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.

- Gina, Becki, and Maxi