artichoke #8, by kate. released summer 2005?. 1/4 sized, 36 pages.
kate's zine is totally fun, and fun is my favorite. the first bit is all about video games, and i could really relate to the love because it focuses on old nintendo games in particular. the super mario trilogy, donkey kong, oregon trail and more - it's about the games kate loves to play and that even though she owns just about every video game system available, she prefers old school nintendo. (as someone who thinks playstation and xbox games are way too hard, i fully agree with her here. nintendo 8 bit forever!) there are also bits about being a news junkie/journalism major, the county fair, living in a small town, knitting, libraries, smoothie recipes, and more. the middle part is a special new kids on the block supplement that really brought back memories, as my best friend in second grade won us second row seats to a nkotb show! anyway, kate goes into detail about her former obsessions and tells us about her feelings for each member - even though donnie was my favorite and her LEAST favorite, i'll forgive her. heh. this zine comes with many different colored covers, so yours might not match the picture.

cartography for beginners #5, by april. released august 2005. 1/4 sized, 54 pages.
this issue is full of the silliness you've come to know and (hopefully) love, such as a complete history of all of the neighbors i've lived by in my short rental life (in which i rate them and give them final grades), funny pictures, the ultimate pizza scam attempt story from my friend sarah, and more. the middle half is a special section for my "morrissey tour diary 2004," as i saw morrissey nine times in six different cities last year and was even able to meet him, and this part of the zine details the highs and lows of my experience. more highs than lows, of course, as it was pretty much the highlight of my life so far - and what does that tell you about my life? heh. (i really think that even those of you who don't like morrissey will enjoy reading it, as it's a chronicle of fandom at its finest.) the price on this one is slightly higher because of the full color covers and inserts.

cartography for beginners #4 / forgotten albums best left forgotten, by april and david. released september 2004. 5½" by 5½" square, 76 pages total.
this one is a split issue with my husband david, so it's twice the fun! it's the usual making fun of me/other people, with stories on crazy stuff people have done at the movies, tales of weirdos on public transportation, dumb things people assume about married couples, best lies customers have told in order to obtain free pizza from my friend sarah, poorly drawn comics, and more! david's part of the split is called forgotten albums best left forgotten, and it's a compendium of shitty albums that he found in the $1 bins at various music stores. even if you don't like music zines you'll like this one, as it's got hilarious reviews and detailed descriptions of albums from the likes of richard simmons, rick dees, lisa whelchel, and tony danza, as well as bands with names like cump'ny meet'n and radio active cats. so good.