As you might know, several months ago this zine began work on it's second edition. To that end, we posted an interest check as a link to a Google form so we could get an accurate idea of how many people might actually purchase the zine. This is a critical step for us, because we endeavor to run this zine at a net-zero. No one makes any money off of this; not contributors, mods, editors, no one. To be frank, one of our editors spent several thousand dollars of their own money on the first edition because math is Really Hard. This was not an issue, but it's something we want to try and avoid in the future.
That interest check has been open for over a month and has had 29 responses. Honestly, we can't base our numbers off of that and we can't really continue to put in effort if it looks like the zine won't sell.
Below, we're going to put a poll in this post that will run for a week. Please reblog this post if you're in the Trek fandom and please respond. If we don't get a good number of responses on this poll, we are going to have to scrap the project and remain as a one-and-done zine.
Just so you're aware, our last zine was 151 pages and $25 for a physical copy, $15 for the merch, $7 for the PDF, and $35 for both the zine and merch (USD, not including shipping costs). We're working hard to bring those numbers down, especially the shipping costs, but we can't do our calculations without knowing who might be interested. We realize this post is long, but we wanted to be frank with you all. This project will be dead in the water if we don't know you're actually interested.
The Museum of Science in Boston has been raising funds to build a statue in memorial to Leonard Nimoy (who loved the museum and grew up right near it) and I’m SHOCKED at how far they still have to go. Leonard Nimoy was an activist, a proud Jew who inspired so many other Jewish people to be proud of their heritage, and a lover of science, art, and curiosity. If anyone deserves a statue in their honor at the museum he loved, it’s him.
The Museum of Science is a wonderful organization. They support local programs, they’re partnered with the New England Aquarium, they hand out free passes all the time (I got a bunch at the Dyke March last year), they tell the truth and strive to be diverse and accessible (they let people borrow wheelchairs and ECV’s for free!) and they run on community support. Please share their fundraiser!
{{MetaTags.description}}
I understand if it’s more important to you to share fundraisers for individuals in need. It is a very noble thing to do, and I think Leonard would agree. If you care about this though, everything is appreciated, and I know he has a lot of love on this website.
As some of you know, there were only three lovely editors for the 2023 edition, Talon, Victor, and Pepin, and we did it all on our own. Some of us were graduating, all of us got full-time jobs, and we can all agree that three of us WEREN'T ENOUGH!
So we won't make the same mistake this time! There's no way we'll be capable of running the zine again without far more support. Note that just because you're a mod, doesn't mean you can't have your work in the zine! All three of us had our work in the 2023 edition (but it isn't required, although it has to fit the theme).
So we need more mods!
The primary editor will remain Talon, for this next (potential) edition at least. Victor and Pepin will continue to have contributions as well. However we have several other positions that will need to be filled. Below we'll list them and give a short description.
If you are interested, please fill out this form! (Please keep in mind the time you will have to dedicate to this project if you are a mod. If you cannot reasonably dedicate that time, please reconsider.) If you're not interested, please reblog!! Descriptions under the cut.
The Tumblr Mod: You'll be in charge of running the tumblr, creating posts, using Canva, putting out announcements, tagging posts properly, and potentially sending emails. This is great for a creative, schedule-oriented individual. This is so that the tumblr doesn't go for large swaths of time without a single post, as it did for the 2023 edition. You will be in charge of the email primarily and any messages will go through you.
The Twitter Mod: You will work closely with the Tumblr mod. You'll be solely in charge of expanding our online presence to include twitter, so the fans over there have a chance to explore the wonders of our zine. Ideal for someone who knows twitter, is a great collaborator, and will be able to post regularly.
The Timeline Master: You'll be in charge of keeping track of the zine timeline and updating it as needed. You'll work closely with the Tumblr Mod to schedule posts. Your most important job will be ensuring ALL of our contributors provide each of their progress checks and recording those progress checks. This will be good for a person who wants to participate but has limited time. It will be most busy at the very beginning (setting up the timeline) and during the progress checks (anticipate 3, the 4th being the final delivery).
The Economics Professor: You'll be in charge of all monetary calculations. We have some calculations already from the 2023 edition, but we want to improve them. You'll also look in to other potential printing services for cheaper OR better quality options. You'll work with the Tumblr Mod to put out interest check polls to refine the calculations as much as possible. You'll also be in charge of the money when we begin preorders (Talon will walk you through this process) and all orders (for proofs or actual products) will go through you. This is great for someone with a numbers-oriented mind with a bit more free time on their hands.
The Copy Editor: You'll work closely with the primary editor(s), including Talon, for creation of the final product. You will look for grammatical errors, ensure all stylistic choices are the same throughout the document (no font errors, no extra spaces, etc.), and ensure all contributor pieces are actually included in the document. This is for a detail-oriented English mind. You will contribute to the contributor selection process (as will all of the editors) and work with contributors to refine their ideas and ensure they meet the theme.
The Mail Room(s): Ideally, this is two or more people who live close to/with each other who will be able to process the orders we receive and mail them out using our mail platform (Talon will walk you through this). This will be BUSY only once we have received the zines. It is the MOST IMPORTANT job. It is best for people who are careful and detail oriented, and have a great deal of free time (and a fair amount of space for boxes). You'll work closely with the Economics Professor.
The Go-To Guy: A jack-of-all-trades, mini-Talon. This person will help ensure all aspects of the zine are running smoothly, communication between editors, fans, and contributors is accurate and swift, and troubleshoot any problems which may arise. There may be two of this position. It is busiest in spurts (especially around events or progress checks). Ideal for someone who is personable and good at problem solving.
i will never be over the fact that during first contact a human offered their hand to a vulcan and the vulcan was just like “wow humans are fucking wild” and took it
#iiiiiiiiiiiiii mean vulcans had been watching humans for a long time#they knew the significance of a handshake but still#they had to find some fast and loose ambassador#willing to fuckin make out with a human for the sake of not offending them on first contact#lmao#star trek
give me the story of this fast and loose vulcan
“sir…these…these humans…they greet each other by…” *glances around before furtively whispering* “by clasping hands…”
*prolonged silence* “oh my…”
“sir…sir how will we make first contact with them? surely we…we cannot refuse this handclasping ritual, they will take it as an insult, but what vulcan would agree to such a distasteful and uncomfortable ritual??”
*several pensive moments later* “contact the vulcan high command and tell them to send us kuvak. i once saw that crazy son of a bitch arm wrestle a klingon, he’ll put his hands on anything”
I swear Vulcans only come in two types and they are “distant xenophobes” or “horny on main for humanity”. Also apparently this guy is Spock’s great-grandfather and frankly that explains everything.
Hey so I looked into this at one point and that handshake literally created a lifelong telepathic bond between the two of them, and basically all of Solkar’s descendants were later obsessed with humans, including freaking SPOCK, so I’m not saying that handshake was so gay and good that it created an intergenerational telepathic bond between Solkar’s descendants and humans, but I’m also not….not….saying that.
The slow deliberation with which Solkar takes Cockrane’s–I’m sorry, Cochrane’s–hand… The sheer sensuality witch which Solkar infuses an otherwise borderline impersonal social ritual… It clearly shows a very conscious knowledge, on Solkar’s part, of what the significance of the handshake is in Vulcan terms and of how affected he is by it.
That’s why he’s so slow in doing it, and so sensual. A part of Solkar can’t believe this is happening, despite it being a perfectly logical thing to expect from a human, and the rest of him can’t believe how good it is.
I bet that if the camera zoomed in any further we would see the dilation of Solkar’s pupils and a quickly-repressed shiver of delight. Cochrane’s firm, businesslike clasp is probably (in sexual terms) being perceived as a deliciously carnal display of dominance.
No wonder Solkar is all like, “TAKE ME, YOU WILD-MANNERED BARBARIAN WITH ENTICINGLY ROUGH CALLUSES.”
#somehow the idea of vulcans being Horny On Main always gives me the giggles#like literally all they had to do#was be like actually#hand contact is very intimate for our species#and im p sure humanity as a whole would not find that insurmountably weird#there are human cultures that dont shake hands#vulcans are logical enough to think that through on their own#so clearly that vulcan was just down to fuck#down to fuck in a public#professional diplomatic situation no less#and he did not fucking care who knew it (via kittykatthetacodemon)
annaxmalina
jacobvanloon
janainaart
stormborns
germansingergirl
