Note From The Editor:

June 7, 2019

The sea is my favorite thing in the universe. That’s not an exaggeration. I think about it daily, most of my dreams are me swimming in the sea, and ever since I was little I’ve been obsessed with sea creatures.  I’ve found that the ocean brings me comfort and peace. My brain latches to the rhythm and chaos of the waves, ushering my mind into a hypnotic and trancelike state, leveling out my anxiety. The greatness and power of the sea amplifies our smallness, pushing out the ego and allowing us to exist in a state of wonder, fear and gratitude. 

When we’re looking outward we tend to look forward and up, rather than down or beneath. Humanity has spent a lot of time learning from the stars, and it’s brought us incredible things. For more than half a century people have been launching things and themselves outside of our atmosphere, and for thousands of years before that people have been trying to build structures to get further and further into the heavens. The heavens are dazzling. They’re magnificent. But what would have happened if that kind of energy was spent looking under the surface? What could happen now if we redirect that energy into our planet?

So little of the oceans have been explored, yet it’s the largest ecosystem on the planet. While we’ve been making other incredible discoveries, the oceans have been neglected, overlooked, and often mistreated. Yesterday on NPR it was reported that micro-plastics are invading, not only near shore creatures, but creatures of the deep - the research and article suggest that every creature in the sea now contains micro-plastics, meaning: if you’re eating something from the sea you’re also eating plastic. WHAT! Woof. There’s truly no appropriate response to that kind of information passing to us, especially since it feels like the problem is beyond repair. It would be so tight if that’s not the case, but… looks pretty bleak.

I chose this theme for a few different reasons: it’s culturally relevant/time sensitive, the ocean rules, and endless summer foreverrrrrr. More importantly I chose Under The Sea because the ocean is the coolest thing in the world and it’s probably never again going to be how it is now or was when we were young. The earth is changing, faster than any of us realized and it’s important to take a big breath and reflect on this truly radical thing. Whether we’ve noticed it or not, the ocean has influenced and directed our lives: the weather we experience, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the salt we season with. What’s under the sea is directly tied to us, and I hope that we can celebrate it, thank it for what it has given us, and seek ways to can treat it better. 

So here are a couple things you should see (roll over for links) - Blue Planet I & II (they’re on netflix), this video of an octopus changing color, this fish with a see-through head, this very chill video of the red sea, and I know I know blah blah blah we’re grown ups but The Little Mermaid’s Under The Sea is truly fantastic and you can watch it HERE, and here are some weird old under water things: THIS, and WATCH THIS FOR SURE. This one is called the Care and Feeding of a Mermaid (1961), and goddamn! this one called Don’t Hold Your Breath.  

Here are simple ways to help the ocean: use reusable cups for beverages, get a metal straw, use reusable grocery bags instead of flimsy plastic ones, and take a little time to pick up trash at the beach whenever you’re there. Here are more ideas on Sea Legacy.  

10 issues! can you believe it? I can’t. To celebrate we made a little zine that you can buy to the right ———>  

Thanks for submitting, reading, looking through the issues, supporting us, and sharing with your friends.

Keep making rad shit.

xx,

Kami Baergen