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Hello, friends. It was brought to my attention that the episode of 'the WALKING podcast' that the link in the newsletter points to contains no walking sounds. It's Jon Mooallem talking about his latest book. That's good and fine but we want to hear some walking. I suggest going to Stitcher and listening to past episodes, including this recent one aptly titled 'Forest Quarantine' → https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jon-mooallem/the-walking-podcast/e/67746883

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Turd. Filled. Donut. Ha! But Plague on Wheels sounds almost as good! The obsession of the zine culture to stay underground is a strange one. I was working on a train hopping app recently that lets you track car numbers and my old friends in the community wouldn't cooperate! They want it to remain exclusive... perhaps I need to go to Mexico or India.

I like the Japan walks... the other one just has a bunch of talking. The idea of promoting this kind of stuff is very odd. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time. At Recombinant Media Labs I was once subjected to a recording of seals barking in a cave. The piece was entitled "Seals Barking in a Cave." Florian Hecker was there, as I recall. I am interested in the technology, though. It occurred to me recently that I should be ready to record some of the street musicians I come across on a daily basis, among other things. I had a hard time coming up with useful advice on that score but eventually found this as a starting point: https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-smartphone-mics I also found a video featuring Felecia Atkinson, whose music I love, recording a silent plate glass window in an aquarium because she liked the fish on the other side. A bridge too far, perhaps?

And, yes, please stay indoors and cover your face when you go out. The CDC has dropped the ball on that one... there should be a lot more cake!

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Zines are inherently underground though, aren't they? How can a print run of 50 be mainstream? They do what they say on the tin. I know some folks used to think of the first run of issues of Wired as 'zines' but if it's sitting in a rack at Books-A-Million I personally don't think the definition applies.

Yes, I was disappointed to discover Jon is talking in the latest the WALKING podcast. In contrast to zines above, that doesn't do what it says on the tin. Previous episodes were pleasurable and possibly the best thing I could do with my time.

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Oh -- I was going to say there are things that are impossible to recreate digitally or otherwise, such as the sound of a singing bowl in real life, or a glass harmonium, or the real sound of the birds in the trees. Can't be bottled or sold!

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Perhaps, yes. If the creator declines to address a wider audience, all I can do is question their choices in life. But to try and prevent someone from sharing your work or preserving it for the sake of posterity is another matter. Did you ever read Herbert Spencer? I agree with him on this.

I'll give the podcasts another listen some time, but the competition is stiff:

https://youtu.be/pL9YjM1BqgY?t=1319

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Not sure how what you speak of here applies to this episode. I've never heard of anyone rejecting audience or preservation, especially the people mentioned herein. But, I do feel strongly that questioning another's 'life choices' is unproductive. It assumes circumstances and situations that we can't really know. It's not my choice I only printed 30 issues of Plague On Wheels #1, or that this newsletter doesn't have 1000 subscribers yet. And I'm sure any zine would have been happy to graduate to magazine (and many did).

Thanks again for all the comments.

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I'm not sure that it does apply to these particular zines -- I wouldn't know. But the attitude of remaining underground at all costs is prevalent in the zine culture in general, which is why they are still going today. It's a Luddite attitude -- they eschew modern technology and detest audiences, and this is especially virulent in the train hopping community. Closely guarded secrets they have! Whereas the guy in India is just trying to get to his factory job and couldn't care less.

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Sounds reductive to me. I don't agree and, simply, don't understand (that's way outside my experience) so I cede the floor.

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