Zines Go Mainstream: Paul Lukas' Inconspicuous Consumption by jenny boe ZINES HOME INTERVIEWS: Seth Friedman, Factsheet Five Paul Lukas, Beer Frame Chip Rowe, The Book Of Zines REVIEWS: Lisa Carver's Rollerderby and Dancing Queen Seth Friedman's Factsheet Five Zine Reader Paul Lukas' Inconspicuous Consumption V. Vale's Zines! Vol. I ZINESTERS TALK IT UP: Personal Media Conference Call CALL TO ARMS: Zine Books I'd Like to See NOW YOU: Survey: What zine books would you like to see? Join Tripod's Media Savvy Conference: members click here others click here

Title: Inconspicuous Consumption: An Obsessive Look at the Stuff We Take for Granted, from the Everyday to the Obscure Author: Paul Lukas Year: 1996 Publisher: Crown Trade Paperbacks Price: $12.95 US paperback (buy it from Amazon.com) Inconspicuous Consumption: An Obsessive Look at the Stuff We Take for Granted, from the Everyday to the Obscure (whew!) is Paul Lukas' new book, compiling the inquisitive examinations of all manner of strange products, peculiar organizations, and obscure publications that have appeared in his zine, Beer Frame. His analyses manage to combine the qualities of meticulousness and frivolousness, providing insights on the twisted world of consumer culture, and some fun, too. What exactly is meant by the term "inconspicuous consumption"? Lukas admits that he hasn't come up with a precise definition yet, but says it's "about paying attention to the details of consumer culture. It's about noticing certain aspects of products and services we might otherwise overlook, things that are either so obscure that we never see them or so ubiquitous that we've essentially stopped seeing them." Lukas' classic example of inconspicuous consumption is the Brannock Device: That thing you stick your foot into in the shoe store so the size can be measured. Almost everyone has had some contact with this gadget, but how many of us have ever stopped to think about it? Well, he certainly has, even going so far as to contact the makers and see if they'd sell him one (they wouldn't, but he managed to track down a shoe store willing to get one for him illicitly). Many of the products reviewed are things you've not only never contemplated, but probably you've never even heard of. Like Lawn Makeup — an aerosol spray to color in those patches of scorched, faded lawn. Lukas suggests that its makers "were probably inspired by those infomercials for spray-on hair" and notes that there are a variety of shades available, from Cedar Green to Kentucky Blue. Another item you might not be aware of is the All-Weather Paintstik Livestock Marker, which naturally is used to draw on your cattle. Lukas admires the product for being "both progressive (more humane than the branding iron) and retro (in our keyboard-driven age, here's a product you actually handwrite with)." One of my favorite chapters is "Foodstuffs," which recalls encounters with various odd food items, many of which I can't believe Lukas actually dared to ingest. He describes weird Australian flavors of Life Savors, like Musk ("The initial sensation is extremely sweet, but this soon gives way to something much harder to describe, something sort of like raw meat") and Thirst ("powdered Gatorade mixed with a raw-egg coagulant"). Yuck! And then there's kraut juice, which gets an extremely thorough examination; when Lukas contacted some of the producers of this "cloudy, vaguely brownish-green liquid," they freely admitted that it tastes pretty gross. One employee even admitted he'd never had the guts to taste it. (Lukas himself didn't manage to get it down either, revealing that "one quick whiff was enough to kick my gag reflex into overdrive.") Other items whose questionable edibility Lukas questioned include Guycan Corned Mutton, Blind Robins Smoked Ocean Herring, Pocari Sweat Refreshment Water (from Japan), and the ever-phallic Squeeze Cone Candy. The items in Inconspicuous Consumption (like the Pig Improvement Company and the Smoker's Robot) are often so crazy that just listing them would be pretty entertaining. Finding them all is quite a respectable task — where do you come up with something like "In Person, In Time: Recommended Procedures for Death Notification," a report published to aid law officers with a dreaded task? Lukas acknowledges that his readers help greatly in the discovery of these oddities, sending strange items to him (often with a note saying "I saw this and thought of you"). But Lukas does much more than just uncover weird products: His witty, elegant writing makes the book a truly delightful read. He obviously feels a real affection for some of his subjects (allowedly not the kraut juice), and the excitement he conveys as he researches these interests is rather endearing. It's nice to read a book by someone who is so involved with his work that he would run around at a party, yelling "Look, look at this nonsense, look at what they're doing here!" about a bottle of Coors Artic Ice (with its odd misspelling of Arctic). All in all, the combination of enthusiasm, insight, writerly skill, and good old silliness found in Inconspicuous Consumption is remarkably pleasing. The material is ripe for an academic analysis of what these products say about our society, although Lukas largely leaves it to the reader to draw these conclusions. You can take away from the book what you will: knowledge of some crazy products, insights about modern consumerism, and, most likely, a heightened awareness of the things that exist around us. Jenny Boe grew up in Berkeley and now lives in Seattle, where she writes, temps, and maintains a Tripod homepage. She has recently rediscovered the joys of the International House of Pancakes. © 1997 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved.