last preparations before our first gig in the "*city*"

Tomorrow morning, Psychic Spychick heads down to Anchorage to play a show with Turbo Hell and Saint Mood. It's been nice getting to focus on just the music and making new designs without having to worry about all of the event logistics. I'm glad to know we are capable of doing it all, and also grateful to not have to sometimes, and still be part of it~

The screen printing marathon this weekend was a great success. It feels good to be gathered around an activity. We did 3 colors over 3 days, letting them dry in-between, then I took the next 2 evenings to set the ink with an iron and parchment paper, 3min each, and wash the shirts to get the excess ink that was not set--thumb prints and splatters, etc. Last night I spent a few hours doings some ~alterations~. I'll be picking up more lace on my way to town today to finish up a few more.

Throughout this art whirlwind, I've been trying to keep my ear to the ground about Julian Assange's hearing today and yesterday. It's important. It's historical. It's an inflection point. Society-altering. Kevin Gozstola and Stella Assange are a couple of really close and knowledgeable authorities on information about the case and its history, but it's been good to see so many people talking about it over the past week. Decisions about Julian Assange are decisions about of who "owns" information in the digital age, who gets to decide what can and can't be discussed, and the degree of torture we are expected to accept, for ourselves and others, if we say the wrong thing, even, especially, if it's a true thing. It's about first amendment rights and press freedom. It will set a historical precedent in regards to how far the United States (or any singular country) will be allowed to reach with their laws and punishments, no matter how draconian or broadly interpretable they are. We have already found it permissible to force an Australian citizen to live in exile and be held for years in solitary confinement in a prison in London for ostensibly violating an American law by publishing leaked documents that exposed their war crimes. It's clear who the criminals are. It's all the same legal-speak game manipulation to shift accountability around we've been entrenched in for generations. We're so used to this cold aggression that lands somewhere between negligence and malice, that we repeat these patterns in our families, at our jobs, in our friend groups, and it isn't over yet. I hope desperately that the charges will be dropped. Extraditing Julian after so many people have demanded that this come to an end would throw a lot of fuel onto already uber-mondo-tense-basically-literally-on-fire international *situation.*

I'm grateful to have so many things to keep me occupied during such intense times. I'll take some good pics of the shirts to show y'all before I pack them up tonight. I'm not planning to record audio from this show, but I'll let you know how it goes. Between having enough time to practice the whole set with transitions 4 times before the gig, and meeting all of our deadlines for *fun extra-curricular art projects*, we are so set for success.

Stay sane out there,

~amelia

Pics by Remington Buckler