⏾⋆.˚if you felt insane last week, blame the moon ⏾⋆.˚
+ A fire in a North Macedonian nightclub has killed 57 people, Trump tried to invoke a wartime law to deport people, and Shit You Should Cook About 𓆩♡𓆪
Hi my angels!!!! Big weekend for me. First of all, I was in the LEGACY MEDIA!!! That’s right, The Guardian profiled ur fave lil independent media girlie and it was really cute:
My favourite bit is the part where Eva describes our home:
Blakiston’s home is a visual echo of her online world, embracing politics, pop culture and whimsy. The red-black-and-white flag of Māori sovereignty hangs in her hallway, Charli xcx’s record brat is displayed on her living room wall and tiny ceramic mushrooms peep up out of plant pots waiting to be moved into an outside “fairy garden”.
The second big thing that happened was the moon. I was feeling fucking insane last week - so insane that I turned to the universe to find out why. Here’s what I found:
Turns out I’m not only a ‘red witch’ but I’m incredibly powerful and I did indeed perform a ritual to purge myself and prep for new beginnings. Sometimes it just do be like that.
It was perfect timing for a full moon, because me and a bunch of besties went camping, zenned out, smoked a joint, and watched te marama rise.
It was quiet and beautiful and calming and cleansing, and honestly, after this weekend I would highly recommend living by the moon a little bit more 🌝🌚
Hope you had a nice weekend and weren’t made as INSANE by the moon as I was xxxxxx
Over 50 dead in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia
On Sunday, a fire broke out at the Pulse club in Kocani (where about 500 people had gathered for a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo), killing over 50 people - including one member of the band.
Over 155 other people were injured, and at the time of writing this, police have detained 10 people who they suspect to be behind the fire. Of these 10, some are “officials from the ministries which gave out this licence" as the venue did not have a legal license to operate.
“Ms Arsovska said there had been only "one efficient exit" in the building, as the venue's back door was locked and could not be used.
The first on-site inspections on Sunday had also showed several "abnormalities" in the venue. "There are deficiencies in the system for fire-extinguishing and the system for lightning," she said.
Citing initial reports, Toskovski said the fire had been started by sparks from pyrotechnic devices that had hit the ceiling, which was made of highly flammable material.”
Whatever the official reasoning is for the fire, this is fucking terrible, and my heart does go out to the 500 attendees and their families.
Trump tried to invoke a wartime law from 1798 to justify his deportations
Ugh, this dude. Ruining my day every goddamn day. The latest is that Trump tried to invoke a wartime law from 1798 called the Alien Enemies Act which - during wartime - allowed a President to imprison or deport non-citizens (aliens) from countries that were considered hostile or at war with the United States
Note. It has only ever been used three times before, all during wars.
“Its most recent application was during World War II, when it was used to incarcerate Germans and Italians as well as for the mass internment of Japanese-American civilians.”
Why did he do this?
He did it so that he could ‘legally’ order the “swift detention and deportation of all Venezuelan migrants suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua prison gang, treating them like wartime enemies of the U.S. government.”
Can he?
No. A judge temporarily barred it mere hours later.
But in typical Trump fashion… he did it anyway.
“Despite the ruling, 261 people were deported to El Salvador on Saturday, 137 of whom were removed under the Alien Enemies Act over alleged gang ties, a senior administration official said. The White House and Justice Department have said they had already been removed from the country when the judge made his ruling.”
We have eyes on the Pope
I repeat. We have eyes on the Pope for the first time since he got sick.
Here he is “sitting in a wheelchair in front of an altar at a chapel in Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he has been recovering from pneumonia.”
"The Holy Father still requires hospital medical therapy, motor and respiratory physiotherapy," it [The Vatican] said in a statement on Saturday, adding that they were "showing further, gradual improvements".
Get well soon Popey.
Access to our Book Club ‘Shit You Should Read About’ aka the CUTEST BOOK CLUB ON THE INTERNET
Access to our Close Friends list on Instagram
Bonus weekly ‘Ask Me Anythings’ where I let you in behind the scenes of my life and the business!
Our printable ‘How To Phoenix’ Zine
Other good shit that’s reserved only for the SYSCA inner circle 𓆩♡𓆪
Shit You Should Cook About is our weekly recipe column written by 🌞(not so) London Laura 🌞our resident ray of sunshine. She’s just had the first ever SYSCA baby (my niece), is chief of romanticising literally everything, and will definitely ask you all what your love language is at some stage.
The gift of a meal train during a hard time
Kia ora newsy honeys!!!
As I write this it feels like Christmas because it’s the eve of Luce and I being reunited!!!!! For those who listened to the pod you’ll know Luce and I have a long-distance friendship (one where we are total bone friends yet due to ALWAYS living in different places we only see each other in person maybe once every 6 months.) Anyway, these catch ups are normally centered around a big life event (moving to London, being 39 weeks pregnant, Luce launching her book, meeting our DREAM WOMAN Dolly Alderton 😭🥰) and this time is no different - she came before I’m about to do another stint back in the UK. Anyway, I’m just so excited for her to snuggle her niece.
Which brings me to this week’s entry, I mentioned last week that I’ve spent the past while totally absorbed in the first ever sysca baby, and I am acutely aware that many people reading this may have no interest in hearing about the whirlwind that is post-partum and the weeks that follow such a life-altering event - and to be honest I am not sure I could still put it into words! But one thing I did want to touch on while I kick this whole thing off was how food truly can be a warm hug and so restorative, and for me that came in the form of a ‘meal train’.
A meal train you say?
Yup. A bestie organised a meal train for us, where every second night for basically a month after our baby was born someone would leave a meal on our doorstep. It actually makes me a bit emotional writing this!!! In a time where everything felt so new and fragile, and the idea of cooking (let alone getting dressed and going to the supermarket) felt like a truly impossible task, having something delivered to our doorstep like homemade broth or a huge batch of our fave choc chunk biscuits with a little note was such a beautiful, glimmering memory for me that I will hold onto for a long long time. It became a little ritual, we would get to the end of the day (exhausted) and pick up what had been left on the doorstep, eat it probably in bed on our laps, taking turns holding the baby while reruns of a comfort show (normally The Office or New Girl) played in the background. And even though I hadn’t seen anyone, I felt really surrounded by a community while I adjusted inside our little newborn bubble.
As a result, I now feel very committed to this tradition and passing it on too, taking part in future meal trains for not just parents but really anyone who needs a little help or love in their life - I don’t think there are many better ways “I’m here” than with a no-strings-attached meal.
So to get the creative / cooking juices flowing, below are some of the ones delivered to our doorstep and if you have suggestions I would love to hear any good freezer meals too!!! All the love, Laura xxxx
Vege lasagne (truly my fave)
A loaf of sourdough and good butter 🧈
Fresh pesto and pasta
Dhal and roti
Build your own ramen
A plate of cookies
Saag Paneer
Bake at-home pizza
Pumpkin soup and rolls
Banana bread
Nachos, beans and guac
Ratatouille
Fish pie
Roast chicken and veges
A *lot* of whittakers chocolate
Order our book Make It Make Sense here!
Join our Book Club here!
Become a Close Friend on Instagram here!
Support the independent media you love by becoming a paid supporter here!
PS, if you wanna chat to me about anything I’ve written today, your latest crush, or if you just want a pen pal, reply to this email and we can be friends 𓆩♡𓆪
Honestly, when things get a little too weird, I check the phases of the moon
Pasta is SUCH a good meal train meal honestly