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Good Job, Brain!
Review begins at about 1:45 
ORGAN GRINDER #5
Organ Grinder is exceptional in every way.. content, production, art, layout, and price. Remember reading Highlights at the doctor's office when you were a kid? Organ Grinder is the adult (but family friendly) version of the puzzle magazine. Packed with every kind of puzzle you can imagine. Page after page of delightful art and layout. Content is silly, interesting, educational, and ranges from easy to difficult. Each puzzle has a point value, so you can keep score and play against your friends. There are 333 total points possible. Just a few examples.. Match the rap stars with their real names. Identify items inserted in the rectum by looking at the E. R. X-ray. Match famous people with their cult affiliations. Name the graffiti defaced movie poster. You get the idea. Crosswords puzzles, word searches, and sudoku. There's even a centerfold collage of famous Daves, how many can you name? I think this is destined to become a collectors item. My only dislike is I want to keep it pristine and don't want to write in it, which makes it hard to complete many of the puzzles, especially on the bus, etc. I'm keeping a small notebook with me while working on it so I don't have to mark it up. I'll post my score when I get through the whole thing. Would make a great gift. Probably not taking trades, but you can always inquire 
ORGAN GRINDER #4
Organ Grinder is, hands down, one of the most impressive zines in my collection. Full of quizzes, brain teasers, and the odd joke and comic or two, the zine is entertaining, sarcastic, and really fucking clever. Each page contains multiple features which looks busy but avoids becoming messy or overwhelming thanks to the even and clean layout, as well as the vibrant color printing. Also included is an impressively compiled state-by-state Pull Out Booze Map informing readers of the times you can buy alcohol in specific regions. In contrast to the colorful cacophony of fun in the rest of the zine, the only thing that seemed out of place was the six page short story about a homeless hitchhiker. Unfortunately, it came off less thought provoking and more melodramatic and preachy. Overall, I highly recommend challenging yourself to the puzzles of Organ Grinder. Tally up your score and meet me in the Winner’s Circle to see how you rank up. –Ashley Ravelo (Kung Fu Jimmy, organgrindermagazine.com, kungfujimmy@organgrindermagazine.com) |
ORGAN GRINDER #5
Organ Grinder is an irreverent publication packed with comics and puzzles put out by a gentleman named Kung Fu Jimmy. It's his brainchild, but there are some regular contributors including Kozmo Bunny and E Lotsey. Their take on puzzles is slightly askew. Regular feature include "6doku" and the "Daily Jimble". But our favorite item is "Medicine or Metal Band", which highlights the alarming similarity between the names of pharmaceutical drugs and the names of death metal bands. Kung Fu Jimmy hopes to release another issue of Organ Grinder this winter. In the meanwhile he's also working on a podcast called "Rocket Surgery Super Quiz". We suspect it'll be a lot more amusing than "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" -Raymond Simon 
ORGAN GRINDER #3
This is cool! This full-color zine is full of puzzles to keep the old gray matter from turning to mush. Not your mom’s Sudoku or your dad’s crossword. Noooo. There are lots of cool brain-teasers such as “Medicine or Metal Band,” “Manson or Hanson,” “Asian Tyrant or Take-Out,” and “Canadian or Scientologist.” But it’s not all fun and games. There are zine reviews and a linguistic analysis of the word “oogle.” It’s not every day that you see the International Phonetic Alphabet and free morphemes mentioned in a zine article. Unfortunately, a note on the inside front page says this is probably the last issue, so get it while you can. –Lisa Weiss 
ORGAN GRINDER #3
Oh man! Mazes, crossword puzzles and logic puzzles like "Asia: Tyrant or Takeout (where the editor plays on the gross ignorance of historical Asian politics and makes you guess if the name is of a brutal dictator or a tasty dish) This is exactly the perfect zine to take on tour-time-consuming, goofy, silly, fun. There's "Gay or Adopted" where you guys how a notable figure self-identifies. "Medicine or Metal Band" (is that a script or just blackened party thrash?). Word jumbles of European capitals. Manson or Hanson (did Charlie say it or those '90s teeny mmmbopers?) and so much more. If Mad Magazine was nothing but goofy games it'd be close to this. This is some seriously clever and fucking hilarious stuff. I love when people can make jokes at the expense of ignorance, not just utilizing it. Have a laugh already. Full-color and $5-totally worth it. There's even an answer page, but don't cheat, ya dinguses. 
ORGAN GRINDER #1
Five dollars! Is that all? What a steal for a book that should replace Highlights at the doctor’s office. Although this magazine is not a comic book, it does have strips in its pages. Fun games also litter the pages of this fantastic magazine. My favorite is “King James That Tune,” where a contemporary song is converted to the King’s English and the reader has to figure it out. For example, “Which person released the canines which which which which which person released the canines.” Think about it because it was the easiest. The puzzles range from fun to downright impossible. Reading comics and playing games, what better way to pass the time at the doctor’s office? –Gary Hornberger |