...Can a feather cut a sword...

My wife turned sixty at 12:05am this morning. We celebrated that together after a wonderful evening with her daughters and grandchildren. It became a powerfully tear-formation-friendly scene when I realized everyone there but a couple of us literally came from – and became the amazing people they are due to – her.

There quite simply is no substitute for self-sacrificial parenting, especially in the laughably ineffective, pinnacle-of-selfishness-jockeying realm called “politics”.

If you happen to be a casualty of shitty parenting, the best way out is to find, cling to, and bask in the healing thought/behavioral rays of someone that isn't.

In the never-ending lineage of think pieces on “humanities, state of” the New York Times offers one this week: (pro tip: open it in an incognito or private tab in your browser if you don't want the endless nytimes sign-in nonsense)

Despite running a digital humanities program and trying out the label “humanist” at various points, I am not a huge fan of the term “humanities”, as it has become an empty signifier whose meaning is in the eye of the beholder. (The same is true for “digital” as well as “digital humanities.”) This nyt piece starts with well-trod ground and does an admirable job dismissing familiar dichotomies. The solutions part speaks to directions that appeal very much to me, particularly this bit from the end.

it means undertaking those activities not as experts or sages, but as partners in a continuing dialogue about how we should live together.

This has always been the most important part for me. It's probably why academia fits like a suit too many sizes too small all the time, as that's not the values system on the ground in most places. (Of course, it could just be that I'm a bit too fat for those old clothes. Probably a bit of that too. Where exactly does the generalist or polymathic type fit in? The structure of higher ed doesn't reward that.)

That quote in context provides some ways forwards (and name-drops some initiatives which I have watched with interest and excitement over the years):

Expanding the reach of humanistic education, however, means more than broadening the media channels by which we transmit scholarly insights. It also means putting more thought — and for those who can, financial support — into creating opportunities for humanistic reflection in our everyday lives. This could include helping to design robust liberal arts curriculums for secondary-school students or supporting the growing stable of “great books” schools like the Living Water School in Maryland; working with companies like Books@Work, which use English professors to moderate seminars about short stories in workplaces; and valuing continuing education courses (like those for professionals and older people at Chicago’s Graham School) as seriously as we value traditional undergraduate education. And it means undertaking those activities not as experts or sages, but as partners in a continuing dialogue about how we should live together.

But... (there's always a but), to put on the philology close-reading hat for a moment, this paragraph betrays an undercurrent of insiderism which undercuts some of the message. “expanding the reach of humanistic education” ... “broadening channels by which we” ... “...helping to design” ... “using English professors” ... “valuing continuing education courses.” Those phrases are professors talking to professors. And that's the problem. It's hard to shed the insider discourse, where humanities have a natural home in a university and it's just a matter of reaching outward.

Humanities — whatever is covered by that overly broad label — aren't owned by universities. That universities formed around a core that included the medieval predecessors of “humanities” makes what's left more like a barnacle, a parasite, or a scab. Humanities are not a thing inherent in the university that can be exported. “We” need to de-center the discourse.

The more radical proposition of the piece could be (and they head in this direction but need to go further): What happens if you take that list of activities above — lifelong learning, secondary school curriculum, workplace reading groups — and make that the stuff? Forget the university. Forget “reform”. What happens if we foreground a humanities that is fundamentally (as I think it has always been) outside of the university?

Not for anything, but the Dodgers are Little League with this play:

2 errors – ON THE SAME PLAY? E8 and E2? In the World Series? From the Dodgers?

I can't, I'm not, I don't.

That's baseball.

The Silver Fox would have never booted a catch that badly.

(PS to baseball gods: O'Malley moved them in '57. Stop messing with the Dodgers already.)

It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.

~ Address of the Holy Father John Paul II – 15th World Youth Day

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This post is Day 75 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #Spirituality #100DaysToOffload

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Lockdowns have just one consequence and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer

England has adopted a three tier lockdown system, the idea being that only those regions that are suffering the worst infection rates need to go into full lockdown. At the moment about half the population of England is living under these most stringent measures. At least it is better than Wales, where the devolved government has decided to enforce a total lockdown across the country, to last for 17 days, even in the most remote areas that have seen very few cases.

Lockdowns continue to be the principle means of virus control, this despite Dr David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation urging world leaders to stop using lockdowns as your primary control method of the global health crisis. He is reported to have said;

Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has espoused the view that the Scots had all but eliminated the virus during the summer, and that it has only taken off again because of people travelling to Scotland from other parts of the UK. Even in the midst of a pandemic it seems there is time for a spot of blatant nationalism.

Meanwhile, former colleagues tell me they are at risk of losing their jobs because of a covid induced reduction in work. A woman in the local pub, who has been working there for 10 years fears losing her job if there is another lockdown. In her 50's, what hope does she have of finding alternative employment? There is a friend who cannot get his new business up and running because the bureaucrats who need to issue the requisite trading certificate before he can do so are, as a result of covid, working at reduced staffing levels.

Again we are left to wonder at the damage the being caused to people's livelihoods and wellbeing, and whether the government's strategy for controlling the virus will come at too high a price.

25th October 2020

#journal #politics #lockdown #coronavirus

As you will have noticed a number of meetings set up for the digital channel review and you're semi-dozing, not caring waiting for nothing but the chances-

I know Emily some of these overlap with school run but join when you can, and I lie down and let the cars run over my lifeless body-

Mark needs to dip out of the Monday session for 30 mins each wheel represents pain necessary for all of us

As an avid self-help book reader (and ignorer of all advice they offer), I have gone through “Designing your life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Unsurprisingly, I ignored their exercises, words of wisdom and tips for life.

While waiting in an airport, I looked through books that would be better than the 2 I had already packed for myself and I saw “Designing your Work Life”. In the same act of hopefulness, I bought it and set it aside for an indeterminate period of time.

In an effort to “fix” myself amidst common issues I am struggling with at work, in life and in general, I started the book yesterday with the specific goal of following their steps. Note-taking is an unsolved problem for me so doing the first exercises make the most sense here; with the added benefit of public accountability.

Page 51 describes two exercises to figure out your purposes for work and life (or write them down if you already know them) where you write a 250 word manifesto of your Workview and Lifeview that answer a series of thought-provoking questions. So, here we go:

Workview

Why work?

Let's ignore the obvious, “because we have to” and instead say that, if we can, we choose a career early in life in an area that interests us. Sometimes we are forced into it but we do work out of a necessity to work in order to survive. Yes, we can find some public land and grow crops on it but that it also leaving your life behind as well.

What is work for?

To provide a minimum quality of life that allows you to utilise your free time in ways that are not restricted. To allow contributions to a system that, in theory, takes care of worries that we have moved past as humans (healthcare, transport, infrastructure, services).

What does work mean?

Work should mean that it is a task you give more than eighty thousand hours of your life to and it provides learning experiences, gratitude and fulfilment such that you want to spend your time with it; regardless of the money.

How does it relate to an individual, others, society?

I suppose it relates here because a job can be necessary for society to function but does not provide much motivation for an individual to work it; or that society creates a hierarchy based on these positions and metadata associated with them. To an individual, it should not be something you dread or crave time away from.

What defines good or worthwhile work?

Humans are short-sighted and selfish creatures by nature, this is not a bad thing in itself but it does mean that good work first has to benefit the worker; which could be in the form of seeing their impact or altruism, but it can also be financial or otherwise. I believe worthwhile work leaves the area of that work measurably cleaner/better than before; something that is not causing harm (or minimising it) and providing the greatest benefit to the majority.

What does money have to do with it?

Unless Capitalism somehow fails overnight, it is necessary in order to function within society, as well as to provide for those outside of your immediate circle (through taxes towards social housing, public healthcare, homeless initiatives etc or direct donations). It needs to be enough to allow you to live a lifestyle that you (and those dependent on you) can live in comfort without fearing a surprise bill or how to eat for the next week.

What does experience, fulfilment and growth have to do with it?

It is secondary. When you are in the position where you can select from a number of open positions that all reach your financial needs then you are able to select a position based on what it offers you; whether that is learning to stay relevant for future positions or for personal growth. The fulfilment is the part that, I believe, makes you stay in a position for 2 decades vs 2 months; feeling appreciated, recognised or required in a position that has meaning in your life is going to remove the dread one feels before the work day and increase your productivity.

Lifeview

Why are we here?

I believe this is random and there is no specific reason we are here.

What is the meaning/purpose of life?

As above, any meaning we have is/must be created by ourselves. If there is a purpose beyond what we make for ourselves, then it would likely be to reproduce and continue.

What is the relationship between individuals and others?

Humans are social animals. We benefit from others and our worldview is improved/expanded when we surround ourselves with different people. Other people are necessary for an individual to experience a life beyond the filter bubble of their own mind.

Where do family, country and the rest of the world fit in?

I wish I had a positive view here but I believe people prioritise themselves first and then those within their immediate circle naturally. If we were able to take actions where we had the same compassion for the world and its inhabitants as we did for ourselves then behaviour would be good in general.

What is good? What is evil?

Evil is an easy one: an action that causes harm (and where the consequences are known) but provides little/no benefit for the individual(s) carrying it out. Applying that definition to actions is subjective, however. For example, is the mother torturing and beheading the person that sexually assaulted and murderer her child evil?

In the same vein, an organisation/government/individual that tells a lie to the public in order to cover up damage to the environment is evil. While there is a benefit for them (continued profits), the consequences are far greater.

Good is less easy to define. A person may have committed adultery earlier in the day and then that guilt forced them to assist an elderly person with chores. Is that good? I guess if you do not connect other actions and instead judge each in isolation then it is easier. Can an action be good if the motivation do the action is not?

Do I believe in a higher power? How does that belief affect my life?

No, I do not. It makes me angry that some do but I know that is through my own experiences with religion. I am frustrated that Catholicism can still exist when it has contributed to thousands of child abuse cases globally and misused donations from those that could barely spare to provide them. It makes me more pessimistic in general, it frustrates me that my father turned to Christianity more when he realised his terminal brain tumour truly was terminal. If I could have faith then I would be able to see a greater plan in actions. Right now, I see the majority of human impact as negative and progressively destroying a planet when we are aware of the consequences. That action is evil, even if the individuals are not (in particular the huge majority that have no choice but to live in a destructive manner).

Siamo solo alla quinta giornata ma la sfida contro la Roma risulta essere già fondamentale. Non tanto perché una vittoria consentirebbe di consolidare il primo posto (come già scritto in precedenza il campionato è solo all'inizio e la nostra squadra molto giovane) piuttosto perché i giallorossi sono una delle squadre pretendenti al quarto posto. Un obiettivo quello della Champions League che è di fondamentale importanza per il Milan. I tre punti consentirebbero di allungare il passo nonché fare ai riscontri una ulteriore dose di fiducia. Non ci resta che attendere domani e vedere come scenderanno in campo i ragazzi.

Tags: #partite

I decided to write over on micro.blog too. I don’t know the division of work. My thoughts are the day to day will go there and I’ll post other stuff here. Of course, probably not. Who knows. Wherever. I don’t give a fuck. Do you?