Y’all- this week has been pretty amazing, NGL. It started on Wednesday, when I found a VHS copy of The Jungle Book on a “for free, please take” rack on campus (yes, that’s a thing apparently. And they also had a VHS copy of Black Beauty and like 15 different self help books. I only took 5 of them, teehee 😉). I took my first final exam of the semester (crazy right? We had a class that only went for a month, and our professor was absolutely amazing. Hopefully I’ll see ya again Prof. Gast!) I went to Stardew Valley: The Symphony of Seasons on Friday with a couple friends. If you’re wondering what in the fuck Stardew Valley is, don’t tell anyone but your secret is safe with me. (Basically it’s an indie video game started by this guy Eric Barone (from Tacoma-shoutout Washington eyyyyyy) where you play as a character disillusioned with office life and move to the country to become a homesteader and become friends with the local townsfolk and go on journeys and fall in love and plant crops and all this other shit. It’s really wholesome). In addition to creating the first 3 games entirely by himself (coding, design, graphics, etc.) he composed the entirety of the game’s music himself, and there are some catchy tunes! With the swell in popularity of the game, Eric (and others) decided hey, it would be a really cool idea to fully orchestrate the soundtrack and go on tour. So…that’s what they did. It was really cute!
Besides that, really my life has consisted of so. much. urban. planning. And so much reading. And I love it! Like goddamn my brain hasn’t felt so saturated with knowledge since I memorized the entire elimination order of Rock of Love Bus in 2011 (and yes, I still remember it. Spoiler alert: Gia and DJ Lady Tribe get sent home the first episode for performing some unspeakable acts on top of a bar at an after party while the cameras were rolling). Oh! And here’s a recent photo of me in case anyone wants confirmation that I’m still alive and this blog isn’t being written by a Matt-coded AI (OMG tho could you imagine the homosexual horrors that would unleash on the world?)
Yes, this photo is of me posing in a parking garage. And yes, I’m wearing my favorite vintage red Chevrolet jacket that I got at San Junipero in Mexico City (if you visit you gotta go. Such a cute spot). And YES I finally got my original earrings removed by an actual piercer so I can try out some new jewelry (these were gifted to me by my friend Kenzo at Cascadia- THANKS KENZO THEY FEEL GREAT! Hope you read the blog and see this!!)
Anyways- before I start talking about myself and my amazing earlobes too in depth, let’s get into this week’s SLICEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Sunday Slice- 10/12/2025
Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Educate, Reflect, Contribute
Tomorrow is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I shouldn’t have to explain what it is, or why we recognize it instead of the day honoring the colonizer. A lot of y’all probably have it off. What should you do with your time, money, and energy on that day? If you’re white, you should take time to reflect on the myriad of ways in which the genocide of indigenous people in the United States (and subsequent dishonoring of treaties and confinement to reservations with intentional withholding of resources. One could argue American apartheid) benefitted your ancestors (and through the accumulation of generational wealth, compounding opportunity and access to higher quality institutional resources- you). Think about how it manifests today, including the continued fights to strike down environmentally disastrous pipelines through native land, or the continued dismissal of some tribes’ repeated efforts for Federal recognition (and therefore, due Federal support), or the increased mortality rates of the COVID-19 pandemic on reservations due to limited (and lower quality) available healthcare services. It could be the multitude of highly contaminated waterways that many indigenous communities and forced to deal with, or the systematic neglect and enabling of violence against indigenous women, or the unending cycles of intense poverty and lack of opportunities concentrated on reservation land. If you’re white and live in the U.S.(or Canada- let’s be real)- you owe reparations. Anyways, it’s not up to me to tell you how to do that or how you decide to spend your Monday, but read the fuck up, and pay the fuck up. Here’s a list of (just a few) indigenous organizations you can consider paying (and definitely take the time to read through these and learn what work they do):
- Native American Rights Fund (Nationwide)
- Real Rent Duwamish (Seattle)
- American Indian College Fund (Nationwide)
- Triban Minds Incorporated (Reno)
- Partnership with Native Americans (Nationwide)
- Suquamish Foundation (Seattle)
- Indian Council of the Elderly (Milwaukee)
- National Indian Council on Aging (Nationwide)
Image from the National Indian Council on Aging
Attend the ACLU- Wisconsin’s 2025 Annual Meeting (Virtual)
We all know who the ACLU is, right? If for some reason you don’t, ACLU stands for the American Civil Liberties Union which is a nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. Affiliates are in every state, DC and Puerto Rico. They’ve been putting up legal fights against against the suppressive US legal system to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ folk, women, immigrants, minorities, veterans, and the incarcerated, as well as fighting for reproductive rights, abortion access, decarceration, and upholding the separation of church and state. So, as you can imagine, their hands are extremely full right now. The Wisconsin ACLU branch is holding their 2025 Annual Meeting this upcoming Thursday (10/16) at 6:00 PM CST. In this meeting, Executive Director Dr. Melinda Brennan as she talks about continuing and upcoming challenges (including the continued cooperation of local Wisconsin law enforcement with ICE abductions), as well as how you can get involved. If you’re interested in registering for this remote meeting, register here (it’s free). Must be registered by 5:30 PM on 10/16 to attend. Wisconsin is in a pivotal political position nationwide- if you’re able to attend and get plugged into the work ACLU WI is doing, PLEASE DO SO.
Book Banning: What’s the Story? (Seattle)
Banned Books Week 2025 is here, and its nothing to celebrate per se, but is unfortunately extremely relevant. Pumping out propaganda and controlling narratives is something as American as apple pie (I mean- look at any of our school textbooks hellurrrr) but there has definitely been a concerted shift as of late to censor more literature than before. Because of this, Seattle Public Libraries is hosting a panel on Sunday, 10/19 from 2-4 PM (PST) called ‘Book Banning: What’s the Story?’ In this panel, Rena Priest, Nancy Rawles, and Anna Bálint will discuss the ongoing efforts to restrict access to books and information (I mean- look at any of the government led websites right now like the Census, HUD, etc. Besides being down because of the government shutdown, resources on these sites (and many others) have been taken down during the last few months, including climate data, data on statistics of domestic terrorism incidents, the Kerner Commission Report, and so many others). The panel will discuss parallels to George Orwell’s 1984, as well as how to navigate the troubling waters of the censorship of critical information in the current day. Registration is not required- simply show up to the Seattle Central Library (Level 4, Room 1) next Sunday by 2 PM to be part of the conversation.
One other thing I wanted to mention: I know there’s a big 50501 No Kings protest happening next Saturday (10/18). While yes it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing to go, just please be mindful of a few things:
- Consider showing up to protest at a local ICE facility instead. In Seattle, during the No Kings protest in June, several people were sent false court summons to appear that day only for ICE to be waiting for them. My guess is they will try and pull a similar stunt during next weekend’s events. While being in a large protest is fine, showing up in numbers at an actual location where you may be able to prevent people from being abducted and deported is better.
- 50501 has a history of collaborating with police. Many local law enforcement agencies have been working hand in hand with the current administration to aid in the abduction of people off the street. Just- something to consider.
- If you go- PROTEST SMARTLY. Cover your face. Remain aware of your surroundings. Try and either leave your phone at home (and go with a burner) or keep it turned off (but leaving at home is better). Wear neutral clothing and cover up any unique/ super recognizable tattoos. Things will be photographed. Things will be filmed. Think about where and how your likeness may be captured and for what purpose.
Ok now that that’s been said, I leave you today with this fantastic photo: someone in my apartment building must’ve been in a bachelorette party or something, and there is dick confetti scattered ALL AROUND the back of my building. I, of course, had to take a photo. So I leave you with some sparkly dong on this fine Sunday ❤
La Vida Veeta 
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