something new and two reviews

It's about time I tell you about the new issue of Elephant Mess. I finished it a few weeks ago, but I've been on vacation and such so I haven't really gotten the word out. It's the sixteenth installment and it's subtitled, The Bug Issue. All that really means is that the writing revolves in some erratic way around bugs and is accompanied by bug clipart. Bugs getting comfy on your couch and snug beneath your rug. You can order this by sending me a dollar bill or a trade or stamps or something else nice. You can mail your order here: Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154, Moscow ID 83843 ... or paypal money to me here: messyelephant@hotmail.com

now here are a coupla reviews:
Stoked on Spokes: A Community Resource Cycling Guide
A great little zine put out collaboratively by the folks at Pedal Play and The Purple Thistle Centre (both located in Canada). There are a couple of bike history pieces in here; the most interesting of which discusses the use of bikes during wartime. There is info on how to fix a flat, how to stay safe while riding, how to start up a Critical Mass bike ride and a great little fold-out section entitled "A DIY Punk Rock Bike Touring Guide" which will give you all sorts of great advice if you're like me and are planning a future long distance bike ride. Another awesome little piece promotes "celebratory activism." There is no contact info listed in this zine (besides the websites), but I just ordered it from Microcosm Publishing for a buck plus postage and you can surely do the same.

Ker-bloom! #56, Sept.-Oct. 2005
This zine comes with the companion zine, The Blackberry Bloc. That's because this issue of Ker-bloom is all about a bike trip that artnoose went on with her new friend Scott. They rode their bikes from Eugene, OR to San Francisco, CA in 11 and a half days, and due to the abundance of blackberry picking they did during the first part of the trip, they started calling themselves The Blackberry Bloc. Ker-Bloom! gives a brief written overview of the trip all printed in letterpress, which if you're familiar with artnoose's zine you know that that's how every issue is done. The Blackberry Bloc is four times the size of Ker-Bloom! and it contains a day to day recount of the trip, handwritten with a hand drawn map for each day/page. The story is told by pointing out certain places on each map and telling about the adventures/misadventures that took place there. The final page includes lists of the "merit badges" each one of them received for the trip and other lists derived from events that took place on the trip. Each zine costs $2 (or $4 for both). You can order them directly from artnoose by mailing your money to PO Box 3525, Oakland CA 94609. I ordered mine from Whammy! Industries.

Carbusters #25

This is a well-established bicycle advocacy magazine out of the Czech Republic. For their big 25th issue they decided to change their name to a conjunction (it used to be Car Busters and now it's Carbusters), but that's beside the point. This magazine covers bike advocacy happenings around the world and is perfect for anyone excited about bikes and their potential to change the world and save our cities (and our sanity). It's a positive arena created to discuss and promote the creation of carfree (or at least car-lite) cities. It's not out to alienate or attack cardrivers, but simply to educate people about the destructive and unsustainable nature of cars and to suggest ways that people can improve their lives and their cities by embracing alternative and more enlightened forms of transport and by working towards improved and more accessible public transportation. My favorite article in this issue details life on car-free islands around the world. It mainly focuses on The Toronto Islands in Canada, Mackinac Island in Michigan and car-free islands in Croatia. There are also reports on actions that took place across the globe in celebration of World Carfree Day 2005 (Sept. 22) and an article chronicling a Critical Mass bike ride in Budapest that was 30,000 bicyclists strong. This magazine is ad-free and can be purchased for $4 at finer independent bookstores near you or you can contact them here:

Carbusters
Kratka 26
100 00 Prague 10
Czech Republic

editors@carbusters.org
www.carbusters.org

Anchor Archive Zine Distro

This is a zine distro that you should know about if you're at all interested in gardening, sustainable living and DIY projects/ethics. It's run by Sarah Evans in Halifax, NS. Sarah does the zine, Root, among other zines and things, and seems really excited about promoting the independent press in her neck of the woods. It also seems like she's living the life that the zines she distributes are about. So far, I've only ordered a few zines (zines about vermicomposting, geodomes and dandelions), but there are plenty of zines that I'd like to order. The catolog includes zines about greywater, self-defense, herbal medicine, DIY gynecology, knitting, screenprinting, zine making and more. There is even a zine entitled "Knit Your Own Beard." Many of these zines are written by Halifax residents, so Sarah is keeping it local which is awesome.
write to her for a catalog and more info:
Sarah Evans
POB 33129
Halifax NS
B3L 4T6 Canada
anchorarchive@gmail.com

Oh, and by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!