We tried to send it off last night, guys, we really did. May have celebrated too early cause redwine and curry got the best of us, making it too hard to comprehend how to make a PDF. Hopefully sending off today. Been a surreal couple of weeks putting this thing together. Jen and I have worked ourselves to the bone trying to make this thing good. Well, Jen mostly. I just sat back and offered my uninformed opinion most of the time, to which she would swat down like a beach volleyball player attacking a high and slow serve. It’s for the best though. Jen has made this thing the best issue yet. Without a doubt.

We’re still pretty darn excited about all the exciting things happening around here lately that we’re going keep the excitement going with the announcement of the exciting roster of writers and imagers for issue five, an issue that we’re a little more than excited about!

FICTION

Everything Is So Goddamn Great
Story by Megan Stielstra
Images by Josh Letchworth

Line of Scrimmage
Story by BJ Hollars
Images by Chase Heavener

Craig was a Retard
Story by Jay Riggio
Images by Bryan Soderlind

What I Love About History
Story by Angi Becker Stevens
Images by Sarah McNeil

Grillz
Story by Laura Owen
Images by Suzanne Walsh

Larry
Story by Jill Summers
Images by Max Kaufman

The King of the Jews
Story by Dan Moreau
Images by Josh Letchworth

Barber vs. Heart Disease
Story by William Walsh
Images by Alexander Martinez

Waste
Story by Amelia Gray
Images by Lauren Nassef

We Will All Get Better and Then We Will Get Worse
Story by Kuzhali Manickavel
Images by Erika Somogyi (above image taken from this story)

NON-FICTION

Mi Madrileno
Essay by Molly Each
Image by Nate Twombly

Reimagining the National Border Patrol Museum
Essay by Anne Elizabeth Moore
Images by Wheat Wurtzburger

PHOTO

Punta Cometa by Jaime Martinez

ART

Dawn of Man by Danny Jones

Holyfuckingshitthisisgoingtobesogoodyoudon’tevenknow!

Oh, hi there! I almost didn’t notice you over all of this beautiful content.

Welcome to the new site! Had kind of a shaky launch, but here we are. We’ve been working on this site for a few months now and we hope you thoroughly enjoy it. Click around, read a few stories, watch the Mark Janeki video (I’ll be posting some outtakes from that here in the blog in a few days) and most importantly, give our print section a looksee. What are you waiting for? Go! Go!

In more-people-stealing-my-ideas news: the people at Sing Statistics took the idea of publishing stories and illustrations together and took it to dizzying new heights with We Are the Friction. An eyebrow-raisingly impressive list of contributors makes this collection look like a must have for the small-press collector/fiend in your life. The Brits done did it again.

I hired Jen O’Malley to lay out the new issue. We’re at Stardust working on it all day today. I would tell you to come over and say hi, but we’re very, very busy and must avoid all distractions. So please leave us alone. Sorry, you can come chill with us if you want to.

Dear friend and fashion guru Jen O’Malley unveiled a new bunch of headbands this week. Dunno of she’s selling them yet (UPDATE: She is!) but if you’ve got a special lady in your life this would make a pretty sweet gift. And if you are a special lady you might wanna get your hands on one before one shows up on the noggin of Bat for Lashes or Joanna Newsome and by then you’re behind the fashion curve. Which is undoubtedly a fate worse than death.

Got a little bit of ink over at the Orlando Weekly. It’s the best and only award we’ve ever recieved. Check it out here. I’ve always been a fan of the Weekly’s  “Best of Orlando” issue. For one it occasionally turns me on to some previously unheard of spots around town as well as highlighting some of the cooler aspects of the city. Also I find it really funny when the editor’s picks contrast so vastly with the reader’s picks.

Best subs of 2009:

Editor’s pick – Philly Style Hoagies and Deli

Reader’s pick – Publix Supermarket

Dunno if any of the remaining Chicagoans who read this blog (close to 60 of you!) are still interested in buying books, zines and other shit for weirdos. But if you are, I would reccomend heading on down to Golden Age on the lower west side-ish area. I ain’t never been there, looks like they opened right when I left. But the place looks dope. If you go you should take some pictures and talk to the peeps who run the place and maintian an overall interest in the operation of brick-and-motar art/book/art book stores.

Got this email from Bryan “Bear” Soderlind this morning:

So I just wanted to inform you guys about the amazing new camera that will be available to rent to only my closest of friends.  It’s called the BLUE cam and it is packed with lots of high tech features starting but not ending with the fact it shoots on Hi8 tapes.  I’ve rented it a few times to action sports cinematographer Jeff Raley and he has gotten some great results. Let me know as you get projects and need to put the BLUE on reserve. Thanks and great shooting.
-Bear

Check out the stunning resolution here as Bear’s video interview with Josh Letchworth goes horribly awry.