December cover design contest details

The contest to design the cover of the December anniversary issue of The Talking Twenties will go until November 25, 2009. All entries should be sent to thetalkingtwenties.submissions(at)gmail.com. Some stipulations:

• The image size should be 375 x 500
• Acceptable file types: jpg, gif, png
• Please do not send images of more than 600 kb
• Include your name or pseudonym with each entry, and the e-mail address by which you wish to be contacted
• Image files should be titled “December09cover_(your last name or pseudonym)”
• OK to submit up to two entries; add a number 1 or 2 on the end of your file names if submitting multiple designs to differentiate
• All entries should contain the text “The Talking Twenties” and “December 2009.” Other text is optional
• The ideal entry expresses twenty-something culture, life, or the problems facing the twenty-something age bracket
• No sexually explicit content, please
• Please obtain the permission of any recognizable human art subjects used in the work before submitting, as The Talking Twenties will not be responsible for any complaints, lawsuits or Facebook de-friendings that you may be afflicted with, should you fail to do so
• By submitting, entrants agree to allow the indefinite use of their image in whole or in part for the website header, sidebar, and anywhere cover art for The Talking Twenties may be posted, including on any cover art or art pages of the Blogzine, the December Letter from the Editor, and on The Talking Twenties Facebook, Twitter and deviantART accounts; however, the image will not be posted outside of these venues without acknowledgment of the artist who created it
• Rights revert to the artist after publication
• Payment is in the form of high praise, bragging rights and a publication credential only
• The name (or pseudonym) of the winning artist will be announced on Facebook, Twitter, deviantART and, of course, The Talking Twenties Blogzine on December 1, 2009.  The winning artwork will be posted on December 1, 2009, along with a matching website header derived from the winning work

Good luck to all entrants!  The winner will be decided by multiple judges and contacted via e-mail prior to publication of their work.

Announcing new features for our anniversary!

The Talking Twenties will be turning 1 in December! In order to celebrate, we’re planning to unveil a new section that embraces the creative pursuits of twenty-somethings.

We would like to open submissions for artwork, including photography, by people in their twenties or representing the twenty-something experience. You can now also find us on deviantART, where we will support artwork by people of all ages and of all content types.

We will also be accepting poetry, 6-word memoirs or novels, and very short fiction up to 500 words.

The Talking Twenties is also pleased to announce a contest to design the online cover of our 1 year anniversary issue next month! All entries are due by November 25th, 2009 and should contain the text “The Talking Twenties” and “December 2009.” Other text is optional.

Contest entries, creative writing and poetry should be sent to their usual destination, thetalkingtwenties.submissions(at)gmail.com. Details will be added under Submissions shortly!

From the Editor: Embracing modern media and improving modern culture

With The Talking Twenties’ first anniversary coming up next month, I’ve started giving a lot of thought to all the advantages that come with having a blogzine versus a print publication. Sounds a little counterintuitive, right? The internet is generally considered second to traditional print mediums – that is, if you don’t consider the practical side of things.

Many publications are now finding they cannot compete with the speed and accessibility of the internet, plus the reduced overhead of not having to pay for printing costs. Newspaper Death Watch (www.newspaperdeathwatch.com) lists 11 American newspapers that have gone out of print since March 2007, plus 8 that have gone the way of the internet, publishing either simulteanously online and in print or moving exclusively to the online-realm.

It’s not just news publications that are suffering, either. The Rambler, a creative writing journal that used to be carried in Barnes & Noble, recently announced that they would be ceasing publication indefinitely, while Big Lucks, a new journal that will publish both in print and online, has captured the feeling of this modern problem in their mission statement.

“Magazines are folding and America’s oldest publishing houses are making cutbacks,” reads the website for Big Lucks. “Yet we find ourselves writing more than ever – if it’s through blog posts or status updates, our society cannot resist the urge to compose.”

No matter the country, there has long been more creative urge than there have been venues for its expression…

Stopping a dangerous domestic violence trend

20-somethings lead the nation as victims of relationship violence

By keito

October has been National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States since 1987. As such, I wanted to bring attention to how domestic violence is affecting people in our age group in the United States, knowing that this is a serious problem that begins early on in men and women’s lives.

For both men and women, the rates of (non-fatal) intimate partner violence are highest among 20 to 24-year-olds; the age group with the next highest rate is 25 to 34. Help your generation and others: - Report acts of domestic violence by calling 911 - If you think a friend or family member will not believe or help you, don’t give up until you find someone who will. Call a local or national hotline like U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) - If you are in an abusive relationship or situation, remember that your abuser may be tracking your computer activities, and clearing cookies or website histories may also tip him or her off; for more information… - Visit the DVAM tips page to learn how to keep yourself safe from an abuser

Until I researched this, I had no idea that people in their twenties were the worst-affected by known acts of non-fatal domestic violence caused by a relationship partner. Intimate partner violence, as it is termed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, refers to violence perpetrated by “current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends, including same sex relationships,” and is a problem that is extra-worthy of our attention. Unlike violence by strangers and friends or acquaintances (the rates of which have all dropped significantly since 1993), intimate partner violence rates have dropped relatively little from ’93 to 2005.

For both men and women, the rates of (non-fatal) intimate partner violence are highest among 20 to 24-year-olds; the age group with the next highest rate is 25 to 34. The rates of DV by a boyfriend or girlfriend have also increased over the course of the twelve-year study. Unfortunately, this information is not only little publicized, but what we do hear about DV focuses on the acts of violence, rather than the recovery of the victim and the services that exist to help them.
DV is always on the mind of the government and judicial system, but these pro-active efforts occur with hardly a ripple in the public knowledge. I had no idea that the recent government stimulus, which had plenty of media coverage surrounding it (including lots of gripes about the cost and what it would used for), gave an additional $325 million to support the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). According to a proclamation by President Barack Obama, these funds will “enable States, local governments, tribes, and victim service providers to retain and hire personnel that can serve victims and hold offenders accountable. These funds will also bring relief to victims seeking a safe place to live for themselves and their children.”

Like me, you might not have heard or read about any of that on local or national news coverage, but you’ve probably heard plenty of reports this month about victims and arrests related to DV or relationship DV…

To be or not to be

by Julienne

Since becoming a vegetarian at age 13 in 1998, it seems I have been charged with reminding the world of one simple fact: fish are animals. That statement might seem obvious, but with vegetarian classifications becoming trendy in recent decades, the lines of demarcation have been blurred.

Lacto-ovo-vegitarians consume egg and dairy products, and plain Vegitarians and Vegans do not. While these are acceptable, no true definitions of Vegitarianism should include fish, members of the Animal Kingdom.

As soon as someone finds out I am a vegetarian, there is an instant battery of questions listing possible exceptions. I am asked if I eat fish, chicken and eggs. I might even be quizzed on the contents of my Thanksgiving plate. Recently, at a plenary luncheon I attended for work, the server kindly obliged me and replaced the chicken meal with a small pasta dish. The guest to my right leaned over and whispered, rather pleased with herself, “So you’re a real vegetarian then?”

What does it mean to be a real vegetarian? The Vegetarian Society, formed in the UK in 1847, claims to be the oldest official group of herbivores in the world, and gives itself the authority to “set standards for what is truly vegetarian.” According to their website, they accept only three types: Lacto-ovo-vegetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, and Vegan.

The Lacto-ovo-vegetarian (i.e. me) is one who eats no “meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, or crustacea, or slaughter byproducts…”

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Berlin: Photo Essay by Julienne

Berlin: Photo Essay by Julienne

Please click to view the slideshow, courtesy of Phlook.