Reb has been doing his ‘zine for some ten years now, and continues his tradition of punk rock, human rights and queer stuff.

However, as his lengthy rant/intro reveals, his priorities are slightly elsewhere at the moment – to wit, with the prison lad of whom he has become enamoured. Also, he wanted to ensure prisoners might be able to read this, so it is nudity-free (which is not typical of the ‘zine).

This issue deals with prisoner rights, as a result, and well it should, in a society in which, in the wake of terrorist-related paranoia, the distinction between jail and the street is blurred (a Canadian was jailed in the States not long ago for driving across the street (his town straddles a border) to get gas, as he and others had done MILLIONS of times, without stopping at the border station that NO-ONE stopped at when they went to get gas…yes, he had a gun in his car (for which he had a Canadian permit), but, hey, when Resident Bush travels, he has men with him that have guns, including into Canada…).

As a result, he includes pieces by several prisoners about their lives behind bars, such as Ricky Martinez, his very own sweetheart Neil Edgar (the latter of whom he interviews at length as well and prints some of his poems and drawings) and Timothy Cassidy.

There is also some poetry about anarchist boys; a few ‘zine reviews (complete with a new drawing by endearing cute-punk-rock-boy-drawer Anonymous Boy); an interview with queer hip-hop act Juha; a rant from Neil about the need for flamers and bulldykes, and a cute but thought-provoking piece about porcupines by Reb; a review of the contentious film L.I.E. (haven’t seen it yet); mail bag excerpts; and even a crossword puzzle (is any mag complete without…)?

Super-nifty, and with a dazzling (and very handsome) cover shot of Neil.

Visually speaking, Neil’s ‘zine WIENER SOCIETY #6 is less striking. It WAS put together in prison with, as he said, a typewriter, scotch tape, clippings from old magazines, etc., so deal. The IDEAS are what’s important!

There’s an interview with Martin Sorrondeguy from xLimpwristx in here (questions by Neil, conducted by Reb), and, of course, one with Reb as well.

There is much thought-provoking musing on anarchy, freedom, the prison industrial complex’s evil ways, etc. (as revealed in the testimonials of fellow prisoners reproduced here), as well as opinions and profiles and pictures related to hardcore punk, one of Neil’s favourite things (which he discusses at greater length in the mini-zine OBSCENE EMISSION that was included in the package of ‘zines I got from Reb…) . It is a great big thick compendium of thought and resistance to death culture, and is definitely worth reading, if only for the insight into what prison does to people, but also for what people can do to prison.

Real…intense…crucial. Cannot recommend both ‘zines highly enough!

Once again, Puckett interviews punk rock bands of which I have not heard (or heard very little) in such a way that I want to know more about them AND feel that I already do. This time, he profiles American Nightmare (I’d come across the name), Fairweather (missed that one) and One Time Angels (who sounded the most interesting, and are, thus, defunct).

Along the way, he also rails against fake punk nostalgia featuring bands with almost no original members and/or passion left (say what you will about The Who or The Doors in terms of artistic validity or motives, at least all or most founders were present…) and engages in poetic prose about love, life and change.

Awestruck, I put on my ‘Sick To Move’ shirt and confess to being a fanboy. May you be so fortunate as well… J

This slim but handsome (now THERE’s a combination of words I thought I’d never use… J ) publication is, nevertheless, packed with queer ideas.

It opens with a little profile of Nina Levitt, a dyke photographer, that you would probably not see on Page 3 of the Sun (pick any city – it’s the same paper, really…), but which is much more interesting than those blurbs (and, no, I don’t look at the Sunshine Boy…they’re always hairless wonders, thank you…).

Then we read about Trish Salah, trans poet and activist, whose book, Wanting In Arabic, I will have to seek now, and a filmmaker named Nico Stagias who sounded intriguing too.

There is a profile of a fat-activist performance troop, Pretty Porky and Pissed Off, that was quite entertaining, though I found it sad the women felt gay men got the aesthetic but not the message, as large men in my town certainly get as much abuse as large women (it may be regional or small-town in nature, mind you).

There is a large centerfold section by one Lee Anderson of various naked men, only one of whom seemed furry, and thus only one might have turned me on (but, for the most part, I’m so married it isn’t funny… J ).

Gentleman Reg, from The Hidden Cameras and solo work, seemed like an intriguing fellow – I don’t specifically remember him from seeing the band last summer, but I was quite some distance away.

Throw in some book reviews and a critique of bizarre electro-one-woman-band Tracy and the Plastics in concert, and you have a nice provocative work of queer stuff (oh, and there’s a cute punk rock boy picture by Lee on page 28 too…J ) worth investigating (no, not by you, Canada Customs, so back off…).

Haven’t you ever wished there were a book of sex advice about various animal species, in which all your questions about their nasty personal lives were answered (no, humans are not among the subgroups investigated – no-one wants to know about THEIR nasty personal lives…)? Well, here it is…

In the grand tradition of Stephen Jay Gould, it’s fun and slightly goofy pop-science, though backed by facts where they are known and reasonable conjecture where they are not.

The good doctor’s insights on homosexuality are particularly welcome, as they suggest some possible genetic and evolutionary purposes for everyone’s favourite family-destroying perversion (interestingly, bearbacking is not covered…). J

So read and learn – or don’t read and feel sure there are no lesbian seagulls after all…

Well, it’s porn about bears (in at least one case, literally – no, not quite THAT way…), ranging from historical pieces to moving tales of differently-abled bear sex to sweet romantic stories to revenge/rape fantasies.

Very stimulating reading, though I did not find the cover model very titillating. Of course, as the person who whines about classical CDs with skinny hairless twinks on the cover to trick us fags into buying them, I may want to have my panda-shaped cake and eat it too… J