Inspiring Sugar Paper #17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boyhood/I Am Divine

It's come to the point now where I leave the house so infrequently, when I do I feel it's blog worthy!

So today (Friday) I went to see Boyhood. I have a few days off work so thought what better way to spend this lovely warm day by sending in a cool dark cinema for a few hours.
This morning I was thinking about going to see Boyhood when I got the offer to accompany the lovely Suzy and see it for free, so I was all hell yeah!
I didn't know much about it before going in aside from it was by Richard Linklater and featured the same cast as it was filmed over 12 years! I waited outside the cinema and saw a girl I went to both Primary and secondary school with begging outside of Sainsbury's and thought 'what is life?!?!', so I was hardly surprised when I came out of the cinema a few hours later thinking I'm about to have an existential crisis!

I'm not going to review the film and say what happened cuz I am rubbish at that and I don't want to spoil it. But I'll say a few words.

Firstly I bloody loved it, I mean it was like 2 1/2 hours long! I come from the John Waters school of films, where 90mins is as long as I want a film to be (I think I do everything so fast I don't even like long songs and some of my favourite albums are probably no longer than 25minutes!) so for me to sit through a film for that long is a feat in itself! And do you know what, it didn't even feel that long, at no point did I think is it over? It should end soon.

Secondly, it kinda blew my mind! Like I knew they used the same actors, but I was used to coming of age films where younger actors are replaced and older actors are made to look younger/older. SO I was sat there thinking oh look Ethan Hawke looked still kinda 90s at the start and now not so much, or haven't they made Patricia Arquette age really genuinely, and I had to keep telling myself THEY AGED IN REAL TIME!!!!

This also made me feel like I was growing with the characters, like when you really get into a book and by the end you feel like you are friends with the characters and a few days after you missed them. like watching someone's home videos for over a decade.

I left the cinema with a lovely warm feeling, yet that cloud of 'WHAT IS LIFE' aforementioned existential crisis!
I turned 30 this year and feel like I'm having a second adolescence and as much as I love a coming of age story I sometimes get freaked out by them. I'm currently reading Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, which is about two sisters going away to university. Towards the end of Boyhood, there was a lot about going off to University.
I pretty much sucked at higher education, once a highschool student most likely to go to university, I ended up being a 4 time college dropout and never made it to uni! Whilst most of the time I don't regret my education choices it's when I see/read stories like these I do regret it.
I feel like I missed out on a lot of things! I mean those college/uni years I did do stuff, but with my fear of change and new things and my natural state being 'let's just stay holed up in my room' I start to panic and worry that I didn't have that chance to grow.
I'm just being dramatic and what's done is done, but it's how I sometimes feel and how the film made me feel...

Anyway enough about me, the point being Boyhood made me feel, whether it was the impending second adolescence I am possibly in or the warm feeling I got, it made me feel and that's good.

I said to Suzy she must have really enjoyed it as she is a mother and it focusses a lot not just on children growing but parents too. Something for everyone.
In fact anyone that has ever been a teenager or unsure of the world (which I think is everyone!) then there is something you can relate to.

Indietracks is on this weekend and I am of work and feeling sorry for myself that I wasn't stood next to some steam trains in Derbyshire watching The Blue Minkies kill it. So the next day (Saturday) saw me hitting the cinema again (filling my thrice yearly cinema visit quota already!) to see the documentary I Am Divine.
I didn't really have any expectations of this, I know a few people who had seen it but don't really know what the general feeling about it was.

Unlike Boyhood it was my perfect film length at just 90minutes! And I was engaged for the whole time!
It was your early years-rise to fame-mainting your career- sad sudden death kinda documentary with anectdotes and commentary from friends and family and co-stars (Divine's mum, John Waters, Mink Stole, Ricki Lake, drag performers, PA's, and more).
I enjoyed seeing how Divine's look came about, his work ethic and him enjoying life. I also totally loved seeing all his looks!
I really enjoyed it and it seems they managed to fit it all in there without feeling like they were repeating themselves or missing large parts out. I don't think I learned much but enjoyed seeing all the footage, my only qualm was some of the graphics used seemed a little cheap and not in a good way, but I am fussy!
I laughed, I cried a little but mostly I felt inspired. With Divine's closing quote about dreaming big, working hard and believing in yourself left me feeling like I could do anything....
So off I went to dream big (and even when my mood turned sour after a one hour wait for the bus home) and fulfil my destiny!

The zines I have made...

It's July which means it's International zine month. Every year I tell myself I'm going to participate in it somehow, but every year I remember how much of a procrastinator I am and nothing gets done.
This year is no different, I need to get my arse in gear as my to do list is forever full.
Anyway in the spirit of thinking about zines I ventured into my bottom/zine drawer that's jam packed full of letters, notepads scraps of paper and all the zines I have made pre Sugar Paper.
Any zines I made after and including Sugar Paper are accessible and not tucked away in a drawer as these are my 'more serious grown up zines' that I actually do reprint.
The ones in the drawer however, the half done ones, the never to reach the printing stage ones, THE TEENAGE ONES will forever remain in that drawer!
I flicked through some of the zines and I cringed, I mean nobody, NOBODY wants to read all their feelings from when they were 15! The zines are full of all different things, gig reviews, pop culture nonsense, and the 'totally just got into riot grrrl in the last few years' of talking sex, liberation and empowerment. Also full of all that teen angst, self loathing and mostly boredom.
Now why, if I find them so cringeworthy and am never going to print them and hope all copies are now non existent and no one will ever see them again, why do I keep the masters?
I don't know maybe to remind myself that not all the things I felt as a teen will be felt now, growing older is good, you change, you grow, it's weird. But I think it's to remind myself of all the zines I have made and how much I like doing zines and if I ever think what I want to write about is stupid or I think I'm too old to be making zines, I look back and go I've been doing this since I was 15 and I bloody enjoy it!

SO in short happy international zine month, enjoy zines, making or reading, either way enjoy them.

Here's to another 15 years of zine making!

Monthly mix.

A few weeks ago something shitty happened. some idiots mugged me. Anyway when the Police officer came round I really enjoyed retelling every detail of the incident, because I got a chufty for knowing so much. I have a photographic memory and am super observant.

these facts have always made me think I have missed my calling in life, I was destined to be a teen detective!
Sadly I am not one for several reasons, but here is a mix to make me and other wannabe teen detectives feel better.

Plus that Veronica Mars movie is getting made!

Spy Girl from Sugar Paper Zine on 8tracks Radio.

The time we became total betties!

So Kandy and I met some time ago (like 9 years ago or something) and I think pretty much from the moment we became friends we said we would one day dress as Cher and Dionne and yeah it took this long to do it, but when we did it we did it well (even if I do say so myself!).

We made a pact that 2013 would be the year (we may have said 2012 would be the year but after some half hearted attempts at looking for the perfect plaid we gave up). But then some friends of ours were hosting a 12 hour teen movie marathon, if this wasn't the perfect event to dress up then I don't what is.

We got to work on sourcing the fabric (and it was suprisingly easy I don't know what happened last year) and got to work.

Kandy opted for buying a pattern to make her jacket and skirt combo, I on the other hand decided to use my three days at college studying fashion to make up a skirt and jacket, it turned out well if a little ill fitting.

Kandy skinned a collie for her back pack and I went shopping with Dr Seuss, I mean she got some faux fur and I went crazy with a sheet of plastic and a glue gun and of course down the market they still sell flower bobbles for £1, IT IS THE 90s!

I got a wig and we DIY'd some hair extensions for Kandy, we already own knee socks (obvs) and luckily the pound shop do still sell fake flip phones (they also sell fake Blackberry's!). Once we got the right shade of slightly shimmery yet nude lipstick for Kandy we were set.

We had so much fun dressed as Cher and Dionne (sadly my nose hole closed up a few years ago and so my nose ring wouldn't stay on, but then maybe my allergies were just acting up).

My friend Katie decided to come as Tai and the set was complete. We posed for pictures and made mini videos of us spouting quotes in bad American accents. THE NIGHT WAS SO FUN!

I have since searched sites for Jeep rental places as I am trying to convince Kandy to hire one for the day and we can drive around and totally pause at stop signs!!!

Teen films!

I think I can speak for Kandy too when I say we have fairly simple set of rules for liking a film. Did John Waters make it, or Tim Burton in the 90s? Is Johnny Depp in it [Kandy] or Macauly Culkin [Seleena]? Does it feature a song and dance number?Is it fun? yeah that's generally us.

If you want me to watch a film it generally has to score 2 out of 3 at least to the following: does it features teenagers heavily? has one of the main characters got jet black hair? Are The Donna's on the soundtrack?

I LOVE TEEN FILMS, they're my favourite kind of film, you know the ones John Hughes invented, that got really big in the 90s and I think are kinda struggling these days. I love anything from the cheesy (aside from She's all that, I HATE that) to the fucked up (I'm talking Gregg Araki). Like I proper love them, I'll watch them again and again, I'll read books about them, I'll write about them, I'll tell you they are the most precious things EVER!
Horror scares me, I like the odd subtitled film but I get headache wearing glasses to read them, thrillers and crime drama's only grip me when featuring teens (Veronica Mars!) and rom coms only count when they feature Paul Rudd!

Next week some friends of mine are hosting a teen movie sleepover at Islington Mill and I'll be honest, it's like the highlight of my year (plus Kandy and I get to dress up as some people we have been threatening too for years!). I thought I would warm up by plugging my video player into my new fancy flat screen and crack out some old videos. Whilst watching I thought 'what are my top 5 teen films' and I compiled a list.

Ok I struggled, and I'm not entirely sure of the order, it keeps changing and you might think she missed off some right classics, but then I have chosen ones that I watched a lot growing up, so all those 80s ones, as much as I love them, don't quite hold a place in my heart as much as the 90s ones, so in some particular order I give you...

SELEENA'S TOP FIVE TEEN FILMS.....

5. The Craft (1996)


Two words; Fairuza Balk! The craft is great because it features that clique so often forgotten about in the teen film, the witches! It's like when school girls go bad, this film has everything, Debs from Empire records, Neve Campbell, snakes, spiders, black cherry lipstick, the supernatural and even a cameo from Travis from Clueless! But it is Fairuza Balk as Nancy that steals the show, watch The Craft and try and tell me you don't want to be a badass crazy goth, who plays with a ouija board and can levitate their friend!!

Best line: Hey mister, we are the weirdos!

4. Mean Girls (2004)


This is in my list because it's amazing obviously, but because it restored my faith in teen films as an adult (20 is totally an adult!) I went to the cinema to see this and everything, clearly hanging on to my teen years. I remember going not expecting much and leaving with a film I would love forever. I also thought up until that point Lindsey Lohan was two people (see remake of The Parent Trap).
This film ticks all the boxes, highschool, cliques, meanness, comedic genius, gay characters, people of colour, feminism and it obviously has The Donnas on the soundtrack!
Ok so it falls short with the love interest (Aaron Samuels, not so hot) but it has Tina Fey and Amy Poehlar in it which means you can be a full grown adult and still have an excuse to be totally into this film!

Best line; (this film has SO MANY) YOU GO GLEN COCO, you used to love Ladysmith Black Mambozo, I Want my pink shirt back, yo smell like a baby prostitute (I could go on forever)

3. Jawbreaker (1999)


This is the underdog of teen films, one that i think is so sadly overlooked, but any film that opens with Veruca Salt and closes with The Donnas is of course going to be AMAZING!
This is Heathers for the next generation (being my generation, not the generation now!). Heathers is one of the first teen films to be truly mean, and Jawbreaker follows on from that, some of the mean main characters even seem to wear one colour. And the one small love interest is kinda like a shit Christian Slater.
Rose Mcgowan rules as the highschool queen bee, then there's Carol Kane and Pam Grier and even Marylin Manson! Oh and don't forget Tatyana Ali!!
And when I say it has The Donnas in it, I mean IN IT they are playing at the prom IMAGINE!!

Best line: I killed Liz, I killed the teen dream. Deal with it.

2. Empire Records (1995)


The only film in my top 5 that isn't set in highschool! This film gets the number 2 spot because this is what I wanted my life to be when I grew up.
I wanted to hang out with a bunch of cool kids and hot boys in an independent record store and I totally thought life WOULD be like Empire Records, including the benefit gig on the roof!
Strangely this is probably the only film where I prefer the male characters to the female characters!
This film has left such a huge impression on me that I can't watch other things with the cast members in. Lucas was in CSI, so I didn't watch it, Mark was in Sweet Home Alabama, his character was gay, but it still makes me want to switch over, I've never seen Bridget Jones and don't even mention that time Rex Manning was in Emmerdale!! I can totally watch anything with Warren in as Brandon Sexton III plays the same character in everything. But it might spoil the myth that these guys don't work in a record shop if I watch other things with them all grown up. Damn the man Save the Empire!

Best Line: Mark, you love Gwar, why don't you join the band!

1. Clueless (1995)


The best thing to happen to the stuff they make you read in school ever (as well as Baz Lurhmann). Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, this is my favourite teen film of all time (I think!). It's based on Jane Austen's Emma (which I've never read, but i think if every word isn't 'whatever' I think I might struggle to read it) it's a highschool rom com with meaning and style or something.
It's a coming of age, it's a love story, it's about friendship and it has the best outfits ever (well that title might have to go to Romy and Michelle).
It has Paul Rudd being an intelligent college babe, Alicia Silverstone as the more than just an airhead main character and Brittany Murphy being awesome (I miss you Brittany) AND Cher's best friend is black which means I totally had a main character I could pretend to be YES I GOT TO BE DIONNE!
it also has an appearance by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones!!

Best line; AS IF! you're a virgin who can't drive!

so there you have it, my top 5 teen films. I love lots more, ones about cheerleaders (Bring It On, But I'm a Cheerleader) ones with murders in (Heathers, Drop Dead Gorgeous) ones starring Alan Cumming and aren't technically teen films (Romy and Michelle, Josie and The Pussycats) ones with great soundtracks (All Over Me, 10 Things I hate about you) ones with werewolves in (Twilight, Ginger Snaps) and a shit load more, but again I never liked She's All That!

ONE WEEK 'TIL HALLOWEEN!!!!

yeah you know it!and I've been busy making my costume and sewing other bits. I've been ploughing my way through Buffy, so I sew whilst I watch Buffy (I was watching Season 4 Halloween episode the other day, always love a themed episode!).
So, all this Buffy watching means I now find the theme tune strangely comforting. I'm not sure if it's because I'm proper enjoying Buffy, because the theme is super 90s or because it sounds like this....
(it's probably all of the above!)

I think a while ago I read a quote where Gerard said someone he knew once told him Honey... sounds like the Buffy theme and it does. See....

So yeah almost Halloween. This blog has no point, Buffy is kinda creepy, so yeah HAPPY ALMOST HALLOWEEN!

The best fictional bands EVER!!!

We like bands, we like fiction, we especially like fictional bands!!! so here is a top ten list of the best fictional bands EVER!

10. DINGOES ATE MY BABY  (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
I only just started watching Buffy (after resisting for 17 years on the grounds that I found Sarah Michelle Gellar annoying. Always been a fan of Seth Green though!

9. CREATION (AKA Mission Control! Freaks and Geeks)
you would have thought a fictional band that boasts members like James Franco would feature higher, but then I'm not that into psychedelic rock

8. MYSTIK SPIRAL (Daria)
Two words (well three) Trent. Lane. SWOON!

7. THE QUADRATICS (Welcome To The Dollhouse)
The band formed by Dawn Weiner's nerdy older brother that happens to have bad boy Steve front them (Steve needs tutoring so he can graduate or something!)

6. ORANGE ORGANICS (Pugwall)
Forget Busted, it's all about teen sensation Peter Unwin George Wall and his mates!

5. HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Hedwig and the Angry Inch)
Six inches forward and five inches back, I got an angry inch!!!!

4. FROZEN EMBRYOS (My So-Called Life)
Two words (well three). Jordan. Catalano. SWOON!

3. SEX BOB-OMB (Scott Pilgrim series/film)
Named after a Mario baddy, nuff said.

2. JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS (Josie and the Pussycats)
Still deciding if they should be number one as the Josie and the Pussycats album is sooooo good (Du jour aren't too shabby either!)

1. THE STAINS (Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains)
They get the number one spot because they are an all girl teenage punk band WHO actually inspired some of my real life favourite bands (notably within the Riot Grrrl movement). SO GOOD!


And we can't end without mentioning the worst ever fictional band....
'If you like blues, you'll love Blues Hammer.....'

Teen TV zines. Part 3

So to conclude our trilogy of Teen TV posts I present to you....

I had the idea of making a zine all bout My So-Called Life's infamous yet never seen character Tino at the start of this year. So I kindly asked a bunch of super talented people to send me what or who they think Tino is. the results are great and quite varied.
I then put all 11 submissions (including my own) in the zine.
I felt the quality of the printing of the zine didn't do the work justice, I was also sad that a lot of people who were wanting to contribute, didn't have chance. So I have made a tumblr to show what people contributed in all their glory AND to let those who never got a chance but still want to tell the world who they think Tino is.
BUY THE ZINE HERE
and watch the mystery of Tino unravel HERE

Teen TV zines. Part 2

So the other week when sorting through my zine drawer I came across a zine my friend Holly made that I had briefly forgotten about!

School is a battlefield for your heart:

It is basically timeline of teen TV. From The Wonder Years and Saved by The Bell to Skins and Glee with everything in between!
It features all the best shows (My So-Called Life, Freaks and geeks, Veronica Mars, Popular, Heartbreak High) and the not so best (Hang Time, USA high, One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek*) and as I said EVERYTHING else in between.
It's a thick zine that you whizz through so quickly because it's funny. I think she may have made it a couple of years ago and I don't know if she will ever print anymore but she should. It's a good guide for those too young, or those who didn't watch TV growing up (losers!) and want to immerse themselves in Teen TV, it's also good for those oldies or those who did nothing but watch TV growing up!

*That's my personal opinion about Dawson's Creek, I have many friends who enjoy it. I mean I'm the girl who took 15 years to finally start wtaching Buffy because I decided I wasn't too keen on Sarah Michelle geller!

Teen TV zines. Part 1

The Norseman - A Freaks & Geeks zine
by Alice and Kate

So imagine how excited I was when I heard a zine was being made about one of my favourite teen television programmes, Freaks & Geeks (I was very excited). So imagine how excited I was when said zine landed on my doormat (ridiculously excited) and this zine didn't disappoint!

This zine is recommended for those who have already watched Freaks & Geeks (if you haven't then why haven't you, loser, stop having a social life and get watching this gem!) as it may contain spoilers.
It features a whole host of things, top ten tunes, post F&G career moments, Dungeons & Dragons review, reasons why Bill Haverchuck is the best, an ACTUAL interview with Sarah Hagen who played Millie and much more.

You can buy it from here and when you have exhausted the zine you can get another fix with The Norseman tumblr!!

Sugar Paper #9 IS HERE!!

We're very excited to announce that (possibly our favourite issue so far) Sugar paper#9 is officially on sale.
It made it's debut at Victoria baths Zine Convention yesterday (which was a great day) but you can now buy it from our SHOP.

This issue has loads of stuff (well just the usual 20 things! and has a teen magazine theme!

It has tie dye t-shirt tutorial, crochet snood, pesto recipes, 90s heartthrob quiz, resin knitting needles, embroidered passport holder, velvet sequin art and some business advice from getbusy's Em Ledger and much more, comes with free sequins!!
Buy it now!

Inspiring Sugar Paper #9

Oh and the awesome site that is ROOKIE!

If I had the internet when I was 15 would I be as savvy?

So that is a picture of me when I was 15. I'm pretty sure I thought I was well rad back then.
But last night I was having some kind of mid-late twenties crisis/ love for the next generation.
I was just perusing the web when I suddenly realised , there are A LOT of hella cool teens out there and I'm EXCITED ABOUT IT!
OK I had a oh my god I feel like they make 15 year old me look like I didn't do anything. But i know that's not the case, then I thought imagine what i could have done if 15 year old me had the Internet (it most probably would have been dangerous AND messy, I'm seeing rants and emo poetry for the world to see!)instead of getting it at home at the grand old age of 21.

We'll never know, but what i do know is that teenagers get a LOT of stick from everywhere, and I'm so happy to see so many productive and creative types in the ether. A prime example of this is (yes I know everyone is talking about this) Rookie Mag. It's Like Bust magazine reincarnated as my favourite teen mag Just 17.

plus their posts for 23rd of this month features a picture of one of my all time favourite albums That.Dog-Totally Crushed Out!