á↗︎ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ also, @island → o ° scroll down for chat.burbles ° o ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ░░ ░░ ░░ ░░ in the small nest box ░░ ░░ nuthatches rest quietly ░░ ▒▒ after a long day ▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒ /~> <~\ ▒▒ ▒▒ (((((()))))) ▒▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ 4.20.26 the past couple of weeks have stretched, sprinted, and sloshed around - in a not unpleasant way overall. my first test run of Defence Agaist The Digital Dark Arts came to an end, and was a good impetus for me to start building a toolkit addressing dystopian tech. so many wonderful resources out there that i've been pulling together, while also reconnecting with the past life in which i was more rooted in Situationist-adjacent and radical tech art circles. i'm planning to teach more workshops in this vein later, and to release the toolkit into the public commons. at Birds & Mammals, we played through a full round of Wingspan, and @wingy and i are finally getting the hang of it. that being said, the build-up towards the great RBCM migration is ramping up, and Jaden, one of our dear Tuesday crew members, is moving back to Oregon at the end of this month. so we're planning to spend World Curlew Day savouring our time together as the Curlew & Shrew Crew :,^) Kate and i have also officially set-up The Library of Death at The Ministry of Casual Living, and have had some really wholesome chats with visitors. the space feels like a proper, cozy reading room, with tea and art/crafts. and this past Saturday was the big VIVAS art crawl, which brought a couple hundred people through to test out the space. the response was enthusiastic, and we're looking at possibilities for a longer-term library - perhaps joining up with our friend Anna from Green Muse Herbs to create a Library of Plants & Death, which would be amazing 🌱💀 the second Bar Tender event happened at Softer Drink and i was able to join for the tail end - mostly standing out front, chatting with Cece, Jonathan, and Jeffrey. inside, Saleh was spinning some cool vaporwave records, and i started having flashbacks to the early days of the genre & my first encounter with 0PN, etc. some days later, i decided to listen through an old data disc from 2010, and lo and behold, Memory Vague and others from that era played through skipping scratches (alongside Modest Mouse, Animal Hospital, silent land time machine, etc - very me-then, and still kind of todaynow). i met up with my friend Kikila the next day at Wairua for a proper chat outside of HAT. photos of he and i chatting have been printed in at least a couple of HAT Annual Reports, because we'd always hit it off, but we hadn't had a chance to really sit and talanoa. i also hadn't seen him in a couple of years until we both attended the W̱S͸ḴEM Ivy gathering last month. anyway, it was a sweet, wide-ranging conversation, which interestingly centered a bit on a nostalgic yearning the lockdown/pandemic 'slowdown' period - opportunities/experiences of that time now elusive and arguably unattainable. softer town convened at Softer Drink once again, and welcomed our newest @softercomputing member, Samantha. this time we made labelmaker nametags, member punchcards, and dipped our toes into the command line. i really started feeling the old SMCC vibes echoing across time, and later was astonished to find that coolguy.website has been updated with a new aesthetic! Zach is back, and the timing couldn't be more synchronous. i assigned everyone to work through The Map is The Territory between now and our next town hall. meanwhile, i continued to make some awkward mistakes with posting to the public feed at merveilles.town. a lot of the Mastodon interface and functionality is very unintuitive to me, maybe especially so since i was never really a twitter person. it's also a lot faster-paced there than i'm used to. definitely makes me feel like a rural hermit staggering around the city in a bit of a daze. anyway, it's a good challenge, and i think i've finally gotten more of a hang of it. through the process, i ended up deciding that it was time to 'balloon' my spider posts to a proper weblog of their own. this month's SCCTV at NeighbourSpace ended up being a good opportunity for Kate and i to rest a bit and workshop some stuff for next month. i was sad to discover that the CD player in the giant old boombox there doesn't seem to work. but the tape player and radio do, so that's nice. for Jeffrey's birthday, Kate and i both made different interpretations of a 'dream ruby' that he had described to us. she made one out of paper with a worm url embedded, and i finally got around to learning how to use PicoCAD to make a low-poly spinning ruby that manifested over the wifi. the party itself was a homemade banquet of akara, za'atar, lentils, chocolate cake, and more, paired with lots of talk about the differences between generations. Jeffrey also played a cool mix of songs by some of his favourite musicians from when they were his age. later that week, i had a Library of Death interview with Miranda Newman and it was really wholesome. she's working on a book about how people are finding ways to build community around death. i'm definitely getting more used to answering questions about this project and owning the 'head librarian' designation. i know my late aunt, lifelong librarian, is delighted about this whole chapter. in the evening, Kate and i were in the pop-up space at MoCL, getting things ready for the big art crawl event on Saturday. unfortunately, we were too tired afterwards to join our friend Marae's sexy pollinator birthday dance party. Kate had made some amazing, elaborate outfits for us - but we'll definitely have another chance to debut them. on the big Library of Death x art crawl day (Einstein & Gustave Moreau's death-day), so many people from different areas of my life converged in what now feels like a strange dream - sort of like a crossroads between different lives. i also connected with some really sweet, cool new people and am curious to see how things unfold from here. in the evening, we attended the soft launch event at Burrow, a new listening space run by friends of Andrea & Jonathan, and it only added to the already surreal day of worlds/lives converging. the space itself felt kind of womb-like, warm with soft textures, gentle lights, and ambient music. now that i write about it, that day honestly feels like a nice dream one might have before passing on to some afterlife. or maybe that is a possible afterlife? hmm... and then Kate and i had a nice Sunday noneday :^) 4.5.26 last Sunday afteroon, i had an opportunity to visit Ken Josephson and Maleea Acker at the UVic mapping collaboratory headquarters while they cleared the space out (end of an era). Maleea had invited me after our 'Nature-Based Design' event chat, and very generously offered to gift me one of Erin Robinsong & Merlin Sheldrake's beautiful 'Return Address' zines. i had met Ken years ago (pre-pandemic) when i was hosting Community Socials downtown for the Social Autonomy Project, and was looking for large maps of Victoria that people could gather around to discuss community spaces. i remembered his office being full of maps, plants, art, and other cool curios, and him being so welcoming, fashionable, and kind. such a character, who i've since learned has been at UVic for 45 years! after doing a bit of clearing and deliberating, we sat and chatted about some of the memories attached to things now moving out the door, and the challenge of letting objects go that have so much personal history and unique beauty. i could really feel the community energy embedded there, and was grateful to have an opportunity to visit during this time. we also talked about the community mapping project that i've been wanting to bring to life for several months. Ken gave me some great suggestions and i feel like i'm getting close to at least a first draft in the not-too-distant future! ~ then on Monday, @wingy and i joined our friend Alfred for a meditative writing exercise. the goal is basically to set aside structure and intention to see what might flow out. not quite stream of consciousness - more related to automatic writing. we wrote in several segments, and afterwards discussed how the experience changed each time - but didn't read our writing out loud. that evening, we hosted Defence Against The Digital Dark Arts and met a cool new softer town member named Samantha who shared some really resonant experiences and insights. honestly, it was a bit of a shock and delight to meet someone who i don't already know who's interested in this stuff. ~ Tuesday, we met with Karla Kerr over tea to chat about the Doing Death Different market that'll be happening at the end of May, and about potentially collaborating on an Hourglass session in June. it was so nice to have a chance to sit down with Karla for a proper chat, especially since she has so much experience in the 'death trade'. later that night, i stopped by a 'Tea & Mortality' event that she was hosting at a nearby restaurant. i couldn't stay too long, but sipped tea and munched on baklava while chatting with an older woman about various deathy things. it was a sweet conversation, but unfortunately the space was quite noisy, so one person left overwhelmed. always hard to gauge with certain spaces until you try them out. anyway, still a nice little event, and i look forward to collaborating with Karla in the future. ~ Wednesday morning, i traded in some more books at Russell, catching up with Lesley, who's probably gone though about 100 books from me now & knows a bit of the history. always a pleasure. after that, i chatted with the person in charge of consignment about potentially stocking some copies of @wingy & i's microseasons book there. she was really into it, and it sounds like we'll be on the shelf there soon! later that afternoon, i had been invited to my friend Keira's mystery play readthrough at Intrepid Theatre, and it was so sweet! a small group of us gathered around a table in the lobby at the beginning to highlight different characters' scripts, and did an initial readthrough. i won't get into the details, since it's still hush hush, but there are many creatures involved, and i ended up being Eagle and Beaver. it was fun! as time went on, more friends from her network trickled in. so many lovely people, and a few familiar faces. we all shared a feast of food catered by Bold Butcher, and got to know each other better. wholesome chats all around. after dinner, we headed into the theatre space proper, formed a big circle, and did a larger readthrough with maybe 30 people. this time, people really got into their roles, and we had such a lovely time. most of the performers had no prior experience, but i think we did very well! it helps that the story and script are really solid and intriguing. looking forward to seeing how the finished version eventually manifests! after that, i dashed off to Little Fernwood to see Jeffrey perform as Pesewa, opening for Elisa Thorn. the space was comfortably filled, and our friend (& fellow spider-lover) Taylor was at the door, and many other friends were gathered inside. Jeffrey's set was enchanting as always, and you could feel the concentration in the room. Softer Drink were also there with the best bevs as always, and i had a chance to catch up with my dear friend Phoebe who i hadn't seen in some months. i enjoyed Elisa Thorn's set, but to be honest, it wasn't really my cup of tea - which is odd, since i have a history of people obsessed with harpists, and had coincidentally been revisiting Joanna Newsom's work earlier that day. but yeah... i liked it, but there were certain aspects that didn't really capture me. ~ on Saturday, @wingy and i started officially setting things up for the Library of Death pop-up at The Ministry of Casual Living. we've been feeling so grateful to Ash for inviting us into the space and being so accommodating. it has always been a dream to have a more consistent space where people can visit us, and this seems like the natural path to a more permanent future location (in the works!). (we'll also have a similar one-off pop-up during the Doing Death Different market at the end of May) ~ okay, tapping out now! ~_~ { written while listening to Jonathan & Andrea's Softer Drink set on Public Assembly (CFUV), followed by Colleen's "Libres antes del final" on a handheld recorder piped into a speaker } ((~* bliss & chills *~)) 3.29.2026 last Thursday, i felt a bit like Mario or some other outfit-transforming character, as I swapped back and forth between my Habitat Acquisition Trust hat and my Library of Death hat. i made my way from a presentation about 'Nature-Based Design' at RBCM (HAT hat), to a rehearsal at Little Fernwood for a play directed by Misty Cozac where Death is personified (LoD hat), to Sarah Jim's Native Plant Study Group talk (HAT hat, again). all three events resonated with the creative practice that i've been cultivating around interrelationality, and i left each feeling nourished and inspired in different ways. ~ Friday was full-on web work day. that season is definitely coming to an end for me. many lessons learned, and good growth, but it's time to move on... ~ Saturday morning, I took @wingy up to Canoe Cove and was delighted to learn that our friend Cedric was driving the water taxi for the first time in many months. on our way into the marina, i had been wistfully reminiscing about bygone days and our time with Guy. we met Cedric after Guy had to step away from Sea Star, and became fast friends. anyway, it was delightful to chat with Cedric for a bit before i had to head out. i later learned/realized that Jason Brown of holyscapes had come aboard before i departed. he and i had discussed the personhood of oaks at a Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary workshop some years ago. hopefully we'll have another chance to reconnect. instead of continuing on to the shrine with everyone else, i headed to volunteer at Sarah Jim's W̱S͸ḴEM Ivy Project. it was fun to navigate there by intuition, my favourite method of travel. (i also had my HAT hat on again.) i arrived early to a soundscape of birdsong at the end of a dusty, rural road. shortly after, a car parked nearby and two figures emerged - one who i'd met at Sarah Jim's NPSG talk, and the other who seemed familiar in the 'is that? no, couldn't be' kind of way. but once we gathered at the meeting point, i found that it was indeed my old friend Kikila! he used to work at HAT, and we always ended up having sweet, long chats together. a warm reunion ensued. as more and more people trickled in, the warm energy increased between old faces and new. Jameson and Trenton also made an appearance, which was great because i've only previously had very short opportunities to chat with them. we formed a large circle (30?) and introduced ourselves, with an optional ancestry prompt. i usually skim past that because 1) i prefer to talk about my relationships with other species/forms and 2) it's a loooong, complicated story. but this time felt called to share in more detail and tried to walk a balance between these two aspects. later, i had some nice chats with people whose curiosity was piqued. (on a side note, it has been feeling right to reflect more on my desert roots lately... maybe especially so since that is when my pre-Internet memories are from.) out in the forest, we spread out and worked on all fours to extract the ivy. the whole experience brought a lot of mixed feelings for me, due to my past stewardship work, and the grief, learnings, & transformations that come with it. i also made a sad mistake, which is inevitable. that being said, i enjoyed connecting with the land and community there. i'd been feeling called to make the trip up for years, and now was the right time. chickadees wondered what we were up to, spiders ran and hid, tiny mushrooms persisted, and the native landscape seemed to breathe a bit more easily in the end. a few people expressed gratitude towards the ivy for bringing us together, which is the right way to orient towards this kind of work in my opinion. at the very least, we need to open up more spaces for discussing the interactions, beliefs, and feelings that present themselves through this kind of work... - - - - - - - - - - - - - archive: https://www.leaflitter.ca/special.fish - - - - - - - - - - - - - ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ _______________________________________________________________ |[+]o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o° [ chat.burbles] °o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o[v1.2]| |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o° | | o [3.8 '26] o | | ° o° ° | | o ~leaf sweet! i've never been to oaxaca, but o | | o would love to visit someday. so kind of you o | | ° ° to invite us :^) o° | | o o | | ° we'll be in touch for sure if we're able to make °° | | o a trip your way. meanwhile, yes, let's have o | | ° some fun here in the special.fish.sea ~~~☆~~~ °o° | | o o | | °o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° o ° | | o | | . <☉,>{ | | ___________________________________________________ | | }<,☉> < ... | | | |___________________________________________________| | |_______________________________________________________________|