"so this is the new year, and i don't feel any different"

Hey all you punks and skins: Carrot Row Mail Order has new additions.

First, Take It - It's My Body (A Final Compilation). This zine is by Chelsea in PDX, OR and is all about fat acceptance, size-ism, and body image. $3 ppd.
Second, EnvironMENTAL Imp Pack #2. This is Maaike's zine (Moscow, ID) about organics, local food, and other food issues. $1 ppd.

There are more additions on the way, so be in touch. If you don't have a catalog, send a stamp.

Dan Murphy
PO Box 3153
Moscow ID 83843
USA
messyelephant@hotmail.com or juniperjournal@hotmail.com

May 2008 be the year of the punk rocker. Rock on.

"so this is the new year
and i have no resolutions"
-dcfc

"now my heart is as cold as ice"

A few days ago, I finished reading another zine. It's called Ghost Pine #9 (subtitled, Bees), and it was writtten by Jeff from Canada.
Here is a quote: "After all these years of listening to the rhetoric claiming some subversive nature of zines; North American samizdat and the rebellion of it all, I felt completely denuded. Here were the zines folding and there were the guns walking. Something had changed."

"strange how the arms sting when you're left holding nothing"

It took me a whole year, but I finally finished reading a book. I know, it's pretty pathetic that it takes me that long to read a book. And it was only 341 pages. Anyway, the book I read was The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements by Sandor Ellix Katz. I highly recommend reading this book if you care at all about food politics and food issues. Even if you don't care about those things, it's a very interesting and entertaining read. You will learn all sorts of new things about food and food systems, and there are several recipes worth trying. These are the last words of the book (I think they sum things up pretty well):

"I'm afraid that in the end I have no easy-to-follow recipe to offer my readers for how we can go about taking back community control of our food and water and, more broadly, our power and dignity. There are no easy formulaic answers. But as we search for answers, and allies, we can get our hands dirty working the soil and growing some of our own food. We can get to know farmers and support local markets. We can get to know plants, learn to save seeds, and learn how to heal our bodies and our souls. These activities ground us in the earth, and out of them grow health, abundance, community, and dreams of a better future."


This book was published by Chelsea Green Publishing and can be purchased directly from them. Or maybe find it at the library or borrow it from a friend or something.

"if my body goes then to hell with my soul"

another juniper
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

Another issue of The Juniper hot off the presses. This time I have filled the pages with plenty of ranting and raving. You will be sick of it after a few paragraphs or less, but that's okay. I go on and on about living an authentic life and not being a ponce and a pandering aristocrat. I also push my politics on you and postulate a better a world. (I don't have all or any of the answers but I like to pretend that I do.) Then I tell you about my 2007 garden plot and offer some lists of seeds for seed exchange. It's short, and it won't hurt too badly.

send a stamp or trade to:
Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843
USA
juniperjournal@hotmail.com

ask for a carrot row mail order catalog, too.

"passed out in a datsun that's parked out in the hot sun"

maaike's zine
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

My friend, Maaike, has a new zine out, and it's pretty sweet. It's called The Sixth Minky; it's a personal zine with a mix of humor and seriousness. Plus it has an awesome color layout. You can get a copy of it for yourself by sending a dollar or trade to:
Maaike Davidson
PO Box 8891
Moscow ID 83843
USA

oh yeah, the quote: "The back of your seat can be used as a flotation device...that's nice. But what they don't tell you is that you'll be dead by the time you hit the water."

I have been reading other zines too, but I have not been updating my blog. I am somewhat tired of the computer. It sucks away far too much of my time. So does the TV. Winter is here, and I am stuck inside much more than usual. I'm hoping that I can be productive this winter rather than sitting in front of a TV or computer screen in a coma the whole time. I have lots of stuff that I could be doing. I'll keep you posted. Or not.

"things i have loved i'm allowed to keep"

School and other things had me swamped for a couple weeks. It was hard to get much extra reading in. Never fear though, between last night and today I was able to get a couple of small zines read:

Little Lady 02 by nichole anne
I don't have any quotes for you, but I would like to mention that there are two recipes found in this zine that I plan on trying out: vegan banana bread and pancake blueberry sauce.

Underwater Cigarettes #3 by elizabeth
"I don't think she loved me but she wanted to, and you can't help but love an overlap of madness to some extent..."
and
"Eating meat just seems like an invasion of my natural allotment of flesh."

By the way, I recently discovered that there is a blog that posts reviews of zines and some of the "reviews" that I have been writing lately here can be found there. (I say "reviews" because I don't really consider these things reviews, because mostly I am just posting about the zines I have read, but whatever.) I don't mind that my posts are being borrowed; actually I think it's pretty cool. I just figured that I would point out to whomever it is that is reposting my posts on their blog that you have been discovered and you're welcome.

"you have broken me all the way down...you will be the last, you'll see"

In issue #15 of Elephant Mess, I introduced to my unsuspecting readers my "Elephant Mess World Tour & World Takeover" plan. If you are not familiar with it, I guess you will have to read it for yourself sometime because I don't feel like going into too much detail about it right now (contact me, if necessary). At that time (more than 2 years ago), I had only 10 states left in my quest to send an issue of Elephant Mess to all 50 states in the union. Now, I am down to only 5 states. I would like to use this space to list the 5 states that have not yet had the pleasure of receiving an issue of the disappointment of a zine and waste of precious paper, Elephant Mess, so that if anyone out there knows someone in one of these 5 states that would be willing to receive a copy of my boring read, I could then send a copy to them, thus fulfulling the first part of my mission to take over the world (with my zine). The five states are:

-Wyoming
-North Dakota
-Oklahoma
-Mississippi
-South Dakota

If you have friends, family or (preferably) know zinesters that live in any of these five states, please let me know what their address(es) is (are) so that I can get a copy of Elephant Mess off to them pronto. You are all stars in my book for helping me out with this. Now, stop reading this tripe and go do something useful with your life (that does not have anything to do with my zine).

okay.

"awful people, they surround you"

I should be doing schoolwork, but instead I read another zine: Entropic Tendencies #3 (So Many Beautiful Parts) by Laura J.

"Because even the largest untruths are believable when you're 17 and dancing in Dallas rain."

Now, I better get my stuff done...maybe.

"he's a dirty trashcan full of poop"

Yesterday, I finished reading New To Everything #6 by Leanne. One of my favorite parts was this:

"Do you like pop punk?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That's it! See, pop punk perpetuates feelings of rejection and heartbreak. If you just stop listening to it, your life is gonna improve!"
I laughed so hard and put my Screeching Weasel records away...
(It didn't last long.)

"i want so badly to believe that there is truth, that love is real"

Today, I read two zines: Erik & Laura-Marie Magazine #40 and #42 by Laura-Marie Taylor.

From #40:
"The school was bordered by a mortuary, cemetary, and hospital, which wasn't lost on me. Every few days, out to play on the playground, I smelled bodies being cremated, which unnerved me, to say the least, and I didn't discuss it with anyone at the time.
"But a few years ago, I called up the Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary and asked them about it. Yes, the nice gentleman told me, they did burn bodies there every few days, around 1984. Yes, there was a distinctive smell."

From #42:
Kimchee
We both
dislike that
hot cabbage

You will get your CD and zine soon, Laura-Marie. I promise.

"a baby sleeps in all our bones, so afraid to be alone"

From Echo! Echo! #4 by Keet
"It seems hilarious now, but there are still times when I drift off into a trance and remember every terror I felt. It has been a month after if happened, but I still feel sick to my stomach whenever I remember it. On the other hand, it never fails to remind me that hey, I'm still alive, after all that. However small an accident it may seem. We all need to be reminded sometimes."

If you are interested in reading any of the zines that I have been reading, just let me know and I will tell you how you can get a hold of them.

"i'm battle scarred, i'm working oh so hard to get back to who i used to be"

Friends and foes, I finished reading another zine. It's a zine out of Australia. It's by the same guy who does Das Papierkrieg and Westside Angst - Mr. Ianto Ware.

The Little Nerd Band That Could part 2
"I'm told Interpol played a show once where the guitarist stopped the song and told the audience to stop clapping along because they were putting him out of time."

"all that i have left are pieces of the ocean that i kept"

I like posting on here, but I don't like posting about my everyday life. No one wants to hear about that, and frankly I don't feel like sharing.
I like reading zines, but I rarely get around to it. I have stacks of zines waiting to be read. I always think I'll get around to reading them sometime, but I don't. And I just keep on getting more. I keep on ordering more. And I keep not reading them. Well, I'm working on it. So, I devised a plan to post more on this blog and to get more zines read. This is my plan: read a zine (this could take days, weeks or even months), then when I am finished reading the zine, I will post the name of the zine I read along with one of my favorite quotes from it. Okay? Fortunately, I just finished reading a zine today, so here goes:

Endless Escalators #1 by Monica A.

"I discovered the purpose of life while at a Lutheran All-School Spelling Bee. It was during the awards ceremony. I was sitting on the cold gym floor with about 30 other kids in my age group. Only third through first place got trophies, so after the fourth place LOOOSER received his LAME RIBBON, everyone tensed up but tried to act calm, because no matter how you look at it, losing your shit over a middle school spelling bee is not okay. Third and second were announced, and I was glad to be almost able to go home, but then I heard my name. Once I had the trophy in my hands, I knew life isn't about things like trying hard and being fair and helping people. Really, it's about winning stuff and making everyone else feel bad."

"your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures"

I want secrets and anonymity.
So...
I embrace my anti-social tendencies.
I stretch myself thin trying to be accommodative.
I take pride in single-hood.
My individualistic independent-ism overwhelms me.
I become selfish, self-centered, and disconnected.
Cellphone is dead.
Introversion abounds.

"how cold can a heart become before it crumbles or decides to stay numb?"

Elephant Mess: 10 Year Anniversary
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

Elephant Mess number nineteen is finished, and it's a zinger. It's the ten year anniversary. Yes, that's right. Elephant Mess has existed for ten years now. That's ten years of boring you to death with my skull droppings. You would do well to get yourself a copy and continue being unentertained. I wrote lots about being an adult zine writer with little or nothing to show for my life. I also wrote about reckless abandonment and skeletons in my closet. There's more, but I don't want to ruin the surprise. Here's what you should do. Find a dollar or three first class stamps. Put it or them in an envelope (or you could send me a trade of some sort - that's bartering). Mail that envelope to:
Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843
USA

queries?
messyelephant@hotmail.com

"Because I can't stand feeling nothing
I can't stand feeling old.
I can't stand standing for nothing
When standing up is all I know."
-Rumbleseat

"call in sorrow your friend, ask her where has she been"

Field of Dreams
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

Last week the Soil Stewards had our very first Farm Field Day. It was a smashing success. More people showed up than I had expected, and everyone seemed to enjoy being at the farm. It felt good to think that all of our hard work is paying off, and that people are interested in what we are doing. More and more people are seeing the need to be connected to their food and to be involved in their community and local economy. The Soil Stewards hope to make this an annual event. There is so much more work to do at the farm. This is really just the beginning, but it's the start of something great. I'm excited to be part of this growing movement.

and now, just because it's in my head:
"be disappointed and glum
beat yourself like a drum
yell out, 'who stole my silent night?!'"
-The Microphones

"loyal to no one, no one at all"

Long, long ago when I first started this blog I decided to play a little guessing game. I said that I would give a prize to the first person who correctly told me me where the title of my blog comes from. No one even made a guess until around 2 and a half years later when Maaike (upon reading over some old entries) came upon that post and answered correctly. The title comes from the song "Cinder and Smoke" by Iron & Wine. I told her I would give her a prize even though I had never originally decided what the prize would be, and quite frankly I had forgotten all about the whole thing anyway. Well, several months have passed and I still haven't given her a prize for winning. Again, I had forgotten until she reminded me recently. Where is my memory going? Where is Maaike's prize? I still don't know what it's going to be. Anyway, don't worry Maaike, you will get a prize soon...I promise. That is, if I don't forget again.

"you had me worried that this would last"

Sufferin' succotash! The first hard frost is looming. Goodbye frost sensitive plants. Goodbye days of summer. Autumn is here to snuff you out.
Last night a light frost hit the farm and afflicted frost damage on the outermost leaves of some of our basil and squash plants. Today we scrambled to cover things up. But we could not cover up everything. We are poor and don't have all the materials needed to protect all the plants that we'd like to protect. We do what we can, and we just have to hope that a hard frost is still in the far distant future. We haven't yet had our fill of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, eggplants and squash. Yet, all of our hard work will eventually succumb to old man winter. I can accept the natural way of things, but I can't deny that it leaves me just a little bit heartbroken. There is always next year, but next year seems so far away. A Fine Frenzy was right: almost lovers always bring heartache.

I will leave you with this:
"A kitten on fire
A baby in a blender
Both sound as sweet
As a night of surrender"
-My Morning Jacket

"i'm sure i could stand on the great salt lake"

Re-Usable Tea Bags
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

I have additions to the carrot row catalog. One of those additions is this re-usable tea bag you see in the picture here. It is made of cotton muslin, and it has a draw string. It was sewn by my friend, Maaike. It's small enough for one cup of tea, and large enough for a small pot of tea. You can order them from me at the address listed elsewhere on this blog: $2 for one, $5 for three. Another addition is a zine about recycling by Maaike called "EnvironMENTAL Imp Pack!" It comes with a pin and a sticker and costs $2 postage paid.

In other news: The fall semester is in full swing for better or for worse. It's sad to think that summer is coming to an end. Another long winter is in store; which is okay, but now that I have been gardening like mad for two straight summers, winters have become somewhat depressing. All I can think about is the arrival of springtime and the beginning of another growing season.
Also, I am working on another issue of Elephant Mess. It will be out sometime in September. It will be the ten year anniversary issue, which is awesome (to me at least). You would do well not to miss it. I'll keep you posted.

I wish I had more to say, but all my words have been commandeered by all the writing I've been doing lately. It will all pay off someday I'm sure.

Every day I have a new crush. Every night I dream it all away.

"i did my dirt but got a good heart, shouldn't that count for something?"

"...I was told I'd amount to nothing / most of my childhood life by folks / it was stunting my growth" - Jay-Z

I haven't amounted to much, but I did manage to finish my distro catalog. Yes, I do have a distro despite how little you hear about it. I am calling it Carrot Row Mail Order. I sell zines dealing with things like gardening, crafting, vegetarian cooking, war profiteering, fermenting, farming, etc. I have also included in the catalog some things that my friend Maaike sells: t-shirts, magnets, stickers and buttons. You can get a copy of this fine catalog (and I should add wee) by sending a 1st class U.S. stamp to the usual address:

Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843

any questions?
messyelephant@hotmail.com