Crash Burning Amber
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Crash Burning Amber
@crashburnsamber.bsky.social
34 followers 22 following 330 posts
30s. white non-binary person. 😷🔻🏳️‍🌈♿
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I make the air cleaner wherever I go & it's one of the few things that keeps me from just giving up rn

PC fan, 6x6 merv13 filters, fan-to-USB-C adapter, & a battery bank that allows trickle charging.
A phone photo of a miniature corsi-rosenthal handmade air filter hanging from a backpack in the back seat of a car. The box is assembled with furnace filters, a PC fan, and black duct tape. The photo was taken in the back seat of a car
February 24, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Here's my bread recipe in a phone-sized image (with alt text; text also in following skeets(? posts?!)!)
A digital recipe card sized to fit a phone. Text is on torn paper over images of bread and flour. Crash's Low-Effort Overnight Bread 4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups warm water 1 teaspoon instant yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 tbsp cooking oil 2 tbsp? cornmeal 1. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl 2. Cover with plastic wrap or semi-sealed lid 3. Allow to rise abt 12 hrs in a warm place. If kitchen is cool, try under the oven light (no extra heat on) 4. Coat bottom of favorite cast iron pan, Dutch Oven, or oven-safe wok w/oil & cornmeal. 5. Scrape [dough] from bowl onto floured surface with floured hands or spatula. Squish into self-sustaining ball / boule 6. Place dough ball in pan / on cornmeal 7. Cover in warm, wet tea towel until dough springs back slowly when poked, abt 2 hrs 8. Bake @ 450F for ~37 minutes. 9. Optional: Broil for last 5min if top seems under-browned
February 14, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Learning to bake bread. Next, trying to (sub)urban garden some food this spring & summer. We cannot be self-sufficient; neither can we be reliant on the capitalist supply chains we've been used to.

Consider starting to teach skills. Consider also writing instructions down
A photograph of an oval loaf of homemade bread on a tea towel. There are the bottoms of countertop appliances in the background. The bread is coated in flour and toasted brown.
February 12, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Hey y'all, my bank acct is still overdrawn & my SNAP has not gone thru / I haven't learned if I am approved! My grocery funds ran out in December and while I knew this was coming, my stretch/staple foods are running thin atp.

I have some staples& instacart gc's on my wishlist!

throne.me/crashlist
A digital graphic in bright pinks, greens, and blues. Text reads, DISABLED QUEER NEEDS GROCERIES TO HELP (down arrow) CA/V: crashmargulies PP: asdeepasyouplay at gmail throne.me/crashlist A QR code that directs to the throne wishlist Crash is a yt disabled trans queer on Dakota & Ojibwe land (so-called Minneapolis) who has no grocery budget until SNAP/EBT/other government assistance (hopefully) comes through. They're safely housed but their disabilities, including a connective tissue disorder, PTSD, and potential seizures, prevent them from being employable. Crash is currently involved in anti-viral and cleaner air efforts with @MaskBlocMSP and has formerly done work in & alongside disability justice, direct aid to unhoused folks, and queer and trans rights in the workplace. At the bottom right, and image of Crash, a nonbinary person in a painted elastomeric mask in bright secondary colors. Writing on the respirator says MASK UP. They are wearing glasses and a teal headwrap.
January 25, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Sometimes, like today, I can't mask. I've been nauseated for 4 hrs with intense sinus pain & I feel very on-edge re:neuro symptoms. If more people masked, I could still do things independently, instead of making my partner do tasks for me
A white non-binary person in sunglasses in a blue bandana. They are rubbing their temples like their head hurts. They have a labret lip piercing, and on their jacket is a button for tilde records, a small enamel pin that says ONE FLESH ONE END, and a large enamel pin of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes kissing at the fair from the first Captain America movie.
January 14, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Hey friends, my good boy is having urinary issues and has to go to Kitty Urgent Care today after a trip to the Emergency Vet the other night.

No one in my family has the funds for this.

CA/V crashmargulies if you're at all able to help!
A small black and white cat with dramatic white whiskers naps on a folded quilt on top of a bookshelf
January 9, 2025 at 11:33 AM
One of my goals for this year is to do more of the things I'm trying to stay alive for. One of those things is my witchcraft!

From now til Jan. 31, orders for my Year Ahead spread are open on my ko-fi!

ko-fi.com/s/82a3730c86

#tarot #TarotReading #NewYear #NewYearsEve #Witchcraft
A digital graphic titled, "Clockwork Year Ahead Spread 2025" Beneath the title & over the main graphic it states, "$50, Open until Jan. 31" There is a clock face with Roman numeral numbers and fancy clock hands in white. Underneath it are teal and dark blue card shapes under each number, each clock hand and the central peg of the hands. Text at the bottom reads, " clock numbers 1 through 12 - Card of the month. Large hand - where these themes appear as standalones through the year. Small hand - how these themes will repeat or recycle through your year. Center peg - what ties your year together? What is your central theme?" crashreadscards.carrd.co The whole piece is on a photo of the northern lights in tones of navy blue and light teal.
December 27, 2024 at 7:22 PM
Having to monitor my symptoms and treat myself at home means having access to a pain/severity scale I follow consistently for a symptom log

Functional Pain Scale shared with me by @itsbabs.bsky.social back on Xter. the post is locked there & too old to have alt text, so here's the scale again
0-10 Scale of Pain Severity Severity / description of experience The categories go from dark red on top through orange, gold, greens, and blue at the bottom for no pain. Text abridged for character limitation over on Twitter. 10, l unable to move. In bed, can't move due to pain. Need to go to the emergency room to get help. 9 severe. Pain is all I can think about. Can barely talk or move. 8 intense. Pain so severe that it's hard to think of anything else. Talking & listening difficult. 7 unmanageable. Pain all the time. Can't do most activities. 6, distressing. Think about pain all the time. Give up many activities because of pain. 5, distracting I think of pain most of the time. I cant do some of the activities I need to do because of pain. 4, moderate. Constantly aware of paint but can continue most activities 3, uncomfortable. Pain bothers me but I can ignore most of the time 2, mild. Low level of pain. Aware only when I pay attention 1, minimal. Pain hardly noticable 0, no pain. I have no pain.
December 27, 2024 at 1:46 AM
I was going to wait to post better pictures but I don't think I'm going to have spoons to take any soon. So here I guess is the premiere of this actual painted mask! #KeithHaring #MaskUp #DentecNx
A selfie of a white non-binary person with short curly brown hair giving a thumbs up. They're wearing a painted elastomeric respirator. The respirator is neon green, pink, orange, teal, lavender, black, and white. There are characters reminiscent of Keith Haring's Dancing Men on the green main facepiece covering their eyes, ears and mouth. Orange text reads, "MASK UP". On the round filter covers, there are upside down pink triangles. White text reads, "silence = death, ignorance = fear, clean air = right." A painted elastomeric respirator with its head strap disassembled on the table. There are no filters in the filter housing. The respirator is neon green, pink, orange, teal, lavender, black, and white. There are characters reminiscent of Keith Haring's Dancing Men on the green main facepiece covering their eyes, ears and mouth. Orange text reads, "MASK UP". On the round filter covers, there are upside down pink triangles. White text reads, "silence = death, ignorance = fear, clean air = right." An elastomeric respirator mostly disassembled on a black tabletop. The respirator is neon green, pink, orange, teal, lavender, black, and white. There are characters reminiscent of Keith Haring's Dancing Men on the green main facepiece covering their eyes, ears and mouth. Orange text reads, "MASK UP". On the round filter covers, there are upside down pink triangles. White text reads, "silence = death, ignorance = fear, clean air = right."
December 22, 2024 at 10:49 PM
Hey friends, my housing is stable and I have food funding till the end of the month but I'm still not on SNAP or cash benefits or SSDI and my bank account is overdrawn. My handle on CA and Vnmo is crashmargulies and I also have a wishlist at throne.me/crashlist
Phone screenshot of a Wells Fargo banking page everyday. Checking says the balance is at -101. There is a note added to the screenshot saying "I have no income at the moment so this negative balance will just keep incurring fees." There's also a balance on a credit card of $998.58 the note there reads "out of 1,000 meaning this card is run up."
December 18, 2024 at 12:02 AM
New profile pic! Not sure if Void or Supernova took this one originally but neither of them are on Twitter so!!! #Masks4All #MaskUp #WearAMask #StillMasking #ResusableMask #MaskedFashion #PlagueOutfit
A white nonbinary person with teal hair, a white reusable respirator, and a green top. Their hair is curly, their top is one-shouldered, and their respirator is decorated with fake pearls, green glass beads, and a miniature macrame plant hanger with a faux plant. They are also wearing pearls and a string of custom prayer beads around their neck. The photo is edited slightly to have weathered edges and a yellow-gold light streak, to mimic imprecise vintage film photography techniques.
April 16, 2024 at 8:38 AM
This one for when @shiniestmagpie.bsky.social see Hozier! Script is Ogham, transliterated. Filter on the right of the image is "Let the sun only shine on me through a falling sky" from Fare Well. Left is "Future so bright it's burning" from Empire Now. Word on nose is just ENOUGH.
A black elastomeric--as in, made of rubber--half-face respirator mask. This one is shaped to go from the bridge of the nose to under the chin. There are two disc-shaped attachments on either side for N95 filter pads. This respirator is digitally painted over in a metallic gold paint texture in some places, like the filter covers and the headstrap. In a circle around the filter covers is Ogham script, a way of writing ancient Irish that looks like horizontal straight and diagonal lines over a horizontal axis. The writing around the folters is a longer passage with smaller lettering. There is also Ogham on the nose bridge. This is larger and shorter--one word. In the corner of the image is the cover for Hozier's EP UNHEARD. It is a black and white photo of Hozier, a white man. His face is covered in soil and he looks like he is resting in dirt. Gold accents have the artist and album name.
March 26, 2024 at 11:35 PM
I'm designing a bunch of
Dentec Nx / Dentex NX MD masks for me & my family, bc destigmatizing quality respirator use NOW will save lives. This will be a thread of my design sketches! This first one is my fave rn, inspired by #KeithHaring

#DentecNx #DentexNxMD #COVIDisAirborne #Masks4All
A white elastomeric--as in, made of rubber--half-face respirator mask. This one is shaped to go from the bridge of the nose to under the chin. There are two disc-shaped attachments on either side for N95 filter pads. This respirator is digitally painted over in the style of pop artist Keith Haring. The filter compartments are blue and say IGNORANCE = FEAR, SILENCE = DEATH. There is a pink triangle on each one. The nose area has dancing people in bright, rainbow colors and says MASK UP FOR LIFE!! The head strap has been colored pink. There is a Haring-style pink barking dog in a center space. In the corners are examples of Haring's original artwork. One is brightly colored. It shows dancing people and reads "Ignorance = fear, silence = death. Fight AIDS / Act Up". There is a small pink triangle in the corner. The other is black and white linework of dancing people and it says "ACT UP FOR LIFE!!"
March 26, 2024 at 11:34 PM
I swear to god I'm an artist when I'm not yelling about pandemics on the internet. Here's a painting WIP.
A painted canvas. It has flat, matte black painted figures on an orange and yellow painted background. A semi-realistic bust of a person shouts or screams. There is a heart shape carved out of their chest. A small, stylized person below them flinches away. There are bits of a sketch suggesting something pouring from the shouting person's mouth.
March 22, 2024 at 6:29 AM
MY BEST FRIEND WHOSE KEFFIYEH I'VE BEEN BORROWING CAUGHT A HIRBAWI RESTOCK I DIDN'T SEE AND GIFTED ME MY VERY OWN KEFFIYEH
A white person with red tinted geometric glasses. They're wearing a Palestinian kuffiyeh in white, red, black, and green--the colors of the Palestinian flag
March 17, 2024 at 1:28 PM
people shocked at me starting
@maskblocmsp.bsky.social as if I wasn't hand-making fabric masks on March 29, 2020

I was a lot of friends' and associates' first mask supplier in 2020 and it makes sense that going into year 5 I'm still being annoying!
A blurry phone photo of cloth masks, like the type that were common in early 2020. These are imperfect and obviously home-sewn.
March 13, 2024 at 11:15 PM
New blog post: cinderblocked

crashmargulies.dreamwidth.org/1614.html
A screenshot of text. It says, "At the beginning of March, thin-throated and fledgling warm, I tell her I wanted to be a poet, not a medic. And I've been scraping on the medic part, like that's somehow the point, but all of a sudden at eight in the morning on a Saturday it takes effort not to scream, the poet part is the point! The point is that I can't turn it off. The point is that poetry gets into the cracks like water—it shoves its way in through the smallest of cracks and makes you change shape, buckles you like bad asphalt in a sub-zero winter we'll never have again. The point is I can't stop looking. I can't stop seeing the dead children on my phone on the other side of the world and the alive children at the school near my job and thinking, We've taken all the fruit from them and burned the orchards. [...]" Full text found at post link.
March 7, 2024 at 12:49 AM
Okay, and last but certainly not least: the Corsi-Rosenthal Box! A DIY air-filter that does the work of a big HEPA filter for a fraction of the cost, and all you need is some stuff from your local big hardware store + time + patience (or a friend with those things)
A Corsi-Rosenthal air filter: a 20-inch box fan duct taped to four 20-by-20-inch furnace filters to form a cube. This one is worse for wear & has been dented.
March 3, 2024 at 5:47 PM
Some other best-practices can be found on this nifty graphic here, transcribed fully in the following link: maskblocmsp.carrd.co#testing
A text-dense flier titled MORE COVID-19 TESTING RESOURCES. There are links to COVID.gov and testinglocator.cdc.gov, and then this passage: SECTION 3: Rapid Test best practices Test more than once! Sequential testing over multiple days is best Testing on days 3, 4, and 5 after a crowded event or potential exposure helps avoid FALSE NEGATIVES Don't eat for 30 minutes before the test Blow your nose, wash your hands SWAB YOUR CHEEKS, THROAT, AND NOSE. Swab between both cheeks and lower gums and turn the swab a few times. Swab on your tongue as far back in your throat as you feel comfortable. Swab your nose as your test directs
March 3, 2024 at 5:46 PM
Okay, the last thing on my lineup on the desk there is COVID-19 RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS, aka Covid Rapid Tests! Most of us are vaguely familiar with WHAT these are so I'm gonna talk more about best practices with these!
A box of two Abbot Health/BinaxNOW COVID Rapid tests
March 3, 2024 at 5:42 PM
One of the cool things about the Aranet Home app on your phone is you can look back on data from your sensor--you can tell here that the CO2 in my gf's house (or particularly the backpack where my gadget lives!) is way high & we could use much better ventilation in there.
A graph of CO2 ppm over the last 7 days. It spikes at over 1800ppm in bright red on Tuesday, February 28.
March 3, 2024 at 5:41 PM
Up next is the ARANET4 Carbon Dioxide monitor. Don't be fooled, this little gadget is extremely helpful for DIY COVID mitigation.
An ARANET 4 CO2 monitor. It's a small white plastic square, about 3 inches per side. It has an e-ink display which reads: 74.5 degrees F, 22% humidity, 438 ppm CO2
March 3, 2024 at 5:24 PM
OKAY so we've got NASAL SPRAY up next in our lineup! The one I use is Betadine Cold Defence Nasal Spray; its active ingredient is Iota-Carrageenan, a chemical derived from seaweed, and there's clinical evidence it helps prevent viral infections & lessen severity
a 20ml bottle of BETADONE COLD DEFENCE nose spray with a protective cap on top
March 3, 2024 at 5:20 PM
Next up is this fellow: a personal HEPA air filter. The little handle/stand that came with it is lost, so last night I crocheted it a little harness & gave it a vintage camera strap--because this model only does what we want very close to our faces, I wear it around my neck or set on my desk edge
A personal HEPA filter. It's a cylinder about the size of a tallboy beer can--10 inches tall, three across? I've crocheted a weird looking harness around it because its carrier handle fell off
March 3, 2024 at 5:17 PM
The first and most-used is a well-fitting, highly-rated mask! I often wear a reusable one by Cambridge Masks, but in this photo/lineup I have a KN95. I also can't have ANY pressure on backs of ears because migraines, so I have a DIY "ear saver" for my ear loops to hook onto
A black bi-fold KN95 mask and a DIY ear saver. The ear saver is made of crocheted yarn and is about 1 inch wide and 6 inches long with a large round clothing button on each end.
March 3, 2024 at 5:13 PM