Last night was a night for reminiscing, for telling old stories. I'm not sure what was in the air (maybe the rain?) but as I dropped by friend's parties to say hello, we had one conversation after another about the past. First was a first kiss story comparison and then a worst illness and accident contest. At the end of the night my friend Rachel told me a story about being 7 years old and drawing pictures of naked ladies in class with her best friend. They'd compare drawings, pick out the best ones and make them into little books. And then, they'd take their little creations and put them out in the world for others to find. Rachel talks about stalking around the grocery store with her mother and finally leaving one of hers in with the melons in the produce area. We sat around wondering who might have found it and what they thought. Too bad Dirty Found wasn't around back then. Another friend added pages of his own comics to school library books. I countered with my own story about the pornographic novel Denise and Janis and I wrote in 5th grade. It starred our Math, English and Science teachers. I'd write a chapter, then pass the whole thing to Denise who'd write the next and so on. When we were done, we bound it into a book and left it in the library. Boy do I wish I had that thing now. I wonder who found it and what they thought... Does anyone else have a story about early zine or book making?

Danish zine gallery/store T.T.C. (Telefon Til Chefen) has a big zine show up through July called Zine Soup. If you're in the neighborhood of Denmark between now and then, go check it out and then come back and tell me about it. In the meanwhiles, there are quite a few scanned pages of beautiful looking zines to browse through on the gallery's site.

From "Moving Plastic Castles" by Tommi Musturi, 2007.

From "Alexander" by Emil Alsbo, 2005.

From "Sigrid #1" by Sigrid Astrup, 2007.

If you were unable to trek over to Luxembourg for the first Colofon International Magazine Symposium, there's a video report up on their site. Go take a look and be a part of this "great big shared love of magazines." Their site also has a whole bunch of photo galleries of the weekends' events. It's like we were there!

(Photo by Eric Chenal)

It is far easier for a poor black kid to grow up and become a doctor or lawyer than it is to become a professional visual artist. Statistics, logic and achievement can often overcome the barriers in many professional fields. In the arts however, social biases and a lack of empathy with the artist and their work makes professional barriers almost completely insurmountable. An emotional and intellectual connection between the gatekeepers (gallery owners, museum curators, patrons, magazine editors) and the artist is required for success. One would think that in the supposedly progressive field of Art, people would make an effort to relate to the work of people who don't look like, talk like or think just like themselves. In fact, the Art world is the industry MOST guilty for excluding minorities. It is excessively upper-middle class, male centric and white. It's not an obvious sort of racism or sexism - it's simply a club mentality. Like some tired, white high-school English teacher saying that great literature "needs to be universal," while coincidentally his list of 'universal' novels is overwhelmingly written by dead white men. The art world fails to acknowledge, let alone confront, how it's education and social standing skews perception of art. It mistakes what it relates to as the benchmark for quality.

While I have enjoyed the New Yorker's New Orleans Journal - which definitely shows compassion for my home city, I think it is completely obnoxious and hypocritical for them not to have hired someone who already lives and writes there (which there are plenty of). A simple thing The New Yorker could have done to help New Orleans would have been to give someone who lives there a job. Their compassion for the city is betrayed by their lack of empathy and their perpetuation of an industry of exclusivity.

The truth is, media and art success in New York happen because of what parties one has gone to and/or who one went to school with (or slept with). Its a perfectly reasonable method - after all, hunting is hard work. Also, moving to NY and doing what it takes illustrates a persons ambition - a good thing. The problem is that only a certain kind of person, from a certain kind of background can make it into the situation where they can then try to make a career. The increasing expense of living in New York is only exacerbating this situation. To combat exclusion, economic oppression, racism and sexism I do think it is the job of curators, editors and art directors to hunt for talent, not just take who flows through their NY circles. They must continuously question their own standards and methods. They must have empathy.

p.s the authors of the New Orleans Journal are writing a book about their experience - don't buy it - buy this instead: Coming Out The Door For The Ninth Ward by Nine Times Social and Pleasure Club

At Printed Matter tonight from 5 to 7 is a book launch for the latest title in A.R.T. Press' Between Artists series, which features Amy Sillman and Gregg Bordowitz. 195 Tenth Avenue (at 22nd Street).

From Printed Matter: The Between Artists series pairs artists whose work shares similar formal and conceptual concerns. The resulting conversations comprise books that offer straightforward, intimate investigations of artwork and related sources of interest. Following conversations between Paul Chan and Martha Rosler, Liam Gillick and Lawrence Weiner, Silvia Kolbowski and Walid Raad, the fourth and latest title in this series features a conversation between Amy Sillman and Gregg Bordowitz.

(Pictured above is Cliff 2 by Amy Sillman. I like her paintings.)

I have a new freelance project to do so of course I've spent all morning looking around the Visionaire website instead of getting to work. Visionaire 51 is out and the theme is Harmony. It comes in the form of six puzzles identically cut so you can mix and match. The issue is sponsored by the hybrid Lexus and is "environmentally sensitive" which I think means they use some recycled materials and non-toxic inks. If I could afford this one, I'd get it. But for now, I'll continue wasting time by putting the puzzles together online. I love the one by Yayoi Kusama (pictured) and the Vik Muniz one is impossible. (link via magculture)

Oh, ps, it only says good job! because I successfully completed the puzzle.

Magazine Death Pool: Who's Next!? The grim reaper discusses the death of various magazines in this interview on Swedish magazine blogger Wagazi's site as well as on his own site Magazine Death Pool. (via Magculture)

In not exactly magazine news, my friend Jana Hunter's really good new record is reviewed on the V Magazine Blog. And the Hedi Slimane Diary is full of tons of nice photos to look through whether or not you're into Pete Dougherty.

PDF-mags.com has a bunch of new links to the magazines who take PDF form. I just browsed through and found this lovely gem of magazine CRU A. Their issue #6 is out and the photography is amazing. The writing is in Portugese and English so I can only read some of it. But it looks fantastic.

By German photographer Monica Menez. She's interviewed in CRU A #6.

Oh my pervy stars! There's a new issue of Dirty Found out. More disturbing polaroids, creepy notes, cute love letters, sexy lists, boobs, ass, cock, and etc than you can shake a, um, stick at. As usual, John Waters says it perfectly: "Dirty Found is art-filth folk art that proves everybody's sex life is secretly touching."

This month's i-D is the ice cream issue and its full of ice cream, ice and cream and all the different things those words can mean. Also, there sure is a lot of Jeremy Scott going on here. Peaches and Devon Aoki and Marilyn Manson are in here. Also there's an interview with Lesley Arfin, the one who writes that great Dear Diary column in Vice. She has a Dear Diary book coming out this month.

Kasino A4's new double issue is looking at luxury. In two separate books, we see the bizarreness, the hollowness, the fun, the sex appeal, the boredom, and the fabulousness of luxury. Part 1 is called Rough Diamonds and is printed in black and white and a sumptuous metallic gold. Inside we have people playing dress up, renting fancy cars, getting weird spa treatments, the slogans of luxury goods hand written in the aforementioned sexy gold. Part 2 is titled Wasteland and is printed in black and white and light blue with a cold silver cover. This half focuses on the darker side of luxury: emptiness, death, poverty, injury, misery. What a great issue. And I'm pleased that it still smells the same.

For an industrial library feel try the the Scooter Magazine Rack. It has cute wheels that only go side to side so it stays in place leaning against the wall, or is easily moved around - totally cute for a large, bright room - excellent for a loft space.

Available at Chiasso for $118

At the very end of last year magazine distributor Publisher's Group West declared bankruptcy, which was a pretty serious drag for small publishers. McSweeney's, who was distributed through them, lost about $130,000 on the deal. They're auctioning off some of their stuff on ebay to try to recoup the loss. Their online store is also having a sale. Go check it out and show some support. (link via James, via Gawker)

Gallagher Paper Collectibles is a classy East Village store that sells vintage issues of fashion magazines. I personally cannot afford that place, but I digress. Owner Mike Gallagher discusses the insidious imperialist city-state of NYU as it encroaches upon him in it's campaign to annex all of lower Manhattan.

Flick Finds: Apricot X's vintage collection of mag covers, including John Water's favorite, Confidential.

This Saturday, June 16th, at 7:30 PM, Joe Matt (Peepshow) is interviewed by Ivan Brunetti (Schizo) in store at Quimby's in Chicago. Joe is on a national tour promoting Spent which collects issues 11-14 of Peepshow.

Painting, painting, painting for the last few days at Ms. Keough's. I'm totes obsessed with decorating, and I've been picking at her for YEARS to paint some color on her dirty white walls. My big, dark dirty secret is that I love stupid home magazines like Domino, Dwell and Blueprint. They're all very trashy and don't measure up to my standards - but they're like porn to me! Gay powers erupting... can't... stop... looking...at product... placement... MUST rearrange knick knacks.... on shelf.... must criticize friends furniture choices...

Ok. Off to the Homo Depot.

Today is the last day before the fabulous relaunch of my kitchen and living room. Mr. Mcginnis and I are cranky and exhausted yet tickled pink at our handiwork. I just want to give a quick shout out to Apartment Therapy and Make: Zine for their inspiration. If they weren't there to give Mr. Mcginnis a million cool ideas, he wouldn't harass me constantly about my messy apartment which in turn wouldn't have inspired me to tell him to do something about it! So, Apt Therapy and Make, I owe you one. Back to our regularly scheduled office hours tomorrow!

Capricious Magazine #6
New York and points beyond
7.75 x 10.5
full color, perforated pages
$19

"Just Can't Get Enough" is the tagline for this new issue of Capricious. The party for it was at Union Pool and there were tacos and beer. I was out on a photoshoot and missed the fun, which is terrible because one of the things I just can't get enough of is free tacos. Jeez ok, before I go on a food tangent... This may be the best issue of Capricious yet. Overall I have a serious unsettled weird feeling looking at it. There are a lot of altered images here. I imagine these photographers in their bedrooms, armed with tape, scissors, computers, and their own bizarre brains, working out fantasy visions over ordinary scenes. It's hard for me to say what stands out because I love the issue as a whole... It's really well curated. You go, Caroline Niémant! Matthew Porter, Lilly McElroy, Martin Kollar, and Körner Union's bits are all aces if I had to pick a few to mention. So rush out and get this issue. Do it! Also, it comes with a compilation CD from Brooklyn music collective Voodoo Eros. Highlights on that include Jana Hunter, Metallic Falcons (CocoRosie metal band side project), and Quinn Walker (from The Suckers). FYI, other things I just can't get enough of are seltzer, pickles, the smell of ink and paper and markers, staring out of moving car windows, and the wearing of this grey t-shirt.

Writer, editor and Print Fetish interview subject Kate Schatz has a new book out. Rid of Me: A Story is the newest in Continuum's 33 1/3 series—each book takes on a single, seminal album, in this case P.J. Harvey's Rid of Me. From the SF Bay Guardian review, "The best musical covers occur when some kind of alchemy takes place. What starts out as an act of homage or repetition turns into revelation as the new version throws light on, say, the lyrical subtext or rhythmic potential that seem to have been hidden within the original. Kate Schatz magics a similar sort of transformation in her fictional cover — revolving around two outlaw-lovers, Mary and Kathleen — of PJ Harvey's 1993 album Rid of Me." Buy it at Amazon or at a cool bookstore near you.

Blu Dot's 2d:3d Wall Mount Magazine Rack comes flat, but folds out to hold your precious, precious magazines. It comes in metal, red, white and occasionally blue (though not at the moment). Simple and only $65 bucks.

Available at Design Public.

Holy crap, it's hot out. At this rate I'm going to have to rethink my summer look—tight jeans just aren't working out in this heat. I'm at a newstand cafe thingy looking at stuff, guzzling iced coffees, and typing to you on a loaner laptop while mine gets a new hard drive (*sob*). Even with everything backed up and organized elsewhere, I couldn't help but feel some sense of loss as I signed the paper saying go ahead, delete everything. With temps reaching 90 today, my attention span has gone from short to ridiculous—I can't get through a whole music review, let alone a New Yorker article. Seriously, it's like a wet t-shirt contest out there.

In the spirit of scattered summer brains, here are links to some random things:

Sharp critique of annoying magazine Monocle by Rick Poynor in Eye Magazine. (via MagCulture)

My new ebay need: issues of wonderful old men's fashion magazine Gentry. This guy has some scanned bits of a few issues.

Conscientious: A pretty good fine art photography blog here by curator/scientist Jorg M Colberg. He co-curated a show that opened last week at Jen Bekman called A New American Portrait. Some good stuff in there. Go see it if you're around. Standouts include: Todd Hido and Benjamin Donaldson.

Salon article on McSweeney's money issues, the woes of other independent publishers, and how the internet may or may not be able to help.

Yeast Hoist #12: Stop Thinking Start Sleeping Stop Sleeping Start Living
By Ron Regé Jr.
6.75" x 8 ", 48 pages
Black and white, full color cover
$5.95

Ron Regé Jr. slowly but surely made a name for himself publishing his own mini-comics - like the first 8 issues of Yeast Hoist, which were photocopied. Issue #12, now all big-time published, collects various drawings and instant comics (unplanned, drawn/written on the spot) from sketchbooks and a few illustrations that were previously published in The New York Times. Regé's work has punk immediacy and energy, yet his simple line drawings are thoughtfully composed - one might even call them formal. His drawings, particularly the ones of nature and street scenes, are quite sweet. One drawing of a girl raging over a spilled ice cream cone is captioned "Sweetness and Bite," an accurate description of the entire book. His work is like a boy who will give you a dirty look and smirk, but will kiss you on the cheek when no one is looking.

Yeast Hoist #12 is available at Buenaventura Press

In 2004, Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea'la Finch of Providence, Rhode Island, historical home of many a cool printmaker, looked around at all their talented pals and decided to start Tiny Showcase, a website gallery of small artworks. Each week they choose someone’s tiny work and fine art printer IO Labs does a limited run of it. I like this idea. There's not a lot of overhead cost, the artist gets to make a little money off their work, and the art enthusiast gets to take home an art work for about the cost of a record or a book. Go browse around and buy stuff... If it wasn't sold out, I'd buy this one. I love zombies.