Review #1.
"I'm still amazed that no matter how many crappy zines I get in the mail, or buy by accident thinking they'll live up to their name or cover, the brilliant treasures keep sneaking in, rare and wonderful, raising the bar... ...here are some of the most recent pieces of gold:
TRACE OF THE HAND (ISSUE # "ORGANIC PIZZA PLEASE")
110 pages. This is a very kind-hearted publication, full of information on how to help the "have-nots" - the disabled, elderly, minorities, homeless, and people of extremely low income. While rather long-winded and scrambly-looking, it is absolutely bursting with details of what you can do to change the bleakness of society and provides addresses and photos of various stores, restaurants, and organizations in the Portland area that are generously doing what they can to contribute. $10 sounds like a lot (um - I got it free from Davida), but here's what you get: the zine, an 8 1/2 x 17" poster, an audio tape (poetry, songs), a tiny bit of community-supportive food and a community-supportive aromatic item (Ed. - There were a few other food items that didn't make it out of XD headquarters - very good vegan mints and chocolate.). They call their zine an "All 5 Senses Zine Experience" because "it is meant to engage all the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch...in a very personal way." The handwritten portions are punctuated by calligraphy, little hearts, smiley faces, and i's dotted with circles- at first I assumed this was the work of a crazy person, but it turned out to be very well-written and coherent and most of all, sincere. These are people who really don't have much money or food, who often don't have places to live, but they're doing everything they can to give something to the world with absolutely zero whining or judgment. Maybe it's a little corny and on the Christian side, but it's astoundingly sweet and upbeat, and really does inspire you to think of the world as a community, rather than as a bunch of selfish individuals only out to satisfy themselves."
-Xerography Debt #11, the review zine
reviewed by Maria Goodman
Congratulations to Maria for being an Utne Independent Press Award Nominee
To see a scanned pdf version of review #1 please click here.
Review #2.
Trace Of The Hand (money orders only-$10 USA, $19.00 Canada, $30.00 world/DSAME/ emailmoreinfoplease(replace this with "at" symbol)yahoo.com www.1dsame.com) Phew! First of all, this isn't just a zine, it's an ALL FIVE SENSES ZINE EXPERIENCE, including the 112 page zine, a poster, a cassette tape, a "tiny bit of community-supportive food" and an "aromatic item." This issue is not "#1" or "#2", by the way, but fucking "#Organic Pizza Please." This all-senses zine experience TOTALLY RULES, if you haven't already guessed. The tape has long spoken word pieces about negative body image and the inhumanity of budget cuts that make your heart race and then squeaky clean-clean, high-production, female vocalist stuff destined for a Grammy award (if she wasn't so fiercely independent and D-I-Y*, that is) by Sandy Thrush, the newest member of the BNB B.A.N.D. of Bands that makes up the tape. The zine itself is chock full of writings about all sorts of things, ranging from taking oppressed children on fishing trips to dismantling the system that keeps greedy assholes in power to many profiles of radical cooperatives and non-profit businesses/collectives in the northwest to a gushing tribute to Portland's Sisters of the Road Cafe. It is all handwritten in intricate script where, for example, the word "beyond" has a long string coming off of the tail of the letter "y" which underlines the word a few times and then meanders all over the page, creating hearts around other words and smiley faces looking at a person in the picture up in the corner. And the zine is actually a "love-in-action resource guide" with a little card for you to cut out every few pages and send to someone-or-another or to give to your grandmother or to get in contact with people so that you, too, can start taking oppressed children on fishing trips and the like. Some members of this vast B.A.N.D. of Bands are vaguely Christian, but not in any damaging or unhealthy way, so that;s easy to get over. Just do a receipt scam and send a money order and get this thing, okay? Do you really need to read only zines by punk kids, or do you want something TOTALLY different, but just as d.i.y. and probably more? Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Let's Fucking Go!
-Slug And Lettuce #76, International Zine And Music Review
reviewed by Scott
*Do-It-Yourself
Review #3.
Trace of the Hand
emailmoreinfoplease(replace this with the "at" symbol)yahoo.com
www.1DSAME.com
#"Organic Pizza Please", $5.50 for zine or $10 for an "All the Senses Zine experience" package including photo poster, audio tape, community supportive food and more, money orders only, [$19.00 Canada, $30.00 world], 108 pp, copied and hand-written, B&W photos, rough; poetry; "One Flew Over the Coo-coo's Nest" review; words on love and children; actions you can do to actively love others; rants on racism, spanish, equality and more; chapters - "Love," "Feed the Hungry", "Stress-free Living", and "Entertain the People"; thank yous; fact sheet on state approved budget cuts and much, much more.
"The Œall the senses zine experience" is an intriguing idea. BNB obviously supports their community, organic living, peace and love and shows this by their publication. It is jam-packed with information and ideas, though maybe a little bit out there in general.
- - Zine Guide #7,the review zine
reviewed by Alicia Dorr
The Cycle of Love! - Information and reviews on websites and in blogs about our reviewer's publications
Xerography Debt
Xerography Debt, Issue #11 online
Good blog review about Xerography Debt #11 with full color photographs
Good reviews about Xerography Debt (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Good reviews, pics & excepts of Maria Goodman's zine
Good blog reviews about Maria Goodman's zine
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Early Review of Chris Boarts Larson, Owner of Slug & Lettuce (S & L)
Slug & Lettuce (scroll down until you see it on the page)
5 essays. Title: Essay by Chris Boarts from S & L
Good Review about S & L with international ordering information
Good blog review about Slug & Lettuce
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Zine Guide
Good Review of Zine Guide from the Washington Post
Zine Guide Reviewer Alicia Dorr's Blog, RLIP
Good Description of RLIP from Loop Distro
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Back to the BNB homepage - www.DSAME.com
