedom and revolution and actually does something.

For more info try:
www.handjobzine.wordpress.com

Posted by DJ Frederick at 8:57 PM

Temporary Brothers

Temporary Brothers
digest, 16 pages (cardstock cover), $?
A one-shot zine by DJ Frederick Moe. DJ Fred is an only child, despite the longing he had for siblings in his youth. Since he didn't have brothers of his own, he thought of some of his close friends as brothers. This zine profiles a few of DJ Fred's "temporary brothers." "Temporary" because these friendships did not endure...at least not to the same degree as when he "adopted" them. I don't want to give any spoilers. I think you should read this zine for yourself in order to discover the nature of the friendships that DJ Fred had growing up and the adventures he and his "brothers" had. The stories are worth a few minutes of your time. And they are well-written...of course they are - it's DJ Fred. My only complaint: it's far too short. Perhaps there is more to come? DJ Fred alludes to that at one point, so let's hope.
Frederick Moe
36 West Main Street
Warner NH 03278
USA
singinggrove@conknet.com

Adventures in the Land of Greasecars and Fireflies

Zine Review: Adventures in the Land of Greasecars and Fireflies

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Adventures in the Land of Greasecars and Fireflies

By Sascha Scatter

PO Box 18

Spring Glen NY 12483

This slim zine is a reprint from Slug & Lettuce c. 2004 and had me nodding and smiling from first page to last. InAdventures in the Land of Greasecars and Fireflies, Sascha writes about personal world view, cultural and economic considerations that led to the decision to convert an old diesel vehicle into one that runs alternatively on vegetable oil. A kit was purchased, a workshop and party thrown for the community, and willing hands showed up to help with the process. Sascha’s writing is engaging and informative and this zine just might be an inspiration for your next mechanical project. 

Psionic Plastic Joy #17

Zine Review: Psionic Plastic Joy #17

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Psionic Plastic Joy

digest / $2

Jason Rodgers

PO Box 62

Lawrence MA 01842

So now we come to it – the absurdity of writing paper zine reviews within an online blog called One Minute Zine Reviews. I’m plagued by this dichotomy all of the time, and often teeter on the edge of abandoning the digital world altogether. I use the internet as a tool, I remind myself. But what is the tool and who is the user? Or who is the tool and what is the user?

Jason Rodgers has released Psionic Plastic Joy, issue number 17, a compendium of articles, imagery, semi-dadism, anarchy, and beautiful nonsense. The two primary essays in this issue are thematically linked by references to the domestication of humans, which I suspect allows for our enslavement by consumerist culture: Jason delves into concepts of psychic nomadism as a means to remove our shackles, and John Zerzan stares into the eyes of what we call happiness, and doesn’t blink. These articles are both well written and articulate thoughts beyond the typical curve of acceptable discourse in this frenzied and distracted culture. Psionic Plastic Joy also includes a fantastic allegory (parable?) titled “The Tale of One Thousand and One Words” which describes an encounter between The Cook, the Waitress, the Dishwasher and Trickster.

Psionic Plastic Joy is unapologetic about being suspicious of technology, which I am grateful to read for a change. Every email we send, skype call we make, google search we do, etc is monitored by someone, and we just don’t care anymore. We have met Big Brother and he (and she) is us. At least paper mail has to be opened and resealed, and yes that happens too (witnessed by my own receipt of a QSL card from Radio Havana).

By questioning our domestication and creating actions that bring us one step closer to freedom, we can reimagine our lives. Psionic Plastic Joy is a zine about that journey of reimagining and re-creation.

King Cat No. 73

King Cat No. 73

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

King-Cat Comics and Stories No. 73

$4 ppd

John Porcellino

PO Box 142

So. Beloit IL 61080

johnporcellino.blogspot.com

I have to admire anyone who has released 73 issues of a comic or a zine. The centerpiece of this comic is the hunt for the elusive cuckoo bird (no… really!). There are some other short stories, a top 40 list, and a primer on the 13 lined ground squirrel if you’re into wildlife & natural history. Cool variety. 

Mixt Media Audio Zine Winter 2013

Mixt Media Audio Zine Winter 2013

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Ok ... so I got motivated to record one more Mixt Media Audio Zine ... maybe more will follow ... your honest feedback would be appreciated, warm, cool, or in between. 

Mixt Media Audio Zine Winter 2013 can be downloaded here: 

http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/65123 

Timemazine #7

Magazine Review: Timemazine

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Timemazine #7

www.timelordmichalis.blogspot.com

Tune in, turn on, drop out. The spirit of the lavalamp is still alive & buzzing from the pages of this full sized, full color 90 page + magazine. Timeazine merges the old with the new and chronicles the revived and invigorated psychedelic music movement of the current era with reference & reverence for days of futures past. This issue features articles on / interviews with Nick Saloman (of the Bevis Frond), Mark Weitz & George Bunnell (of Strawberry Alarm Clock), Cranium Pie, Jay Tausig & much more. Timemazine includes an overflowing review section, and a cool cd compilation featuring most of the bands featured in this issue (or a split 7” vinyl record). Essential artifact for psychedelic music fans. 

Samurai Dreams #6

Zine Review: Samurai Dreams #6

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Samurai Dreams #6

60 Fairgrounds Road

Cummington MA 01026

Observant writing related to B-Movies from the past few decades written by a crew of film enthusiasts. If you are a MST3K or Cinematic Titanic fan (like me) or just love exploring the weird side of cinema, this zine may be perfect for your reading list. In addition to in-depth reviews, there are three fake reviews (kind of like the “bluff the listener” segment of NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me). I think I’ve spotted two of them, but I am hoping thatDaughter Snake: The Short Films of Felice Carpenter actually exists … it sounds like the type of treasure that VHS crate diggers would salivate over. 

MonkeyMask Hot Jupiters

Zine Review: MonkeyMask Hot Jupiters

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Monkey Mask Hot Jupiters

20 pages / $4

monkeymask.org

Zines that delve this deeply into the psyche, into hope, into creating a new culture, resonate right down into my soul. The opening paragraph reads “When I close my eyes, I see white flashes. This place has toxified my life. There is a slow burn that is regenerative, but there comes a point where the burn is deep, destructive.”

Powerful words. The issue goes on to reveal the author’s travels, inner growth, beliefs, philosophies, musings. The overall tone is one of quest and questioning, and reaffirming that which heals us. 

Parcel Ghost

Parcel Ghost

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Check out this zine! Seems perfect for grade school or middle school kids (or anyone) who needs an introduction to the mail system. 

http://theparcelghost.tumblr.com/

The Journal of Ordinary Thought

The Journal of Ordinary Thought Spring 2012

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

The Journal of Ordinary Thought

Spring 2012

$25 / 3 issues

Neighborhood Writing Alliance

1313 East 60^th Street

Chicago IL 60637

www.jot.org

This journal is obviously well funded and not the type of publication that I generally review.

The Journal of Ordinary Thought publishes reflections people make on their personal histories and everyday experiences. It is founded on the concept that that every person is a philosopher, expressing one's thoughts fosters creativity and change, and taking control of life requires people to think about the world and communicate their thoughts to others. 

This is a perfect-bound, Chicago-centric literary journal of poetry and prose organized loosely around the themes of “freedom” and “liberation”. The Journal of Ordinary Thought includes exquisite black and white illustrations from the L is for Liberation Collective. The writing within feels accessible and genuine, none of it forced or pretentious. The most powerful piece that stood out is “The Don’t Die Code” by Claire Bartlett, who writes “I’m just trying to keep you from getting killed.”  Helena Marie Carnes-Jeffries also hits deep pockets of childhood realities with her poem “I Was a Packaged Child”. It’s refreshing to read literature / philosophy by everyday folk instead of the workshopped writing by the pantheon of ivory tower academians who believe it is their role to carry the torch of proper literary merit for the rest of us earthlings.

I hope you understood that sentence. 

Disappearance of Gordon Page Jr

Comic Review: The Disappearance of Gordon Page Jr.

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

The Disappearance of Gordon Page Jr.
by Robert Hendricks
digest / 10 pages / $1
strangertwostranger.tumblr.com

Unexplained and unsolved disappearances fascinate me. How do people just vanish? Why? Where do they go to? Sadly, I suspect that the reality is that many people who go missing meet with "foul play". Yet even in the age of ultra surveillance (Big Brother is Everywhere) people still go missing of their own volition and never look back.

Robert Hendricks has drawn / narrated a true story of a (possibly) autistic young man who vanished from a residential treatment group home in Michigan.This comic is brief but powerful, giving us glimpses into Gordie Page's life, and the mystery of his vanishing.

We may never know what happened to Gordon Page Jr.and thousand of others. And that is a travesty.

Ghosts I Have Seen

Chapbook Review: Ghosts I Have Seen

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Ghosts I Have Seen: Chapter 1 - Silk Dress and Rumpus

by Violet Tweedale

20 pp / half letter / $4

www.josephcarlough.com 

Violet Tweedale (d. 1939) was the rarest of souls – passionate, literate, a spiritualist, artist, musician, with ceaseless energy. She wrote dozens of novels, short stories and essays with a depth of imagination rarely seen in today’s literature. This makes Joseph Carlough’s reprint of “Ghosts I Have Seen – Chapter One: Silk Dress and Rumpus” (originally written in 1919, the year both of my parents were born!) all the more refreshing, with delightfully fey / inspired drawings by Saint Beckett. Violet reveals herself and her spiritual experiences slowly, wrapping the reader in her philosophy and musings as the text expands. This may be a true ghost story or remembered childhood dreams and fantasies. Regardless, her writing is compelling and this chapbook is gorgeously printed and choreographed.

I fervently hope that Mr. Carlough follows through with his project to reprint more chapters from Violet Tweedale’s “Ghosts I Have Known” memoir in chapbook form.

Ray X X-Rayer #92 & 93

Zine Review: Ray X X-Rayer #92 & 93

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Ray X X-Rayer

#92 / #93

Boxholder

PO Box 2

Plattsburg NY 12901-0002

One of the most consistently entertaining and informative zines I read is Ray X X-Rayer. Issue #92 is 12 pages (an expanded format for Ray’s zine), half-letter sized. Ray launches the issue with a farewell tribute to ufologist Jim Mosely of Saucer Smearzine. Then Ray details software woes, takes another foray into the ether with the Liberty Net crew from 3950 kHz, writes a report on a man who has announced he is making a leap off of a cliff into the unknown as the winter solstice arrives in Sedona, AZ, shares an idea for a cool unreality TV series and Ray closes out this issue with zine reviews of Fadeaway and Opuntia, two zines that I read on a regular basis.

Issue #93 is back to the one page double sided format. Ray updates the exploits of the leaping man, talks about old time film serials, and updates the raving and ranting from zealous shortwavers. This zine is always excellent reading, so send Ray as many bucks as you can spare and your postal address. 

Somnambulist #20

Zine Review: Somnambulist #20

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Somnambulist #20

$15 / 4 issues

Martha Grover

PO Box 14871

Portland OR 97293

Somnambulist #20 diverges somewhat from the usual literary format and focuses on Martha’s interests around food. This issue relates her food history which is an intriguing concept and would be helpful if more of us sketched out our experiences with our diets from birth until now to look at patterns of healthy / unhealthy eating. I strongly feel that our early (birth – five) experiences with food shape us for life. Somnambulist #20 also includes delectable recipes to make & try yourself. Great issue, and I’ll be looking forward to what Martha cooks up next time within the pages of Somnambulist . 

Angry Violist#6

Zine Review: Angry Violist #6

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Angry Violist#6

angryviolist.wordpress.com  

One of the consequences of our culture in the past twenty years is that music has become a specialist commodity rather than a fact of everyday expression. There has been a commercialization and professionalization that is permeating the culture – music as “competition” ala The X Factor or The Voice, or music as accompaniment to video or spectacle. Living rooms were once graced with pianos, organs, and other instruments. Now living rooms are inhabited by Wiis an ‘Rock Band” – music that is programmed for us.

But some people are still playing for the sheer love of music, having fun playing real instruments with friends, and saying ‘no’ to perfectionism. Angry Violinist is a zine for the rest of us. It features an adventurous array of writing by Emma. This installment discusses Joshua Bell’s experiment with busking. There is an examination of how our preconceived notions and fears keep us stuck and some great suggestions as to how to break free of being “good enough”. Dirty Three violinist Warren Ellis discusses his creative work. And Emma includes an FAQ about violas. Angry Violist is an essential read for anyone who loves or plays music.

Bookstore Thief 2

Audio Review: Bookstore Thief 2

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111878456/bookstore-thief-2-zine?ref=sr_gallery_2&ga_search_query=bookstore+thief&ga_ref=auto_recent&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

When I Think of Cambridge

Audio Review: When I Think of Cambridge

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Alphabet Soup #1

Zine Review: Alphabet Soup #1

from One Minute Zine Reviews by DJ Frederick

Alphabet Soup #1

www.inthejunipers.com

Every so often the debut issue of a zine shows so much potential and promise that you can’t wait to have the next issue safely in your hands. Alphabet Soup Issue 1 blends art, poetry, and prose seamlessly into a quirky stew of high caliber writing. Dan Hansen’s piece The Red Ball starts the issue off by pondering objects we find in our lives and their unexpected symbolic and creative uses. An excerpt from “reach” left me wanting to read the whole interstitial story. Brian Burnett contributes stunning nature photography to this issue. There are also delicious recipes to whet one’s appetite for Italian Zucchini Boats and chili. Exquisite corpses are scattered throughout the zine with fine surrealist imagery, and if this wasn’t enough … there is also a soundtrack cd included with lo-fi music by Hot the Cat, Katy & Simon, The Peaches & much more – nine generously chosen tracks in all. Who says print is dead? Don’t sleep on this one – contact themanwiththearm@gmail.com for more information or send $5 (suggested donation) to Dan Hansen 2601 Quarry Road Missoula MT 59808.