MOON BULLETIN - you me and the rats
We’re approaching the flower moon, yet it feels like NYC has already passed its floral phase. Suddenly, the city has taken on a new shade: bright green. I’ve always been amazed at just how abundant the green city becomes as weather warms up. Weeds sprout from sidewalk cracks, abandoned lots start to come alive, tree-lined streets are awash in light dappled through the branches. What a beautiful reminder of just how alive this land is.
Reminding myself and others of this aliveness, and exploring new ways to deepen that connection, these feel like worthy pursuits in my life. Some of the events I’m sharing this bulletin explore this, and more are to come. Come summer, I’ll be teaching a seminar on creatures and disgust, and a course on bringing animacy to our technology, both with Olivia as Chimeras Collective. And I’ll be leading more gatherings outside, from picnics to field trips to studies to other explorations of our ecology. My vision is for a world in which our relationship with the local urban ecology can be rich and generous — even when it comes to creatures like the rats and pigeons that we share our city with.
🌓 Made in NYC Greenpoint Factory Tour at Cafe Grumpy: First Quarter (Wed May 7 @ 3pm). I love stuff like this, where you get to see the inner workings of a factory. Seems like a cool chance to better understand coffee roasting, rice wine fermentation, and fabrication. $23.18.
🌔 Environmental Fiction Writing Workshop at Brooklyn Central Library: Waxing Gibbous (Thu May 8 @ 6pm). Lots of bad cli-fi out there. Maybe you can write some better stuff? I am trying to do the same… limited success so far, so maybe this workshop will help. Free.
🌔 Toys, Selected & Machine Boys opening at Canal Projects: Waxing Gibbous (Fri May 9 @ 6pm). Uncanny kinda-erotic mannequin toys and a film about the patriarchal cowboy culture of motorcycle drivers in Lagos. Probably, I will feel something complicated looking at these artworks. You might, too. Free.
🌕 Sidewalk Study on Susan Sontag & Teju Cole in Lower East Side: Full Moon (Sun May 11 @ 2pm). Here’s Sontag: "Photography also converts the whole world into a cemetery.” and Cole: “The problem is not that images are being altered—it’s that they’re all being altered in the same way.” staoue and I are leading this study examining what is lost (and found) in the contemporary proliferation of images. Free, RSVP for address.
🌕 Flower Moon Party in Bushwick: Full Moon (Sun May 11 @ 7pm). This full moon, I’m collaborating with SLAM to create an ambitious floral table altar + an elaborate cake. Come bring an offering of something that is in bloom for you in this season of your life, to add to our altar. Free, RSVP for address.
🌖 Wire Festival at Knockdown Center: Waning Gibbous (Friday May 16 @ 8pm). The amount of drugs that are going to be consumed in Maspeth this weekend is harrowing to think about. And that’s Brooklyn, baby! I’ll just be there on Friday for Pornceptual & Juliana Huxtable (among others). $50+.
🌖 Lichen Walk at Brooklyn Museum Parking Lot: Waning Gibbous (Saturday May 17 @ 11am). I’ve been particularly attentive to lichen lately — they’re extremely common, yet offer up incredible secrets to those who spend time deeply examining them. That’s exactly what this walk will do! Come learn about my favorite sympoietic creatures. $20 suggested donation.
🌖 Treasure Quest in Prospect Park: Waning Gibbous (Saturday May 17 @ 11:30am). A lovingly crafted treasure hunt in Prospect Park — come as a team, or as an individual and get paired up! $10-15 suggested donation.
🌖 High Line Walking Club at the High Line: Waning Gibbous (Sunday May 18 @ 3pm). Cam my is leading these intellectual hot girl walks, to eventually result in a zine + guided tour. Come present something about the High Line, or just learn more about the flashy park that critics love to hate. Free with RSVP.
🌖 Chimeras Collective Field Trip at the American Museum of Natural History: Waning Gibbous (Sunday May 18 @ 1pm). More to share on this in the future, but Olivia and I are starting to put together a series of field trips: facilitated experiences inspired by the awe and excitement of a school field trip. For our first one, we’ll visit the AMNH and explore together, guided by some practices for a deeper engagement with the space. $10-20 suggested donation, RSVP for details.
🌖 Metacrisis Salon: Between Grief and Action in East Williamsburg: Waning Gibbous (Sunday May 18 @ 6:30pm). A monthly series to come together and figure out what tf to do about the metacrisis, together. $10 suggested donation.
🌗 Brooklyn Zine Club at Interference Archive: Third Quarter (Monday May 19 @ 6pm). Basically hanging out with other leftists making zines about whatever you want. Supplies provided, or bring something you’re working on! Last time, I wrote a poem about watching fish, and Olivia made an angry zine about necks. Free.
🌗 Summer Seminars: Meet Your Professors! at School of Radical Attention: Third Quarter (Monday May 19 @ 7pm). Chimeras Collective is teaching a seminar on creatures and disgust in June. You should totally sign up, and also come to the meetup to hang out and check out the other teachers, who are doing classes on paper, flirting, slow cinema, weather, and more. Free.