Active, vibrant, invented, grown, more-than-human, social, lively, mutant, smart, performative, political, haunted, ambivalent, troubled, situated, archival, toxic, friendly, historical, designed, technological, radical, soft, awkward. “This is…” is a fragmented introduction to a curious electrical effect in certain crystals and a multi-perspective introduction to material culture at the same time. In it, materials become words and words are materials with physical impact.