Category: 🟣 Squatting
saftey + security
Domesti-City
The species problem is the set of questions that arises when biologists attempt to define what a species is. Such a definition is called a species concept; there are at least 26 recognized species concepts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_concept
The Space Pirates have been busy for days, scrolling hard and getting set up down in the Sett downstairs.
Let me fill you in a little about what we’ve been up to with the badgers…
Squatting
Yesterday was the safety and security day of the Space Pirates’ week.
We have installed a digi-lock on our inner door downstairs and secured the external doors. The Space Pirates have a new battery drill, and have cobbled together some other tools to this end.
An ongoing safety concern is water leaking from above the ground floor, dripping into the lobby, running out onto the street and sometimes even reaching the basement.
One pirate posted a note in the neighbours’ door, alerting them to the leak and including our new email address, ‘spiceparrots@proton.me‘.
Possession of the Flowerpot, our much adored location in Bethnal Green, has been awarded to a lord of the land by the courts today.
Did you know that pirates at sea, apart from flying the Jolly Roger, have also flown the hourglass symbol on flags? (Graeber, Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia 2023) This image will take any “ex-XRs” back!
This time guardian was discovered down the Sett, but nobody has named her yet…
Domesticity
Domestic comes from the Latin Domus:
any dwelling-place or abode (of people or animals)
Synonyms: domicilium, habitāculum, habitātiō, tēctum, mānsiō, sēdēs, aedēs
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/domus#Noun_2
I found it interesting that, on the other hand, it also seems to me at Wiktionary.org that the Latin word, habitatio similar to the one we nowadays use for animals, has less a sense of home, than one of rent!
An inhabiting, dwelling.
A habitation, residence, dwelling; lodging.
The rent (for a dwelling).
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/habitatio#Latin
An act or instance of staying, remaining; stay, continuance.
‘Mansio’ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mansio
Where in the city do the foxes live? If you know the answer, why don’t you come on down the Sett for a jam tomorrow evening and let us know?
CRACK-A-SQUAT – Space Pirates style aka Submersion Week aka Keelhauling aka Space Pirate’s Rehab aka The Cabin aka… probably a lot of other names!
Soooo the names are all very appealing – I know! A few people have asked me though:
“What’s exactly is the line up for this week then?”
So here it is:
Saturday 7th- get-to-know and look ahead.
11am-3pm Arrivals
There is no set plan for Saturday, arrive anytime between 11am and 3pm for this informal day where we’ll all get to know each other a little more, start to tell one another our back stories and maybe do some omming together or something. By Friday we will have established and be part of our own fully autonomous Space Pirates Squat! – no pressure ! : )
>3pm Dorming
From 3pm you’ll be given your space in the cabin, a 6 person dorm with the other 5 proto-pirates. There’s a shared locker in the cabin you can keep any valuables in but you’ll need to have everything you personally need for the week in a rucksack.
Sunday 8th, The Pirates Code
Sunday is dedicated to the Pirates Code – the foundation of Space Piracy.
12-2 Origins & Background
After an early lunch/late breakfast we will look at the origins of the Space Pirates Code. Beginning with a brief recap of the Pirate’s code, we’ll go on to cover how it was discovered at consentframework.org and how it’s been adapted from that text-based document. We’ll also look at ways in which the Pirates Code can be used: as a treasure map, as a personal mnemonic for navigating consent and accountability, and so on.
3-3:45pm Treasure-map for our week
During this brief session we’ll set out a treasure map for the week ahead which we’ll adapt and use to guide us through the rest of the week.
4-5:30 pm Pirate’s Code public session (optional)
This is a public session where people will be able to come and learn more about the Pirates’ Code. You’re welcome to join in and observe, but this session is dedicated to others who have expressed an interest in learning more about the Pirates Code.
Monday 9th, Navigating
Monday is dedicated to Navigating – Plotting buildings on maps and ways into them.
10-12 Route planning
We’ll be learning all about plotting our way into buildings, this will be an intensive session in which we will select 6-8 buildings, start doing some desk based research on them and plan a route for the afternoon.
3pm & 3am – Recce tours 1 & 2
Prepared for quick in-n-out internal inspections with very minimal kit, we will go together on a group tour to shortlist the 3 best options that afternoon, and aim to get inside for a look around. This may be repeated in the early hours of Tuesday morning if necessary. Once safe rentry has been secured message the general chat saying “We’re in! Come round for a house warming on Friday!”
Tuesday 10th, Scrolling
Tuesday is dedicated to administration and organising
10am-1pm – Pirates Code presentations.
Tuesday begins with confirming today’s timings and reviewing the treasure map so far, Then we’ll share our thoughts on our organisational strategies in pairs present the Pirates code to an imaginary audience. We’ll wrap up by starting to prepare for the Compass sharpening session later today.
3-7pm – Compass sharpening
During this session we will agree exact coordinates of our compasses on the treasure map and prepare for the rest of the week’s action.
Wednesday 11th, Squatting
Wednesday is dedicated to Securing the building setting-up and maintaining safe occupation
<10am Special Breakfast Check-ins & Final prep
This will be the most intense day so far, so we’ll start off with a special breakfast check-in and final preparation meeting.
asap – Occupation begins
According to logistics, we will begin occupation of the building at the earliest opportunity on Wednesday. Beginning by securing the perimeter we’ll go on to ensure the safe supply of services such as water and electricity and assess and mitigate for any new risks, not obvious from our initial inspection on Monday.
<10:30pm Check-outs
Having been the most intense day so far we will settle down and rest well for an early start and another busy day ahead making our new home place comfy cosy!
Thursday 12th, Domesticity
Thursday is about settling in, getting comfortable and making sure everyone’s got somewhere to rest
>10 am Scavenging
This will be another highly practical day starting with this morning session where we’ll buddy up into pairs, two of which will go out and scour the neighbourhood’s dumping grounds, skips, Olio collections and generally locate any other resources to collect from. The remaining pair will hold down the building and show around any other set-up volunteers who’ve made themselves known by this point.
!!Bonus session!! – Court for the Flower Pot!! 11am
12 noon – Scheduling meeting
According to the building and numbers of people involved at this point there will be a meeting at 12 noon to establish what affinity groups have formed by this point and what their priorities are.
Friday 13th, Welcoming
Friday is about welcoming our friends over and starting to think about who else we’d like to share the place with
Friday morning will begin with another review of the treasure map and affinity groups will continue sharing offers requests of assistance and duties according to their own rotas etc.
>12 noon House-warming prep begins
Preparations for the house-warming party will begin to get underway from midday depending on the amount of work involved
6 pm Final checkouts and last supper!
This marks the end of our keelhauling and the beginning of a whole other set of stories…
>8 pm house-warming party
From 8pm guests will start to arrive and perhaps there’ll be a new group of proto-pirates meeting for the first time somewhere among them…
PLEASE NOTE
- The above information is specific to Friday 13th Crew a new post will be created for future submersion weeks.
- Precise timings are to be agreed on by those involved.
- A lot more detail will be handled by affinity groups more and more so towards the end of the week, this will be determined by the nature including it’s size and location.
Reimbursement
- All tickets are fully refundable on completion of the week.
- Tickets are sold as part of a registration process to ensure commitment of participants.
Food
- Breakfast lunch and dinner will be a shared event three times a day which we’ll all take responsibility for.
Shelter
- You’ll be provided shelter at 43 Teesdale Street from 3 pm on Saturday night until 11 pm on Friday 13th, however
- we will be in occupation of the new building by Wednesday night, but you will still be able to access the cabin in an emergency.
Drugs
- There will be a high threshold on all drugs including nicotine, caffeine and alcohol
- You will be encouraged to commit to following these optional extras if you feel abstinence may challenge your participation.
Optional extras
- 5 tibetians
- extra help preparing meals
- morning pages
- meditation (group, guided or individual)
- early morning excercise
- yoga
- 9am & 9pm Keelhaul checkins
- the opportunity to contribute your own optional extras!
Claim your invitation here:
Questions, comments, suggestions?
Please login and comment here or visit the ticket link above.
Clerkenwell Fire Station
Space Pirates have been very busy in real life. We will be posting lots more to the website soon… Sorry for the slight radio silence here… An in depth Signal chat group index is clearly a priority…
For now here’s our main SPOCAGs and their QR codes!
Days visitors to Area 51
Day visitors 9am-9pm
You’re welcome to drop by unannounced between 9am and 9pm, if you visit this link you can let others know when you’re likely to be here.
Area 51 Wishlist
Area 51 To-do list
This Todo List is updated regularly from a whiteboard in the building.
Settling into area 51!
Monday and Tuesday have been spent tentatively awaiting first contact which still hasn’t happened and slowly but surely we’re setting up some basic infrastructure like a kitchen area and a tool area!
Before getting in here we made a compass for this place and sanctuary was one of the main ideas that it started pointing to. It’s hard to move at this slower pace and it often hard to move at this tempo, consciously slowing things down.
I saw a friend from Fake Club days on Monday afternoon when AC and I were collecting our comfy green sofa from Olio. They’d squatted this place in the summer and has it for a couple of months. Hopefully we’ll be here for a couple of months too. That would bring us into the new year… oooh yeah!
These are stills from a 6min video tour you can watch on our telegram channel..
Thinking about trying to post shorter more regular updates, but it’s hard to synchronise being in the squat IRL and getting on the taptop.
ok that’ll do… Got a few other things left over to post from yesterday…
Area 51 – access established!
Area 51 – our next location was easily accessed this morning at 7am through an open ground floor window. It is a lovely large empty commercial building between Farringdon & Kings Cross.
There is lighting and running water and fitted toilets. there’s a mix of large rooms and small rooms over 3 floors. Multiple windows require new glass but they are secure by bars on the outside. We have filmed inside but it was dark, so the quality of the footage is low.
This building will be shared with other activists and groups, including Just Stop Oil, to offer an opportunity to dip their toes into squatting with Space Pirates.
Everyone is welcome to come and get involved at any point, and to whatever degree they are comfortable with.
Trial weeks for living in this building start on Sundays
Sunday
Sunday’s schedule is as follows, today’s theme is the Pirate’s Code.
- 9am-3pm – Begin occupying and resisting asap by getting ready practically, online and returning early this afternoon to secure the building and begin moving in.
- 3pm-4pm – Indoor picnic in the new place – Please bring picnic items to share, considerate of allergies.
- 4-5pm – 1hr informal meeting focused on using the Pirates Code
- 6pm-8pm – Film 1 Pompoko
- 9-11pm – Film 2 Gremlins
Monday
Tomorrow’s theme:
Navigation:
Plotting places on a map and ways to get inside them.
- 9am Shared Breakfast
- 10am Checkins
- more details tbc
Please note, communication will be moving to the website more and more in the coming days, as the chat will soon become overloaded please register for access here:
411615.squat.net
There will soon follow more posts covering a Todo List, Door Buddy rotas (days 9am-9pm & nights 9pm-9am), a Wishlist of things we need, and an events & activities list.
Cyborg TAAkeover!!
TL;DR:22
I went to TAA to make art,
I didn’t go to make friends,
I found out who I can trust.
Cyborg Psychopomp.
An open letter regarding the paradoxical ‘Cyborg TAAkeover’ of Sunday 9th to Tuesday 11th Oct 2022
Dear ‘TAA baton’ holders, whoever you may perceive yourselves to be…
I am aware of a chasm of understanding between us. I have heard your perspective of me repeated many times. Thank you for your clarity.
I do not feel heard, and I feel resentment towards you collectively for the psycho-social way you excommunicated me from the signal groups and the physical manner in which you evicted me from the building.
I stand by every action I took and every word I said throughout that whole experience. I hope ‘you’ will organise some form of closing circle or undertake some other form of accountability in due course and I would like to be a part of that.
If that does happen this year, I feel it would be helpful to be guided by the following explanations of TAA:
About TAA
Staged in a disused building, TAA addresses the need for free spaces which are not governed by commercial interests or exclusive institutional standards, creating a fluid space which transforms in unpredictable ways throughout the event as new interventions and responses are added to the mix. Expect the event to be slightly chaotic, full of surprising juxtapositions, and an opportunity to generate new collaborative relationships.With no selection criteria, no censorship, and a non-hierarchical mode of organisation, TAA is a laboratory for both creative and social experimentation. It is an environment of open discussion and testing of ideas, which challenges the idea of a passive audience by allowing everybody to get involved.
Facebook
What is a TAA?
TAA is an underground festival of creativity that has been taking over venues across the UK since 2001. It was an initiative by Random Artists to use free-party tactics to open temporary arts and social spaces in occupied and often derelict buildings. TAA exhibitions are creative spaces that are organised and constructed by the artists themselves. They operate under an open-access policy, meaning everyone is free to exhibit their work or perform.
Time-honoured art forms sit comfortably amongst digital work, sculptures, installations, films, performance and music. We encourage artists and audience to find their own level of creative involvement and believe that all of our voices are equally important.
This not only opens the doors to a no-cost space to exhibit within but also encourages first-timers and the artist within us all.
All contributions are welcome and there is no celebrity here – our aim is to break free of the sterile nature of traditional galleries and instead create a space which removes barriers between art, artist and audience.
TAA Website
Sincerely
Cyborg Psychopomp.
Ahoy nerds! Some cool pirate related API’S
Happy international speak-like-a-pirate day! As part of my legal-document-writing-procrastinating I began researching pirate translators – thanks to Cyborgs’ genius idea of writing a section 6 in pirate language;*
I stumbled upon the treasure chest that is pirate.monkeyness.com.
pirate.monkeyness.com hosts not one but two glorious API’s, the first of which is a pirate translator and the second of which is a pirate insult generator.
There are so many wonderfully stupid ways to use this API – let your creativity run free! My first project will be an arduino-powered doorbell that shouts pirate insults at any bailiffs, security, police or stressed out landlords that press it. Here’s a compass for it-
Using the API is simple – simply send an HTTP GET request in your favourite language to either https://pirate.monkeyness.com/api/insult, which will return a random insult or to https://pirate.monkeyness.com/api/translate, with the parameter “english” set to the text you would like to translate, URL-encoded – which will return your text, pirate-translated. Here are some examples of how to use it in code:
Command line (linux/macos/windows):
curl --data-urlencode "english=[input]" "https://pirate.monkeyness.com/api/translate"Python (also works on raspberry pi!):
import urllib3
http = urllib3.PoolManager()
input = "[input]" #text to translate
response = http.request('GET', 'https://pirate.monkeyness.com/api/translate', headers={
'english': input
})
output = response.data.decode('utf-8')
print(output)
JavaScript:
fetch("https://pirate.monkeyness.com/api/insult").then(function(response) {
return response.json();
}).then(function(data) {
console.log(data);
}).catch(function() {
console.log("Shiver me timbers!! An error!!");
});
Be sure to comment/post any ideas/experiments!
*which, if you’re interested in, is available here:
Digilock installation skillshare
Ever wanted to know how to install one of these? Or do you have some tips and tricks to share? Register your interest in coming along to a digilock installation skillshare here: