Hello in the summer camp sunset—

I keep seeing people from the Summer of Ludd, & everyone’s saying, “Wow! That felt like summer camp!”

It did a bit … not just because of the fun facilitators & massive puppets (& the actual inspiration from sleepaways)—it’s because people are running into each other again & again while following their own instincts & interests. No platform put us there—just an ardent search for others who seek another way.

How refreshing to find & weave a social web on our own terms—not a pushy robot’s or company’s—to create the conditions for serendipitous run ins, creative fits, & eager participation.

Getting off big tech demands more of us, & that’s a good thing. Doing so (re)introduces us to the effort that gives rise to social power—the power we’ll need to actualize a new way of being.

Yes … that is a long way of saying COME TO AN EVENT! MEET PEOPLE, & SEE THEM AGAIN!

& I’ll see you—bellow forth into summer’s end—towards autumn metamorphoses—have a good Friday—

—Nick

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Resources & calls

★ LET'S EAT TOGETHER — Garnet, opening soon in Brooklyn Heights, is a new kind of restaurant made for the moment we're in. It will explore the dining table as "a mechanism for rebuilding our social and civic fabric" and the storefront as "a center of urban knowledge production."

They are hiring, seeking people well-versed in experience design and hosting—think part organizer, part server. To learn more, reach out to [email protected].

★ u CAN get off — The Center for Archaic Networks has just launched, with a low-tech retreat home in upstate NY and a print-only magazine. CAN has an application open for weekly residencies, and they are also seeking a house assistant (paid!) for January & February. Please bring your questions to 830-ARCHAIC (830-272-4242).

★ GOODBYE, PLATFORMS — Here's a neat little manual on de-googling, removing distractions, & migrating to dumb phones. And as more Event Runners become independent from big tech, let us note some great alternatives (in addition to an independent newsletter, like this one!): Red Cal, Nonsense NYC, Unplugg, & Gathio. What else are YOU using to gather without addictive apps, pesky group chats, or data-farming sites?! Do tell ...

★ LUDD LOVERS — One more call for Ludd Lover personal ads! Find real-world romance that transcends app-smushed bios. WRITE AN INTRO ABOUT YOURSELF HERE. Send it to [email protected] by August 31, & stay tuned for more info about an Event in the fall to actualize our searches for luv.

★ SEEKING COFFEE — Autumn promises new shapes and directions for organizers working off of big tech. For those who can give, a small donation will greatly support this newsletter's evolution—covering costs, the (human, not AI) work of curating events, future print guidebooks & more ...

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Rest of August & the September horizon

Sat., Aug. 15 | GUNK's Third Birthday Party @ 12 p.m.–12 a.m., Secret Riso Club

GUNK takes over both floors of Secret Riso Club for a 12-hour anniversary celebration of underground music, publishing, art, and community.

From 12 PM to 12 AM, the event will feature 10 live bands, 7 DJs, 2 panel discussions, tattooing, live screen printing, raffles, GUNK merch, alcohol, light snacks, and more.

Come for an hour, stay all day, or leave and return later. Your ticket covers the full 12-hour event, with programming happening throughout the day across both levels of the space.

Sat., Aug. 15 | Small Press Flea @ 12–6 p.m., Amant

An all-day market dedicated to supporting over thirty independent publishers and small presses from across the US at Amant, a contemporary art center in Brooklyn. This year’s SPF promises to provide your end-of-summer reading, arts and literary workshops, and refreshments.

Free tickets here.

Sat., Aug. 15 | OPT OUT OF UTOPIA: an art pop-up @ 1–3 p.m., Wash. Sq. Park

The billionaires behind social media, AI, & meta glasses lay their utopian fantasies bare for us—they want machines watching over us, automated systems coddling us, "loving" us ... even if that renders your job, your values, your life as you know it obsolete.

Is that what YOU want?

What if we turn the words of tech CEOs into blackout poetry?—or send a scathing note to an institution of your choice (a love letter works, too, for a good one). And what if we make a big mural together to commemorate ALL THE OTHER POSSIBILITIES that aren't delusional and ignorant of true human needs?!

Run by Young People's Alliance & other friendly folks. Just show up near the Wash. Sq. arch. But here's a luma if you decide to have a reminder the day before.

Sat., Aug. 15 | Cybernetic Salon: Re-Feel Your Emotions @ 2:30 p.m., TøRST Greenpoint

Have you ever wondered if our ancestors felt the same emotions we did? This workshop invites you to think about the ways our emotional experience is shaped by larger cultural structures.

There will be a talk and discussion centered around the different ways people interpreted their feelings throughout history and other cultural contexts, including big tech’s inextricable influence on the modern era’s values. With this new understanding of the malleability of feelings, we will create entries for a collective field guide that will ask how creatively reframing our differences may serve our collective empathy.

Please RSVP here so we can have an accurate count for materials!

Sun., Aug. 16 | ManhattanHike @ 10 a.m., 215th St Stairs (215th St and Broadway)

Have you ever thought "hey, it'd be kinda fun to walk the length of Manhattan?"

Well, so has Koll!

Join as we walk from Inwood to South Ferry on August 16th, 10AM. Our meeting point will be the stairs on 215th St and Broadway (2 mins from the 1 Train Stop at 215 St). We'll also be pausing for lunch halfway. Don't forget to bring ample sunscreen, water, and snacks, and whatever else you'll need to enjoy 6+ hours of walking, chatting, and looking :)

If you have any questions or want to join midway through, shoot me an email—[email protected]!

Sun., Aug. 16 | Poetry Today Reading—Ingrid Jacobsen's "Sonnets ..." @ 11 a.m., Book Club Bar East Village

We'll spend Sunday brunch at Book Club Bar talking about a poetry collection released in the last six months. We'll read the book beforehand and then gather for an intimate gab session. No other preparation needed; just come curious. Boozy, if that's your thing.

This month's poetry collection: Sonnets on the Attempted Murder of Me, Bugs B, by Ingrid Jacobsen. Ingrid will join the discussion! Her book is the first publication of The Can Press, which host Daniel started with fellow BCB bookseller Mathuson and BCB alum Keri.

Tickets here.

Sun., Aug. 16 | Unplatform Office Hours @ 6 p.m., online

Most people agree that letting Silicon Valley control our whole society was a bad idea. Fewer people know what to do about it.

That is where the Unplatform project comes in: an interactive guide and recommendations database made to help people and communities find alternatives to Big Tech's monopolistic tools.

We'll talk about how to find news, events, and culture outside the shadow of Silicon Valley, and we might even catch a glimpse of an internet beyond the "five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four."

Sign up here.

Mon., Aug. 17 | Against Tech Oligarchy Book Launch @ 6:30 p.m., Verso Books (207 32nd Street, New York)

You’re invited to the official preorder launch of Against Tech Oligarchy, the story of the tech worker movement, how it sought to hold tech bosses accountable, and how it altered the politics of the Silicon Valley’s ultra-rich. Join DSA Tech Action, Verso Books, and leaders across the tech labor movement for a night of joy, celebration, and solidarity as we bring this book to life together!

RSVP here.

Wed., Aug. 19 | Unplatform ORGANIZER MEETUP @ 6:30 p.m., 875 Third Ave., Lower Level

You've probably heard a ton of people complaining about the role that social media, planned obsolescence, or digital surveillance plays in our lives. You probably haven't seen nearly as many people doing something about it.

This isn't a personal failing. It's a social one. It's not possible for one person to take on Silicon Valley on their own. It's a journey that entire communities need to embark on together—and this is exactly what Unplatform is here to help you do.

This organizer's meetup is tailor-made for people trying to liberate their communities from extractive tech, whether those communities are creative, cultural, or political. We'll talk about the resources, tools, and organizations that already exist to help you reclaim your collective relationship with technology, and depending on where you're at, we might help you build some of your own.

RSVP here, or just show up.

Wed., Aug. 19 & Sept. 2 | Burner Phone Writing Group @ 7:30 p.m., Lalin's

This group meets every other week, sometimes in workshop style. Come work on a submission for the Burner Phone zine—which is entirely offline—or just hang out and free write.

Email [email protected] for updates.

Thurs., Aug. 20 | Offline Book Club—Moderation: A Novel @ 6:30 p.m., Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library Room 405

Girlie is the greatest content moderator in the world, and she just got a promotion to the VR team. Are her nerves of steel ready for the psychological challenges that await? A gripping and immersive novel about real romance in the virtual workplace.

Stop scrolling, & put down your phone … SNFL's Offline Book Club is a space for in-person conversation about the role technology plays in our world. Each month highlights a different book on the topic of technology's impact on our individual lives as well as society as a whole, followed by an open discussion to share recent experiences and observations

RSVP preferred.

Thurs., Aug. 20 | Radical Attention & Economies of Care: A Conversation with the co-founders of the Simone Weil House @ 7 p.m., DUMBO

What does a care-based economy look like in practice? On Thursday, August 20, SoRA is convening with Emma Coley Fitzgerald and Bert Fitzgerald to envision an alternative attention economy: not the industrial-scale monetization of human eyeballs, but the structures of mutual care that undergird "a society where it is easier to be good."

As co-founders of the Simone Weil House, Emma and Bert built an initiative to help communities in Portland, Oregon self-organize their own zero-interest micro-credit unions and created a "free exchange area" for a non-transactional local economy.

Join to explore these worldbuilding efforts in theory and in practice! RSVP here!

Sat., Aug. 22 | Soldering for Beginners II: Electric Boogaloo @ 3–6 p.m., Cornerstone Makerspace

WEEKEND DOUBLE FEATURE AT CORNERSTONE—

We are back and more solder-y than ever. We even got 5 new soldering irons that DON’T SUCK!!

Ever wanted to solder but been afraid to try? Got a project that you’ve been putting off? Well this is a class for you! We will have beginner-friendly project kits and all materials you will need to try your hand at soldering or get some practice in.

All experience levels welcome. More info here.

Sat., Aug. 22 | Trephelobia Poetry Circle @ 7 p.m., Prospect Park

An informal, come and go as you please poetry circle, bring your own poetry or poetry you like. Recommended donation of $5 for snacks and drinks, or bring snacks/drinks.

Contact Josh for exact location: [email protected], or just show up to Fallkill Falls in Prospect Park.

Sun., Aug. 23 | Sewing Repair Café (Part Deux) @ 3–6 p.m., Cornerstone Makerspace

Due to popular demand, we are having another session of our sewing repair cafe!

Need help mending something? Want to learn about simple hand stitches? Just want to co-work with needle and thread?

All experience levels welcome. More info here.

Mon., Aug. 24 | Attention Sanctuary Salon @ 6:30 p.m., DUMBO

How might our physical spaces deepen the culture change we're seeing around New York? What guidelines can we set inside to ensure that visitors attend to good, nourishing things? What other programming might we welcome to this end? Can we organize among ourselves to create more infrastructure free from big tech?

We will ponder these questions and more in facilitated discussions & group practices.

Come ye bar owners, restaurateurs, maker space runners, DIY venue people, co-workers, co-livers, community gardeners, farmers, listless landlords—

FREE! RSVP here. Email questions to [email protected].

Wed., Aug. 26 | Leftist Buddhist Book Club @ 7 p.m., Fort Greene Park

Seemingly Buddhist philosophy has made its way into the capitalist mainstream, suggesting we should be mindful workers or meditate away our stress. But can engaged Buddhism coexist with capitalist realism?

We will first discuss Ronald E. Purser’s book McMindfulness (or as much as you can read by the 26th) and consider its implications for our political/meditative practice. Let Max know you’re coming for the exact location: [email protected].

Thurs., Aug. 27 | INFRASTRUCTURE PARTY! @ 7 p.m., Crown Heights

are you an infrastructure nerd? knowledgeable about the hidden workings of our world and itching to share what you know? dying to learn more about possible topics such as internet protocols/electricity generation/supply chains/ai datacenter pipelines/sewer systems/etcccc on brooklyn's okay-est rooftop? come to the infrastructure party!

🕺💃🛜☎️🅿️

format: anyone who wants to share some infrastructure knowledge should prepare a 5-10 minute presentation on a topic of their choice. slides are welcome but not necessary—if you just want to learn rather than present, that's ok too!

email [email protected] for the address or to sign up for a presentation slot ✨

Fri., Aug. 28 | Tech Policy Q&A @ 3 p.m., Tompkins Sq. Park

When the federal government is working hand in hand with the very tech companies it's supposed to regulate, getting off big tech can feel like the only real way to resist. And doing so matters a lot. But the truth is, there is real political will out there to regulate these companies and open the door to better tools, both at the state level and at the federal level. We just need more people power behind policies with actual teeth—not ones written by industry or ones that invade peoples privacy even more, says DC-based organzier Kendall Schrohe.

Come to the Hare Krishna Tree and ask questions about the state of tech policy. We'll talk social media, AI, and privacy policy at the state and federal level—the good bills and the bad ones. Then we will also explore how we can translate this insane grassroots power into political power. Especially with midterms coming up and the 2028 election ahead, we need an informed public that knows the difference between good and bad tech policy, and we need votes for the people who actually know how to hold big tech accountable.

Sun., Aug. 30 | Odes in a Secret Ampitheater @ 12 p.m., Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Alfred Tredway White Memorial

Let’s gather in the quiet grove and pay homage to the end of the summer season. This impromptu poetry reading will highlight original and found poems honoring plant life. Email [email protected] by August 25 if you want to read.

(Pro-tip: Ask for a “community pass” at the garden entrance to get in for free!)

Sun., Aug. 30 | Vainglory Record Release Show @ 7 p.m., The Sultan Room

MILES HEWITT & his band will probably play through Vainglory top to bottom only once—on this night. Featuring performances by JANA HORN, ANDY CUSH/DOMESTIC DRAFTS, & a reading by SOPHIE STRAND.

From a recent review: "This preemptive death knell for genuine art—and a plea for its survival—is where the Brooklyn-based Hewitt centers his record."

And in a recent interview: "Vainglory refers to some greater sense of mankind's misplaced confidence in his own ability to control technology—or to prevent it from stripping humanity from the very things that once defined it."

Also, Miles is just a really good writer and musician.

21+. Tickets here.

Thurs., Sept. 10 | The Trial of Jeff Bezos @ 7 p.m., Vanderbilt Hall, NYU

The authors of Against Tech Oligarchy are bringing together labor leaders and tech critics to pack the jury in the trial of a tech billionaire. Witnesses, some from the oligarch's own companies, will present Bezos’ most notable injuries to the working class. Join us for an event that is sure to be a boisterous, cathartic celebration of working class solidarity and power.

Featuring Kim Kelly, Edward Ongweso Jr., Hamilton Nolan, and others to be announced.

Admission includes a hardcover copy of Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry, to be picked up at the event.

Tickets here.

Thurs., Sept. 10 | New Moon Study Group: Amusing Ourselves To Death @ 7 p.m., Ft. Greene Park

This New Moon, we will be engaging in a study of the early media theorists, who wrote extensively about the shift to television culture in the mid 20th century. As we grapple with yet another media revolution—the shift to algorithmically mediated media—what lessons from television culture hold true today? And did we, in fact, ever leave it?

We will be reading excerpts from Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves To Death, followed by Socratic discussion.

Meet by the monument in Ft. Greene Park. Free! Please RSVP so the host can make the right number of printouts!

Sat., Sept. 12 | STRANGERS Teach-In @ 2 p.m., Tompkins Sq. Park

Yours truly is going to do a teach-in on STRANGERS in September.

We are NEW YORKERS! We live in a land of IMMENSE SOCIAL POTENTIAL—but, due to urban planning fallacies, digital machinery, crusty societal habits, and so forth, we leave so much unattended & unexperienced—

More to come, but we'll ponder some Walt Whitman, Richard Sennett, Julia Kristeva, or maybe others—we'll bask in the unpredictability of park encounters—& we'll chip away at the chains of "safety."

What if we had more faith in each other & our ability to navigate complex city terrain? I've sure been gaining faith lately, thanks to you all.

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Recurring Events

Every Sun. | Luddite Club @ 2 p.m., Tompkins Sq. Park

A new vehicle to bring your own Luddite events—get on the bus. Meet on the north side of Tompkins Sq. Park (through the gate between the bathrooms!).

First and Third Sun. | Date with Détournement @ 9 p.m., Various Locations

Join public art projects that push back against alienating tech.

First and third Sundays.

[email protected] if you want in.

Every Thurs. | Crown Heights Silent Reading @ 7 p.m.

Celebrate reading in community. We'll read for an hour then chat over tea. Bring any book for yourself!

Facilitated by Connor Griffin, an educator and organizer working off big tech. Email [email protected] for the location.

Every Fri. | Crafternoon @ 1:30–3:30 p.m., Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library - 1st Floor Corner Space

Join us for two hours of freeform crafting and conversation. Bring your own project. We have tools and materials for sewing, fiber, and paper arts, and are always happy to assist you in finding books related to your creative interests.

More here.

Every Fri. & Sat. | Fort Tilden & Breezy Point Beach Cleanup @ Fri. 10 a.m. & Sat. 11 a.m., Fort Tilden

Get outside, get some sun, help restore the habitat for the plovers, and meet new people offline! Leave feeling rejuvenated from soaking up nature together!

Fridays at 10:00 a.m. and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m.—trains & ferries can be hit or miss, so show up whenever you can and come look for the group!

Join this Signal chat to stay in communication, ask questions, and find our meeting place.

Every Saturday | PLG Community Cleanup @ Various Times & Locations

A great way to meet neighbors (or venture into a new neighborhood!) Weekly updates are sent here.

Every Sat. | Internet & Tech Addicts Anonymous @ 2 p.m., 208 W 13th St., Manhattan

Welcome to Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous! We're glad you've found us, and we hope our community can be as helpful to you as it has been for us. ITAA is a Twelve-Step fellowship of individuals who support each other in recovering from internet and technology addiction. This includes addiction to social media, smartphones, streaming video or audio content, games, news, pornography, dating apps, online research, online shopping, or any other digital activity that becomes compulsive and problematic.

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