1.) Yesterday we hosted an playreading brunch with a fun group of friends - may it be the first of many more! This time we did Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia".

I used to host regular playreading potluck dinner parties years and years ago when I lived in a co-op, and losing access to rooms of a size where 8+ people might cheerfully cram themselves on various chairs and couches and floor nooks with cushions was one of the griefs I carried with me from that co-op's breakup. I'm glad to be restarting now.

2.) Today I had the the mindblowing joy of seeing 'Noli Timere' ('be not afraid') at ArtsEmerson.

Calling it an aerial dance doesn't quite do it justice; you can see the local trailer here or read a great WBUR feature about it here. ("In a time defined by uncertainty and distance, this piece isn’t just about resisting the gravity that weighs on us, it’s about choosing to catch each other when we fall, to carry each other through the invisible webs that bind us.")

3.) We have had an entire week+ of snow on the ground, and a foot of it is still here!

This delights me for many reasons, not least that this means another year of the invading fire ants being killed before they can establish themselves. Every winter we get at least ten days in a row of freezing weather is a winter I heave a big sign of relief.

Unbreaking Team @ the Unbreaking: This week at Unbreaking, January 16

Beginning in late November and escalating through early January, the Trump administration has sent 3,000 ICE and CBP agents into Minneapolis–St. Paul. For comparison, the “Operation Midway Blitz” surge in Chicago deployed about 300 federal immigration agents. The Chicago metro area’s population is roughly 2.5 times the size of the Twin Cities’, so the Minneapolis–St. Paul operation has sent about 10 times as many enforcers into a much smaller population center.

Kelly Hayes @ Organizing My Thoughts: Choosing Each Other in a Time of Terror

Trump is waging war on our communities, and we don’t need “better training” for our attackers.

Scott Meslow @ the Verge: How much can a city take?

The most heartening thing about this deeply disturbing moment is seeing how consistently and forcefully Minnesotans of all demographics have been pushing back.

Fred Glass @ Jacboin: The Citywide General Strike Has a Rich History in America

In response to the killing of Renee Good and the ICE invasion, the Minneapolis labor movement has issued the nation’s first citywide general strike call in nearly 80 years

Andrea Pitzer @ Degenerate Art: Into the abyss

You can’t reform a concentration camp regime. You have to dismantle it and replace it. We have a thousand ways to do it. And most U.S. citizens—particularly white ones—have the freedom to act, for now, with far less risk than the many people currently targeted.

ETA: Naomi Kritzer @ Will Tell Stories For Food: How To Help if You are Outside Minnesota

If You’d Like to Donate Money
Contact Your Senators/House Rep
Write a Letter to the Editor
Hassle ICE-Supporting Businesses
To Learn More About What’s Going On in Minnesota, Read Minnesotan News Sources
Push Back on Disinformation
Send Words of Encouragement
Get Ready For This Bullshit to Come to You
Talk About Immigration, and Make it Clear You Think It’s GOOD