Hello again! I am a day late with my 2nd soul in the search. I wasn’t able to get it done yesterday, but a day later is cool. Last time one of the responses was that they’d like to see search queries as well. I was thinking of doing that too. At first this was about having a subjective narrative around interesting links, but perhaps the groove is found more in the subjectivity throughout. It is about revealing the soul in the search!
Some tweaks to the method: I used the search-function in my Chrome History. This reduced a lot of noise and made it easier to find sites and searches. I also included searches and non link/article/video visits. I listed them from oldest to most recent, and I included a screenshot to give you my view.
OK, so here are some links from my last week’s browser history! 🙂
Visited Trickle-down leadership wardrobes? – women, wardrobes and leadership
Last week I did a call out in Twitter asking for examples of the use of comedy in academic writing. I was thinking about the frustration I feel writing academic articles, and how the rhetorical demands stifle parts of myself. I am actively bringing my “selves” together and not having a “public self”, a “professional self”, a “private self” as so on. I have a private life, but I’m working to be myself in all of them. The whole notion of a “professional self” is so stupid. Now I sound stupid.
But at the time I realised I don’t have to censor myself. It is possible to be light-hearted, perhaps, and have scholarly gravitas. This is one of the reasons why I stopped joking around at work — because I found people couldn’t hold in their head that someone can be smart and silly at the same time. And my response? To stop being silly. Not smart.
So now I’m looking out at examples of academic writing that uses comedy, that has a lightness, just to see I’m not alone. I’m familiar with the wink and pun hear and there, but I was keen to find out about people who were known for their rhetorical effect. I few great examples were sent to me, including Joanne B. Freeman and Amanda Heffernan. And now I remember the title of my first ever talk as a post-graduate student studying cross-media: “The Day My Book Went Psycho”.
Visited Writer-Production Crew Collaborations a Win-Win for Movie Projects – Variety
I was happy to see this, as it is another example I can show my studio students (postgrads and trainers) that having diverse viewpoints during development is not uncommon. I won’t say common. I feel in love with the process of giving and receiving feedback from all team members, and importantly too from all people outside the arts. You need to know how to facilitate the feedback to get the most out of it together, and who to select for a feedback session, but when these work it is satisfying and inspiring for all involved. Silos are an artificial construction. Art is a lifestyle, not a medium, or a department. Why does this even have to be said? Oh I know. Ignore the question.
Visited This Science Fiction Novelist Created a Feminist Language from Scratch | Literary Hub
Once again, so many cool things in this article that I copied and pasted to my Notes folder. I have tried Scrivner, and I have a million google Docs. But I find using Notes to the best way for me to keep notes on my writing and research. It has to be quick and categorised, and in chronological order. Notes WORKS for me. [beat] I totally just checked if you could back up Notes and you can. I’ll be doing that next!!
Searched for 504×4=
Ha! Yes. I use Google as my calculator. And even for simple multiplications like this. It was for a invoice. I didn’t want to get that wrong. (And it isn’t as much as it seems as it is another currency.)
Watched Designing with systems featuring Raph Koster & Mike Sellers (2019)
This popped in my email and I listened to it immediately while I was working on something. I don’t recall what. Some really lovely discussions about systems thinking in this conversation. I may include it as a resource for my next Narrative Design course.
Visited What does Stifling mean?
I don’t remember exactly why I searching for this. I recall being worried that I may be writing out some word that I don’t mean…and I couldn’t get “Stifler’s mum” out of my head. I did a panic search just to make sure.
Visited Track Your Order – Domino’s Online Ordering
Well, if my browser history on my phone was fully accessible this would be a slightly different story. It was Friday. A very hot Melbourne day of 44C/111F. I needed to go into work to make some certificates for the Trainers of the last course I ran. I didn’t mind the heat (I just moved from tropicalish-Brisbane). I didn’t like the idea of just sitting on a tram though. I looked at the weather of my phone, and even though it was late morning and the heat was rising I concluded that I will ride my bicycle to work. (I usually say “bike” but some people start thinking I have a “motorbike”.)
I looked at the ride path along the beach and thought it would be good to get exercise and I could go and come back before the heat peak. I wore a head-to-toe white outfit, and put on sunscreen. The majority of the ride was glorious. But then I was on the long part of the beach ride where there are no trees. I felt my back and it was soaked, and I could feel my face getting red. I turned to the side streets and managed to cool down very quickly then. Got into work. Was mopping my face for the first 7 minutes, but then dried and refreshed. Chatting with folks, and then hopped on the bike to get back quickly.
It was a long and much harder ride back. A couple of cyclists rode past me, and one said “Hot day” or something like that. I didn’t respond, I just turned to look as they rode by. I don’t know why, I just didn’t feel compelled to fill in a line back. The cyclist seemed annoyed and spat on the ground, as the tough ones do.
I was in the last 10 minutes and knew I was about to pass my gym. I thought I could refill my drink bottle with cold water, but then I thought “nah, I can do it!” But then I reminded myself that if I was riding with someone else, I would insist we spot to do the smart thing and take care of ourselves. So I did it for myself. I am very good at taking care of myself these days, but sometimes I have to catch how quickly the “I can handle it” mindset kicks in. And I treat myself as I would treat others. It was a great cold drink.
Then as I rode home I fought the urge to get an icy-pole as a reward for doing the trip. I’m training myself not to reward myself with food. I reminded myself that a cold drink of water is much more rewarding for my body than an ice-cream, and I’ll feel better for it. So I got all the home. Stripped off. Had a great shower. Not soon after I ordered a pizza, chips, and thick shake. I have this every lasting dance where I keep figuring out what is right for me in the moment. Delayed gratification is important, especially the gratification part.
Visited Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Johnson on Vimeo
Ted Hope referred to his video and once again I had it playing in the background while I worked. There were some interesting and helpful conversations (especially as I’m writing my non-fiction book). But my thoughts went back to a thought that has been niggling at me for years: how it is easier to become proficient at something that uses existing, prevalent structures. I don’t mean for a second that Gladwell and Johnson don’t have skill and that what they do is easy. What I am referring to is relational. How the complexity of representation and responsibility increases when you’re crafting marginal systems. I don’t shy aware from the hard stuff though. That is why I’m here, to see how I and we can live our true selves beyond what others say is shiny.
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