So, anyone who isn't down here in lovely, sunny, green, awesome Portland is missing out. The 6th Annual Portland 'Zine Symposium is in full-swing here at Portland State University in the downtown. Hundreds of crazy counter-culture zinesters cruising around an enormous room of independent publishers, colorful comix, zine libraries and distros, bike nuts, radical wierdos and strangely attired punks, hipsters, hippies and our ilk. I feel slightly out of place running around talking a mile a minute to so many folks whose names go in one ear and, well, you know the rest. Earlier I had a cell phone, a digital camera and my laptop and was using all of them at once in this uber-urban setting. Odd coming from a place like Guemes Island in the San Juans a few short days ago to a settings such as this.
Sales are slow and I've spent way too much money on way too much cool shit over the past two days, and there's still tomorrow to think of. But that's the kicker about the book world and conferences and shit like this, you spend ten times what you make and then over the next year recapture your losses with all the cool shit you score for trade and resale elsewhere. At least that's how I do it. Ironic that in addition to an already spendy road trip I have to spend even more to break even eventually.
China is super cool! She arrived yesterday afternoon and we immediately hit it off with a mix of shared joys and complaints. Road weary rockstars are we. Cool too since we're sitting next to Shannon Wheeler, creator of Too Much Coffee Man. China showed up in proper style with a pint of Hennessy which she and Eamon and Shannon and I mixed into our Black Teas in order to take the edge off these social dynammics we are forced to be good at. Met Shannon at the Olympia Comics Convention when he was one of the keynote speakers a few years ago, if you're not familiar with his work check it out as he has an amazing sense of humor and draws one of the funniest contemporary comics out there.
Got food poisoning from some fish tacos yesterday and spent four hours last night sticking my finger down my throat and examining the inside of Dr. Gabbo's toilet when I wasn't sitting on it shitting with my head in his bathroom sink. Whew! Haven't ever experienced anything like that but felt alright this morning. Goddamn. Tonight promises more beautiful debauchery with old friends. I'm excited because Steph is bringing the girls down for the last hour of today's symposium and I will get to run around with them in this little slice of paradise. If I were to live in a city right now it would be this one, or maybe Victoria, B.C.
Spreading the Pirate Papa word has been fun, spent 2 hours at Kinkos when I got into town polishing up the first Pirate Papa 'Zine! It looks fantastic and I even got the damn pirate fonts to load! Let me know if you'd like a copy, they're $3-$5 each, depending on what you'd like to pay me or I love bartering for non-monetary goods. I'll post some images of it when I get some time here (when the fuck is that going to happen?)Got to jet back and spell Sir Eamon at our table, this place is hopping! More to follow perhaps from some wi-fi barroom later this evening. Stay tuned.
1 comment:
Your zine has been reviewed :)
http://www.northwestzineworks.com/
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