Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!
This sure has been a week! I'm not sure where it went! I was sick for part of it and the rest of it has been spent getting applications for funding ready. It's a busy time in most schools, so I know some of you understand. I'm really excited--one week until Spring Break! Admittedly, Spring Break will be spent mostly writing conference papers and catching up on reading, but there's also the wonderful Alamo Drafthouse giving teachers free admissions to movies, so I'm totally taking advantage of that!
What I wrote this week:
- A Different Sort of Liturgy: Last weekend was the memorial service for my mentor from undergrad, Dr. Karl Maurer. This is my tribute to that event, which was really important for many of us. It was an honor to meet so many of his family and friends. What wonderful people--and celebrating such a wonderful man!
What I read this week:
Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):
Urban Church (Planting) Plantations (Christena Cleveland): This is problematic on multiple levels.
It is NOT Okay (Refocus Ministry): This really goes with some of the stuff that I posted under "General," but I think that it's important to post this under my ministry section. The way we treat other humans says more about our souls than it does our politics.
Pens:
- New Research Explains How The Pen Is Mightier Than The Keyboard (The New Literacy): I think I have always intuitively known this. I have never successfully taken notes in class on a computer and I forbid my students from even trying.
- Letter to the Pen Addict Community (Reverenced Writing): First of all, this is a pen blog by a Catholic Priest!!!! (Yes, I did totally geek out when I discovered this). Secondly, this is a good article. While I have never experienced people being rude at pen shows (on the contrary, I have collected a few, as my friends call them, "old men pen boyfriends"), I think it's important to respect and listen to the "old guard" of pendom.
Paperbacks (Books and Writing):
A Memoir Doesn't Have to Tell the Truth (Book Riot): I like this article. So many times when I'm trying to write down something that happened, I struggle with details. Yet, it's not the details that matter, it's the story: what happened, what did it mean, how did it impact you. This is a great article about that.
Wil Wheaton is right: Stop expecting artists to work for free — or worse, for “exposure” (Salon): A friend of mine had an article picked up by Huffington Post and she was so excited for the exposure, but I felt really uncomfortable about it. I was glad to hear that Will Wheaton had shared my views. This is really just a big company taking advantage of a little writer. I've seen the posts--they don't give them huge links to their own websites to drive enough traffic to really make it worth it. Unless you want your ten seconds of internet fame, probably it's best to just not.
How To Tell If You’re In a Flannery O’Connor Story (The Toast): This is brilliant. I particularly loved, "Ever since you returned from the North, you take enormous pride in being both unmarried and ugly."
Life in General:
Learn to Fight with your Friends and Stay Friends (Medium): This. is. so. important. Seriously, though, I know a lot of people who struggle with this. Lately, I've been talking with my students about this a lot because of the political scene. It's important to learn to deal with differences--well, some differences. I'm still struggling on how to stay friends with people who are racist and I'm not sure that I should, but beyond that, we have to celebrate differences.
An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America (Daily Kos): Probably an interesting contrast to the article above, I found this article both deeply troubling and a little freeing. I know people who are like this, but I don't like the belief that everyone who is "conservative" (whatever the hell that means) is.
Harvard Medical Scientists Say Police Killings Should Be Recorded As Public Epidemic (US Uncut): No matter how unpopular this idea is, police probably shouldn't kill people for no reason. Also, police probably shouldn't be killed for no reason. Generally speaking, killing people is bad: yet, here we are with a public epidemic of it.
Healing the mother wound (Rebelle Society): I really get this. Sometimes you have to take a closer look in order to let go of the hurt.
To Men I Love, About Men Who Scare Me (Medium): This is real life for so many women. It's something others should be aware of.
4 Things we Can Learn From Kids about Handling Our Emotions (Verily): As someone who regularly spends time with adults who have no idea how to handle their own emotions, I thought this was really good. Honestly, I need this, too. We all probably do.
O, Death: Mysteries of the Long Sleep (Appalachian Ink): I love Anna Wess's writing and this is no different. "And I will not fear death. I will run free. I will find ol’ Death before he finds me!"
To make you Laugh:
A Day in the Life of a Middle Schooler in the 2000's (The Odyssey Online): This is a little too accurate for my tastes, but it was a fun read.
Education:
- The Everlasting Magic of English Teachers (Book Riot): Maybe it's self serving to share this, but I, too, have had those teachers who moved me and have impacted my personal life for years. They weren't only English teachers--History teachers, Theology professors, and Classics teachers have all been influential. It's always good to celebrate a good teacher--they shape the world.
Simplicity and Minimalism:
- How I quit my smartphone addiction and really started living (The Guardian): Sometimes, I think about doing this. I'm not sure if I could handle that right now, but when I actually have a house (and when I live somewhere that I can survive without GPS), maybe I could.
Environmentalism, Farming, Food, Health, and Nutrition:
Coal is dying. Who’s going to pay for the cleanup? You are! (The Grist): For anyone who has been near coal country in the last decade, we know how much damage has been done. Now, someone is going to have to clean up the mess!