"we have come for light"
evictions, storyboards, and ceasefire now!
greetings greetings, and what an emotional month it’s been.
On Tuesday October 17th, Juan Carlos and I were given a 90 day eviction notice…”the owner intends to remodel the home” aka turn it into an airbnb, aka this isn’t making enough of a profit for her. I was thinking of trying to move next year but, not like this. Having to move out by the rainiest, coldest, darkest time of year here wasn’t quite what I was envisioning. It’s mind boggling to me how people still can’t understand our housing crisis, the bubble they’re in, having bought property when their income ratio to purchasing a home wasn’t completely out of reach. I think about how unstable my job was just a year ago and can’t imagine dealing with both job and housing instability at the same time, but many people do. Juan Carlos has lived in this home for 10 years, I moved in back in July 2019, but the house has been a part of my life since 2017 when we first started dating. It was the first place that felt like “home” since moving to Portland (2014). I look around and see the spot in the backyard we stood when we watched the lunar eclipse, where we planted cherry tomatoes, celebrated my big 30th birthday and many friends birthdays, where Reggie came home to us, where Lottie came home to us, where we quarantined, where we raved, where we watched many survivor episodes, where I processed my dads death, where we fell in love, etc etc. We did find a place, and after a few weeks of grieving, I am ready to start this new chapter. Yesterday we got the keys to our new place and started the beginning of the end of an era.
Album of the month
the Breeders, Last Splash, 1993.
It’s been 30 years since the album came out so I wanted to put it as album of the month before the year is over. I love this album, through and through. It’s giving too cool for school, its giving grunge, it’s giving pop, it’s giving country, it’s giving art punk, the whispery raspy vocals of Kim and Kelley Deal enrapture, the vague storytelling lyrics string you along and easily singing along.
On the topic of music, I went to the Lez Phair show on Halloween at zer0wave, fantastic, an evening of heart bursting joy. More Lez Phair shows, more Halloween cover bands please.
Movie of the month
I don’t have a movie of the month pick, however The Arab Film & Media Institute is showcasing free films about Palestine online and in person throughout the month of November, you have 10 more days to catch! Haven’t watched them all yet but so far I highly recommend in the People of the Land screening, Wild Plants of Palestine, Mariam, and Under the Lemon Tree. Also, From Under the Rubble is devastating, and a must watch.
Right before we got evicted I started sketching for the first time in a long time, like talking pencil to paper sketching, a story started coming to me.
and from there I cleaned up my sketches in procreate and added in some more frames……
and started on the motion board frames in adobe illustrator. all the packing has put me behind a bit but I hope by my next post I’ll have all the motion board frames complete, excited to play around and add in some cool textures as well.
In closing, I just wanted to take a moment to say I’m horrified by the videos and images I’ve seen in the last month and a half+ coming out of Gaza and continue to come out as the US assists in what is genocide, period. 14,000+ Palestinians killed. As a queer anti-zionist jew I’m disgusted that our grief is being weaponized to justify the slaughter of thousands of innocent people. COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT IS A WAR CRIME. Please call your reps at 202.224.3121 and demand they add their name(s) to the Ceasefire Now resolution led by Rep Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib and that they call on the Biden administration to deliver humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a pause makes no sense and does not go far enough in the slightest- we need a ceasefire and an end to the occupation. If you live in Oregon, Jeff Merkley has finally gotten on board and is now calling for a ceasefire, please keep the pressure on Wyden, Blumenauer, and Bonamici!! Attend your local protest(s) for a Ceasefire Now! and free Palestine - they’ve been happening all over the country, download the 5 calls app, write letters and fax your reps. There’s a lot of western propaganda propping up Israel. Be mindful! Think critically!
Other things you can do:
Head to anera.org and donate whatever funds you can, the org delivers food and hygiene kits right now in Gaza. They keep a log so you can see where your donations go.
Queer Mikveh Project (@queermikvehproject) is in direct contact with a mental health clinic in the West Bank that is also serving folks in Gaza right now. You can donate paypal.me/queermikvehproject with a note “for Palestine Mental Healthcare Clinic.”
Buy e-sims to help Gazans connect to internet. Follow @mirna_elhelbawi on IG for updates.
And for Portland folks, here is an action toolkit.
