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Birmingham is a thriving city full of history and culture, which we are sure you already know about, but what about the other side of Birmingham, the one no one really knows about? Well our magazine is here to tell you of the weird and wonderful people of Birmingham.
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CONTENTS
Photographer
Undergraduate at Birmingham City
University, you will find me superglued to my camera in
all weathers and all occasions!
Graphic Designer
Huge fane of South Korea and Japan.
If you love Kpop, anime and all other East Asian
entertainment, we’re sure to get along really well.
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Illustrator
My friends call me Olive, I love nature and… Oh yeah bees! I’ve done Illustrations for the Occupy movement and featured in the Bank Street art exhibition in
Sheffield and I’m all about tea, cakes and kindness.
Animator
Don’t try to pronounce my last name right, some people have tried and their brains exploded as a result.
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Birmingham is a thriving city full of history and culture, which we are sure you already know about, but what about the other side of Birmingham, the one no one really knows about?
Did you know there is a Gypsy called John living on the canal? Do you know what kind of animals live there? Did you know that there are people living in Birmingham who would actually rather watch TV and listen to music from East Asia?
How about a band that comes from this very city?
Our magazine represents the very city it was created in and is here to tell you about all the weird and wonderful people in
Birmingham.
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It’s been a long time since the world only produced comics for kids and sold them for pennies, yet still in this modern time there are people who believe that the world of graphic stories cannot have more depth than Smurfs. Are you one of them? Well if so, then it’s time to open your mind to the wonders of graphic novels! There are comics with beautiful, moving, and complicated stories, and in this article I’ll introduce you to some of the more popular titles.
BLANKETS by Craig Thompson
It’s a coming-of-age autobiography, which tells the story of Thompson’s childhood in an Evangelical Christian family, his first love, and his early adulthood. The book was widely acclaimed, with Time magazine ranking it #1 in its 2003 Best Comics list, and #8 in its Best Comics of the Decade. It’s a very touching and special book. Thompson tells the readers even about very personal experiences, like the reasons why he’d lost his faith in God, or about his worsened relationship with his brother. There are some heart-grasping drawings which assured me that the comic is the best medium for some stories, it can show emotions and subjective matters in ways movies or books cannot.
Published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productionswww.craigthompsonbooks.com
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MAUS by Art Spiegelman
This book is a much more serious story than ‘Blankets’. In it, Spiegelman interviews his father about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. The graphic novel makes use of postmodern techniques—most strikingly in its depiction of races of humans as different kinds of animals, with Jews as mice, Germans as cats and Poles as pigs. Maus has been variously labeled as memoir, biography, history, fiction, autobiography, or a mix of genres. In 1992, it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. The graphics may not be as beautiful as the ones in Blankets, but this book is not about beauty, it’s about the cruel reality of the world. Definitely for a mature audience only.
Published in 1991 by Pantheon Books
LOST AT SEA by Bryan Lee O’Malley
This graphic novel tells the coming-of-age story of shy 18-year old Raleigh, who believes her soul was stolen by a cat, and the road trip she makes across the United States with several kids from her school that she barely knows. Does the author’s name sound familiar? Well, you might know him for his famous Scott Pilgrim series which was made into a movie “Scott Pilgrim VS The World”. “Lost at sea” is one of his first books, released before the Pilgrim series. It’s a really absorbing story, melancholic and a bit mysterious. I’d recommend it for both teenagers and young adults.
Published in 2003 by Oni Press
You can buy these on the Waterstones website, Ebay or Amazon.
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Looking for unearthed treasure? Look no further than the heart of Birmingham at the world famous Rag Market home to 350 stalls.
You may think of the rag market as being dull and dirty but with so many different stalls
prepare your eyes to be taken on a striking journey full of variety and vibrancy. Go to the open market near the end of the day and fresh reduced fruit and vegetables will practically fall at your feet, with offers too good to be missed. Allow yourself to be guided round the many stalls offering mouth watering goods, sweet delectables and fresh fish.
Not won over?Get yourself out of the cold and take a wander through the indoor section of the market, here you will find an extensive range of art and craft materials, jewellery, fashion and much, much more.
Opening TimesTuesday: 9:00am-5:00pm Thursday: 9:00am-5:00pmFriday: 9:00am-5:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am- 5:00pm Closed Monday, Wednesday
and Sunday
Rags to Riches
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Bees are more than just the honey on our toast they pollenate 70% of the greens we eat! I’d bet you would be surprised to hear though that bees are thriving in Urban environments. The BBC news article titled ‘Urban Bee Keeping in The Heart of Birmingham’ reveals that bees are faring much better in the cities and the suburbs due to the larger variety of plant species. Out in the countryside there’s
limited biodiversity due to agri-culture with their only being one crop,
for example oil seed rape, but after that where do they go next?
The Highbury Park Apiary is based in Birmingham’s city centre which offers a good habitat for bees to thrive due to a strong community of gardeners, avenues of lime trees and large parks. These plants provide
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nectar and pollen which allows the bees to aid in pollination and help nature grow.
But bees are in rapid decline due to the use of Pesticides on our British farms. The neonicotonoid pesticide is used to target pests such as aphids but also have a devastating effect on our natural pollinators, the bee. Neonicotonoid pesticide affects the bee’s
nervous system resulting in their death. Bees provide the main workforce for plant pollination in agriculture. Hand pollinating plants is a very costly business.
We need to save our bees!
To ensure food prices remain affordable and so that they can continue to pollinate the food we eat.
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1. Buy Organic (pesticide free honey)2. Create a natural habitat garden – plant
wildflowers to support pollination3. Keep bees - A bundle of canes can be a home for the honey bee, also a bird box with bedding can also provide a nest for
these insects4. Sign petitions banning pesticides
5. Support your local Apiary’s
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Birmingham today is a booming metropolis with development
happening all around us. But with this ever expanding concrete jungle where does nature fit in?
Birmingham is unique being that it has canal networks running through the city and to the suburbs and beyond. These Canals
offer a haven for wildlife to thrive, and a sea of adventures for our friend ‘Gypsy John’ to explore. Alchemist Labs travelled to Canal Side to learn more about the conservation,
and the positive effect the canal has on our environment. There we interviewed a Canal Trust representative named Jason a 2nd Yeah Manchester Met Student, studying Graphic Design.
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Interview with Jason, Canal Trust representative
Alchemist Lab – How has the conservation of the canal networks supported wildlife?
Jason – “Around here you can see we main-tain all the surrounding plants. These serve to keep the population of bees up. Bees are a major concern to us. I’m a 24 year old lad and to be honest with you I’m gonna come out that I’m a bit geeky, I grow my own tomatoes! I’ve done this since I was a kid but this year my precious tomatoes didn’t grow. One of the main reasons for this is bees not pollinating at the right time.”
Alchemist Lab – Is this due to global warming?
Jason - “Yes definitely, plants are becoming high in pollen all year round. The summers are getting colder and the winters are getting warmer, so bumble bees don’t know when to come out of hibernation. I’m sure you can
appreciate were not just doing this to make this place beautiful
for the boaters, were not just doing it for the walkers, we help the economy
and we help nature to.”
Alchemist Lab - What does the canal mean to the people?
Jason – “It’s part of our heritage. I remember as I boy picking blue berries along the canal and coming home and getting a clip round the ear hole from my granddad for being covered in blue stains. The canals also played a big part in industry with the waterways ferrying coal to fuel the factories, Cadburys famous chocolate factory was among one of the industries to use this network.”
The Canal networks support a variety of animal species including water voles, otters, geese and many more. It’s also clear to see the Canals are part of our industrial heritage. A quarter of a million pound a day is spent maintaining the canal networks up and down the country and with an ever expanding city like Birmingham I feel these Green Corridors are just as important as before. They offer a place for wildlife to coincide with the urban environment and also help the economy, with the business they bring. So support your canals today and take a trip to a Canal and explore!
By now I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with PSY, pronounced like psycho (which is actually his fan club name). Gangnam Style has gained immense popularity with more than 1 Billion views on YouTube. (Yes, you saw right, 1 billion views!) As a Kpop fan myself and like all other Kpop fans, none of us would have even thought that Gangnam Style would have ever become so popular around the world.
How is it possible to get so immersed into the Asian culture when living in Birmingham thousands of miles away from East Asia? Well with the help of my friends Rubina, Jennifer and Adam I can tell you what attracted them and what might possibly attract you.
When did you begin getting interested in Asian culture?Adam “Around year 9 I think”
Rubina “May 2009”Jennifer “I started getting into Asian and Japanese culture when I was 13 and I got into Korean culture at 16.”
What is it about Asian culture that is appealing to you?Jennifer “There is lots about Asian culture that is appealing to me, the fashion, the music, manners; even the language is very interesting.”
Adam “The history and entertainment”
How did you come across it?Adam “First, through a film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, then it all went on from there - films, books, and music such as Super Junior-M, ‘Supergirl’”
Jennifer “by watching anime and playing video games that were made in Japan, which got me interested in music videos for songs and then other aspects of culture.”
How does it differ from the usual western culture?Rubina “In a lot of ways really. Customs and traditions are different. They also have a lot of their own cultural festivals. I know Japan have loads in the summer. Umm.... The
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attitude of the people is different. Like in Japan people are usually a lot more polite but then they’re not as social as people in the west, in general”
Jennifer“I think it differs from western culture because in Asian culture it is easy to belong to a community of people liking the same things. It is easy to follow a certain fashion or idol, and engage in group activities like a community, where in the west it is a lot more individually focused.”
Do you think Asian culture had influenced you in any way and how?Rubina “Hmm.... haha, yes I think it has. It’s made me a lot more interested in the world and cultures of the world, as well as different languages, not just Asian. It’s made me think more about how people across the world have differences but also similarities. Japan has definitely made me a more optimistic person.”
Adam “Definitely in terms of style and musical taste”
Do you think Asian culture has influenced Birmingham and how?Jennifer “I think Asian culture has influenced Birmingham too. There are many shops that sell things relating to aspects of Asian culture, and it is easy to find people in the city who enjoy Asian culture too.”
Rubina “Yes I think it has. I mean Birmingham is one of the most multi cultural cities in the UK and Asian cultures are definitely a big part of that.”
Korean Variety ShowRunning man-
Ep 74 Super Power SpecialEp 96 w/ Ji Sung Park
Japanese Variety ShowDowntown-
No Laughing game- High School
Korean DramaYou’re Beautiful
City Hunter
Japanese DramaHana Kimi
Nobuta Wo Produce
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What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever woke up after a night out?Outside a takeaway nowhere near where I went out. I don’t think it was even the same town!
Most embarrassing thing you’ve done when drunk?Probably when I stacked it down a flight of stairs in front of everyone!
Which member of the band would make the best girl?Definitely Alex our melodic vocalist, he has the hair and high voice to match!
What did you dream about last night?Wouldn’t you like to know! That’s top secret I’m afraid.
If you could choose a super-power what would it be?Probably flying, although x-ray vision ain’t bad either!
Describe yourself naked in three words...In the buff!
Favourite chat up line...Probably something terribly cheesy like, “did it hurt when you fell from heaven”. But hey, everyone likes cheese right?! How many times do you look in the mirror a day?I’d say just once or twice whilst doing my hair.
Have you had any awkward embarrassing moments whilst playing in whilst playing in the band?Ahh definitely, my whole drum kit just literally fell apart whilst playing a gig!
What is your biggest phobia?Trees absolutely terrified of trees!
“If anyone wants to know more about us, jump on our
page”
Insolito’s Drummer on drunken antics and how he looks naked...
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