April 2023 Pine Press

To my fellow co-opers,

What a month it has been! Personally, I love the combo of snow and 80 degree weather really keeps me on my toes For this month, you may notice that you ’ re actually receiving multiple publications for the price of one (free) your usual Pine Press, a collaborative zine from Alex Shemke and I’s Skillshare, and a booklet on anti-opressive suicide response prevention Thank you to everyone who contributed! In addition, thank you to everyone who hosted or attended this year ’ s Skillshare we couldn’t have done it without you!

Our covers this month include the top two winners of the best pet election. Kelly (from Bower)’s cat Emmett (pictured on the front cover) won irst place, and Sky (from Orion)’s cat Ansel (pictured on the back cover) won second place. My hamster Miralax was sad she didn’t win, but I told her it’s for the best so that her ego doesn’t get too inflated

The less interesting, non-pet related election results were also announced this month: Clay (from Orion) will be continuing on as President, I will be continuing on as Vice President of Education, and Jo (from Orion) will be joining us as Vice President of Membership. Anna (from Raft Hill) was re-hired as Corporate Treasurer, and we ’ re still looking to hire a new Vice President of Facilities (check your email for a description of the position and instructions for sending in your application). Thank you to everyone who voted for me! I hope to make you proud and keep you busy with many more Pine Presses to come. If you have any suggestions for education related activities and events you’d like to see in the next year, let me know! You can reach me via email (education@spartan coop) or on Discord (lucinda #2251) And as always, send your Pine Press submissions for future issues my way!

Yours in cooperation,

Lucinda Gleespen

Emmett was the little shit bower house treasure that left us too soon (although he can’t hurt anyone ever again so). I named him after an alias I wanted to use for myself, but that name means a lot to me now in a much different way than I had expected. Emmett helped me through the end of some serious mental health issues, not because he was there for me, but because he’d always be getting into trouble so I couldn’t lie in my bed at night and spiral, rather I’d have to be worried he was going to break something LOL. Nevertheless, I’m going to forever miss our bond. Whenever I’d come home i could chirp for him and I’d hear him two floors down chirping back at me and running up the stairs to come see me. I’ll love him forever and always, but at least the bower bread is safe now. Thank you for voting him let of the year, little Emmett in heaven appreciates it

Grief is a Portal//6 Days to Grieve

Sarah Carter (Apollo)

My aching chest wakes for another day of mastering tasks and the art of removing my body from this world Easier than watching staring, sinister smiles that “pledge their support”

Fuck your thoughts and prayers

Fuck your obedience to those who watch us die with pockets that could feed and house a whole country their policies a bandaid for a country built on blood

I will not obey orders I refuse to do business as usual

Daily, I light a candle my breath lifts with each pulse of the flame an idol of my remembrance younger selves future selves of my ancestors and living kin

I will not let fear guide my feet to ignore new places they could move I will not let it tunnel my vision to forget the million worlds yet to be created I will not let it punish myself to remove myself from my community I will not let it punish others to point ingers at my kin for attempting to survive in a world that wants us dead

They know it is dangerous for us to feel They know that if we rest we will have time to create imagine and grieve

They are afraid of the portals we will move through of the worlds we will build

Do not resign to the forces that be

Do not despair

You do not have to be still You do not have to be complacent Let the ire of your anger amalgamate into creativity to imagine worlds that are yet to exist

We are the mycelium distilling what our ancestors could not speak transmitting the melancholy and exuberance of the existence of life

What rituals can we create? How can we remember what is lost from this physical world? When will we turn to each other to weave safety that will never come from those who hoard power?

We hold the flame We are the kin who keep each other safe

Love Letters to Howland

Last night we walked to a Phoenix party and cut through a field. I remember feeling absolutely moved by the love I have for this moment in time, and the people I'm living with. I can't imagine a better place to be. Alongside the joy I felt, there was fear and anticipation. I know one day this will end, and I'll look back through my memories and pictures, but forget how the grass felt on my feet. I'll forget how his voice sounded the evening he asked to kiss me. I'll forget the way my lungs burned after smoking for the first time. I'll forget most of what we said and what we did, but I knew in that very moment watching my housemates laugh that I would return to this night- which has already become a memoryand I will smile. I wonder if the future will be filled with the type of love I feel right now.

-Jade

Guerilla Gardening: Reconnecting With The Land

Sarah Carter (Apollo)

North American Indigenous peoples were the irst inhabitants of this land, which must be remembered irst and foremost when discussing the implications of land, food, and ecological restoration In Michigan, the Anishinaabe nation is made up of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potowatomi. These tribes have been continuously working towards food sovereignty (the ability to control production and distribution of the food one consumes) including Giitigan Gardens in Lansing and the Debweyendan Indigenous Gardens in the Upper Peninsula. Guerilla gardening must be held in the context of the liberation work and connection with the land that Indigenous people have been doing for centuries. This historical and modern context is imperative to understanding the nuances behind land and private property before we frolic around town planting flowers Ecological restoration means nothing without decolonization and giving land back to Indigenous peoples Guerilla gardening is focused on building the connection between people, land, water, plants, and animals We can trace the roots of this practice back to the 60s and 70s when gardeners and green-thumbed anarchists started planting food gardens on abandoned lots and throwing seed bombs on fenced-in private property. Guerilla gardening isn’t technically…sanctioned by the state…which means it's more fun. However, these eorts have a long history in the struggle towards food sovereignty and land liberation. All of our ancestors lived with the cycles of their environment and foraged to feed their communities, even if just to supplement the food grown in their gardens The history of modern private property in the United States can be traced back to Medieval Times in Western Europe From the 16th to 18th century, the British parliament was rapidly handing over land to the wealthy that peasants had been cultivating, stewarding, and living on for hundreds of years The General Enclosure Act of 1801 sanctioned the transfer of what used to be common, public lands, to private owners. The ability to forage, hunt, and get irewood or fresh water rapidly declined. The spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional eects of this have been passed down. As colonists settled land in the United States, they brought private property laws with them.

In the United States, the history of “No Trespassing” laws began in 1865, the same year that the government put a legal end to slavery. Even though slavery was abolished in law, strict rules called the Black Codes were put into place to keep African Americans tied to agricultural labor One law required formerly enslaved peoples to be employed or face incarceration This means that even after slavery was legally “abolished”, they were forced to work on the same plantations that had been

freed from. For centuries, African Americans had supplemented their diets with food from the land around them. No-trespassing laws were implemented to deny their human right to access these ecosystems that were integral to their survival and culture Up North, the expansion of “No Trespassing” signs was also prevalent Factory owners and industrialists wanted their workers to be reliant on their company wages and spend their waking hours amassing wealth for companies If workers could ind sustenance outside of the same menial labor day in and day out, like hunting, foraging, or letting the soft animal of their body love what it loves, then companies, landowners, and CEOs would lose their power. This intentional denial of access to nature, foraging, and hunting, has had lasting impacts on communities for centuries. Today, 60% of land in the United States is privately owned. Most people know nothing about the ecosystems they live within, not because of their own fault but by design of the state. How could we as a community rebuild our deep ancestral connection to nature? What are ways we can say fuck your private property and destruction of this land, this is my human right to protect and commune with nature (Credit for information on Black Codes: William Spivey and Brian Sawers)

How to Make Paper Seed Bombs:

Ingredients

● Wildflower seeds

● Paper (mail, newspapers, colored paper, etc )

Tools

● Blender

● Cheesecloth (or towel)

● Strainer

● Ice Tray

1 Tear up the paper into small pieces and put them in the blender

2 Pour enough water into the blender to cover the papers for at least one inch and let them soak for a minute

3 Blend the mixture to a mushy paper pulp Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of flower seeds into the paper pulp and mix well with your hands

4 Put the paper pulp in a strainer lined with cheesecloth Squeeze and twist the cheesecloth (or kitchen towel) to remove water from the paper pulp.

5. Put pieces of the paper pulp into a silicon mold, cookie cutter, or ice tray to make seed bombs in shapes. You could also roll them into balls.

6. Put the paper seed bombs on a rack to dry and keep them in a cool, dry place (they will take a couple days to dry

7. Throw them in an empty lot during the rainy season!

(Recipe Credit: askgardening com)

***Now would be an amazing time to make these and throw them around town as the weather gets warmer and its still rainy*** Make sure you ind a pretty sunny place that gets at least 6 hours of sunshine, depending on the variety of plant you choose. Support smaller businesses and STAY AWAY from “native” seed mixes at Big Box stores because they are likely illed with plants that will crowd out natives.

Let’s say you ’ ve got a little more time, money, and some soil. Find an empty lot or ignored public space and look up native plants that grow well in those conditions (sunny/shady/wet/dry) and plant away. Make sure you ’ re able to go back and visit every once in a while to check on how the plants are doing. There are so many forms of guerilla gardening. Google has sooo many ideas.

Some Michigan Native Plants:

Butterfly Weed

Black-Eyed Susans

Coneflower

Blazing Star

Joe-Pye Weed

Wild Lupine

Goldenrod

Wild Bergamot

Spiderwort

Meadow Rue

Further Reading:

MSU Extension (longer list of native plants and technical info)

www.giitigan.org

www.wupfoodsystems.com/digs

“Decolonization Is Not A Metaphor” by Eve Tuck and K Wayne Yang

“Botanical Decolonization: Rethinking Native Plants” by Tomas Mastnak, Julia Elyachar, and Tom Boellstor

Lunatic Chicken: A Fun New Game to Play With Your Pals!

Staying up all night? Spending all your money on your new hobby that you will deinitely still care about in a few weeks? Suddenly unable to shut your mouth for longer than two seconds? Having the time of your life, except for the occasional moment of paralyzing agitation? Considering your latest self-inflicted haircut? Writing a Pine Press article at 4am? You might be tempted to turn down the crazy to appear well. We both know that’s too much work, but if you don’t, you ’ re doomed to a month of concerned looks from people too scared to ask you whether you ’ re just “high on life” or “having an episode”.

Maybe you ’ re thinking, “God almighty, I wish there was a fun new game that would allow me to truly lean into my madness”? Good news! I had a premonition that you would think that and came up with such a thing! You’ve heard of Gay Chicken (or perhaps you haven’t, my mind reading powers only came in a few days ago it’s a magical homoerotic game in which two people pretend to be gay for each other until one of them chickens out) now it’s time for Lunatic Chicken!

The rules are simple. Instead of dialing down the crazy, slowly increase your craziness around your friends. Start by throwing in a few classic-crazy phrases (examples shown below AND throughout this article) to throw them o their rhythm. Your goal is to get them to acknowledge what is happening as soon as possible. They don’t know that they’re playing, but their socially-imposed goal is avoid acknowledging the crazy. Fun for the whole family!

Potential phrases:

- “I had so much fun exploring Lansing last night at 4am!”

- “I’m having a sudden urge to commit a crime, aren’t you?”

- “I think I have a promising career as a [insert lucrative career you have no experience in].”

- “Seen any packages lately? I just spent $1000 on vintage Calico Critters!”

- “Sometimes I feel like the birds are watching me. ”

- “I am God.”

- “I haven’t slept in days! So quirky!”

- “I think Barack Obama is hitting on me over Twitter.”

A

Zine

By Leo Delisi

Fun Science Experiment!

Brian (Vesta)

Materials Needed:

1 2 Liter Bottle (with cap)

11 Liter Bottle (get 2 caps for it)

1 20 oz Bottle (with cap)

1 Quart Jar

2 ft. 1/4in. diameter rubber or plastic hose

Coee Filters

1 Funnel

1 Tubing Cutter

2 Plyers

1 Roll of Ductape or Electrical Tape1 Blender

200 60mg Pseudophedrine HCL pills (Actifed, Sudafed, Suphedrine, etc )

11/2 cups Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer

3 cans ire starting fluid

3 AA Energizer Lithium Batteries

1 bottle Lye

2 caps of water

1 box lodized Salt

1 bottle Liquid Fire brand drain opener

1) Rinse and dry out all of your bottles. Be sure to get all of the moisture out. Don't go any further until they are completely dry.

2) Put your pills into the blender and grind them into powder. Mix them in with the 11/2 cups of Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer Use the funnel to pour the mixture into the 2 liter bottle.

3) Hold your cans of starting fluid upside-down and hold the button until all of the air is out. Once the air is out use a screwdriver to poke a hole in the bottom of the cans. Using the funnel again, pour the liquid (ethyl ether) out of the cans into the 2 Liter with the pill mixture

4) Now you have to take the Lithium strips out of the batteries. Tighten the tubing cutter onto the center of the battery and spin it around until the metal casing is cut. Be careful not to cut into the guts of the battery. If you mess up the battery may become extremely hot and catch ire Next take your 2 plyers and grab each end of the battery. Pull each side of the casing o. Once the insides are out of the casing, place them in an air tight container (Tupperware, Rubbermaid, etc ) They can be stored for up to 3 hours The lithium will become very volatile if exposed to moisture in the air or water. Be careful!

5) Unroll the guts of the irst battery and remove the Lithium strip There are two strips in a Lithium battery, so be sure not to get the wrong one. You do not want the one that has shiny metal around the edges. Tear the Lithium strip into tiny pieces and place them in the 2 Liter Do the same with the other two batteries.

6) Take the cap o your bottle of Lye and ill its cap with it. Pour this into the 2 Liter as well. Use the funnel! (Note don't let the lye touch your skin, if it does you ' re fucked)

7) Take the top of the 2 Liter and ill it with water. Pour the water into the 2 Liter Repeat once You should see little bubble floating to the top of the liquid in the bottle. Place the cap on the bottle and swish it around a little (do not shake!). If you shake it you will fucking die.

8) Now your “substance” is cooking (I call it "rolling"). About every 5 minutes loosen the cap a little to release the pressure and to make it "roll" a little harder. After about 10 seconds re-tighten the cap. Don't breathe too deeply, because gaseous ammonia is released. If you do breath it in then get outside and take a few breaths of fresh air

9) You have to keep adding Lye or your dope will stop "rolling". About every 20 minutes add about 1 cap (use the cap o the lye bottle!) of Lye Tighten the top tight on the 2 Liter and shake the bottle vigorously for about 8 seconds. Loosen the top, releasing the pressure, and the dope will start “rolling" perfectly. Repeat every 20 minutes You do not want to use more than 2/3 bottle of Lye, so you may have to adjust the amount you add or how often you add it to make it go for 2 hours

10) After 2 hours, your dope is through "rolling". Get the funnel and place it in the 1 Liter bottle. Put two coee ilters in the funnel and pour the liquid from the 2 Liter through them into the 1 liter bottle Pour a little at a time to make sure you don't let any get outside the ilters. Once the 1 liter is illed, tighten the top on it all the way. It'll ruin your dope if you let dirt or moisture get into it

11) Take the 2nd top to the 1 liter and the top to the 20 oz and cut holes in them barely big enough to it the plastic/rubber hose into. Put each end of the hose into each top and make them airtight using duct-tape or electrical tape. Make sure you use a clean hose! if you don't this all was for nothing and you fucked it up.

12) Remove the cap from the 1 liter bottle and screw on the one with the hose attached to it. Pour iodized salt into your 20 oz. until it is illed about 1/2 inch from the bottom. Take the cap from your 2 liter or another cap the same size and ill it with Liquid Fire Pour the Liquid Fire onto the salt and tightly screw the top attached to the other end of the hose onto the 20 oz. Shake the 20 oz. left-to-right for about 4 seconds. Pump (squeeze and release) it once and sit it down. Smoke will begin to ill the 1 liter. As the smoke begins to go into the liquid, you will see the dope "fall". It looks snow. When the smoke stops, take the top o the 1 liter and tie a knot in the hose Put the other top back on the 1 liter and shake it vigorously for 30 seconds. Let the crystal settle. Put the funnel over the jar with 2 new coee ilters and pour the liquid through them. A little bit of meth gets caught in the ilters, but the rest stays in the bottle Cut the top half of the bottle o and use a hair dryer to dry the crystal.

A Prayer to Carlo Rossi, Patron Saint of Vesta

Lake (Vesta)

O’ Carlo Rossi, hear our prayer

We come before you with reverence and gratitude, Thankful for the gifts you have bestowed upon us

Bless the vineyards and the grapes that grow upon them, And bless the grocery stores and our fake ID’s That we may continue to enjoy your glorious jugs.

May we ind comfort in the glasses you ill, And good company in those we share them with

May you guide us in the upkeep of our home, That we may be a holy symbol of cooperation, And a thorn in the side of the ofice and Orion

Let our home be clean but lived in, Our weekends be wild but safe, Our charges be low but reasonable, And our parties be absolute ragers.

We oer this prayer in your name, And ask for your continued blessings upon our home, And our drinks Amen