Spooky Season is almost over!! 😱😱
We’re closing in on Halloween this week 3 of spooky season. This week we’ve got:
News and other tidbits you might’ve missed
Some good things (hard to come by lately)
Trick or Treat Challenge Week 3!
But first, another reminder…
CSAW Fundraiser is still ongoing!
It’s fundraising season and I’ve partnered with CSAW to help raise money to support racial equity in circus. You can donate to get some free sessions with me, or just for the love of supporting inclusive circus. CSAW’s grant programs, ambassador programs, and advocacy within the circus community directly support circus artists of color achieve their dreams.
So anyway, get on it!
Updates from this Week
Among the many horrifying things ICE is up to: detaining people who are pregnant/postpartum/nursing, even against their own and humanitarian guidelines. You can read the whole article here
In related news, here’s the blow-by-blow of what happened in the federal courthouse in Chicago this week, hearing about the ICE/CBP use of tear gas in Chicago communities
If you were impacted by the AWS outage earlier in the week, you might be wondering what all the big contracts with AWS look like. You might also be interested to hear how AI/big tech/our LLM edgelords are paying out the a$$ for their AWS
Speaking of the nightmare intersection of ICE and AI, they’re requesting surveillance truck capability
A more philosophical musing: who gets to live a long life?
Some good things
An X-Files reboot??
This story is a year old but I’m contractually obligated by the managers of spooky season to share it
Meet the Palestinian teens going for robotics gold [requires subscription or private browsing savvy]
Reading about extinct Ice Age fauna feels a little like touching grass, right?
Trick or Treat — Week 3! 👻 🎃
It’s week 3 of the Trick or Treat challenges, and you still have time to get yours in before Tuesday!
Trick
Do a skill, drill, or trick with a buddy! You can do it as a duo, trio, or just ask for friendly spotter support.
Treat
Send someone an article or post about political news that you found helpful from this week, and ask them what they think about it. Challenge yourself to stay in the conversation — even when it feels scary!
Upcoming Offerings & Events
Reps for Rights (Nov 22)
If you’re in the Chicagoland area (or want to make a weekend trip 🙃), my good friend Becca is hosting a Reps for Rights event to support our communities impacted by ICE, raise money for ICIRR, and get us mobilized for action. It’s a rep-count fundraiser, so you do not even need to be good at bench pressing to participate (and you do not have to touch a barbell to help us raise money).
Ways you can help:
Participate! Registration opened Oct 25 for lifters
Pledge for a lifter! Keep following for event updates
Share/repost/talk up the event on your social media and to your friends pls and thx
Check it out and let me know if you need more info!
Lining Skills Workshop in Chicago
For folks in Chicago (or who can get to Chicago), I’ll be running some lining (and icarian belt) spotting workshops soon. These are meant to help you learn the ropes (eh??) if this has interested you, so you can safely begin to practice spotting skills with lines.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, check out the currently suggested days/times we’re considering and register your vote! I’ll close down voting at the end of October, and then start advertising the date, so stay tuned to participate. Feel free to respond directly if you have questions.
Upcoming Essays
I teased this back in July, but I’m planning a combo video/essay series about all of the developments in trans issues and discourse in the US lately, and in particular how those are related to sports and athletics. I gathered a few “audience” questions over the summer, but if there are particular things you’ve been thinking about and would like to see reflected, shoot me an email! I’m not planning for this series to parrot a lot of already-well-traversed talking points, and I do plan on it having some personal elements, so no question is off limits.
Stay in touch
That’s all for this week!
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In solidarity,
Sirus
