________  ________  ________
   2022-01-17                                   /        \/        \/    /   \
                                               /       __/         /_       _/
   a  little  while  back  someone  I  orbit /        _/         /         /
online said that media piracy is grass roots  \_______/_\___/____/\___/____/_
activism. it's something I've believed for a    /        \/        \/    /   \
long  time  but  it  was  nice  to  hear  my   /        _/         /_       _/
thoughts echoed in someone else's voice.      /-        /        _/         /
                                              \________/\________/\___/____/
   doubly  so  because it's  someone I don't
interact   with,   it's   very   much   a  producer / fan  relationship,  that
felt validating.

   so  piracy  is at the  forefront of my mind  this last week and I think I'm
going to spin it into a project for my friends for Christmas and I thought I'd
bring the few people that still have a mind to check this  Gopher  space along
for the ride.

   the project  is  simple,  bootleg  something  and send it to someone.  gift
someone that album or movie they've been  talking  about but have never pulled
the trigger on.  create your own artwork for it,  your own packaging,  make it
unique and send it out. even if it's as simple as tying a bow on a USB stick.

   dredge up something from your  personal  library or catalog that  you think
someone else might like,  don't stress  about  whether they will or won't. try
not to get  hung  up  on  whether  the  recipient can play  the  format or the
outcome, you'll twist on it and get nothing done. the kindness is in the doing
and the gesture, the gift is that it happened at all.

   I already have a shortlist of targets,  both in AU and abroad,  some people
I've owed  mail to for a long time,  some people who will be surprised to hear
from me, maybe even one or two surprised to know I'm still alive.

   if you have a  mind  to participate,  I'd  love to see or hear  about  what
you've created,  and  if  want  to  put  me  in  your  crosshairs,  my  PO Box
still works;

   cat K.
   PO Box 191
   Woodville
   SA 5014
   Australia

   if there's more  participants  than  zero, maybe we do the same next  year.
it's no ROOPHLOCH but maybe it'll stick.



EOF