Of course, the whole issue would not have come together if it was not for the advertisers and contributors who got involved with this thing back when the summer was just a warm whisper on the wind. So, thanks to all of those fine folks who cared enough to write, hand me their money, and check-in every now and then to see if the whole thing was still alive.

That being said, I’m not done pushing this one yet! I’ll try to post another teaser or two of the stuff you can find inside the issue, and if I come across any great press-related blurbs from other folks I’ll post those too. I believe I’ve seen folks such as Jasmin Singer, Dan Hanley, and Sarah Kramer tweeting or blogging about it recently…

Otherwise, if you’re interested in such things, I’ve been trying to post as many pictures as I could from things I’ve been eating in South Korea on the Facebook fan page. Now that I have a fancy phone you can expect more. Well, as long as Facebook is willing to cooperate. I seem to have a few from this past weekend that just don’t want to show their face for some reason…

thanks,
Ryan

Photo credit: Ryan Patey | New Year’s Eve | Busan, South Korea

Please let us know what you think, and share it with your friends if you love it.

Issue Six Download

The following is an excerpt from a focus piece written by Noemi Martinez, which will be available in issue six later this week.

Being a vegan is as much an identity to me as being a poet, being a Boriqua/Chicana and living on the borderlands, both literally and queerly speaking. It seems only natural that my eating habits find themselves in my poetry and writing. As a single parent, unschooling around the kitchen table is common as well as something I call edupunk, a mix of DIY and punk ethics education. Many of our conversations revolve around food, justice, the environment, oppressions and what it means to be brown bodies living in our society. I am largely truthful about the real world to my two children. The other day I spoke to my son, River, about the high percentage of Latino and Black men in United States prisons and how one in six Latino and Black boys have a chance of going to prison in their lifetime — that is a painful reality check as a parent to a young Chicano. Both my daughter, Winter, and River, grasp that the work I do on domestic violence, DIY (do it yourself) media and racial inequalities is just as important as my veganism.

Dinner for Two

I have not tried one recipe
from the cookbook you gave me.
I finger through it some days.
The foods- elaborate experiments
you thought I’d make
when I became a vegetarian.

It’s just like you
to give me something
of little use,
like flowers that die
when I needed seeds
to take root,
plants in soft dirt,
clay to form words.

Time-the residual effect
can’t be measured by scientific methods
and can’t be seen but
we are as one
even now
when I sense your
brooding thoughts
100 miles away
when I haven’t seen you
in ten years.

Rose Colored Thread

I grew in love with you
around the table
stalking flowers we
couldn’t afford to plant.
We laughed and you let me sleep
instead of touching my hand.
We could have mended
each other’s
bloody noses with
slow nights.

Next spring, there will be time
to tend to this garden
to wake me up,
tell my stories
that make the edges of your
mouth crinkle into a smile.

Honestly, the long-awaited issue six is certainly our biggest one yet (100+ pages!), and we’re going to be releasing it later this week. So, don your new favourite sweater, prep the kettle for some hot tea, cocoa, or whatever else you want to drink, and get ready to spend a couple hours nestled in a chair with plenty of new articles, interviews, recipes, and even some tips on how to compost on your balcony.

Just to get you back into the groove of reading what our lovely contributors bring to the table, you can expect a few teaser posts leading up to the release of the full meal deal. In fact, we’ll probably post one in the next hour or two.

thanks for sticking around,
Ryan

Needless to say, I’ve been quite busy gathering documents and figuring out other logistics to make this whole thing happen, and now it seems it will by the start of November.

What this means for T.O.F.U.

We’re still hoping to get the sixth issue out, and it may even happen before I leave the country. However, I can’t say where things will go from there. In many ways, this last issue helped me to realize why it is I even started the magazine, but it also made it obvious how much has to be sacrificed to get it out to people. Moving to another country is going to be an incredible experience, and I’m excited and gut-wrenchingly nervous about the whole thing. However, I don’t know where T.O.F.U. fits into all of it.

That being said, I will continue to update the various social media suspects with my adventures in Asia, and maybe even Australia if I can make it happen! So, although I’m sure you’re accustomed to it by now, please accept my apology for the delay with issue six and whatever comes after that.

Until then, I’m going to be busy trying to figure out my food options in a country where I don’t speak the language. Luckily, I have a few great resources already, such as this helpful blog.

Photo: Thorfinn Stainforth, September 2004, View of Daegu, South Korea from Mount Apsan Park

We’re really happy with both designs, and the shirts themselves are a great hemp and cotton blend that just seemed like a more environmentally-friendly choice compared to typical materials.

So, take a look, and if you like them you best hurry to the store! We only have a small number left, and with the amount of things we have happening around here, we’re probably not going to be placing another order for new ones anytime soon.

Otherwise, we’re still working on issue six. I know it’s taking forever, but we have our reasons, and we hope you’ll forgive us once we finally finish it.

T.O.F.U. Store: Shirts

For now, I just wanted to put out the notice that we are looking for a few models to help us sell what is left of the 2011 tour shirts. Sure, we could simply go with the info and pics that are posted through the online store, but where’s the fun in that? Plus, the actual shirts have different colours and we don’t want people to buy something they have not seen!

Instead, we’re hoping that a few kind souls who bought the shirts along the way, or those who may currently be sharing the same city as me (Vancouver) might be interested in helping to promote the new designs. All it takes is a couple pictures with you in the shirt, and we can do the rest!

So, please drop me a line if you’re willing to help us out. If you’re in Vancouver, perhaps we can grab a slice of pizza at Vegan Pizza House?

Kira will hopefully have some pictures to share soon, and I have some more video from the Toronto and Vancouver shows.

Thanks again for all the support, and please say hello if you see us in Portland. We’ll probably be the ones with too many containers of food and sweets in our hands (and at least one of us has pink hair)!

enjoy the weekend,
Ryan & Kira

Fri, Aug. 12th
Toronto, Ontario
The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Avenue)
10pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

Tues, Aug. 16th
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Mondragon Cafe (91 Albert St.)
7:30pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

Wed, Aug. 24th
New Westminster, British Columbia
Karmavore (610 Columbia St.)
7:00pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

I wish it could be longer, but things didn’t quite work out as planned. Sorry to those who are unable to attend, and I hope those of you who can will come and introduce yourselves.

On a related note, the new issue should be out really soon. Due to being sick, moving and a few other things we were delayed, but hopefully we can get back on track this week. I just need to get rid of this nasty cough!

For now, I wanted to let you know that the lovely Leigh-Chantelle from Viva la Vegan! has taken some time out of her North American travels to post an interview Kira and I did with her while she was still back enjoying warmer temperatures and bluer oceans in Australia.

Latest T.O.F.U. magazine

Leigh has plenty of great things on her websites, and her schedule is filled with conference and festival appearances over the next while, so be sure to give her some love somewhere along the way! I’m looking forward to swapping travel stories with her when we meet in Portland, and maybe trading goodies from our Vida Vegan bags.