Sitting at home alone on a Saturday night. Watching SNL and feeling sorry for myself. And then a lightening bolt of laffs crashed through the TV screen. No, it wasn’t the Musical Guests Linkin Park. Something else entirely…
The Return of Kebab, by Dan Gleason – $8.95
Professional news clipper and writer Dan Gleason has been bringing his short story zines to Quimby’s since the Hannah regime. He’s back again with The Return of Kebab, his second collection of short stories, and he’s got a disgusting/delicious gyro sandwich in tow. And that’s just the cover! Inside, you’ll find deliciously disgusting tales of wonder, woe, drunkenness and sexual depravity so grossly compelling as to make all that shredded meat seem a distant, savory memory.
Here’s your sweet taste:
In the whisper game she revealed to me that the
darkly-packed black man’s testicles, smashed together
as they were in the pornographic video, looked just
like a large avocado. And I responded to her that
this was obvious- not unlike the difference between
the meditative sort versus the over-emotional open
book, or the ever-present look of death in the eyes of
the once Quixotic gent who got a job trivializing the
marginalized with perfunctory kindness.
Support Chicago zinesters and pick up a copy already.
Oh, the new stuff can cause so much confusion.
Overheard from a group of shoppers around our new table:
Girl 1: (points to a copy of Young Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn) Wow! this is interesting. Have you ever read Zinn?
Girl 2: Ehh, Zinn! Worst ever! I hated him. Some teacher made us read Zinn [sic] and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It was horrible!
Girl 1: What are you talking about?
Girl 2: What are you talking about?
(group of girls exchange confused and dismayed looks)
More new stuff on the flip… Continue reading ‘New Stuff 5/12/07’
| May ’07 |
| 11 |
| 12:00 am |
Mark Todd and Esther Pearl WatsonFriday May 11th 7PM
SAY WHAT? YOU HEARD IT RIGHT. ROLL OVER TO QUIMBY’S TO MEET MARK TODD AND ESTHER PEARL WATSON (OF UNLOVABLE FAME). ARTISTS, ZINESTERS AND AUTHORS, READY TO TALK ABOUT THEIR LATEST BOOK, WHATCHA MEAN, WHAT’S A ZINE?, A VISUAL HOW-TO OF COOL TIPS AND TRICKS OF SELF-PUBLISHING. IT WILL SURELY BE A FUN FILLED EVENING OF INTERESTING STORIES, ENTICING TIDBITS AND VISUAL OVERLOAD.
Mark Todd graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in 1993. He then moved to New York City, working with clients such as Mtv, Coca-Cola, Sony Music, The New Yorker and The MTA. In 2003, he moved back to southern California with his wife and fellow artist, Esther Pearl Watson and their 5 year old daughter Lili, an avid artist herself. Mark also co-teaches with Esther at Art Center College of Design. Their latest book for teens, “Whatcha mean, What’s A Zine?” about creating zines and mini-comics, published by Houghton Mifflin, was recently released.
Esther Pearl Watson grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Her family moved often, since her father’s hobby of building huge flying saucers out of scrap metal and car engines didn’t always sit well with the neighbors. Esther’s pieces are often overtly narrative, clear but mysterious scenes of houses or figures ornamented with snippets of prose telling just enough to get the viewer’s own imagination engaged, wanting to know more. Some are about family, some about places, all have a rich interior life. Her works without words are just as suggestive of story, also exerting a deep emotional pull. Her works have been comissioned for magazines including Time, New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly.
