Reviews

Here's one thing that works well on the inter net but doesn't work too well in print- idiotic links-
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/07/waste-creeps.html

A Charles Bronson impersonator "singing" about "Punk Rock Creeps." It just makes me laugh. Also, on the weekend of Sept. 20-21 I will be attending the Boston Zine Fair along with the debuting Fish with Legs #12. For info check http://www.bostonzinefair.org/

Anyhow, some reviews

SKIN DEEP- I sort of admire people with tattoos. To think that somebody could walk into a tattoo parlor, show the tattoo artist the design they want and say "Yes, I want this design on my body until the day I die. Through all the sags and wrinkles and fading and weight gains and weight losses and changes in my tastes and everything else that could happen in my life I am confident that this design is something I want to take with me on all my life's journeys." It's quite a decision when you think about it. And a lot of people don't seem to put much thought into the whole thing. For Christ's sake, man, of all the designs in the universe you could pick and you end up with a god damn "tribal symbol"? Or an Asian character? If something is going to be so closely identified with you don't you want it to at least be a little creative? Do you really wanna go through life looking like a tool who got a tattoo just for the sake of getting a tattoo? Is the sheer thrill of having colored ink in your skin so great that you'd be willing to get any old thing? Me, I know this is a decision worth taking seriously and I also know it's not one I could make. I have a way of deciding something is funny and brilliant for a couple of days and then all of a sudden realizing it was never all that funny to begin with. Any tattoo I got I know I would soon regret. At any rate, if you haven't figured it out by now, this is a zine full of tattoo stories. Not so much the boring "How I got my tattoo" stories but stories about why they got their tattoos and what they mean along with some sidebars on the history of tattooing and photos of tattoos (including 4 color pages. J. Gavin Heck's little alligator over the nipple is exactly the sort of tattoo I would get thinking it was the funniest thing ever only to get sick of it in a week or 2. But it's small so what the Hell? And William P Tandy's is pretty awesome looking and I'm not superstitious enough to think it is anything more than a cool looking tattoo) I really enjoyed this one. Worth reading if you're into tattoos or are even just interested in knowing about other's ink. And regarding Rahne Alexander's bio- the myth that tattoo ink being magnetic and causing you great harm if you go through an MRI has been debunked by the Mythbusters. That really doesn't have anything to do with anything, but I take great pleasure in using something I learned watching Mythbusters in everyday conversation. 5.5 x 8.5 60 pages. Send $3 to Eight-Stone Press PO Box 11064 Baltimore MD 21212 http://www.eightstonepress.com/ wpt@eightstonepress.com

BIPEDAL, BY PEDAL- Bikers are another group of people I admire. I don't mean motorcyclists, who I have no opinion of one way or the other, but people who ride bikes. Riding your bike to and from work every day? That shit's exhausting, yo. I attempted to do this for a little while (the full story of that one will be in the next Fish with Legs. Unless I forget or it's too boring to wrote about) and I'd see people cruising on their bikes like it was nothing while my legs would feel like rubber after riding halfway down the block. I haven't given up on biking, but for now I'm walking. At any rate, this zine covers the Critical Mass movement. What is Critical Mass? Basically it's a huge (or not huge. It all depends on who shows up) bike ride (or skateboard ride or roller blade ride or a walk. Any form of self propelled transportation is accepted but it seems mostly for bikers) that takes place at 5:30 on the last Friday of the month. The basic goal is to fuck things up for people trying to drive home from work by clogging the streets with a critical (and legal) mass of bikes and the like. Kinda sucks for the semi responsible folks who take the bus, but them's the breaks I guess. This is a surprisingly even handed look at the whole movement. It's obviously pro bike, but it doesn't shy away from mentioning some of the more negative aspects of the ride. I was expecting this to just be "Critical Mass! Critical Mass ! Rah rah rah!" propaganda but it was actually a fair look at the whole thing. I enjoyed this zine more than I expected to. 4.25 x 5.5 40 pages no price listed Joe Biel 222 S. Rogers St Bloomington IL47404 http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/

PICARESQUE #10 This is what I like to call a great short attention span zine. As the author describes it this is a zine of "some stories. some funny, some not" which nicely sums it up. For the most part the ones meant to be funny are funny and the ones that are not aren't. They're all short personal stories about girlfriends and drinking and working as a teacher and a high school reunion and all kinds of things. And if you don't like one the next one is no more than half a page away. The stories are loosely connected, but for the most part you can flip anywhere and read anything and enjoy it. The perfect zine to leave next to the toilet. 20 pages ("some blank") 5.5 x 8.5 Brendan Rocks 9-17 Mayes St. Stawell, Victoria/ Australia 3380 brendanrocks@hotmail.com

More reviews very soon