14 June 2022

Bicentennial Update

We still exist, and even try to remain productive. Deep Madder Monthly was retired in 2015, but Deep Madder itself has conceptually continued on in many new zines since then: Old Blues, Introspection Intermittently, Gloom. 

We will be at Canzine on October 1, 2022, so please come visit us. We also have another new zine in progress. 

See you in October (at Canzine) and in 2222 (on this website)!

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07 July 2016

Biennial Update

For those fans who have waited eagerly for the more than a year and a half since the last morsel of news, here’s an update from beyond the grave:

Alexander is working on Gloom Weekly, a new weekly comic about life, the layout for the Deep Madder Monthly book, and the second issue of Introspection Intermittently, hoping to have it done for Zine Dream.

Christopher is working on the first issue of Old Blues, the other successor to Deep Madder Monthly (along with Introspection Intermittently), hoping to have it done for Zine Dream.

See you in 2018!

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24 October 2014

We’re Back

Now that it’s been a year since our last errant posting, it seems temporally apposite to rustle the dust collecting on our anachronistic digital presence. With our most poignancy-parched fans in mind, we’ve both updated our website’s design and uploaded new radio episodes for the first time in many years. If your heart can withstand the thrill of it, proceed to behold these changes now, if you please.

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28 October 2013

We’re Famous?

In case you missed it last week, we somehow managed to appear not only in a BlogTO article about notable zine makers present at this year’s Canzine, but at the top of the article, as the first ones mentioned!!!!*

*If the exuberance by which this was written seems ostentatious, please know that it’s actually due to our surprise at being regarded even remotely highly by anyone, and, thus, it’s indicative more of our insecurity and very low standards of our esteem.

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22 October 2013

Our Hero

It's just occurred to me that in our contemptible neglect of this web log for the past few years, we’ve yet to even mention Fran Lebowitz, whose venomous wit and misanthropic intellect we first encountered only a few years ago. Because she is such an embodiment of the Deep Madderian subjectivity, here’s a documentary about our favourite fellow curmudgeon:
 

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21 October 2013

Canzine 2013

In an attempt to resurrect this long-neglected (though honest) journal of our activities, here are a few sentences on the Canzine that just transpired:
 
Please forgive this temporary burst of positivity, but today’s (technically yesterday’s, as I'm writing this after midnight) Canzine was the best yet. Anthologies were sold to no fewer than TEN passersby (who surely already regret their decisions)—some having bought more than one—and more than eighty individual issues were distributed (i.e. people were willing to take them) for free. I don't know what sort of strange spell we inadvertently cast on today’s attendees, but I'm still in disbelief. The best part is that we’ve developed proto-friendships with the writers of Clapboard House, who are evidently (though it‘s still hard to believe) fans of our work, with whom we found ourselves relating about almost every esoteric interest we have (in our first conversations with them, no less).
 
Several passersby also expressed a surprising degree of interest in D.M.M., to the extent that one even gave us her e-mail address so that we may send her future issues. The most bizarre part of the whole day, speaking of which, those who were most interested in our work were all female, contrary to both our personal histories and to our work’s ostensive appeal. It still feels like a dream. I guess it’s a good thing that the end of D.M.M. is nigh.

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12 August 2012

Zine Dream #1



We just finished attending our first Zine Dream and it was surprisingly successful. We sold 12 anthologies (!!) and gave out at least 73 individual issues. Two people even bought all three anthologies, and one of them asked for us to sign them. Plus, one person took a photograph of us at our table, and another took a photograph of our little sign of testimony. What a strange day.

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12 June 2012

Deep Madder Symposium 5



Once again, your attendance is beseeched by the lowly editors of Deep Madder Monthly. In the event that you have not yet tired of watching rapidly aging men reading tiny magazines about themselves propped nervously by shaking limbs to hide sweating foreheads, simply buzz 223 upon your arrival at 1405-100 Spadina Rd. at eight of the clock on the evening of 22 June 2012 and proceed to the nearest elevator, whence your ascension will be lubricated.

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22 February 2012

David Simon Shares Our Approach to Appeal

“When I/we write, the person we imagine either reading or watching it is the person who understands the event. So if I’m writing a homicide detective, I want other homicide detectives […] to say, ‘This guy knows my world, this is the way it is.’ […] I don’t care about the other people. The other people will follow; some of them will and some of them won’t. I don’t care if it becomes inside baseball. I regard these things as travel logs of a kind: Here’s a chance for you to go to a drug corner in West Baltimore; I know you’re never going on your own, so you’re not going to understand everything, and they’re gonna be using some vernacular, but if you’re really interested in the travel show you’ll come along. […] It’s always writing for the person living the event, and not wanting to be ashamed in front of them, and I don’t care about anybody else.”
-David Simon, on the intended audience appeal for his work, from a lecture

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05 January 2012

Deep Madderian Bazooka Joe

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27 December 2011

The Power of Loneliness

I spent most of today alone, sitting at my desk in my apartment, and my ensuing activities have once again reminded me how motivating loneliness is.* I dealt with my loneliness by:
1. E-mailed five people to whom I rarely speak, three of with whom I very rarely (if ever) interact (including my first e-mail ever to my brother), thus comprising a spontaneous “social bridge” gesture which would not have otherwise been accomplished.
2. Worked on my Annex Journal Distinction writings for the first time in weeks.
3. Made this blog post (the first in three months).
4. Doing all the previous three activities whilst listening to sad, introspective Thanksgiving songs, and occasionally even analysing and writing down the lyrics.
*As readers of Deep Madder Monthly will know, my solitude tolerance is extraordinarily low, to the extent that, despite being happily partnered (not to mention having woken up with said partner this very morning), a day and night spent alone will dependably send me into a Deep Madderian fit of melancholy.

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27 September 2011

Deep Madder Radio Ep. 9

The ninth episode of Deep Madder Radio has finally arrived after an insufferable wait of ten months! Luckily for our most avid of listeners, said lateness will somewhat be compensated by the fact that this is the best episode ever. It is a portion of our interview with L. Ulrich from 20 June 2011 (which we have yet to turn to episode) in which we debated the merit of reading versus fornication. Guess who's on which side?

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06 September 2011

New Zine Forecast

Here is the prototype for the long-awaited first issue of the Annex Journal of Distinction, which should be finally complete by the end of this month. This format and typography should distinguish the zine from Deep Madder Monthly while retaining our signature aesthetic austerity.

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23 August 2011

DEEP MADDER SYMPOSIUM 2


Four months later, I think it is now sufficiently flushed from our consciousness that we ought finally to acknowledge the second Deep Madder Symposium. On 16 March 2011, the editors and subscribers (and a mere reader or three) of Deep Madder Monthly met at 179 Spadina Road for an evening of zine readings and weird activities. Though most guests decided their sartorial vernacular was the most this event deserved, contrary to our dress code of monochromatic formality, the evening progressed fairly well, from what I can recall (which is admittedly not much). Highlights include the introduction of a Deep Madder board game called Misanthropy, which was conspicuously more a parade of our self-pity and scorn of the romantic privileges of others, in keeping with the traditional (though perhaps no longer relevant, as intimated below) Deep Madderian narrative. Of particular note is a remarkably elaborate miniature rendition of our Canzine presence with “Peeps” in place of the editors, presented atop no less than a painfully delicious icebox cake, generously contributed by one Ms P. Clark.
This symposium also marked the introduction of my colleague’s partner, Ms H. McGaw, to our social group (not to mention the end of our last remaining credibility in the experience of romantic alienation). Needless to say, the presence of both our respective partners rendered our readings of romantic despair and loneliness somewhat antique, testament to the fact that what is good for us is bad for Deep Madder, for which rejection and failure are fuel (hence our recent unprecedentedly low productivity rate). This made a total of only two single people out of ten in attendance, though most couples conformed to our stipulation of no conspicuous romance (with a conspicuous exception captured photographically [not pictured]). Perhaps for the next symposium we will hire a bouncer to better encourage conformity to our rules? I will end with a model couple in attendance:

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20 August 2011

Welcome back.

It seems that your editors were working so diligently at preparing new issues of Deep Madder Monthly that we entirely forgot to renew our domain name. But fret not, dear reader - after months in internet limbo, the domain has been returned to its rightful owners, and deepmadder.com is officially arisen from the dead!
Rest assured that despite our website being down, we ourselves have not been resting on our laurels; expect new issues, new symposiums, and new radio episodes shortly. We've also registered for Canzine 2011, taking place on October 23rd, so all insults, complaints, and indifference may soon be directed at us in person.
Love,
Deep Madder

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07 February 2011

Deep Madder Symposium 1



As noted below, on 26 January 2011 we held the first Deep Madder Symposium. Guests, which comprised of subscribers to Deep Madder Monthly and our friends (which are essentially inextricable), gathered at the Spadina Road house in which Mr Hubbarde and our friend/subscriber Ms L. Ulrich live for an evening of formality, introspection, and vulnerability. In attendance, apart from the editors, were, in order of arrival, said Ms L. Ulrich, Mr Z. Xu, Ms C. Booth, Ms P. Clark, Ms S. Hardman, and Mr R. Cole. To our pleasant surprise, guests almost completely conformed to the Rule Book For Future Deep Madder Functions, in attire as well as in social comportment (e.g. refraining from romantic pairing). We very much appreciate their (your) diligent observation of our ideals and participatory presence at this event; the fine cheese and humble crackers we served hopefully offered a tacit reminder of our appreciation.


First, the editors read from the 24th issue, to animate content that is normally relegated to the page. Questions and comments were taken on various features and many discussions were had. A 17-question test we wrote the day before, meant to determine one’s congruence with the Deep Madderian subjectivity, was distributed to everyone present, the results of which we compiled for future scrutiny. Then we read from the 25th issue, from which we derived much conversation and debate with guests. Lastly, we played a game called Judging, in which we were to assess the merit of subjects of given scenarios. The debate arising from the first and only scenario we were able to offer was so fervently argued by either side that it took almost two hours, at the end of which it was far too late to continue any activities.


Since we were thus unable to read and discuss the two other most recent issues that we had planned for, another symposium will be scheduled relatively soon, perhaps for March, at which point we will hopefully have several new issues to disseminate to subscribers.

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23 January 2011

DM Radio update

It is with the usual mix of pride and embarrassment that we announce that we have (at long last) uploaded Deep Madder Radio episodes 7 and 8 to our website. Recorded in late October and early November respectively, both episodes revolve around the subject of Canzine.
Episode 7, having been recorded the night before said event, finds your tired editors feverishly assembling zines whilst discussing their expectations, hopes, and anxieties for the next day, as well as a providing a brief summary of the previous year's experience. Episode 8, recorded the subsequent week, serves as a Canzine recap, with the editors noting their successes and failures and relaying interesting anecdotes.
As always, radio episodes can be found here for your downloading enjoyment.
In other news, we're hoping to make some minor-but-not-miniscule changes to our website soon, so you may want to visit it 10 times a day instead of your usual 5.

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20 January 2011

Deep Madder Symposium No. 1

We hope that you will join us in the Annex next Wednesday, 26 January 2011, for the inaugural Deep Madder function.
After years of fruitless prospective alacrity, our recent explosion in productivity has incited a newfound sense of urgency in us as to Deep Madderian pursuits. Your beloved editors, both Mr Arvelo McQuaig and Mr Hubbarde, will read aloud from recent issues, complete with fresh content, after which you may ask questions, offer comments, and lob criticisms. Consonant with our love of vulnerability, we will welcome any (thoughtful) inquiry or attack, no matter how personal or caustic.
We will also play thematically germane games such as “Who’s the Nerd,” “Paying My Late Subscription Fees,” “Reader Feedback, Three Years Too Late,” and “Answer the Quiz You Were Supposed to Answer More Than a Year Ago.”
Love,
Deep Madder

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24 November 2010

E-mail Troubles

EDIT: the situation has (mostly) been resolved, so please resume using our regular email address.
For some frustratingly unknown reason, we are not able to access our official e-mail address (mail@deepmadder.com) at the moment. If, for the time being, you could send all comments and queries to our alternative address (deepmadder@gmail.com), that would be much appreciated.
Thank you, and this post will be edited upon getting the proper address back in working order.

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24 October 2010

Canzine is finally here

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please note that tomorrow, Sunday 24 October, is our annual attendance of Canzine, so please visit us! It is from 1-7 p.m. at the Great Hall.
Furthermore, with the advent of both editors’ possession of mobile telephony, we will be tweeting live on location and documenting our failures digitally. As I write this we are finishing last-minute work on our table supplies (making copies of anthologies and individual issues to sell/disseminate). See you tomorrow.
Love,
Deep Madder

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