the immaculate mailing list - 'bout that time
hello! welcome back to the immaculate mailing list. nice to see ya again! i’m writing this intro as i watch the crows that live across the street soar in grand circles through the sky. it’s pretty cool! anyone have a good crow joke? i bet it would murder.
school (or lackthereof)
i graduated! well, i finished the semester- nothing is finalized yet. but that’s close enough for me to feel the relief! who know’s how long that feeling will last though, now i’m confronted with the logistical challenge of figuring out how to get licensed, and how to use that license! the system is not very smooth right now. illinois has really dropped the ball on offering the test typically required to get a license, and without any timeline for offering it again, they’ve introduced this very odd solution of just letting anyone who graduates from one of the seven interpreter training programs in the state apply for a license. i’m curious to see how the logistics of this all shake out! most people i’ve heard from anticipate it not being at all a smooth process, as there are specific limitations with this license that have to be ironed out, that will require altering long existing contracts with a variety of entities. oh well! hopefully i’ll be able to pick up some interpreting gigs over the summer, which i didn’t expect to be able to do only two months ago!
backyard gardening
our garden is coming along very nicely! i’m excited to start harvesting some more! i’m really looking forward to outdoor cooking and eating in our backyard this summer. we recently picked up a used smoker, and our first few attempts at using it have turned out really well! soon we’ll be able to add in stuff from our own garden, which is, frankly, very cool and fun. if you’ve got favorite smoker-based meals, smash that reply button!!
next projects
one of my goals for the next three months is to get my ham radio technicians license (maybe the general class too, but i gotta see how easily the tech comes to me!). i’ve always been fascinated by radio in all its forms, though often disappointed in and/or bored with the ways it typically gets used. i really like community based radio stations, but as clear channel gobbles up more and more of the market, there are fewer and fewer stations that can hold on. ham radio seems pretty cool because it’s a fairly autonomous medium that allows connections to folks around the world, and is really reliable (if you know what you’re doing) in situations where maybe cell service or power is out. i think it’ll be a fun and useful skill to pick up!
podcasts
would love some more recommendations! i spend a decent amount of time listening these days, mostly to:
- live like the world is dying (community preparedness)
- lie, cheat, steal (all about scammers and grifters and crooks, but in a romantic, anti-cop sense)
- a way with words (mostly-english language linguistic call-in show)
- movement memos (interviews with activists & journalists to break down current events in struggles for liberation)
- citations needed (debunking stuff in the media with lots of citations)
- seeds & their people (people telling stories connected to seeds that are important to them)
- the lit review (interviews with organizers, discussing radical texts)
if you have recs that aren’t on this list, hmu!
the reading and listening lists are longer than normal because it’s been a minute since i’ve sent anything out. hopefully this won’t be a constant, as these are more fun and interesting for me when i can give my thoughts on them. this is too many tho!!!
things i’ve been reading
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why most actors won’t even attempt a philadelphia accent - sam adams
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the prototype for clubhouse is 40 years old and it was built by phone hackers - claire l. evans
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the joys and perils of having children late will leitch
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the southwest offers blueprints for the future of wastewater reuse - fred clayton
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[creating an inhabitable world for humans means dismantling rigid forms of individuality(https://time.com/5953396/judith-butler-safe-world-individuality/) - judith butler
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apocalyptic infrastructures - laleh khalili
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appropriate measures - jackie brown and phillippe mesly
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they hacked mcdonald’s ice cream machines- and started a cold war - andy greenberg
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what disabled culture teaches on life post-pandemic - theri a. pickens, phd
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everything writes itself: an interview with black thought - david ma
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covid-19 has caused 6.9 million deaths globally, more than double what offical counts show
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how to design a sailing ship for the 21st century? - kris de decker
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embalming the haymarket martyrs - david campbell
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permaculture - rebecca ellis
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third of global food production at risk from climate change - fiona harvey
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urban fish ponds: low-tech sewage treatment for towns and cities - aaron vansintjan
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return of the city-state - jamie bartlett
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covid-19 meant a year without the flu. that’s not all good news - adam rogers
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the “lavet”: a sink, bathtub, shower, and washing machine on 1m^2 of space - kris de decker
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the dangerous history of immunoprivilege - kathryn olivarius
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abolition is a collective vision: an interview with mariame kaba - elias rodriques
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survival and revolution: mutual aid in chicago during the february 2021 polar vortex - libertarian socialist collective
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the last time the suez canal was blocked, a utopian communist micronation was formed at sea - matthew gault
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i lived through collapse. america is already there. - indi samarajiva
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collapse takes a lifetime. america is just getting started - indi samarajiva
- the sadness of american collapse - indi samarajiva
music i’ve been listening to (since the last email!)
- art offical age - prince
- tragic kingdom - no doubt
- tasty - kelis
- floating features - la luz
- telegram - bjork
- can’t buy a thrill - steely dan
- chicago transit authority - chicago
- runners in the nerve world - the sidekicks
- scandanavian jawbreaker - anti cimex
- out of the blue - electric light orchestra
- the brutalist bricks - ted leo and the pharmacists
- bossa super nova - antena
- shake the sheets - ted leo and the pharmacists
- clean - soccer mommy
- likewise - francis quinlan
- the cars - the cars
- apathy and exhaustion - the lawrence arms
- green album - weezer
- drums and wires - xtc
- sandanista - the clash
- you’re living all over me - dinosaur jr.
- glow - alice phoebe lou
- tarzan soundtrack - phil collins
- perfect angel - minnie ripperton
- emotions - carly rae jepsen
- what’s your pleasure? - jessie ware
- abba - abba
- in on the kill taker - fugazi
- safari - minimal man
- daytime viewing - jacqueline humbert & david rosenboom
- resolutionary (songs 1979-82) - vivien goldman
- utakata no hibi - mariah
- take a picture - margo guryan
- living together, growing together - the 5th dimension
- come go with me - the staple singers
- rosetta - dua saleh
- holding space - mayyadda
- audiotree live - laura stevenson
- wild wild woman - your smith
- emphatically no. - cheekface
- halo - juana molina
- we are - jon batiste
- the miseducation of lauryn hill - lauryn hill
- pure x - pure x
- kahil el’zabar’s america the beautiful - kahil el’zabar
- american water - silver jews
- duo limbo - shitkid
- unlocked 1.5 - denzel curry
- a hero’s death - fontaines dc
- camino del sol - antena
- collapsed in sunbeams - arlo parks
- unreliable narrator - the rutabega
- zammuto - zammuto
- forbidden fruit - kissin’ kate
- in spite of ourselves - john prine
- wild planet - the b52s
- quadrophonia - the who
- turn! turn! turn! - the byrds
- come to my garden - minnie ripperton
- II - bad books
- no. 1 - etran de l’air
- ultrapop - the armed
- after laughter - paramore
- g_d’s pee at state’s end - godspeed you! black emperor
- piano concerto no. 2 - sergei rachmanoff, valentina lisitsa
- slowly going the way of the buffalo - mxpx
- only everything - juliana hatfield
- left and leaving - the weakerthans
- the ‘59 sound - the gaslight anthem
- you’re gonna get it - tom petty and the heartbreakers
- s/t - tom petty and the heartbreakers
- damn the torpedos - tom petty
- aromanticism - moses sumney
- beat tape - benny sings
- footprints - pat martino
- you don’t mess around with jim - jim croce
- cerce - cerce
- songs from the big chair - tears for fears
- code girl - mary halvorson
- s/t - buck meek
- astral traveling - byron the aquarius
- since i left you - the avalanches
- someone new - helena dowland
- pop songs 2020 - bumper
- suite for max brown - jeff parker
- because of a flower - ana roxanne
- the lemon of pink - the books
- double nickels on the dime - minuteman
- disco jazz - rupa
- greatest hits - tim and foty
- stevie wonder presents syreeta - syreeta
- reinventing axl rose - against me!
- as the eternal cowboy - against me!
- new wave - against me!
- puberty II - mitski
- a sailor’s guide to earth - sturgill simpson
- feel good - the internet
- broken rope - david vassalotti
- ufof - big thief
- auto - wendy eisenberg
- heavy weather - weather report
- life is vile… and so are we! - culo
- couldn’t wait to tell you - liv.e
- less talk, more rock - propagandhi
- potemkin city limits - propagandhi
- supporting caste - propagandhi
- failed states - propagandhi
- no shape - perfume genius
- III - mathaverskan
- s/t - joyce manor
- all killer, no filler - sum 41
- cupid deluxe - blood orange
- losing streak - less than jake
wrap up
thanks for reading y’all! if you’re in chicago, i would like to see ya sometime soon! still an open offer to walk/bike/blade/sit together around town! i am not yet willing to do any indoor dining, and am not actively trying to hang out on any bar or restaurant patios, but would love to see you in non-crowded outdoor spaces!
free palestine,