Category: General

And the beat goes on!

I originally moved to my own hosting because I liked the greater template control, the ability to run a shop on my website, and basically every other freedom that comes along with hosting your own website.

That said, these are the times I seriously consider going back to WordPress hosting and giving up the idea of a shop. Wow, things have been a mess trying to get everything back and working properly. I’m not actually sure if they are, but I certainly hope so!

The second half of November and start of this month were mostly taken up by a very stubborn case of strep throat as well as some bad side effects, so adding website troubles to the mix has made for an interesting adventure.

I’m going to go ahead and publish this, hoping that everyone can see it and that this is the end of my website woes!

Hello, zine friends!

It has been a quiet week here on the blog, but that’s because it’s my birthday week! I have had a fabulous week of fun, rest, and relaxing (goodness knows I needed some relax/rest).

A quiet dinner out marked the actual day/night, and I brought in the next year of my life with traditional cake and candles. I am traditional in quite a few ways.

I’ve also spend a lot of my time organising a huge mail out now that I have finally finished the 24 Hour Zine Thing 3! I’m so excited to have finally finished not just this zine but really having finished a zine at all. It has me full of energy and feeling like I’m finally getting back on track with things in my life.

Next week, look forward to a packed Happy Mail Monday as well as fresh-baked zine reviews for your reading pleasure.

Happy Friday!

Hello and happy Saturday, zine friends. It’s a bit of a mixed bag Saturday here in this patch of Oz with plenty of rain pouring down. All I want to do is stay nice and warm at home, wrapped in my blanket… enjoying a virtual zine fest!

Today’s prompt is:

Look up virtual zine events to attend! When else are you going to be able to attend a zine event in a different city or even country for free?

Okay, so I’m not well up on what virtual events are happening out and about on the internet, but I do have a few bits and bobs for you to check out.

*The Virtual Swansea Zine Fest happened in May, but you can still take a look at the facebook page which has videos from the event.

*Festival of the Photocopier online opened early this year, but the beauty of virtual zine fests is that they can keep going! Check out the site.

*Virtual Portland Zine Symposium is happening this month! Mark the 24th and 25th on your calendar!

I’m sure there are many more events out there. Are you running or taking part in a virtual zine event? Please let me know so I can add it to the list!

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DOWNLOAD THE PDF TO PRINT YOUR OWN POSTER HERE!

Like with all years, I like to keep a running list of links to people/places participating in International Zine Month. So if that sounds like you, then please let me know! Comment here on the blog or send me an email at seagreenzines at gmail

Participants:

*Echo Publishing
*Hadass

All in Your Head 4: Cure
Collaborative
36 pages
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/GlitterWurst

All in Your Head 4: Cure is a full-colour, US-sized half-fold zine of (primarily) words and images around the theme of cure within the scope of sexuality, neurodiversity, and disability.

Sometimes I feel a little unsure when I come into a zine series after the start of it, but there’s absolutely no problems with jumping in with the fourth issue.

All In Your Head 4 opens with ‘My Mantra,’ a piece by V about being bisexual and the treatment he has received being such. As someone who is also bisexual, this one struck me – especially as V wrote that it’s not an illness that needs to be cured.

This zine is packed – there’s a lot to read. Writing pieces are nicely broken up by more ‘collage-esque’ pieces so it doesn’t feel densely chock full of text only. Ideas of what cure really means, the pressures to be cured, and what actual cures would really mean for certain individuals are explored.

Reading about the different perspectives on the concept of ‘cure’ and how detrimental that can be was quite eye-opening. Things I’d never really thought about or questioned despite having things in common with the authors. In the piece ‘Borderline Survival: Beyond Recovery and Cure Narratives’, Rosen writes:

“Invoking ‘personality’ along with ‘disorder’ [in Borderline Personality Disorder] is park of what makes the diagnostic label so dangerous, but there’s truth to the ‘personality part. ‘Curing’ my BPD would be tantamount to erasing my personality.”

This concept is also touched on later in the transcript of the virtual round table included in this zine.

All in Your Head 4 is a great collaborative zine that got me questioning everything from societal pressures to my own self-imposed pressures. This is definitely a zine to check out.

Locket Zine
Anna Gecko
https://www.instagram.com/oleandrsstudio/
https://oleandrsstudio.carrd.co/

Locket Zine is a tiny 3cm x 3cm zine in an actual locket full of lovely little positive statements.

I really want to get a chain for this not only because it’s small and will help me keep track of it but because it would be great to keep these little compliments close on the darker days.

Inside this little silver locket is a cut-to-fit accordion fold piece of notebook paper. Each page has a very short, nice thing that I think everyone would love to hear like “I’m really glad you’re here”.

This zine is fun in so many ways. Being small makes it cute, the accordion fold make sit feel like you’re opening a surprise, and the sentiments inside are so sweet and thoughtful. That it comes in a locket that you can wear around your neck just goes to show what fun things people can do with zines. I love this as an idea for a friend who is going through a hard time or to share important thoughts with someone you care about. Things you want them to always remember.

I have no idea if this was a one-off zine or if there were or are more available. If there are, pick one up and get a little sunshine in your life. And either way, try making one yourself as well. I think it’d make an awesome project.

Hello, zine friends!

I had been a while since I have done one of these, but I wanted to let you know things are still happening in the zine cave while I’m waiting for other things. To be frank, I’m a bit overwhelmed with how chaotic and out of sorts everything feels right now. But it all comes down to one step at a time.

*The November Missive is complete. I was delayed by health issues, and then some printing issues cropped up (surprise, surprise), but I finally have them printed and folded. They will be going out this week.

*2021 Planner – I wasn’t planning on making a planner, funnily enough, but I got it into my head and put one together. I’m now all prepared to roll into the new year and start pre-posting all rolling calls for submissions, regular calls, shout outs about various spaces and places, and more.

*The next Happy Mail Monday is done… I’m just waiting on the ability to export it.

*I have a lot of zines to review. There’s no two ways about it, really. There is a stack, and I’m making more time to read and review them. I’m also thinking about ways to maybe post more than two reviews a week at certain points so all the wonderful, patient people who have been waiting can finally be reviewed.

*Resting. Yep, I’m adding this to the list to remind everyone (especially myself) that rest is an important thing. It looks like I had a kidney stone, and I need to give my body time to heal. Luckily, I have plenty of reading material for the quieter times. 😉

*I am hoping very, very hard that my new computer will arrive this week so I can get back to Happy Mail Monday, other videos, and more projects. My current machine is steadily getting worse, so the new one should arrive just in time.

*I’m still dreaming of finishing up Phenomena 2, Workaholic 2, Dear Anonymous 9, and Dear Anonymous 10. I thought I’d be able to finish them before the end of the year, but, at this point, I really have no idea. I’m trying to get as much as possible done each day.

*I’m dreaming of a few new personal zines as well as some things to add to the YouTube channel… but they are all definitely well within dreaming territory for now.

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There we are, dear friends. I wish I had more to put here, but we all know how this year has been.

Upward and onward. Head up. Until next time… spread a little sunshine.

Hello, zine friends!

Wow has it been a case of the Mondays today. Precisely nothing went to plan. And even the spontaneous corrections to the original things that didn’t go right ended up going wrong as well!

About five minutes ago, the internet came back online, so there’s a silver lining amongst the clouds.

No mail arrived over the past week, so Happy Mail Monday hasn’t technically been effected. Crossing fingers, knocking on wood, and all of that good stuff that things go smoothly tomorrow.

Until next time, spread a little sunshine.