Things I'm Loving (v.19)
Finding joy despite late-stage capitalism, an illustrated song, Sickle Cell superheroes, radical medicine and Hurricane Helene resources.
Hey!
Do you feel as wiped out as I do? More and more I wonder whether this is our new normal: the ongoing climate crises, wars, covid, election cycle in the US (I’m writing this in early October, although it’ll go out closer to Halloween / Samhain), and more.
I know, late stage capitalism, BUT, still. As I’ve mulled this over, two things have struck me.
How incredibly important the moments of joy and delight are, as far as sustaining us and our communities.
Perhaps it would make sense to ritually grieve or mourn what won’t be again.
I don’t have more than thoughts at this point, but if I do come up with some type of ritual for #2, I’ll be sure to let you know!
This newsletter definitely feels like one way I can contribute to finding and creating more joy in the world.
So without further delay, here’s this week’s Things I’m Loving.
Something for play
My friend Megan Potter shared this cute little RPG (role playing game) on Facebook a few months back, and I saved it so I could share it here with y’all.
Congrats Cafe is made by Quirky Bird Games and I LOVE the idea behind what they’re doing. The idea is that it’s a game to help you note down daily accomplishments.
When you roll the dice, in conjunction with the PDF (which offers more direction), you find out who you’re conversing with and you have to tell them three things.
Where the magic enters is in who you’re conversing with (dice-dependent). You might be tasked with describing the above to one of 40 different options, including your favorite elementary teacher, a zombie apocalypse survivor, or Levar Burton (!)
They have a Patreon where they make other games and zines.
Something to intrigue you
This is an interesting little video that my friend Charme shared on Facebook a few weeks back. I’m not quite sure what is happening in the video, but the particular combination of lyrics, music, and animation reminds me of Pan’s Labyrinth — the fantastical elements, particularly.
Something I’m loving
While I was sick from COVID in early September, I stumbled onto *Supacell* (which HAS been renewed for a second season, YAY!)
If you haven’t heard of it before, in brief, it’s a superhero show where all of the superheros are black people with family members who have sickle cell anemia. Unlike their family members though, the main characters have a variation on the gene, which gives them their superpowers.
The show takes place in South London and although it’s in many ways an ensemble cast, the main character is Michael, played by Tosin Cole (who you might recognize as Ryan Sinclair, one of Jodi Whittaker’s Dr Who companions).
I moved very quickly through the six episodes that were available and can’t wait for the next season to come out!
Something to make you think
I don’t remember where I first saw this article on DIY pirated medicine, but it caught my attention wherever that was. When I first read the article, it was accessible without creating a free account, but now it’s gated to prevent AI scrapers from grabbing the content.
Here’s a quote from it to give you a taste:
“Crucially, unlike other medical freedom organizations, Four Thieves isn’t suggesting people treat COVID with Ivermectin, isn’t shilling random supplements, and doesn’t have any sort of commercial arm at all. Instead, they are helping people to make their own, identical pirated versions of proven and tested pharmaceuticals by taking the precursor ingredients and performing the chemical reactions to make the medication themselves.”
And this one:
“If the science [of Big Pharma] didn’t work, I wouldn’t care what they fucking charged,” Laufer said. “The point is the science works and people can’t get it. There’s often this ‘good guy, bad guy, black-and-white disconnect that happens in the rhetoric. And I’m like, ‘No, pharmaceutical science is amazing. That’s the whole point.”
Laufer’s point is that the research that goes into making a new drug is hard, but that actually producing some of these medications after they’ve been invented is sometimes easy and inexpensive. Charging astronomical prices to people who are dying is immoral, and Four Thieves seeks to normalize the idea of making some types of medicine yourself.
I’d never thought about making my own prescriptions, but it does seem like a useful skill set to have if things go sideways, or if someone I know has medicine they need that costs $300k+ per year in order to stay alive.
Wildcard - Something for folks who want to help with Hurricane Helene:
Although it’s been a couple weeks since the Hurricane, there is still so much that needs to be restored.
Here’s a living Google Doc that has resources for folks who both want to help and need help. The doc is super organized (you can look things up by county, even!).
That’s it from me for this week!
As always, if you find something you think I’d love, please send it my way!
~M