The Official "Dose" Thread

[Rizzo in a box]

Alright I hope I'm not too out of line w/ posting this as an official thread here but what the hell, gotta take some risks if ya' wanna get something done, right? hah...

Anyway, this will be the thread for most discussion about the birth of the chemphoria e-zine. I say birth because for right now the thread will be mostly focused on article ideas, who wants/can do what, who has any experience with this kind of thing, formatting, etc.

I'm going to start brainstorming on this tonight (and right now really) since I really want to get down to brass tacks. I don't know if we want to make this with a centralized organization or decentralized and more anarchistic. As in, having someone who is editor to take care of communicating with everyone, getting articles put together and what not, or if we just have whoever can do whatever - whenever. We'll see what works, I suppose.

So for right now, what would be good is this:

Article ideas - we're looking for a fairly wide subject range to deal with drug and drug related topics. This can include pieces on various drugs, and for an example please see killing's article on Xenon. Also, news pieces, EDITORIALS, philosophical type stuff, chemical related things (extractions and what not), harm reduction, and just various information like that. A lot of short pieces can be JUST as informative and entertaining as a few long pieces. Mix it up.

Art/photography - All those pictures you draw of shrooms and syringes and shit. Pictures of loads of drugs. But NOT PICTURES OF YOU DOING DRUGS. We do NOT WANT TROUBLE WITH THE LAW. Fucking period.

People that know how to format shit. You know, how to set everything up. Anyone with experience with the proper software or experience in journalism (I have a little bit but it's been a while). Making it LOOK good will be very important.

Publishing/distribution - for now we won't worry about hardcore publishing, but it would be very cool if once we get this up if we can get people to print out copies or whatever properly - like a real magazine - and distribute it to head shops or whatever.

Also, any other contributions are welcome. Ideas, opinions, flames, suggestions, epiphanies, WHATEVER. You want to help? We want you! You know people that would get down with this? TELL THEM.

I might set up a gmail just for the e-zine itself to handle all the communications and what not but you know we'll figure all that out later.

LATER: Expect a list of articles people can start working on.

[darkus]

I'll set up a channel for the zine staff one of these days.

[NiX]

yeh, first step would be to create a staff room,then we each can be assigned tasks.
i can setup a program where we can add all our stuff and bring it together in a format that is web friendly and also printable.maybe we can get some rouge prints and staple them to posts and such.get the word out and create a following.

btw great post Riab, Karma to you kind sir.

[Rizzo in a box]

Alrighty, I did quite a bit of brainstorming last night and came up with several ideas - I did a lot of looking at various magazines I have around the house and took ideas from them to use. I'll just list them as I came up with them.

Things to have:

• table of contents
• names of various drugs trailing in the background/on the side
• Some sort of ads for related things, like MAPS or erowid or dancesafe or what have you.
• a staff page/list of contributors
• letters to the editor (or magazine, or whatever)
• pro-drug ads that mock those free-vibe ads - and along with that, various smart parodies on stuff like that
• some sort of section that gives balanced information on rehabs & what to expect
• polls/opinions/charts/statistics
• biography articles on various important figures in the drug community: A. Shulgin, A. Hoffman, HST, etc
• Interviews of some sort - but with who? That's my question.
• legal notes of some sort as I'm sure we'll have to figure that nonsense out
• some sort of calendar maybe? I don't know why. I just saw a lot of them in magazines
• maybe some of those TOP TEN lists or what have you. like top ten things to do while high...or whatever...
• an editors note?
• mixing up the format/structure of it with different pictures, charts, diagrams, etc. make it diverse and colorful, but not confusing and distracting. (I like the way scientific american is set up from the mid 90's)
• a list of various organizations/affiliates
• drug horoscopes? I really don't know where to go with that idea but it could be funny
• cartoons of some sort?

Those are just some brainstorming ideas I have for now, I'm also working on a list of various articles people can start working on. I've got an image of this whole thing in my mind btw, and how I see it is in several different sections with one or two articles in each, with other various articles interspersed.

Something like an opiate section, a stimulant section, an Rx section, a psychedelic section, an RC section, a chemistry section, and a neurology/psychology section (for how drugs really affect the brain/body), along with other such stuff.

I'm really psyched on this. I can definitely see myself devoting a majority of my time to this for the next couple of weeks, as I need to stay away from the actual intake of chemicals for a while but can never get them off my head....

[penguinjam]

that sounds great. but there should definitely be a harm reduction theme in there. that also would make people less likely to object, etc...

[Rizzo in a box]

that sounds great. but there should definitely be a harm reduction theme in there. that also would make people less likely to object, etc...

oh yeah! durr, that was one of the big things I was going to focus on but I totally overlooked that while trying to think up different ideas. 

[NiX]

also letting people know about the current drug laws and the future ones two, id love to do a section on the current so called "the war on drugs". how they reckon the government are fighting it but really helping it.also things like the mena connection and storys like that.

[Rizzo in a box]

list of articles soon

I've been a bit distracted but nonetheless the zine will progress forward!

most likely tomorrow morning, I am tired as hell at the moment

[adhesive tape]

Again. tell me what to write about and I shall add something. I have some experience with coke, opiates and weed and I'm fairly articulate. Give me some ideas.

[scovegner]

I'd be willing to help out a bit too ..

[NiX]

Rizzo, gonna make a front page post about this topic, feel free to log into word press and edit it

[penguinjam]

Again. tell me what to write about and I shall add something. I have some experience with coke, opiates and weed and I'm fairly articulate. Give me some ideas.

I.V. oxy, man.

[Rizzo in a box]

Sorry that the list is taking a bit longer - I am working on it I've just got other stuff going on right now and I don't want to post it until its legible. Maybe one more day. There will be plenty of things to write - and work on, as it won't all be writing assignments - so don't worry if you don't feel qualified or yadda yadda. At this point a willingness to help out is all we need.

[adhesive tape]

I.V. oxy, man.

If requested I will absolutely do a write up about IV oxy.

[0omnidirectional]

It would be awesome if there was a page dedicated to comic strips.

I'd be willing to do a four screen comic of the mushroom people saga (sci/fantasy/meta fiction) once a month.

I'm sure others could do some thing too.

I have some stuff drawn out on lined paper already, I would have to make it much better, scan it to the computer, and color with photo shop still.

[Rizzo in a box]

It would be awesome if there was a page dedicated to comic strips.

I'd be willing to do a four screen comic of the mushroom people saga (sci/fantasy/meta fiction) once a month.

I'm sure others could do some thing too.

I have some stuff drawn out on lined paper already, I would have to make it much better, scan it to the computer, and color with photo shop still.

I definitely want to see something like this in there, as well as some cartoons that parody freevibe ads and what not to show how fucked up they are and give us all a chuckle.

[adhesive tape]

some cartoons that parody freevibe ads and what not to show how fucked up they are and give us all a chuckle.

Sounds win.

[Rizzo in a box]

typing now, expect new thread 30-60 minutes. it includes a how-to as well as a list.

[assumed identity]

Given the proper time, I'd be able to contribute some original artwork and photography. The typical happy pills and exaggerated shrooms. Keep in mind they will all be sketches intended for page breaks and transitions. I like to consider myself to be a decent drawer.

Don't hold me to a time-frame though, since chemphoria is second to the rest of my semi-busy life.

[Rizzo in a box]

Update on how things are going:

People have written a few articles - which I'm in the process of editing
I'm still working on stuff like more lists & updating the current threads
trying to find more volunteers & old BLTC members that would be perfect for this venture
I'm relearning all the various things I'll need to know about copyediting and formatting, what software to use, etc
the zine now has an official email you can contact it at - dosezine@gmail.com (right now I'm the only one who uses it, but in the future I plan to let one or two other people have access)
& various other tid bits

There is only so much a man can do in a day, and there is always so much to do...& one of the biggest parts right now is just figuring out WHAT needs to be done and WHO can do it. So, progress is being had.

If you'd like to make a donation to the editor to "speed" things up a bit, feel free to shoot out an email, or a PM.... 

[adhesive tape]

You can use a lot of parts of my "Withdrawal Tips" thread in the Opiates section.

[Rizzo in a box]

the editor is on a dxm binge for the next day or two

please take this into consideration

that is all

[assumed identity]

the editor is on a dxm binge for the next day or two

good choice. there's nothing quite like being completely lost and unaccounted for in a heavy dxm trip.

[penguinjam]

we'll need some badass psychedelic cover artwork. that shit is win.

and rizzo, I might be able to get a macro camera sometime soon. any interest?

[PoC]

Just to let everyone know, I've been subjected to a very hectic & crazy & disorganized last two weeks due to college prep/working overtime/sick family/going to friend's funeral, so aside from having next to zero net access during said time frame, I've obviously accomplished jack-shit for the project. However, it seems things are mellowing out for me once this weekend is through, and having a solid week of me-time coming up means that it is very likely & probable that I will finally be laying concrete to the otherwise inactive ideas/submissions I've been procrastinating on for the past month. I apologize to you all for the delay and hope that the delay may be worth the wait in regards to the quality of my submissions.

(P.S.: Rizzo, I'll try to catch you on AIM later, because I have to ask you a question about your grandma's fruit basket. Needless to say, and regretfully so, the aforementioned series of events caused some issues & delay which will certainly be amended in a short time pending a relevant question etc. etc....)

[Rizzo in a box]

Haha, don't beat yourself up too much over it. The very fact that the zine is for sure happening at all is a miracle. Delays, procrastination, and drug-binges are all to be expected. I've been beating myself up for wasting a valuable opportunity but I realized that shit works in ways you can't really expect. So...just do yr best. Far too much work has gone into it for it flounder now.

We already have enough articles for the first issue, all we need is artwork and what not. Editing is probably half done (it seems like it should be easier than it really is).

But seriously, art work is the most needed thing right now. Anything anyone wants to submit, GO FOR IT. Even if it looks like shit, we can photoshop it to make it into trippy drug art.

[assumed identity]

yeah, i'll get onto working on some stuff. serious question though: does the art follow specific topics?

if so give me some i could base the piece around. need relative sizes to.

i'm a big fan of blind contour drawing. done right it can be very trippy.


examples of contour drawing: (not mine)
phone
water
bench
soda cans
cut apples
random guy
plants

i'm also really good at landscapes and outdoor scenes.

[alexvont12]

I'm new to this forum but I think a section with awesome/funny quotes from people who are tripping or on various drugs would be cool... and we can all contribute