How to Make a Micro-Mini Zine

I'm going to be doing a zine reading tonight at an event called Meet Me at the Race Riot: Women of Color in Zines from 1990 to Today (which, if you're in the NYC area, you should come to - check out the Facebook event for more information).

As I was folding my zines for the event, I got extremely excited! So excited, in fact, that I thought I'd make a video in celebration - so for all you folding wizards/witches out there, here is my tutorial on how to make a micro-mini zine (a 16-page mini-booklet made out of just 1 sheet of 8.5x11):

You can access the micro-mini zine layout on my Archive.org page. And check out some of my zines, including The Bearniverse, there too!

How to Live Your Life Like Its One Big Experiment

I told you about my bucket list last week - well, I've been making good on my claims to work on it, and it has spurred some other interesting conclusions. Namely, I've found myself trying out new experiences more than ever before. Perhaps because there is an inherent joy in testing out all the great things you can do with your life, but I also believe that there is a bit of method to it.

A bucket list (or any sort of future-tense planning) puts you in the mindset that your life is plentiful, playful and ever-shifting depending on how you choose to live it. In essence, it makes your life an intentional experiment. You can choose what independent variables you want to manipulate to get a certain result in the dependent variable - which is, of course, always your own enjoyment or sense of self-reward.

But mindset gets you only half the way. From there, you have to put those thoughts into action. How? Well, that depends.

How to Use The Cowation

My fine readers,
In the last month I have been growing The Cowation and have made several changes to the design and other aspects of the site. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight those changes and give new readers a primer on how to use this site. Veteran readers (I prefer that term to "old"), I would love to hear your thoughts on the new design and how you find the site as a whole. Please share your favorite posts, pictures, or just wacky stories of how you met me/connected with the site. It's all appreciated here!

Here are the changes:

First, as you can see in the right sidebar, I have now been accepted into the BlogHer ads network. I will be receiving revenue from BlogHer for displaying their ads and when someone is directed to the ad from my website. In order to preserve transparency, I will also indicate when one of my posts includes links or provides me with revenue, whether that is in reviewing a product or through links.

Second, I have now included a New Here? page for people to get acqauinted to the site - you can check out that page for some of my favorite posts and to access this primer.

Third, there are now multiple ways that you can connect with The Cowation: you can subscribe via RSS or email, Tweet me @thecowation, Like the Facebook page, go to the related Tumblr and DeviantArt, or listen to me talk on SoundCloud. These are all on a deck of buttons that are to the right of the screen. Since they can be pretty overwhelming, I am including a breakdown of how each of these options benefit you after the jump! Also after the jump, there is a primer on how to use the site if you're just starting out.

All of the following information and more can be accessed at the page How to Use The Cowation, which is also linked right above the Labels dropdown menu and in the New Here? page.