HATCHET FACE

i made a little zine of mostly art for the BRIGHTON ZINE FEST last weekend. & i named it after my one of my favourite characters in one of my favourite films. i used to play saxomaphone too! i wasn't very good though, and i once even fainted at a lesson. it's bloody hard work. i do really fucking need the soundtrack to that film. i always forget how amazing it is.

anyway, i just updated the distro website. took off all the stuff that's sold out and put on some other new zines too. knock yourselves out! i'm going to the post office tomorrow to send off some trades and a lone etsy order (i don't really like etsy anymore.. much prefer distro orders.) i also have a doctor's appointment on sunday (i was as surprised as you! my doctor's is open on a goddamn sunday. brilliant) i've had a strange pain in my right knee for almost two weeks now. so i thought i'd go and see if i could see the doctor about it. and renew my prescriptions while i was at it. wahey. this week's been pretty fucking bad at work. i'm just really really sick of it. i've been spending too much time faffing about doing nothing on the internet. all week. all month, possibly all year. i think i'm going to go cuddle carl. i think the poor boy feels somewhat neglected.

incase you forgot how to get to our distro, here's a link: VAMPIRE SUSHI ZINE DISTRO!

STUFF TO DO STUFF TO WRITE

ZINES & FILTH

promotional poster for bledel of filth issue 1, originally uploaded by edwebbingall.

i've come to the conclusion that last weekend's brighton zine fest was the zine fest of filth. sort of. i bought TWO zines with slash fic in them! sweet valley 69 (which contained jem & the holograms porn! this obviously was reason enough to buy it. actually, i was probably gonna get it anyway, but that's what sold it to me ultimately. jem! slash! truly outrageous!) and bledel of filth (which was dedicated to gilmore girls.)

to be honest, i haven't actually finished reading either zine, but i felt i should share this already. it made me giggle and several people (mostly the ones i bought the zines from!) told me i should write more slash. and i told them stories of my old creations which you can still find on livejournal. read it and weep. that's how awesome i am.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS; ILLUSTRATED WOMEN

(photograph via iloveyousew.tumblr.com)

via laura on we make zines;

"Hello!

I've been thinking about doing this for a while, I've been looking forever for a zine about tattoos but could never find one, so thought I'd just make it myself.

So me and my friend Lydia are going to attempt to put together a zine about being a woman and having/loving/collecting tattoos! I've always felt slightly out of place in tattoo shops, found I get more comments about them than my tattooed male friends, but they also make me feel more confident and have helped me reclaim/accept my body more.

So we'd love to hear from tattooed ladies who've had similar experiences (or completely different ones). Send us anything about being a woman with tattoos!

You can email us at illustratedwomenzine@googlemail.com or if you want to send us a page message me for my address :)

Hope to hear from you soon,

Laura xx"

i don't have any tattoos yet, so i can't really contribute.. but if you do, you should definitely do it!

READING / KNITTING IS THE NEW PUNK ROCK.

people reading at the brighton zine fest punk gig at the cowley club, friday.


people knitting at the brighton zine fest zine fayre, saturday.

i've got so much to write about i don't know where to start. i think i'm gonna save it for my zine though, mwahaha! i'm absolutely knackered & kinda hungover and i'm watching roseanne episodes on youtube. i think i'm going to go to bed after this one. omg roseanne is so awesome.

i'm very tired, but happy to be home. i think.

THIS IS THE ANTHEM THROW ALL YOUR HANDS UP!

CRAFT TALK - LESLIE & THE LYS

ZINE FESTING!

leaving tomorrow for the wonderful brighton zine fest! good times. having a slight freak out though cos i should go to bed so i get a good night of sleep, and i can't actually pack my bag because my clothes haven't fully dried yet (carl washed them this morning) waah! i have also just finished the flats for a new zine which i'll be printing tomorrow at emma's usual printing place, wherever that is. it's nothing proper, just a wee art zine with hardly any text, 24 pages, turquoise covers. just thought i'd mention this. i should go and shove some more crap in my hello kitty backpack. HALP.

T-SHIRTS.

they've got $5 random t-shirt grab bags today at teefury today, and since carl's turned out quite nice, i ordered three. i looked through the designs available and about 90% of them are more or less awesomecakes, so it should turn out good. below are some of my favourite, and i've seriously got my fingers crossed that our packet has the first one because it is the most amazing t-shirt in the whole world and it would complete my life and be my favourite t-shirt forever and ever. even more than my joey ramone one.

ZINE WEEKEND + BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES

i failed at taking pictures during my fun weekend. seriously, i literally took 12 photos, of two things. our table at alternative press fair, and my friend lis whom i unexpectedly bumped into there! she used to share the studio with carl back in the good old days of the studio, and obviously i used to hang out there a lot cos i had nothing better to do. this was in my time of unemployment. it was really nice. but then it all went wrong and they lost the studio. poo. anyway, we had a nice chat and she told me about the coolest ever project she's working on with a friend of hers for someone famous i am completely in love with at the moment! i was flabberghasted. even better than when carl screen printed fabric for harriet's muse that was used on corsets made for girls aloud! (i think they wear them in the biology video or some live performance around that time.)

i just loved the safety pin details on lis' dress.

i had a day off today because it's carl's birthday. he's twenty seven now too, no more toy boy until end of june when i turn 28.. i got him two cardigans and blue trainers (that didn't fit..) from primark, a magic mushroom bath thing from lush on my way home yesterday, some old sea dog style temporary tattoos by lizz lunney, the extras dvd boxset and a vader mouse t-shirt from teefury. the last two had luckily arrived at work when i went in to drop off the office cd i had borrowed (they've got new computers & they needed to install it for tomorrow when the accountant lady is in) i went out early cos i had a blood test this morning to check for diabetes, hypo- & hyperthyroidism and so on. i've still got the cotton bud on my arm. weirdly enough the nurse was the first person ever to be able to tell i was nordic from my accent. most people don't realise i'm foreign at all. then again, i guess my name was sort of a hint of my foreigness.

carl's brothers are here, and they got kfc as the traditional take away birthday dinner. apparently the lady who served them had the autobots & deceptacon symbols/logos tattooed on her arm. awesome! i'm a sucker for nerdy tattoos. i'm still trying to convince carl that getting the rebel alliance 'logo' tattooed on his body would be a brilliant idea. i made him raspberry & chocolate cupcakes.

he's refusing to let me take a birthday boy photo of him right now, he said "later when i'm drunk and won't care." there's a splash of own brand whisky left + a whole bottle of morgan's spiced provided by craig, so i reckon i'll manage. i'll just have to post it later.

SHE LOOKS GOOD BUT HER BOYFRIEND SAYS SHE'S A MESS.

just got home from london and zine & grrrl fun. i'll write about that later (or not, i might save it for zines!) but in the meantime, since its the day for lovvers, i made an all (but one song..) grrrl anti valentine mix (some of it was played last night, and i loved seeing people go mental to miley cyrus, and the gaga) & i thought i'd share it cos i think it's BLOODY BRILLIANT. (i usually re-tag all the songs into a mix when i make a mix but today i just couldn't be arsed. you can put them in the right order yourself, you're a clever bunch! and i included the tracklisting in a txt file in the zip. just in case)

1. girl’s night out - the knife
2. telephone (featuring beyonce) - lady gaga
3. girls just wanna have fun - miley cyrus
4. the show - girls aloud
5. saturday night - surferosa
6. ladykillers - lush
7. stutter - elastica
8. like a lady - the sounds
9. just a girl - no doubt
10. love me or hate me - lady sovereign
11. search and destroy - peaches
12. joku raja - pmmp
13. nightmare - the whyte boots
14. love und romance - the slits
15. white mice - the mo-dettes
16. get rid of him - bernadette castro
17. atta girl - heavenly
18. don’t wanna hold your hand - thee headcoatees
19. your kisses are wasted on me - the pipettes
20. you don’t own me - joan jett & the blackhearts
21. johnny, are you queer? - glass candy & the shattered theatre
22. electric chair twist - the micragirls
23. our daughters will never be free - the indelicates
24. girls don’t always wanna have fun - melody club

EXPIRED DOWNLOAD ~ NEW DOWNLOAD

by the way, that’s the valentine’s day card i got for carl. i saw it at the alternative press fair, and i just had to. it’s by scribblehound. carl should be home in a bit & we'll have a cuddle and then reggae reggae chicken + rice & peas for dinner and go see carl's dad in the hospital. i expect we'll watch a film & eat ice cream (i got a tub of toffee & almond ice cream for 75p from tesco! the other flavour tubs the same size were £2.99. what a bargain, and it wasn't even reduced cos it was going off, or on sale. weeeird) when we get home. i had fun, but it's nice to be home. and i hated london surprisingly little during the trip. just when twats in camden kept walking into me. like proper. this happens all the time. surely i'm not invisible?

i haven't been this excited for such a long time, it feels fucking brilliant!

"dance in the dark" lady gaga

last minute musings.

thought i'd mention i'll be in london town tomorrow (and sunday) on zine business cos vampire sushi will be tabling at ALTERNATIVE PRESS FAIR, at aloysius social club (phoenix road, nw1 1ta) on saturday 13th february from 12 til sixish, and then later at GIRL GERMS ANTI-VALENTINE'S NIGHT at the camden head in camden high street.

i wasn't going to be at apf cos i couldn't get a table, which i thought was a bit unfair as i did email the moment they announced they were taking bookings and it's not like there's a million grrl zine distros in the uk (two i can think of..) but emma said i could come and share with her and vicky. mwahahaha. thought you'd got rid of me? no chance. i reckon it'll go better this time, sitting with people i know and like and will actually try to sell on my behalf to the intrigued if i pop out for a fag or a gander around the room.

i'm excited and a little nervous. but i'm sure everything will be fine, it always is. and i've got the zines sorted. i just need to pack my party clothes and jammies, really. i tried to do a little new art zine in time, but gave up on wednesday because i figured it wasn't worth the stress fest. perhaps for next weekend's brighton zine fest?

i should go to bed, i was actually shattered today at work. and sort of freaking out about being unorganized. but i found my charger in the end and everything's more or less ready. shit, just realised i have no idea where the oyster card is..

MISCHIEF UNMANAGED.

Gilley Bird - 217/365 ADAD, originally uploaded by Shannon Taylor.

i feel a little crappy tonight. i think it's cos i'm sort of freaking out about this weekend 's zine fun and how unprepared i am for it, as usual. and how incredibly unprepared i am for valentine's day AND carl's birthday (carl was born feb 15th, the basterd) i feel so useless and meh. must move from my stupid seat. get cards & flyers ready if nothing else.

i really want to be excited, and not scared. fuck being scared. i want to be excited and make a riot grrrl revival happen and do stuff and make things happen and.. fuck. i'm making absolutely no sense. i want to have grrrl friends near by. we went to abbi & alex's house for dinner last friday and there was guitar playing (by everyone else) and staring at the piano trying to remember how to play something more than ukko nooa and the main riff from just can't get enough by depeche mode and thus feeling musically challenged (just me) and i said to abbi "we should start a riot grrrl band." i was serious. i don't think she took me seriously. i went home with another book from their bookself ("american gods" by neil gaiman. i always borrow a book from them after dinner. it's standard.

i'm extra weirded out by my grump cos i actually had quite a nice day at work. though i seem to be extra paranoid of people not liking me. stupid girl. stupid brain.

i really hope there's something awesome and suitable for valentine's day or birthday present for carl at alternative press fair on saturday. it's very unlikely i can take shopping on oxford street (or anywhere) on sunday on my way home, while carrying bags of zines. and well, i've run out of time. i've got tomorrow lunch break. and THAT'S IT. i hate presents. why are boys so difficult to get presents for? i wish i had a girlfriend and i could just empty claire's or heidi seeker. boo, boo, superboo!

i finally bought a coach ticket for next week's trip to brighton yesterday. going friday early afternoon and leaving saturday night.

this blog entry makes zero sense. it's just word vomit. i've been listening to lady gaga almost non stop since last night. i finally fouled carl's ipod with the fame and the fame monster. i'm sure carl will want to strangle me the first time she pops up on shuffle songs. he's a lame hater.

LATELY;

, originally uploaded by tweexcore.

i've been busy trying to do things but largely kind of failing. writing a lot of lists at work because i am so incredibly bored. it's sick and wrong, but i kind of miss the madness of christmas. at least then the day just disappeared, while now time just drags. drags drags drags. i need to do something about the situation, but as usual, i manage to just think about it.

lots of zine stuff happening. i still haven't read through my pile. actually i think i received random zines i'd ordered / traded for almost everyday the past week. ones i'd forgotten all about, ones i had ordered while sad (because that's what i do when i'm sad, i buy zines. i'm sort of doing it now too..) i've got a small list of zines i want to distro, but i'm trying to be sensible with money. i guess i'll wait until after all the zine events this month, it's not like any of them would arrive in time anyway. got alternative press fair & girl germs club night next saturday and brighton zine fest the saturday after! i should really book a coach ticket, but i need to sort out a day off first, either friday or the monday after, for recovery. i've already got the 15th off, which is a monday cos it's carl's 27th birthday and i'm going to be away most of the weekend.

i quite wanted to do a new zine for all this zine activity but that's one of the things i've been spectacularly failing at. boo. i'm going to at least attempt to hide in the bedroom and zine or something until it's bedtime. i've got some compilation contributions to work on if nothing else.

PLUG FOR A FRIEND; FIGHT BOREDOM WITH ACTION!

from: HELLO AMBER;

"I'll admit it, I've got the compilation zine blues. I've been putting Fight Boredom together for several years now. Anyone who's put together a comp zine knows how difficult it can be. There are always scores of people who seem excited about the project and promise submissions, never to be heard from again. There are people who can't follow deadlines (like myself), and people who just don't understand the project (I once had to turn down an anti-choice piece that someone sent me for a feminist zine - wtf?).

I'm about halfway through Fight Boredom #4 and I'm feeling like I need a burst of inspiration. The original deadline was summer 2009, but that obviously didn't happen. Needless to say, I had a busy year. However, I would like to (finally) finish it on time for spring. I've received some pretty neat submissions (including a cookie recipe from Tukru, a hilarious list of ways to fight boredom from Dave Cave and a piece by my sister on stumbling upon local feminist history), but I'd like some more. So, in order to get things going, I've decided to throw a Fight Boredom Contest! Here's how it works...

I'm especially interested in topics like winter survival, your local history (for example, whilst putting together issue #1, I learned that the first woman to ever open a birth control clinic in Canada went to my high school!), throwing events and doing awesome things in small towns, your thoughts on the concept of home, fighting back against sexism / racism within the "alternative" scene, resisting mainstream / consumer culture, activism, and things that inspire apathetic teenagers. The theme is "Fight Boredom with Action!" which I think can be interpreted pretty loosely. Once your piece is ready, you can either email it to me or you can create your own page(s) and mail them to me. Please keep in mind that the format is quarter-size, horizontal (like Fight Boredom #3). There is no page limit, but remember that your pages must be easily reproduced in black and white.

First Prize: The first prize winner will receive a packet of ten zines (perzine, feminist and crafty) and a brand new copy of Bikini Kill's Reject All American, an album that continuously inspires me, plus your copy of Fight Boredom #4.

Second Prize: The second prize winner will receive a packet of ten zines (perzine, feminist and crafty) and a brand new copy of Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2, plus your copy of Fight Boredom #4.

Third Prize: The third prize winner will receive a packet of ten zines (perzine, feminist and crafty), plus your copy of Fight Boredom #4.

The deadline is April 1st, 2010. So start writing!



Fight Boredom #2.5 and #3 are currently available at my Etsy shop. I'm in the midst of combining the first two issues into a split zine."

you should definitely contribute something! even if there wasn't a chance of zines & other prices! i'm currently working on another one (besides cookies)

I MADE SOME (VALENTINE'S DAY) CARDS.

tuesday at work i had this magnificent idea to make some cards for the crafty deaf cat last night. so i did. i don't really like etsy anymore, so i thought i'd post them on my blog instead! i'm gonna buy me a book of stamps so any uk orders made before 9pm next friday should be with you in time for the big V day. any overseas ones.. order by saturday morning. europe should be fine, rest of the world.. not sure. fingers crossed?

for some reason i feel i should mention that in finland, valentine's day is ystävänpäivä which means "friends day". which i think is much nicer. more love to spread. love for your friends, not just lovvers. (and besides not everyone has a lover)

they're all hand coloured by moi (so they might be a bit messy... my crayons are getting blunt from too much colouring!) and come with envelopes.

BAD ROMANCE
hand coloured a6 card.

SISTERS BEFORE MISTERS
hand coloured a6 card.

oh and then, add postage according to your location! or you can just buy some stuffs from VAMPIRE SUSHI to go with them!

QUICK REMINDER!

VAMPIRE SUSHI is going to be at VALENTINE CRAFTY DEAF CAT tomorrow! i'd say more but i've got a ridiculous amount of stuff to sort out (why do i have brilliant ideas for cards the day before, really?) which isn't helped by the fact we have to go and visit someone in the hospital in a bit. there's just not enough hours in the day! well, there would be if i wasn't stuck at work most of it :S

so yeah, if you're in the medway area, COME AND SEE US. there'll be pretty crafty things and zines too!