Greetings again.

Welcome to the new people who signed up (at the Small Press Book Fair) to this list,
and happy Year of the Snake to everyone!

I did up a snake video for the start of this year, see it here - it is in two parts, I’m not sure if it was the same snake or not.

And if you don’t have a couple minutes to watch a snake, what are you doing with your life?!?

Now, the idea of this newsletter is to send out ‘At The Moons’ (i.e. at each new moon and full moon) but I have missed a few in a row now.

Over the winter solstice, I was reminded of the importance of taking a break:
The way the wisdom was framed, was that historically ‘No wheels shall turn’ over that period of the darkest days (perhaps the precursor to the ‘12 Days of Christmas’). By wheels they meant sewing/knitting wheels as much as travelling wheels; I thought particularly of my bike, but I couldn’t fully avoid biking around for that long.

The part about a full-stop break, though, did resonate and it had me thinking about how out of balance our world is.

We can think about specific parts that are out of balance, but we can also think about the overall being ‘out of balance.’

Which led me to think about - and recommend in case you haven’t watched it - the film Koyaanisqatsi (apparently a Hopi word meaning ‘life out of balance).

This is a classic film that has majestic and experimental visuals and music (composed by Phillip Glass) but no words, no dialogue.

The filmmaker had this to say:

Koyaanisqatsi was the first in a trilogy, and I haven’t watched the others.

But I’d first come across another film of the same wordless style:
Baraka was by the same cinematographer, a decade later, and (to superficially differentiate them, from memory) is more international and more focused on religious/spiritual type of experience, with less modern-day industrial society situations.

They’re both good, quite different from most of what you probably come across, and both have something to ‘say’ about bringing balance back.

With that said…

I had been thinking of a lot of content I’d like to send out,
built up over a few months/moons, but will hold back for now.

Instead - simply a few ‘current/upcoming events’ for now,
starting with the current full moon (and eclipse!)

But also in this newsletter:
Down at the bottom/end, I’ve included one direct action report from January.

Moons talk - what are they called?

Overnight tonight is a lunar eclipse, touted as the Blood Worm Moon.

Read about the details in this CBC article - the peak eclipse is right before 3am eastern, with totality lasting for approximately a half-hour each side of that.

That is a good article to read because it talks about the name of the moon:
blood because it will be some shade of red during the eclipse;
worm apparently from how Indigenous nations in the south of the so-called USA experienced this time of year (more insects and earthworms).

But the article also mentions there are other names:
more northernly names include Crow Moon, and Si'ko'ku's (Maple or Maple Sugar Moon).
It’s also Namebini Giizis (Suckerfish Moon).

I bring this up because in my previous most recent newsletter, in November, I’d mentioned NASA calling the one then the Beaver Moon, and questioned where that came from. I also mentioned looking up what it said in the Ojibwa/Anishinabemowin language book I have (a list of the moons is on page 12): the November moon was Baashkaakodin Giizis (Freezing Moon), now we’re in Naabidin Giizis (Snowcrust Moon).

I heard Waubgeshig Rice on CBC radio around the end of the year, on a segment celebrating various books of the past year, and he recounted how he came to name his books “Moon of the Crusted Snow” and to follow up, “Moon of the Turning Leaves.”

Of course one of the points is to remember that there isn’t one pan-Indigenous knowledge, but different knowledges from different Indigenous nations.

And of course while we’re talking about moons, the Year of the Snake is based on a lunar cycle, as is Ramadan - which we’re currently in the middle of. Ramandan Kareem!

*PS: I just learned that if you’d like to purchase a case of jumbo medjoul dates, from Palestine (specifically Al Rwad), you can do so at this link (shipping included) and by doing so, you support the Canadian organization Just Peace Advocates’ justice work for Palestine.

Upcoming events (x3)

1 - Tesla Takedown (and DOGE Mag)

I’ve helped with an upcoming pair of ‘Tesla Takedown’ events in Ottawa,
happening the next two Saturday afternoons starting 2pm.

They’re outside the Tesla showroom on Carling Ave right by Preston.

The #TeslaTakedown protests have been gaining a lot of momentum, and are happening in many locations - see the website for a full listing and more info. Of course, Donald Trump just announced he’d make violence against Teslas to be a domestic terrorism crime.

*Also, in the context of the current USA coup:

I’ve helped with this ‘DOGE Mag': ‘Print/Distro-It-Yourself’ project
It is a collection of print materials, to make resistance more accessible & visible offline.
(Please share it with people you know in the USA, to give them this tool they can use)

2 - Turtle Nest Protectors’ Symposium

As you may know, I am part of the Turtles of Old Ottawa East and South group.

There is a symposium coming up Saturday March 22 in Mississauga (and online via Zoom) that looks interesting. We aren’t involved, but the Canadian Wildlife Federation turtle scientist (herpetologist) we collaborate with is one of the key speakers, and it looks like a good opportunity to learn more and see what we can do better or differently, and how we can possibly collaborate.

So here is the link to details, with registration info near the bottom.
(it says deadline is tomorrow, March 14, but I just emailed them to ask the status on that)

3 - Object/Project Art Book Fair (March 28-29)

I’m likely not tabling at this event
(I’m on the waitlist, either due to late registration or not being considered arty)
But it looks good. Here’s the event link with details.

PS - I was thinking about the idea of holding a zine fair in one of the local malls, taking over a couple of empty stores of suitable size, as a pop-up for a weekend.
A benefit of that, I think, is that it would still get the regular crowd who attend for the event, but it would also get people who just happen to be at the mall.
… Think it could work?

Direct Action Report - Homeless Encampment Evictions

The opening day of the Rideau Canal skateway, I was there to protest an eviction of some homeless encampments on National Capital Commission land. The NCC runs the canal.

There wasn’t an official opening ceremony like I thought there would be, but there was an NCC spokesperson on hand, and some media, including a Radio-Canada (french CBC) video team who were doing a live on-ice video with the spokesperson.

I’d printed out some materials with the tweet from @highjinxottawa, posting some of them up around the entrance. But I also staple-gunned a set of three pages to my hockey stick, and about 2/3 of the way through the interview, walked directly behind them, holding up the message at head level.

I didn’t ever see how it turned out on TV; the short version they had on the TV news that evening obviously didn’t use that part (it would’ve made for exciting news, though!).

But I did then affix the pages right at the steps going down to the ice, and surprisingly, it stayed there undisturbed for over a week!

The media were very interested in the story - I had spoken with the RC people in advance, as well as reporters from CTV and the Ottawa Citizen who were on hand - but from my understanding, High Jinx didn’t want to violate the privacy of the people who got evicted, and the NCC spokesperson denied knowing about the evictions and questioned whether it was actually the NCC who did it (I have it on good knowledge that they were involved) - so I don’t think there ended up being any other media, other than the live broadcast.

But this took place within a week of a homeless individual freezing to death on Elgin St.

As I said to the NCC spokesperson, it is criminal for them to do that.