First two things that fell out of the envelope when I opened it: “Modern World Tolkien”, and a “Machine Operator’s Log”. These two little creations reflect the zine creator’s main themes; politics, and self-pity. In the Tolkien piece, the author redefines the characters in the Hobbit in modern day terms. For example, “Hobbit: small business owners, Dragons: powerful creatures with lots of gold.” The second piece is much more personal, and gives us a taste of what is to come a little later in the publication: “In my company, I’m not even a name,” writes the author. This gritted operator’s sheet is perfect and by far my favorite part of the zine. I especially enjoyed the operator’s comments, “3 hrs – Lot of fear, worry, and guilt” or “4 hrs – I fear I will die and my life will mean nothing”. It’s too bad that the rest of the zine does not measure up to this. The main essay, “Don’t Ignore Me” is well written and sometimes even an enjoyable read, but loses power because the tone is not consistent, and the author often seems confused about what he wants to say. He tells us on the one hand that communism saved his life, but the very next sentence illustrates the author as a hopeless, suicidal man. The rant is still a little scattered, but more enjoyable than the essay. I can’t say readers should ignore this piece, because the quality of the writing is still decent. His ideas aren’t idiotic, and as mentioned before, the two opening pieces are great. Whether you choose to ignore this or not, keep in mind that it is free and you have nothing to loose but half an hour out of your day. (Audrey Gagnon)
perzine, Charley Smith, 414 7th Ave SE, #C203, MW 554, Minneapolis, USA