We're Xtra.ca front page news!!

Ch-ch-check it OUT. (How à propos).
Thanks Deanne!!

Lickety Split in The Link, Concordia University's student newspapersss

Ch-ch-check it out in the newsstands! Doesn't seem to be on-line yet, though the cover art of the current issue of The Link is. Yes.

Broken Pencil review of #5 - The Multiples Issue!

Hi folks,

Just received the latest and greatest issue of Broken Pencil magazine and there was a bunch of cool stuff inside, including a review of Lickety Split! This issue of BP is the 'Summer How-To' edition (with a great drawn version of the BP logo, please keep it that way!!) and I was thrilled to read articles by and about a bunch of worthy folks, including an article by Serah-Marie McMahon of Worn Fashion Journal, Amy Johnson of Wooden Apples, Laura Roberts of Black Heart Magazine, Sarah Evans of Anchor Archive and Billy Mavreas of himself!

Anyway, onto the review. We haven't updated the review section of the site in a while so I thought I'd share on the blog. Here's an excerpt:

"Most absorbing is the zine's ability to transform the obscene into sexy chic; while models unabashedly shed their layers for the camera or use every adjective to describe a certain sexual encounter, there's an undeniable innocence in every description. It's like the handful of words you read on a postcard sent to Post Secret: some just have the power to steal your breath, move you to tears, or toss you into fits of laughter. If you want to explore a lifestyle where gender or activity pose no sexual boundary, or simply read beautiful prose by people who do, grab this zine. It's a class act in smut if there ever was one". - (Amy Greenwood)

Thank you!!!!!

We're on Queer Corps tonight!

Yup, that's right! Even more audio goodies to feed your gaga. Or something like that.
Kathleen will be representing the LS crew from 6-7pm on CKUT's Queer Corps program. Tune in and get the lowdown on the latest issue and the launch on Friday!!

***UPDATE***
Listen to the interview here! Lots of risky discussion about the content of the R I S K issue!!
Have patience or fast forward until you hit the interview.

Expozine was a hoot! (check out these photos)

Aw man, I looove Expozine! "Montreal's Annual Small Press, Comic and Zine Fair" is something of a milestone for a lot of indie publshers and artists in this city. It functions as a place to celebrate and sell some amazing and beautiful/weird/wacky art as well as a deadline for many others who are looking for one. I think that many folks in this milieu understand challenges that can come up in terms of ones motivation, and personally, Expozine always reaffirms how awesome this city is in terms of creative output.
But anywhoo. Here are some photos by Sherwin Tjia, a longtime Lickety Split collaborator (for example, he's our official cover artist). I'm throwing in a couple of us at the end from the Faggity Ass Queer Stripper-ganza too!
The Lickety Split table, directly next to Sherwin's table, separated only by our Slow Dance Night Poster!
Amber, Kathleen and Sherwin!
The throngs of art adoring fans! Please buy our smut!
K$ representing behind the table on Sunday!
Gamble's dog Lucy is a sexy bitch.
Our loverly Sherwin (at the strip show)...
Et moi! Pushing zines as always...co-tablers for LIFE!(also, at the queer strip show)
Thanks to all who came out and bought Lickety Split stuff or just came by to say hi!!!!!!

Hearts,
Amber

Launch #5 reviewed in The McGill Daily

Check it out here: http://www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php?aid=6661

An excerpt:
"...After my private show was done, the others moved on to other innocent newbies, bouncing their tassled breasts mere inches from their faces. With all this excitement and sexual ease, it was no surprise that my shirt magically came off towards the end of the night. I was even considering working with these ladies. I then realized, listening to local band Starvin’ Hungry rock it out, that this was Lickety Split’s mission: to create an atmosphere that promotes unbridled sexual expression in a healthy, fun and hilarious setting. "

Yeah. Article by Linda Issa.

More Lickety Split smut zine launch photos on Indyish.com!

Check them out here! Thanks to Marilis Cardinal who took all the fine shots!!!!
Dead Dollz:
Alex from PARLOVR:

Lickety Split #5 press links!

Check us out in Brendan Murphy's Hour column, y'all:
http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=13337

...and also the lovely article in the MTL Mirror by Sacha Jackson!
http://www.montrealmirror.com/2007/110107/arts.html

...and a mention in Johnson Cummins' column:
http://www.montrealmirror.com/2007/110107/rex.html

Yay!

Lickety Split is in the November issue of Nightlife Magazine!

Lickety Split has 2 items in the current issue of Nightlife. We're included in the "stuff you should buy" sort-of section near the back and there's a wee interview with yours truly in the feature/theme of the issue "Freak Therapy". Thanks to Mic Shu and Clifford Brown for hooking this up!

More here: http://www.nightlifemagazine.ca/magazine/view/599

For those who can't click or don't have access to the free monthly, here's the interview by Clifford Brown:

FREAK #4_Amber Goodwyn
/ Porn culture jammer

You’re definitely not publishing smut for profit – what’s your mission?_Lickety Split is all about the people doing it, and each other, for themselves! We’re making sex-positive, pansexual smut. There’s a quote from Susie Bright we always drop: “If you don’t like what you see out your window, the most subversive thing you can do is make your own vision. If criticizing sex is so important, then where are our role models? Who do you think is going to make erotic expression meaningful to you if not yourself?”

Ever been contacted by outraged readers?__Never.

What’s the freakiest thing you’ve ever done?_Hmmm. I brought a blow-up doll to my high school prom as my date. But I’ve never eaten spiders or bitten the heads off of chickens or anything like that.

Is it hard to be taken seriously with artsy porn?_No. But seriously artsy porn, now that’s hard to take.

Women are slowly taking over the porn world - thoughts?_Is that a promise? Truthfully, I don’t think Lickety Split fits in with the regular porn world. We’re not even on the radar for those folks, we’re making our own
culture on a different planet away from them and we’re coming from a place of multiplicity and inclusiveness. And slutty-ness.
licketysplitzine.com
Zine launch on November 3rd at Zoobizarre, free zine with cover charge

Lickety Split on ZineWiki!

Ch-ch-check it OUT! Someone has already started a page for dirty, ol' us on ZineWiki! How nice. Now I'm gonna go fiddle around with it until I like it better.

About ZineWiki, from their site:
ZineWiki is an open-source encyclopedia devoted to zines and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.

Lickety Split in Syracuse: The Daughters of Joy campaign for world domination continues...

Yeah, Daughters of Joy rocked New York state on Sunday!

The lovely Astria Suparak (shown above, in blue), curator of Syracuse's Warehouse Gallery, had invited Amber to screen DoJ in conjunction with the gallery's latest exhibition, COME ON: Desire Under the Female Gaze.

So Amber, Mike and I loaded into a ginormous white minivan rental and booted it to the US, buoyed along the way by the salty lyrics of the Boss. Our ride caught the attention of a border guard, who delayed us for a few sweaty minutes with a clumsy cat-and-mouse interrogation. Luckily, Mike was able to prove he's a film professor by providing the etymology of "cinema".

When we reached Syracuse, we left our stuff at Astria's loft (which she shares with her partner Brett Kashmere, an experimental filmmaker), grabbed some vegan chili dogs and checked out the exhibition. It was a phallic blast. There were some amazingly hot large-scale drawings of post-pubescent dude-on-dude action, which I totally covet for my bedroom. Stay tuned for Amber's report!

Then it was time to set up the screening, hosted at a perfectly-sized art venue called Spark. Director Frank McCauley was extremely hospitable -- thanks again, Frank!

As someone who doesn't consider herself a "serious" video-maker, it felt really odd to see 50-plus strangers streaming into a room where my stuff (among many other things) would be shown. At the Montreal event, a large portion of the audience had been friends of the artists. In Syracuse, the pieces had to stand on their own feet -- intimidating!

Mike and Brett

Not to mention the diversity of this new crowd -- from first-year frat-types, to mom-ish looking people, to an older man I took for a priest until his jacket came off. I think I let the hype about US conservatism get the best of me, since the crowd was very pleasant and attentive thoughout.
Anyhoo, Amber did a fantastic job revamping the line-up. The program as a whole truly seemed to gel this time around, and there were some new and engaging found-footage works. I'm a sucker for comedy, so a new submission by Joanne Balcaen showing screaming female rock fans from the 50s and 60s was one of my favorites.

I was secretly hoping for a repeat of the angry storm-out that took place at the Montreal soirée (complete with a showy return of the individual's ticket), but the most dramatic reaction this time around was a man who got very excited (agitated?) when Janet Jackson's video for If started to play during one of my pieces. It's a rousing song, I'll grant him that.

After the screening, Amber and I did a Q&A with the audience. Amber held the floor with grace and wit, while I shuffled around beside her like a big gangles, periodically trying to escape from the harsh blue spotlight. The audience spoon-fed me a few questions (again, where were the angry Republicans brandishing the Patriot Act?), and then we scampered off to drink fresh strawberry martinis. Jealous? You should be, they were delicious.

Upon return to the loft, we all spent the next few hours foot-pumping an air mattress for me to sleep on and eating luxurious snacks. Astria and Brett really snacked us good.

After a night of endless spider-filled dreams (there was a nest in my underwear drawer -- ewww! and also what???), we hit the road early, stopping off for waffles at the notorious Funk'n'Waffles, where Amber confirmed my belief that she is indeed a giraffe.

All in all, a very enjoyable trip. Thanks to all of our gracious hosts, and Mike for his patience and stamina! (Oops, that came out wrong. I meant driving stamina.)

Tune in to our future adventures, when Amber and Neetzie take DoJ to snobby Toronto...

Lickety Split on-line at Come As You Are!

Lickety Split is available on-line at Come As You Are.

From their site:"Our favorite and most loved zine around!"

Feel the love!

Robinson Devor's ZOO: An informal review

The cover of the Montreal Mirror was invigorating for LS's Kathleen, after having seen ZOO at the Fantasia festival.
The following is the lightly edited transcription of an instant message conversation between Kathleen and Amber about the film ZOO which they had recently watched at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal.
Amber: Kathleen?
Kathleen: Hi
Amber: So. Zoo, eh?
Kathleen: I feel a bit let down by zoo. you?
As a representative of the horse community, i mean.
kidding!
Amber: Feelings...yes. Well, I feel a bit muddled.
There were a lot of pretty sky + tree shots.
Kathleen: There were some Hallmark-esque shots of lilacs and leaping dolphins...
Amber: There were also references to a small mining town and this zoophilia community meeting at a farm after having met via the (evil?) internet.
Kathleen: Hey, we're using the evil internet! Will we end up in Washington State...?
Amber: ...what?
Oh!
Like in THE FILM!
I thought you meant The President or somethin'
I love my cats, but I don't LOVE my cats, you know.
Kathleen: One thing I found interesting was that when the zoos, as they call themselves, were talking about their love of animals, I wondered whether I might share some of their characteristics.
Amber: Interesting. Like what?

Kathleen: There's a part of me that can identify with a complete withdrawal from human contact (which, actually, none of them were even discussing), and just living with non-human companions and falling in love.
I don't know about penetrative sex, though. But I think I can see my way around a lot of sexual/sensual interactions with non-humans.
Amber: They did talk about how they appreciated the simplicity of an animal existence being free of cultural, verbal interactions.
I think I regard my cats as my furry babies. Which is weird too, I 'spose.
Kathleen: I think I have maternal feelings towards my cats too, which is sort of tricky.
Amber: Consent: big topic!
Kathleen: Indeed. It's obviously a slippery slope, and since I just “came out” on Google IM…
Some of the questions around "simplicity" bothered me, but they bother me in the same way that many questions around consent and non-humans do, not just sexually-based issues.
Actually, one thing that I found an effective counter-point to the media's portrayal of these folks as monstrous was when they showed the vets drugging that poor stallion and castrating him. Talk about issues of sexual consent!!
Amber: Right on. That was fucked up. They picked up the stallion in question and...does this count as a spoiler?
Kathleen: If you mean did it spoil my appetite, then yes.

Amber: All I gotta say is "pony". Highlight of the film.
Kathleen: I can imagine being in love with a cat (or an otter, etc...), but not feeling sexual desire towards that individual.
Amber: Yer referring to the animal as an individual, as I suppose they may be in the way that it is a singular being. But usually we refer to humans that way.
Kathleen: Yes, I tend to refer to animals as people.
…Although I have had what could be understood as a sexual experience one of the only times I interacted with a horse... I think a lot of girls have experienced this, am I right? Which also brings up issues of back in the day, forcing women to ride side-saddle, issues of sexual restrictions…
Amber: I think there is a difference between riding a horse, or a swing or a washing machine and getting off on it and then associating that being/object/person with sexuality. But I'm not sure it's a romantic or consensual one.
Kathleen: No, it's interesting, for me it was as if the horse was a vibrator. There was no deep connection. But for some girls, I think the riding and other activities form a part of a super emotionally charged relationship.

Amber: I think that people definitely have deep connections to animals (myself included). On the subject of girls/women, there weren't too many in the film- none at all who were "zoo".
Kathleen: Another thing zoo ignored or glossed over was other forms of bestial intercourse, like when someone sticks their dick in an animal. I tend to have a much more negative reaction to this, even though with humans I would never argue that rape is limited to forcing a penis inside something.
Amber: Good point. The whole film estheticized the zoophilia and veered as much as possible away from anything "bestial" though you do see some interspecies lovin' in a very peripheral way.
I think that the filmmakers didn't move beyond their original intention of presenting a group's story in a non-sensationalized way. I feel the film lost momentum and had some awkward moments trying to reconcile that.
Kathleen: Yes, I feel like the director narrowed his focus to the extreme and also used a lyrical rather than a straightforward aesthetic and narration style, which is a controversial choice to make when you're diving into hitherto unexplored and taboo territory.
In terms of multiplicity, there were also some interesting choices made in terms of casting and depictions of real people and events. Some people were played by actors but you could hear their real voices, some played themselves, and some were entirely fictional. A strange layering and distancing from the original events was the result, in my opinion.
Amber: It's funny that some reviews have compared the approach of the filmmakers to that of Errol Morris who is so good a spinning a tight yarn as well as using different editing strategies to reveal the different dimensions and truths of a story. This lacked dimension.
I think the film was beautiful to look at but could have used a more rigorous structure, even though there were not many opportunities for "talking head" interviews, as many of the zoos in question didn't want to be filmed.
Kathleen: The one talking head interview that was present only added to the confusion!
Amber: Holy fuck yeah.
I was like "dead little boy", white background, man on a stool...what?!
Kathleen: I think it was supposed to add gravitas, reminding us of the price one zoo paid... for his passion!
All style and very little substance. The "pony" moment, although hilarious, added nothing.
Amber: It added to my personal glee.

What did Rick say again?
Kathleen: Rick said it was a hilarious slapstick comedy, that the dolphins made him laugh, and about the guy on the stool... I don't remember.
Oh gawd and the music! I would argue that the music really worked against the filmmaker's desire to make a non-judgmental and "objective" piece. The music was all and foreboding and relentless and sinister.
Amber: I think it was supposed to be "Glass-ian".
The music.
Kathleen: Well i kept getting scissorhands flashbacks.
Amber: Lady friend, I gotta go back to work now.

The Lickety Split # 4 Launch Party was fun, y'all!

Lickety Split #4 is out in the city and was birthed at the arty/messy/rockin' launch at Club Lambi. Check out this little PG rated video by livemtl's David...it features moostashs galore, music by Flames! and a coupla crotch shots. The pix are of Lil' Pip backed up by a coupla Dead Doll Dancers and you can find more launch photos over at this blog post. And if you missed out on the action, check out the new issue here!


Thanks to Trancelvania + Double Negative Collective as well as Mike, Erin, Marty, Sherwin, Giddy, Lola Gouine, Sean in the T-Dot and anyone else I'm forgetting!

Amber
xo

Read the latest Broken Pencil review...

...Thanks so much to Broken Pencil and Heze! If you can read what it says in that image, please note that the contact and webpage is different: a (@) licketysplitzine (dot) com and www.licketysplitzine.com

Also check out the Broken Pencil webpage here for our call for submissions for the Daughters of JOy! Film and Video Festival.

Also, our UK readership has been expanding so I will be setting up an international subscription option on our shop page today or tomorrow...

hearts,
Amber

We're in Venus!

Check out the fall issue of Venus for a review of the latest Lickety Split!

Go to www.venuszine.com for more details; they're sold thru Chapters/Indigo.

-A