IN THIS ISSUE
Vol I
Issue 2
June 2025
▪ LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
▪ Happy Holidays: A PocketSized History of Pride
▪ On AI and the Environment
▪ Looking out for the Lib
▪ SEE: Festival of the Arts
▪ SUBVERSIVE SHIT
▪ GLIMMERS
▪ INSERT ART HERE: Piñon
▪ REVIEWS: Books/CDs/DVDs
▪ S&S
▪ ZINE SCENE
▪ FEEDBACK/CREDITS/CONTACT
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
May 20, 2025
(I’ m sending this off to “ print ” early to ensure it is available for you by June!)
Woo-hoo, we made it through the first issue of Angrr!
Now we need to get through Vol. I, Issue TWO!
I’m afraid I may have overstuffed this ish: not only do I want to cover music, but the world around me – its absurdities, elegance, and ugliness. Its affairs of state, art, authors, and expertise in science.
I hope to help inform you!
Alas, the 2025 news cycles so quickly! I’m hoping that nothing (or at least very little) I have put to page here is out of date/ irrelevant/inaccurate by the time you see it.
LOOKING BACK: I’d like to say a fond farewell to Mike Peters of The Alarm.
Best known for “68 Guns,” the Welsh band begun as “The Toilets” also gave us "Sold Me Down the River," "Spirit of '76," "Strength,"
Y’all I got new books for my shelf!
"Superchannel," and my favorite, "Rain in the Summertime."
https://tinyurl.com/ycke5pbp We also lost Jill Sobule, who Kissed a Girl.
LOOKING FORWARD: You may have noticed that AnGrr! is still evolving. Granny has added some sections, though not all may appear in each issue. I’m a cranky curmudgeon, but I’m kinda excited about GLIMMERS.
(Read on to find out more about that!) Then there’s INSERT ART HERE, a space for (duh?) original art. Besides REVIEWS of books, CDs, and DVDs - mostly musicadjacent, but AnGrr! is a perzine* dedicated not only to punk, but several other areas of interest - there may be my appraisal of e-media. S&S means Streaming & Social, where I also discuss items available on Netflix, deposit links to kewl YouTubes, and perhaps babble about Bluesky, etc. (Who knows; next issue I may even pass beyond pixels to talk about My Favorite Matcha!)
I've also got a ZINE SCENE, where I talk about the things I pick up (and the people I meet) in the dynamic domain of creative, smallcirculation self-publishing.
I hope you enjoy it! (It’s stuff & 0¢,so at least you’re getting your money’s worth!)
I didn’t have the time (or space) to include all I wanted to here, so I’ve set several items aside and have them queued up for Vol. I, Issue THREE (Whee3!)
I’m looking forward to having you Get AnGrry!
* Personal zine; all content written by one person. Often these are art/collage zines or poetry/essays rather than content (political, music) zines. I choose to use the term perzine here to differentiate AnGrr! from UMAmi and separate the time, resources, and effort spent on AnGrr! from the collaborative work I do elsewhere.
--Granny Anarchy
I’m excited about Modest Mouse coming to OKC (again!)
Photo from The Criterion (please don't hurt me)
Happy Holidays: A Pocket-Sized History of Pride
I may not be able to bring you information about interesting days every month, but I’m PROUD to have picked a small sampling for June. As many readers are probably aware, June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month
Pride began after gay bar The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, Manhattan was raided by police on June 28, 1969. The Stonewall was owned by the Mafia and submitted
payment to police in the form of "gayola" to cover for a lack of liquor license, lax code enforcement, and tipoffs regarding raids. On that summer night, there was no warning. Four members of the force entered while The Public Morals Squad waited outside.
During a raid, customers were supposed to line up, present ID, and be separated by perceived birth gendercomplete with a visit to the bathroom for verification. That evening (actually early morning,) agitated patrons refused to provide identification and were further angered when they felt they were being felt up inappropriately while frisked.
As was custom, trans women and drag queens were arrested, but others were released while the police waited on vehicles to impound the Stonewall's alcohol. As was not custom, those who weren't arrested didn't leave. Instead, a crowd began to congregate. Violence
eventually erupted when "a dyke–stone butch" was hit by an officer and thrown into the back of a prisoner transport. The spontaneous protests continued the following nights and through the beginning of July. Why? “[The Stonewall] catered to a group of people who are not welcome in, or cannot afford, other places of homosexual social gathering … [It was] home to these kids. When it was raided, they fought for it. That and the fact that they had nothing to lose other than the most tolerant and broadminded gay place in town, explains why." - Donn Teal, The Gay Militants (via Wikipedia)
The first pride marches were held in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco on the anniversary of Stonewall.
Pride has grown ever since, although until very recently, coming out as LGBTQ+ was a frightening and dangerous risk for a majority of individuals. Unfortunately, in today's political climate, many people may now be staying in - or going back into - the closet.
2 - American Indian Citizenship Day
Native nations have been on these grounds since before the makers of The Mayflower (or the Niña, Pinta & the Santa Maria) were born, but Natives were not granted United States citizenship until June 2, 1924. Until Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act 101 years ago, Natives were not officially granted the ability to vote, own property, or access government services and benefits.
Indigenous people face ongoing inequality to this day, with imbalances in economics (income, home ownership,) education (lower college & secondary graduation rates,) health (lower disease & life expectancy,) justice (higher incarceration rates,) and other issues.
5 - World Environment Day
“Plastic pollution permeates every corner of the planet even in our bodies in the form of microplastics. World Environment Day 2025 calls for collective action to tackle plastic pollution.” https://www.worldenvironmentd ay.global/
6 - 81st Anniversary of D-Day
Did you know D-Day used to be common military parlance?
Now, like Jackie Robinson’s “42,” it is a designation which has been set aside for special remembrance. The Allied forces landing at Normandy “turned the tide” (sorry, couldn’t resist that pun) of WWII. Granny Anarchy is reviewing books about WWII: check out what she thinks about “Book and Dagger” later in this issue!
6 - Atheist Pride Day, Hug An Atheist Day
Christianity is the default faith of the United States. Money is printed with "In God We Trust." God was added to the Pledge of Allegiance during the Communist Red Scare of the 1950s.
Government and many secular buildings are closed - or reduce hours - during Easter and Christmas, but not during exclusively Jewish, Muslim, or other holidays.
Granny Anarchy hopes to highlight other religious (or non-religious) observances occasionally, simply to learn. (Since she's not familiar with everything, she may get something wrong!)
There is a difference between atheism (the thought that there is no God/deities/supernatural) and agnosticism (the idea that the existence of any God/deities/supernatural is unknowable.)
In 2010, about 16% of the world's population - 1.1 billion people - identified as atheist, agnostic, or nonreligious. In 2014, a Pew Research Center survey concluded that Oklahomans were 5% atheist, 9% agnostic, and 12% "nothing in
particular." A 2012 Oklahoma
Historical Society survey indicated the state’s population was 4% atheist and 3% agnostic, while 2014 The Oklahoman results came in at 4% atheist and 3% agnostic.
So, if you are skeptical, questioning, or downright do not believe - you are not the only one in Oklahoma (or the world.) Granny is reaching capacity and is unable to educate more about atheist days (or atheists and agnostics in general) in this issue, but intends to continue the investigation of religious skepticism as well as alternative beliefs and philosophies. In the meantime, here is some compact, concise info on Atheist Pride Day from checkiday.com: https://tinyurl.com/22yv7ak3
8- Name Your Poison Day
The origin of the phrase "pick your poison" or "name your poison" may be murky, but by the 1800s, "poison" was documented slang for alcoholic beverages. Therefore, this phrase might lead most people to think of choosing a drink. However, it also can mean choosing anything - particularly
between two (or more) poor choices.
Is there a choice you need to make on this day?
9 - Writers' Rights Day
Most writers are not bestselling multi-millionaires. Even successful mid-list and technical authors often struggle to earn a living from a single career; many must work part- or even fulltime jobs in addition to the activity of wordsmith.
As of 2018, the average writer made $6080 with no benefits. The Authors Guild, National Writers Union, and approximately 25-30 other organizations came together on June 9, 1992 to sign the Declaration of Writers' Economic Rights, requesting increased copyright protection and various equities in compensation, thus officially and initially observing the first annual Writers' Rights Day.
Something to think on the next time you come across a pirated book – or use AI.
11 - Full Moon
Strawberry Moon Whoops! Granny's gotta make deadline! I'll try to explore this more at
grannyanarchy.bsky.social if I get the chance!
12 - Ghost in the Machine Day
Does your mind exist inside your body or can/does it have a separate actuality? Gilbert Ryle spawned the phrase "ghost in the machine" when he debated Rene Descartes and body-mind dualism in Ryle's 1949 "The Concept of Mind." Today the phrase can also mean that a physical device or software is behaving in a way that builders and operators were not expecting - as if the devices had developed minds of their own.
A great way to celebrate the day is to absorb this incredible message from The Police: https://tinyurl.com/4p5c5ndv
13 - Friday the 13th, Pigeon
Appreciation Day
Far from being thuggish "rats with wings," pigeons are scientifically indiscernible from the admired dove.
Pigeons have been on Earth for more than 3,000 years and were once the most abundant bird in the world.
During WWI, the US utilized over 500,000 homing pigeonsincluding an incredible messenger named Cher Ami.
During WWII, approximately 200,000 homing pigeons were used by America alone.
This date was selected as Pigeon Appreciation Day because Cher Ami died on June 13, 1919. Cher Ami saved 194 American lives when a lost battalion of the 77th Infantry was shelled by our own artillery. Cher Ami was the battalion’s only means of communication. Upon the pigeon’s release, a German gunner shot him from the sky. Cher Ami got back in the air and arrived at the US base blinded in one eye, with a deep chest wound and a badly mangled leg; what was left required amputation.
There is much more to pigeons than war stories! Oklahoma City is home to the The American Pigeon Museum & Library. This week might be a good time to visit. https://www.theamericanpigeon museum.org/
14 - ..hmm.. I don't think anything important is going on nationally..
Let’s celebrate World Blood Donor Day and Global Wellness Day!
"The future is unwritten" – Joe Strummer
Tank Man Image from Wikipedia
Don’t forget Metro Zine Fest! Granny Anarchy will be there, and plans to have plenty of copies of AnGrr! – as well as back copies of other material!
15 - Father's Day
18 - International Panic Day
Although it's a mock holiday with obscure origins, International Panic Day draws attention to mental health (particularly panic disorder, anxiety, and stress) as well as the often overwhelming conditions of modern living.
19 – Juneteenth
Timeline:
• 1619 - First enslaved African Americans arrive (albeit not by choice) in North America.
• 1861 - Civil War begins.
• Sep 22, 1862 - Emancipation Proclamation announced; President Abraham Lincoln declares all enslaved people legally free.
• Jan 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation takes effect; Confederate states do not enforce the order, nor do they disseminate the information to slaves.
• Jan 31, 1865 - 13th Amendment passed.
• Apr 9, 1865 - Confederate Army surrenders; Civil War ends.
• Jun 19, 1865 - 2,000 Union soldiers under Gen. Gordon Granger arrive in Galveston, Texas (the last Confederate region to resist Northern troops.) The troops march into
various public buildings to read
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."
• Dec 6, 1865 - 13th Amendment ratified, abolishing slavery (although enforcement was still an issue, Reconstruction and Jim Crow would lead to their own woes, and further disenfranchisement issues such as redlining and segregation persist.)
• Jun 19, 1866 - 1st Juneteenth commemorated in Texas. Celebrants wore new clothes, sang hymns and spirituals, and came together in community. As the holiday continued, it was observed with special food/drink (such as red hibiscus tea) and pride in African American achievement.
• Apr 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated.
• Jun 19, 1968 - Solidarity Day rally held in Washington D. C. 50,000 people arrive to protest for Civil Rights.
• 1980 - Texas recognizes Juneteenth as a state holiday.
• 2020 - George Floyd killed; Black Lives Matter protests begin.
• 2021 - Juneteenth first recognized as a federal holiday.
20 - Summer Solstice
9:41 PM CST
Whoops! Granny's gotta make deadline! I'll try to explore this more at grannyanarchy.bsky.social if I get the chance!
21 - Go Skateboarding Day
To make skateboarding more accessible, the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) created Go Skateboarding Day in 2004.
https://tinyurl.com/49ts9j4e
Too bad this board WAS STOLEN! Granny couldn’t find any official OKC events, so if the weather’s great: I guess just skate! My kid (who was once workin’ on his own Tony Hawk injury list) prefers
neighborhood streets, but there are also some nice skate parks in the area. If it's a bit nasty outside, you may still be able to visit a skate shop (my fave is Core Boards) or watch a flick like Gleaming the Cube, Lords of Dogtown, or Minding the Gap.
21 - World Music Day
The Fête de la Musique began in France in 1982 when Jack Lang and Maurice Fleuret at the French Ministry of Culture sought to bring free music to public spaces. On the Summer Solstice, all musicians - amateur and professional - are encouraged to “faites de la musique" (make music.) There are street performances, and all concerts are free.
Over the years, more counties participated. In 2019, 120 nations celebrated (Make) Music Day/ World Music Day. The United States held almost 4,800 free concerts in nearly 200 cities in 2023.
The Make Music Alliance coordinates Make Music Day all over the world and is active in Oklahoma. This year it has information on events in Muscogee and Tulsa:
https://tinyurl.com/mr2xvvxn
https://tinyurl.com/yfypt37u
There is also a free concert in Oklahoma City. Wilderado is scheduled to perform at Scissortail Park. (And you might just hear something impromptu in the street!)
23 - National Typewriter Day, National Pink Flamingo Day
Christopher Latham Sholes was granted a patent for the typewriter on June 23, 1868. You may think this obsolete or irrelevant now, but contemplate the QWERTY keyboard that is default on most of our personal pocket computers (er, cel phones.) The typewriter revolutionized writing, making it more accurate, efficient, and legible. Although eventually replaced by digital technology, the typewriter impacted culture (particularly the Chronology of Zines) and remains an inspiration.
25 - Bourdain Day, Global Beatles Day
This day is a tribute to chef, traveler, and writer Anthony Bourdain. It's been seven years since he died; He'd be 69 this year. To honor his life, you may want to watch one of his shows, read one of his books, eat a delicious meal*, or donate to suicide prevention.
*Granny isn't exactly straightedge, but doesn't endorse alkie, sorry!
Faith Cohen started Global Beatles Day in 2009. It is “a day honoring and celebrating the phenomenon and ideals of the Beatles, collectively and individually, for their gifts to the world including their promotion of peace and love, of truth and youth, and of the expansion of human consciousness … GBD commemorates the Beatles music – their promotion and expansion of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, world music … [and their] exploration of a myriad of musical ideas and innovations."
https://tinyurl.com/37j5dnf7
You may be wondering what is so "punk" about that, and ol' Granny posits: Without The Beatles, there would be no
Ramones, no Sex Pistols. The rivalry the Fab Four had with The Beach Boys, the chemistry of JohnPaulGeorgeRingo, the amount of sonic ground they covered from Cavern Club to Apple Rooftop (a scant 8 years of cultural, musical, and worldwide political upheaval) - it all affected What Came After.
Some people today don't know who The Beatles are, or criticize them (often, ironically, for street credibility.) Granny thinks it's perfectly acceptable to be ignorant - you can't help what you don't know - but it's just dumb to be dismissive before you've even learned anything!
Some fave alt-covers:
Siouxie and the BansheesDear Prudence https://tinyurl.com/5yaw35j3
The Breeders - Happiness Is a Warm Gun https://tinyurl.com/5dtzv3zx
The Dead Kennedys - Back in the USSR https://tinyurl.com/uxkbmht6
The Feelies - Everybody's Got Something to Hide https://tinyurl.com/24escwst
30 – Asteroid Day , World Social Media Day
“International Asteroid Day aims to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard and to inform the public about the crisis communication actions to be taken at the global level in case of a credible near-Earth object threat. "
https://tinyurl.com/38ekzec2
Started by Mashable in 2010, Social Media Day is a time to recognize the effect that digital platforms have on our relationships and mental well-being. Prior to MySpace and Friendster in the early 2000s, the Internet was perhaps a bit scattershot (Granny was there, on AIM/AOL, CompuServe forums, LiveJournal, maillists, webrings, and Yahoo!Groups, so I don't understand why people may have been lonely before walled gardens like
Facebook became so popular, but ANYHOO…)
"You've got one life: find your voice within it." – Viv Albertine
On AI and the Environment
Tar Creek Tears:
If you're an Oklahoman (at least of a certain age,) you are probably familiar with environmental disasters. No, I don't mean devastating destruction from tornadoes, floods, or fires - though we have definitely survived
these events - but the things we do to ourselves, or let others do to us. Deep Fork. Picher. Silkwood.
Deep Fork Wildlife Refuge sat atop a well site. The abandoned wells leaked contaminants which leached into the water and ground and
were emitted into the atmosphere. (Did you know that Oklahoma has more than 20,000 abandoned wells?)
Silkwood is a movie based on Karen Silkwood, who worked at the Kerr-McGee plant in Crescent. She was killed in a car crash in 1974 after testifying about safety concerns regarding plutonium contamination.
Picher, Oklahoma is one of a few select locations in the entire world to have been evacuated and declared uninhabitable due to environmental and health damage caused by mining. Decades of unrestricted underground excavation destabilized most of Picher's buildings and left piless of toxic mine tailings (aka chat) around the town.
Lessons Not Learned?
Today Oklahomans are at risk of further environmental degradation.
Google is planning an AI data center in Stillwater. Northern Data has one, also used for crypto, in Pryor. TierPoint has centers in OKC and Tulsa. Other planned or in use are DAMAC, Core Scientific, and Cerebras.
Who are these companies? What are they doing in Oklahoma? Here are descriptions direct from their own web pages:
• Northern Data - Northern Data Group is a European company specializing [AI] … and high-performance computing (HPC) solutions utilizing high-density, liquid-cooled, GPU*-based technology
* Graphics Processing Unit
• TierPoint - “High-Density
AI Solutions — Host your AI infrastructure in a colocation facility designed for performance."
The risk of cave-ins, groundwater contamination, and health effects associated with chat piles and subsurface shafts caused Picher to be included in the Tar Creek Superfund site by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1983. The EPA and the state of Oklahoma eventually agreed to a mandatory evacuation and buyout. Picher was officially dissolved in 2013.
• DAMAC – Invest[ed] heavily [AI] and related technologies, including infrastructure and data centers, Announced investments in companies
like Mistral, Anthropic, and xAI (an Elon Musk property.)
• Core ScientificTransitioned from primarily being a bitcoin miner to also providing AI data center services.
• Cerebras - Designs AI computing solutions “powered by our breakthrough Wafer-Scale Engine-3 that are faster, more powerful, and easier to deploy than GPUs."
But what is AI, and why is it a danger?
AI - An Environmental Education:
First, AI, an abbreviation or acronym for "Artificial Intelligence," is a complete misnomer. AI is, at its most basic, technology that can perform tasks typically completed by human beings. AI - particularly generative (content-producing) AI - is a set of programming and algorithms designed to supplement and replace human physical and creative labor*.
* Granny also has A LOT to say about AI, content plagiarism, and quality control (but ORDER NOW SPACE IS LIMITED TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY)
To do so, particularly at the speeds demanded by modern
users, AI requires vast computing power. The servers, network equipment data storage drives, etc., create heat - which requires cooling. This necessitates the consumption of energy and water for those cooling systems.
The water, once used, does not disappear into the aether. Nor is it flushed down the toilet to be safely sanitized by municipal sewage systems. “The wastewater discharged from data centers can contain various contaminants, including chemicals used in cooling systems, heavy metals, and other pollutants. If not properly treated, this wastewater can degrade the quality of local water bodies, posing risks to ecosystems and human health." https://tinyurl.com/yw9tms3b
“Scientists have estimated that the power requirements of data centers in North America increased from 2,688 megawatts at the end of 2022 to 5,341 megawatts at the end of 2023, partly driven by the demands of generative AI. Globally, the electricity consumption of data centers rose to 460 terawatts in 2022. This would have made
data centers the 11th largest electricity consumer in the world … according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development" https://tinyurl.com/m6bukfyh
“Globally, AI-related infrastructure may soon consume six times more water than Denmark … A request made through ChatGPT, an AI-based virtual assistant, consumes 10 times the electricity of a Google Search, reported the International Energy Agency." https://tinyurl.com/ynmsndpv
What is it like to live near a data center? This video from Georgia is sobering, and all-to-reminiscent of disasters Oklahoma has already lived through: https://tinyurl.com/39meh233
Whew! If this makes you want to avoid using “artificial intelligence,” here is a list of chatbots & image generators, along with parent companies (when available) and their main focus/energyconsuming features:
• ChatGPT 4o - OpenAIchat/text, images, content creation, personal assistant
• Claude - Anthropicchat/text, content
creation, data/document review
• Cleo - personal finance
• Copy.ai - content creation (marketing oriented)
• Echoes - R2bitsconversational search & summarization
• Google Gemini - Googlechat/text, images, personal assistant, suite support
• Grok/Grok Aurora - xAI (Musk) - chat/text, images
• Jasper Chat - Jaspercoding, content creation (marketing oriented)
• Microsoft CopilotMicrosoft - chat/text, images, coding, suite support
• Midjourney - images
• Perplexity AI - "former Google and OpenAI employees" - coding, content creation, organization, research assistance
• Zapier - data/document review, project management (business oriented)
Recap
and a Resource:
The environmental impactsincluding the effect on human habitation - of generative AI's resource extraction, energy consumption, and water usage presents serious concerns that pose hazard to
not only wild lands, but settlement needs.
Wastewater discharge alonewhich can contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and is often located in areas of high water stresspresents tolls such as aquatic ecosystem disruption, increased carbon emissions from wastewater treatment, and leakage and pollution in human neighborhoods.
AnGrr! is too big to keep in your pocket, but if you’d like to spread the word about AI, there’s a very concise, informative printable zine from october krausch on bluesky: https://tinyurl.com/yhnpcw4m
"To me, punk is about being an individual and going against the grain and standing up and saying 'This is who I am' " – Joey Ramone
Looking out for the Library of Congress and IMLS
"Questioning anything and everything, to me, is punk rock. " – Henry Rollins
Carla Hayden was the first woman and the first African American Librarian of Congress. The Librarian of Congress (LoC) is head of the Library of Congress and conducts the U.S. Copyright Office. (Note: The Copyright
Office applies to electronic resources as well as physical materials - see Digital Millennium Copyright Act. https://tinyurl.com/25a2ttuu)
The LoC serves a term of ten years. Hayden, after receiving letters of support from approximately 150 library and educational institutions, was confirmed on July 13, 2016 with a 74-18 Senate vote. She was sworn in on September 14, 2016 and would have completed her term in 2026.
She was fired by President Trump on May 8, 2025.
After her termination, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the Library for children and we don't believe that she was serving the interests of the American taxpayer."
About DEI and Challenged Materials:
The Library of Congress serves as an archival and research library. As the seat of the Copyright Office and as per law (see Mandatory Deposit Requirement) the Library is supposed to receive two copies of every copyrightable work published in the United States (although it is not obligated to keep all items.)
Public, community libraries have policies and procedures in place to address challenges to materials. It would stand to reason that the Library of Congress would also maintain a strong, standardized outline in its collection development policy.
Concerning Children:
The library is open to the public for tours and for research, although only members of Congress, their staff, and library employees may borrow materials.
As per the Library - "Anyone age 16 and older may use the collections. All patrons using the Library's reading rooms and/or collections must have a reader card with a photo on it. Learn more about how to research at the Library."
(https://www.loc.gov/about/fr equently-asked-questions/ May, 2025)
Further Concerns:
In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order directing the elimination of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary federal agency supporting libraries and museums. The Trump administration's proposed FY2026 budget seeks to eliminate IMLS funding entirely.
As of May 15, 2025, legal challenges have temporarily halted the administration's efforts, but the future of IMLS funding (and grant termination) is unclear.
The impacts of reduced or eliminated IMLS funding include:
• Digital Resources (online periodicals and databases, newspaper archives, genealogy resources, etc.)
• Interlibrary Loan
• Tribal Libraries
• Various library budgets: materials, personnel, programming...
https://www.ala.org/faqexecutive-order-targetingimls
Things to Think About Members of the current administration advise citizens to “do their own research.” The Library of Congress and libraries and museums served by grants and funds via the IMLS help inform the populace, and.it may be more difficult to accurately research with
curtailed funding and without an ALA (American Library Association) accredited professional at the helm of the nation's premier institution to oversee the cataloging and preservation of a range of matter for all reference purposes. (Todd Blanche, the current Acting Librarian named by Trump in May 2025 to temporarily replace Carla Hayden, has no experience working in archives, libraries, or copyright law - although he is one of Trump's personal lawyers.)
Thank you, Carla Hayden, for your years of service to the Library of Congress and to libraries.
Support libraries and keep up with IMLS info at: https://tinyurl.com/44j84ftr
SEE:FestivaloftheArts
The 59th annual Festival of the Arts was held in Bicentennial Park in downtown Oklahoma City on April 24-27.
"A lot of punk rock is not going to be in the mainstream. It's below the radar. The beauty of it is that you're not supposed to always know. It's subterranean. " – Billie Joe Armstrong
LOVED this dragon print from visiting artist Wabi Sabi Etc. The vest was too expensive for me, but I bought a shirt!
.. Creatures kissing in the rain
Shapeless in the dark again In the SCULPTURE garden please don't speak
In the SCULPTURE garden no one sleeps ..
I was only admiring the prints at Van Leeuwen Studio but there was a kid there about 1/5th my age who could sell ice to Inuits! I walked out of there with a
butterfly, all bewildered and befuddled. Wouldn't have changed anything about the interaction at all.
Just some of my favorite artists include Tim Kenney, J Rae Pottery
…Broadie, Erin Curry, Jennifer Fisher, Mary James
Ketch, Malti B Lee, Allison & Jonathan Metzger, Ashley Saunders Miller, and Peter Wu.
Here's a link to more: https://www.artscouncilokc.co m/visual-arts/
"Ideologically, the pursuit of science is not that different from the ideology that goes into
punk rock. The idea of challenging authority is consistent with what I have been taught as a scientist" – Greg Graffin
(I also had a taijin mango popsicle from Wondervan Pops and bought some blackberry pomegranate green tea from The Protein Tea Co.)
Whoops! Granny's gotta make deadline! I'll try to explore this more at grannyanarchy.bsky.social if I get the chance!
Until then:
RED CARDS GETCHER RED CARDS HERE
https://tinyurl.com/3h2dncwx
"Punk is not dead. Punk will only die when corporations can exploit and mass produce it."
– Jello Biafra
glim·mer 1 of 2 verb 1 a : to shine faintly or unsteadily 2 of 2 noun 1 a : a feeble or intermittent light - merriam-webster.com
The dictionary definition of a glimmer is a tiny glint of
light, but in modern therapy parlance, a glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are small moments of joy.
This section is meant to highlight moments that simply make me smile, people and things that give me hope and put me back on track, and other items that radiate positivity.
I also think it is a good placement for any mentions of mutual aid* I think may be appropriate (for AnGrr!)
* Mutual aid is the sharing of skills and/or resources in a collaborative survival endeavor. If one person can't garden but can sew, and another household has foodstuffs, and yet another has transportation access, this community can band together in mutual aid to provide each other with needs
I don’t have a lot to share here yet, but I have specifically made space for the future! I AM HOPEFUL!
INSERT ART HERE
All visual and written art by Granny Anarchy unless otherwise noted PINON Piñon
on a presummer night
The air smells smoky and sweet
It's all the same thing
The frogs have slowed but not stopped their scream Stars glint through scud
A cool breeze after heat
The great horned owl persists despite poisoned mousefeed and the cottonwood floats by insensate
debris REVIEWS
Items in system at Metro Library except where indicated.
BOOKS
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians
Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
by Elyse Graham
Pop culture has made people believe that Bond, Bourne, and maybe Black Widow are the be-all and end-all of espionage. But all spies rely on academics and analysts to evaluate and interpret information - and, in some cases, obtain it. Book and Dagger chronicles the birth of The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) - a precursor to today’s CIA - and the careers of several key figures, including literature
professor Joseph Curtiss, history prof Sherman Kent, and archivist Adele Kibre. The prose is accessible, entertaining, and extensively documented/researched. A refreshing change from today's headlines DID I SAY THAT.
Everything Is Tuberculosis
by John Green
A slim, interesting look at how this disease has intersected with world events, urban planning, pharmaceutical profits, cultural mores, and even beauty culture. Green's unexpected friendship with a TB patient adds a very personal urgency. Although it explains some treatment protocols, it is not the book to read to understand the biology of the disease - but it's an accessible sociology.
(Weekend reading, asexual punk [armchair epidemiology] edition)
This Ain't No Disco: The Story of CBGB
By Roman Kozak
I would love to add this to my personal library. It is a reprint of a title originally run in 1988. It’s been out of print for years, and revisiting it - with an added forward by Chris Franz (The
Talking Heads) and photos by Ebet Roberts - brings back visceral memories of an older music scene.
(For the record: Sheena Was a Punk Rocker, but Granny was a Gen X kid in middle America who eventually FOUND punk rock via 120 Minutes and the Hasting Records import rack because she was in SPRAWL CITY and TOO YOUNG TO DRIVE but I DIGRESS.
(OH WAIT PS: When Granny GOT MARRIED in the wee 1990s there was a honeymoon to NYC and a visit to CBGB! Alas, the t-shirts have since disintegrated, but the memories remain [tho’ the photos are buried.])
Any fan of CBs and the OG punks will enjoy this raw romp through (okay, series of interviews with) Hilly Kristal, members of Blondie, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, and many other early and iconic club acts. Although the volume is slim, it is filled with action, and it doesn't end with the 70s. It explores how the club embraced hardcore (oddly, through all of the ebb and flow of musicians and trends, Bad Brains is never mentioned) and explains the its dedication to superior sound.
Highly recommended for fans of the punk, music, and the NYC street scene.
Under the Same Stars
by Libba Bray
This large YA novel is a braid of three stories: In 1940s Germany Sophie and Hanna's friendship fades under the rise of the Third Reich as they and their parents observe how new laws and leadership affect their community.
In the 1980s, American teen Jenny is forced to move to Berlin, where she bumps into the German Lena - maybe finding herself, and figuring out how much others have lost, or have to lose. In 2020, during Covid lockdown, Chloe reconnects with her friend Miles when she is given a historical project.
It's a lot to handle - but so is life, and Bray does a decent job at it. The history
is well-researched - I'm wondering how many YA readers will recognize just who Sophie Scholl is - and I've always enjoyed the tone of her prose, but the heft and weft of this tome may be unwieldy for some. I'm still uncertain if I find the resolution - the tie-off of the braid, - too neat or a bit messy. I'd rec this for fans of Bray or historical fiction.
CDs
A Place to Bury StrangersSynthesizer
I have been loving this palate cleanser! A custom noise maker synth (and a lot of guitar) helped to create this post-punk shoegaze album. I've been a fan of APTBS for a while (was THRILLED when they were here for a pedal show and played Resonant Head in Dec. 2024RIP my ears, hello permanent
tinnitus NOW I WEAR EARPLUGS WHEN I GO TO SHOWS) Great after listening to a lot of more traditional sounds –Granny loves the droning industrialism.
Faves: Fear of Transformation / Join the Crowd/ You Got Me https://tinyurl.com/msd2cppn
DVDs
Back to Black
This issue finds me reviewing two DVDs (Back to Black and A Complete Unknown) with liberal use of artistic license, which I find almost irritating, considering how difficult it seems to be to display the truth in nonentertainment areas.
I am not an Amy Winehouse fan. In fact, before I watched Back to Black, I barely even knew what she sounded like, nor the cadence of any of her songs. I hadn’t seen any previous biographical (or fictional) material about her. I decided
to watch the movie because I had a moment where I was feeling kind of retro. Then I decided to fact-check. Solid performance by Marisa Abela. I feel Jack O’Connell and Eddie Marsan did well also; I feel that if you treat the flick as a fictional film, it is a fairly enjoyable bit of entertainment, but anyone who cares about Amy’s legacy –not only music, but mental health, including addiciton and relationships – will likely take umbrage with it.
"'Punk rock' is a word used by dilettantes and heartless manipulators about music that takes up the energies, the bodies, the hearts, the souls, the time and the minds of young men who give everything they have to it." – Iggy Pop
Bolan’s Shoes
A wonderful performance.by Timothy Spall (whom I barely recognized) and Leanne Best. Alas, a sludgy, somber story & script. Bolan’s Shoes is
shot beautifully and features great – if not enough – music (because, obviously, T. Rex!)
But what I had hoped would be something more rock-show magical ended up being a story about pain and how we survive it. A very muddy unicorn; not what I signed on to watch.
A Complete Unknown
I adored Bohemian Rhapsody, but I was intimately familiar with everything it got wrong and blurted out fact corrections upon first viewing. When watching a docudrama about an icon I’m not as familiar with, I fear audiences will be unable to separate inaccuracies from fact. I found myself pulling my phone out at the first scene of A Complete Unknown, asking Google if Pete Seeger was with Woody Guthrie when Bob walked in.
A Complete Unknown had the
chance to be a great film. Chalamet deserves the acclaim for his acting (and singing.) However, I find the script and editing does not serve him or Dylan.
Streaming & Social
When Granny was growing up, everyone watched the same shows at the same time! Is anyone watching Dark Winds now? I’m taking it slow, mostly viewing it on my treadmill when I walk inside. I’m up to S1 Ep 5. I’m finding it an amalgamation of Reservation Dogs, Twin Peaks, and a slow but satisfying police procedural.
Got some current listening links (to YouTube) forya!
Sofia Isella - The Doll People https://tinyurl.com/yfp3kyw8
Bob Vylan - We Live Here https://tinyurl.com/2f6tm6z9
The Gully Boys - Neopet Graveyard https://tinyurl.com/5574w4ab
Y’all I am a zinester. A ‘zinester? I don’t know how to spell it, but I think I’m livin' la vida zinesta. I’m on my 2nd perzine, I’ve written countless (I think you can count them, actually) articles and individual zines for UMAmi, and I now have a (currently small) collection of zines, small press, and postcards from individuals who print their own materials.
Thought I’d debut this section by showcasing some of the older zines I encountered.
A coworker let me look at items from the 2024 Zine Librarians unconference; so far my favorites include Fight Fascism Wear a Mask: https://tinyurl.com/y8ek9d93
Capitalism is a Pyramid Scheme: https://tinyurl.com/yc49k75k
and the Ace Zine Archive Project: https://tinyurl.com/yc2npu2v
I think the first zine (actually minizine) I bought on my own was Sometimes Archives Are Really Weird: https://tinyurl.com/ym9hukhn Her Etsy site is filled with intriguing titles!
FEEDBACK
No letters to the ed yet! Send ‘em in!
Many thanks to the UMAmi team for all their patience, help, and encouragement
CREDITS
Cover photo and layout by Granny Anarchy
All interior photos and text by Granny Anarchy unless otherwise noted
CONTACT
Follow me at grannyanarchy.bsky.social
UMAMI
VISIT MY PARENT ZINE: UMAmi
https://tinyurl.com/ycyd28dp
ALL METRO ZINES
https://tinyurl.com/y7ufy2ty
AnGrr! is a silly, snarky, studious perzine promoting the public library, punk (& other) music, & personal interests - including science & politics. Any opinions expressed within belong solely to GrannyAnarchy (or attributed guest contributor.)
Inline links for offline readers: Wikipedia: https://tinyurl.com/4yx8zxzn
World Blood Donor Day: https://tinyurl.com/akyf38j4
Metro Zine Fest: https://tinyurl.com/5ckdeunt
Core Boards: https://tinyurl.com/d94n7w4h
Wilderado: https://tinyurl.com/3m4zt4x9
Chronology of Zines: https://tinyurl.com/mpbn9p2k
Tar Creek Superfund: https://tinyurl.com/yxy25erd
Wabi Sabi Etc.: https://tinyurl.com/4veppfat
Van Leeuwen Studio: https://tinyurl.com/3m7zubb9
Wondervan Pops: https://tinyurl.com/m2ryjtwn
Protein Tea Co.: https://tinyurl.com/349hejwm
"I want to say to younger women especially that it's OK to be an outsider. It's OK to admit to your rage. You're not the only person walking down the street feeling angry inside."
– Viv Albertine
"Mozart was a punk, which people seem to forget. He was a naughty, naughty boy." –Shirley Manson
