I chatted about it with one of my writer friends, who saw nothing wrong with it, as in “If you’ve got it, flaunt it” and asked if I listed PhD after my name in my faculty email. I said no, because everyone had one. (If anything, listing one’s endowed professorship or a high administrative position is what we academic nerds do as a show of force.)
Then it hit me. In my professional world, everyone does have a PhD. So much so that it seems like not a big deal, almost a triviality, only the beginning point of career and achievement. But it’s not trivial. It denotes an already remarkable level of achievement in one’s field of inquiry. A vast majority of people don’t have a PhD, nor do they know anyone who does. A PhD is a big deal. We should be proud of it. We shouldn’t hide it. But I always hide it, because people are weird around intellectuals. When people ask what I do, I say I work at the university. If they don’t probe further, I don’t volunteer. If they do, I say I am a professor or that I teach, and I see a shock and immediate re-classification of me from wherever I was to wherever university professors get mentally placed. I don’t have to say I have a PhD; I assume it’s implied, and its unspoken existence does make for an awkward dynamics for a moment, or a dozen.
The writer friend from above said I should be flaunting my PhD and my theoretical and mathy background in my bios for genre fiction. I’m not so sure. I may have science cred, but that doesn’t mean my fiction doesn’t suck donkey balls. It feels like the more I flaunt my science credentials, the more I might antagonize the readers and editors with my layperson scribbling intrusion. Is this crazy?
But I should at least be a little kinder toward the people who do list their credentials in their bios and publication announcement, unrelated to the writing pursuit as these credentials may be. Perhaps all they’re trying to do is raise their stock, give themselves some credibility, battle a crushing impostor syndrome.
In the meantime, it’s good to remember that having a PhD is great, that one should be proud of it as PhDs are not common in the general population, but that one’s title and expertise should be wielded with kindness and humility, because while it does means a high level of achievement in a small subfield, the world is vast and full of capable, talented people, and, in more areas than not, we’re all clueless newbs with plenty to learn.
If you read Academaze, please leave a review on Amazon. Reviews help others find the book. Thank you!
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I’ve written some (OK, maybe a lot) about the way I (dis)organize my time.
My goal is not to throw shade at list lovers and über-organizers. However, I feel like the only “how to” voices we hear online come from the people who advocate that success, money, and happiness stem from buying planners and planning-related stationery and/or boxes and/or shelves, hiring more people to take care of your kids (or relegating childcare to the possibly reluctant spouse), and basically making your time highly structured.
I am here for all those of us to are unwilling or unable to do some (or all) of the above.
This post was inspired by some writing-related questions I received from a reader. I will get to them shortly, but first some general principles.
I am not objectively lazy, even though I sometimes feel like I am. I always have many things going on, which means that there is usually something I will feel excited to tackle, and, in the absence of hard deadlines, I indulge myself as much as I can. Maybe I planned to work on a paper, and maybe I will, but maybe I won’t. If I am really itching to work on fiction this morning, I will. The thing is, by trying to do whatever pulls me most at any given moment, I actually get a ton done, and pretty fast, while I minimize feeling miserable.
I never miss real deadlines. However, any “deadline” that I deem soft, unreasonable, or for other reasons missable or ignorable, I will do my best to miss and/or ignore. It’s a compulsion and connected to my personality. This is why I abhor the college SRO requiring single-PI proposals a week in advance when I know it never takes more than an hour from me enabling SRO access to the proposal actually being submitted. This is also why saying I will start writing a proposal three months in advance and finish it a month ahead of a deadline to let it marinate will never fucking work for me because I know this is a bullshit arbitrary deadline posed by me and I will delight in watching it pass as time marches on toward the actual submission deadline. I really, really like to mess with myself whenever I try to be too tight-assed about anything. I don’t call myself a chaos goblin for nothing.
I have a family and while they do intrude on everything I do, non stop, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Husband and I never really outsourced childcare beyond daycare centers and afterschool. We’ve hired a babysitter maybe 10 times total for all of our kids combined. The people we trusted and asked to babysit (daycare teachers) usually didn’t need the little money they could make by babysitting as much as they, too, needed time off. So, as you read this, please note that implying I should get a babysitter to take care of some of the distractions will not be useful, especially now that my younger two are 9 and 13. To paraphrase Stephen King in On Writing: “Life is not a support system for art/work. It’s the other way around.”
Without further ado, here are the questions from reader Positive Definite, who’s part of an active academic writers’ group.
iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅: I use Latex for papers, MS Word for proposals and collaborative papers with experimentalists. I mostly do my technical writing on one of my desktops (work or home office). I don’t like laptops, and do I use my laptop when I travel, but otherwise stick to the desktops. Before the pandemic, I did most of my technical writing at work or at home in the evenings. During the pandemic, well, it’s all at home, in my home office.
Creative writing: I use Google Docs and work either from my desktops or, quite often, on my phone. (I also read most books these days on the phone, desktop, and occasionally Kindle. I used to think I’d never abandon hard copy for ebooks, yet here we are. My already double-stacked shelves are thankful.)
One problem during the pandemic is that I share the home office with husband and Smurf. Husband has set up another space for himself since he’s been teaching online all summer, but Smurf and I are office mates pretty much all day, every day. He sits at his desk next to me and can get quite distracting (he’s a little chatterbox in general, plus he sometimes rages at his Roblox games). Middle Boy is just outside and often quite loud over Discord with his friends. Overall, there’s a lot of noise near my currently only desktop computer. To combat this, I put on headphones and, if I need to focus or the kids are really loud, I also play some music (the key here is to play something I like and know well). This is how I survived grad school in a cube farm with 20 other students, and the strategy works for most kid-generated distractions.
During the pandemic, I have actually managed to impose more structure on my time than usual — or, rather, more structure has spontaneously self-assembled from the chaos — likely because I have much more time overall and am far less exhausted than I usually am. I think the absence of the face time associated with teaching, service, and travel makes all the difference. (Note that I don’t find interactions with my grad students or collaborators draining, but invigorating.) These days, I get enough sleep, an hour of exercise per day, and even though I cook every day, there’s still plenty of time to do work and to relax. I mostly write and edit fiction on the weekends and do work during the week; I participate in writing sprints every other Saturday, which gives me a story seed to work on and submit before the next sprint. However, work week/fiction weekend is not a hard and fast rule, and if I’m on a roll with either technical or creative writing, I will stay with it for as long as it lasts.
2. Do you have any pre-writing rituals or habits before you sit down to write?
3. Do you have any methods for managing tasks and your time to stay productive and not let projects and deadlines become overwhelming?
Not really, at least nothing that I can easily articulate and share. Also not much that is set in stone, because I like to change things up, and because I can never stick with any measures that feel punitive, even if they were successful in the past. (For example, this is why I gave up on calorie tracking; while it worked for weight loss, it’s fucking soul-crushing, makes me overfocus on food, frustrates me because who the fuck knows how many calories are in the stuff I cook, and just makes me feel like an anally retentive robot.) Finally, I am not opposed to (and by not opposed to I mean I really crave) the adrenaline rush; as someone said, “Deadlines focus the mind.” I might sing a different tune if I were in industry, but, in academia, there are few deadlines that are really inflexible.
I do occasionally make big-picture (like six months to a year) rough plans for getting the papers out, write those up and share them with my students, so they know what’s coming down the pike. This is especially important in the year before a major grant is up for renewal, but even so the deadlines are really loose (“This to be done by end of this semester”).
At the beginning of a week, I decide on a few big things that I should work on and roughly when, but I am prepared to have a bad week (e.g., this morning started with two fiction declines, yay Monday!) or for something urgent to fall into my lap (e.g., last-minute tenure letter request, anyone?). So I try not to sweat it if I can’t make the original weekly plan. There’s always another week. Plus, I sometimes have a really awesome week and get a ton done faster than expected, which is always a treat.
I’ve really tried not to be too cruel with myself during the pandemic. I am doing well overall, being that my group does math and computing so we’ve continued pretty much undeterred through the crisis. I’ve been trying to focus on the group members’ spirits remaining high, and on everyone doing well mentally and physically. Students have bad/down weeks and I would never take it against them, so I try not to take it against myself, either, although I am sure the students expect me not to have any downtime myself. I am not going to dwell on my issues with them, as it would erode my authority, but they could easily reason to the conclusion that I, too, sometimes need a break simply because I’m human who is responsible for many other humans.
In all, I do make loose long-term plans (written) and loose short-term plans (unwritten), which often change.
4. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received about writing?
I can’t say that I have ever received explicit writing advice from anyone when it comes to technical writing. But here are some things that I consider fundamental and try to impart on my graduate students and postdocs (many of whom are not native speakers of English): correctness, clarity, and logical flow before all else. If it’s crystal clear what you are trying to say and there’s a logical thread connecting your arguments, you are most of the way there. Engaging, beautiful prose, light as a butterfly’s wings, that comes later.
When it comes to fiction, I feel like I probably care about plot more than most literary writers and do not mind spare prose at all, especially if it is clear and precise. One good metaphor or simile can do wonders; I don’t need a pile of bland adjectives instead. And I fucking hate hate HATE it when ornate language is used to mask the absence of plot or authorial vision, or to plug giant logical holes. In fiction, the best pieces of advice are:
a) Make sure the reader cares about your characters, usually because the characters care about something, too, otherwise even the most intricately plotted piece will ring hollow.
b) You could (and should) always have more tension/conflict in your story.
c) Start the story as close to the inciting incident as possible.
Feedback on writing is paramount. For young technical writers, there’s the advisor, but before the advisor there are senior members of the group. They have the benefit of knowing the jargon and being further along in the writing journey, and will give the feedback of a benevolent, interested reader.
With creative writing, feedback is similarly important. I review a lot of other people’s work and have found a small number of people from whose critiques I greatly benefit. They like my work, have a similar style, work in the same genres as I do, and are either on par or a bit ahead of me in the writing game. You need a critique partner (often called a beta reader) who gets you, because their job is to understand what you tried to do and let you know if, when, and how you failed to achieve your own objective, then to possibly offer solutions. Critique partners might be blunt but usually aren’t, and I don’t mind either way, because I trust them. If you are critiquing someone you don’t know well, always err on the side of kindness and express everything as your personal opinion, which it really is. “This seems to me…”; “It reads to me like this happens…”; “This part wasn’t clear to me; you might want to reword it. Here is a suggestion…” This advice goes back to these excellent posts from Critters.org: here and 小火箭ios订阅.
5. Do you ever struggle with writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it? If not, how do you prevent it?
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There are also days when I feel irritable and unmotivated. I try to give myself a break if it’s clear I am craving a break. In our line of work, a few days of reading for pleasure or binging Netflix is not the end of the world. If the creative well is dry and it begs you to replenish it, just do it. You will be back sooner and going full steam after you’ve rested.
My recommendation is to listen to this inner voice as much as you can when it’s telling you what it wants to do and, if you can help it, don’t override it. In creative endeavors, indulge yourself as much as you can. And get lots of hobbies! If you are anything like me, having many things you can do means you fight boredom easily, always feel intellectually engaged, draw inspiration from all sorts of sources, and get plenty done on various fronts.
Finally, I have confidence that the muse will come back. It always does, in time, after I have fed it enough through rest and consuming other people’s science and/or art. Do not abuse the muse with unreasonable expectations.
6. Do you have any favorite books, not necessarily about writing, that have influenced the way you write?
I have been blogging for the last 10+ years, and blogging has helped both my scientific writing and served as a great preparation for creative writing. All forms of writing benefit from clarity, precision, and logic. In all forms of writing, knowing exactly how certain syntactic structures or choices in wording and punctuation affect your reader make you a better communicator. All forms of writing can and do feed into one another.
If you aspire to become a great technical writer, write in any shape or form you can. Keep a journal. Start a blog on some topics you are passionate about. Write poetry or short fiction or screenplays. Connect with other writers.
I think scientific writing has made me a pretty decent editor when it comes to creative writing (at least of prose). Writing buddies always compliment my ability to spot a problem and articulate why exactly it is a problem. I am sure this stems from my analytical approach to, well, everything.
A book about technical writing that many seem to like: Joshua Schimel’s Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded. I have it, and I like it, but I am not a die-hard fan, perhaps because by the time I got to it, I felt I already knew most of what is covered therein.
I enjoyed most of Stephen Pinker’s shadowrocket添加v2ray , while the oldie but goodie Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is a book every writer should have on hand.
If you are into writing and selling short genre fiction, Douglas Smith’s hero li: 是不是ios的这个小火箭版本太低了? 2.1.17(589 ...:2021-6-13 · 是不是ios的这个小火箭版本太低了? 2.1.17(589), 在appstore上好像也无法更新了, 已经下架了 - hero li 說在 社群 Shadowrocket 在 2021年6月13日星期六 15:00 is popular, although I found it soul-crushing in its dismissal of everything that’s not a sale at a professional rate, especially at this day and age when short speculative fiction is no longer a viable commercial enterprise.
The book I love with a fiery passion of a thousand suns is Stephen King’s On Writing (I wrote about it here, and the post is part of a rather extensive chapter on writing in Academaze). On Writing is part memoir, part writing manual, and 100% un-put-downable, even on repeated reads.
Wise and worldly readers, please share your own pearls of writerly wisdom!
The question is: How does one learn to write useful referee reports/reviews of the technical work of others? (Other than being an editor, I also received recognition as an outstanding referee from a professional society, so I’d like to think I know a little bit about the topic.)
My students get training on how to write referee reports. After they’ve published a paper or two, they will get solicited for reviews whether they know what they’re doing or not, so it’s my job to make sure they do a service (rather than a disservice) to the scientific enterprise. First, I share (through the group’s password-protected document repository) a few of my own reviews with group members, which they can use as a style and structure guide. We also do joint reviews — certain society journals have this option, in particular for a supervised co-review with a (named!) junior person, whereupon the junior person also gets added to the reviewer base. I might ask a student to supply an additional review on papers where I am associate editor and the topic is in their wheelhouse. I have never, ever asked a student to do an uncredited review instead of me: either we co-review or I decline and recommend them as a reviewer, but they always get properly credited for their work.
Before I proceed, a couple of disclaimers. In my field, there is only single-blind review (the referee is not known to the authors, but the authors are known to the referee). In most journals I referee for, the referee is explicitly asked to recommend a course of action (e.g., reject, resubmit with minor/major revisions, accept as is, transfer to another journal, and sometimes other finer steps in between); these are advisory to the editor, who can ultimately do what they like. If your field or subfield is not like that, for example if you’re actually forbidden from making even a hint of recommendation, please do not assume that all fields are like yours or that I don’t know what I am talking about.
One part of the training is helping students understand what it is that they should be recommending based on the report. Are the edits minor, but mandatory? Are they minor, but optional? Then say so. Can you envision the authors making certain edits that would eventually make you happy to recommend publication? Then tell them clearly what they need to do, even if it’s major, and don’t recommend rejection, but major revisions. Is there something in the paper that’s a complete deal breaker, so that you cannot envision how it would become appropriate for the journal without being a completely different paper? That’s a rejection. For example, the paper is not novel (all they claim to have done new had already been done by others, whom they didn’t cite); the paper is wrong or fraudulent or grossly misleading; the paper is poorly aligned with what the journal publishes (e.g., outside scope; too specialized for a generalist journal).
This is how I recommend to structure a review:
a) Summarize the paper in one to two sentences. If the paper were a screenplay, this would be the logline. You’re letting the authors and the editor know what you think the paper is about.
b) A few sentences regarding your general impressions of the paper. Not just the bad; the good, too. For instance, if it’s was written well or if it’s an engaging read, say so. If it’s an interesting topic, say so. If it is timely, say so. If it is a paper on a topic that was beaten to death 10 or 50 years ago, say so.
c) A clear recommendation and the general reason for the recommendation, which should flow out of point b).
Btw, points a-c are usually one, maybe two paragraphs total. Not very long if you know what you are doing.
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Doing d) properly takes time, but this is the heart of the review, and needs to be done properly for both the authors’ and the referee’s sake. In recent months, I have had the misfortune of reviewing several manuscripts where the authors pretended whole subfields didn’t exist and they didn’t cite anyone, presumably out of ignorance, but there’s also a nonzero chance it was on purpose, in order to elevate the perceived novelty of their work. In one notable example, it took me weeks to write the review, first because I was too pissed to write it, second because I had to sit down and look up key references to show them what they were missing. I explicitly had to say it was not an exhaustive list, that it was their job to do a literature review, but I pointed them toward where they could find out more.
The style of the review should be polite and matter-of-fact; being blunt is fine, but taking jabs, especially iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅, is not. I occasionally catch myself being snarky and have to drop the review until I can write more dispassionately. Don’t be mean or snarky. There are always junior scientists who poured their heart and soul into the paper. Do not be cruel; it can crush a young person’s spirit and contribute to them leaving science. The editors who let mean-spirited reviews through (presumably from untouchable giants in the field) are also to blame.
Miscellaneous: Do not be a pronoun jerk. When reviewing single-author papers, it’s easy to use “the author” and never even use a pronoun. It’s inclusive, avoids misgendering people, and prevents you from appearing blatantly sexist. (Based on my single-author-paper days and even today, when I submit solo-PI proposals, there’s always someone who relishes a bit too much in using the female pronouns to tell a female author that she sucks or that her work is garbage.)
Also, when you respond to referee reports, use “Referee A/1” and “they” because you have no idea who reviewed. While I’m used to being referred to as a he, presumably because my reviews display such kickassery and competence that no one can fathom them having sprouted from a feeble lady brain, I am definitely pleased when the male gender is not assumed.
Academic blogosphere, what are your thoughts on becoming a good referee and on the peer-review process in general?
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Dear fellow readers,
I am a STEM professor who decided to pour my frustrations into an essay. It’s written in a personal style, shaking my fist at the heavens about students who have never developed good skills in high school math and yet refuse to switch from a highly quantitative field to something else. I have tenure and I am a member of the union, but I am also at a university that is loudly trumpeting messages about Student Success. Also, while I never relate any specific incidents with identifying details, I do note that a lot of colleagues dismiss the notion of steering students elsewhere, and often say “What about diversity?” when I say that some students just don’t have the mathematical skills. (Note that many of these floundering students are white males from suburbia. The students whom I wish to steer elsewhere are less diverse and more privileged than my colleagues need to claim in order to fashion their stance into some semblance of morality.)
Would it be insanity to publish this under my real name?
— Blog Reader
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Wait, you thought I was done with links? BWAHAHAHAHAHA! No.
And then Me and my sister recreated Mick Jagger and David Bowie’s Dancing in the street vid. Ur welcome @laviniajwright pic.twitter.com/F7kVT1kGTs
— Maris Jones (@themarisjones) June 12, 2024
Asian parents have been parenting like this forever, I see 😆
-Tao Qian (~365–427 AD), translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping in The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry pic.twitter.com/wWwJTOHPGG
— Vanessa Fogg (@FoggWriter) June 14, 2024
HELENA BONHAM CARTER stars in this groundbreaking Cinema Quarantino Production DAS FONE HELL. At vast expense, filmed on two continents over what (seemed like) five years , this profound and heartbreakingly candid insight into Modern Life will shake you to the core (Pilates 101) pic.twitter.com/aVXCfvAyfd
— Sam Neill (@TwoPaddocks) May 23, 2024
This is classic parenting. I’d like to say I rose above their system but… nah. It’s bang on. http://t.co/DdkDFtiuQb
— Wendy Cooper (@WendyCooper) June 11, 2024
"During these trying times, we need to stick together and stay safe. Until this pandemic business is completely behind us, I don’t want you or the kids doing anything like going out in public or googling my name."http://t.co/1RPt2OcxOx
— Timothy McSweeney (@mcsweeneys) June 15, 2024
Things #autistic people really need to be told before going off into the world – a thread. Please share widely. Thought, as ever, based on my own experience. #autism 小火箭ios订阅
— Pete Wharmby (@commaficionado) June 15, 2024
David Tennant as thermos flasks.
A thread. pic.twitter.com/Vd43ounCqg
— Amanda (@Pandamoanimum) 小火箭在线安装ios
Totally irresponsible, risky and unnecessary use of CRISPR pic.twitter.com/mQRtZ5ny60
— Oded Rechavi 🦉 (@OdedRechavi) June 16, 2024
Spend your day lifting other up… pic.twitter.com/aQklnF7lXR
— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) 小火箭在线安装ios
Hello, it me pic.twitter.com/i7YtyGozO0
— Myke “OMEGA LEVEL HIMBO” Coleman (@DaedalusUnbnd) June 14, 2024
This is my favorite! 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/5fRCnnVddR
— Figen.. (@TheFigen) June 19, 2024
I will never fully process the fact that Cher made a version of West Side Story where she plays all the roles and then somehow got it on television pic.twitter.com/RJqesVxuAg
— Classical Studies Memes for Hellenistic Teens (@CSMFHT) June 20, 2024
Admin in 2024: please be prepared to teach online, in person, both simultaneously, on a moving train, while juggling, in a burning building, under the sea, during a wrestling match with a T-Rex, as a hologram, and riding a unicorn. Also be safe and we value you.
— Alexandra Finley (@AlexJFinley) June 23, 2024
Wait for it… 🐾💕
pic.twitter.com/mgi5FIPhL3
— jay arnold 🎬 (@jadedcreative) June 23, 2024
July 2024. pic.twitter.com/Vyxzpil54j
— You Had One Job! (@_youhadonejob1) June 22, 2024
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Lots to write about, but even more to do at work, which means I’ve hit a point of overwhelm at which I don’t feel like doing anything. But the work must be done, so, without further ado, Twitter links!
It’s okay to take a break for your mental health. pic.twitter.com/joJNDbNY7T
— Swear Trek (@swear_trek) June 5, 2024
Can confirm, except for the alcohol graph line (not allowed – doctor's orders!) pic.twitter.com/OrmAepPJre
— Wendy S. Delmater (@safewrite) June 5, 2024
"PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS (Fall 2024): Time limits on Zoom; eggs made by a stranger; and getting a goddamn minute of peace and quiet."http://t.co/3Ggza1jaSM
— Timothy McSweeney (@mcsweeneys) June 5, 2024
Donald Glover but as you keep scrolling his smile gets bigger: A Thread pic.twitter.com/Am6YyRruR7
— harmony 🪐 BLM (@D0NALDGL0VERR) June 5, 2024
Here is a snapshot of the cooking tips that some states have been searching for in @Google so that dinner makes it to the table. http://t.co/0MBI5ib233
— The Daily Meal (@thedailymeal) June 5, 2024
This is not related to anything, but as a guy who knows next to nothing about punk I have enjoyed looking up a lot of these woman-fronted bands on Spotify. http://t.co/q42VujOVtG
— Matthew Bennardo (@mbennardo) June 8, 2024
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— Wayne Johns (@sottovoce11) June 7, 2024
Chocolate is serious business: especially on #ChocolateIceCreamDay!#StarTrek pic.twitter.com/N2YlzfSi5T
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) June 7, 2024
Not sure what this Goth IHOP is, but I don't think anything trending is much of a surprise anymore in 2024. pic.twitter.com/V2WTKL3nkq
— The irony of liberty is no one here is truly free (@SethFromThe716) June 8, 2024
— rc @ CYL4 fund 960/1120 💛✨ (@spacialrenders) iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅
大庭广众之下 pic.twitter.com/yYaYyVUPU3
— ~冷焱~ (@CH_Lnyan) June 2, 2024
Tag yourself. I'm 32. pic.twitter.com/k4Oi3K7jjD
— I.M. Noone 🏳️🌈👨⚕️ (@ianmnoone) June 9, 2024
I still have a hard time with this being a real bird & not something from 'A muppets fucking nightmare festival' pic.twitter.com/6sHVgvEnjK
— Jon (@giftedrascal) June 8, 2024
pic.twitter.com/UzkCp8jcYI
— 𝕲𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘☆𝕮𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖔𝖓 (@ENKIRAY) iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅
My sister sent me this and I feel a lot of us can relate. pic.twitter.com/XgOhtqFybt
— Saima Mir (@SaimaMir) 小火箭更新订阅教程
Definitely my kids this 😂 pic.twitter.com/LJUunEoHNj
— Gary Buller (@garybuller) June 10, 2024
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I don’t do much politics on this blog, usually because I’m insufficiently informed to write anything particularly illuminating. But the ongoing protests, which I support, must not be ignored. I wanted to avoid performative posting, which seems to permeate social media, but I suppose I’m failing, so at least I’ll keep it brief.
I wish the abuse and murder of Black people would stop. I am White; I am trying to listen/read and learn, and I help out with donations. Battling deeply ingrained systemic racism is an ongoing issue, one that takes empathy, constant vigilance, and continued education.
I don’t have much original to say, and this isn’t about me anyway, so here are some links that might be of interest/use.
— Nino Cipri, crying gay cat dad (@ninocipri) June 2, 2024
I’m getting scared that we’re forgetting Breonna Taylor- those cops haven’t even been arrested. Please remember black women. Please let’s keep fighting for her.
— Ayana Mathis (@Ayana_Mathis) June 4, 2024
NEVER FORGET Kalief Browder. A young black man who sat on Rikers Island for 3 YEARS without trial for a backpack he DIDN’T steal. He committed suicide after spending two yrs in solitary confinement. 730 days alone. pic.twitter.com/uw9ozmLgIS
— East Feed (@eastfeed) June 3, 2024
For people who actively want to be support and be an ally right now, I have written a thread. pic.twitter.com/kTvDgXXO5L
Dear white people, For days you’ve asked me what you can do to help. I’ve finally found an answer.
Let your guard down and listen. pic.twitter.com/74SVv8XOqp
— Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) June 2, 2024
http://t.co/tpY4yQTwAG It takes a special kind of writer to calmly articulate an infuriating crime. Read this, it is powerful and important. @DevorahBlachor shadowrocket添加v2ray
— Brandy Gonzalez (@Poe_what) June 1, 2024
I still think this McSweeney's piece by @vijithassar is one of the most amazing illustrations of why grammar matters: http://t.co/koemKkqDRW
— Jeremy Zallen (@jeremyzallen) June 2, 2024
And a couple slightly more uplifting links:
Things are pretty overwhelming but for a change of pace I wrote about living with my fiancée for the first time in our relationship. http://t.co/uoWNfUwh5v
— roxane gay (@rgay) iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅
#WOMENSART blog: Women Artists of the Harlem Renaissance http://t.co/vHaEk5ELiZ iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅
— #WOMENSART (@womensart1) June 3, 2024
鹰眼加速器
The other day, I visited a blog I only occasionally read. It’s written by a lovely person whose approach to organizing time is very different from mine, someone who relies on structure and detailed, elaborate plans. The piece I read was an essay in which the blogger reflected upon the reasons behind planning. The blogger started with the death of a loved one who had lived a life full of “social engagements, travel, art, entertaining, and time with family,” then revealed that their devotion to planning was fueled by a desire to not waste time, to ensure that each small precious moment is spent on things that matter and serve a purpose.
This blogger seems like a really nice person, so I want it to be understood that I absolutely do not wish to throw any shade here. However, this essay, like many of the blogger’s posts, gave me metaphorical hives, because the blogger and I are so, SO different. Everything described above strikes me as an extrovert’s definition of a satisfying life. An existence this full of social engagements, travel, and family sounds downright exhausting. There are so many people, nonstop people and nonstop movement in this story. There is also the assumption that one is able to perform whatever one planned to when one planned to do it. There is no room for procrastination and no room for pushing back (referred to as “bad attitude”).
Look, I agree that we should be grateful for the time we have. But I feel that focusing on never having a wasted moment is (for the likes of me, at least) just crazy-making. It’s a bit like this: If you ever had a baby, you probably remember the enormous pressure to take advantage of the nap times, all the things you wanted to squeeze into these tiny slots, which often resulted in accomplishing nothing and feeling like a failure because you wanted to do too much, because the baby slept too little, because the baby slept too long and you reeeeeally should’ve taken advantage of THAT even though you had no crystal ball, because you couldn’t fall asleep yourself, because you couldn’t focus on work… Because, because, because. Detailed planning with the purpose on avoiding time waste gives me anxiety similar to trying (and failing) to make the most of a baby’s nap.
Please, please don’t let anyone tell you that sitting still and being comfortable in your head means you are wasting your life.
To me, unnecessary structure is stifling. Sure, I know there are meetings I have to attend and classes, office hours, and activities with the kids; I know there are deadlines and timeframes for various goals, but, other than that, I feel that a great many things do not, in fact, have to be scheduled, or at least not too rigidly. When it comes to raising kids, I feel there are no big manufactured moments, just moments. Sure, kids like vacations and adventures, but, to me, the most meaningful, heartwarming moments come from goofing around in the kitchen, chatting in the car on our way back from sports, impromptu silliness while shopping together. Just being around the kids, feeding them and talking to them and doing homework with them and organizing playdates, the stuff of daily life — I am positive that’s what gets built into the kids’ psyche and makes it strong. Elaborate vacations are nice, but not critical. Sure, they make for great pictures, but to me vacations are terribly stressful precisely because so much hinges on not wasting every (expensive) moment.
My biggest priorities are spontaneity and free time in which anything can happen, and I prefer to spend most of this time by myself, inside my head. I have a lot of interests, many of them creative ones, which require solitude. I feel that the focus on people-centric activities and planning misses much of the creative work and the people who engage in it. I can do relatively mindless, superficial work in 15-min chunks between chores; God knows there’s plenty of that type of work to go around. But anything deep, science or art, requires focus and doesn’t always work on demand regardless of how upset with myself and my own bad attitude I might get.
What say you, blogosphere? What drives you to plan or not plan?
鹰眼加速器
The three types of newbie game developers: pic.twitter.com/HSVoeSQ8BW
— Alexandria Heston (@ali_heston) 小火箭ios订阅
I may be slow to find good stuff, but when I do, I share it:http://t.co/kWJQYVyl6z
— Diane Wilkes (@chelsearoad75) May 14, 2024
"Physics PhD: Friends must pretend it is endearing when you explain why their favorite movies are inaccurate."http://t.co/9Q9lg4jJDh
— Timothy McSweeney (@mcsweeneys) May 18, 2024
While the world burns, here you are, reading online drivel about fashion as if the answer isn’t always just, “be rich.”http://t.co/SxVu6CRCn0
— Zack Smith (@ZackMS) May 15, 2024
"If you are female, drink one shot immediately. Underrepresented minority: one shot. Both: three shots, because intersectionality. Each shot will help you lower your expectations for fairness before you read through the comments."http://t.co/QnpMJm7Qpf
— Timothy McSweeney (@mcsweeneys) May 19, 2024
For anyone who doubts this, I’ll just leave this here: http://t.co/EZTRuiu7sc
— Amber Sparks🪓 (@ambernoelle) May 19, 2024
Really appreciate it when tech companies put their release notes for the next update in a human, accessible language. http://t.co/7Z2zveEkYx
— Julia C. Robinson (@JuliaCoyner) May 19, 2024
My first for @mcsweeneys. Thank you @crmonks.http://t.co/9g7QyNyhbZ
— Megan Peck Shub (@meganpeckshub) May 19, 2024
this is the "buzzed my head"/"cut my bangs" of fruitdom http://t.co/6wqHagH40w
— todd dillard (@toddedillard) May 19, 2024
anime reaction sounds : 😂 this is why i eased up on the KDrama’s hahaa shadowrocket添加v2ray
— Thaddeus 💫 (@ItsHippyPotter) May 18, 2024
"Avoid bringing agenda items to a vote — there is always the next meeting. Even better, leave items until next year when you won’t be chair."http://t.co/s63DnXykA8
— Timothy McSweeney (@mcsweeneys) 小火箭更新订阅教程
I know every academic is sharing this, but that's only because it is startlingly accurate. http://t.co/qBr7cG5aaQ
— Amy Lynch-Biniek (@amylynchbiniek) May 22, 2024
My brother with a spot-on and very funny piece in @mcsweeneys
I Love My Work – McSweeney’s Internet Tendency http://t.co/MREx2xxbgT
— Ray Buckner (@ray_moishe) May 22, 2024
I've been following a strange copyright case that began when a writer in a kinky genre called Omegaverse accused another writer of plagiarism. I learned more than I wanted to about Mpreg, humans engaging in wolf mating habits and something called knotting http://t.co/KFVkxPr9qt
— Alexandra Alter (@xanalter) May 23, 2024
I’ve watched, rewatched, laughed and shared.
This is why Twitter cannot die.
❤️❤️❤️🤣😅😂❤️❤️❤️
pic.twitter.com/FF8JDDt7yO
— Jillian Hurley (@BeautyBind) iOS小火箭怎么添加订阅
pic.twitter.com/568LPHMdYr
— Swear Trek (@swear_trek) May 22, 2024
Harry as Kamala, a necessary thread pic.twitter.com/orJm8MM4Ax
— Stank Angel (@StankAttitude) May 23, 2024
A herd of alpacas meet a hedgehog seemingly for the first time. pic.twitter.com/K8qqn3Ggha
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) May 23, 2024
This was way too perfect. I imagine these two rams do this every day at the same place and same time and greet each other like
"Clancy…." "Mortimer…." http://t.co/pmA6LfcPF6
— Aye throw that Boyz II Men on (@DragonflyJonez) May 23, 2024
It takes faith to believe you are worthy of a level of care that you have never received. I hope a part of you can believe it.
— Dr. Thema (@drthema) May 19, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Ba7llj0L25
— Sarah Andersen (@SarahCAndersen) May 23, 2024
David Bowie's advice to creatives in 1997 is even more relevant during these times 小火箭ios订阅
— Khai (@ThamKhaiMeng) May 19, 2024
Link to the Brink
Haven’t forgotten about the blog and hope to be back with more frequent posts, as I promised when the quarantine started. But, for now, I have tons of links, several days worth. So, without further ado:
I have recently been made aware of Anne Hathaway doing Wrecking Ball. shadowrocket添加v2ray
— Brandon (@blgtylr) May 11, 2024
NASA really did this. @MarciaBelsky 小火箭ios订阅 pic.twitter.com/34PDLRZU0Q
— Comedy Central Stand-Up (@standup) April 23, 2024
小火箭在线安装ios
— ᑕᕼᑌᑎK (@chunkled) May 12, 2024
I will NEVER eat at a buffet again! 😳 http://t.co/CvrbURyWcC
— Lucy 🇨🇦 (@TheBlueGem3) May 11, 2024
Fuck it. I’m doing it: Men of Middle Earth as bad ex boyfriends who ruined your life:
— Alex Arrelia (@AlexArrelia) May 12, 2024
You're welcome pic.twitter.com/8cX8CLyQS7
— Pete Wharmby (@commaficionado) May 10, 2024
Erykah Badu and Jill Scott on IG live pic.twitter.com/SL8Z1YPFmF
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) May 10, 2024
小火箭在线安装ios
— Samanta Jones (@SamantaJones) May 13, 2024
Honestly, same, minus the creativity. I ran into this article a few weeks back concerning depression/anxiety suffers coping surprisingly well right now: http://t.co/Cfr3MOnVTY
My husband said the X-Files opening is only scary because of the music so I fixed it pic.twitter.com/BM5z7cgsy0
— Qualia Redux (@QualiaRedux) May 13, 2024
i would like to talk about this video of snoop dogg listening to the frozen soundtrack in his parked car shadowrocket添加v2ray
— amy brown (@arb) shadowrocket添加v2ray
Everyone needs to hear this.
Thank you for saying it, @jess_mc. pic.twitter.com/jumv8FwyyD
— Matt Rogers 🎙️ (@Politidope) May 15, 2024
I was today years old when I found out about donkey nannies, which are donkeys that are used in Italy to transport newborn lambs down from the mountains for seasonal grazing. 小火箭更新订阅教程
Click on image to buy on Amazon. More info under "Academaze" tab
xykademiqz
shadowrocket添加v2ray
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