So I was thinking about starting a webzine.

[MissCheyenne]

I've sent a message to my mate asking for some basic info about setting this kind of thing up Cuckoo, I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I'll let you know what I find out as soon as they get back to me

[CuckooTuli]

Thanks so much MissCheyenne! I really appreciate this. I've been looking into HTML (I'm a bad, bad techie... like SERIOUSLY incompetent), but it looks pretty basic. I want to set up a manifesto of look, vibe, intended audience etc. before I start any hardcore planning, so any progress - should I make any! - will be drips and drabs until university lets out for the summer. However since UK students start their "summer" in May for all intents & purposes, I think any faster would be a huge rush-job anyway, and I'd imagine behind the scenes shit going down for months and months before the first issue is anywhere NEAR going up. I'd really like to make something genuinely GOOD, you know, rather than just a glorified blog for my friends' stuff.

[MissCheyenne]

If I can help at all, let me know. I'm always up for new projects. I can't promise anything on the tech side though, I'm pretty dire at that kind of thing but creativity wise, I'm all up on that shit.

You're at uni? What are you studying?

[CuckooTuli]

I'm a humanities grad student - i.e. now coalition-fucked for working in higher ed as planned, and looking for distractions from the inevitable soul-crushing 9 to 5 that's coming my way when school lets out - and that's if I'm lucky.

Partly what the bipolar-esque bursts of excitement on which I keep starting new projects is about!

How about you? Let's work a "what's yer life story" angle into this thread. Just 'cause I'm well nosy.

[MissCheyenne]

I'd love to go to uni and finally get my degree but sadly, I can't afford to at the minute . I actually work as a writer at the minute. It isn't anywhere near as glamorous as it sounds though, there's a whole lot of research and logging details that goes with it so I actually spend more time e-mailing and recording details than I do writing.

I'm working on personal writing projects though as well so we shall see where that gets me

[CuckooTuli]

Awesome! What kind of writing do you do for your job?

[Saya]

I'd be first in line for any erotica fiction you publish XD

I know HTML! I'm rusty on it, but I know exactly where to look.

[MissCheyenne]

I mostly write music reviews at the minute but I'm looking to expand what I do and start writing other stuff. I'm willing to try my hand at any style of writing, you never know when you're going to find something you're really good at

[CuckooTuli]

Originally Posted by Saya

I'd be first in line for any erotica fiction you publish XD

I know HTML! I'm rusty on it, but I know exactly where to look.

How about a piece on slash? I read the other one you posted and ended up finding the topic quite interested, although slash itself doesn't really do a lot for me...

EDIT: MC - that sounds like an awesome job!! Is it focused on any particular kind of music?

[Saya]

I'd have to get in depth and undercover for my research. But I suppose that wouldn't be too bad XD

[CuckooTuli]

Originally Posted by Saya

I'd have to get in depth and undercover for my research. But I suppose that wouldn't be too bad XD

Graphic erotic sketches or it didn't happen.

[CuckooTuli]

So, I got to thinking about the kind of things I'd like to see in a webzine. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Music – emphasis on little-known bands/musicians lost to history – pictures, overview of cultural & musical significance, idea of their sound and ethos. Intended as a way of finding lesser known music. No restriction on genre. (My first thoughts are bands like The Fall, Holy Modal Rounders, Ween, The Monks) Overviews of periods in music in a sociohistorical context are welcomed – e.g. punk, rock, folk, politics, musical evolution, influence on recent music etc. Pieces on more well-known or iconic musicians fine, although they'd need to bring in lesser-known information as well as the usual old hat.

Arts writing in general – features on movements in film, lit, visual arts, prominent figures and their works in sociohistorical context (e.g. Beats, modernists, ancient Greeks & culture, confessional poetry, the rise of cartoon & animation, experimental theatre), more highlighting of little-known but talented artists.

Artwork – all mediums and concepts considered – particular favour for the following: political cartoons, comic strips, photoshop comedy/satire images (NO bloody lolcats), drawings & paintings but no cartoon characters or classroom doodles – imaginative and well-rendered only, plenty of talented people around so easy enough even among my own friends if I were picky. Short stories and poetry considered but not prioritised – no naval-gazing or pain or anti-heroic outcast’s rage. Comedy/satire articles & humour-based opinion pieces welcome.

Issue pieces – impartial, reasonably academic in style & thoroughly researched. Politics, gender, zeitgeist, issues fallen by the wayside into neglect, new perspectives on history, recent or otherwise. (Vague examples of my personal interests in this direction: Alan Turing, men’s lib & feminism, cultural movements (e.g. religious organisations, racially-oriented power movements), comedy & politics, the cultural significance of conspiracy theories, sexual fetishism, individual histories of countries in conflict in Middle East & relationship to form protests are taking, historical & countercultural figures... very vague starter ideas, although this obviously needs a lot of broadening and new ideas)

If anybody would like to share the kind of things they'd like to see in a webzine, or might want to try making any of the above or something of their own suggestion, hit me up.

[MissCheyenne]

Sounds like a good range of topics Cuckoo. It will be a lot of work to make sure that it all comes up to standard though, just one bad, poorly researched piece would let it down.

I'm down for having a go at any of it though I'd be most interested in the music area if I'm honest.

[Saya]

With gender and religion, I'm your gender neutral lady. What I focus on will probably be determined by whats going on in the news at the time, and things I hear about in class that I want to look into. My current love is gender representation in media.

[MissCheyenne]

Mmmm, gender representation in media. I have argued about that quite often with people actually.

[CuckooTuli]

Originally Posted by MissCheyenne

Sounds like a good range of topics Cuckoo. It will be a lot of work to make sure that it all comes up to standard though, just one bad, poorly researched piece would let it down.

Definitely - that is a concern. Obviously the first issues would have to be pretty small, and it won't be possible to have some of everything in every issue. I also envision it taking time to find some regular contributors who are not only good at what they do but who have both the time and the inclination to do this for free, and possibly to a loose deadline. It may not be doable, but I'd like to at least have a go at doing something small-scale.

Originally Posted by MissCheyenne

I'm down for having a go at any of it though I'd be most interested in the music area if I'm honest.

Do you have any topic in particular in mind? Let me know.

Originally Posted by Saya

With gender and religion, I'm your gender neutral lady. What I focus on will probably be determined by whats going on in the news at the time, and things I hear about in class that I want to look into. My current love is gender representation in media.

Want to do a piece on that? No fixed deadline, so low-pressure - I haven't done a thing beyond Googling yet.

[MissCheyenne]

Really, I think you're just going to have to be super critical, even if good friends submit things. Which is going to be hard, it really is but if it's something you are passionate about and want to do well, you can't let personal relationships interfere with the quality of the output. I know how harsh that sounds but it's very very true.

[CuckooTuli]

Originally Posted by MissCheyenne

Really, I think you're just going to have to be super critical, even if good friends submit things. Which is going to be hard, it really is but if it's something you are passionate about and want to do well, you can't let personal relationships interfere with the quality of the output. I know how harsh that sounds but it's very very true.

That certainly is true. I reserve the right to be ruthless editor person and to fit everything to my aesthetic. No assured entry until a good portion & full outline of anything has been seen. Like I said, I really wouldn't want to end up making a glorified blog of my friends' work.

[MissCheyenne]

Yeah, I can totally understand that. It would be so easy to fall into doing that as well. I mean, I can't comment on the quality of what your friends do, some of them may be awesome but it's a sad fact that not everyone can write and write well, so being harsh is the only way to ensure that you get the best for what you want.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by CuckooTuli

Want to do a piece on that? No fixed deadline, so low-pressure - I haven't done a thing beyond Googling yet.

Absolutely, although for the sake of brevity I'd probably focus in on something, I did something last semester on women in video games that was supposed to be very brief so I still feel like I have a lot more to say about it, or I could also go to a movie soon and give it an ol' feminist critique.

[CuckooTuli]

Originally Posted by MissCheyenne

Yeah, I can totally understand that. It would be so easy to fall into doing that as well. I mean, I can't comment on the quality of what your friends do, some of them may be awesome but it's a sad fact that not everyone can write and write well, so being harsh is the only way to ensure that you get the best for what you want.

True, that. Plus, even if something is good, it won't be put up if it jars my deep blues space-rock zombie werewolves from the future aesthetic.

Saya - the video game piece sounds interesting - I think that'd be a good one if you feel like writing it. I want to stay away from regular slot reviews of current art, to be honest - I don't really put enough stock in them to have much interest..

[Saya]

Well with that I'm particularly interested in Red Riding Hood. YES its going to be crap, and it might be bad crap! But I'm also interested in how stories change in meaning over the years. It was originally a pretty risque piece, the wolf represented lechery. A year or two ago a game came out called The Path which was based on the story, in which six girls in different stages of their lives had to go out in the woods and face their "wolf", which was different for each girl. For one it was sexual assault, for one it was an existential crisis, for another it was simply the fear of growing up and hitting puberty, etc. I'd have to watch Company Of Wolves too and read the original story and compare, I guess, but its also something I'd be interested in.

PICK FOR ME.

[CuckooTuli]

Originally Posted by Saya

Well with that I'm particularly interested in Red Riding Hood. YES its going to be crap, and it might be bad crap! But I'm also interested in how stories change in meaning over the years. It was originally a pretty risque piece, the wolf represented lechery. A year or two ago a game came out called The Path which was based on the story, in which six girls in different stages of their lives had to go out in the woods and face their "wolf", which was different for each girl. For one it was sexual assault, for one it was an existential crisis, for another it was simply the fear of growing up and hitting puberty, etc. I'd have to watch Company Of Wolves too and read the original story and compare, I guess, but its also something I'd be interested in.

PICK FOR ME.

Now THAT would be perfect - I wouldn't really want a straight-up review of that one film, but putting it in the context of the tale would be exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. I'm really into fairy tales - a piece on the story's origins, meaning and adaptations would be great! (I have a pretty good knowledge of the tale's earliest recorded versions and place in culture, so hit me up if you need any background or gaps filled.) Definitely read the tale of Company of Wolves and watch the film, and I would recommend that you also read Angela Carter's short story "The Werewolf". It's a goldmine for feminist theory.

[Saya]

Excellent, I could do a "Red Riding Hood through the ages" piece, end it with a brief review and critique of the new movie but it won't be the sole focus. I'll track down a copy of The Bloody Chamber, and I'm pretty sure its on youtube so I'll get started soon ^_^

[CuckooTuli]

Awesome. That's a great start.

With editing, I guess I'll reserve the right to edit the shit out of any piece prior to publication, but giving the author the option to withdraw it if they can't live with the changes.