Gang Hangs - February 2018

 

Gang Hangs is a monthly roundup of ways to create more connection in real life.

From gathering with friends around a record player to hosting a device-free, old school
movie night, our online community will be sort of like a virtual huddle, where we will all share stories of connection, trade resources, and all the feels about offline living.

How-To

Where To Host

We are big fans of the good old fashioned house party. If space is tight, keep the guest list short.

 

Best Night For Most People

Thursday. Think about it: you’re nearing the end of a long ass work week. It’s just before weekends set aside for date nights and other plans involving food, but right at the cusp of ugh-don’t-make-me-have-to-call-Uber-eats-one-more-time. People are hungry (pun intended) for a slow cooked meal and good conversation they just can’t get with the delivery guy.

 

Create An Invite

Let’s leave the group texting, evites, and Facebook groups to the plugged-in population. We prefer postcards via snail mail. Buy a handful for 25 cents a piece, stick on a stamp, and get all the deets down in 3 short sentences. Something like:

Hey There,

Help me revive old school house parties. Swing by my place on Thursday night for a slow cooked meal fueled by gluten and some awesome conversation fueled by whiskey.

 

Of course, no cell phones allowed except for the token group photo. We want to see your smiling faces in a latergram. Tag #folkrebellion and tell us how it was.

 

 

1. Movie Night: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The silver screen used to mean people gathering and watching the same thing together, yawn arm over the back of the seat moves, and sharing a tub of popcorn. Now, it means watching it whenever and wherever you want, instantly. And usually someone is watching something else on another device, live tweeting it, or mindlessly scrolling.

 

Invite your friends over. Collect the phones. Pass out the beers. Turn down the lights. Because….

 

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

— FERRIS BUELLER

 

2. B-Sides and Besties : David Bowie: The Next Day

Our favorite form of savasana is laying on the ground in dead man's pose listening to the A AND B side of an album. Gather your friends and host a listening party.

 

He killed off his Ziggy Stardust character at the height of his glam fame. He released a Philly soul LP when most of his followers were diehard rock fans. He made weird, noncommercial music in Berlin, and then toured as Iggy Pop's keyboardist in clubs when he could have been packing arenas on his own. But one of his last moves was his most rebellious: a decade of silence and seclusion, followed by a surprise album he refused to promote with a single interview or live performance. The move meant that his album The Next Day went tumbling down the charts not long after it came out, but it's hard to imagine that Bowie cared that much.

 

3. Book Club: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck

Book clubs have have always been a thing, but now they are even more relevant for the camaraderie it creates for people in our screened-in world.

 

Tip: Be sure to check with your local libraries because oftentimes they have Book Club Kits, or  Book Club in a Bag.

 

Here’s some questions for ya’ll to mull over, perhaps over mulled wine.

 

  • What are your values?

  • Why does Marc find happiness in not giving a f*uck?

  • How does less caring equal more time?

  • Does not caring mean I am bitter and dead on the inside?

  • What do I really want to give a fuck about?

  • How has technology allowed your insecurities to run amok?

  • Did you like this style of anti-“self help” book?

  • What do you know about Marc? Is he qualified to give this kind of advice?

  • What are you always choosing? Is there anywhere in your life that it’s time to choose differently?

  • Communal Listening Podcast : Moby on Transforming Electronic Music, Elevating Consciousness, and Saving the Planet

 

4. Analog Maker Night

When you need to end the mindless scroll and reconnect with a human soul, keep your hands busy off of your device. Channel your inner summer camp kid and braid a friendship bracelet.

 

Step 1: Take 4 strings and fold them in half making a looped knot at the half to slide your pin through. Pin your materials to your knee.

Step 2: Organize the colors so they mirror each other. Example L-R: blue, green, pink, red, red, pink, green, blue.

Step 3: Starting at the far right side, you are going to start making right knots. Take the outermost string and place it over the string to its left so it looks a little like a “P”.

Step 4: Pull the end of the string through the loop.

Step 5: Holding the string taut, pull the knot upwards. Repeat once more.

Step 6: Repeat on each string until you get to the middle.

 

Repeat steps 3-6 on the left side. When you get to the middle of the bracelet, the two colors of the string you just knotted will be the same. Use a right knot to tie the two middle pieces together to make the chevron point. Keep knotting rows until your bracelet is long enough to wear.

 

Finish your bracelet by braiding the strings from the left and right side separately. Tie a knot once you reach the end, trim the frayed edges, and pull one of the braids through the starting loop, and tie a bow. Wear it on your phone-tethered hand as a reminder to get back into real life.

 

5. Family (Friend) Dinner

We’re bringing back the kitchens of our youth. Where people gathered around the island, sat on counter tops, and got drunk on wine while they collectively made dinner with some music on.

 

Bye seamless. Well, at least for one meal, today.

 

Zach Golden’s Bucatini:

It’s not cute when kids say “pasghetti,” so teach them to say, make, and eat some fucking Bucatini with Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil.

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds of plum tomatoes

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese

4 cloves of garlic

½ cup fresh basil

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

12 ounces bucatini

 

Dice the tomatoes and mozzarella and throw that shit in a bowl. Mince the garlic and tear the basil, and add them to the mix with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Don’t pussyfoot around the salt and pepper, unless of course you have an affinity for shitty food; then please, pussyfoot away.

 

Let the mixture sit for an hour. Cook the pasta in heavily salted water until al dente: that’s Italian for “not total shit.” Then, add to the tomato mixture, toss, and serve.


 

6. Outside Time

If the shoe fits, strap it on. The next time The Weather Channel predicts some bomb cyclone or snowpacolypse business, forgo the urge to hibernate with Netflix and grab a pair of snowshoes for a walk in the park … or woods or cobblestone streets of Brooklyn. Also, grab your friends (and maybe a flask of whiskey). Snowshoeing as a group is an awesome way to laugh your asses off bond with one another. Plus, the learning curve is pretty short. Remember to bundle up because this is no hot power yoga class. Make a few snow angels and a lot of offline memories and, of course, leave your damn phone at home.

 

Live in a snow-free zone? Opt for hike instead.

 

 

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Feb 2018Jess Davisgang hangs february 18, batch 1Comment