Strange Journey Issue 1
S . T . R . A . N . G . E --- J . O . U . R . N . E . Y
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(Issue #1)Welcome to the premier issue of Strange Journey, the e-zine of e-zines.
My name is Charles Trefethen, and I'll be your waiter this evening, serving up my humble opinion of all the electronic magazines I can download.
While we have a fine selection of zine reviews for your enjoyment, I realize the publications reviewed here are only a small part of what is available, and, as I have only recently acquired Internet access, some of the issues are not the latest. To remedy this for future issues...some begging...
I aim to make this the most complete list I can and I can only do that with your help. If you know of an e-zine or one-shot publication that I have not reviewed here, please send me the address/number from which I can obtain it. You'll get the credit for finding it in the review. If you *publish* a zine, please send it to me and I'll definitely include it.
[Exception: I do not review mail lists. There are many cool lists out there, but you can get a comprehensive guide to them elsewhere.]
My Internet address is: charles.trefethen@channel1.com -or- call Channel 1 BBS at (617) 354-3230
Please let me know what you think of this zine. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
******
All the zines are in alphabetical order and each has a topic flag so that you can search for, say, all the [LIT] zines and skip all the [REL]s. Each item is delineated by six asterisks if you just want to browse without wearing out your arrow key. Following the title and issue number is the archive name and the number of bytes compressed (zip--estimated). Contact information usually gives one BBS number and one Internet address, if available. Next issue I will include the FTP site as well.
Topics:
[BUS]--Business [COM]--Computers Issues [LIT]--Literary
[MSC]--Miscellaneous [MUS]--Music [REL]--Religion
[SCI]--Science [SOC]--Social Issues[Ed. note: It am not religious. Religion zines are here for the sake of completeness and I do not (usually) attempt to review them.]
Table of Contents
- Zine reviews
- One shots and text files of interest
- Review of Reading for Pleasure Electronic Library
[1] ZINE REVIEWS
669'ER #1
SSN0101 (154940) [MUS]
Hints and tips for using Renaissance's Composer 669. Editor Scott Burkett wrote most of this first issue which contains hints for effects, sources for samples and ruminations over some functions he'd like to see. He gives the source code (in c) for merging samples and requests that you send him a list of your fave 669 songs. Topping it off is a song he wrote, hence the big file size above. As a fan of this composer myself (and a hack who's spend MUCH time screwing around with it) I hope the 669 community supports this effort.
Contact: Under the Nile BBS at (706) 596-8126
A-CHAT MAGAZINE Feb. 3, 1993
ACHAT302 (227762) [LIT]
Colorful ANSI magazine with nifty wipes between screens. This issue compares PKZIP 2 with ARJ 239 and follows with an essay on the bug frenzy surrounding the release of the former. They interview a sysop, give tips on reducing the amount of time you tie up a BBS and throw in a couple software reviews. On a more artistic note, a poem by D.T. Whittington and a reflection on how a baby sees the world by a new father are included.
Contact: Lots of BBSes are listed, but no HQ. Here's the first one... Abend BBS (713) 771-2802
THE AGGRESSIVE TRADER #33-49
AT233-49 (35231) [BUS]
Ken Deen's free (for now) stock tip newsletter. I've no idea what his credentials are, but he aims to achieve "double digit profits in one to four months". I found these issues bundled up on Channel 1 under the above file-name. Hurry to get your free samples as he starts selling this after May 1.
Contact: 72020.2050@compuserve.com
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS #168-#169
ATN168 (22243) [SCI]
ATN169 (29089)
Electronic port of the expensive hard-copy medical zine ($100/year for individuals) that reports on standard and alternate treatments for AIDS.
#168 has a report on a shortage of Sulfadiazine, research on the benefits of injecting Thymus hormones, a review of possible changes the Clinton Administration will make in the government's approach to AIDS research, and others. #169 has a report on a scientific conference sponsored by Project Inform with interviews of several of the co-ordinators, as well as numbers to call to shake up the establishment.
Level-headed and un-hysterical, but frequently too technical if you don't follow this sort of thing.
Contact: oola@lthrwings.QueerNet.ORG (Ben Gardiner)
(800) TREAT-1-2 (vox) for paper subscription information.
THE AVERAGE USERS MONTHLY #1
AUM001 (33220) [COM]
A new zine for computer users who aren't tech wizards, but aren't idiots, either. This issue has a review of Sterling's "Hacker Crackdown", a reprint of Sterling's "Gurp's Labor Lost" essay, an essay on phone line technology, a glossary of computer terms and a review of the SPA's SPAUDIT program that checks your disk to see if you have any commercial programs that shouldn't be there. Fairly open-ended right now as far as direction. Editor Todd Clayton is looking for submissions.
Contact: "Hub-route to (NO DIRECT MAIL) [Fido] 1:259/210"
CHRISTIAN ACTION FACT SHEET
CFACT322 (4298) [REL]
Concerned about attacks on "family-values"? This newsletter tells you what to complain about and to whom. They want you to boycott Radio Shack, fight against AIDS education, help keep gay men out of the military and demand that Women's Day print an article "about the thousands of homosexuals who have 'come out' of that destructive lifestyle." Eh.
Contact: The Hiding Place BBS [8:3023/3] No number given.
THE CHRISTIAN PRESS REPORT, vol.2, #11
NEWS0313 (77661) [REL]
A weekly newsletter full of news of interest to Christians, in a format that resembles CServe's CIM without mouse support.
Contact: Abba II BBS (619) 487-7746 -or- A.Hein@genie.geis.com
COMPUTERTALK MAGAZINE April
CTM9304 (66421) [COM]
Tony Curro reviews hardware and software each month in this widely distributed BBS zine. This month features the Windows utility "UnInstaller", a pair of OCR programs, Quantum hard-drives (by necessity...his disk crashed) and a golf course module for Links, among others. Informative, down to earth reviews. Reading Room format, unfortunately; also available in another format "CTMV" (which I haven't seen) that allows you to view the .PCX files included.
Contact: Tony.Curro@f713.n278.z1.fidonet.org -or- Moondog BBS (718) 692-2498
COMPUTER underground DIGEST #5.23 (3/28/93)
CUD523 (13127) [COM]
Weekly zine of computing news. This issue has info about an Akron BBS sting and an article about getting press releases and sending e-mail to the White House. CUD comes out too frequently to review all the issues that I've seen. You should subscribe to this one.
Contact: tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu
CYBERSPACE VANGUARD #2-#3
CYBER12 (34321) [MSC]
CVM01_03 (42699)
*Excellent* zine of news about the SF industry.
Issue 2: Check out the interviews with LeVar Burton, Colm Meany, Katherine Kurtz and others. They explain anime, mull over SF's stereotyped women, reveal the latest news and more. Well worth the download.
Issue 3: Interview with Howard Berger (effects man for Army of Darkness), informative essay on SF history by Crawford Kilian, more about anime, comics and a huge news column full of fact and rumor--including a *nifty* one about ST:TNG that made me laugh.
This zine comes in a paper version as well.
Contact: cn577@cleveland.freenet.edu
EFFECTOR ONLINE 5.01
EFF501 (11627) [COM]
Mouthpiece of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, those people who are out to defend your rights in cyberspace. "In this issue: Three perspectives of a two-day meeting in Atlanta between EFF and representatives of regional groups of grassroots networking activists."
Their summary. Can't get much more concise than that.
Contact: eff@eff.org
ENTREPRENEURS MARKETING SOFTWARE vol.1 #930406
EMS1PCXB (194756) [BUS]
This is a teaser for the full newsletter by Ed Marion for those interested in learning how to make money from their software. Interesting format...it's two huge .PCX images that look like pages from a tabloid. You can get the first full issue free, but you'll need to pay the subscription price ($55 in the US) thereafter.
Contact: BBS (713) 280-8180
GAME BYTES #9
GB09-G (1,343,697) [COM]
The best electronic magazine for reviewing games I've seen so far, editor/publisher Ross Erikson has created an on-line version of Computer Gaming World in an attractive ANSI interface. While it suffers, as all electronic publishing does, from a lack of easy-readablility, it's one great advantage is the wonderful screen shots. The reviews are well-written and in-depth, like you'd expect from the hard-copy magazines on your news stands, but they also have full-screen captures from the games themselves. No squinting at little panels here. You get a much better feel for the look of the game before you buy it than you do reading a paper zine.
You also get the huge size of the file, and while disk space is no problem for the serious gamer, the download time if you're long-distance is rough. But, hey, it's worth it. This issue if packed. You get reviews of PC and cartridge games, screen shots, industry news, sneak previews, interviews with Warren Spector and Ron Gilbert, reviews of sound cards and more for free when Ross should really be selling this.
Contact: Software Creations BBS (508)365-2359 or any BBS that distributes Apogee games. e-mail ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com
THE HACK REPORT April
HACK9304 (48773) [COM]
Monthly report of sightings of computer virii, trojans, hoaxes and pirated software. A useful precaution and just plain interesting reading. Pick it up.
Contact: "e-mail through the BITNET/EARN/LISTSERV/TRICKLE file servers" -or- Detroit Download Central (313) 885-3956.
HOMECRAFT PERSONAL JOURNAL #1
HPJ01 (327494) [SOC]
A personable and almost professional zine published by Steven Hudgik and edited by Robert Johnson. Their showpiece is an editorial by Stanley Schmidt, editor of Analog, about your rights, namely, your right to die. Also included is an account of a trip to a strip joint, a painful retelling of one family's disintegration, advice on teaching young children to read and a humorous piece comparing selling computers and pushing drugs. This magazine is shareware...you are asked to register it for 4 bucks (7 registers you an gets you the next issue). This has a mouse driven, VGA interface that is one of the most attractive I have ever seen--and they are selling it. This has potential if they can afford to keep publishing it.
Contact: HomeCraft BBS (503) 692-0382
L'CHAIM #259
LHAIM259 (13172) [REL]
A weekly newsletter by Jews who sound like fundamentalists. They are waiting for the coming of the Messiah with the same fervor that the Christians are waiting for the second coming of their Messiah...it's the same vision. Only, unlike fundamentalists, they're not asking for money.
There's some teachings on the Torah and an inspirational story, all the while referring to God as "G-d". I didn't realize people still clung to that name taboo. Nw thy cld RLLY mprss m b drppng ll th vwls n th nwslttr, jst lk thr ncstrs!
Contact: L'Chaim BBS (718) 756-7201
MAINE PC-ONLINE MAGAZINE March
MPC93MAR (273325) [COM]
Nicely done zine of info (and some humor) for the average PC user.
Articles are mostly culled from various user groups around the country and are mainly reviews of software and computer books. Attractive format based around LIST.
Contact: MCCS BBS (207) 236-8537
MODEM NEWS #48
MNEWS48 (172832) [SOC]
This is the DOS ANSI version of this multi-platform zine. Beautiful screen. You can also find it in a Windows version, a Mac version and in text form. It has a pseudo pull-down menu interface that makes it easy to navigate through the eclectic content. Articles lead off with a plea for a "Workers' Bill of Rights" by Bernie Sanders, followed by an Amnesty International essay reprinted from Z Magazine concerning the plight of Haitian refugees. There are also short stories, a glossary of computer terms, and an enjoyable column by Greg Raymond about the evils of Windows. And if that weren't enough, check out the listing of new mail lists on the Internet and the article about what to do in severe weather.
Contact: jgreen@modemnews.win.net -or- BBS (203) 359-2299
THE MORNING STAR vol. 2.5
MSTAR017 (143991) [REL]
Special Messianic studies issue of this zine by born again Christians, which is to say it's heavily involved with bringing Jews to Jesus. Lots of "inspirational" essays, a list of people to pray for and a family-sized list of Messianic congregations around the country. Slick ANSI format (that works under DesqView, even).
Contact: From any of the on-line services -or- write MStarMAC@aol.com
NAM VET Vol.7, #2
NVET0702 (114822) [SOC]
A Vietnam Veterans support newsletter with a decidedly right-wing bent, this e-zine is filled with testaments and information about national activism. They're not fond of Clinton at all. A good essay by Marilyn Elkins concerning the search for the truth about her husband Frank, classified MIA until his remains were returned by the Vietnamese.
Contact:
No electronic contact supplied
Snail it to:
Electronic Veterans' Centers of America, Corporation (EVAC)
PO Box 2056
Pittsfield, MA 01202
NORTH SHORE REPEATER ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER Spring 1993
NSRA-NWS (14049) [MSC]
News from the Boston area Ham radio organization. Why amateur radio people are called "Hams", a stroke victim rescued, on-the-air etiquette and how to get into packet radio cheap. Friendly. Also available in a print.
Contact: ken.smith@channel1.com Packet: AA1DR @ K1UGM.MA.USA.NA (For you hams)
POWDERKEG MAGAZINE April, 1993
0493KEG (84913) [LIT]
Good literary zine featuring short fiction, poetry and non-fiction articles in an ANSI format. In this issue: tongue in cheek SF by J.P. Mienfalke, VCR humor by J. Murray Smith, a sketch of ennui by Colin Morton and a reprint of a net love story by Melodie Campbell. The poetry section features Melissa Chu and Rogue, among others. The interface allows you to change colors, print what you like or write it to an ASCII file. Only problems I had was it tends to scroll past the point where you want it to stop if you hold down the arrow key.
Contact: ifirla@epas.utoronto.ca -or- Powder Keg BBS (416) 492-5756
PRAGATI March 1993
PRAGM93 (12421 bytes) [BUS]
Kanth Miriyalas' stock recommendation sheet. The editor seems mostly interested in firms connected with the electronics industry, but some other types also get the green light. Each chosen stock has a write up on the company and the reasons for the choice. Matter-of-fact writing.
Contact: "send your e-mail address to kanth@andersen.com with simply the name PRAGATI in the header."
PRO AUDIO SPECTRUM & MPC DIGEST #12
PASMPC12 (85346) [MUS]
You'd think that this was articles pertaining to the PAS sound card, and it does have some of that, but this particular issue is mostly reviews of software that either happens to support the PAS or caught the editor's eye (for example, WinFax Pro and 386Max). The reviews are quite good, but the paragraphs all through this pub are huge blocks of text with no indentation making it difficult to read. Also included is a review of the AudioMaster sound card and technical notes on the PAS to fix any problems that crop up. Available in a Multi-Media edition as well, but I don't have a PAS. Anybody want to review that?
Contact: The Neighborhood BBS (206) 641-3908 1200/2400. "Log on as P A S (be sure to use the spaces) and a password of MPC"
RANDOM ACCESS HUMOR March-April '93
RAH0393 (19312) [MSC]
RAH9304 (21450)
Funny stuff not always related to computers. The March issue includes a sketch about technical support, and a satire of a sysop who's tough on his callers, among others. April's reveals the truth about modem protocol negotiations and examines some of the pitfalls of being a sysop. A good place for taglines if you can stand jaw-clenching puns.
Also available in Reading Room format.
Contact: The Puffin's Nest BBS (410) 437-3463
RUBY'S PEARLS PAPERLESS ELECMAG
RUBYV19 (62150) [LIT]
A mix of well-written humorous and serious shorts. Editor Del Freeman is looking for submissions, too. In Reading Room format.
Contact: Ruby's Joint BBS (305) 856-4897
SBHQ March
SBHQ001 (54467) [MUS]
Enthusiastic mag devoted to the Sound Blaster, naturally, but which also reviews both shareware and commercial games. Good feature on MODs with an overview of what they are, how to get them and how to play them. The shareware version of Visual Player is included with the file. Editor John Townsend will, if you send him a disk, fill it with MODs.
Contact: No address given, but you can pick this up on the Music Channel BBS (203) 646-3058 and others.
SHAREWARE REVIEWS #2
SHRV12FW (12341) [COM]
Not so much reviews as advertisements, this zine is full of hyperbole Check it out: "Do you need...a good programmer's editor? If so, BOXER is for you! BOXER is an excellent..." Or how about "SHEZ is the Rolls Royce of archiving shells...". Not one negative word in the whole thing, but perhaps they only review what they like and what they like they like completely. The zine itself is crippleware. They release this version of one paragraph reviews once a month, but you can buy the full version of the zine with longer reviews--or one with longer reviews and the shareware--on disk.
Contact: Software Creations BBS (508) 365-2359 (2400)
THINKING MAGAZINE #19
THINK019 (13342) [SOC]
Marc Perkel's zine for spreading his views to combat the general stupidity of society. Marc is an ex-"West Virginia hillbilly" hippie who made good in the software industry. This issue starts off pretty dry with reprints of some of the letters he sent to Washington and the Press, but after that he talks about buying a button machine and gives tips on washing your cat.
The writing is earnest but enjoyable. You'd almost think that he was proselytizing for some system of thought he'd developed. You expect him to break out into aphorisms at any moment. The latter part of this zine has some of the same feel as Earnest Mann's "Little Free Press", and you get the feeling he is what Earnest would have become if he'd gone capitalist.
Contact: Computer Tyme (?) BBS (417)-866-1665
WEEKLY HEALTH BULLETIN
BBAG010 (6934) [SCI]
A nifty newsletter of medical advice. This one tells you what to do if your children have head lice and has interesting facts about bunions.
Contact: Black Bag Medical Information Services BBS (302) 994-3772
[2] ONE SHOTS and TEXT FILES of interest
THE ACTRESS LIST
Not the official name for this publication, but it's appropriate. An excellent, exhaustive list of actresses' roles maintained by Andrew Krieg. Lots of women you don't normally find in the books, for example, two of my faves, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Jason Leigh. All their TV specials, series and movie roles in alphabetical order. You NEED this. Also available, lists of actors, cinematographers, composers, and more, but I haven't seen them...yet.
Contact: krieg@titan.med.ge.com -or- FTP it at boulder.colorado.edu
CURTAINS
LASTDAZE (12382)
The anonymous author (evidently the sysop at the BBS below) attempts to analyze the Elton John song "Curtains" for prophecy. Very serious with an extensive bibliography at the end, s/he writes in a colloquial style first about the events leading up to his/her epiphany--the most interesting part--then in a dogged Biblical-analysis style, dissecting each line. Even the "27 long sorrowful moans" come under scrutiny. No reason is given for why Elton John was the vehicle for prophecy, but it makes painful reading, leaving you wondering *who* this person is, *why* s/he's still living at home at an (estimated) age of 35 and if s/he's getting help.
Contact: BBS# (508) 586-6977
LANCE STONE: Trouble at the Woz
#1COMIX (723346)
The first issue of a shareware, interactive multi-media comic book written by Doug Zeffer and drawn by Todd Pound. Follow the adventures of Lance Stone--who looks very much like Apache Dick from the awesome paper comic "The Trouble With Girls"--as he...well, it's hard to tell. In this first installment he gets in a fight and the police come. You have to buy the rest for $19.95. Limited animation and sound effects round out the action. You choose from a passive mode where the comic runs on its own like a movie, or an interactive one where you turn the pages yourself and have some control over the plot. Unfortunately, the interactive mode didn't work well on my copy. It allowed me to turn the pages a couple of times and then took over for me. When the point came to choose the plot line, I had a hard time freeing up the mouse to move to the flashing icon and when I did it was too late. Still good as brief as it is.
Contact: No electronic contact. But available on Channel 1 -or- Call (800) 723-7638 (vox) for ordering.
THE OFFICIAL STRIP JOINT GUIDE
OSJG (20180)
New in town? Lonely? Then find out where the strip clubs are in this abridged e-version of OSJG. They list information conveniently organized by state. Info like operating hours, food service and...dress code? And you see at a glance what each one has to offer--topless, nude or go-go dancers--and what the specials are. Hey, gotta get to Michigan in August for that Melon Festival at Deja Vu! Some are pretty explicit in what they offer: get a blowjob at the Pussycat in Hollywood. American Bush offers 1/2 hour private dances for 60 bucks...gee. Read it and be awed by the vast number of clubs in the US.
Contact: O.S.J.G/PO Box 568/Quincy, IL 62306-0568 USA
PROJECT CENSORED
PCENSOR (15964)
Project Censored compiles a list every year of the top ten stories "censored" (ie., not technically censored but underreported) by the Media. This summary list, following a lengthy article by PC founder Carl Jensen, isn't so riveting this year. It lists no specific incidences that were overlooked by the Media, but rather ideas that weren't purveyed as well as the left-leaning judges would have liked. For example, number one is "The great Media sellout" which claims that the Reagan/Bush administrations allowed the deregulation of the Media in order to cover up their crimes. A payoff, so to speak. Well, maybe...but how do they prove it? Or number six "'We are winning the war on drugs' was a lie". Sure, but that was in an election speech, wasn't it. Nothing to do with the Media at all. Let it be known that I am sympathetic to the cause, which is why I'd like to see this list be about something substantial instead of a re-tread of liberal views in general. Pretty weak this time through.
Contact: newsdesk@igc.apc.org (not given as the contact, but that's who compiled this)
[3] REVIEWS
READING FOR PLEASURE ELECTRONIC LIBRARY
RPFELIB1 (391601)
Texts in electronic form can be stored and manipulated conveniently, but they aren't as pleasurable to read as ink on paper. Reading long texts on a computer can be draining; reading a book is nearly impossible. That hasn't stopped software companies from offering books in electronic form, however. Many CD-Roms are books on disks, and how much text those disks can hold is usually what proponents of CDs brag about. But there are also book programs available for downloading from BBSes. One of those products is Micro Tutor's Reading for Pleasure Electronic Library.
The Electronic Library consists of a reader program with book modules that are ordered separately. The shareware version provides two sample books, _Alice_in_Wonderland/Through_the_Looking-glass_ and Wells' _Invisible_Man_. Each book is broken up into manageable units of several chapters, making jumps to different parts easier. Text is navigated using the arrow keys or a mouse on a scroll bar. A reverse-video bar on the screen highlights one line at a time, presumably so young readers and distracted adults can keep their place more easily, and a status bar on the bottom of the screen tells you where you are in the unit based on line numbers.
This is essentially a straight reader without the fancy gimmicks of expensive CD-Rom books. It has a search utility that will look through either the whole book or just the unit, reporting each instance of the word(s) in a table from which you can click to the occurrence of your choice and come back later to go to any other occurrence. It has a limit of 100 matches, and since you can't specify a certain line from which to search, you can only get the *first* 100 matches.
Also provided are multiple bookmarks, each a different color. You call up a table that tells you where you dropped them, and you can recall them with a click of your mouse.
The program is not without disadvantages that make the reading a little uncomfortable. The ANSI colors are garish and I couldn't find a way to change them to a more pleasing palette. Also, the text scrolls only when the above-mentioned reverse-video bar reaches the bottom or top of the screen. If you are scrolling down and go past where you wanted to stop, you have to make the bar travel all the way back up the screen before the text starts moving. Of course, you can compensate by paging up, but it might have been better to keep the reverse-video bar stationary and have the text scroll.
I can't recommend this program. While the texts are transcribed nicely, and the program and modules are reasonably priced, reading the books was not a pleasure.
Contact:
Micro Tutor Products
103 Baughman's Lane, Suite 303
Frederick, MD 21702
******
That's it for this issue of Strange Journey. Please send tips, gripes and flowers to charles.trefethen@channel1.com.
[Strange Journey #1 is (c)opyright 1993 by Charles Trefethen, but you are hereby granted permission (and encouraged) to post it anywhere you please. You may also reprint anything in it, giving credit, I hope.]
