One of the most inquisitive podcasts available is one that run by a team of linguists. Each week, author/journalist Martha Barnette and lexicographer/linguist Grant Barrett talk with callers about slang, old sayings, new words, grammar, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well. They settle disputes, play word quizzes, and discuss language news and controversies. The show, on the air since 1998, is heard weekly by more than a half-million listeners over the air across the United States and around the world by podcast. The show is produced by Wayword, Inc., a small independent nonprofit unaffiliated with any station or network.
UPCOMING SUBMISSIONS for HEY VENUS MAGAZINE - BOB HOLLAS
Bob is a photographer from New Jersey, who shoots in a monochromatic fashion in order to capture the abstract forms and psychologies of the subjects he encounters. He attended the New York Film Academy in Burbank, CA and resides in Hollywood. Stop by our Upcoming Issue page to view more of the finalists for the Bi-annual publication of HEY, VENUS! MAGAZINE.
Theodore Payne Foundation Hosts POPPY HOUR
The beloved Theodore Payne Foundation is still closed due to the pandemic, but they have plenty to share with us during this time. POPPY HOUR was launched by the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants -a local plant nursery located in Sun Valley that has been around since 1960.
More about the programme: POPPY HOUR is our weekly botanical happy hour featuring horticultural experts, botanists, home gardeners, and local leaders in their gardens and in conversation about native plant gardening, the Southern California landscape, and increasing sustainability in our communities.
For the most recent episode: We’ll visit with designer Lake Sharp (@array.la) in her chic Highland Park landscape, and discuss her work that merges plants, design, and wellness. Then we’ll talk restoration, land management and the urban wild interface with Dr. Charlie de la Rosa (@tempisquito), Natural Lands Program Manager for San Diego Zoo Global.
We encourage your comments, questions and thoughts. More details can be found at nativeplantgardentour.org
In case you missed it, click here for Episode 1 featuring guest Naomi Fraga of California Botanic Garden. POPPY HOUR is sponsored by LADWP, The Gottlieb Native Garden, and The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Bookstore Workers Relief Fund
MAKE A DONATION
We are a small bookstore in Southern California who have been out of work and are worried about losing our jobs, and don’t feel safe returning to work during the rise of the pandemic. All money donated to this fund will go directly to impacted workers for basic necessities like rent, groceries, bills, etc. The fund will be available to all bookstore employees who choose to stay home, though those of us with financial privilege will have the opportunity to donate their portion equally to everyone else.
Any and all donations are very much appreciated, no matter how small! We know this is a time of financial stress for many people. We're inspired by the brilliant organizers who have started mutual aid networks across this country, and we're excited to take care of each other and our community. Illustration by Madeline Gobbo (http://www.madelinegobbo.com/).
HEY, VENUS! the MAGAZINE —OPEN CALL Extended to August 11th
We wish you, and your families, good health and emotional strength. But…Oy! What has happened to our world? And, where the hell is your life going? You missed a big announcement while you were on the can sulking in your stay-at-home misery. HEY, VENUS! Projects made its departure in the spring of 2020, releasing an experimental podcast, and a magazine collective. We’d like to inform you that through the pandemic, we are still accepting submissions.
We request your obscure findings, irrational theories, and uncensored analysis on racial justice, permaculture, language, nature, sex, death…Have you discovered a new form of plant life? Caught off guard by a long forgotten film, or an antiquarian book in german script? We anticipate that you might surrender to us these articulations, and help build our community of linguists and over-thinkers.
During this time we are still accepting submissions for the magazine, and guests for the radio show. We are less concerned with academic forms of expression at the moment, and more so focused on experiential statements and documents.
We encourage subject matter on topics such as public health, permaculture, racial justice, recipes, plant life, the pandemic, the state of productivity, rituals + routines, insomnia, sex work, hospitality, and confinement. Our voices are a profound reflection of this historic collapse.
DEADLINE AUGUST 11TH.
For further details and other inquiries
WRITE US: heyvenusradio@gmail.com
ADD US: @heyvenusradio
COVID-19 —Too Many Unanswered Questions
L- Adriel, Liquor Store Attendant in Sunland. R+ Below- Images of the streets of Sunland-Tujunga in mid April 2020
60 days, 10 hours, 38 minutes since lockdown. I’m taking notes from various phone calls, articles, podcasts, zoom meetings, radio talk shows; this virus is a conversation happening everywhere we turn. It’s in our blood now…literally. All of this information leads to more unanswered questions. For example, the reality that we’re not even addressing with the stay-at-home orders —the fact that children (and teachers) have been risking their lives every day they go to class, as school shootings were taking place just about every other month. Why did we not shut schools down during these incidents? Wasn’t gun violence enough to take action and save lives? Let’s look at some statistics.
As of today, with Los Angeles having a population of 10 million people —the death rate of covid-19 is at 2,779 out of the 69,329 total confirmed cases. Although this number is considering that out of the 10 million living in Los Angeles, only 991,897 have been tested. Gun violence ranges at 40,000 deaths per year, with the opioid epidemic slightly trailing ahead at 46,000 cases each year. Traffic accidents are at 36,000 deaths per year, which was less than I had expected. Still, for covid-19, with the US total population at 328.2 million, we currently have 1,399,905 confirmed cases, with fatalities of 83,019 as of May 9th. The CDC states that from October of 2019- April of 2020 there were up to 56,000,000 cases of the flu, over 700,000 hospitalizations, and around 60,000 fatalities.
Could it be that since SARS-COV1 (2002-2003) the majority of individuals have become more unhealthy than ever before? If you look at the timeline, when the SARS-COV1 infections broke out there are a few factors to pay close attention to: 1. The internet wasn’t the ultimate priority, and smart phones weren’t in everyone’s faces i.e. we were spending less time sitting on our computers, and were more active as individuals. But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that from November 2019- May of 2020 there were more fatalities from covid-19 than the flu in the same amount of time; but this is aside from the fact that the beginning stages of a pandemic is all encompassing of one major element: we were still just learning about the disease, with no solid treatments.
The coronavirus is of zoonotic origins —zoonosis is an infectious disease which is caused by a pathogen that has jumped hosts: from animal to human. But some have stated that the virus was manufactured in a lab. Why can’t we have the truth as an option? As we’ve come to understand, similar to SARS-COV1 [2002-2003, total infected 8,098, fatalities: 774], the recent covid mutation is generally spread through respiratory droplets within the range of a mere 1.8 meters. This pathogen enters the human cells by binding itself to the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor; an enzyme attached to the outer surface of cells in the kidney, lungs, arteries, heart, and intestines. Subclinical infections (pre-symptomatic shedding) were most likely the main sources of how the infection was initially spread. That and the dirty meat markets? If you still have a job, when do you feel safe returning to work? A few weeks from now, three months, tomorrow morning? If you can recall, February 14th of 2020 an asteroid was headed right toward Earth, yet somehow it missed us. Is this the end of the world? Mother Nature, how cruel we have been to Her —I understand if she is fighting back. We are left at the mercy of a complete collapse.
In the sleepy town of Sunland I made my way around the shops, to investigate further on the spread of the virus. Just a few of the small town’s local shops were still on lockdown, and it was relatively quiet out on the streets -those especially that line the sidewalks in front of barber shops, mattress stores, optometry offices, medical clinics —even the neighborhood psychic was closed. I stopped by a corporately run grocery outlet off of Foothill Blvd, and asked a few of the workers if they knew of anyone who had called out sick, or had been diagnosed with the virus. The majority of those employed have been on the frontline this entire time. I was expecting the worst; having witnessed the store to be consistently packed with desperate shoppers ever since the pandemic took shape. Although the answer from employees was surprising. The individuals I spoke with stated that no one has gone home sick, and there have been no reported cases of the virus from any staff members. Of course, this is assuming that 90% of those employed hadn’t been tested.
I took some notes, then went to run my next errand. Camera strapped to my back —extra gloves in the back pocket, home-made mask on top of my medical mask, and hand sanitizer of plenty. Up the road there is a cozy market, managed by one of the kindest older gentlemen I’d met in the area. Canyon Market is down the way from the Tujunga Post Office, nestled in between an apartment complex and antiquarian properties. I prefer to stop by this shop and purchase a few essential items too, because it’s small shops like this one who desperately need the extra business, especially now. Adriel, one of the liquor store attendants, was kind enough to share his thoughts.
“This has been the most stressful month of my entire life, but this is my job and, I have to be here. I don’t know anyone personally who has been diagnosed with the virus, but there was a local nursing home where the outbreak had spread, and an animal sanctuary -the Wildlife Way Station off Little Tujunga Road where the entire crew was infected. Enjoy your time off work, if you don’t have to be out here. Enjoy it while you can, because it’s rough being out here. ” Adriel- 23, Liquor Store Attendant (pictured at top of article)
There are countless others out there, such as this brave young man, Adriel, who are risking everything to keep their essential shops open. Now is the time to reassess everything and, think seriously about rebuilding our infrastructure.
Warmly,
Gina Jelinski
THE CACTUS STORE IN ECHO PARK - Our Favorite Plant Resource in LA!
I purchased this young Pachypodium namaquanum - which arrived at my doorstep looking healthy, complete with directions for plant maintenance, and packed with care.
Playful + educational bumper stickers for sale!
The Cactus Store is run by a humble group of knowledgable Cacti specialists. They are now open on Saturdays from 11am-3pm, with social distancing being mandatory. They offer a diverse selection of plants, and curate a warm and friendly environment. Stop by their instagram for updates on the new location for the Saturday side-walk sales. Although closed to the public during the rest of the week, they are still selling online, too. Navigate their captivating database -purchase magnificent rare plants, and merchandise like T-Shirts, plant stands, gift cards, Super Kabuto Fertilizer, playful bumperstickers + more items to satisfy all of your phytophile needs.
Art-House Theater Fundraiser
HELP INDEPENDENT CINEMAS SURVIVE
More than 150 independent movie theaters across the United States have temporarily closed to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Art-House America Campaign aims to provide financial relief to struggling independent cinemas across the country so they can pay staff and their essential bills and survive until it is safe to reopen their doors.
MAKE A DONATION
The Campaign was started with an initial donation of $50,000 from the Criterion Collection and Janus Films, and they are inviting friends of independent theaters and art houses everywhere to join them in this fundraising effort. The fund is being administered by the Art House Convergence, a nonprofit association dedicated to sustainability in community-based, mission-driven media exhibition.
Now is the time to stand up for the local movie houses we love.
HEY, VENUS! RADIO - FIRST 3 EPISODES READY TO STREAM & DOWNLOAD
Join me on HEY, VENUS! RADIO for the first three episodes. The debut includes a phone chat with social historian and author, Sam Wasson (FOSSE, The Big Goodbye) —who speaks with us about the current pandemic, who he thinks should be our next president elect for 2020, and what he's currently reading. Episodes thus far feature readings on the works of Guy Murchie, Baudelaire, Fernando Pessoa, encounters with plants and aloe napping diptera during a morning walk, conversations on the cinema + philosophy, and will always include a 30-40 minute playlist of enchanting musical escapades to soothe the pandemic panic.
Shout out to HEY, VENUS! RADIO from The Cactus Store
A generous recommendation made by @hotcactus_la via Instagram today! The Cactus Store is run by a humble group of knowledgable Cacti specialists who are tucked away inside a well curated storefront -a charming spot in Echo Park which showcases a diverse selection of plants that are for sale to the public. They are currently closed to the public due to the pandemic, yet are selling online. Navigate the easy to use database -purchase magnificent rare plants, and merchandise like T-Shirts, plant stands, gift cards, Super Kabuto Fertilizer, playful bumperstickers + more items to satisfy all of your phytophile needs.
I purchased this young Pachypodium namaquanum - which arrived at my doorstep looking healthy, complete with directions for plant maintenance, and packed with care.
UPCOMING SUBMISSIONS for HEY VENUS MAGAZINE - THE ONLY PICTURE TAKEN
Edward Engel
Edward collects found imagery from 1888 to the 21st century, with the majority of his photographs being family snapshots, and representations of roadside America. Ed states: “I tend to gravitate toward photos that hold some mystery, or images that have a degree of humor or lyricism -especially, where those two dovetail. I find photos in various places – through photo dealers and fellow collectors, in flea markets and antique stores, at estate sales and auctions, and on eBay. Sometimes, I may dig through a box of 1,000 photos and only find one or two I’m tepidly interested in.” Visit Ed’s Archives. Stop by our Upcoming Issue page to view more of the finalists for the Bi-annual publication of HEY, VENUS! MAGAZINE.
Emergency Funds for Booksellers
Book Industry Charitable Foundation
Binc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to assisting booksellers in need. The Binc Foundation grew out of a wish of bookstore employees to establish a fund to help their colleagues experiencing unexpected financial crises. Binc is dedicated to assisting bookstore employees across the United States in their greatest time of need.
If you are a bookseller out of work, or an avid enthusiast of the literary arts, visit BINC for more information. Here is the link for the online Emergency Application. https://www.bincfoundation.org/expedited-application-for-covid-19-emergency/.
UPCOMING SUBMISSIONS for HEY VENUS MAGAZINE - FORGOTTEN HAND STUDIO
Amara Leipzig
Amara is an illustrator, writer, and a textiles maker for Forgotten Hand Studio - a small Queer-Run business focusing on furniture, textiles, and wall decor. Born from a love of materiality and dedication to fine craftsmanship, Amara believes their work is a response to our culture’s consumption of quickly produced, and discarded, items. Centralized on imbuing new life into reclaimed and vintage materials, it is a small and local response to climate change. Each piece is uniquely created by Amara Leipzig in Los Angeles, CA. Stop by our Upcoming Issue page to view more of the finalists for the Bi-annual publication of HEY, VENUS! MAGAZINE.
The Collapse Is Here
Only a few weeks into the collapse, and I can’t help but pay close attention to the myriad of thoughts that keep interrupting the silence, this uncomfortable isolation. Who is most affected? We need to be looking out for those who are unhoused, undocumented, and most importantly people of color. I’m scared. I’m broke. How are you? At first I had to accept that this was a universal sadness I was experiencing, so for a little while I had felt less alone knowing that globally we are all in this together. We are all responsible for re-building our communities.
With the pandemic rearing it’s vicious sting on society, I’m rethinking everything. Like so many of you out there, and so there’s no way for any of us to gage what the future holds. Will we be able to return to work when we find a vaccine for Covid-19? Will we still have a place to live by that time? Perhaps if we already live with our parents, then we don’t have as much to worry about, but that doesn’t discredit the panic that adults living with their families are also feeling. Isolation and a lack of experiences outside of the living room, bedroom, patio, kitchen, the car, the driveway —well it’s all still an emotional set back, but like any drastic changes encountered, we are incredibly adaptable beings. I’m scared right now, and that desperation is everywhere at the moment. But must we live in fear, every day, and over the next couple of years? There will be moments of vulnerability, yes. But this is not our first pandemic. Some will survive, and some will not —the truth is that amidst the panic, when tragedy and trauma become a recurring element of our every day, we are not immediately able to comprehend how these major incidents are producing a sense of sanctuary.
We are more useful now, to protect and re-build our communities in ways that were not realized, pre-coronavirus. We have to be patient, and hold on just a little bit tighter. It will be years until our economy is back to normal -but what we require is not "back to normal", we need the system to be rebuilt. We are all vulnerable to this virus and how it will alter our every day existence. We can be strategic by monitoring our health and planning ahead for a more realized future; as we will have to eventually all live with Covid-19. We are all in this together. Losing our minds, and finding ourselves.
Image of Beijing, China in March of 2020 -by Photographer Blue Tsui, a featured contributor for HEY, VENUS! MAGAZINE
Los Angeles Market, March 2020 by G. Jelinski
Motorcyclist in Beijing, March 2020 by B. Tsui
Market in Beijing, March 2020 by B. Tsui
Sorry No More Eggs, Vons March 2020 G. Jelinski
Support those who put their lives at risk to support our communities. This is a time where profound leadership is mandatory. We have no solutions, ourselves, but we imagine that with time we will discover a way for us all to better understand how to fight this virus. True change will only occur when we take action —and the human condition has been formatted in a very specific way; we only take action when we’re frightened. Perhaps this is our greatest tragedy. Now is the time to reassess everything and, think seriously about rebuilding our infrastructure.
Warmly,
Gina Jelinski of HEY, VENUS! PROJECTS
HEY VENUS RADIO - OUR PROGRAM LAUNCHES TODAY!
We’re so happy to be here, and connect with you, thank you for stopping by and giving us a chance to introduce ourselves. HEY, VENUS! RADIO —is a podcast which examines identity & imagination through the scope of literature, cinema, language, nature —and everything in between. The hour-long program is a platform for research and allegory, while highlighting the more obscure elements in each category of focus; anticipating to share with it’s listeners encounters off the beaten path, and unapologetic perspectives. The show hopes to illuminate observations of the human condition, and through these dialogues entertains to reveal insights into our individual histories.
ABOUT THE MAGAZINE —HEY, VENUS curates a collection of works by writers & artists, all which are included in an interdisciplinary magazine, and printed bi-annually.
We request your obscure findings, irrational theories, and uncensored analysis on the human condition, language, nature, sex, death…Have you discovered a new form of plant life? Caught off guard by a long forgotten film, or an antiquarian book in german script? We anticipate that you might surrender to us these articulations, and help build our community of linguists and over-thinkers.
For further details and other inquiries
WRITE US: heyvenusradio@gmail.com
ADD US: @heyvenusradio
HEY, VENUS! PROJECTS illustrations for website + flyers by Mary Ackerson, and Robbie Hansen.
OUR MISSION — We’re eager to decipher your stories, and provide an unconventional platform for them to land; whether these articulations be crooked, unyielding, or otherwise peculiar. We’ve found that there are a multitude of individuals who have ideas which transcend time, but often go unnoticed due to class struggle and the lack of diversity in the media. Through our mistakes, day jobs, pleasures and our losses —we think back onto the philosophies which other visionaries have disclosed to us; we are made curious by these findings, and have come to believe that you may have something to confess, too.