,,ggddY""""Ybbgg,, ,agd""' `""bg, T H E N E O - C O M I N T E R N ,gdP" "Ybg, ,dP" ""` ,dP" _,,ddP"""Ybb,,_ .s*""*s .s*"*s. ,8" .+$ '""' `"Yb, .P' $ `.d' `b ,8' .+$$$$ssss+. sssss "'d' .sssP d' `b db. ,8' .+$$$$$$$$$$$$$$+. $$$$$ d' ,P' d' s*s $ d' `b d.+$$$$$$$$$$$$$$`*$$$$+.$$$$$$$$$ $ :$ d'.P .Pd' $ _ 8`*$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ o`*$$$$$$$$ T. `b. :$ TsP .Pd' $ .+P"*+. 8 `*$$$$$$$$$$$ OOb.`*$$$$$ T. `^**sT. .Pd' . $ .+P' :P 8 `*$$$$ YOOOObooi `b. $ T. .P'd' .P $P' .P' 8 `*$ "OQQQO" `TsggsP `TssP' d' .PT. . .P' Y, i. aP ,P d .P :$b+.d' .P' `8, "Ya aP" ,8' d; .P .d' .P' `8, "Yb,_ _,dP" ,8' `*TP .d' .P' `8a `""YbbgggddP""' a8' d; .P' `Yba adP' `*TP' "Yba adY" `"Yba, ,adP"' `"Y8ba, ,ad8P"' E L E C T R O N I C M A G A Z I N E ``""YYbaaadPP""'' .-. t h e l i t e r a r y m o l o t o v c o c k t a i l .-. / \ .-. .-. / \ / \ / \ .-. _ .-. / \ / \ `-------\-------/-----\-----/---\---/-\---/---\-----/-----\-------/-------' \ / \ / `-' `-' \ / \ / \ / `-' `-' \ / `-' I N S T A L L M E N T N U M B E R 2 8 4 `-' N O V E M B E R 1 , 2 0 0 4 B M C , E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F FEATURED IN THIS INSTALLMENT: A Response to linear - BMC A Letter from Melatonin _/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_ EDITOR'S KNOWTE "IS TEXT DEAD WHEN PEOPLE STOP READING? OR DO WE PUT TEXT TO REST OURSELVES ONCE WE STOP WRITING?" -linear, Emperor of ASCII 1) My friend, text never lives! It's in-animate, ab-stract. Text is the content of a document. There are no fixed paramaters on what the text of a document ought be. So text cannot die, no more than ideas can die. 2) Documents can die. The ASCII medium dies every day. Websites are coded in HTML, et blog blog blog puke puke puke. I boldly assert that hypertext is to blame for the decline of pre-hyper-text files. Goodbye BBS, hello WWW! Get well soon! 3) Whether the underworld beats with a thousand hearts, or whether with one, ASCII LIVES. 4) Before HTML, ASCII had no meaning. Independent electronic publishers did not choose ASCII--ASCII chose them. ASCII was the first universal language for electronic text, and it continues to be the simplest and smallest in file size. Pre-WWW, publishers might be heard to say: "The medium is NOT the message. The message is the message, and the medium is insignificant when it can be taken for granted." -Swamp Ratte, founding editor of Cult of the Dead Cow Mr. Ratte's statement does not nearly debunk the theory of Marshall McLuhan, but it does show that Ratte takes the ASCII medium for granted. In modern times, when HTML and blogging are standard media for independent publishing, ASCII can no longer be taken for granted. Each publisher must decide which format to use, and when ASCII is chosen it is chosen for a reason. 5) I'm too lazy to insert HTML tags. (Then why not blog?) 6) Because ASCII lives! (Yes? No? In-animate?) 7) Because HTML is an endless stream of waste and ASCII keeps it real. (Nope. Ever heard of an ASCII zine called Vaginal and Anal Secretions?) 8) AS ASCII dies and ASCII zines become more marginal, they are pushed further into the underground. (Did he say UNDERGROUND? Cool! The UnDergrOund iS KEwl liKe alTerNativE musiC iE gREn DaY et pErL jaM!!!) 9) Die ASCII die! 10) From the ashes of the ASCII empire rises the PHOENIX! _ _ _/| _ |\_ _/_ | _|\\ | _\ _/_/| / / \|\ |\_\_ _/_/ |/ / _ \/\| \_\_ _/_/ || | | \o/ || \_\_ /_/ | | |\ | \_ V /| | | \_\ -WhEre'Z ThA WAreZ!? GivE mE // ||| | \_/ \__/ | ||| \\ Zer0-DAe oR giVe me DeAtHHH! // __| ||\ \ / /|| |__ \\ //_/ \|||| \/\\ //\/ ||||/ \_\\ /// \\\\/ / \ \//// \\\ |/ \/ | | | \/ \| /_| | |_ \ ///_| |_||\_ \ |//||/||\/||\| / \/|||/||/\/ Oh beauteous phoenix, I adore thee. /|/\| \/ \/ | It all boils down to ASCII art. (Nope.) The iron age gives way to the bronze age, the bronze age gives way to the silver age, the silver gives way to the golden. You see? We must die a thousand deaths to truly live! LIVE, DAMN YOU! LIVE! 1X) Special thanks to linear, and thanks to every ASCII zinester and reader out there in the world-to-be. There's something beautiful about this format, something that seems real and unmediated. "When it comes down to it, it's all about what is being written. If the words don't hold up, there is nothing to fall back on. That purity has always been enticing." -Kilgore Trout, State of unBeing Editor THE PHOENIX) "Ash of opium after the opium has been smoked [. . .] contains about the same morphine content as opium before smoking. It can be eaten with hot coffee, or dissolved in water and injected intravenously." -William S. Burroughs, from "Junky" Long live blah blah blah bl;ah-------------- d8888 .d8888b. .d8888b. 8888888 8888888 d88888 d88P Y88b d88P Y88b 888 888 d88P888 Y88b. 888 888 888 888 d88P 888 "Y888b. 888 888 888 d88P 888 "Y88b. 888 888 888 d88P 888 "888 888 888 888 888 d8888888888 Y88b d88P Y88b d88P 888 888 d88P 888 "Y8888P" "Y8888P" 8888888 8888888 and now, a letter from Melatonin, obviously written in Notepad. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ \"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._ _.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/ " " " " " " " """"" " " " " " " " _/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"-._/"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_.-"\_ A Letter from Melatonin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ \"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._\"-._ _.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/_.-"/ " " " " " " " """"" " " " " " " " komrade melatonin neocomintern staff writer, assistant editor, and assistant crate builder reporting from the front lines to komrade eidetic neocomintern director of layout & design and komrade bmc neocomintern editor-in-chief and komrade heckat neocomintern staff writer, assistant editor, and sometimes pocketbook begin report. must report komrades, that as of oct. 17th, 2004 at roughly 300 hours, winter has officially arrived, visually at least, with this, the year's first true snowfall here in the neocomintern original headquarters of saskatoon, saskatchewan. i would also like to report that, due to a sense of childish obligation, or some weird surge of nostalgia -- very likely resulting from the consumpton, via the lungs, of one chemical THC -- i have in fact ventured out into this first snowfall, after, of course, the traditional donning of properly insulated torso costuming and stylish waterproof footwear, both courtesy of one diesel, a pseudo-subversive capitalist clothing company that you may or may not support and/or be aware of. and, having ventured out into this first snowfall, dear komrades, i did quickly come to the conclusion, that snow is, as we all believe, really quite nice but that seriously come on folks it is only nice UP TO A POINT. and i do believe, dear komrades, that this point is in fact crossed (to the side of the negative) here in our rather uncomfortable original headquarters of saskatoon, saskatchewan. my realisation of this fact? opinion? has greatly increased my desire to expatriate myself to a new location as you komrades before me have done. you see, as i went out into this year's first snowfall, i very quickly realized that a jagged wind whipping at your face, cars threatening to lose control and slide towards you, and wet spots peppering your spectacles have an unfortunate tendency to cause the human face to squint and grimace in the most loathsome of contortions and that such side effects can only have a negative effect on a human's physical and mental well-being. however. i do believe that a certain amount of weather-based discomfort in one's life also gives one the sense of a change in seasons and as such a sense of time passing which are both, i believe you will agree, rather pleasant sensations and as such absolutely essential. to this extent, i believe that a climate of monotonous temperatures, as one may find in certain fancied parts of the world, is in fact, NOT VERY ENJOYABLE AT ALL. the ideal, then, must be a happy median between the two. that is, a special idyllic place where we feel the seasons and feel happy doing it. might i suggest toronto? or in many years hopefully many many many many many many many years some sort of heaven or reincarnation or combination of both that may perhaps exist or at least, HOPEFULLY EXISTS, as you all to some extent like me must feel. ;) end report. .-. .-. / \ .-. .-. / \ / \ / \ .-. _ .-. / \ / \ `-------\-------/-----\-----/---\---/-\---/---\-----/-----\-------/-------' \ / \ / `-' `-' \ / \ / \ / `-' `-' \ / `-' `-' The Neo-Comintern Magazine / Online Magazine is seeking submissions. Unpublished stories and articles of an unusual, experimental, or anti-capitalist nature are wanted. Contributors are encouraged to submit works incorporating any or all of the following: Musings, Delvings into Philosophy, Flights of Fancy, Freefall Selections, and Tales of General Mirth. The more creative and astray from the norm, the better. For examples of typical Neo-Comintern writing, see our website at . Submissions of 25-4000 words are wanted; the average article length is approximately 200-1000 words. Send submissions via email attachment to , or through ICQ to #29981964. Contributors will receive copies of the most recent print issue of The Neo-Comintern; works of any length and type will be considered for publication in The Neo-Comintern Online Magazine and/or The Neo-Comintern Magazine. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .--/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\--. `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' ___________________________________________________ | THE COMINTERN IS AVAILABLE ON THE FOLLOWING BBSES | |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | TWILIGHT ZONE (905) 432-7667 | | BRING ON THE NIGHT (306) 373-4218 | | CLUB PARADISE (306) 978-2542 | | THE GATEWAY THROUGH TIME (306) 373-9778 | |___________________________________________________| | Website at: http://www.neo-comintern.com | | Questions? Comments? Submissions? | | Email BMC at bmc@neo-comintern.com | |___________________________________________________| | The Current Text Scene : http://www.textscene.com | |___________________________________________________| .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .--/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\---/---\--. `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' copyright 2004 by #284-11/01/04 the neo-comintern ISSN 1710-5749 All content is property of The Neo-Comintern. You may redistribute this document, although no fee can be charged and the content must not be altered or modified in any way. Unauthorized use of any part of this document is prohibited. All rights reserved. Made in Canada. By Canadians. And a couple Others. ,,,,,,,, ,|||````|||| ,,,,||||| ||, ,||||``````` `|| ,|||` |||, ||` ...., `||| -Check out the mitochondrion on that motherfucker! || :::::::: |||, || :::::::' || ``|||, ||, :::::' `||| `||, ||| -How sweet and sexy! `|||, || || ,|| `|| |||` || ,,,|||| || ,||||||``` ,|| ,,|||||` ,||` || |||` |||` || ,|| || ||` || |||, ||| `|||,, ,||| ``||||||||` -------------------------- _zz@@zL .@@' "-@z ____, `@L ]@e .d@~~~@e ]@L ]@@ .a@' @[ `@@, ]@b d@' ]@[ ]@b `@@ ]@[ a@' @@, ]@L )@@' ]@[ ]@L `@@ a@' a@' @@L q@L d@r )@[ ]@L `@@ )@@ d@' @@L q@La@' .@[ ]@@ `@@@P d@' , @@L___=~~ a[ .d@@-@za@~@@@@@@@@L ]@' ]@' `@@@ `~~@@b,]@ ]@, `@@b_ `-@@]@ ]za@d@@ ]@@@@zzz, ]@@@ a@" `@@L q@_~~-@[ q@@ ]@L `@@L @@, ]@b ]@L ]@@, `@@L ]@[ `@[ @@L ]@@@, `@@b__]@P "~ ]@[ @@@@___@@~~~~~ .a@' ]@~~@@@~' .a@' ]@L .a@' ]@z, only ASCII _a@' `-@@_ appreciation ]@@" `-@e can bring ]@ ]@[ world peace ]@ ]@@zz_________zza@ --------------------- And finally, "Things I would like to kill you with": ./ | _________________ / / / __________ //\_ /' / | (__________) ||.' `-.________________________ / / | __________ ||`._.-'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` / \ \__(__________)__\\/ | `\ | | ___________________ | |___________________...-------'''- - - =- - = - = `. /| | \- = = - -= - = - =- = - =| ( | | |= -= - = - = - = - =--= = - = =| \| |___________________/- = - -= =_- =_-=_- -=_=-=_=_= -| | | ```-------...___________________.' |________| \ / _ | | ,,,,,,, /=\ ,-' `-, /\___________ (\\\\\\\||=| | | \/~~~~~~~~~~~` ^^^^^^^ \=/ `--------' ` ____________________________ _____ ,\\ ___________________ \ | `------------------------' || (___________________) `| |_____.------------------------._ || ____________________ | `//__(____________________)___/ ______________________ .' __ `. | .'__`. = = = = |_.-----._ .---. | `.__.' = = = = | | | \ _______________ / .-. \ |`. | | | | ````````````,) \ `-' / | `. |_| |_/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' `---' | `-;___ | `-----' ___ | /\``---..._____.' _ _...--''' ``-._ | | \ /\\` `._ | | ) __..--''\___/ \\ _.-'```''-._ `; | | / / .' \\_.-' ```` | | / |_.-.___| .-. .'~ | `( | `-' `-' ;`._ | `. \__ ___.' //`-._ _,,, | ) ``--../ \ // `-.,,,..-' `; `----------' \//,_ _.-' ^ ```--...___..-' __, .-' / ,--------, .' / /`. ,--------,' | | / / | | _ | | | \__/ | | .' `. | | `. .' | `._.' | | `. .' | |,',-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-==, | ][ | |__________\------------------------------==' | ][ | | ][ | | ][ | .----. .---. | ][ | '---, `.____________________________.' _ `. | ][ | ) ____________________________ <_> : | ][ | .---' .' `. .' | ][ | `----' `---' | ][ | .' __ `. | / \ | | \__/ | `. .' `----' dP db dP db dP db. .dP `db. .dP `8b .88$ 88b. .d888. 888db. d88888O. . 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