I've created more than a few zines, both printed and digital, over the years. Is the market ripe for me to jump back in as an editor and publisher?

Punk: Attitude is a Don Letts film that was, so far as I know, never shown in theatres and went from the Independent Film Channel straight to DVD. It's a real decent document of the origins of punk rock from its late sixties origins to, say, the early eighties. The DVD has an extra disc with a spotlight on the Los Angeles punk movement, and there are other features that talk about fanzines, the post-punk and indie movement, and so on. The extra features aren't really revelatory, at least not if you're old enough (or, like me, almost old enough) to have been actually in the scene in the early eighties. But the actual documentary and the extra features together serve an important purpose: educate and enlighten the kids today who don't have a clue as to whom the "punk" bands of today really owe their success. (start rant) I mean, just for example, let's do a quick Google search on "punk rock." The number one hit is Punk Music Explorer. They seem to have been fortunate enough to nab the "punkrock.org" domain name, and they're using it as pretty much a link farm for "punk" band websites. I guess…

I'm having a hard time articulating this blog entry. It's hard, because I've made a decision to not be involved with the Los Angeles Podcasters Group's (LAPG) booth at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo in a month and a half, and the decision is based on a combination of ethical, personal, and purely gut reasons. So it's hard to explain it, and yet I feel the need to blog about it. It's hard to explain, because I don't particularly want to get into the personal reasons (I sense that bad feelings and perhaps some flared tempers would result.) Let's just say I don't mesh with some of the participants, and the perceived motivations that seem to drive their actions. I wrote a post on the LA Podcasters' forum to, more or less, state my reasons. Read that, if you want. It explains most of it. I guess it's enough to say that I want to meet people, and interact, and network, and build relationships, and all of that... I don't want to stand around in a convention hall and wait for people to come to me and my Los Angeles comrades. See, I long for community, and I don't…

All right, folks! Here's a reminder that it pays to speak, to act. Earlier this week, it came to my attention that Nike was using a knock-off of classic, iconic Minor Threat album cover art to promote a skateboarding tour. Dischord Records never gave permission to use, never approved of, and never condoned the Nike ad campaign. In fact, they were diametrically opposed to it. Unfortunately, Dischord recognized that they didn't have the financial resources to mount a legal battle against Nike. So. I wrote a letter to Nike, essentially calling them out, and I spread the word to the folks on the Mike Watt discussion group on Yahoo!, and to my friends on MySpace. I encouraged everyone to contact their own mailing lists (most or many including many, many more people than I could reach) and we got viral on the whole thing. Today, Nike issued an apology and removed the image from the media, both in print and online. Fuck yeah. I'm not saying I'm responsible. I'm saying it feels good to stand for DIY, for what's right, and it feels good to be involved in something that ... in a matter of less than 100 hours... changed…