Coloring at ZAPP

We spent the afternoon awash in color, bent over CD-jacket designs for an intern's final project.  We ate carrots, cheese, chocolate (not too much thank you) and bread.  Oh yes, and there was hummus.  You can't have a ZAPP project without the addition of this Mediterranean delight. 

Great company and a merry return to the days when I sat filling my hours with color and coloring books.   If you haven't colored in a while, I encourage you to sit down and give it a go.  At your advanced age, no one will tell you that you have to stay within the lines.  I understand they even have adult-themed coloring books for the more adventurous spirit.

Borders on Life-Support

It has just been announced that Borders is going to close additional stores, one of them being my favorite book store--Borders at the Commons (Federal Way, Washington).  The bankruptcy trustee has ordered that Borders close more stores, all at the behest of Border's many creditors.  The new store at the Southcenter Mall will remain open--for now.  The future of Borders is questionable.  The Border's model of expansion equals success was aggressively challenged by Barnes and Noble, as they  put their energy and resources behind the Nook e-reader.  It's a case of too little too late, as Borders rushed to catch up with their Kobo e-reader.  Recently, it was reported by Publisher's Weekly that e-book sales have now outpaced traditional bound-book sales, across the board.  Not sure how to feel about that, or the loss of my favorite Borders.

A Busy Saturday

The rock music is blaring and the German language flying here at the ZAPP Zine Archive.  We've had more visitors today than I've seen any other Saturday.  It's exciting.  We've had two visitors from other Zine archive collections, representatives from both Vancouver and Iowa made the trek down to view our collection.   The Zine Machine which operates in Iowa actually uses a vending machine to sell Zines to the public.  You can click the link above to get more information. 

I love the idea of putting in a few quarters and getting a Zine dispensed.  The Zines in this machine are all potato chip sized (you might now guess that the vending machine in question dispensed chips, before dispensing Zines).  These offerings enlarge the mind, instead of the waist. 

We also have visitors who are speaking German.  I'm  not sure what they are saying, but I bet in English, it would translate to this:   This is the most wonderful Zine archive ever.  I have never seen such quality or variety in one small space.  Plus, Seattle is so much nicer than Germany and it's easier to get a cup of coffee.  Probably something pretty close to that. 

Graduate Panic

It just occurred to me that I'm about to begin my final quarter at the Evergreen State College.  Soon, I'll waddle along a sea of other graduates, adorned in green and yellow (I didn't pick this combination) and will walk through Red Square to get a piece of paper that will stand in for the real diploma.

Now I've actually got to do that thing I've been yammering on about for months:  GET INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL.  Either that, or start paying off those enormous school loans now, instead of later.  I vote for later! 

I can hear that ticking noise in the background, and it's not my typewriter.