lqb2weekly #198 (8 jun 2024)

Jun 08, 2024

hey,

this is a newsletter i’ve been dragging my feet on again so i’m here on a plane tryna crank it out. there’s some good juicy big stuff and then a few smaller things, and then all the other things. as i often say with these juicy ones, don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. give it a skim, dive deep where your attention wants to linger, and then keep it moving!

first up, an invite to an awesome BIPOC-only land steward conference some beloveds and friends of mine are putting on called We The Land!

We The Land! A Gathering For Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, SWANA & PoC Earth Workers, Land Stewards & Farmers will take place on August 2nd-4th 2024 at Smith College in Northampton, MA.
We the Land! is an invitation to our community to join us for a weekend of knowledge exchange, grassroots organizing, celebration, and ceremony and marks the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust’s first in-person gathering since 2019 and centers the primary intention of our community-led network:

To break the isolation of being farmers of color in the Northeast by building relationships of mutual respect and joy, the foundation of community care, and movement work.
To share skills, resources, and time with one other in building collaborative projects and initiatives.
To coordinate our policy demands and catalyze reparations for Black-Indigenous-POC farmers and land stewards.
To collectively envision, enact, and share ways to be in reciprocity with Land, in the process healing generational trauma and redefining the meaning of “farmer” and our care for the land and each other.

i will be there. will you? and if you can’t be there (for identity reasons or availability reasons), is there someone in your life or community you could buy a ticket for? or could you make a donation?

second up, there is a dope palestine education and action course happening starting in two weeks! click the flyer image below for more info and to register. i’m signing up and will probably attend a few of the sessions but mostly will watch the videos on thursdays when i fast. a dear friend of mine, jen kiok, is a guest teacher in the course and my neighbor and new friend, betty burkes, is an advisor to the organization that is hosting the course. all GREAT signs. note: the course is open to people of all racial identities.

more details about the course here | register for the course here

third up, one of my woes, nadav, was a part of putting together this video for nakba day. it’s from/by a group of Arab, Mizrahi, and SWANA Jews from across the world who are deeply invested and acting in the struggle towards justice and liberation for Palestinians and Arab, Mizrahi, and SWANA Jews. powerful and worthy of a share if it resonates with you or might resonate with people you know.

fourth, i have been really fascinated with these whatsapp cryptocurrency investment scam groups. my instinct was to just block each one as i got invited to it but then i realized i could probably learn something about how tech is being used to creating increasingly sophisticated scams. i imagine these scams are mostly aimed at older folks or folks less technologically/financially savvy but i can definitely imagine the day is coming when they will be so sophisticated that even i might fall for one. i can’t tell if they’re using AI or not yet, but if they’re not, i’m sure that shit is coming soon. anyway, if you wanna talk about them, def feel free to hit me up lol. also, here is how i feel about AI atm:

ok two last things:

my old friend, ian, is working on a feature-length film and i def encourage you to watch the trailer and make a donation!

Hi friends,
To celebrate my birthday, I want to share what we've been working on this past year. Last summer, I announced the making of my first feature-length film, a very personal story documenting my experience growing up trans in the 1990s and the long journey back to living openly and authentically as an adult.
Since then, the project has attracted an incredible team of collaborators and advisers - and now, I am excited to share our first public trailer! We still have more than half of the documentary left to film, but this reel shows what we have done so far and gives a much clearer picture of what I hope to accomplish.

So far, we've been able to do all this on a shoestring budget, but we'll need to raise much more funding to take this to the finish line. Please share this trailer with friends, colleagues, and anyone who might be interested in supporting our project! Folks can chip in below to help get this film made:

finally, two different pairs of folks i know who are looking for housing! first is malcolm, another one of my woes, and second is alex, one of my current buildingmates.

Hello beautiful community / extended community!

I’m reaching out because I am looking for a new apartment/housing to start August 1st, 2024 for my kiddo, myself, and my partner. If you know of anything opening up or listings, please let me know!
Thanks and much love!
-Malcolm (m.chuish@gmail.com)

What we’re looking for:

Basics: Need a minimum 3-BR apartment. Laundry in-unit a laundry hook-up would be ideal.

Preferred Neighborhoods (in no particular order, but trying to stay relatively close to my kid’s school): Dorchester, Hyde Park, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury

Budget: Maximum $3,000, but would really like to stay within the $2600 - $2800 range if possible.

Other things:
a porch or some kind of access to outdoor space would be ideal, but negotiable.
living with or among community / comrades / dope people a big plus
Trying to avoid big corporate landlords, but as y’all know I’m a materialist, so I’m not naive bout the realities of the land & housing market.

Hello all,
We are Sara and Alex, and we are looking for an apartment in Cambridge or Somerville (2 bedroom or large 1 bedroom). We would love to start a lease in August, but can be flexible. A little about us: Sara is a rabbinical student and Alex works as a hospital chaplain. We are both dancers, poets, and activists—just looking for a comfortable, affordable home in this wild, mixed up world. We're shooting to pay <$2500/month but might have some flexibility. If you have a good lead for us, please let us know. Thank you
IG: @alex.baskin and @_sara_reena_
Email: alxbskn@gmail.com or sara.klugman@gmail.com

OK! enough is enough already! on to the things!

(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

May 14, 2024 | toni phillips on the way to retire
May 8, 2024 | (another reason) why i don't like AI: it mostly uses english and only has access to the internet

quotes

there is nothing new under the sun. also, full transparency, many of these quotes come from james clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter (which i love).

You don’t need to worry about progressing slowly. You need to worry about climbing the wrong mountain. — James Clear

Mastery is not only about getting better at your craft, but also about finding ways to eliminate the obstacles, distractions, and other annoyances that prevent you from working on your craft.
Top performers find ways to spend as much time as possible on what matters and as little time as possible on what doesn’t. It is not someone else’s responsibility to create the conditions for success.
You have to actively work to eliminate the things that don’t matter from your workload. If you haven’t figured out how to do that, you haven’t mastered your craft. — James Clear

Whatever seed you are, bloom. — Atticus

Is the situation actually complicated or is it really quite straightforward, but you’re making it complicated because it requires a lot of courage to make the straightforward decision? — James Clear

Figure out what you’re good at without trying, then try. — Isabel

Do something well, and that is quickly enough. — Baltasar Gracián

If you’re trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right. — Paul Graham

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible. — C. S. Lewis

Greed is wanting the benefits of community without contributing to it. — James Clear

Never outsource what you enjoy. — James Clear

Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them. — Joubert Botha

poetry

poem for flight by becky bertha

reads

some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:

listens

watches

Trop de fan 🤭 (my friend kendra sent me this and said “me during the apocalypse) and i actually LOL’d

jams

some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:

(too tired to include songs here this round)

jobs

co-hosted by my dear friend, nadav david!

upcoming events

In-Person Fixit Clinics | April 6-June 8th | CA, MA, ME

($$) fun-raising

A Permanent Home for Mohawk Falafel and Shawarma Food Truck ($13,675 of $100,000)
Supporting Sister Farai in a big life transition ($2,070 of $11,000)
Bernadette Miracle Leukemia Battle Fundraiser ($10,705 of $50,000)
Support Siblings Displaced by 2-Alarm Roxbury Fire ($17,906 of $24,000)

housing asks

Malcolm (m.chuish@gmail.com)

What we’re looking for:

Basics: Need a minimum 3-BR apartment. Laundry in-unit a laundry hook-up would be ideal.

Preferred Neighborhoods (in no particular order, but trying to stay relatively close to my kid’s school): Dorchester, Hyde Park, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury

Budget: Maximum $3,000, but would really like to stay within the $2600 - $2800 range if possible.

Other things:
a porch or some kind of access to outdoor space would be ideal, but negotiable.
living with or among community / comrades / dope people a big plus
Trying to avoid big corporate landlords, but as y’all know I’m a materialist, so I’m not naive bout the realities of the land & housing market.

Hello all,
We are Sara and Alex, and we are looking for an apartment in Cambridge or Somerville (2 bedroom or large 1 bedroom). We would love to start a lease in August, but can be flexible. A little about us: Sara is a rabbinical student and Alex works as a hospital chaplain. We are both dancers, poets, and activists—just looking for a comfortable, affordable home in this wild, mixed up world. We're shooting to pay <$2500/month but might have some flexibility. If you have a good lead for us, please let us know. Thank you
IG: @alex.baskin and @_sara_reena_
Email: alxbskn@gmail.com or sara.klugman@gmail.com

newsletters

bad environmentalist: i try to break up with plastic
emet ezell: on the water
building belonging: What becomes of the stone-catchers?
solstice newsletter: newsletter: you x culture building x power
gibrán’s newsletter: The Holy Feminine

right now i’m learning…

(in surfing) how to turn and kick out!

lqb2weekly