Why do you have a blog?
I like to document things. I’ve lived in a few different places over the years, and reading someone’s blog is a good way to keep up with what’s going on in their life. I like getting an insight into other people’s lives by reading their blogs and zines too. I prefer reading blogs that are done for personal interest rather than commercially, for that reason. I also like looking back at my old entries and remembering where I was in my life then.
How do you choose what to write about?
Whatever interests me. I don’t really write much about the times I stayed in on Friday night to do my tax return or was horrendously bored waiting at the train station for 2 hours, because quite frankly, I don’t think I’d be able to make them interesting to read about. I don’t tend to share much of my private life here unless I really want to publically call someone out, either.
Do you run adverts or do sponsored posts?
No, I do this blog for fun, not to earn advertising money. I don’t use affilate links either, because I think they’re shady, and places like Amazon already have enough of a market share. If someone sent me a free sample, I wouldn’t feel obliged to give it a good review. If I recommend something, it’s because I genuinely like it, not because I was paid to do it. The only ads at the side are for my own things, and the only things sold here are my own work.
Where does the name come from?
“A note on a rainy night to a friend in the north” is the best known English translation of this poem I like.
Do you update on a schedule?
No, just when I feel like it. I try to make sure I write something at least once a week.
Do you have another blog?
Yes I do, Wonders of Stereo (currently under repair), about strange second hand records.
Would you do a zine table at my gig/club night?
Yes, as long as I liked the music and could get there. I live in SE England, but I visit other places pretty frequently too.
Why do you draw the food in the recipes?
I’m no good at food photography. I don’t seem to have the knack of making things look appetising.
Tell me all your mystical details.
Capricorn. I don’t believe in astrology in the slightest. INTP. I’m skeptical about that too.
What are your tips for second-hand shopping?
I would say visit the shops quite regularly, and only when you’re in the mood for browsing. I only look at what I’m in the mood for looking at that day, so often I don’t look at everything. I just think it should be fun, rather than a grim-faced bargain hunt.
What’s your political stance?
Left-wing. I’ve been a vegetarian for a very long time. I’m very anti the current Conservative government. If the Tories of the 40s were lower than vermin, this lot are some kind of ünter-cockroach.
How tall are you?
5 ft 9.
What cameras do you use?
Please see this link.
What camera film do you use?
It varies really. If it’s c41 film, just the cheap stuff from Poundland or Aldi. If it’s cross-processed slide film, then I like the Kodak ones and Fuji Astia. I find Velvia comes out too green in x-pro. I use a Canon film scanner to scan them in, so I don’t pay much for development.
What writers do you like?
Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Jorge Luis Borges, Mikhail Bulgakov, Angela Carter, Susanna Clarke, Colette, Dostoyevsky, Gerald Durrell, T.S. Eliot, Michel Faber, Esther Freud, Graham Greene, Zora Neale Hurston, Tove Jansson, Diana Wynne Jones, Franz Kafka, Hilary Mantell, Martin Millar, George Orwell, Mervyn Peake, Raymond Queneau, Patrick Süsskind, Dylan Thomas, Evelyn Waugh, Virginia Woolf
What bands do you like?
I could fill up a huge amount of space with this list, but here’s some long-term and current favourites, arranged alphabetically: Animal Collective, Arab Strap, Syd Barrett, Belle and Sebastian, Björk, Boards of Canada, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Can, Cap’n Jazz, Cat Power, Codeine, Leonard Cohen, Shirley Collins, the Cure, Datblygu, Deerhunter, Nick Drake, Do Make Say Think, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Fall, Faust, Felt, Godspeed, Gorky’s, Guided by Voices, PJ Harvey, Hüsker Dü, Kraftwerk, Love, the Magnetic Fields, Modest Mouse, Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Neu!, Neutral Milk Hotel, Jim O’Rourke, the Pastels, Pavement, the Pixies, Pulp, Sebadoh, Silver Jews, Slint, Elliott Smith, the Smiths, Sonic Youth, Super Furry Animals, the Velvet Underground, Wild Nothing
How do you make your zines?
See this entry
Can you help me run a zine event?
Here are my tips.
Would you trade for a zine?
Yes, email me to sort out the details.
I like to trade for:
Other zines, of course
UK first-class stamps
Vintage dress patterns 34″ bust
Viewmaster reels of any topic
Rolls of expired slide film
What art materials do you use?
I use black posca markers to draw with, the kind with a fine nib. I often draw straight in pen rather than making a detailed pencil sketch. In my sketchbook I often use letraset markers or indian ink. If I’m using the computer, I scan in the black line art, autotrace it in silhouette mode on Illustrator, and colour it in either on Illustrator or Photoshop.
Are you available for weddings, funerals and Bar Mitzvahs?
I suppose so, but I’m not sure what you expect me to do there.
Gorky’s ? next to Godspeed no less?…awesome!!! –Paul