I found out aboutLiz Suburbia while browsing through the Fantagraphics website months ago, I’ve just been very lousy at keeping my shit together. Her black and white minimalist comics caught my eye and I was very pleased to find out she has her own blog with her work. She’s currently in the process of creating a four-volume book series, with Sacred Heart being the first. Her sketching is clever, her technique inventive and I like that I can relate to lots of her story lines. Being different, often alone, in doubt, battling on each day with passion and anger.
Be sure to check out the rest of her work at lizsuburbia.com
Spot the greek.
“Passengers with numbers 1-35 please proceed for boarding”. People start to form a line. A fat stubby lady sitting right next to the check point tries to butt her way into the queue. The skinny pale lady behind me seems slightly irritated but says nothing, just continues to fumble with her english passport. The fat lady gets in long before all the other people patiently waiting in line.
What drought?
The rain comes down softly at first, it’s almost invisible. By the third day it’s coming down in sheets and the wind ruffles the leaves sending music through the back gardens. It might be raining but spring is in the nature all around me. Trees, bushes, blossoms, berries, pods, shrubs and flowers all emerge with magnificent colours and shapes. Everything is fresh and wet and even though I’m not fond of rain, it wouldn’t be england if there was none.
Fish out of water.
And yet, despite the rain it still seems that everyone is outdoors. Cycling, running, playing football, throwing a Frisbee, walking the dog. I moan about how athenians are never outdoors and how they spend no time in public parks and spaces, but that’s because there are no parks or public spaces. I saw more parks on my one hour drive from the airport to my grandfather’s house than I’ve seen all decade in attica.
And one thing is for sure, the calming effect of nature is striking. Just taking the southeastern train in to victoria was relaxing. The soft murmur of the train, the gentle rocking, trees and brick pubs rolling by outside the window… It’s only once you exit the dome of vcitoria station that you feel like you’re back in the city, with the grime, mud, noise and chaos.
Garden paradise.
The other thing that made an impression on me is that, if they can, everyone makes some sort of garden. It could be a crummy back yard, front door area, a balcony, window sill, even the outdoor corridor connecting building blocks: they made an effort. OK, of course it helps if it rains all the time, but I don’t think that’s really the reason people indulge in gardening. I think it’s because once you get a taste of the serenity gardens and nature offer, you create your own. The row of houses next to my grandfather’s all have a small back yard of about 10 sqr mtr., yet each one looks like a tiny, individual jungle, with trees, bushes and flowers in every corner, some random patch of untouched nature spreading out behind all the fences.
Sichia! Avovo! (*)
Being 89 years old isn’t easy. Being 89 years old and living in a three-story house is even harder, so to help him out my grandfather has a whole assortment of people who come in to help him, Tatianna from Brazil stays at night to make sure he’s alright, Abdul the Turkish cab driver takes him to the bank, doctor, theatre and cricket (and me to the airport), Rita comes in on weekends, Marc the neighbour who saved the day when he gave me his mac charger/cable/adapter. But, the angel of them all is the large, smiling Brazilian called Fabiola, who cooks and cleans, helps him wash and dress and generally keeps things in order. Today she came over with her two-tear old daughter called Priscilla. When we sat down to eat our fish&chip lunch (at my grandfather’s request!), she asked that she first say grace and even though I don’t know any spanish, I could get the words ‘visita de lydia’ and ‘viagem para América’. I felt kinda touched. Then her daughter taught me what fish is in brazilian by repeating ‘mais peixe’ and waiving her fork in the air and I decided I’m gonna take up spanish lessons. (*) that’s aunty and grandpa in brazilian baby talk.
This was what my grandad sung as he went to bed last night. The cat’s whiskers indeed!
Next update will be from The City and the MRR compound as I take over duties from Layla as magazine coordinator. \m/
While one world crumbles, another one seems to be coming to life. Nature would have it no other way. Slowly and gradually gaining momentum, life 2.0 is in beta testing. Launch date 27.4.12. Fuck yeah!
Right-o, fixed a bust link to Entes Anomicos Distro, who has just recently received a 4,500 word scene report from yours truly and TRANSLATED it into Spanish for his up-coming zine! Now that’s a level of dedication I can’t yet relate to, you can check his site here. I’m already adding some final touches to it, to send it off to the folks at MRR. Fingers crossed they like it.
In related news, the postman woke me this morning with 5 violently loud buzzes on the intercom that sent me flying from the slumber of my bed covers, to notify me that I had received a package.Yes, I have some goodies for you! AndyHemming, who has also done design work for the Lost Tapes From The Federal Sessions Zine, is the creator behind this here awesome little zine.
If leggings were the great comeback for women, mustaches have been the latest trend sprouting above male lips across the western hipster infested world. Yet behind the trends and the fads, lays a solemn, almost heroic piece of facial hair made famous by many men, like Carlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx, Salvador Dali, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Einstein, Adolf Hitler (though that one never really got too famous) and of course my favourite, Tom Selleck as Magnum. And then there is the notorious Football ‘stache, a statement in its own right.
And for some things to come:
This Friday with Πανδημια (latest favourite, the vocals are awesome!) Jagernaut (who have just released a split tape with Hello Bastards) and Conspiracy of Denial (check out their new band camp page and listen to their newly recorded demo).
I first learned about TED through my dad. He’s always been an endless source of knowledge and information for me and I remember him calling me into his den one afternoon some years ago and telling me to watch Sir Ken Robinson’s talk on how school kills creativity and I found it very appealing and so I watched more and more of them. Including another one of Robinson’s talks, Bring on the learning revolution! where he says “Everybody who has spoken at TED has told us implicitly or sometimes explicitly, a different story, that life is not linear, it’s organic. We create out lives symbiotically as we explore our talents in relation to the circumstances they help to create for us.”
Yet another warning towards the Greek government came from the Anonymous Hacktivist group two days ago on Wednesday Feruary 22. This time Anonymous demand that the Greek authorities release the three school students, aged 16, 17 and 18, who go by the nickname Greek Hacking Scene (G.H.S.) and who were arrested after allegedly being accused of hacking the Greek ministry of Justice website on February 2, 2012. This is what Anonymous had to say about it.
That’s the distance from Athens, Greece to San Fran, USA. And, seeing as my new home will soon be San Fransisco, I just couldn’t resist giving you a few tracks that sing about California in general. Sorry there’s not been too much action here lately, that’s because I’m finishing off all the other (writing) projects, plus preparing my paperwork to leave! So, until next time, enjoy…
Open Mic 
No Comments 
