"i heard from someone you're still pretty"

Hello earthlings: Happy Earth Day!
Did you save the planet, yet? Or is it too late? Calamity is sure to ensue, but hopefully we can soften the blow somehow.

Here is something for you to check out. If I had the National Geographic Channel, I would watch this. Instead, I am going to have to watch it on DVD. I hope that you will watch it, too.

Also, I have finally added some links. Check those out, too. I will add more later when I'm a little less busy.

"Where in hell can you go?
Far from the things that you know,
Far from the sprawl of concrete that keeps crawling its way
About a thousand miles a day."
-Natalie Merchant

Human Footprint.

"my heart's an autoclave"

Remember a while back when I was posting here every time I read a zine? That was weird.

Over a year ago, I received a zine in the mail called Phases of the Moon #2: I'm ready to grow young again. It's written by Ms. Skeleton Key. It has sat around in my apartment all this time, and now I finally got around to reading it. It was about time.

Ms. Skeleton Key's zine is awesome. Even though her story is much different from mine, I found so many things in her words that I could relate to. Much of what she wrote was just what I needed to hear right now. How serendipitous. Here is a random quote:

"This is a year of yesses (sic), and I speak in absolutes."

Is winter over, yet?

"I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam
and no one in her right mind would make my home her home."
-The Mountain Goats

"i know it's hard when we sell plasma to pay for dinner"

Some things:

-Baseball is back.
-Winter is still here.
-My hands are chronically dry.
-I am not the enabler, but I am the procrastinator.
-I am subscribed to the votenader.org emails. Look at the one I got today; It's right on.

"You have to wonder about self-proclaimed 'progressives.'

Take Matthew Rothschild, for example.

He's a self-proclaimed progressive.

He's the editor of the so-called Progressive Magazine.

He has written an editorial in the current issue (April 2008) of the magazine titled 'Don't Worry About Ralph.'

In it, Rothschild claims that 'to the extent that there is anything like a progressive movement going on right now, it is foursquare behind Obama.'

Rothschild must be plugged in.

The question is - to what?

Nader/Gonzalez have put together a campaign to push for public health insurance (single-payer), to cut the bloated, wasteful military budget, to reverse U.S. policy in the Middle East, to take nuclear power off the table and to put solar energy on the table, to repeal the anti-union Taft-Hartley law, and to impeach Bush/Cheney.

Obama stands with Clinton and McCain against Nader/Gonzalez on all of these.

Rothschild says he barely knows 'anyone who has voted for Nader in the past who will vote for him this time.'

That's because Rothschild is living in his little viral liberal bubble - where the anti-Nader virus has taken hold and won't let go.

Visit our website and you will meet voters from all across America - from outside the little viral liberal bubble in which Rothschild is ensconced - who stand foursquare behind Nader/Gonzalez.

They are voting with their donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Nader/Gonazlez democracy agenda.

They are voting with their feet - collecting signatures all across the country to get Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot.

And they are voting with their writing to respond to viral liberals like Rothschild.

It doesn't matter that you call yourself a progressive, Matt, or that you call your magazine The Progressive.

You are not progressive.

And your magazine is not progressive.

You are supporting the corporate Democrats.

Therefore, you are a corporate Democrat.

Stop deceiving the public.

Onward

The Nader Team"

Ralph Nader tells it like it is even if it means that some people (and potentially lots of people) aren't going to like him for it. Even if you don't agree with him, you have to admit that he's got balls. Politicians that are running for office typically just tell people what they want to hear. Ralph Nader goes against the grain, and he doesn't back down. I admire him for that.

That's it for now...
More later.

"i wonder if i could tie the ocean to your knees"

Last week was my spring break. Yeah, I know, what kind of sense does that make? It's not even officially spring, yet. Plus, it mostly just rained, snowed and hailed the whole time. Oh well, who cares? All I really did was work. But I did manage to read a few zines:

-Will You Marry Me...!? vol. 2, issue 1
-Blah Blah Blah vol. 3, issue 4
-Cuddle Puddles & Hot Pants #1
-Encycro-pedia 2006
-Sassyfrass Circus #1/Hobo's Lullaby Radio Opry!
-Blah Blah Blah vol. 3, issue 5
-Paste-eater #2
-Echo Echo! #5

Here is a quote from Echo Echo! #5: "I wish I could still smile without caring what it cost. I wish I could peel myself visible again."

Some other things:
-If you haven't watched The Story of Stuff yet, you really should. It's only 20 minutes long.
-I made quinoa sprouts.
-I planted some seeds indoors.
-I dug up the rest of the carrots in my garden.
-I watched a three hour long documentary about Noam Chomsky. He's the man. (I also watched a movie about The Queers. Up the punx.)
-I'm going to be an uncle for the 12th time.
-I sliced my thumb wide open in plant propagation lab, so I couldn't play my guitar at all during spring break. Lame.
-I wish I had the dreamy voice of Rocky Votolato and the mad chops of Thurston Moore.
-Apparently, I'm an introvert. But was that ever really a mystery?

"I'm living in lack of the blood sent from your heartbeat that arrived in your neck every time I salivated over you." -Alkaline Trio

"note to self: no one cares"

Greetings Earthlings.

If you have 20 spare minutes, you should spend it watching The Story of Stuff. If you don't have 20 spare minutes, you should still watch The Story of Stuff.

I've been thinking a lot about waste lately. Garbage waste, wasted money, wasted resources, wasted time, wasted lives. Even though I have long considered myself fairly eco-friendly and eco-conscious, I still recognize that I waste much more than my fair share and I am still part of an ugly consumerism machine that keeps barreling forward at breakneck speed, intent on bringing civilization to an early grave. Yet, we are all manning this machine. We all play a small part in it. So, by default we are all committing cultural suicide. The process is just slow. But now that so many of our natural resources have either reached or passed the peak of their availability, a mass collapse is practically inevitable.

I am a doomsayer, I know. Let's hope that I'm wrong. Let's hope that the scientists and all of their models are wrong. But mostly, let's pledge to make a dramatic shift in our lifestyles. Let's be done with waste. And let's live. Authentically, naturally and sustainably.


Please watch The Story of Stuff.

"Are the punks still singing the same songs?"

You may already know this, but I run a little zine distro called Carrot Row. It's been a while since I last posted a complete list of the zines that I carry. I made a little catalog last summer, but even that is outdated by now. I have several new zines - the very latest of which are Resist #46, Greasespot #3.5 & #4, The Art and Science of Billboard Improvement, and Seattle DIY. Also, I have lowered the price on the CROQ zines. There are (hopefully) more additions on the way. If you have a zine that you'd like me to carry, send it my way. I'm mostly looking for zines that deal with topics such as gardening, bike riding, homesteading, DIY living, crafting, cooking, camping, dumpster diving, foraging, food issues, and living the slow life.

Carrot Row Mail Order

The Art & Science of Billboard Improvement – “A guide to the alteration of outdoor advertising.” Selecting, planning and carrying out billboard alterations without getting caught. $1.

Agriculture Biotechnology zine – “Greens, genes, and in betweens.” Lara’s zine about biotechnology/genetic engineering. Everything you ever wanted to know about GMO’s, and why you should be concerned about them. Essential reading for anyone who eats food. Free, but maybe send a stamp or two.

Axis of Evil Banquet – “An intersection of recipes and politics.” Write-ups and recipes aiming to humanize the countries that the Bush Administration considers “The Axis of Evil.” Venezuela is also included. Worth $2.

CROQ #4 – Zine for the craft revolution. This issue: camp cooking, zine making, dandelion eating, parenting, unschooling, dyeing, Victorian era crafting, intellectual property protecting, etc, etc. For the reduced price of $3.

CROQ #5 – Bulb forcing, compost tea brewing, convenience food vegan-izing, DIY moving, zine library creating, craft burnout avoiding, homeschooling, exercising, time capsule-ing, 70’s crafting, self-publishing, retail shop opening, etc, etc. Also for the reduced price of $3.

EnvironMENTAL Imp Pack! #1 – Maaike’s zine about the why’s and how’s of reducing, re-using and recycling. Ten ways to go green, plus lots of other tips and resources offered. Includes a sticker and pin for a mere $2.

EnvironMENTAL Imp Pack! #2 – Maaike’s zine about food politics. Buying local and/or organic food. Buying fair trade products. Tips for shopping at farmer’s markets. Plus info on “unshopping” and sustainability. Lots of facts and resources. Educate yourself for $1.

Farmer’s Daughter #2 – A farm zine written by a farm girl. This issue focuses mainly on cows: facts, breeds (including color illustrations), milking, milk products, manure. There is also an article on urban sprawl, plus some recipes and book and zine reviews. All for just $1.

Greasespot #3.5 – Stream of consciousness mini-zine. Writing about zine making, tabling at events, and playing punk rock hangman. Also, some artwork with explanations. On green paper for 50 cents or a stamp.

Greasespot #4 – Punk rock stories from Texan punk rockers. Stories about being a pizza delivery punk, a trip to California, lost glasses, and a bomb threat at a high school. Lots more stories, too. Plus how to play a game called Botch and an awesome comic featuring the lyrics to an MTX song. $3.

Resist #46 – One of my favorite zines is back! Matte writes about riding his bike, working in his garden, seed saving, parenting, coffee, building a bike trailer, and much more. Fat zine for $3.

Seattle DIY – Your complete guide to all things punk rock in Seattle. Cheap living, transportation, local laws, book and record stores, restaurants, venues, parks, thrift stores and more. Listings are conveniently divided by neighborhood. It doesn’t matter if you don’t live in Seattle or whether or not you’ll ever visit Seattle, reading this will inspire you to create something similar in your area. $2.

Spat Back #3 - Emma’s little DIY punk zine. Make a bag out of old pants. Make your own stencils. Plus some personal writings about being a female in punk, rediscovering punk, and self-education. Only 50 cents.

Take it – It’s My Body (A Final Compilation) – “A zine about fighting fat hatred in life, in the world.” Chelsea’s zine about fat acceptance, fatphobia, size-ism, and body image. A compilation of new and old writing. It’s a fat revolution for $3.

Juniperbug Productions

(These are the zines that I make.)

Brown Rot – Political zine for armchair activists. Back after a long hiatus. New issue in the works (maybe). $1 for latest issue.

Elephant Mess – Perzine for family geeks. The cryptic words of a self-saboteur. Ten plus years running. $1 for latest issue (back issues available).

The Juniper – Biannual zine about living the slow life. Farming/gardening, bike riding, food politics, sustainable living. Stamp for latest issue (back issues available).

I also have a few patches and other things that I make. I will post pictures and a listing later. When ordering multiple items, please add a couple stamps or a dollar or two to help with shipping. Go DIY!

Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843
messyelephant@hotmail.com

"Are you restless like me?" - against me!

"the winter is taking my life"

Datsun in the Snow
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

We had a big snowstorm last week. The snow almost buried my little truck (as you can see). The storm was so bad that the University was even canceled for two days.
Plus, I am sick with a cold now, and that is also winter's fault.

"I played a song so sweet/it brought winter to its knees/and froze us over." -- bloom igby bloom

"you won't catch me behind the wheel of a chrysler ever again"

Today was the first day of spring semester. So, that means that winter break is over. That's too bad because I was really enjoying the break from school, and I didn't really get as much done as I had hoped. I did get a lot of zines read though. Here is a list for you:

-Keep Loving, Keep Fighting #7 / I Hate This Part of Texas #7 (split zine)
-Trabant #3
-Kissoff #12
-[list] #11
-A Million Birthdays #7
-Take It - It's My Body! (A Final Compilation)
-Seattly DIY
-EnvironMENTAL Imp Pack #2
-Blah Blah Blah vol. 2 #21 & #22
-Blah Blah Blah vol. 3 #1
-Infecticitis #6
-Marked for Life #4
-Even Artichokes Have Hearts #1
-Peas and Carrots 01

All of these zines were good and come highly recommended.
And that's all I have to say about that.

"la la la la love is dead"

Love is dead, but life is good because lately I've been eating carrots that I harvested from my garden this month. That's pretty awesome if you ask me. And there are still more carrots to harvest, so chances are, I will be eating fresh carrots in February, too. We've been getting massive amounts of snow around here, but the ground isn't totally frozen, yet. Garden hoe!

"oh, i live this life...and i love it"
-the queers

"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

"for the blood that's trapped in veins and the oxygen it claims"

-I will clean and organize my apartment.
-I will answer all my mail.
-I will finish planting my garden.
-I will listen to more punk rock.
-I will go skateboarding more often.
-I will become a master gardener.
-I will read more comic books and zines.
-I will also read more books.
-I will learn how to fall in love again.
-I will make more screenprints and blockprints.
-I will find time to play my guitar and write more punk songs.
-I will learn how to sew.
-I will work on my zines and distro.
-I will go on more long bike rides.
-I will go on more camping and fishing trips.
-I will live more simply.
-I will keep on fighting.

"I'm trying to find creative ways to keep my head out of the noose."
--J Church

"i don't feel and it feels great"

Baby Zine Library (Make It Grow)
Originally uploaded by juniperbug

I wasn't lying when I told you that my mom is not only super-awesome, but is also starting a zine library inside of the Mountain Home (Idaho) Public Library where she works. This picture shows the beginnings of it. She has a handful of other zines in her possession that need to be added, but she also needs donations...and lots of them. I hope that you understand the need for something like a zine library in a small, seemingly inconsequential Idahoan town like Mountain Home, and upon coming to such a realization are willing to donate your zine to such an endeavor. If I had come across such a thing as a youngster, I can only imagine the impact it would have had on me at such a young and impressionable age. Instead, I didn't make my first zine until I was an adult (legally, anyways).
If you have a zine to donate (please, please, please), send it to me and I will be sure that she gets it:
Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843

email me if you have any questions: messyelephant@hotmail.com

P.S. My mom loves reading zines, and I love my mom. So, don't deprive her of something she loves or I might have to hurt you.

"and all the lies and fears will stick to me like glue"

I think that I need more of this in my life:

BE THOU MY VISION (by Pedro the Lion)

"be thou my vision
oh lord of my heart
naught be all else to me
save that thou art
thou my best thought
by day or by night
waking or sleeping
thy presence my light
riches i need not
nor man's empty praise
thou my inheritance
now and always
thou and thou only
first in my heart
high king of heaven
my treasure thou art"

sorry, dude.

"i'm giving you a jar full of something awful"

juni 8
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

As tradition would have it, I am slow at informing you about my new zine. Either way, The Juniper #8 is finished and ready to be mailed off to you (regardless of exorbitant postal charges). This issue is mostly about seeds: starting seeds indoors, purchasing seeds, seed activism, sprouting seeds. Also: car ownership and food poisoning. Send me a first class stamp, and I will send you a copy.
Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154, Moscow ID 83843

e(vil)mail: juniperjournal@hotmail.com

Some people are ingenious.

Why I Like These Plastic Cups as Planting Pots.
Originally uploaded by joeysplanting.

Oh, the possibilities. Different colored cups for different plants. Multiple options for mini-greenhouses. Inexpensive. Are polymers better than peat (environmetally speaking)? Salvage these materials to enhance your eco-savviness.
(click on the photo to find out where it's from.)

"our lives are just long saggings of the spine"

Yesterday, I went the whole day without turning on the TV in honor of TV Turnoff Week. It felt great. I noticed that I had much more time to do other things, like study for my chemistry test, listen to music, listen to NPR and college radio...plus I felt more motivated, and my convictions feel like they got a work-out. This is something that I should do more often. I definitely feel inspired to watch less TV. I really don't actually watch that much, but I tend to have it turned on a lot just to provide some white noise. Yesterday, I was reminded that there are better sources of white noise. More uplifting ones.
I listened to Doug Martsch's solo CD, and he taught me that maybe my "heart [is] too large for my sleeve," and that's probably why I keep it locked away and won't let anybody near it. And that's no way to live.

"there isn't a way of deciding
which half of life's less inviting
awake or a dream
'cause both of them lead you to suffer
you wake from one into the other
twice a day"
--Doug Martsch

"i don't know Billy Ocean, and i don't know the ocean floor"

I can't let this week go by without saying something about tv turnoff week (which surprisingly enough happens to be this week). It's an annual event supported by Adbusters Media Foundation during which people are encouraged to unplug themselves from their tv set for an entire week, or at the very least, greatly reduce their tv viewing for a week and practice responsible viewing habits. Surely there are things to be gained from such an event. Last year, this was not a problem for me because I did not have TV. This year it will prove more difficult because I have become addicted to watching the news and watching baseball games (especially Mariners baseball). Either way, I'm sure I could do without those things for a week, but I am not making any promises. I will make a pledge to reduce the amount of time I spend channel surfing and veg-ing though. I know that there is rarely anything on that's worth watching anyway. Resist the mental programming, smash your tv set on the punk rock.

(...)

"I have been told that my skin is exceptionally smooth, but what good is that when to get to my heart you have to crawl through long tunnels of sharp rock?" -The Microphones

"i'll apologize for the mess of my life for the rest of my life forever"

Happy Easter, my fellow geeks.

Last week was good because:
-I went to a punk rawk show with Misti. (Manville, no less.)
-I went skateboarding with Maaike. (Skate or die, dudes.)
-I went fishing with John. (I caught five, released three.)
Having friends is pretty cool, I guess.

Is there a male equivalent for the word, spinster? (I mean besides bachelor.) Either way, MALE SPINSTERS UNITE!

Three straight days of Mariners games being canceled due to snow in Cleveland = not cool.

"They said, 'Do you remember when you saw her last?'
I said, 'Her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon.'"
-The Long Winters

"i was never yours, and you were never mine, thank God it's spring time"

Yes, It's spring time. The weather is erratic right now, but soon it will be nice and warm for days on end. Today is opening day for the 2007 baseball season. Tomorrow is the Seattle Mariners' opening day. I'm starting some seeds indoors for my garden. There are scheduled greenhouse plantings coming up for the farm. I have started working on issue eight of the Juniper. I am skateboarding more and more. I guess this is an update of sorts, but what I'd really like to say right now is: Hey all you geriatric punk rockers! Get up and shake your fist! Smash your head on some punk rocks!

"that seven year itch became a lifelong twitch"

the skeleton of a silo
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

"...and now I'm agoraphobic to the bone."

I wanted you to see this picture so that you would know what I meant when I said that the skyscrapers of Moscow, Idaho are coming down.

Also, I rediscovered the Challenger song, "Input the Output", today and it reminded me that, "Love? It's just an added expense..." It's also a great song to yell and break stuff to, so the image of a destroyed silo is fitting.

Now, if only I could focus on my Chemistry homework.

"spring time is war time, all eyes to the crime box"

Yesterday was the first day of spring, so here is a poem for you by Dylan Thomas:

Here In This Spring
Here in this spring, stars float along the void;
Here in this ornamental winter
Down pelts the naked weather;
This summer buries a spring bird.

Symbols are selected from the years'
Slow rounding of four seasons' coasts,
In autumn teach three seasons' fires
And four birds' notes.

I should tell summer from the trees, the worms
Tell, if at all, the winter's storms
Or the funeral of the sun;
I should learn spring by the cuckooing,
And the slug should teach me destruction.

A worm tells summer better than the clock,
The slug's a living calendar of days;
What shall it tell me if a timeless insect
Says the world wears away?

----

Also, this week marks the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. I can think of several things that are much greater causes for celebration than that. Either way, here's to another four years of imperialism and cultural hegemony and bowing down to the corrupted interests of oil tycoons and psychotic lobbyists. Sorry world.

"i feel like i wouldn't like me if i met me"

Just a few random things for you to read if you'd like:
-neko case is a heartbreaker.
-Am I always supposed to remember that time so long ago when I felt invincible up on that haystack? I guess so.
-The skyscrapers of Moscow, Idaho are coming down. This must be the beginning of the end.
-I like listening to mixes that other people make. They stay unfamiliar longer.
-Riding my bike through a hailstorm makes me feel powerful.
-I sing everything off-key, but at least I'm brave enough to try. I'm not afraid to dance either...as long as there aren't very many people watching.
-If someone taught a class on how to make friends, I would take it. If someone taught a class on how to be a better kisser, I wouldn't need it.
-Can people tell when I'm being sarcastic and when I'm not?

In other news: I think I'm going to start a new blog to document my farming and gardening this summer. Maybe that will help me write about it more often. I'll keep you posted.

"we can live another life, we can die another death, we can get born again"

i shouldn't be admitting this, but something's missing lately...
there is longing.
there is too much emptiness.

i want more of this stuff:

"hello, my name is on my shirt pocket
i'd rather not speak right now
i'm remembering something

most typically my dreams are dreadfully boring,
therefore i go to these places just to see the girls
with hair like hers
with clothes like she wore
with smells like hers
with handwriting like hers

you wrote me little letters
and you brought me lunch that time at my work
and that poem you left on my windshield wrapped in plastic
to protect it from the rain"
-grandaddy

also...

"when i held you close
i felt my mind explode
and at that point my whole life froze
we can't go back from here
the feeling's far from fear
it's over, take my hand, we'll disappear"
-dinosaur jr.

don't worry about me ... this too will pass.

"this elephant of years"

Elephant Mess #18
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

I spent a little more than 3 months writing down my thoughts in journal form. I didn't write every day or even every week, and occasionally I didn't write much more than a sentence or two, but what I wrote was honest and reflected what I was feeling at the moment, although I may be over it by now. I collected all of these words together and called it Elephant Mess #18. I subtitled it: "the observations of a family geek" and later decided that it may have been more apropos if I had subtitled it something like: "the mental melodrama of an aging zinester" or "the hyperdrama of a superwonk." I suppose I could also call it "the clamor and pith of a misanthrope."
Either way, what's done is done, and it used to be just mine, but now it can be yours as well. All you have to do is send me a couple of stamps or a trade. If you send me $1, I will send you a pin as well...or I'll probably just end up throwing in pins with all of them until I run out. As always, send your best to:

Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843

messyelephant at hotmail dot com

"i clench my teeth, ignore my heart"

Several weeks ago I received a CD from a good friend of mine from Canada and was asked to review it. Since I don't typically do reviews in any of my zines, I decided that I would post a review here on my blog, which is something that I occasionally do. Francois is a longtime pen pal of mine and this is his latest music release:

G&F - Two Solitudes Standing
G is for Gary Flanagan, a solo artist and editor of Night Waves zine. F is for Francois Marceau of Leper Collective, Flesh for Frank and various other music projects as well as the former editor of Mastock zine. The disc is six tracks of electronic noise and distorted sound clips. Lots of interesting sounds permeate this disc, and they range from soothing to eerie to freakish or moving. The liner notes describe the music best, "various mangled, deeply processed insect sounds, noises, ambient, minimal samples." Also, "found sound, audio samples, voice, loops, noise, effects, guitar, [and] processed sound." It's very unique stuff, and is surely the product of countless hours of work. It's definitely worth a listen. If you'd like to order a copy, you can send $7 to:
Francois Marceau
7375 Louis-Hebert
Montreal, Quebec
H2E 2X5
Canada

Smash your head on the electronic rock.

"i'm of age but have no children"

Hey, if'n you liked that last site about green roofs, you should definitely check out this one.

"oh, i feel as scattered as grandmother's pearls"

I have been working on a new issue of Elephant Mess. It's almost finished ... or, it's closer to being finished than not. Hopefully you will have a copy of it in your hands before the month is over...or at least shortly thereafter, because surely it will take me several weeks to send them all out. I am telling you this because I thought it would be nice of me to keep you updated, and because I figured it was about time I posted something meaningful on here (although the meaningfulness of this post is debatable).
Since I'm not feeling overly wordy right at this moment, allow me to direct you to something that has me very excited lately: this.
Oh, and have you seen that recent documentary Jesus Camp? Crazy stuff.

"a cardigan and a frown"

If you don't start listening to Casiotone for the Painfully Alone right now, I will be very upset.

Also...you are required to dance around the room like a crazy person while listening.

&

PICT7146.JPG
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.

The fact that I can blog other people's photos has not ceased to amaze me. (Especially since other people take much better photos than I do.)

The Juniper #7

The Juniper #7
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

See! I am not a liar. I did make a new Juniper. Does this entice you to write and send me a stamp or trade? It better.

"we weren't made for this world ... though I wouldn't want to meet someone who was"

I'm pretty sure that a few weeks ago I said something about all the posting that I was soon going to be doing on this here blog, but then I didn't get around to doing it, and now I have forgotten what I was even going to post. The holidays came and went in a blur ... thank heavens for that. But that also means that school will be starting up soon and WTF I haven't hardly had a chance to get anything done. Oh, but I did finish a new zine: The Juniper #7. It's all about the gardening I did in 2006, plus it includes a rant against corporate organics and a companion planting guide. It's the bees knees. You should send me a stamp or a trade or something, and I will mail a copy right to you. In case you forgot (and you probably did because I haven't heard from you in a while), here is my address: Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154, Moscow ID 83843.

okay all you fops and squares, that's all I have to say right now ... but I pinky promise that I will post again soon. write to me why dontcha?

"closer to God is the one who's in love"

"I don't know if I'm wrong 'cause she's only just gone/ well, here's to another relationship bombed by my excellent breed of gametes disease/ I'm sure when I'm older I'll know what that means" -damien rice

I have some future postings in mind, but I am in my final two weeks of this semester and am drowning in schoolwork. Soon it will be Christmas break, and then I will provide you with some updates and, hopefully, a new zine.

"i watch sad movies and look for sad, sick people like me"

curious and brave.
Originally uploaded by This Year's Love.

This is weird. I didn't know that you could blog other people's photos. I hope they don't mind.

So, I am doing a special edition of my radio show tomorrow. It's the first part in a series of shows of all Canadian Bands. If you have a favorite Canadian band/musician that you think I should play either during tomorrow's show or a future show, let me know. I've got a pretty good sized list so far, but I'd like it to be bigger.

Blogging other peoples' photos is fun. What kind of bird is this?

"i'm thinking about growing a beard"

I just wanted to say:
Too Much Ha Ha, Pretty Soon Boo Hoo.

Oh yeah, and listen to Bunnycuss.

"a busted heart is a welcome friend"

elemess seventeen
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

okay, here is a picture of my new zine just so you know that i wasn't lying. i am working on a new issue of The Juniper. it's going slow, but i promise it will be out before 2007. (cross your fingers.)

Yo La Tengo's new songs are very Yo La Tengo-ey, however "Beanbag Chair" has a slighty different sound: it's bouncy with horns...where is the droning and endless feedback? I guess I'll have to listen to the whole album to find out what the deal is.

"keep a book of the maggots our bodies will snare"

It's been a while, but I haven't forgotten about you.
I have been staying busy as usual. One of the things that has kept me occupied (besides the usual work and school) is zine-making. It's true...I have recently finished a new issue of The Elephant Mess. It's the seventeenth installment, and it will change your life. Or...at least it will give you something lame to read while your sitting in the waiting room waiting for the dentist to fill all of your cavities (which is another thing I did recently).
This issue of elemess is all about my inability to just come out and say it, my strong belief in "no love," my inclinations towards self-talk and how it's all your fault, my search for a soul in guts I have spilled, my desire to ride horses being just as strong as my inability to communicate with the opposite sex (especially in the event of a crush), and of course my increasing happiness and how I'm a little reluctant to embrace the whole idea. Or maybe it's not about any of that stuff, and it's up to you to find anything even remotely meaningful about what I have written. Are you ready for that kind of challenge?
I like trades of any kind, love letters, words of encouragement, or you can just send me a stamp or two.
Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843

email me with any questions/comments you might have: messyelephant@hotmail.com

here's to better days...

"freeze your blood and then stab it into me"

I know, I know. In my last post I was saying that was the end of the weekly posts, but there is some news that I keep forgetting to mention. First of all, I finished a new zine a couple of weeks ago. It's called Tiger Ants Gone Telescoping, and it's a sort of artsy/collage/poetic type of zine that I did with my brother, Jeremiah. We both did pages for it, and then I put it all together and copied it off and now there is a small stack of them sitting on my shelf waiting to be given out. So, if you'd like a copy you should send me something like a zine trade, a mix tape, your grandma's favorite recipes, bouncy balls, or the usual dollar or stamps. Send whatever to: Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154, Moscow ID 83843.
Also, I have nearly doubled my distro stock. I have added zines like: Fatty Boom Boom a vegan cookzine, CROQ 5, and Wild Fermentation. I will write descriptions soon, but if you have questions about prices and/or ordering, just shoot me an email: juniperjournal@hotmail.com

It's September already. What the.....?

"it's different now that i'm poor and aging"

School is back in session, so my list is small. Here are the zines I read during the week ending 8/26/06:
-Treasure Maps zine
-Stab Heart #6 1/2
- Zapp Ratt #1
-There Is Still A Chance For Us zine

Yeah so, this is the last of my weekly posts for a while. But keep checking back because I will try to keep this blog somewhat updated.
My new friend Maaike just made her first zine ever. It's called The Sixth Minky. I'm very excited about this. You should check out her blog.

?: Don't you find it odd that the blogger spell checker doesn't acknowledge "blog" as a word?

"so distracted by the things that i don't have, how sad"

Between the days of August 13, 2006 and August 19, 2006, these zines and comics were read by me:
-670 Miles zine
-Frat-Bot & Cod comic
-Straighten Up, Little Schwoogle! comic
-The Super Happy Anarcho Fun Pages #2
-The Constant Rider #7
-Small Town City Living #4
-The Beach Boys zine
-Roots & Branches #1
-Blah Blah Blah #2

Today was back to school day for me and many others. I guess that means that summer is over (though not officially). It also means that my weekly posts are coming to an end. There will be one more after this, and then I will move on to monthly or biweekly or intermittently or something posts. I haven't decided whether or not I will continue to post lists of the zines I've read. It has become a little bit obnoxious because I find myself putting off reading other things (like books or magazine/newspaper articles) just so that I can read more zines and have a longer list to show off...or I will find really small zines to read that I know I will be able to finish before the week is through, avoiding larger zines which are quite possibly much more interesting. I just need to relax and read what I want to read when I want to read it. I always make things so difficult for myself.
Speaking of difficult, dodging all those fraternity boys and sorority girls on your way to class is not an easy task. They are everywhere, like parasitic wasps. And trying to resist the urge to want to vomit all of over the place upon seeing them everywhere is even more taxing. Hooray for college!

"never give up on your stupid, stupid dreams"

This a late post because I was in Portland last weekend at the Zine Symposium and didn't get back home to Idaho until late Monday night. Here are the three zines that I read last week (week ending 8/12/06):
-I Hate This Part of Texas #5
-Milk Leg #1
-Underworld Crawl #4

The PDX Zine Symposium was very awesome. I am sorry if you missed it. I am also sorry if you were there and we didn't get to meet each other. Thanks to Chelsea for letting me stay at her place and to ladypajama for letting me hang out in front of her table whenever I was tired of wandering around. Going to the Symposium has me all inspired to do great things and to hopefully make it to next one where I will get myself a table and show off all the things I'll be working on in the coming year. I hope to see you there. Don't be as shy as me...go ahead and introduce yourself. I wish I could meet all of you. We should hang out some time.

Listen to Bunnycuss.

"it hits me when i'm alone, i'm an angry man"

Between the days of July 30, 2006 and August 5, 2006, I read these zines:
-Zinetopia #1
-Tazewell's Favorite Eccentric #4
-blah blah blah #1
-Racket #0
-Swimming in the Dark zine
-Small Town City Living #1

This coming weekend is the Portland Zine Symposium, and I'm going to be there. It's about time I made it to another one of those. I was privileged enough to attend the very first Symposium back in August 2001, but I haven't made it back since. I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope to see you there. If you don't make it to this zine gathering, then be sure to find a zine gathering in your area and attend that one. You won't regret it. If there are no zine gatherings near you, start one up and let me know about it.
My garden gave me yellow squash, beets and cucumbers this week. And finally, my calendulas are blooming!

"it must be thursday. i could never get the hang of thursdays."

Carrot Row Distro is now open for business.
It's true. These are the zines that I carry and the prices:

Spat Back #3 ($1) – (Re)embracing punk rock & feminism. A break through after a break up. How to make a bag out of an old pair of trousers. Pancake recipe. Optimism & self-esteem. DIY stenciling. Unschooling/educating yrself into action.

Axis of Evil Banquet ($2) - America loves war … but who are we killing? Real people with vibrant cultures who deserve to be acknowledged and validated. Learn more about the people in Iraq, Iran, Korea and Venezuela & come to a better understanding of what imperialism & warmongering are really destroying. Includes recipes from each of the aforementioned countries.

The Anarchists Victory Garden ($1) – The basics of starting your own small garden. Great for beginners & amateurs. Primer includes: building, planning, planting, watering, harvesting, pests, fertilizer and more.

CROQ #4 ($4) – Leading zine of the craft revolution. For all types of crafters & DIYers. In this issue: sell your handmades, open a retail shop, self-publish your book, retro-craft, re-use old clothes, get married inexpensively, start an alternative art center and zine library, go veggie, make compost tea and much more.

The Juniper (stamp for latest issue) – Gardening, farming, bike riding, slow and sustainable living.

Elephant Mess ($1 for latest issue) – Personal zine, but not in the journal sense of the term. More like a long, drawn out, prose-like soliloquy. Trying to make sense of life and the world.

Brown Rot #9 ($1) – Back from the dead. Nestle boycott continued. Smash Technology. Lisa Smith interview. Beyond Recycling. Francois’ artwork.

Prices are postage paid, but stamps are a nice gesture (especially when ordering multiple zines). I am also on the lookout for more zines, etc. to carry so please send your stuff if it is at all related to things like bike riding, skateboarding, gardening/farming, self-sufficiency/sustainability, eco-warrioring, crafting, cooking/canning, permaculture/biodynamics, seed bombing, greywater, passion and compassion, etc.

Orders, letters and zines can be sent to:
Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843

I can receive money through paypal, too: messyelephant@hotmail.com
Just make sure to include the stuff you are ordering in the comment box.

More good news:
German competitors have sent Wal-Mart packing. Wal-Mart suffers at least a billion dollars in losses. Too bad they are still so monstrous and devious (read the article to see how they plan to cut their losses through tax breaks).

"if all of us hated high school so much, why was nothing ever changed?"

Again I didn't read many zines this week (week ending 7/29/06), but I did finish making a zine of my own (see the post below):
-The Home Made Geodome zine
-Small Town City Living #2
-Small Town City Living #3
-Keep Loving Keep Fighting #6

I have a new skateboard. Now that I live downtown it is much easier for me to get around on my skateboard. Riding my skateboard makes me feel young again. It also makes me feel tough. I'm really not that tough, but I ain't saying nothin'.
This weekend was my ten year high school reunion. I didn't go, of course. Why would I? I hated high school and seriously had no friends in my graduating class. There is only one girl that I wonder about. I had a major crush on her all throughout junior high, and then I totally screwed everything up when I got into high school and became an angry and spiteful misanthrope. She asked me to one of the school dances and I accepted, but I didn't say a single word to her the whole time. Not only was I shy and socially inept, but I was also a jaded fool hellbent on falling off the deep end. Everything was so exaggerated back then, but I guess that's high school for you. So, why have a renioun to remember all that crap? That's like taking a trip to hell just to see if it's really hot or not.

The Return of Brown Rot

The Return of Brown Rot
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

A new issue of Brown Rot...Can you believe it?! And you thought Brown Rot was dead. Or maybe you never even knew it had existed in the first place. Well, it's been almost five years since the last issue, and I wasn't ever going to do another one, but I guess things change...so here it is, issue #9. This issue includes: beyond recycling, Nestle boycott info, interview with Lisa Smith (Sweet Pea Distro and One Girl zine), artwork by Francois Marceau, rant against technocrats and more. You can get a copy for yourself by sending one dollar bill or trade of any type to:
Dan Murphy
PO Box 3154
Moscow ID 83843

"how could you have known the temperature and the distance of the sun"

It looks like I read more this week (week ending 7/22/06) than I actually did because some of these zines were really short or didn't require much reading:
-Touched by an Anvil #16
-Free, Blonde and 21 zine
-Public Notebook #4
-Risin' Up #1
-Ladypajama Is... #23
-Inarticulate #6.5
-Pony Express Zine #1

I should tell you that Public Notebook is one of my most favorite zines. It is written by a smart, courageous, young kid in Michigan. He was 14 when he started. He's turning 16 next month. His zines are small and simple, but his words are honest and real. It's tough growing up. I am glad he has found ways to make it more bearable such as doing a sweet little zine for zine obsessed aging guys like me to read. Also, Public Notebook is one of my most favorite zine titles of all time.

I have a broken tooth. It has been broken for over a year. It is the tooth to the very left of my two front teeth. It looks like there is a big hole in it. I am very self-conscious about it, so I try not to smile or laugh to big in public, and I would prefer it if you stayed on my right hand side while talking to me so that hopefully you won't notice it so much. I should really just bite the bullet and get that fixed, but dental work is so expensive and I don't have any insurance. Soon I will probably end up needing a root canal on it or something, and what is cheaper? Better to fix it now and save money so that I can smile more.

"i'll stay here and fight for lover's rights"

I told you I would read more stuff this week (week ending 07/15/06):
-Permaculture & Seed Exchange Newsletter Spring/Summer 2006
-Local Grub Newsletter June 2006
-The Drama #5
-Mrs. Noggle zine
-Hydroge-Nation zine
-Nontoxic Housecleaning zine
-Scam #5 1/2
-Ladypajama Is... #22
-The Pleiades #16
-Crapulescence #2

My stomach has been bothering me more than usual all day today. It is not uncommon for me to have these stomach problems. I am still not sure what's causing them. Several years ago I decided to let the doctors check me out. They ran a number of tests on me which included putting cameras into my stomach and colon. All the tests were inconclusive. The only thing they could tell me was that my stomach lining was red and that there was more acid than usual. They gave me some drugs that I decided not to take after reading the seemingly endless list of side effects, preferring a bad stomach to all those other less desirables. Thus, the stomach problems continue. I don't trust doctors, so until I find some other option I will just have to deal.
Aren't you glad I told you all that?

"but this is love so we'll survive"

Okay so this week isn't officially over, but I already know that I won't be reading anything more than the three zines I have already read this week before the day is over so here ya go:
-no one noticed #3
-Here It Is #2
-You Can Work Any Hundred Hours A Week You Want (In Your Underwear)!! zine

I promise I will read many more than three zines next week. Is there anything else to report? Well, on the 4th of July I visited the Pullman Community Gardens just across the border in Pullman, WA. I even took some pictures. My garden is looking better than it has ever looked, but it still has a ways to go. Things at the farm are going fabulous. My youngest brother moved to Seattle. I am still dying to get a zine (or zines) done. My distro remains at a standstill because I haven't had a second to do anything with it. I love listening to The Boy Least Likely To and feeling sappy and happy all at once. When the revolution finally takes us into a brave new world, I will send you a postcard. I've spent all this time trying to make myself invisible, and now I can't figure out how not to be.

"Checked myself into emergency, urgently / drove up in my bone camarrow thinking only about you" - The Unicorns

emma reviews the mess

Is it vain or silly of me to post reviews of my own zines for all to see. Probably, but these reviews (albeit slightly dated) are some of the best I've received. They are found in the Flying Machine Zine Distro catalog and were written by Emma of Australia. To find out more about this awesome little Aussie distro you should contact Emma (Flying Machine) at PO Box 4, Enmore NSW 2042, Australia or fake_space_program@graffiti.net

Elephant Mess 15 - Dan describes Elephant Mess as the world's worst perzine, but I can't say that I agree with this self-depreciation. In this issue Dan imagines people all over the world being connected unknowingly through their mutual possession of Elephant Mess. Putting aside the tyrannical connotations of this fantasy, Dan's zine is infused with a sense of longing for another world, a world that is big and noble, while maintaining the sense that this nobility is built with small things - insects and secret obsessions, mix tapes and maps - the places we call home and the little things that keep us going. I like it a lot.

Elephant Mess 14 - Excuse my disregard for chronology, but I felt that #15 was perhaps a better means of introducing Elephant Mess than this, #14, as it's a somewhat darker, more introspective affair, right down to being photocopied in the negative. Subtitled 'the roman numerals issue,' it consists of a seven-part meditation on loneliness, or perhaps aloneness is a better way to describe it. Dan catches something of what it feels to have been alone for so long that upon entering into conversation with another human being you find you've forgotten how to project your voice, and the experience leaves you with a greater sense of significance than it actually bore.

"you've gotta bite into life like it's a big hunk of bison"

Last week (ending 7/01/06) I read this stuff:
-Das Papierkrieg #10
-Connected: Boston zine
-ladypajama is... #21
-Connected: Portland zine
-Jane Boston journal entries
-Mixtape minicomic
-You Live For The Fight When That's All You've Got #1

Some music that I've really been into lately mainly due to having a radio show:
-Starlight Mints
-Dressy Bessy
-The Boy Least Likely To
-Kimya Dawson
-Half-Handed Cloud
-Mates of State
-The Gerbils
-Great Lakes
-The Unicorns
-Destroyer
-Flying
-The Microphones
-Nellie Mckay
-Little Wings

Okay, that's enough name dropping. Am I cool now?

"maybe we can get Assuck to play the senior prom"

Would you like to know what zines I read this week (week ending 6/24/06)? Well, here they are:
-ladypajama is... #20
-Comic Jam #44
-Herbivore #11
-My Little Friend #2

I moved into a new apartment this week. It's super tiny but very close to downtown. As soon as I get settled and organized it will be a pretty nice little place.
I ate the first radishes and snowpeas from my garden! They tasted real good. It's nice to see something positive come out of it because overall it's not going too well. That's okay though....it takes practice.
I'm itching to make another zine. The two that I have been slowly working on are being continually delayed for various reasons...mainly because I've been so busy. I'm thinking of making one of them 24 hour zines. That would be exciting. I should have time for it soon because I think I'm finally going to start getting some days off at work...more than just one or two a week.
What zines have you been reading?

"sometimes bird poop tastes like candy"

I read a few more zines this week, okay? Here is the list for week ending 6/17/06:
-Erik & Laura Marie Magazine #37
-Unless Indicated #8
-Artichoke #5
-Artichoke #10
-Carbon & Carbide #2

I found a new apartment, and I will be moving in this week. It's very tiny but also very cheap. The best thing about it is that it's closer to school and work and I will not have to climb over a giant hill on my bike 2 or 3 times a day.
I took more pictures of my garden. I will try to get them posted on my flickr page this week for all to see. I posted some pictures of the radio station that you should check out for sure. Next I will try and get some photos of the farm.
I have a new favorite magazine. I have seen it at the co-op a few times and flipped through it, but this time I went ahead and bought myself a copy mostly because it's the music issue. Maybe you have heard of it; it's called Herbivore Magazine. It mainly deals with vegetarianism/veganism, but in a much cooler way than other similarly themed megazines do. You should check it out...especially the current issue because they have some great interviews in there. I am still in the process of reading it.
Oh yeah...check out the post below for the big news.

A Distro Is Born

A Distro Is Born
Originally uploaded by juniperbug.

Okay so... the big news is that I am launching a new distro. It's called Carrot Row Distro and I'll be distro'ing zines that deal with subjects similar to my zine the Juniper (i.e. gardening, cooking, sustainable living, bikes, eco-warrioring, diy-ing, ect.). So far I have a few zines in stock, but it will take me a couple weeks to get prices and things set up for them. I am in the process of moving, so this project is being delayed momentarily. But as soon as I have more details I will let you know.

"punk rock was my first girl"

Here are the zines I read last week (week ending 6/10/06):
-Amnesty International House of Pancakes #1
-Axis of Evil Banquet cookzine
-Deja Vu Funnies mini-comic
-Artichoke #7
-Stab Heart #06
-Das Papierkrieg #7
-Erik & Laura-Marie Magazine #36
-Ladypajama Is... #19

In other news, I turned 28 last week. Not something I am too excited to be reporting, but it's the truth. I am not much of a celebrater, so I didn't do much for it. In worse news, I bought a tiny Red Rubin basil plant (a variety with very dark purple leaves) from the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and promptly planted it in my garden near the tomato plants. I went up to my garden this morning to find that some pest had eaten nearly every last leaf off of it. I'm not sure what it was, but it had to have been something nasty because it/they left bits of leaves scattered around the base of the plant. Perhaps it was a bird? I'm terribly disappointed. This pales in comparison to the pea weevils devouring all of my pea plants.

Big news is on the way...

"you're the funny little frog in my throw-at"

Okay so I didn't get around to reading that many zines this week (especially compared to last week). I got a new job at the hospital, and I watched the entire second season of Tripping The Rift on DVD. It's been raining like a mother for the past few days, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get a garden going this year.

Here are the zines that I read (week ending 6/3/06):
-Go Fly A Kite: a collaboration in miniature form
-Mumbai Walkie zine
-ladypajama is... #18

Also, I made wheatberry sprouts this week. They're okay, but not as good as the lentil sprouts I made a while back. You should tell me what sprouts you like best so that I can try them. Now that I have made my first couple batches of sprouts I want to keep at it and try out all sorts of flavors.

"normal is weirder than you would care to admit"

I read lots of zines this week (week ending 5/27/06) due to extremely slow days at work and sleepless nights. Here is the list:
-Assassin & The Whiner #15
-ladypajama is... #17
-Glossolalia #6
-How To Skin A Cat #3
-BCN (bicycle commuting now) #2
-The P.R.A.N. #1
-Checkered Past #13
-Barrelhouse #2
-Just Like A Gemini zine
-Jen Pillosophy zine
-Penny Sentinel zine

It's been a rainy, cold and cloudy week. I haven't done much in my garden, but I did spend a good part of Saturday helping out at the organic farm. We planted leeks and several varieties of onions. There was a lot more that needed planted, but it was cold and rainy and the ground was so hard it took us most of the time just get a few rows ready for the onions. Rain is good, but if the soil is really clay-ey and lacking in organic matter it just clods up on you, and that was the case out at the farm.

PETA recently announced the winners of this year's "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" award. The winners are Prince and Kristen Bell. I'm not at all a fan of Prince, but I will publicly (though hesitantly) admit that Veronica Mars (a TV show in which Kristen Bell stars) is one of my guilty pleasures. I don't actually watch TV (mainly because I don't get any channels where I live), but I rented and watched the entire first season on DVD, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, so there. That whole sexiest vegetarian contest is lame anyway, and PETA is really getting on my nerves lately, so whatever.

Broadcasting Live

I now have my very own radio show on the University of Idaho student radio station. I play math rock and space pop ... or in other words I play indie rock and some punk. I'm leaning more towards music by the Elephant 6 Recording Company and similar sounding bands. It turns out that I really love pop rock...but the good stuff, ya know. You can listen to my show online on the station's website. My show is every Wednesday morning from 6 - 8:30 pacific time. It's early, but I'll try and make it worth it.

Also, recently in a community on livejournal.com I read an interesting article that deals with a topic I wrote about in The Juniper #6: local food vs. organic. It's a very interesting and thought provoking article, and it includes some good comments so I am offering you a link to it. If you have any interest at all in this sort of thing or if you just feel like getting educated on a new issue or topic, you should definitely give it a read.

"it's not quite summer, but it feels like summer to us"

Now that school is out for the summer, I have time to catch up on some reading. Each week during the summer break I plan to list here on this blog all of the zines and things that I read during that week, so plan on hearing from me fairly regularly...at least until school starts up again in August.
Here is this weeks list (week ending 5/20/2006):
-various plays by Maaike
-One Girl #3
-dimanche #2
-Teaching Nutrition zine
-Crushpuppy zine
-ladypajama is... #16
-Hip Hop Don't Stop #4
-Fatty Boom Boom: vegan cookzine
-Devil Girl #2

I am also going to be posting pictures of my gardening on my flickr page. I simplified the web address, so here it is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniperbug Check it out sometime. Things should pick up in the next few weeks as I recently discovered that the growing season here is much shorter than I originally thought it was. Consider yourself lucky if you live in the warmer states and have been gardening since March or April.
In other good news: I am going to have a radio show at the university student radio station here in Moscow, Idaho. Wednesday mornings from 6am to 8:30am pacific time. If you get a chance you should check it. The station streams online at www.kuoi.org. I am mainly going to play eccentric indie pop rock in the vein of Elephant 6 and company, but I'm also going to throw in a mixture of other great stuff as well. It will be awesome....I promise.

Let's Be BFFs!

This post is generating quite a bit of response on livejournal so I figure I should post it here as well:
First off, my mom works in a library in a small Idaho town called Mountain Home. The library has just recently reopened after an extensive remodeling and expansion project. Due to the expansion, my mom now has space to put together a small zine library for folks in the area who may be interested and to spark interest in indie publishing for those who may have never heard of such a thing. Maybe you don't realize how incredibly awesome this is: a zine library in a small Idahoan town in the middle of the desert. It may be the only zine library of its kind in the entire state (I don't know though, so someone can correct me if I'm wrong). Anyway, you should send me your zines so that I can give them to her to put in the library. It's an opportunity for your zine to be exposed to people who may be totally new to the idea. And it could also be a continuation in your plans for world domination.
Also, I am starting up a mini-distro of sorts. I haven't decided yet exactly what it will amount to, but I'm looking for zines and things to carry nonetheless. The zines I am looking for are of a semi-specific (but also fairly broad) genre. I want to distribute zines that are similar in content to my zine, The Juniper. Thus, if you do a zine or diy project about gardening, bikes/alternative transportation, cooking/food preservation, food politics, diy, sustainable living, eco-warrioring, treehugging, eco-villages, organics, permaculture, biodynamics, greywater, seed saving, sewing/knitting/crafting or anything up that alley, you should definitely get in touch with me and we'll talk.
Send your zines for the zine library and zines for distro consideration along with anything else you feel like mailing to:
Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154, Moscow ID 83843
juniperjournal@hotmail.com
School is almost out for summer, but not forever.

a blog and a vlog

I've got two websites to recommend to you. One's a blog and one's a vlog. A fellow blogger and Bush hater contacted me to inform me of his super sweet blog, and I think you should know about it as well. It's called Empires Fall, and it's true, they really do...today's empires are tomorrow's ashes.
The other website recommendation is probably one you already know about and have been visiting for months, but I'm a little slow when it comes to this interweb crap and didn't find out about this site until I saw an article about it in the current issue of Rolling Stone. It's a daily video blog called Rocketboom, and it's hilarious. Sometimes political, sometimes comedic, sometimes serious, sometimes goofy, sometimes nerdy, sometimes informational. There is something for everyone depending on which days you choose to view. I tend to like it all, but probably because I think that Amanda Congdon is so darn cute. Anyway, check it out.
So I don't exactly know how to make a links list like I have seen on other people's blogs, otherwise I would make one and include these sites. If anyone reading this could explain it to me in layman's terms, it would be greatly appreciated. Now get off the computer and go do something relevant.

Snow?!

Can you believe it? It's snowing outside. What's the deal? I was going to work in my garden today. There was even a community garden orientation scheduled with the garden coordinator today at 11pm. I have a feeling that it's probably cancelled. Anyway, I may not be doing any gardening this weekend, but I did post a couple pics of my plot on flickr so you can see what it looks like. It's a 10' x 10' plot in the northeast corner of the garden. I can't wait to actually do something with it. I did plant some peas and carrots in there three weeks ago, but they haven't come up yet. Again, what's the deal? Anyway, Happy Easter.

Counting Carbons

Have you ever wondered how much CO2 you are personally responsible for having emitted into the atmosphere? Well now you can find out. Just go to www.carboncounter.org and use one of their CO2 emissions calculators. There is an estimated calculator and an exact calculator. Once you're done with that, you can use your dollars to donate to groups that work to lower CO2 emissions and thus become CO2 neutral. That last part seems a little weird seeing how giant corporations throughout the world are allowed to do a similar thing (buy and sell their rights to pollute). However, you can at least see how much CO2 you are emitting and decide to do things that will lower that amount like riding a bike, using alternative (renewable) sources of energy, or even just turning off some lights. Global Warming is real, and former Vice President Al Gore even just recently wrote a book and made a documentary film about it (both book and film are entitled, An Inconvenient Truth). Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The Future of Food is Slow Food

I just watched the documentary, The Future of Food. It's all about how our food is losing its genetic diversity, thousands of varieties have gone extinct, genetic engineering and agricultural chemicals are taking over and the food supply is being controlled by a handful of corporate brats. It also discusses the erosion of the family farm and the hardships farmers go through when faced with evil agricultural companies like Monsanto. But there is hope: the organic and sustainable agriculture movement is growing and gaining ground and people are fighting back. Several countries including the European Union and Japan will not accept imports of our genetically modified food and farmers and citizens alike are standing up to seed giants. The future of food is a scary thing to think about, but the growing movement against GMO's and the corporate control of food brings hope. Watch this movie. (I rented it from Netflix, so I'm sure you can get your hands on it fairly easily.)
Also, I mentioned in my last post that there were things that I wanted to include in the latest issue of The Juniper but didn't have the space. One of those things was Slow Food. I wrote about buying local and buying seasonal and that's what the Slow Food movement is all about. It's a worldwide organization fighting back against the current fast food phenomenon. Quoting from its website, Slow Food "promotes gastronomic culture, develops taste education, conserves agricultural biodiversity and protects traditional foods at risk of extinction." There are chapters in over 100 countries and lots of ways to get involved. Check out Slow Food USA if you live here in America, or go to the main Slow Food website to find a chapter near you.

The Juniper #6: Out Now!

Just as I promised, The Juniper #6 is out in time for spring. You can go to my flickr account to see a picture of it if you don't believe me. This issue was a tough one; I had so much that I wanted to say and include, but alas time and space and funding are great restrictions so I had to cut a few things out... but don't worry, it's still worth a few minutes of your time. In this issue: houseplants (improving air quality and removing soil mold), the high cost of cheap food, buying local, seasonal foods, five acres to freedom, all written with much love and affection. So send your stamps my friends. One 39 cent stamp will do as long as you send it directly to: Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154, Moscow ID 83843. Or drop me an email if you lack resources or are particularly lazy: juniperjournal@hotmail.com