A lot of time has passed since our last issue. I guess we were kind of resting on our laurels (read keisters) after our monstrous fourth issue but some other things have come into play over the course of the last few months to keep this issue from your hot little hands...
For about six weeks I had a combination of walking pneumonia and an ear infection. I'm just not the kind of person who gets sick and stays sick for so long. I mean, I was so sick that I didn't even have the oomph to come over to my typewriter and jot down some articles. I had strength for Talk Soup and Spiderman and that's about it. I've survived a campus full of illnesses back in my BMOC days but the diseases of little kids seem quite tenacious. No, I don't have a little one running around but...
Did I mention I got married? That's right, ladies, the bachelor boy-wonder is out of circulation. Last August Carol and I decided that since we knew we were going to get married someday, why not next week?
So we hitched our wagon to a love star and headed to the capital of Ohio and were wed within a half an hour in downtown Toledo, leaving a trail of broken hearts (and broken noses) behind us.
It's Carol's job as a first grade teacher that has kept us friendly with our local M.D. and kept me home from my "new" job sick a few times.
There's an article in this issue somewhere telling every damn reason I was "fired" from Blockbuster but, luckily for me, the day after I got the bad news I went into my other part-time job and they told me I was going full-time. Not too shabby.
The bad news is, though, folks, that I don't have access to the postage meter any more so that means I have to get some more money going into my P.O. Box or Cashiers du Cinemart is going to fold.
I've always tried to keep this zine as non-profit as possible but now that I have to pay for postage, I'm dyin' over here; it's tearin' the ass outta me. It used to be that the money went to other things like markers, envelopes, paper, tape, staples, books & magazines (to cut pictures out of), and various other stuff. But now it's all going to the USPS and I'm actually losing money on the deal. Sorry to be one of those whiney zine editors but I just wanted to make sure everyone understands why the cover price had to go up.
At this juncture, I'm not taking any more subscribers but I do look favorably on donations! You can also pre-order issue #6 if you'd like or maybe send me a post-card that I can return when it's time to fork over the cash for our next fun-filled issue.
Enough about money, I'm sure 99% of ya'll have problems of your own in that area. I just keep waiting for that 1% to be my saviour and sponsor a full-color glossy issue. Any takers?
I can't believe it's been a year since I finally stopped talking about the zine I wanted to do and just did it. I sat down in my parent's basement watching Getting Over and typing free-form poems about Ethan Hawke, not knowing where it'd take me in a year... Ah, those sweet days of wine and roses, how I long for that lost innocence.
I'm really glad I started Cashiers because I've met a lot of great people through it and would probably go nuts if I didn't have some sort of creative outlet (though you can debate how "creative" CdC is among yourselves, thank you). I would really enjoy people's thoughts on my little zine even if this is your first time picking it up.
I hope to expand readership in the future. I don't know how I'm going to accomplish this and it might even sound kind of conceited that I want to ("CdC Sells Out?") but I do it keeping in mind that if a zine like Cashiers was out there and I didn't know about it, I would like to. And I want to extend that opportunity to people who might really enjoy the stuff I write about.
Long-time readers, gluttons for punishment that you are, might notice that our staff-box is particularly little this month. It was just me and Mike White doing the lion's share of the work. Not that our regulars, Clifton and Charles are gone forever, they just aren't around this issue. They'll return in our next issue along with Mike Thompson and more from Leon Chase, Rich Osmond and Pat Vamos. Check out the article on the Toronto film festival for other voices. The majority of the article was written by Colin Geddes but it features a buttload of comments and ideas from some of our favorite readers. I guess we can't stress enough how much we like to get mail.
Sorry to make this editorial a filibuster, I just figured I better have some damn good excuses for taking so long to put this bad boy out. I think four a year will be my goal but don't go nuts if I'm a little late or don't hit the mark. One way to help the next CdC come out early is through contributions. Not just money, mind you, I mean articles or at least thoughts. Hell, I wouldn't mind doing an issue of just reader observations about life, the movies, et cetera. Just keep it (relatively) clean and no Kennedy assassination theories please.
Yes, one of these days I'm going to do the blaxploitation issue I've so long talked about. I just want to spend a lot of time with it so it doesn't come off as a half-assed attempt. I mean, I want to give Black Shampoo and lesser films in the genre the respect they deserve. And don't think I won't take any help on this issue. I know I'm no expert and won't play one on TV—I'm going to write about what I know. If you want to do the same, feel free.
Oh, by the way, for CdC #4 I printed up about a hundred surveys that got sent out with our first batch of mail. In the months since then I've gotten a total of seven back and of those seven I speak to all of the people who filled them out on a fairly regular basis.
Five of them were done correctly with two of them being done in that "jokey" style where instead of circling "male" or "female" the words "neither" or "often" were written in. Pretty funny, kids.
All in all, the word was that the worst thing about CdC was the survey (with spelling errors coming in a close second) and that the only way I can improve CdC is with better technology or using "the F word" more often. Fuck that. I'll never be able to fucking afford a fucking computer or a fucking scanner (how d'ya like me now?) but I'll try to push scissors and tape to their farthest limits and keep the spell check on no matter how late at night I type articles (much to Carol's chagrin, I can assure you)!
Thanx to all those who did take the time to fill out the survey and spend the money on postage no matter how painful it may have been. Until I find a better way to get a grip on my demographic audience; feel free to write. I think I have a very good turn-around time as far as correspondence goes and I'd love to hear your thoughts (good or bad) about our humble production as well as stuff about you, the reader. So until I invest in voice mail or one of those new-fangled internet thingies, send your biographies, opinions, threats, and anonymous tips the old-fashioned way.
Hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed doing it!
Special Thanks To: Pete Barnes, Blockbuster #26122, Shawn Bourdo, Joe Bob Briggs, Michelle Bump, Bruce Campbell, Leon Chase, Jeff Dunlap, Shephard Fairey, Colin Geddes, Aaron Gell, Andrew Haupt, Jack Hill, Mike Huegen, Nathan Kane, Eric Litwin, Chris McGraw, Paul Mow, Derek Olsen, Rich Osmond, Steve Puchalski, Meghan Smith, Mia Sorgi, Mike Thompson, Chris Ungar, Patricio Vamos, Chris Vargo, Jeff Walenciak, Carol White, Shawn Wyman.
Staff
Editor—Mike Barnett
Layout—Mike White
Cashiers du Cinemart is published by Jive-Ass Honky Press, a division of Impossible Funky Productions.
This issue is dedicated to the memory of Darren Robinson, "The Human Beatbox."