What are you watching at the moment?
I haven't been big on TV shows recently, but I try to dip into film and documentaries when I have time. One documentary that really stuck with me over the last few months was "United in Anger: A History of ACT UP" which I watched as I've also been listening to the audiobook of "Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987–1993" which is an oral history of ACT UP.
There are intersections in both of these with so many current moments - activism, organizing, and direct action, the neglect and necropolitics that we've seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, how we can do relational organizing and stay connected and maintain hope in dark times. And all of that connects back to rave community, especially queer rave community!
Drop a book recommendation
I mentioned the ACT UP oral history "Let the Record Show" earlier - it's quite long, so I'll share a tip that I stole from a dear person on a flight earlier this year that the audiobook is a good idea. I've been working my way through in 15-30 minute spurts, mostly before bed, and while I don't know if I retain the info as well as if I read it and maybe I doze off a little, it's better than not reading it at all!
I've also been enjoying reading some other histories of protest and direct action: "Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Radicalism" by L.A. Kauffman, "If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution" by Vincent Bevins (who also wrote "The Jakarta Method" which I'm reading now). I came into more radical and activist circles relatively recently and it feels important to me to ground myself in what has happened before.
Favorite seat on the airplane, why?
Window if possible so I can listen to music and enjoy the view (or sleep with something to lean on), but my bladder sometimes makes an aisle necessary for longer flights :)
Something you can't start playing a set without?
A few favorite tracks loaded up that I know I can play in almost their entirety and dance for myself if I need a mental reset - tracks that I know make me and the dancefloor move and that reliably put me in a better headspace if I'm mentally spiraling.
Drop us a restaurant tip in your city.
Kopitiam, a Malaysian spot near East Broadway in Manhattan - go with a friend or two and order a variety of things! And don't skip the Salted Bek-Kopi iced coffee.
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