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Editors' letter
Dear Spring GEEKS, Despite the decided lack of appropriate spring weather, we are celebrating the ‘green season’ with a collection of some of our favourite things. Within this Mini Mag you’ll find articles extolling the virtues of myriad things--from otters, to cheesecakes, to vegetables--all of which, in some way, point towards growth, creation, newness, and enthusiasm. In short, we’re brimming over with all things spring. This Mini Mag also coincides with our Spring Fund Drive running over on We Geeked This. We’ve had lots of excited readers looking for a way to get their hands on the now, super-rare launch issue of GEEKED. What better way to celebrate the season of renewal than to re-print Issue One? We need your help, however, and we hope that you’ll show us your appreciation by making a small donation--every little helps!--in order to fund the re-issue. Enjoy this collage of favourited things, spread the springy-goodness with your friends, and as ever, thank you for being a part of the GEEKED community. Sof and Sam xx
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Otterly in Love: An Interview With Sam Garton by Samantha Langsdale
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illustration by Sam Garton
I’m an adult. Well, I think I’m an adult, let’s put it that way. At 30 years of age, I’m not sure there’s
much argument to be made. Nevertheless, I can become absolutely infantile with glee when I encounter photos, videos, stories… or even the word ‘otter’. Otters are my very favorite animal! I’m not sure when it started, but I suppose if I used Facebook as a sort of archaeological dig sight, I could locate the first year that I used an otter photo as my profile picture. After a friend gave me Ring of Bright Water to read, my love affair with otters solidified into a full-blown obsession. Imagine my utter delight then, when one day on Twitter, i_am_otter followed me! After following Otter’s account to the website dedicated to her adventures, I knew precisely what my piece about ‘my favorite thing’ would center on. I was lucky enough to get creator/Otter Keeper Sam Garton’s email address from Otter, and he kindly agreed to an interview. (And don’t worry, you’re not seeing double. This really is an interview of Sam—who is 30 and loves otters—by Sam—who is 30 and loves otters).
Samantha: I am truly obsessed with otters; in fact, it can be a bit confounding to people who have just met me. I read that you are similarly enthralled, and that this fascination led to the materialization of Otter. Have you always felt a love for otters? Sam: I often try to look back into my past and work out just when I ‘got into Otters’, and I’m afraid I actually can’t really remember. I read Ring Of Bright Water and I’m pretty sure that was fairly pivotal. My love of otters culminated in an ‘Otter Experience Day’, down in Devon, a year or so ago. It was fantastic to meet real otters and actually get to pet and feed them! This was exactly what was going through my head when one of the little buggers decided to attach itself to my arm! But it’s OK. All the best people get bitten by otters: Terry Nutkins lost a finger! And don’t worry, I still love otters (just not that one). Samantha: The site iamotter.co.uk is a delightful mix of ‘children’s stories’ and themes that are more likely to be appreciated by an older crowd--I adore the banner of Otter hugging coffee--do you feel like your audience is a pretty thorough mix?
Sam: I do think my stories are enjoyed by a wide age range, and they are certainly not exclusively for kids. It is one of the things I’m so happy to have achieved with Otter—a character and world where parent and child, or anyone else, can escape to and feel happy. Incidentally, when I first started to develop Otter, the adult humour was even more prominent, probably aimed at people in their late 20’s (as I was at the time). Samantha: Otter will be making a debut in book form! Hooray! When can we expect to see her face on the shelves? What’s in store for us and for Otter? Sam: Otter will be published by Balzer And Bray (an imprint of Harper Collins), in Winter 2014. We don’t have an exact date, but the sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned. I can’t wait to have my very own book in my hands (I’m really hoping it has that nice book smell). I can’t disclose too much about the storyline yet I’m afraid, but lets just say, anyone that understands how much Otter loves toast will enjoy this book! I’ve put a lot of work into it so I really hope everyone enjoys it.
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illustration by Sam Garton Samantha: What does Otter’s voice sound like? And pardon me for sounding a bit crass, but can you ever shut her up or is she always bouncing along at your feet?
Samantha: Your personal site contains some previous work, including Robot Suicides, which are so tender and strangely entertaining; as an illustrator, do you find a variety of subjects important?
Sam: This is a very interesting question! I’ve always had a problem with this because as far as I’m concerned there is NO voice that would ever be suitable. The only voice Otter can ever have is the reader’s voice in their own head. I want to let the reader subconsciously choose what they think Otter would sound like. I fear if I’m forced to give her a voice (if she were to appear on TV, etc.), it would kill a bit of the character for me. Anyway, Sooty never had a voice, and he was pretty awesome. In a (sort of) related point, I also found that sticking with very simple facial features actually gives Otter more character! I tried giving her a mouth several times and it just looks spectacularly wrong. It ruins everything about Otter (why not give it a go, print out a pic of Otter and draw on a nice smiley grin... it’s deeply disturbing). Anyway, this simple appearance allows the viewer to add personality in their own imagination. And to really answer the question, no, Otter is ALWAYS bouncing at my feet and ALWAYS talking. On a good day, a new set of crayons will buy me 3 or 4 minutes.
Sam: I never planned to make artwork for children. Most of my earlier work is much more adultthemed and dark. Truth be told, I really love this side of my illustration and I’m planning on venturing back into it soon with a new project.
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Samantha: How about a couple questions for Otter... How is Teddy doing? I notice Teddy doesn’t tend to ‘speak’; my teddy, Snuffles, is also pretty quiet... think that’s a Teddy-thing? Otter: Anyone that looks after a Teddy knows how much hard work they can be. Teddy is OK at the moment, but he often goes extra quiet just before he gets me into trouble. This week he’s been helping with the colouring in (I’m teaching him to be more helpful around the house), and he also had a conversation (I had to help) with the postman when he came to deliver us some post. This was a bit of a breakthrough for Teddy as he’s usually very shy around the postman. He finds the whole postal service very unnerving (which is fair enough really, because it’s a bit hard to get your head around how it all works).
Samantha: I notice you like to cook (cake, toast, etc.) any new recipes you’re trying out? Otter: Unfortunately, Otter Keeper put a ban on any form or new cooking in the last week after me and Teddy had a particularly creative morning in the kitchen. I get annoyed with Otter Keeper when he stops us doing things. Me and Teddy were planning on making a cookery programme which will now have to happen in the living room. I’ve been discussing logistics with Teddy as this means we will have to spend ages transferring everything from the kitchen into the living room. Sometimes Otter Keeper has no respect for mine, and Teddy’s time. Samantha: Are you excited to be in a book? I know you like to color, did you help with the illos? Otter: We are REALLY excited about the book, but we have to wait a very long time before it’s ready. I will even have an Otter birthday between then and now, and everyone knows how long birthdays take to come around… almost as long as Christmas, but a little less than Easter.
illustration by Sam Garton
As for the colouring, this is another example of Otter Keeper and his very annoying logic. Me and Teddy are excellent at colouring in (he even says so himself), yet he refused all forms of help where the OtterBook was concerned. When it is suits him, Otter Keeper will forget all about the hours of crayon training me and Teddy put in on the weekdays (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), whilst he’s at work. Last week, Teddy made me point out a part of the colouring where he had gone over the line, we got ‘the look’ - he’s very protective over the Otter Book (which I had to explain to Teddy). So even if you colour in the best spaceship ever, and get a ‘wow Otter! That is the best spaceship I’ve ever seen, well done!’, it still doesn’t mean you can help colouring in Otter books. These are the type of mixed messages me and Teddy have to put up with! G
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Wenches Be Amaze text by Anna Malzy illustrations by Florrie
Awise woman once said that what is truer than the truth is the story. History, so we are told, is written
by the victors, and historical ‘truth’ is an ever-bending and shifting notion. Whatever ‘truth’ we may find, it is thanks to the story that we find it; the what, the who, the where, and the why. We draw from these in order to understand how we arrived at the present. History is where we go to find precedent for the things we want to see and do today – great acts of daring, leadership, and change. But what happens if you look back through the history books for inspiration for your particular situation and draw a blank? As a woman, and a fully paid-up history geek, I am acutely aware of this big black hole. The figures in history to whom I've always been most attracted are the strong women – the ones who bucked the trend and didn't do the 'traditional' marriage-and-kids thing. But whilst I’m a fan girl for Elizabeth I, the original Single Lady, I could probably count the number of similarly powerful and single women on one hand. In the fields of science, maths, music, physics, religion and politics (to name but a few) the movers and shakers are overwhelmingly the guys. Of course there are huge societal reasons for this – it's only in the last 50-odd years that vast numbers of women have been able to seriously envision being something other than a wife and a mother. That said, being the eternal optimist that I am, I can’t help but disagree with Caitlin Moran’s comment that 'women have basically done fuck-all for the past 100,000 years'. Women MUST have been doing more than just being wedded and bedded for millennia and dammit if The Patriarchy is going to keep these ladeez away from me! So guys, dolls, and those as yet undecided, I give you All Quiet On The Wench Front, a delicious and feisty feast of words and pictures, celebrating the women who have gone before – their doings and beings that the HIStory books don't give us nearly enough of.
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With the tag ‘Herstory at its fucking finest’ Becky (words – of which one of her favorites is ‘balls’) and Florrie (art – everything from Joan of Arc dressed as Beyoncé to Virginia Woolf sticking out her tongue) have created an intelligent and funny portrayal of the women in herstory whom we thought we knew, and those of whom we’ve never heard. Started in January 2013, the site currently contains a wealth of sharp and witty illustrations and (at the time of writing) six humorous, richly researched and insightful articles. In line with the Wench’s mission, these pieces challenge a man-centred view of history, ‘proving that the female of the species is just as interesting as the male’ and showing that being a woman is something worth celebrating. A LOT. Through out this mini-mag we are celebrating our favourite things, and this blog incorporates many of mine, the main two being that: It’s funny. Really funny and really cheeky. Just one look at Florrie’s artwork shows you that. Jane Austen having a cheeky fag anyone? It’s also smart. In their mission statement the Wenches write that ‘we like a laugh, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know our shit.’ Becky’s articles are clearly the product of a sack-load of reading and investigating. They are a joy to read and the post from 27th March about Pocahontas was especially enlightening, totally collapsing the saccharine Disneyfied narrative we’ve received. We’re also treated to a complete explosion of the notion that Pride and Prejudice belongs in chic-lit; and one of the greatest love letters of all time is given an airing – from my heroine, Vita Sackville-West, to her lover Virginia Woolf.
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There really is no other classification of review to give this blog other than that of ‘rave’. It perfectly encapsulates all that I love about being a feminist of the noughties and the teenies: shit hot wit. All Quiet On The Wench Front has recognised a ‘gap in the market’ when it comes to women’s representation and is doing something about it in a wry and astute way. This nascent blog is The Vagenda meets Horrible Histories and I cannot WAIT to see it develop over the next few months. Hurray for the Wenches – past, present and future! G
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we Suze Shore
illustrations by Suze Shore
Suze Shore is one of the artists responsible for bringing My So-Called Secret Identity to life. We chatted with her about her participation in MSCSI, her progression as an artist, her inspirations, her artistic process, and of course, her cat Jack Jack.
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How I got my start: I’ve always been artistically inclined; I don’t remember a class in school during which I wouldn’t have rather been drawing. Making art of some kind as a profession was always a goal for me, but it took a good number of years to get myself on any specific path. After high school I enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts program because it seemed like the only option, and while the program gave me a great grasp of artistic fundamentals, I still felt aimless when I graduated. It wasn’t until taking an Illustration certificate class (Algonquin College, Ottawa) that I learned that making comics and one-off illustrations, both which I’d been doing for years as hobbies, were viable professional options. 14
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My involvement with MSCSI: The confidence gained from that course, in combination with seeing people’s biographical comics on the internet, eventually led me to start posting my own autobiographical comics online. It’s through one of these comics, in which I poke fun at Poison Ivy’s costume in the Batman videogame ‘Arkham Asylum’, that Will got in touch with me in spring of 2011 in regards to contributing to ‘My SoCalled Secret Identity’. I started out doing some character design for him, and am currently doing the pencil and ink work for the comic.
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My inspirations: I am also deeply thankful for the internet, for which I get the majority of my artistic inspiration. Through community art sites - notably Tumblr and Deviantart- I’ve been introduced to a huge number of vastly talented artists. It would be impossible to name them all, but a few of my favourites are Faith Erin Hicks for her character design and narratives; Katie Beaton for her amazing character expressions and teaching me more about history than I ever bothered to learn previously; and Joshua Middleton, for his gorgeous linework and character anatomy. I am also inspired by my immensely talented friends, which include both comic artists and fine artists. And though I have told him off three times for noise since sitting down to write this - I am also indebted to my cat Jack Jack for a great number of my personal comics.
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My artistic process: Possibly in part due to such a large number of influences, I vary my artistic process quite a bit. Even within working on ‘My So-Called Secret Identity’ I have moved from a half-traditional half-digital way of working for Issue 1, to an entirely digital process for Issue 2. For personal work I jump around, sometimes using watercolours and/or gouache, and sometimes creating work, start to finish, on the computer. Occasionally, I think I’ve found a single way of working, but then inevitably see someone else’s beautiful work in another medium and want to change it up again. If I had to define my artistic history (and present) in a phrase, it would be ‘kind of scattered’. Whatever’s happened though has definitely been for the best, as it’s led to the opportunity to be a part of Will Brooker’s project and to work with a talented and knowledgeable group of people. My work on MSCSI is what I am most proud of to date, and I’m thankful to be involved in work that is both challenging and greatly enjoyable. I’m optimistic about the future for both the project and myself. G 19
CLAMPDOWN
- a review by Francesca Wetherilt Pithy, witty music journalism meets polemical, political debate: Clampdown is a vital, extremely articulate text, punching way above the weight of its 97 pages. Jones’s introduction takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the re-working of class over the past thirty years, setting us up for the damning examination of the ways popular culture got into bed with neoliberalism. This troubling association uncomfortably squeezed the space for working-class women to have a voice, whilst simultaneously turning them into ironic and ridiculed characters. The second section starts with the beginning of the 90s. Jones details the path indie music (mirroring and espoused by the politics of its time) took, touting the ‘Cool Britannia’ brand lauded by Brit- pop superstars, namely Blur and Oasis. This spawned hundreds of carbon copies, all subscribing and clinging onto stereotypical identities of middle class art school bohemians who set themselves up against working-class lads in a bid for authenticity. Jones shows us how chart top-spot lusting encouraged the decline of experimental expression, even within music that identified as ‘alternative’ and released on independent labels. Jones’s analysis has relevance beyond the Britpop generation. She extends a hand to explain the lasting effects of the stifling politics and the ways space for working class women was erased from pop. For example, the millennium heralded my first year as a teenager. By the time I was ready to move beyond my pre-pubescent playlist of purchase-your-empowerment ‘feminism’, endorsed by the likes of the Spice Girls, there was little to fill the musical void. Where was the kebab shop-pop of Shampoo? Where were my post-riot grrrl sisters to sit me down and tell me I didn’t have to subscribe, as I dutifully did, to the twanging, politically apathetic and unrepresentative paint-by-numbers indie music? Certainly not in the charts, or the NME and, realistically, where else was a thirteen year old without a clued up bigger sister or brother going to look? As we in our thousands took to the BBC website to ‘test’ what class we align with (presented in such a way it was not dissimilar from the quizzes found in the girl mags of my youth), Clampdown’s closing chapters are a timely reminder of the politics of class. As austerity continues its clampdown with further wage cuts, job losses, choked state services, and a disappearing benefits system, more and more of us are becoming part of the underclass, the ‘workless, scrounging other, our latent “chav” potential exposed’. Will this galvanise the homogeneous, disposable and tired spirit of pop music? From exposing the Blairite love affair with espousing the virtues of meritocracy in the 90s as the impossible sham it was; to revealing the neo-liberal scare-mongering mythologizing of the ‘chav’, prevalent in the discourses of the Coalition, Clampdown serves as a call-to-arms to take back ‘alternative’ and ‘independent’ music and reclaim it as our own. G 21 21
Shaking the Habitual by The Knife: Resistance and Compliance by Sasha Wilde Illustrations by Eleanor Tiplady Higgs When The Knife released their first three albums (The Knife 2001, Deep Cuts 2003, Silent Shout 2006), they already had enough in their bag of tricks to catch the eye (and the ear, of course) of left-leaning, feminist and queer oriented music lovers. From the very beginning Karin and Olof, the siblings behind The Knife, constantly defied the rules that govern popular culture—they rarely gave interviews, and when they did, they both wore masks and used an effect that made their voices sound genderless, old or not very human. They didn’t go on tour or appear live until 2006—that is after the release of their third album Silent Shout, and seven years after The Knife started in 1999. When the band won a Grammy award for the Pop Group of the Year in 2003, they sent two Guerrilla Girls to appear on the stage as a protest against the male domination in music industry. In 2006 they won six Grammies in Sweden but did not attend the ceremony. True, they have allowed José González’s cover of their most widely known track Heartbeats to be used in an advert but it was justified by the need of money to fund their own independent record company (Rabid Records). Such a one-off sell out was a gesture aimed at gaining more independence from the commercial and, therefore, limiting aspects of the music industry. In The Knife, Deep Cuts and Silent Shout we heard Karin manipulating her voice with effects to make it sound genderless, deep, haunting, old or child-like (sometimes all at once). We heard the duo explore the subjects of masculinity, femininity, motherhood, pornography, violence: ‘So where’s the femininity/The one with skirts and high heels/A shiny sink and homemade meals/The one and only way/If you enter you’ll stay/Sons and daughters you will breed/As long as you breastfeed/Yeah being a man is a bliss/One Hit one Kiss’ (‘One Hit’). We have seen Olof under the love spell of a Swedish drag artist, Rickard Engfors, in the Pass This On video, where Karin sang ‘I’m in love with your brother’, giving rise to rumours about the incest between the siblings. 23
Thus, The Knife were ‘shaking the habitual’ long before they openly announced it with their last album, released this April. Karin and Olof are not sure whether Shaking the Habitual is a continuation of The Knife or whether they should have released this album under a different name. To me their latest work is at once a continuation and an awe invoking blast of fresh creative and political ideas. It is a continuation because it still has a recognisable, even if more experimental and industrial, sound that belongs to The Knife; it continues with leftist, feminist and queer ideas. It is new in its intensity; new in open references to the work of feminist and queer theorist and writers, such as Michel Foucault, Gayatri Spivak, and Jeanette Winterson (good news for the more academically-inclined listeners). Full of Fire is the first single from the new album; it starts with bare industrial techno beats and continues with unapologetic and ironic lines sung by Karin. The subjects touched upon in the song range from problematic story-telling (‘Of all the guys and the signore/ Who will write my story/Get the picture, they get glory/Who looks after my story/All the guys and the signore/Telling another false story’), pointing to the fact that most (hi)stories have been written by white rich straight men. Karin then says (sings) it like it is about the liberals (‘Liberals give me a nerve itch’). She then moves on to what seems like a psychoanalytic reference and could be titled one of the basic questions of human existence: ‘When you’re full of fire, what’s the object of your desire?’ Finally, the song is closed with ‘Let’s talk about gender, baby, let’s talk about you and me’. This last line seems somewhat ironic, as if it returns to the theme of storytelling and lightly mocks the imposing interrogatory style and the gender policing that pervades today’s media and society in general. Marit Östberg’s video (actually, a short film) for Full of Fire is a piece of art that’s worth an article in itself. It is a video that made many queers cry sparkling glitter tears (true story, I swear). Östberg magnificently blurs boundaries by portraying a spectrum of genders and desires (BDSM), as well as conventional power dynamics that take unexpected turns. In one of the scenes, we see the Occupy movement’s protest and two female soldiers approaching the activists. What starts out as an unpleasant confrontation between one of the soldiers and a female protester turns into them sharing ‘the bedroom eyes’, then the protester allowing the soldier to handcuff her and both of them walking away (super hot, right?). The way the video is shot resembles a dream. After all, it is precisely in dreams that we first experience the ways every day boundaries lose their meaning. At the same time, Full of Fire is raw and almost painfully real, for it reminds the viewer that some people’s extraordinary dreams (or nightmares—depending on your attitude) are other people’s ordinary reality. What exactly distinguishes ‘living the habitual’ from shaking it, and what exactly is the nature of the complex relationship between resisting and complying? Resistance and compliance are not always clear-cut—as most things in life. 24
The video for the second single from Shaking the Habitual, A Tooth for an Eye, was directed by Roxy Farhat and Kakan Hermansson, and, according to Farhat, it seeks to deconstruct images of maleness, power and leadership. In this video a young girl confidently, yet gently, leads professional and amateur male dancers, allowing them to express their vulnerability, joy and sense of freedom. According to Olof, with Deep Cuts the duo sought to infiltrate popular music and comment on political issues from within the system. With Shaking the Habitual the siblings decided to take an opposite and more radical approach—to let the political theories steer them in a musical way. The Knife are playing two concerts (sold-out) in London on the 8th and 9th of May in Roundhouse. G
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an interview with Kat Poole by Sofia Hericson
Fancy Free From is a food blog whose motto is ‘Making living free from wheat, gluten and dairy a lot more fancy’. The recipes, layout (upon which this article is based) and pictures are all stunning and delicious! Since stumbling upon it by accident, this became one of my favourite free-from food blogs. I decided to ask Kat Poole, the woman behind it all, a few questions...
How did you decide to create Fancy Free From? I’ve been intolerant to wheat, gluten and dairy for 7 years – and for about 5 of those I totally neglected the kitchen. So, when I finally started to miss home cooked dishes, I had no idea where to start. I wanted a site that would give me free-from recipes that looked easy to make, and like they would taste amazing too. When I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I decided to make my own. I also wanted the blog to appeal to more than just people on an exclusive diet. All too often ‘free-from’ is taken as a byword for tasteless or second best – but really it’s just swapping a few ingredients over. So it was really important for me that everything on the blog was visually appealing. In my experience free-from food can be a hard sell; but as soon as people see a dish that looks great, you’re half-way to getting them to try it for themselves. For my first two free-from years, I thought eggs were dairy. I’ve started paying closer attention to where food comes from now. Where do you get your inspiration from? Much of it comes from home cooking - I grew up making and baking things with my Mum and Nan and still do now, just with different ingredients. The crumble recipe on the blog has been passed down through the generations and we all know it by heart, so posting it on Fancy Free From was the first time I’ve ever seen it written down! But more often than not, my biggest inspiration is food envy - walking past an amazing looking bakery or cafe and wanting to be able to make the same thing, but differently. And possibly better. And – I know I probably shouldn’t admit this - I’m inherently quite lazy when it comes to putting food together. And a little bit impatient. So I’m genuinely inspired by anything that looks easy, fail-safe, and doesn’t require a huge shopping list. (Please don’t judge me.) What about the photos? Do you take them yourself? I take all the photos for the blog myself using my DSLR, a Nikon D3100. At first I was a bit nervous about using it; now it’s my favourite part of putting the features together. Almost all the photos are taken at home as soon as I’ve made the dishes, so usually the kitchen is my backdrop! It’s lucky I like my walls, really. When I’m out and about I use my phone, which is a SONY Experia S. If I’m in the picture it has usually been taken by a poor passer-by who I’ve roped in to being my temporary photographer. G www.fancyfreefrom.com /fancyfreefrom @fancyfreefrom 27
Cheesecake – But not as you know It text/recipe and photography by Kat Poole
When I was first diagnosed as being wheat, gluten and dairy-intolerant, the first thing that went through my mind was cheesecake. This isn’t an exaggeration. It is the pudding epitome of everything that someone on a free-from diet shouldn’t eat – cheese, and cake. And it is my favourite pudding in the world. So as you can imagine, life became pretty hard for me from that point (in my mind, violins start playing at this point). For a while, I truly didn’t care about all the other foods that had been swiped off the menu without so much as a goodbye. My bread and butter – a cake made of cheese – had been lost to me. Since then, I have tried to ignore my cravings, but recently I have been feeling that something substantial has been missing from my life. Obviously it didn’t take long for me to work out what that was. I started scouring trusty websites for cheese(less) cakes but none of them sounded appealing enough. I’ll be honest; I don’t want to make a pudding out of tofu. Hey, give me soya cream-cheese on a cracker, but not in a cake. So yes, this ruled out essentially all the recipes out there. Until this one, found here. I’ve adapted some of the ingredients and measurements, but the basics are all the same. It’s more than just wheat, gluten and dairy-free. It’s also vegan, and there is no soya, eggs or grains involved either. This probably leaves you wondering what could possibly be left to make it from. Well, NUTS. A lot of them. Which doesn’t come cheap, but I promise you it’s worth it. Plus, depending on the size of your pan, you can easily reduce the mixture.
This creamy, zesty delight is a revelation. And what’s more, you can replace the lime with cocoa powder, or blueberries, or... well, whatever you like really, and you’ve got yourself faux cheesecake choices to last a lifetime!
You will need a spring-form or silicone cake tin (mine was 9 in), and a food processor or blender.
Ingredients For the base: - 4oog ground almonds - 5 tbsp agave nectar (or clear honey) For the topping: - 500g macadamia/ cashew nuts (or both) - 3 tbsp coconut oil - 5 tbsp agave nectar - Juice of 6 limes - Zest of 2-3 limes, depending on taste - 130 ml water Method Soak your macadamias/cashews in a bowl of water for around 15/20 minutes to get them nice and soft. Blend the ground almonds and agave nectar in a food processor until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the cake tin and set to the side. NB If you want your crust more crumbly, throw a handful or two of whole almonds into the mix. Blend all your nuts, agave nectar, lime juice, lime zest and water in the food processor, then add in the coconut oil. Keep going until the mixture is smooth – this may take some time! Spoon the mixture on to the cheesecake base, and place in the freezer to set. This should only take around 1-2 hours. Once set, remove from the freezer and top with lime zest to serve (it would go really well with some dark chocolate sauce, too). And if you’re not ready to eat it yet – pop it into the fridge to keep firm. Enjoy! Now, to buy some cocoa powder...
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How to Make the World a Better Place with Only a Sack of Vegetables text/recipe and photography by Adam Benkato title page by Beth Slater
The world, as we all know, is ending. The current industrial food system is damaging us as well as our environment; Big Oil is ensuring that we make it worse every time we go somewhere or heat our homes; all sorts of communities are finding access to education and jobs more difficult every year; there’s climate change and poverty and human rights abuses and war. It’s bleak. It’s depressing. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can help. How? Buy a veg box.
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Can eating fresh, locally-grown, organic, delicious vegetables seriously make a difference? Growing Communities, a Hackney-based social enterprise, certainly believes so. They think that a more sustainable and resilient food system can help meet the challenges posed by climate change and resource depletion. For example, more people live in urban centers than ever before, and feeding those people in a healthy (and financially/ ecologically friendly) way is an increasingly difficult task. Add to that the fact that traditional knowledge of food growing and preparation has been lost in many communities, and we have a serious dilemma. But Growing Communities believes that not only can we take back our food system in an environmentally-productive way, but that we can do this while creating jobs, fostering community, and… AND while producing delicious, healthy food (I can totally attest to this–more later). GC grows in several community-based gardens in and around London: the Patchwork Farm (a collection of micro-sites in Hackney), a larger ‘starter’ farm in Dagenham, and ‘market gardens’ in Springfield and Clissold Parks, and Allens Gardens. These sites are run by volunteer farmers (anyone can get trained and participate!), while GC works with children in local schools and teaches organic growing. They also run the Stoke Newington farmers’ market every Saturday (which is the UK’s only all-organic market). This all sounds fantastic. But how do we all fit in? We sign up for what GC is most famous for: their veg box scheme. You get cheap seasonal, local, 100% organic vegetables (or there’s a fruit box, too) every single week. How local, you ask? Their award-winning salad leaves are grown in Clissold Park. How cheap, you ask? Less money than it would cost you to buy non-local organic vegetables individually (literally, it starts from £7.50/ week, with discounts for pensioners). Everything is seasonal, so you learn which vegetables are actually in season or not (how did people cope, you wonder, when they had to eat cauliflower every day in winter?!). It’s non-profit, they source from small-scale farmers, and it has a low-carbon footprint. They also send around a weekly email to tell you what’s in the bags and to share a few recipes, in case you have no idea what to do with cauliflower or swede. It’s so fresh, the mud from the farm is still caked around the parsnips and beets, because they were just pulled out of the dirt one day ago. 32
And I can personally vouch for how delicious their produce is. Their carrots are so rich and flavourful, I thought I was chomping down on some Willy Wonka’s 3-course meal gum. Their awesome salad is so full of texture and variety it’s like a spring hike (their online picture guide to the leaves may be of some help). Never have I made a more delicious vegetable pie. Need more convincing? Bad urban development, oppression of poor communities across the world to support our gluttony, oil consumption, deforestation, war abroad, elimination of small-scale businesses and farms at home, irresponsible treatment of environmental resources (and many more!) all represent THE PATRIARCHY. Growing Communities supports: A) Local, healthy, ecologically-responsible eating B) Knowledge, trust, and fairness in our food chain C) Empowerment of communities, and D) People being fair, equal, and responsible in general. All things that the patriarchy hates. Therefore, to support Growing Communities is to FIGHT THE PATRIARCHY! Furthermore, as many of our dear readers know, fighting the patriarchy and striving for justice and equality takes a lot of energy. But we can’t put all that energy into it if we’re not healthy. However! We can be more healthy by eating lovely organic, locally-produced food. Therefore, if we eat Growing Communities’ produce, we can fight the patriarchy with more vigour and for longer. Thus, I present to you GEEKS a way–two whole ways, really–in which you can give the middle finger to the patriarchy’s grip on our food system, our health, and our environment. And all you need is a sack of vegetables. ‘Growing Communities – The Patriarchy Don’t Like It’. (I’m available to do ad spots for your patriarchy-fighting weapon of choice) G
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Vegetable Pie adapted from witchininthekitchen.com
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INGREDIENTS BUTTER PASTRY: 4 ¼ cups flour ¼ t salt ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter ¼ cup ice water, or more as needed ½ T freshly squeezed lemon juice POT PIE: 12 T unsalted butter 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2+ onions) 1/2 cup flour 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock 3 T heavy cream
1 1/2 cups swede, diced (or potatoes, if you like) 2 1/2 cups carrots and parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (or spring greens/kale if you don’t like broccoli) 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms 1 package of chicken-flavored seitan, chopped (optional) splash of brandy or sherry 1/2 cup minced parsley 1-2 T fresh rosemary leaves, minced 1-2 T fresh thyme s+p
PASTRY: Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, then add it to the flower mixture and toss to evenly coat. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a food processor or your fingers. Work until the mixture becomes coarse and crumbly and the butter is about the size of peas. Stir the water and lemon juice together, then drizzle over the dry ingredients a little at a time. Toss with a fork to distribute the liquid. The pastry will be shaggy but should hold together when squeezed in the palm of your hand. If not, add an additional few drops of water. Dump the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and press down on the dough, folding it over on itself a few times until it holds together. Try not to handle it too much. Shape it into a disk 1 inch thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes while you prep the pot pie. POT PIE: Melt the butter in a large pot on medium heat. Throw in the onions and saute until fragrant and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the ‘shrooms, rosemary, and thyme, and continue to stir until they soften and brown. Add a splash of sherry and some s + p. Add the flour, lower the heat, and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the stock, bring the whole pot to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes more. Add the cream. Check the seasoning of the sauce and add a lil’ this and a lil’ that if you would like. In another pot, boil water to prep the vegetables. Cook the swede in the boiling water for about 7 minutes, lift out with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Cook the carrots and parsnips in the boiling water for 5 minutes, lift out with a slotted spoon, and set aside in the same bowl as the potatoes. Blanch the broccoli for only a minute or two, and drain. Add the vegetables, seitan and parsley to the sauce. Stir to combine. ASSEMBLE: If baking right away: Pour the pot pie filling into a pie dish, roll out the dough on a floured counter top and lay on top of the filling, cut a few slits in the crust for steam to escape, and bake on a baking sheet at 190C for about an hour until the crust is golden.
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Gomorrah by Roberto Brion illustration by Gavin read
Poetry is a ruthless, what will you say, mocker or jocker? ‘Hatred’ M.S. Whelan
I am yours, A willing, though terrified offering, Streched flat, An emphatic gesture of gently choreographied contrition. The resolve of leaving undisturbed the dirt below me, a compulsive aim. As I do not need to be delivered from, I am not imploring. I am treading uneasy apprehensions. Methodically, trading stillness and self control for an uninhibited certainty. I want to be comforted by the promise that I too can be rewarded. Not with the bread of forgiveness, which is tedious to chew, sticks in the teeth and once swallowed, troubles the throat. But with… Never mind. What would it be like to be forgiven? I suspect that it would feel like being tormented crudely by a primal pain in the balls, a biblical burn in the cock, a doleful discharge of debt and duty soiling, unashamedly, my underwear. 37
I am drifting. I need to be granted modesty, compunction to avoid being unwittingly drowned by failure. To achieve it, maybe my eyes should be lacerated with the brooding piss of girls confused and elated by the playful nightmares of their first menstrual visions. Or maybe I could tear my tongue from the roots and sacrifice it to the acid kiss of some random naked feet. Wretched me. I cannot even be entrusted with the pityful endeavour of my salvation. Should my eyeballs descend, dejected? Should I pull despairingly at the bottom eyelashes in a fit of guilt? Would I be ignored if my confession were simply that I am helpless? My sensisibilities absorb a drop of magical sleep. When I wake, I hope the hours have taken me to a friendlier place. I want to be guarded from these mendacious indiscretions. When I desire to remain sternly collected, they force me to stretch further; to strain my body with a more deliberate, demanding dose of renunciation. This is a dangerous endeavour: as with all movement there is always the risk of collapse. Of breaking into the debauched litanies of sound and volume. Becoming, therefore, not the masterful recreation of a vow but roadkill upsetting the dirt below with arrogant weight. I wish I could fall to my knees and lick the kingdom of skin with the same nonchalance and disdain others exhibit when they slip the Holy Host between their lips. This unruly blood of mine has to be carefully chastised. For that reason, I could hammer my fingers as if they were nails to the palms of my hands and call it an act of redemption, repentance, etc. I could sever my ready, brazenly open hands and call it an act of praise, atonement, etc. But will I not need them later in the day? It is said that the Mighty Dove lays a blessed egg in the palms of those who musingly wait for their remorses to reach their rightful ends. My balls, my cock, my ass, my nipples, they struggle, stumble, they bulge, they burst, they sculpt my body, born from women months before they lifted their offspring from the loving embrace of their sex. Do not the holes of my body shape the flute with which the Spirit luridly plays its sacred intimations? Freed from horror and punishment, should my flesh, cleansed by this blissful spell, give itself to less coquettish passions? Could it surrender its dignity to the dirt without feeling insidiously cheated? G
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Contributors - for Mini Mag 2 Adam Benkato is a Libyan/American living in London. When not fuming at American politics, running around Libyan revolutions, or distracted by completely unrelated side projects, he is a PhD student of languages and religions at SOAS. His contributions to GEEKED are inspired by the histories of the incredible women around him. Sam Garton I’m Sam, I’m 30 and I live in Wokingham! I have a degree in illustration and I spend most of my time drawing Otters whilst generally making a mess and thinking about why I still haven’t bought a kitten. I like putting inappropriate sweets in the freezer (Jelly tots) and my favourite film is Homeward Bound. I wish I looked cool wearing headbands, but I don’t. Oh, and I’m rubbish at looking after houseplants. Sofia Hericson (Editor / Art Director) is a multi-media artist based in London. She works as a Visual Merchandiser and Graphic Designer at one of the coolest bookshops in the world! Her favourite colour is orange. See her work here: www.sofiahericson.com Contact her at sofia@geekedmagazine.com Eleanor Tiplady Higgs Ellie is a London-based PhD student whose research has nothing to do with the arts. Nevertheless she thinks of herself as a frustrated artist, and as a big fan of the Knife she jumped at the chance to draw them for Geeked. See her crafts and projects on her Tumblr page. Samantha Langsdale (Editor / PR) is in the writing-up stages of her PhD at SOAS, in London. Though she hails from the southern US, she is a long-time resident of the Big Smoke. Sam is a fierce feminist, loves profanity, and is constantly trying to convince her partner to have, ‘just one more pint’. Contact her at samantha@geekedmagazine.com Anna Malzy is on a Masters in Gender, Media and Culture, which is finally allowing her to pursue her passion for looking at how gender is perceived and created within society, particularly on the stage. She is a Shakespeare nut, is happiest by the sea and wants a pet tortoise. Kat Poole is a Londoner (not born, or bred) and writes the blog fancyfreefrom.com. When she’s not in the kitchen, writing, or drinking tea, she can be found putting her Film and Literature degree to good use at the cinema, perving over superheroes. Or in the shop at the Science Museum. Gavin Read is a London-based artist and bookseller. He generally hangs out at: www.axisofornament.wordpress.com and on Twitter: @axisofornament Beth Slater studied Journalism and Creative Writing at UEL and then Comic Book Art at UAL. After abandoning her life as an East-End barmaid, she is currently developing her portfolio and website. She spends weekends wearing Lycra at comic conventions. Her heroes are Jim Lee, David Attenborough and Dead-Eye Duck. Email: ciderbat@hotmail.co.uk Francesca Wetherilt Francesca lives in London and spends most of her time looking at books, cats and recipes. You can find Food Rules! on tumblr Or you can contact Francesca via email francescawetherilt@gmail.com Sasha Wilde is a queer and a feminist, an immigrant from Lithuania, who attempted a degree in philosophy and literature, and is finishing a degree in Tibetan and Study of Religions. S/he writes songs and is looking for a band in London. Check out Sasha on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/agn-bago-i-t