Month: September 2017

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Zine Review: Doris 26

Doris 26
Cindy Crabb
http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com/

Doris 26 is a black and white (save for the cover) perzine that is, well, hard to describe. It’s about life, hope, society, and living. More specifically, it’s about the state of people and their desire for meaning, social ecology, the stories we tell ourselves and more.

I’ve been a fan of the Doris series since I first started reading them – thanks to a number of recommendations on a WMZ thread. Right from the unrelated snippets on the first page, I am sucked into the life of this person whose use of language and way of doing things is so different from mine.

I quite enjoy the aesthetics of this zine. I feel like I’m reading someone’s diary or looking through a junk journal (if you’re not familiar with the term ‘junk’ is not an insult). There’s a fun and seemingly unplanned mix of typing and handwriting, cut and paste and drawn comics.

Reading Doris zines is like a reminder to myself that I am too uptight. While that may sound bad, I look at it as Cindy’s writing style relaxing my mind while simultaneously giving me interesting concepts to think about. There are so many times as I am reading when I note down something I want to look into further or think, “That’s exactly how I feel!” (Page 1: “I’ve been trying to figure out how to get over the lifelong problem I’ve had where I think I don’t know anything about anything…” – This!)

Admittedly, I didn’t understand everything. Cindy’s life experiences are so different from mine, but that’s probably why I found everything so fascinating. Some of the social ecology stuff did go over (way over) my head, but what I did understand was very interesting to me. Also, what I did understand has inspired me to keep learning to I can understand the other stuff.

The seeming randomness of this zine is beautiful to me. It speaks to sharing for the sake of sharing and nothing else.

I think that anyone who has an interest in zines should read at least one Doris zine. I think 26 is a great place to start with plenty of it being about people and currency society.

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Zine Review: Birder Beginnings: Introduction to Bird Watching

Birder Beginnings: Introduction to Bird Watching
Sarah E. Hoffman
hoffmans99@hotmail.com
84acres.blogspot.ca

Birder Beginnings is a black and white comprehensive beginner’s guide to bird watching and birding, and boy am I ever a beginner.

The chaos of the house move delayed my reading this zine, but I’m almost grateful for it (save for the annoyance of the delay for Sarah). Since moving to a much quieter place, I’ve been hearing so many more bird calls and have a greater appreciation for this zine.

Birder Beginnings takes you by the hand and leads you into the world of birding. Sarah’s writing is informative without waffling, telling you things you don’t need to know, or distracting from the subject. The cut and paste style fits in very well with the guidebook style of the zine.

I was impressed by the amount of information that was packed inside. There are so many elements of birding – and bird watching; I now know there is a difference – that I simply wouldn’t have been able to even guess before. Sarah writes about how binoculars work, developing and advancing your skills, birding event etiquette, and plenty more. There are even events and various types of documenting the birds you’ve spotted.

There’s even a list for further reading, and you know how much I love lists for where to get more info.

While this may seem overwhelming, Sarah makes it clear at the beginning that all you require to start is the ability to enjoy nature.

The part I appreciated most was the ‘birds in your backyard’ section. The specific of breeds and seeds may not all be applicable in Australia, but the ideas and tips are. Even better, I felt like they were things I could implement fairly easily. I feel inspired and am looking forward to making the space I have bird-friendly.

As I mentioned, I am a complete beginner to all of this, but I feel like this zine has all the information anyone needs to get going for anything from casual bird watching to more involved birding.

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The Internet Saga

Hello, zine friends! I hope this post finds you well and having a smooth week.

My internet woes continue with promises made and then not being told when they didn’t go through. Wanderer has a long list if phone calls to make tomorrow however, and we intend to get things sorted out. (Our phone data is beginning to run short.) 

Far from the smooth transition I wanted, but what to do… 

I appreciate your patience in all this. Here’s crossing fingers for help, answers, and solutions tomorrow.  

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What’s Happening – Internet Hiccups

Hello, zine friends! I hope this post finds you well and that your start to the week has been calm and productive.

Things here have been coming along slowly. There have been several kerfuffles to deal with as we try to settle in here as well as arrange the last little thing back in Bendigo so we can get our bond back. Here’s what’s happening:

*The internet! We thought we had internet all lined up, but we popped instore today to find out that, well, nothing had actually been done. (Not happy, Nigel!) Yay for thinking to pop into the store or we’d have been waiting for a connection that wasn’t going to happen. Sigh. We’re still not sure when we’ll actually get a connection. Grr.

*Emails? For some reason, my phone sim won’t let me respond to emails on my plan. So if you need to get in touch with me fast, Instagram messaging is best. I still probably won’t respond straight away, but it’ll see a response faster than email.

*Pictures or it didn’t happen. Because we’re reliant entirely on phone data at the moment, happy mail and any other new photos have to wait until we have the data to upload photos. If the connection is going to be a while, we’ll get a temporary data thingy (technical terms only here at SGZ) so I can have some normalcy of posting around here.

*Sea Green Zines is open once more. My Etsy shop is now back up and running for your zine-reading pleasure. I do have limited stock at the moment until my printer is set up, but I’m otherwise ready to rock and roll.

I think that’s me for now. Wanderer and I are both pretty exhausted any way you cut it and looking forward to finding our new normal. I’ll be back as soon as I can with all kinds of zine appreciation because, let’s be honest, that’s what we’re really here for. Hehe.

Until next time…

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Brand New Day

Hello, zine friends! I hope this post finds you well and having a good week.

I have finally well and truly landed in South Australia, and I am just starting the unpacking process. The naps are many and the boxes are many more, but with no rental inspection coming up, I am comfortable taking my time. I’m relaxing in ways I didn’t think I could.

The bit of bad news (for me) is that Wanderer has had to make one last trip back to our former residence to wrap up a few more things. But once he is back, we can truly start our new lives here.

I was absolutely delighted to find mail in my new post box already! It made everything really feel like home. You all are the best.

There’s still plenty to do, as is the way with these things, but I am still on track on getting back to at least some level of normalcy here on the blog. I’ll get some pictures up of the new office space, too.

Until then, be well and zine well.

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What’s Happening – Nearly There

Hello, my wonderful zine friends. I hope the beginning of this week has (or will) greet you well, and that things are going smoothly for you.

Things are messy here, and I am very much looking to being on the other side of things.

Moving is hell, but I didn’t quite realise the kinds of hell I would experience. Sudden flu as the clock was really ticking. Barely controlling my own mental health and emotions in amongst experiencing some truly horrific as well as truly beautiful acts of humanity. What looks like the death of one, possibly two, friendships. Other friends I’ve barely spoken to for months showing up on my front door and asking how they can help.

I’ve never looked so forward to a proper sleep in my life.

Anyway, enough of my blathering on! What’s happening?

Today is the last chance to pack up all my things, as the moving truck arrives tonight. The big pack will happen tomorrow, and we’re on the road very early Wednesday morning.

Things will likely be fairly quiet here this week. I’ll try to keep things updated here for anyone interested, but I’m trying to be more gentle with my expectations of myself. I do have some lovely mail already to share next Monday as I start fresh in my new space.

I am looking forward to zines once again being the big focus in my life.

Big hugs and lots of sharpies to you all.