Issue #2 'Secrets'- NOW FOR SALE

Issue #2: Secrets is now available! Printed, cut, stapled and ready for your delectation!
8 brilliant stories to please your mind and a CD to please your ears- all for just £3.00 (included p&p)!

You can buy it by clicking the link:

Or if you're London based- I'll be selling at the Alternative Press Fair this Sunday (28th November) at St Aloysius Social Club near Euston- Anyone who comes and tells me how to pronounce St Aloysius gets a 10% discount!
TA!

Ponytail//Love Magazine// Teal Triggs

Here's a clunky screen grab from when Ponytail was featured as one of Teal Triggs' top ten new zines on Love Magazine (I was realllllyyyy excited)
I've been secretly coveting Teal's book 'Fanzines' since the Zineview event at LCC, reading it sneaky page glance by sneaky page glance in bookshops across London, waiting for Christmas.

5 Good Things To Look At

Back by vaguely popular demand, is the most irregular and most effusive feature to ever grace the internet: "5 Good Things To Look At"

1. Mild Fantasy Violence

Legs 11- Emma Hammond

Emma Hammond contributed an amazing piece for issue #1 of Ponytail. She's pretty brilliant and so is her new podcast Mild Fantasy Violence. Listen to it here.

2. Strange Powers



My brain almost exploded with joy when I saw this trailer - a documentary about Stephin Merritt and Magnetic Fields!
Magnetic Fields are one of my favourite bands and I listen to 69 Love Songs when I'm writing, hoping a touch of narrative genius might rub off on me!

3. Fever Zine Sandwich

I recently bought a Fever Zine Sandwich at the Camberwell Zine Fair. It's a slice of zine heaven full of deliciously illustrated ingredients, now I've exhausted my cheesy (one more) food allusions that's that.

4. Mermaids

My talented friend Gus has an encyclopedic knowledge of excellent films from the 80s, it was on her recommendation that I watched Mermaids starring Cher, Bob Hoskins and Winona Ryder. Who knew Cher could act?! She can. This film is brilliant,just the right kind of eccentric, the characters are more Zooey Glass than Zooey Deschanel. The soundtrack is pretty swish too.

5. Roylex

In what is fast becoming my quest to document all my life on the internet (aka blatent self promotion), I've started a photo blog with a friend to document our christmas card making project from sketches to screen printing to (hopefully) world domination. At the moment this involves drinking tea and listening to Mariah Carey christmas songs. This may or may not be a good thing to look at... decide here

Joe Le Taxi

A man named Joe made this strip for the first issue of Ponytail, unfortunately it wasn't finished in time, but as you can see below it was well worth the wait!
Check out more of Joe's awesome creations here.

(click to enlarge)

"Even My Mum Can Make A Book"- Istanbul, Turkey

(Spot the Ponytail)
Photo by Emanuel Mathias

Last week Istanbul played host to the first Even My Mum Can Make A Book zine library and exhibition, a collection of self-published zines from all over the world and I totally wish I could have been there.
If you have time head over to the EMMCAB website to check out photos of the event!
Then, if you still have some time, why not submit something for the next event, the deadline is 30th November- get stapling!

Issue #2- CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Ponytail is proud to present the theme for Issue #2:
"DON'T TELL ANYONE I TOLD YOU BUT..."

Your secrets (if you want to publish them!!), made-up secrets, secrets that aren't secret at all, the act of secret-keeping and telling. Interpret the theme how you will and send me your stories!

The deadline is 16th November so the next issue will be published in time for this (come along if you're London based- it'll be swell).
The word count is the same as before,roughly 1500 words max.

As per it will come with a mix CD- so if you have any secret song suggestions, hit me up!

5 Good Things To Look At

Thanks so much to everyone who has bought a copy of issue #1 so far.
The critics are raving:
"such a clever bubbeleh! It should be in WHSmiths" My Nana
One day Nana, one day.

Anyway, while I'm here cutting zines as fast as [insert a witty reference to someone who can cut something really fast here], here are 5 Good Things you should check out:

Emily Reo

1. Emily Reo of Florida very kindly donated a song to the Ponytail Mix CD. I met her this summer and we drank beer on the street and talked about Star Wars, oh and she was there when THIS happened. Her music is a feast of hazy synths, crashing drum machines and melancholic vocals- casiotones for the painfully AWESOME. Check it out on her myspace
I also found this quote on Google "Her name is Reo...and she dances on the sand". Totally wish I'd thought of that.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

2.It's Philip Seymour Hoffman, but not as you know him (although maybe they ARE the same person- "he looks so different off screen"). I met Philip Seymour Hoffman at exactly the same time that I met Emily and he too kindly donated a song to the Ponytail Mix #1. His music is right up my street- experimental pop musicians who occasionally wear masks? Yes please!
Instead of trying to write an eloquent review- here's a list of words I wrote whilst listening to PSH's music:
As you can see the main idea is "good". If anyone who puts gigs on in the UK is reading this, for example...I don't know... Upset The Rhythm (hopefully they google themselves) you should contact them on myspaces- the UK needs Emily Reo and Philip Seymour Hoffman in their ears and on their stages!

3. Ever one to support a cottage (or East London equivalent- converted warehouse maybe?) industry, the 3rd of my "Good Things To Look At" are my friend Suze's limited edition, screen-printed, pretty fucking swish t-shirts starring Shabba Ranks. Even with my limited knowledge of Dancehall, I know that these t-shirts are boss. Check them (and some exquisite colour descriptions) out at her blog- Shimmy Shimmy.

4. Fever Zine is like the jedi master of the zine world. Both interesting and aesthetically pleasing (but enough about me...arf arf) this UK-based zine covers art, music and DIY culture amongst other things and I've been a fan for aggggesssss. Plus they've totally been helping Ponytail out with shout-outs and understanding technologies:

Thanks guys!

5. I've been obsessed with Freaks and Geeks since I watched all of them in a row and ate crisps with my friend Emmylou 3 years ago. Having been exactly half a freak (going twosies on joints behind the bike shed) and half a geek (founder of History club 2000-2003), this programme "spoke to me". Plus teen awkardness is the bread and butter of my cultural diet right now. All the episodes are available on youtube if you haven't seen it already (what do you live under a rock?) or want to just watch them again.
As you can see from the opening credits below, it is a) amazing and b) stars lots of people who went on to be more famous in less funny things:

PONYTAIL ISSUE #1- AVAILABLE NOW

Issue #1 has been printed, cut and stapled and is now ready to buy. Featuring awesome short stories and a free mix cd, all on the theme of FIRST TIMES. A bargain at £3.00! Plus free postage (thanks Mum's work!)
You can buy it by clicking the link below, Thanks!

The Sky is Falling: The First Time I Got Hit By A Meteorite

To get your juices flowing in the run-up to the deadline on 21st August, I thought I'd share a strange first time of mine from Friday night...
As odd as it may sound, (it sounds really odd) I am 98% sure that I was hit on the leg by a piece of meteorite/ space matter/ a lump of coal from a collier's airplane (I don't think these exist- do these exist???).
I was sitting on the street with some friends, drinking beer when THWACK something hit my thigh really hard and fast.
It really hurt, I'm generally quite a pussy and say "It really hurt" about a lot of things; paper cuts/ feelings/ a butterfly flying at my face but this definitely really hurt and it definitely went THWACK.
Everyone said "What The..." like everyone does These Days and I said "Ow", "It really hurt", and the last part of "What The..." which is "FUCK".
By my foot lay what seemed to be a piece of coal, it was stone cold and as light as a piece of coal, which isn't very heavy at all.
So, why then do I believe that this is the intergalactic equivalent of a pigeon shitting on you and not the work of an 'Evil Sadist Barbecue Enthusiast' who haunts the rooftops of Shoreditch, throwing coal at girls?
A) An 'Evil Sadist Barbecue Enthusiast' is a ridiculous notion (Spiderman vs. Dr Chop?? No.)
B) The matter fell from straight above not from any angle, and it went THWACK (see above) despite it's insubstantial weight like it had fallen from a great height. Plus there were no tall buildings nearby.
C) It was cold like it had been in Space.
This ultimately led me to believe it's part of a meteor. Answers and theories on a postcard, unless you're Evil Sadist Barbecue Enthusiast, in which case I say "Fuck You".

Exhibit Aiiii!
"It really did hurt- I'm not a pussy"

Ponytail goes to Paris

Paris- you croque my world!
Wish I was writing as much as I was eating!
Here is the view from my window:



















Plus,I saw Air Waves last night- it was awesome!:


Definite mixtape contender.

CHANGE IN SUBMISSION DATE + "EVEN MY MUM CAN MAKE A BOOK" EXHIBITION

Dear members, future contributors and hair-style enthusiasts,

GET YOUR SKATES ON- SUBMISSION is 21st AUGUST!

Ponytail has been invited to take part in an awesome zine archive and exhibition starting in Istanbul, with plans to move around the universe:
http://evenmymumcanmakeabook.tumblr.com/

Here's the deal:
As I have to send them Ponytail by the end of August, I've brought the deadline for submission forward to a month from today (21st August).
It's a great opportunity for the zine and all its contributors: Your work could be seen globally, and a month is still plenty of time to write and send me something, so pens at the ready, folks!

Lots of love
Chief Pony.

Mixtape Mayhem

HiHowAreYou

Stuff is kicking off for Issue #1! I've decided to make a mixtape available on cassette and for download here to go with the zine's release, so for the theme of 'first times'- lots of awkward 80s pop, songs to make girls blush and boys wink and vice versa.
Any suggestions on what you'd like to see on there?

And since I miss so dearly the days of myspace blogging and it's "currently listening to" option, here's what I'm 'Currently Listening To...'

Issue #1-Submissions

Ponytail is a zine of short stories.
If you have a tale that is fact or fiction, sad, funny or embarrassing, I want to hear it!
The zine is to be printed A5 and as often as I can. Each issue will be loosely based around a theme.
It will eventually be available to buy online and at zine-y events. Any contributors of course get credit (if wanted) and a free copy (if wanted!), and I'm happy to link up to anyone's blogs.
This is going to be fun!

So, Issue #1's loose theme is going to be 'First times'. Whether it's your first time at S-E-X or the first time you went hang-gliding, or the first time you did both simultaneously.
And as I'm not sure how much thickness my long-armed stapler can take anything up to 1,500 words will be great!
I'll be accepting submissions up until 21st August so please email me at:
ponytail.zine@gmail.com