'Bina strikes terror into the hearts of mere mortal politicians again!
This time, she skewers millennium paranoia; pens a hysterically vicious piece about the perils of stock speculation; has nothing but unkind things to say about Jack Ramsay, Canadian politician and convicted rapist who refuses to live up to the 'moral code' of the Reform Party (yes, we Canadians have one of those too, with even more shallow-end-of-the-gene-pool candidates); continues on that theme in critiquing Steve Ewanchuk, a repeat sexual offender from Alberta who cuta lucky break from yet another judge who lives in 1837 and considered the fact that a teenaged girl showed up for an interview in summer in shorts and a T-shirt as a sexual invitation; produces a well-considered argument about free speech and pornography spurred on by a highly controversial case here in Canada about a man, John Robin Sharpe, who spews forth pedophile literature (while I'm hesistant, in the face of Project Guardian, a London-Ontario-based investigation which was rooted in homophobia, to be leading the battle on this sometimes shaky ground, I do find the guy repugant); and so much more, with a slight focus this time on issues of sexuality and children's rights.
Ms. Becker, keep up the good write...
Kim (a boy) used to be in the Canadian hardcore band Sparkmarker. Now he puts together this magazine whic, as he says, 'does not set out to create a new ideology, belief, or chosen voice - just a venue to express them.'
This issue has a piece on a porn magazine, In Touch (believe it or not, I've never looked at skin rags, so I'd not heard of it), during its brief period as a punk-positive publication in the early Eighties, and reproduces an interview with Henry Rollins in which the muscle-bound darling shows a queer-friendly side.
It also includes scathing radical AIDS prose by Demon Seed; a poetic/political account of stripping by Travis Jeppesen; an opinion piece on punk and politics by Paul Dalton; Faggo's (Kim's) account of how Rob Halford of Judas Priest made him a homosexual (if I gave him some leather, would he make me one too? Ha-ha...) and, oh, so much more (alternately touching, inspiring and depressing - like life, really...).
(There is now a new issue with a piece by me; there is also an interview with the late editor of In Touch, conducted by Bruce LaBruce for an issue of JDs that never appeared (but which, despite his revisionist history, was not his magazine alone); an article on how punk has grown too, er, rigid by Jon from Pansy Division; and a lot more too!! Equally cool...).
This is the Fat issue of the venerable Feminist publication, so you know I had to get it. Why can't men address such issues in their work? Yes, there are Bear magazines and publications for those who like large guys, but they aren't works of intellectual discourse for the most part. No - as usual, it is the women's role to lead the revolution...
As I have come to expect from Fireweed and its contributors, it is by no means an uncomplicated text. It does not present a 'fat is always wonderful, and we never experience angst or guilt or pressure or, if we do, we ignore it as the perfect beings we are' viewpoint; fortunately, neither does it go for the 'oh, my god - fat is the enemy and we are occupied!' stance.
There are poems, essays, drawings, testimonials, diary entries and so much more in an attempt to create a portrait of what it is like to be fat in a world that is obsessed with a perfect body that doesn't exist outside of cutting room floors, photo studios or vomit-scented bathrooms. Some of it is funny - some of it is sexy - some melancholy and troubled - again, it's a snapshot of life, which is much larger than some people give it credit for.
I was sent this by Korn, a Brazilian queerpunk who seems like a very nice fellow, for which I thank him (the sending and the being nice).
It is, by the way, in Portugese, so I can't understand every word, but knowing French helped.
It's a teeny thing - it would fit into the average shirt pocket - but it is crammed with info and looks stunning.
It is not queercore or anything, but it is quite eclectic, has features on Jayne County and Extra Fancy, and provides a touching tribute to Renato Russo, an out Brazilian singer who died from AIDS in 1996.
There's an entertaining quiz (I was not aware Nina Hagen identifies as bi) and an actual Bear-positive cartoon, featuring two Pet Shop Boys fighting over possession of a big fuzzy fellow. :)
An absolutely charming, fun and informative document - now, if only I could find it around here.
Tony is most famous/infamous for his Anonymous Boy drawings (sweet, cute homoerotic stuff) and his negative-budget epic film Green Pubes.
The letter page alone is worth the price of admission, particularly the letter from his estranged, extremely religious sister.
The 'interview' with one Joe Butcher, late of Ludichrist and UFOFU, was highly entertaining and proof that I'm not the only deranged fag out there. There are pieces on the Mix Lesbian/Gay Experimental Film/Video Festival from November 1998; a chat with Rick Turkeybaster, who put out the 7"s "Stop Homophobia" (Volume 1 and 2); a few 'zine reviews and comics (some of the latter by Tony, including a bladder-control-problem-inducing one on Jerry Falwell and gay cartoon characters); a good long talk with the fabulous GB Jones (a 'zinester/film maker/musician/goddess from Canada), and a profile of Abby Denson, who used to do the comic Tough Love and has also made a film.
On the back page, Tony thoughtfully includes a contact list of people profiled/mentioned in the magazine.
What a good read!!
Milo, by the evidence within this 'zine, would make a good guest on Jerry Springer (I mean this in a nice way - as much as 'nice' and 'Jerry Springer' can be placed in the same sentence without a matter/antimatter explosion resulting...), since Milo identifies as a dyke who happens to have a dick, if not testicles.
There's a nifty interview with Pansy Division, the only interrogation I've ever read where a question about what kind of mini-golf course they would build is posed to the subjects; a poem about gender ambiguity; some coming out stories; a plug for stickers Milo has produced to make money to print the 'zine (I was sent three, and they are keen); a parody of the Gap's "Everyone In Leather" spot, which points out that "Cows Agree: Rubber, Lycra, PVC and Neoprene are Hotter"; and a bunch more.
A thoughtful and entertaining read, and the first transgendered 'zine I've received (transvestite I've had - but transgendered has been lacking from my magazine landscape - thank you, Milo, for opening up my horizon).
A little goth/dark music 'zine (the next issue is a tribute to the simply marvelous slow-moving Minnesotans Low), which I was informed of by the big and beautiful LD Beghtol, insufficiently famous musician of Flare, Moth Wranglers and Magnetic Fields renown (he's also a Bear - oh, like you didn't see that coming...).
LD is interviewed here, as are Arco and Mara's Torment (I had never heard of the latter two, as I shamefacedly confessed to the editor).
Nathan thoughtfully includes the addresses/contact info for some other 'zines of a similar bent on the back page, and I think I'll look into one or two of them...I'm not much of a goth, but I try to keep my hand in, as it were...
Another keen issue - I have come to expect no less, of course.
There's an interview with Sarah Dougher; a profile of the too-long-neglected (as it turns out, by herself as well as others) Martha Davis of Motels fame; a piece on Beth Hart (interesting, but I, for one, never want to hear "LA Song" again - they play it on my local rock station incessantly - though it is vaguely amusing to hear the word "bullshit" on the radio unbleeped); a top 50 Rockrgrls of all time list is produced, studded with many of my heroines; the usual never-heard-of-but-sounds-good coverage (Hissyfits, Mary Gauthier); and some good record reviews.
Another solid issue - and now with four more pages!! (ed. note: And, of course, #32 is out now, with a piece on Kim Gordon and an obituary for Helen Wheels, a 70s icon/rock scenester).
This queer zine is in Italian, and it defied both my ability and that of the one person I know who is at all familiar with that language to read and understand completely. It DID come with a handy sheet giving an overview of what the articles were about.
There are pieces on homosexuality in prison; profiles of bands like Sulk, Kill Mariah, Longstocking and Pansy Division; information about a gay film festival in Italy; an interview with the late Kathy Acker; Canadian content in the form of a chat with Scott Treleaven, 'zinester/film-maker (Queercore); and many, many book, 'zine and record reviews.
I wish I could read it with more skill; I'll have to sit down with a dictionary and a few weeks and do so. However, the effort and content and obvious commitment blew me away.
There should be a new issue soon, featuring info on various other 'zinesters around the world. I should be in it...be very afraid...
Another local project I had never heard of, though, like most 'zines, it tends to get circulated among the friends of the writers and, to some extent, within its target audience (which, from the evidence within, skews towards the young and fans of gruff hardcore, not areas I have belonged to for years).
Nevertheless, it has its moments, and the writers run a record label as well, Arson Records.
The magazine has info on the anti-WTO (World Tyranny, er, Trade Organization) and OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) demos in Seattle and Ottawa respectively, with e-mailed contributions about the former and first-hand accounts of the latter; a piece on the allegedly faked NASA Moon Landing in 1969 (I don't know, and it's not a priority of mine); a problematic editorial on how the military are agents of evil and murder (I say this because, during the Gulf Oil War, no-one I knew in the military favoured it, and those who went learned that Kuwait is no democracy, and that the troops were cannon/Serin fodder. Furthermore, economic reality compels a lot of poor people to go into the military. I agree that the brass are in league with state forces, but cut enlisted working-class soldiers some slack, okay?); and a perceptive piece on how the State fetishizes free speech and then oppresses it when voices rise up against its sacred cows or best divide-and-conquer tactics.
It's great to see political statements from youth containing more than 'Harris (Ontario's Premier) sucks' (he's too uptight to suck anything, I assure you).
(Since I went to press, #5 and #6 have appeared - god, they're brisk!! These contain great info on Brian Deneke, a teen punk who was murdered and then violated by the State in its sentencing of his killer; more stuff on the WTO; East Timor info; and just generally good stuff (though at least one of the issues contained troubling generalizations about older people - not ALL grey-haired individuals are arch-conservatives...)).
It became necessary for a variety of interesting reasons that I do research into dominance/submission, and this book leapt out at me from Section 69 of my local indie bookstore, Novel Idea.
It truly is a stimulating, charming book (of course, if your idea of kinky sex is the man being slightly off-center on top, this is likely to turn your hair white(r)), with an informative, crisp approach.
The best part for a novice is that it is detailed and patient - Bondage For Dummies, you might say (oh, don't give them any ideas...). It is open-minded without being stupid; Dr. Brame points out dangers in really extreme play and body fluid/solid exchanges.
It is, as the author acknowledges, heterosexual in its focus, but I think it would be easy to adapt, both technique and philosophy-wise.
In short, if you want to learn the ropes, this would be a good start.
What can one say about a huge collection of cartoons (culled from the six original issues, with seven new stories added), featuring a possessed flower that runs the Nether Realm, though the Devil is nominally in charge, in a universe whose Heaven's "God" is also a figurehead for the 'real' Deity (who is, as one has always suspected, female)?
That it's funny - warped - occasionally pointed with its message - and that, though the grammar and spelling could be tightened up, it will (much as I hate hyperbole) soon be up there with Peanuts and Ziggy. It is fun as Hell.
