BRAINSCAN

Hello again

Alex Wrekk — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:42:26 +0000

I’m not giving up on this blog. Stay tuned for more!

New Zine: Brainscan #30 – 30 issues in 15 years!

Alex Wrekk — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:38:20 +0000

Brainscan Zine #30!

Growing (literally and figuratively) taking on adventurous tasks year by year from travel to zine tours to event organizing, teaching (or not teaching), and opening and transitioning Portland Button Works zine distro and button shop in Portland, Oregon.

40 pages, 1/4 sized, 5 color Risograph printed on recycled paper

available in my Etsy shop and Portland Button Works distro and brick and mortar shop in Portland, Oregon

Or stick $4 US ($5 rest of the world) postage paid and send it to:

Alex Wrekk

c/o Portland Button Works

1322 North Killingsworth

Portland, Oregon 97217 USA

Or PayPal $4 to brainscanzineATgmailDOTcom

My Year in zines: 2012

Alex Wrekk — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:04:31 +0000

I don’t really use thins space anymore but I thought I would round out the year with this post.

2012 was a ridiculously active zine year for me. It started with creating the StolenSharpieRevolution.org site to be a companion to my book. The site includes a Zine Event listing calendar. In February I attended the first L.A. Zine fest and it was great! In March I attended the Chicago Zine Fest and it was really fun. We even had a Zine Organizer’s Event where we met with other zine event organizers to talk shop and I released my very first fiction zines (Brainscan #29) as a split with No More Coffee #4. In April I helped the fine folks at Zine Works run zine workshops at Coachella. I made some really great friends and got to see some great bands for free.

In May I opened a brick and mortar storefront and online shop in Portland, Oregon called Portland Button Works and zine distro. July was International Zine Month and I created a poster of events to do for each day of the month.and participated in the 24 hour zine thing. August had the Portland Zine Symposium that I helped organize and I hosted a bunch of guest at my house. In September I quit volunteering at the Independent Publishing Resource Centerafter over a decade of volunteering because I just didn’t have any more time for it after opening the Portland Button Works shop.

October and November were big months. I had been saving for a UK trip for a few years and somehow we had also planned for The Copy Scams, our zine themed pop-punk band, to record and tour. We wrote 3 new songs that we hope to release next year. I got to hang out with a lot of my awesome Uk friends and attend the Leeds Zine Fair and the SE London Zine Fest. I kept a bit of a travelogue on tumblr and put out issue #7 ofNobody Cares About You Stupid Zine Podcast, it’s all about trading zine.

So, now it is December and I did a bit of updating to the Etsy Team Zine and my own Etsy shop and changing it over to a Portland Button Works shop. I’m also offering free shipping Sunday and Monday in my Etsy shop when you use the discount code: POSTMAN. I also hope to work on my new zine this week. It’s all typed up and I just need to do layout. I also just signed up for the 2013 Chicago Zine Fest! Hope to see you there.

blog graveyard

Alex Wrekk — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:26:11 +0000

I sometimes feel like I’m leaving a trail of dead blogs in a blog graveyard. I think my first entry here discussed this a bit. First it was Diaryland, then it was livejournal,then it was here. But, I think the life of this blog may be over. I’m moving on to tumblr. It has the built in scrolling ability of things I choose to look at like like livejournal and the reblogable aspect of facebook. It has some problems but I’m finding it fun, and it has lots of prett and funny things to look at.

So, if you would like to folloe me, here is where I have gone:

alexwrekk.tumblr.com

I also have another tumblr, but you can find that yourself.

So, until we meet again,

Alex Wrekk

Tomorrow is International Zine Library Day also, the Portland Zine Symposium 24 Hour Zine Challenge starts tomorrow!

Alex Wrekk — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:21:08 +0000

Tomorrow is International Zine Library Day! What are you going to do to celebrate?

Tomorrow at 10 am I will be at the IPRC to spend 24 hours making a new zine! I don’t know what the new zine will be about yet, but I hope it will be awesome! the past two years have been really successful. If you would like to be the first to get your hand on the new issue of my zine you can sponsor me for $10 or more. The money goes to the Portland Zine Symposium to help it continue to be an awesome zine event!

Come on, $10 (or more!) will get you:

*my new zine

*button of new design

*31 Days of International Zine Month poster.

*a copy of my 1 page mini zine/com (that’s right! I attempt to draw stuff!) made about the stuff that happened on July 10th when I worked a 10 hour shift at Portland Button Works.

Speaking of Portland Button Works, we are having a sale for International Zine Month from now until the rest of July! Use the Coupon code: IZM2012 for 10% off! We’d love for your to use it on zines, but it is good for anything in

here’s the zine I made in 2010 at the 24 hour zine challenge. it was about all the postboxes have ever had.

The cover is so-not my style at all- but I do like it. The new copier at the IPRC does color copies at a reasonable price. I cut all these irises out of an old iris catalog from the 60s. I’m not used to working in color so this was fun. The insert is also in color.

Please help the Portland Zine Symposium andsponsor me in the 24 Hour Zine Challenge!

Alex Wrekk — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:40:03 +0000

The Portland Zine Symposium is hosting their 4th annual 24 Hour Zine challenge. This awesome event is a fundraiser for PZS and works like a charity walk. You sponsor a participant (or participants!) and you only have to pay-up if the participant/s finish the challenge! If you sponsor someone for at least $10 you will even receive the zine the participant makes!

I have taken part in this event for the past two years and have finished both times. I will be participating again in the 24 Hour Zine Challenge that will be held at the new spacious Independent Publishing Resource Center in Portland, Oregon on 21 July. I would love love love it if you could help out the Portland Zine Symposium and sponsor me, Alex Wrekk, in the 24 hour zine challenge. There will also be live cams to watch our sleep deprived scribbling….and also so that you can laugh at us.

So, go here and send and e-mail pledging to sponsor me for this year!

Happy International Zine Month! Day 4

Alex Wrekk — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:19:26 +0000

Are you playing along at home with the 31 activities? Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Day 1 – I posted on the We Make Zines post about IZM.

Day 2 – I sent twitter message to a couple distro.

Day 3 – I organized zines in the Portland Button Works shop. My own zines are a disaster!

Day 4 – I’m not sure what zine skill I’m going to teach myself! Maybe I should see it as ‘teach yourself a new skill from a zine” So it could be a bit of a DIY challege? If that’s the case then I’m going to curl up with my copy of Advanced Brains and teach myself the rules to this role playing game that puts punks vs. Zombies! We are going to have a test play of the game in the shop in a few weeks and I’m stoked! I think I’m going to play a skate punk.

This afternoon I’m leaving for the Riverhouse to see my mom and enjoy the sun that seems to be crawling out from behind the Oregon clouds. I’ll be bringing some new zines for the challenge tomorrow: Day 5 – Check out a different type of zine than you normally read. I’ll also be bringing some of my favorite zines to re-read for the Day 6 activity. I’ll be away from the PBW shop for 2 days. TWO DAYS! I haven’t had two days off since we have opened the shop. I’m stoked!

I’m hoping to get away from the 4th of July fireworks and being able to sit in the woods, stare at the river, maybe doing some swimming and craft beer drinking.

Open letter to Microcosm Publishing

Alex Wrekk — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:08:34 +0000

I was contacted a few weeks ago by someone from Berlin sending me a copy of this letter asking me how I felt about it. I was told that it was going to be sent out to collectives, infoshops, etc. Well, once the e-mail went out to more American groups I got e-mails asking if I was ok with it. I wrote back to the person in Berlin and requested to be added to the list of signers to avoid more of those e-mails.

You can read the Open Letter To Microcosm here and, if you agree, you can sign it at the bottom. I think it is reasonable to request for Microcosm to do, you know, what they said they were going to do. I would appreciate people signing it if they believe in the intent of the letter. However, I really don’t expect anything to come of this situation. It is already way too far gone for repair.

How to get your own 31 Days of International Zine Month poster!

Alex Wrekk — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 19:16:44 +0000

Oh, if you would like a a copy of the 31 activities for International Zine Month poster along with a Portland Button Works Quarterly here’s how you get them. send a self addrssed stamped envelope (SASE) to:

Portland Button Works

1322 N Killingsworth

Portland, Oregon 97217

Also, the Portland Zine Symposium is hosting their 4th annual 24 Hour Zine challenge. This awesome event is a fundraiser for PZS and works like a charity walk. You sponsor a participant (or participants!) and you only have to pay-up if the participant/s finish the challenge! If you sponsor someone for at least $10 you will even receive the zine the participant makes! I have taken part in this event for the past two years and have finished both times. I will be participating again this year at this event that will be held at the new spacious Independent Publishing Resource Center in Portland, Oregon on 21 July. I would love love love it if you could help out the Portland Zine Symposium and sponsor me, Alex Wrekk, in the 24 hour zine challenge. There will also be live cams to watch our sleep deprived scribbling….and also so that you can laugh at us.

31 Days of International Zine Month – The poster!

Alex Wrekk — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 02:39:47 +0000

Want to download a PDF page with two of these so you can make some yourself? Go here.