Angie J. Kay

A writer and artist from Southern Illinois, where everyone's been but no one notices.

[angie-j-kay]

Still stuck in bed, but it seems that watching historical documentaries about ancient cuisine and Hozier music videos has convinced the YouTube ad algorithm that I am a 25yo man in need of therapy for my emotional trauma.

[angie-j-kay]

The side effects of my new meds have me basically on bed rest right now, so I watched Pride and Prejudice.

Apparently my new puppy likes this movie too, and we've noted before that she seems to be heavy on the guardian breeeds, because at 7 months old she's already protective as hell. Friendly to all, but the slightest hint of a threat and this pupper is between me and the "danger" with hair up and on guard.

Anyway, the movie hit the part where Darcy caught Lizzie wandering around the manor, and she bolted, with Darcy chasing her and oh-so-romantically calling her name.

And here's Ruby the Mastiff Mix, barking and growling at Darcy for chasing a clearly frightened woman...

Good dog.

[angie-j-kay]

The Stone Soup Commune: a zine

When I was a younger woman, I was one of the founding members of a small, informal commune in Central Missouri. It wasn't like what people show on television, with a bunch of hippies working on a farm. It was a collection of families living in poverty, who realized that they had a better chance of improving their lives working together than they did struggling alone.

The commune lifted several families out of poverty, and helped many more get housing and food. Eventually, it did fall apart, but we did a lot of good before the end.

This zine is the story of the Stone Soup Commune, what we learned from our failures as well as our successes. It's also a simple primer on how to start a similar venture with your neighbors or friends, and how you might avoid our mistakes.

[angie-j-kay]

The special July Issue of Flat Broke is late, but live!

This is a special issue of Flat Broke, in honor of the protests that erupted around the USA last month and the times that we all know are coming. It includes an article on how to protest safely, one on how to prepare your home for grocery shortages and hard times, and an article on how someone can resist a fascist regime once the protests are over and real life begins again. I've tried to keep this zine less political, since I'm still of the belief that while we have to vote to minimize damage, no one rich enough to run for office cares about us. But this last month... nah. We're taking a hard turn Left this month. Enjoy. For a physical copy: https://ko-fi.com/s/735cc37052 For a free digital download: https://ko-fi.com/s/9c3ca63f53

[angie-j-kay]

Crawling Out of the Void With New Zines!

Okay, so I've been a bit ill... for months now. It was a combination of anxiety and depression induced by my new studies NOT leading to work, some family drama, and... well, you've all seen the US news these last few months, right?

Yeah. It's been like that.

This isn't to say I've been idle. I've been writing new issues of Flat Broke, but hadn't had the spoons to put them online, only spreading them in person amongst my social circle.

But I've finally gotten insurance, which means I've got medicine that's making my brain function more like a human's, which means y'all are getting ALL of the back issues for free download now!

In the April issue, we learn what happened when a crooked nursing home closed, abandoning elderly residents to the care of a janitor and cook. We also see the first of a three-part series of articles on finding and keeping a job, and learn how to turn cheap chicken liver into a delicious snack!

For a physical copy: https://ko-fi.com/s/085bf9a317 For a free digital download: https://ko-fi.com/s/8b63de118b

The May issue includes a proposal to all who can garden, and who want to help the hungry. It also holds the second of a three-part series on finding and keeping a job. And in the Broke Eats! column, we learn about a blend of herbs that makes boring suppers taste like fairy tales!

For a physical copy: https://ko-fi.com/s/47584dc3fc For a free digital download: https://ko-fi.com/s/4076e75ade

In the June issue, we learn about a secret society of grannies who used cakes to fight poverty. The third part of our three-part series discusses how to protect yourself at work. And in honor of a certain hilarious journalist, we have a recipe for lentil taco filling!

For a physical copy: https://ko-fi.com/s/5bcd5fe645 For a free digital download: https://ko-fi.com/s/39d8ff5a55

For the July issue of Flat Broke, click HERE. For the story of Angie's time in a commune, click HERE.

[itsame-a-mio]

Happy Pride Month to everyone who gets this joke, laughed at it, or isn’t a homophobic or transphobic etc asshole.

Happy Pride Everyone.

Stay Gay.

[canadasilverdragon-deactivated2]

Does…does this make adaptors strap ons?

[meerawrites]

I mean… very likely.

[angie-j-kay]

Does this make my power strip an orgy?

[angie-j-kay]

I'm over here writing the next DIY Progress article for Flat Broke's April edition, and... gods, just google "Maurice Rowland and Miguel Alvarez." If you're triggered by anything involving elder abuse, do not Google it, but these two dudes are so awesome and I'm definitely not crying right now DAMMIT!

[angie-j-kay]

A conversation I had with the 94yo dementia patient I was hanging with today.

B's an old friend of the family, living with her daughter (and only surviving child) and we try to help take care of her. I come in every Friday to clean the daughter's home and watch B while her daughter's at work. And today, B was having a very, very lucid day. For context, Son 1 died young of an overdose, and Son 2 went absolutely bonkers and abused her before Daughter stepped in. And from what I've heard, B's marriage sucked too.

Daughter DOTES on her mum, by the way.

B: Alright, so (Son 1) didn't live long enough, but did (Son 2) have kids before he died? Did he get married?

Me: No, I don't think he did.

B: Hm. Yeah, that makes sense for him. What about (Daughter)? Did she ever get married?

Me: Nah, (Daughter)'s never gonna get married. She's not into that.

B: . . .

B: Hmph. Well, at least ONE of my kids was smart.

Do you have ANY idea how hard it was not to lose my shit laughing?

[angie-j-kay]

FLAT BROKE VOL. 3 is now LIVE!

We are so very almost done with this move! The husband and I are formally into our new home, and we've only got a few scraps left to get shifted over here, but the wifi doesn't connect for four more days. No wifi means no printer at home, and I won't have access to one until tomorrow. That's not stopping me, though. The March issue of Flat Broke is now LIVE!

In this issue, we discuss Circle of Hope Church, who organized teams to "Annihilate" bad credit card debt by sharing finances and tackling the problem as a unified front. We also talk about guerrilla gardening, a totally illegal thing that you should never ever do no matter how easy it is to grow free food for your community. 😉 There's also a recipe for yogurt, because why pay stupid amounts of money for a crappy store product when you can make it on your counter for damn near free?

If you download the free PDF set, you get a copy that's made for reading on basically whatever device you like. You can get that here: https://ko-fi.com/s/316b1b7386

If you want to help support this zine so that I'm not paying for the paper and ink all by myself, you can order a physical copy to be shipped to you for $3: https://ko-fi.com/s/4318fce8c2

You're also always welcome to browse my Ko-Fi store for other zines, as well as pinback buttons: https://ko-fi.com/squeesquaredstudios/shop

Thank you for all of the support you've shown us! I'm gonna keep this zine going for as long as I can. Spread the post as far and wide as you like, and let's support everyone who's as broke as we are!

I'm gonna tag @hopepunk-humanity, because I think you guys might like this. Also @orangezines, on the off chance that you see it.

[angie-j-kay]

Shoutout to the four rich hippie kids who went through my college graduation barefoot with me in 2005. You didn't know what the statement was that I was trying to make, but HOT DAMN you wanted to show your support. Sadly, the statement I was making was "I am too poor to buy shoes, even from thrift stores."

[todaysbird]

it’s crazy how much diversity there can be in one species…these are all pictures of the same bird species (red-tailed hawk)

[angie-j-kay]

They all just look so OFFENDED at being restrained like this. Not angry, just INSULTED.

[angie-j-kay]

The February issue of Flat Broke just went live!

This month has been a whirlwind. I'm still in the middle of a move (hence the rubbish picture, lol), fighting with my company's HR department over a skeezy perv manager, and juggling my automotive tech classes at the local community college. But we managed to make the January issue of Flat Broke explode, and now I'm already planning for March and April issues!

I've kinda got to. The campus discovered what I was doing, and now Flat Broke is being promoted by three professors and the head of the campus food pantry, which... oh gods... oh my freaking gods... One of the profs flat-out paid for the ink for the February printing.

So yeah, let's keep this rolling!

If you download the free PDF set, you get a copy that's made for reading on basically whatever device you like. You can get that here: https://ko-fi.com/s/f68a2c91ed If you want to help support this zine so that I'm not paying for the paper and ink all by myself, you can order a physical copy to be shipped to you for $3: https://ko-fi.com/s/741e487195

The January issue was $2, but this one has 12 pages while January only had 8. My apologies, there was more to say this month.

You're also always welcome to browse my Ko-Fi store for other zines, as well as pinback buttons: https://ko-fi.com/squeesquaredstudios/shop Thank you for everything, you lot! You guys are awesome!

[angie-j-kay]

The February issue of Flat Broke just went live!

This month has been a whirlwind. I'm still in the middle of a move (hence the rubbish picture, lol), fighting with my company's HR department over a skeezy perv manager, and juggling my automotive tech classes at the local community college. But we managed to make the January issue of Flat Broke explode, and now I'm already planning for March and April issues!

I've kinda got to. The campus discovered what I was doing, and now Flat Broke is being promoted by three professors and the head of the campus food pantry, which... oh gods... oh my freaking gods... One of the profs flat-out paid for the ink for the February printing.

So yeah, let's keep this rolling!

If you download the free PDF set, you get a copy that's made for reading on basically whatever device you like. You can get that here: https://ko-fi.com/s/f68a2c91ed If you want to help support this zine so that I'm not paying for the paper and ink all by myself, you can order a physical copy to be shipped to you for $3: https://ko-fi.com/s/741e487195

The January issue was $2, but this one has 12 pages while January only had 8. My apologies, there was more to say this month.

You're also always welcome to browse my Ko-Fi store for other zines, as well as pinback buttons: https://ko-fi.com/squeesquaredstudios/shop Thank you for everything, you lot! You guys are awesome!

[angie-j-kay]

I am trying to make this printer print in ONLY greyscale, because I do not have a color cartridge. When it printed before, it printed the black and white pages using the color cartidge and I do not know why.

Now it is midnight and my brain is goo. Still not printing without the color cartridge.

[curiouswisp]

LOOKING RESPECTFULLY

[angie-j-kay]

[angie-j-kay]

A QUICK UPDATE ABOUT FLAT BROKE #2!

Flat Broke #2 is meant to be out tomorrow, but it's going to be another day or so. Sadly, I had some massive drama at my job in the last couple of weeks. It's a long and unpleasant story, but the short version is that an underage girl I work with came forward with complaints about the manager's inappropriate behavior with her, got her hours cut in retaliation, and I and my coworkers have gone to war to get rid of this guy.

I have personally had two long phone calls and one in-person visit from the corporation's NATIONAL HR manager in the last two weeks on top of my full-time studies and preparing to move to a new home, and I wasn't even the direct witness to any of the girl's complaints. I prefer that corporate officers be unaware of my existence, personally, but when a teen girl is so scared that she's going to work with the local police on speed-dial in her pocket, it's time to fucking step up.

Put simply, this zine is completely written, but I am straight-up exhausted and I still have to be on the clock tomorrow morning. I am going to try to get some sleep tonight, so that tomorrow evening I can lay the zine out and get it up and running on Sunday.

My apologies, guys. I will be starting on March's issue as soon as February's is done, if that helps.

[schizoauthoress]

Today I learned that Van Halen have that rider in their contract about “a bowl of M&Ms with all the brown ones removed” in order to know at a glance if the promoter read the entire contract.  And the reason they do THAT is because they once had a stage collapse because a promoter hadn’t read the proper way to set up all the specific technical stuff.

So if the band goes in the dressing room or catering and sees brown M&Ms, they know they have to double-check the stage setup for safety.

[darkfrog24]

I heard about this on Freakonomics Radio.  Turns out the bit about no brown M&Ms is HUGE, in BIG font, bold, underlined and quotated like they’re on the Group W Bench.

The band was all, “We have fifty-pound lights hanging over our heads and fire being shot out of cannons.  We had to know whether they read our safety regs so we didn’t flamebroil any roadies.”

[gobbochune-deactivated20241018]

interesting how this has become a meme in the music industry about divas. i’ve always heard jokes that amount to “this stuck up celebrity hates the green gummy bears!! they’re refusing to perform just for that???” and its reading stuff like this that i realise how that joke might have come about. people get grumpy that the band refuses to play but cant admit its because THEY’RE incompetent, so they make it all about the M&Ms. another example of artists using a creative method to ensure they have a perfectly reasonable request fulfilled that is then bastardised by lazy people who wanna make money off them. 

[thesylverlining]

…this is like the music industry version of hearing the truth behind the McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit

[angie-j-kay]

I'm just amused that someone's mentioning the Group W bench. You made the comment. I caught the comment. And we didn't so much date ourselves as carbon-date ourselves.