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write NOW  NOW 5/25/01 >>The animated cube font above, Koneisto, came from these guys, Kaputski, out of Finland, we believe. Cool illustrations on their site as well. >> Octopus Studies : Here is what I found out... (refer to Lori's email below, 5/24) "Octopuses sense of touch is acute in it's suckers. The rim of the cups are particularly sensitive. A blindfolded octopus can differentiate between objects of various shapes and sizes as well as a sighted octopus. "  I thought I would find a book that said, "an Octopus has 8 legs because they need 8 legs to..." but there weren't any books like that -- Lori D. THEN 5/24/01 >> Tokion magazine has opened a retail space in Manhattan at 78 Clinton (Ave B south of Houston). In the process of filling it with quality goods, they commssioned a tee from Commonwealth Stacks and Stacks, in turn, asked Bend to contribute an illustration for it. Here it is. The shirt should be available on the Tokion website soon. >> An email from Lori D. after leaving a voicemail at Bend : Yeah that was me, it's not just your voice mail's problem. I am very very shy and I talk very quietly. People are always telling me I sound really far away. It sounds really loud in my head you know, I just have trouble gauging these things. Like, I used to think I was a really gigantic girl because I would look at my legs and they seemed irregularly big, but then one day somebody took a picture of me (people don't take my picture very often) and I saw myself from far away and I didn't think I was gigantor at all anymore. I just looked humungus before because I was looking at myself from so close up. Things always look really big if you're in the macro lens range. Anyway, I can't tell how loud I'm talking either unless I'm talking to someone in person and they start squinting trying to make out my stealthy sentences. I just discovered that they have THE best library I've ever been to right by my house. I saw it the other day from the car and I exclaimed with delight "Ooooh there's the local library!" and my friend Faye just rolled her eyes and said 'gee-eek' (but wait until she sees the Polka video I brought home). She took me to see monster trucks for my birthday last weekend. Me and her have the same birthday. I am attaching some photos from the time of our lives. -- Lori D. PS I read your story ("No Good for your Heart") in Little Engines today and it gave me a surplus of energy for exporting. I mean, I feel like my creative source (whatever it is, I think of it sort of like a big watering hole) anyway it's like in video games when you have a little meter at the top of the screen that shows how much energy you have left until you die, and you can pick up little things along the way that give you points and your energy instantly shoots up to full again, well that's how I feel when I come across things like your story today, like it was some kind of little magic berry cluster or glowing briefcase that I picked up and it instantly boosts my energy levels to maximum. Faye is right I am a geek -- I don't know, I just wanted to tell you I liked your story, perhaps I should have stopped there. La cuenta da me las ganas para hacer. THEN 5/23/01 >> A review of Adam Voith's Little Engines, and, inadvertently, the Jenkins short, "No Good for your Heart" : Zines became popular as untouched vessels of self-expression, where prose, opinions and information could be distributed without any official sanction. But then a flurry of mediocre publications set about marginalizing the form, making a scrawled diatribe on photocopied paper seem nothing more special than anything else written down and handed out. The Internet didn't help either, offering an easy outlet for anyone looking for a soapbox. In order to survive, zines have evolved, and you can now find many of them printed like fine quality journals, with perfect glue bindings, mature graphic design and heavy paper stock. Still, they keep with the zine ethical code of staying as unpretentious as they are irregular. Little Engines is a perfect addition to this new format. It collects stories, comics and interviews that all place value on the small details that can only come across in this kind of subdued fashion. Contributions range in quality from forceful and touching, like the exploration of Texas rancher masculinity in "Cowboy Café," to simply innocuous, as with the use of a retarded child as literary device in "No Good for your Heart." However, none will cause any rashes of offense for sophomoric writing or grammatical stumbling. And it's exactly this subtlety of presentation that makes Little Engines such a wonderful creation. While acknowledging its limitations, the book makes the most of its options. Anything found inside was chosen for no other reason than its worth as viewed by those who organized it, and that alone makes this publication worthy. (Ben Goldberg, Philadelphia Weekly) You can now order copies of Little Engines at the Bend Buy Machine. THEN 5/22/01 >> Lewman has managed to settle a bit in the bug haven of Costa Rica and send us correspondence. Check Lewman's Drop. >> Bend Project #019, "Good Night" is in, we just got it back from the printer. Those of you who pre-ordered it, they have been shipped -- thank you for your orders. Those of you who haven't ordered it... go here. Bend Project #020 is now in the works... more soon. >> Couple of new letters up on the GPT. A crap shoot. THEN 5/18/01 >> Here's the invitation for the Girl Skate Co's art show at the Vleeshal in Middelburg, Netherlands. It includes the likes of Girl Art Dump members Michael Leon, Tony Larson, Rob Abeyta, Andy Mueller, Andy Jenkins and Rick Howard (Megan Baltimore is also due to make a surprise visit, shhh). Download, print it out and get your plane reservations together -- it opens on June 17th and stays open for about 2 months. THEN 5/15/01 >> The Trials of Mr. Tony Larson, Part II : "Dogs and Snakes." Check Part I, "Monkey Country," here. >> We received the first email from Mark Lewman in Costa Rica. Go here to read Lew's Drop #1. THEN 5/06/01 >> Bend Project #019, "Good Night" is at the press. A 12-page, full-color exploration of things nocturnal, which includes contributions from Mark Lewman, Megan Baltimore, Mike Daily, Evan Hecox, Spike Jonze (duh), Michael Leon (Commonwealth Stacks), Andy Jenkins and Andy Mueller (Ohio Girl). Watch for it on the Bend Consumption Machine within the week. Or pre-order it now. Check out a sample here. >> The Lewman's are gone. In Costa Rica by now. Watch for the first report soon. THEN 5/03/01 >> The last Hessenmob/Bend board was sold. We thank Friend of Bend, Joe Sorren. Check his site... a master illustrator is he. Bend Press 22500 S. Vermont Avenue Torrance, CA 90502 USA fax 310/783/1920 ©2001, Bend Press / Andy Jenkins All Rights Reserved All other works copywritten by the individual artists / writers |