August 2023 Pine Press

welcome home

pine press august 2023

To my fellow co-opers, old and new, Hi! If you don’t know me, my name’s Lucinda. I’m the Vice President of Education (VPE), which means that I also serve as the Editor in Chief of the Pine Press.

This was a wild month to be the VPE. Early in August, Clay (your President), Marty (your Member Services Coordinator) and I went to Puerto Rico for the yearly Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE) conference. It was amazing and we learned a lot. Then, I helped conduct interim inspections. Awesome job to everyone who helped clean up their houses for new members, they looked amazing! And special shoutout to everyone who served on the interim work crew. Finally, we hosted New Member Orientation for all of the new members.

Thank you to everyone who came!

This is an interesting time of the year to be in the co-ops. Two Augusts ago around this time of year, I moved into the SHC for the first time. One Augusts ago, I got to help welcome a new batch of members to my house, the first big turnover I experienced. This August, I moved from one co-op to another for the first time, from Apollo to Orion. Each year I remember being both nervous and excited. If you’re experiencing any of those shifts this year, I hope you’re as excited as I was, but if you’re nervous, that’s okay too! Big changes are scary, but I’ve watched us collectively work through them and grow time and time again. I know we will do it again this year.

If you’re new to the co-ops and this is your first Pine Press, welcome! The Pine Press (the thing you’re reading right now) is the SHC’s monthly publication. You can submit almost anything by emailing me at education@spartan.coop. Looking forward to seeing all of your submissions!

Yours in cooperation, Lucinda (Orion)

Hello co-opers, this is Will from Rivendell.

I'm glad to live in a co-op because it provides stable and affordable housing, I know I'm not going to get arbitrarily evicted, and my money isn't lining the pockets of a scummy landlord!

We're fortunate to have a pretty good situation here in the SHC, but most people aren't so lucky. And it's not like any of us have tons of other affordable options besides the co-op.

There aren't nearly enough community co-ops like Rivendell to match the demand for them.

You already know the story....

THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH! On September 5 at 12:00pm, over 500 people will demonstrate at the Michigan state capitol for better housing. It's called the Rent Is Too Damn High. We'll be there all afternoon until around 4:30. Get there between 12-1 in order to be there for the height of the event.

You can expect food, speakers, music lots of beautiful protest art, and good vibes.

Over 25 organizations from around the state have endorsed the demonstration, including the SHC. These groups have endorsed three overarching demands: 1. Lifting the statewide ban on rent control. This would allow cities like Lansing and East Lansing to put a cap on the amount of rent increases that any landlord may impose.

2. $5billion state investment in Social Housing and Housing First programs. Social housing is a publicly-funded alternative to private rental market housing. Social housing is rent controlled, mixed-income, and accountable to its residents. Housing first programs are focused on making quality housing available to unhoused people. Both of these programs should also include funding to expand co-op housing.

3. A renters bill of rights. Michigan renters need more rights and protections. A Renters Bill of Rights could include fair chance housing for returning citizens, tenants' right to organize and have counsel, relocation assistance in case of red tagging, increased safety inspection standards, legal protection for unhoused people, just cause eviction, renter agency for repairs, a ban on hidden rental fees, and other such policies.

I want to make one thing very clear: THERE IS A REAL POLITICAL WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO PASS AT LEAST SOME OF THESE POLICIES WITHIN THE NEXT 9 MONTHS AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE! I WOULDN'T ASK YOU TO SHOW UP IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE OF WINNING! SO, LET'S MAKE A STRONG SHOWING ON BEHALF OF THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT!

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP: www.mirentistoodamnhigh.com

Punks With Lunch Fundraising Drive

Who are Punks With Lunch?

Punks With Lunch Lansing is a nonprofit organization that provides food, personal care, seasonal attire, and harm reduction in Lansing, MI.

How do I donate?

To donate and log your donation, use the QR code below or go to https://forms.gle/EYwYkbhXiyYfCgP59.

Is there a prize?

The house that donates the most per person will receive an extremely exciting stuffed animal* and $50. Make sure to log your donation in the Google Form to be counted!

donate 2 get this guy

she has babies :)

Snippets from A Dialogue with the World Abby Locke, Orion This summer I had the awesome experience of studying abroad for a semester in Amsterdam. I got to attend the Sexuality, Gender Identity, and Sexual Politics program led by the GenCen, and I had the time of my life! During my month-long stay, I was able to escape the years of writer's block I had built up due to COVID and college and so much more. When I was younger, I used to write poetry, I loved poetry—it was my favorite thing in the WORLD. And then, while I was in Amsterdam, out of NOWHERE, I had the urge to write poetry again (I haven't written something since 2019). Something about my circumstances and my experiences in the Netherlands allowed me to once again write. I ended up writing and submitting my own original poetry anthology for my final project abroad, and now I’m going to share a few of my favorites with you. These poems are a product of growth, queer joy, acceptance, and a LOT of weed. I hope you enjoy these poems; I hope you resonate with these poems; I hope these poems make you feel something. If you're interested in reading my entire anthology, please reach out! I’m happy to share my work with anyone :) (all poems on following pages by Abby)

Land The countryside moves so fast fields, animals, trees, backroads.

I am faster than them speeding through foreign towns, cities, homes.

So far removed from this place, but right now, in this moment, I am here.

Watching as plot after plot is left behind to sit in my wake.

Residual waves, no more than drops of water.

I am but a blur of person, mind, and body to the land I pass by.

It does not know me, yet I empathize with empty pastures and overcast clouds opening up above regions unknown.

I sit still on a train speeding through dark tunnels and over canals that could lead me home if that's what I wanted.

I could follow them to the ocean, But then who would stay behind to appreciate solid ground?

The Clarinet A stream of notes swirl through trees, vines, vegetation.

They dodge raindrops in a careful dance-making contact once or twice, but never enough to find themselves drenched.

Flat, sharp, and perfectly in tune they twirl around vegetation, rooted to their spots long before their greenery was graced with such beauty.

Still sidestepping as drops grow fervent, winds blow, stormclouds roiling overhead, the notes dance a familiar tune.

Haunting the bathing bushes they leap and bound across leaves and branches.

Telling a story told so many times before.

Singing from one origin, a departure from typical, grandios storytellings with many voices and nary a raindrop to dodge.

Yet, as precipitation subsides, the dance continues Until the final bow is coaxed from metal keys laid across a wooden body.

Cardiovascular We are the heartbeat of this living, breathing, existing place.

Bodies urged closer by vibrations and invisible metronomes.

Undulating movements, masterfully in time with every upcoming melody, carefully hidden behind transitions, these bodies are at the will of their conductor standing before them.

Crafting an experience eliciting emotions only available for a limited time nine-thirty to midnight.

A cascade of lights, every color imaginable, graces faces, expressing emotions that cannot be felt anywhere else.

Will not be felt anywhere else.

This is a microbiome of feeling, of love, of individuality, of community.

Hours go by and bodies are still moving, expressing more than words ever could.

Pure ecstasy enveloping existence.

The heart beats pumps blood through veins, giving life to those who know where to look.

New Old Soul, Track 2 Some hogwash by Fish For best experience, listen with song on loop. Or don’t, that’s a lot of work.

Season Suite: Summer by John Denver John Denver. What a man. I wonder if he ever fucked around with dudes.

For realzies though, this song is very dear to my heart. It reminds me to step outside of myself, and yet experience the joy of it within me. I think that’s a good followup to a song that makes me think about my own life a lot. It’s repetitive, yes, but the relaxed gentle strum of the guitar, to where I can near picture the sway of the wrist strumming it… the light of the piano keys, his voice that seems to contain sunshine, it encapsulates the way being in the woods feels. Though encapsulates feels like the wrong word, as it’s impossible to capture something like the open skies and the sound of wind through leaves. Add the laughter and chatter of friends? God, there’s nothing like it. I gotta smoke again. That I know he did.

“Riding on the tapestry of all there is to see, so many ways, oh so many things.

Rejoicing in the differences, there’s no one just like me, yet as different as we are we’re still the same.” I’ve definitely taken inspiration from that line in some of my poetry without even realizing it. I was telling Owl the other night that the theme from Becky's part of this essay is the longest, but it’s also my least favorite to read.

That may also have something to do with feeling like a dweeb talking about me. I feel… aware of myself, and I think of myself a lot, but it brings me a lot more joy to think about the life around me, especially people. especially my people. I wrote about that in my journal in relation to Owl, Moose, and Dog. All these lovely people I know, beautiful ones at that, who don’t admit their own beauty, internally and externally. I find unique beauty the most fascinating kind. You can be conventionally attractive and I’ll appreciate it, but fuck, if you have some features you dislike about yourself I probably love them. At the bowie wedding, me and my housemates pointed out our various imperfections that we love. Unibrows, crooked noses, messed up teeth. I’m glad the people around me see how beautiful those things are. The world has a unibrow, a crooked nose, and messed up teeth, and it’s absolutely stunning.

Raft Quotes Patrick Spring and Joe Konczal Since AT LEAST 1966 Raft Hill’s denizens have been writing quotes on the third floor's walls and ceiling. Some are funny, some sad, some inspiring, and some simply nonsensical. Some are faded, others are bold, some are painted over and have not been seen for years, and may never be seen again. The ones that remain seen remind us that there are others that have been forgotten just a fraction of a centimeter away, hidden by some thin white paint. Just like the co-opers of today are the legacy of the co-opers of yesterday, reminding us that there were people who came before us, living in the shade of what they grew. In this way, on the walls of the third floor, in the walls of every co-op, history lives around us still and we leave our mark in every place we call our home, in every place we make our home. Every mark made on our walls, every party held, every house hang, every friendship made, helps the people who made and lived in our houses before cry out “Here we are!” and is a living memorial to their lives. These are some of our favorite marks left in the shade of our house by past Raftians.

“Stop me when you fall behind my best ideas come to me when I have a few glasses of wine, either that or… I smoked myself into the orange chair (thanks Sam)... and I’m listening to music I can hear every little sound beat lyric… and I am satisfied to be alive and content with my current situation… then I think… God I’m going to New York City. I am going to start a new life in less than six months… I’ll be on my own in the place I’ve always dreamed of. Everything is different… Everything is changed and when I close my eyes to dream… I can see it happening… Sometimes in slow motion… sometimes at the speed of light and sound… No both. I visualize… That's what I do.

But I hear a tune playing in my head always… Even when I am silent… when the world is silent and I think i’m in a movie or a play… Live action is better… Then I think “Who is watching me.” Then they hear my thoughts… Do they like my sound track… should I be getting paid for this and I love to think about shit like that. And whoever is reading this right now. “Who wrote this?” Well I’ll tell you who I am. I used to live here. I am a feminist… I am an artist… I am a lover, a fighter, a writer, bias… sometimes judgmental opinionated- disliked (as much as I hate to admit it), loved, culturedmisled-not perfect- not even close- confused… I can think for myself- I’m independent- I exist- I don’t need your approval or your acceptance. and another thing…”

-Unknown “He comes for conversation. I comfort him sometimes” -Unknown

“It’s not about a salary It’s all about reality” -Easy Motherfucking E “I just wanna catch a squirrel and gnaw on it” -Joe “Don’t quote me, boy, cuz I aint said shit: -Eazy Motherfuckin’ E “Ok comma can do period” -Unknown “Wherever we go we celebrate the land that makes us refugees… - the micks and biddys are rising again.”

-Unknown “Never spill bongs again!”

-Unknown “I was lost in East Lansing a stranded homeless fool then Hissy, from the Raft Hill introduced me to the [co-op]. They were all his housemates, so good to me they were, that if I ever relocated, I’d move here for sure. Thx everyone.”

-Joseph B. L. (A drifter from the west) who stands a [Unreadable] Jah love “Love is so ephemeral, so there Flower-Breath” -Unknown “Needle, fetal, someone is pouring warm gravy all over me! And you see that synthetic therapy, don't you know it seems to be so unappealing, but oh what a feeling.”

-Unknown “AGR sucks skinny penis” -Unknown “I want bones like iron Blood like mercury” -Unknown

“Dyslexic devil worshippers sell their souls to santa” -Unknown “Is it being loved?

Or is loving so much that you feel loved?”

-Unknown “Take your destiny in your own hands This is your one life to live” -Charla Burntt “And darling, you should know that I have fantasies about being alone. It’s like love is a lesson, I can’t love, so that I make the same mistakes at each familiar turn.”

-Unknown “I know not” -Buddha “Can’t find the G-Spot if you're puffing on pot!”

-Unknown “Don’t be found guilty by ignorance!!”

-Unknown “A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

-Unknown “This place really is a Raft. Temporary refuge in a storm. I love you.”

-Unknown “No sense makes sense” -Unknown “I’m not showing you my ethernet hole!”

-Unknown “Goddamn it scuba Steve” -Unknown

“There’s an old Buddhist saying, when you meet your soulmate, remember that the act to bring you together was 500 years in the making. So always appreciate and be kind to each other.

There's a corollary for friends when you meet a true friend, you will be bound together through space and time for 500 years.

Here’s to the next 500 years, Raft Hill, and to all the wonderful people who have walked through these halls. You will always be home to me.”

-Becca Brunk 2014-2016 "Thou shalt not be on friendly terms With guys in advertising firms, Nor speak with such As read the Bible for its prose, Nor, above all, make love to those Who wash too much.

Thou shalt not live within thy means Nor on plain water and raw greens.

If thou must choose Between the chances, choose the odd; Read the New Yorker, Trust in God; And take short views…"

-W.H. Auden (1946) "Bye, Bye Birdie" -Unknown "Hi Media Worm" -Conrad 2021-2022 "You are beautiful, don't ever forget that!"

- :) CB. "So long & thx 4 all the fish."

-Dolphins "Have you seen the yellow sign?"

" So long to good times, bring on the goodbyes" -Unknown "If we were colorblind… what would we see?"

-Unknown 2003-2006 "We would only see black and white. I would miss all the Asians."

-Unknown "Don't drink and park! Accidents cause people!!"

-Unknown "Don't let your life just be a hypothesis. Make it a LAW!" -Laura 1966 Life is not a journey. It's a musical thing and you were supposed to have danced while the music was playing.

-Joe Konczal 2022-2023 "I've had good times and bad times here, but all I've known now is I grew. From the people I've met here and in the co-ops. I know help is only a phone call away! Peace and Love Raft!" -Patrick Spring 2019-2023

By Patrick Spring and Joe Konczal

Some Cool Games You Might Want To Try Hey all, my name is Ryan. Last year, I wrote an article about some of my favorite podcasts, which you should check out if you haven’t seen it (or listened to them) already. This year, I’ll be recommending some video games from all across the spectrum of stuff available to play.

For clarity, all of these games are for PC and can all be found on Steam, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find some of them on Xbox, Playstation, or Switch.

If any of them sound interesting, be sure to check out their store pages – it’s hard to get a lot of what a game’s about across via text.

Black Mesa When Valve’s game Half-Life was released in 1998, it was considered a technical marvel, as well as one of the best first-person shooters of all time.

However, after 20-something years, the game is definitely showing its age, and some fans of the original game (cumulatively known as Crowbar Collective) decided Half-Life needed an update. Black Mesa is the final result of their years of work, and is a full remaster of the original Half Life, while also staying true to the original game’s level design, gameplay, and story.

Full disclosure, I never played the original Half-Life, but after having played through Black Mesa, I’m confident I don’t have to. The story is as compelling as can be, and the gameplay is satisfying, gradually ramping up from carefully counting your pistol shots to take down a couple zombies to spraying your Ghostbusters laser at hordes of alien creatures. The game’s final segments, located in the alien dimension of Xen, also received a major overhaul, to the extent that even fans of the original Half-Life seem to prefer Black Mesa’s version. If you’re even slightly interested in the history of gaming, or you just want another fun story to experience, Black Mesa should be on your list.

SYNTHETIK Another shooter, but from a top-down isometric perspective with randomized elements, SYNTHETIK is the product of a few German developers who I’m convinced were set out to make the most satisfying shooter of all time. In addition to being pretty hard (with weapon jamming, overheating, and accuracy all playing big roles in moment-to-moment gameplay), the game’s core feature is an active reload mechanic that requires you to manually eject empty magazines and insert new ones.

It’s hard to get a handle on at first, but after a while, it’ll be second nature.

Once you’ve gotten a hold of the reloading, you can appreciate the game’s impressive arsenal of guns (most of which have unique features), its equally impressive arsenal of items and gadgets, and its 10 unique classes to play as. Pick off your enemies from afar as the Sniper, become the master of explosives with the Demolisher, set up sentries and combat drones as the Engineer, or dash around with a combat knife as the Ranger (my personal favorite). Endless hours and hours of fun can be had with SYNTHETIK, so it’s a real value buy if your wallet is tight (provided you can handle the difficulty, of course).

Dorfromantik It’s kind of hard to describe Dorfromantik, and I bet there are a few people who wouldn’t even consider it a game. Placing down multicolored hexagonal tiles gives you points, and when you run out of tiles, the game’s over. By connecting like colors in specific or continuous amounts, you are given more tiles, and more opportunities to earn higher scores and earn more tiles. No time limits, no sense of urgency, no real constraints (except brown and blue colors), just tiles being connected until you run out of them.

The feature that makes the game something I’d recommend is that the colors aren’t just on flat tiles. Yellow colors are fields of wheat and windmills. Red colors are small red-roofed cottages, which can link together to form villages. Brown colors are railroads, and blue colors are streams, lakes, and ponds. Dorfromantik is about creating a serene Nordic landscape, complete with beautifully artistic visuals, an incredible soundtrack, and genuinely compelling mechanics. If you’re going to play any of these games while on some sort of substance, Dorfromantik is the one.

Mad Max I really liked Mad Max: Fury Road. So imagine my surprise to find out that there was a full-blown open-world game released in 2015, set in the same world as the movie! Although you don’t meet any of the characters or see any of the locations from the movie, this is the rare media tie-in game that actually gives a lot more context to the world of the movie than the movie itself does. If you’re not big on video games, take a wiki dive at the very least.

You play as Max, looking to get his classic Ford Falcon Interceptor (as made famous in Mad Max 2) back from the warlord Scaborus Scrotus, and doing so in the only manner Max knows how – driving cars and beating people up. You obviously get your own car, which you can customize to your heart’s content with armor, ramming spikes, engines, wheel spikes, fancy coats of paint, and even your mechanic pal

Chumbucket. In addition to the car combat, there’s a melee combat system for fighting the Wasteland’s lunatics and barbarians in war camps, which is easy to learn, and difficult to master. Overall, the game doesn’t show its age, and it’s fun to get lost in the world of the Wasteland as you piece together how exactly the end of the world came about. Definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of the series.

DUSK The final first-person shooter on the list looks like it was released in the late 1990s, but is actually deliberately stylized by the developer to have that blocky look of early 3D. DUSK doesn’t tell you much about its story directly, mostly being done through scribbles on walls and show-don’t-tell storytelling. Dark, rusty corridors hide hellish monsters and murderous cultists, as you traverse through abandoned farmlands, ruined cities, industrial facilities, and more. If Dorfromantik is immaculate chill vibes, then DUSK is immaculate industrial horror vibes.

The game’s looks deceive players about the gameplay, however. You move at lightning speed, your guns never need to be reloaded (drawing from their total ammo pool like DOOM), and you can die very quickly if you don’t keep moving.

Secrets can be found in every level, power-ups litter the wastes, items are floating in midair when you pick them up: make no mistake, DUSK is what is known today as a “boomer shooter”, where fast-paced gameplay and circle-strafing with a shotgun is the name of the game, and I love every second of it. Plus, you get to dual-wield lever-action shotguns, which is just really cool.

Minit Minit is a quirky adventure game with a unique mechanic. Your protagonist picks up a cursed sword, causing them to die every 60 seconds and restart from the last save point, while things you’ve changed in the world remain changed. As you help people, slay monsters, solve puzzles, and travel the world, your character must do so in 60-second intervals.

The game plays with the time mechanics in a handful of ways that I won’t spoil, and is presented in a black-and-white pixel art style that looks really crisp and clean. Add in factors for replayability and exploration, such as collectibles, and Minit could be a fun addition to your game catalog. A short, fun, and frantic experience that I’d recommend to people who enjoy the top-down Zelda games like Link to the Past.