Link Love

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this week: It's been a long, hard week over here at the PhDog house filled with lots of work and catching up. But Gary and I are both good, our car is now fixed ($2,000 later), and we are blessed with amazing friends, including a new friend and her adorable pup. We have so much to be grateful for. 

What I’m Reading in real life: Transformation Now! Toward a Post-Oppositional Politics of Change by AnaLouise Keating. I'm reading this for my dissertation--it will likely be one of the most formational texts I read. I love reading Keating's work because it feels so familiar, so much like myself. I'm so grateful to my director who introduced me to her work. 

What I’m watching: I finally finished The Handmaid's Tale, so Gary and I are back to working our way through Elementary. So good. 

What I’m listening to: Not much, to be honest. Still my usual Pen Addict Podcast. 

What else I’m digging: This nail polish that I bought because I was obsessed with it when Kara over at Boho Berry was wearing it in her daily journaling videos. I'm not really a nail polish kind of girl anymore, but I've gotten many compliments on this one! 

My Writing

This week: Bullet Journal Set Up for October 2017

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• Is This The Name Of A Pokémon Or An Early Church Heretic? (Buzzfeed): The true mark of knowledge of the early Church... how do you score? 

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

• 19 Things Stationery Addicts Do That No One Else Does (Buzzfeed): Yes. 

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

• Emily Dickinson's Bedroom (Atlas Obscura): One of my colleagues shared this with me because she knows about my Dickinson obsession--renewed by the recent film about her life, A Quiet Passion. Anyone want to sponsor a pilgrimage for me to go stay in Dickinson's home? 

• All 54 Of The 6-Toed Cats That Live In Ernest Hemingway's House Have Survived Hurricane Irma (Ravishly): Because priorities. 

• 32 Times Paulo Coelho Simplistically Defined What It Means To Both Be In Love And Be Hurt (Quote Catalogue): Because I love The Alchemist and don't have time to read it right now. 

• C.S. Lewis on Learning to Think in Greek (Sententiae Antiquae): I very much enjoyed reading this and remembering my own experiences falling in love with and thinking in Greek. "The great gain was that I very soon became able to understand a great deal without (even mentally) translating it; I was beginning to think in Greek. That is the great Rubicon to cross in learning any language. Those in whom the Greek word lives only while they are hunting for it in the lexicon, and who then substitute the English word for it, are not reading the Greek at all; they are only solving a puzzle." So true, Lewis. 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• Ever thought of podcasting your research? (The Thesis Whisperer): As someone who has often thought of doing a grad student podcast, I thought this was pretty cool. 

• How to start podcasting your research (The Thesis Whisperer): The companion article to the one above. If anyone wants to help me start the #phdlife podcast, let me know! 

• How to get rid of your academic fake-self? (David Berlinger): This was posted in one of my PhD support groups on facebook. I think it's super helpful and interesting. It's amazing how rare these qualities are in academia and how much we have accepted that. 

• The academic handmaiden’s tale (The Thesis Whisperer): This is something we need to take more seriously in academia. 

• All the Classroom’s a Stage (Chronicle Vitae): This is a great article. I particularly appreciate the consideration of power dynamics within the acting that takes place in the classroom. 

Life in General:

• Women Aren't Nags--We're Just Fed Up: Emotional labor is the unpaid job men still don't understand. (Bazaar): I appreciated this article on emotional labor, even as a single woman. Read this: "According to Dr. Michele Ramsey, Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State Berks, emotional labor is often conflated with problem solving. “The gendered assumption is that ‘men are the problem solvers because women are too emotional,’" she explains. "But who is really solving the bulk of the world's problems at home and in the office?” As the household manager for my husband and three kids, I’m fairly certain I know the answer." As the person who has often been referred to as mom by people older than me, I, too know who is doing the problem solving, whether in the office or in my former home. I can relate to the partner who walks around a mess ten times a day because they expect me to clean it. It's confounding, exhausting, and insane. 

• Why your morning habits are standing between you and your goals (The Mission): I'm really working on waking up earlier and being productive in the mornings because I know it's my sweet spot for getting lots of shit done at once. Unfortunately, I also haven't been sleeping well and like naps in the mornings (I am my father's daughter). These methods do help. What do you do to make mornings productive? 

• I Sold My Wedding Dress To A Guy Named Jeff (Ravishly): An excellently written piece. 

Tough Stuff: 

• 21 Powerful One Sentence Reminders To Read When You Are Doubting Your Growth And Healing (Thought Catalogue): These are helpful. "Your trauma does not own you and it never will; remember that when it is trying to convince you that you are forever broken." I need that reminder often. 

• The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice (On Being): I love this paragraph: "Here’s the deal. The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed — to be seen, heard and companioned exactly as it is. When we make that kind of deep bow to the soul of a suffering person, our respect reinforces the soul’s healing resources, the only resources that can help the sufferer make it through." I have a friend who really struggles with this. He wants to fix or save everyone. I struggle with that, too, to be honest. But recently, in my severe depression, he's found that hard. I needed someone to just sit with me, to be with me while I suffered. I didn't need someone to fix me. It's a hard thing to do, to make space for someone in their suffering. But it's a true expression of love. 

• Please Stop Infantilizing Me — Especially In The Workplace (Ravishly): So, let me tell you a story. During my second year in grad school, a new campus minister joined our team at the Center for Faith and Vocation. Now, he knew I was going to Notre Dame for my MA. He knew I was a full time campus minister. He *knew* this. But a few weeks into his time there, he saw me coming from my Starbucks hours on campus (man, I wish that was still a thing) and asked, "Are you coming from class?" I managed to stop myself from responding angrily and just said that no, I was coming from my Starbucks hours. 

  This article is SO TRUE. People, even people who know you, sometimes peg you into this intern/student/child role just because you're a woman, especially for women under thirty. It's a constant struggle for me to not remind people about my multiple degrees, awards, and my recent publication everytime they do this. I have to take it in stride because even though what they're doing is incredibly insulting, they will overreact and be insulted if you call them out. So, here's my call out to everyone who does this: PLEASE JUST STOP. It's better for everyone. 

• Gabrielle Deydier: what it’s like to be fat in France (The Guardian): This was so eye opening. It's sad that even in the States, where obesity is literally the norm, this same attitude is more common than you think. Did you know that people are statistically more likely to assume you're unintelligent if you're a fat woman? I did. Yes, even though I'm in a PhD program. Yes, even though I have an MA from one of the best schools in the country. It's so sad--and so problematic. 

• Why we need to listen to undocumented poets (PBS): SUCH an important topic! 

• An Empowering Way to Respond to Hurtful People (Thrive Global): This is an excellent article with some great advice. I am trying to be grateful for the teachers I've met who have shown me how not to be. 

Just for Fun: 

• My Mom Picked My Date Based on What Their Apartment Looked Like (Buzzfeed): I loved reading this. So fun! My mom would not have had the same reactions, but I think it's a fun idea. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

• Defend the Sacred (Barefoot Five): This line: "I could spend all day talking about how twisted up things are. I could also go on and on about how corrupt the system is. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I could easily write a book on the current state of the planet and how desperate the situation has become..." Preach, sister. Preach. 

Money, Budgeting, and Finance:

• How This 23-Year-Old Makes Six Figures From Her Online Business - And Helps Others Do The Same (Forbes): These kinds of stories are fascinating to me. Like, who pays that money for these people's advice? She's a kid! But kudos to her, I guess. 

Dogs:

• 10+ Adorable Comics That Hilariously Sum Up What It’s Like Living With A Dog (Bored Panda): Because I think this is adorable. 

Link Love for September 15, 2017

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this week:

What I’m Reading in real life: My class is reading Jack London's The Iron Heel and I'm reading mostly as research for my prospectus (due today!). 

What I’m watching: I have finally given in and started watching The Handmaid's Tale. I had watched the first episode over the summer and the premise was too much for me to handle right then. The trauma from being diagnosed with PCOS and then losing my nieces and nephews has made issues around babies really hard for me right now. 

What I’m listening to: I've recently started listening to my favorite music group again, Rising Appalachia. I love them so much. 

What else I’m digging: I'm really getting back into my fountain pens again. If you didn't see my recent post on instagram, I just inked up a ton of pens. 

My Writing

Four years ago: What I’m Reading Right Now (PP&P)

What I read this week:

• Favorite Article of the Week: You’ll Never Be Famous — And That’s O.K. (NY Times): I very much enjoyed this article, both from the message and the use of literature as an example of life experience. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on these words: "The most meaningful lives, I’ve learned, are often not the extraordinary ones. They’re the ordinary ones lived with dignity." How very true. I wonder, in the end, will my ordinary life be all I imagined? 

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• The Obligations of Grace: Part 1, The Reciprocity of Grace (Experimental Theology): An interesting reflection on faith v. works. Be sure to read the second one, too. 

• Why Mourn The Confederate Dead, But Not Nazi Ones? (Political Theology Today): This is an excellent theological reflection on an important question in our current moment. "The Confederate monuments and flags function in an active context with a deep history. We can only sanitize them if we engage in a particular form of forgetting and memory. Doing so requires having a very short memory (forgetting the use of Confederate symbols during the civil rights era and current White terrorism) and a very long memory (recalling one’s great-grand-ancestors in the battle trenches while forgetting what they fought for)." I hope we can use our memories correctly. 

Social Justice: 

• Insensitive or Racist? (Inside Higher Ed): Know what drives me crazy? When we have to have an entire study to prove that people who say racist things are racist. "The study, published in the journal Race and Social Problems, defines microaggressions as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or group.” Focusing on those who use microaggressions, rather than those who are on the receiving end, the study found a positive correlation between uttering microaggressions and harboring racist attitudes." No shit. 

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

• What *Is* Modern Calligraphy? (The Postman's Knock): I love this wonderful explanation of the differences between types of calligraphy. 

• SF 2017: A Fluffy Pawspective (Hand Over That Pen): This is literally the best pen show post ever. 

• Kaweco Perkeo Fountain Pen Review (The Pen Addict): I was excited to see a review on the Perkeo because I just broke down and bought one. I wasn't keen on it at first, but I like it now. I bought the cotton candy (of course) and am enjoying it as part of my current carry. 

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

• Fortified by Gratitude (Writer Unboxed): I totally relate to this on every level. I, too, struggle with patience and dwell on the negatives. What are your "third emotions?"

• There’s Hope For You as a Writer (And Here’s Proof) (The Write Practice): This might be the most oddly comforting article I have ever read. 

• The Ten Rules of Writing (Lit Hub): This article is really inspiring me right now as I write my prospectus. I hope it helps you, too!

• Emily Dickinson Was Fiercer Than You Think (Smithsonian): I ADORE THIS FILM. Seriously. Emily Dickinson is my soulmate. 

• Stranger Than Fiction: What Happened After the Bookstore (NY Times): I kind of feel like this is a life goal type thing. Like what better way? 

• The Women Who Rode Miles on Horseback to Deliver Library Books (Atlas Obscura): Because librarians are heroes. 

Life in General:

• Steambanks in September (Ozark Highlands): This blog always makes me sick for home, but especially during the fall when the leaves back home are turning and here it's still hotter than blue blazes. Kudos for the shoutout to my beloved Public House!

• 5 Ways My Mental & Financial Health Improved When I Started Living Alone (The Financial Diet): YESSSSS. Also, I no longer live with a sociopath. 

• #blocked (Dating in Black America): I love the honesty that Tana writes with and I think everyone who has ended a serious relationship can relate to her writing. 

• Confessions from an INFJ Personality Type about Friendship (Introvert, Dear): OMG this is so me! In fact, this is the reason why my life was soooo super stressful for most of July and August. 

Tough Stuff: 

• What I Learned as an INFJ After Pregnancy Loss and Infertility (Introvert, Dear): I related to this article on many levels. I'm an INFJ and I feel like this writer really gets me. And, as someone who was diagnosed with PCOS almost a year ago (and had another cyst burst only three weeks ago), I live in perpetual fear of infertility. Then, there was this: "As an INFJ personality type, I’m much different. I replayed all the events in the hospital in my mind seemingly thousands of times a day. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t shut my brain off. I relived the pain. I relived the fear. I relived it all, trying to find some sort of understanding for such a traumatic event." That sounds exactly like me after the situation with the sociopath. I have replayed the events of that time over and over and over again, looking for understanding in a situation that simply isn't logical or reason-driven. There is no understanding to gain. But i keep at it anyway. Her talking about being misunderstood and alone also rings super true with me. 

Art and Other Pretty Things:

• Dripping Glass Fusion “Jellyfish” Sculptures by Daniela Forti (Colossal): I am truly fascinated by these. I love glass art (my uncle owns a stained glass shop, so I grew up around it) and these do not disappoint! 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• An Academic Use for Social Media (Edutopia): I love teaching with social media. Although I've taken a break from teaching with twitter, I now use Slack in all of my classes. I think this post is really interesting: "When we look at 21st-century learning skills, it’s important to see students as co-creators in their own learning. Social media is the outlet where most of us, including students, get the majority of our information. It’s important to integrate digital platforms and social media tools in the classroom to bridge the gap that we have between traditional approaches to teaching writing and the 21st-century communication skills our students need to develop." How do you allow your students to be co-creators of their learning?

• Two things that made me think this week (Patter): I appreciated this article discussing imposter syndrome because it's a serious problem around my department. Everyone is so self conscious that they feel the need to be constantly "competitive" (read: catty) instead of just buckling down and doing their research. The results are about as good as you can imagine. I wish imposter syndrome were taken more seriously and graduate students given resources to help deal with it. 

• Feeling Like an Impostor Is Not a Syndrome (Slate): Another helpful imposter syndrome article. 

• How Schooling is Used to Determine who Has Value in White Society (RBR): This is an important article on a topic that I am becoming more and more aware of. I'm sick of the belief that because someone is "college bound" they are more important, valuable, or moral. I've met plenty of college grads with less brains than the average dropout, not to mention less talent and drive. It's all about opportunity and the choices we make before our brains are developed enough to make solid choices. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

• Client Kitchen Cabinet & Drawer Overhaul: The Steps & Tips (I Heart Organizing): I think this is awesome! I love looking at organizing blogs and this example of organizing kitchen cabinets and drawers is inspirational. 

• Finding Meaning and Inspiration in the Mundane (Becoming Minimalist): A great reminder. 

Dogs: 

• For the Love of Farm Dogs (Modern Farmer): This may be the best article on farming ever written. I wish they did one on academia! 

• 10 Amazing and Adorable Farm Dogs to Follow on Instagram (Modern Farmer): If you have instagram, you need to follow these! 

• Owners of Pets Abandoned During Irma Could Face Felony Charges (The Dogington Post): Good. 

• These Common Dog Breeds Were Once Farmhands (Modern Farmer): Because that last one looks like Gary. 

Bullet Journal Set Up for September

As you all know from reading my posts, I'm a bullet journal addict. I absolutely adore my bullet journal and it has helped me get through some of the worst days of the last few months. It's my hobby now, I guess. 

Anyways, I know that I STILL owe you a post explaining how I use a bullet journal, but in the meantime, I wanted to share my September Set Up with you. 

Cover Page: 

This was my first time playing with a water brush with my tombow markers. I'm not absolutely in love with the look, but I really enjoyed the process. 

Each month, I have a cover page with the month name and some goals for the month. This month, my goals were largely based on my 18 Things to do Before 2018 (post to be written). I enjoy making each month a little different. In the past, I've done wreaths, arrows, and geometric shapes. 

Month at a Glance:

The month at a glance page tells me everything I need to do for the month. This one isn't complete, but it gives you an idea of what my monthly page looks like. 

Monthly Tracker

Each month, I have a tracker where I track the habits I want to work on and the chores I need to make sure do. Here's mine for September. I've added a lot of items this month because the semester has begun and I desperately need to be productive. What goals do you put in your habit tracker?

Health Tracker

The health tracker for this month is much more intense than what I usually do, but after a few really bad scares last month, I knew I needed to monitor myself better to be able to describe what was happening to the doctor. What symptoms do you track?

Sleep Log and Gratitude Journal

This sleep log page is based off the one that Kara from Boho Berry included in her August journal. 

I have been having a hard time getting enough sleep, so I always track my sleep. 

My gratitude journal is an important part of my mental health care. I write down anything from "snuggles with Gary" to my friends' names to "I woke up this morning." It's good to keep things in perspective. 

Line a Day and Boho Berry Challenge

I have to admit that I'm not even remotely happy with my "Boho Berry Challenge" page, but my printer is out of ink and I got impatient and wrote it in instead of waiting to print it at work. 

The line a day page is new for me this month, but I'm hoping it will help me keep track of what happens in my life. 

Finance Tracker

One thing that I'm really working on right now is getting better at keeping track of money and budgeting. Using my bullet journal helps me remember to pay bills and keep track of debt that needs to be paid. 

Week 1/Weekly Pages

Each week, I have a page with an ongoing to do list and a schedule then daily sections (usually 3/page) with my to do list for that day as well as the weather predictions. 

All in all, this set up has helped me stay organized better than anything else I've ever tried. 

How do you stay organized? Would you be interested in a bullet journal? 

Link Love for September 6, 2017

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this week: I can't believe we've been in school for a week now! I'm finally getting back into the swing of things and enjoying my students. It feels like time has passed so quickly!

What I’m Reading in real life: Caesar's Column is the book that we're talking about in class today. It's fascinating. 

What I’m watching: Last week, I finally finished all three seasons of Fresh off the Boat, so I'm mostly watching Elementary. 

What I’m listening to: I'm still digging The Pen Addict Podcast all these years later. Also, I've been revisiting the work of my favorite band, Rising Appalachia. 

What else I’m digging: I'm loving my bullet journal set up from September, which you can check out here. I'm also loving some recent bujo accessories I bought, especially this super cute pug bookmark from Shop Paper Covers Rock. 

My Writing

Three years ago: God is Good (Spiritual Uprising): This was a sweet memory to find in my blog archive. 

Four years ago: Another Book Recommendation: Into the Depths (PP&P): I loved this book. Maybe I should pull it out for another read through. 

What I have read lately:

Best Articles:

• 25 Ways We Are Getting Dumber (The Minimalists): I'm working on it. I get sucked in way too easily these days because I'm avoiding reality. Let's not do that!

• We Are Not Materialistic Enough (Cait Flanders): I love this. So true!

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• Why I Stopped Talking About Racial Reconciliation And Started Talking About White Supremacy (Feisty Thoughts): I found this article helpful, particularly the part about white Christianity suffering from a "bad case of Disney Princess theology." I also appreciated the discussion on why racial recognition is a bad theology: "Racial Reconciliation assumes an innocent reading of history. This is a term I learned from theologian Justo Gonzalez. An innocent telling of history is foundational to maintaining unjust and racist systems. " I think it's important to consider these things more and more given our current theological and political climate. 

• Mother is a Place (The Wine Dark Sea): This is a beautiful reflection. 

• Nuking the Modesty War, Part I: Control Yourself, Not Women (Barefoot and Pregnant): Because every time this comes up, I want to punch someone. 

• Why unspoken envy kills, and how mercy brings us back to life (Aleteia): Good Reminder. 

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

• How a Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Writing-Tool Renaissance (Bloomberg): I was excited to see this article. I dream of owning a Nakaya someday. 

• Why the Key to Success Is as Simple as Pen and Paper (Inc): This is a great, short video of Rider Carroll, the creator of the bullet journal, explaining how using his method helps people be more successful and aware. 

• The Fountain Pen Companion: This is a neat little tool to help you keep track of your ink collection and share your collection info with others!

• 26 School Supplies Under $10 That Are Actually Worth Your Money (Buzzfeed): Great list!

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

• "Handbook For Mortals" Pulled From NYT's YA Best Sellers List After A Fascinating Book Twitter Investigation (Bustle): This is fascinating. I never thought about the politics of the Best Sellers List like this before. 
• The Photograph That Helped Me Finish My Book (Lit Hub): I enjoyed this piece on how this photograph inspired the author to finish her work. I am constantly looking for inspiration to keep my going in my own research and writing. How do you inspire yourself? 

• Reporter was locked in mental hospital for 10 days, when her true identity was revealed, the doctors were shocked (Newsner): What a brave reporter!

• It's An Edgar Allan Poe Dameron Cosplay, Complete with a BB-8 Raven (Nerdist): Perhaps my favorite cosplay of the year so far. 

• Benefits of a Mechanical Keyboard for Writers (No Wasted Ink): I'm looking into this as I go deeper into my writing. 

Life in General:

• Just So You Know, You Deserve To Be Happy (Thought Catalogue): This was really helpful for me. I sometimes forget that I deserve to be happy because I'm focusing so much on the negative. 

• The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice (On Being:) I struggle with this a lot because I always want to fix people's problems. Lately, though, as I've been immersed in my own sorrows, I have found that advice is seldom helpful, but presence always is. I'm so grateful to the friends who have stuck by me and sat beside me. I think this quote sums it up nicely: "Here’s the deal. The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed — to be seen, heard and companioned exactly as it is. When we make that kind of deep bow to the soul of a suffering person, our respect reinforces the soul’s healing resources, the only resources that can help the sufferer make it through." We all need this. 

• Coming Out As Fat (Ravishly): This is a great and important read. 

• How Zadie Smith Taught Her 7-Year-Old Daughter That Beauty Is A Waste Of Time (Huff Post): I love this. 

• Stop Sharing Those Feel-Good Cochlear Implant Videos (The Establishment): I am learning a lot more about ablism right now and I think this article is really helpful. 

• Fat Women Don’t Get To Be Androgynous (Huffpost): This is frustrating. 

• Learn How To Embrace Your Loneliness And You Won’t Feel It Anymore (Thought Catalogue): This is something I'm working on. 

• The Grace We’ve Always Wanted (Noisebar): I think every woman I know needs to read this. 

• My Mom Picked My Date Based on What their Apartment Looked Like (Buzzfeed): This sounds like a crazy idea, but it's so fun. I like the concept. (Don't get any ideas, Mom.)

• I dressed like my skinny best friend for a week to prove style has no size (Revelist): Cute idea. 

• Sisters are doing it for themselves: the retired women who built their own community (The Telegraph): I LOVE THIS. 

• 7 self-care rituals that take 15 minutes or less (The Art of Simple): All great ideas. 

Art and Other Pretty Things:

• Why the Mystery of the Met’s Unicorn Tapestries Remains Unsolved (Artsy): This is fascinating. Who would have thought it would be so hard to find out about these tapestries? 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• Things We Did Not Sign Up For. (Rate Your Students): This is an old post, but I can really relate to it sometimes. What are we doing to our students? 

• The most forward-thinking, future-proof college in America teaches every student the exact same stuff (Quartz): A lot like UD's education. I wonder how you can do this while still teaching social issues? 

• To my colleagues, on the death of their students’ grandmother(s) (Tenure She Wrote): This. Freaking this. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

• I Was Ashamed of My Simplicity (Noisebar): I am always striving to get rid of things to allow for more careful simplicity. It's an ongoing process for a kid from a family of hoarders. 

• I Am Not Ambitious; I Crave A Slow Life, A Simple Life (Filter Copy): I so relate to this. 

• That Clutter In Your Home Used To Be Money (Retire Before Dad): Oh my gosh, this is such a good thing to think about. 

• Minimalist Wardrobe (Minimal Wellness): I am constantly obsessed with minimalist wardrobes, but due to my size, sensory issues, and the cost, I've never really curated the kind of wardrobe I would like. I enjoyed this article. 

• 4 Steps Towards Sustainability (EcoNomad): These are harder than you would think, but great goals to have. 

Parenting: 

• Five Strategies for Handling Noise in Motherhood (Life on Purpose): I'm sure a lot of moms could use this article. 

• Parents Who Pay to Be Watched (The Cut): I can't imagine being this desperate. I feel for the families, but I also think this is a prime example of privilege in action. 

• 'Dirt Is Good': Why Kids Need Exposure To Germs (NPR): Good info. 

• Children need unstructured play (The Art of the Simple): A great reminder for all of us.

Dogs: 

• Mourning Family Warns Other Dog Owners After A Day At The Lake Turns Deadly (I Heart Dogs): This is terrifying to me. I'll always be careful with Gary near the water. 

Link Love is BAACCCKKK and we are ABD!

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this week: It's been one hell of a summer and I can't believe it's almost over. This summer, I have gone through a lot of stuff, but I'm starting to feel a little more solid. My exams are over (I'm ABD!) and Gary and I are preparing to write our prospectus. 

There are a lot of articles on here and I have a file on my computer of many more I'm trying to work through that I saved this summer, so be prepared for LOTS of link love in the weeks to come! 

What I’m Reading in real life: White Rage by Carol Anderson (I'm reading this one because the author is coming to speak to us about teaching race at UNT. I'm also reading So Far From God by Ana Castillo, which I started but didn't have time to finish before my exams. I'm loving it. 

What I’m watching: My friend Megan got me into the Bachelorette, which will surprise most of my friends. We just watched the finale. I'm also making my way through Elementary for the first time and rewatching Leverage. 

What I’m listening to: I'm still really into the RSVP podcast. 

What else I’m digging: Working for Rover. Getting paid to take care of people's dogs is like the best thing ever. 

What I've been reading online:

Favorite Article of June: The Kids Are Alright: How Two Artists Built a Goat Farm into a Viable Business (Modern Farmer): I want to highlight this one because LIFE GOALS MAN.  

Favorite Article of July: She thought she was Irish — until a DNA test opened a 100-year-old mystery (MSN): This is a super cool story. 

Favorite Article of August so far: Art Every Day – Everything I Painted in June (Little Blue Boo): I have to admit, I find Ashley's aesthetic absolutely perfect. I really admire her and I wish I had time for something like this. 

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• From Groans to Glory (She Reads Truth): A dear friend shared this with me and I want to share it with you. I especially relate to this line: "In the first chapter of his epistle, James tells us to “consider it a great joy” whenever we face trials because the testing of our faith produces spiritual endurance (vv. 2-3). Trials are accompanied by hope. Hope is a gift. Hope is critical, and the gospel gives it to us in unending supply... One day our groans will give way to glory. While we wait, we place our hope in Jesus." It is particularly difficult for me to hold on to hope. What do you do to remember to have hope in Christ?

• How (Transgressive) Beauty Will Save the World (Experimental Theology): This makes a good point. We say that Christ is the epitome of beauty, but we still seem to be turned off by the transgressive quality of that beauty. 

• The Politics of Inhospitality—Genesis 18:1-15 (Political Theology Today): I think a lot of people could benefit from reading this. I particularly appreciate the following: "What the United States desperately requires is a reorientation of our ethical imagination, a rediscovery of hospitality as a principal ethical category. But radical hospitality will require much from our risk-averse culture. It will require, as the philosopher Jacques Derrida was wont to insist, both a preparation and the impossibility of preparation. “It must even develop itself into a culture of hospitality, multiply signs of anticipation, construct and institute what one calls structures of welcoming, a welcoming apparatus.”" How can we better foster a spirit of hospitality?

• The Language Trap: Otherness and Reality (Experimental Theology): I appreciate this: "Economists like to trump conversations by saying that the language of economics is simply describing "the real world," the world "as it is." This gives the language of economics epistemological power, as "reality" is the ultimate trump card. The person who describes "reality" is the one who is telling the truth. But Mark's comment was this: "Economic language isn't descriptive, it's performative. It doesn't describe the world, it creates the world."" How do we allow language to create barriers or support injustice and call it "reality?"

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

• This Weekly To-Do List Setup Is Low-Key Genius (Buzzfeed): I'm definitely going to try this in my bullet journal this week. 

• Pencils According to Lucy and Perry (CW Pencils): This is too cute!

• Old-Fashioned Niceties That Deserve a Comeback (Real Simple): I love that more and more people are appreciating analogue tools. 

• Miniature Scenes Set Amongst Office Supplies (Colossal): Pretty cool. 

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

• 10 Famous Book Hoarders (Literary Hub): To my friends who tell me I have too many books: at least I am not on this list (although my collection is over 1,500 at this point). 

• After Years Of Restraint, A Linguist Says 'Yes!' To The Exclamation Point (NPR): I will admit to overusing exclamation points almost constantly, but then again, so did JRRT and he did just fine as both a scholar and a writer (!). 

• Pemberley, Manderley and Howards End: the real buildings behind fictional houses (The Guardian): Take me there, please!

Movies and TV:

• This Artist Creates the Missing Link Between Pokemon Evolutions (Ranker): This article and its images are life changing for Pokemon fans!

Life in General:

• Sometimes It Doesn't Get Easier (Modern Mrs. Darcy): I ended up writing these words in my bullet journal. Such a great reminder. 

• What’s the Difference Between Cow Cheese and Goat Cheese? (Modern Farmer): An interesting article about the different types of cheese!

• I dressed like my skinny best friend for a week — here's everything we wore (Revelist): I have to admit, I admire their dedication. It's hard enough to find basics as a plus size woman, much less matching clothes with a straight-size friend. 

• 5 Ways To Find Motivation When You Don’t Know What Your Next Step Is (The Financial Diet): I connected with far more of this article than I would in fact like to admit. "For many years, there was no fire under my butt. Do you experience fire? I know what it feels like to not want to get up in the morning. To feel empty and heavy at the same time. To have so much to be grateful for, but not feel it." Do you connect with this as well? I'm hoping that these and other ideas can help me find that fire again. 

• The Power of Positive Quitting: How To Intentionally Do Less So You Can Gain More (Thrive Global):  This is a great reminder that sometimes we need to give up some things in order to focus on others. I've been trying to get rid of the things that no longer serve me, including old hobbies and interests. Those only bring guilt. What are you going to quit?

• 15 products under $40 that totally changed my life (USA Today): Some good ideas in here. 

• Stay Single Until You Meet Someone Like This, Based On Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type (Thought Catalogue): I'm an INFJ and yeah, that sounds about right. 

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

• 25 Things You Do as an Adult When You've Experienced Childhood Emotional Abuse (The Mighty): I recognized a few of these inme. I think that it's important to be honest and up front about these things in friendships and relationships as people work through their wounds. 

• When Anxiety Presents as Anger, Not Fear (The Mighty): It is incredibly frustrating that people don't understand the different ways anxiety presents itself. Please read this. 

• A Daily Self-Care Ritual for Those Who Feel Lost in Life (Uplift): Some good ideas here. 

To Make You Laugh:

• Here Is a List of 10 Extremely Good Goat Beards (Modern Farmer): THIS. IS. EPIC. 

• 16 Things Everyone Gets Totally Wrong About Dog Clothes (Daily Treat): Gary hates hoods, but doesn't mind clothes!

• I’m A Primary School Teacher And I Illustrate My Teaching Experience In Comics (Bored Panda): Some of these are truly spot on. 

Art and Other Pretty Things:

• Classical sculptures dressed as hipsters look contemporary and totally badass (Today I Learned): I always share this when it comes across my feed. It just brings me such joy! 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• To my colleagues, on the death of their students’ grandmother(s) (Tenure, She Wrote): I really appreciate this article and it communicates much of what I, myself, have tried to communicate but failed. Please stop assuming that your students are horrid lazy millennial brats just because they ask to be excused from an absence when their grandparent dies and it's the second time that year.   

• Sharing Your Best Work With Other Teachers (Edutopia): I always say that there's no plagiarism in teaching materials. The goal isn't credit, it's teaching. These are great ways to share your teaching wins with others!

• Resisting The Corporate University: What It Means To Be A 'Slow Professor' (NPR): As I prepare for exams and ready myself for ABD life, I am also thinking about my future in academia and what kind of professor I want to be (God willing). I think that, without question, I want to be a "slow professor."

Environmentalism, Farming, Food, Health, and Nutrition:

• The Future of Fertilizer Might Lie With Insanely Precise Drones (Modern Farmer): Not going to lie, this reminds me of E.B. White's, "The Morning of the Day They Did It" in a manner that makes me REAL nervous. 

• Tyson and Other Meat Companies Linked to Biggest-Ever Dead Zone in the Gulf (Modern Farmer): Ugh. It's  looking more and more like I need to become a vegetarian for moral reasons... 

• Agriculture As A Required School Subject Is Gaining Popularity (Modern Farmer): YES PLEASE. 

Dogs:

• 7 Fourth of July Safety Tips (and the Truth About Dogs and Fireworks) (Daily Treat): Helpful information. 

• 15 Chain Restaurants & Drive-Thrus With (Secret) Menu Items For Dogs (I Heart Dogs): Gary and I are going to have to check some of these out. 

• 60 Totally Crazy--Yet Completely Acceptable-- Things for People who Love Dogs (Best Products): Yes, please! Especially to the vidcam pet dispenser!

• An Illustrated Guide to Dog Behavior (Daily Treat): I thought this guide was super helpful! 

• 4 Surefire Ways to Stop Your Dog from Barking So Much (Daily Treat): I'm working on the training aspects of this. 

• Wife Receives Flowers From Her Husband, Then Realizes They’re For The Dog (I Heart Dogs): DOH!

Link Love 6.14.17

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this week:

What I’m Reading in real life: SO MANY COMPS BOOKS. 

What I’m watching: I'm really into the new tv show Downward Dog. Watching it on Hulu. 

What I’m listening to: The Sacred Ordinary Days podcast

What else I’m digging: These super delicious gluten free chicken strips, my bullet journal (blog post still in the works), working for Rover, and snuggling Gary. 

My Writing

Two years ago: 

• Why Fountain Pens? (PP&P)

• Stop and Smell the Roses (PP&P)

Three years ago: Let It Go (Spiritual Uprising)

Six years ago: The tale of my travels and the start at Notre Dame (PP&P): I kind of can't believe it's been that long. 

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• Prison Diary: From the Revivalistic to the Ethical (Experimental Theology): This talks about the struggle of shifting from justification to sanctification, perhaps one of the most difficult shifts in our daily life. 

• For the sake of our democracy, go back to church (or synagogue, or mosque) (Dallas News): I love this line: "It's like belonging to a family. The enduring genius of that primeval institution is that in families we learn to live with people we didn't choose. Similarly, in churches and synagogues and mosques (when they are healthy and diverse) we learn the same lesson." I think that this is an important and challenging part of being religious. I noticed that the author is Catholic. I don't think that's a coincidence. It's all too easy for Catholics to feel like we don't belong or to not get along with their parish culture (ahem) but we still have to go. 

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

• John Irving on Donald Trump, Caitlyn Jenner – and the right way to wrestle an angry bear (The Guardian): In keeping with my theme of reading about my authors...

• Is Writer’s Block a Form of Self-Protection? (Writer Unboxed): I think that this article applies also to other things, like reading for my exams. I relate to this part on a very personal level: "Self-protection is an undeniably strong instinct. And if a writer is going through a traumatic period, writing can seem like a luxury. But writing has been a proven tool to help put trauma in the past where it belongs and it can help people – not just writers – rebuild and envision the future." Sitting around and reading is absolutely a luxury right now, but it's also my job and I struggle with that because I am also needing to affirm that my existence has meaning and purpose, which seems to be questioned by having the answer to "what did you do today?" be "I read books." 

• 'Parthenon' made of books built at site of Nazi book burning (The Local): What a moving monument. 

• How to Practice Writing Like Van Gogh Practiced Painting (The Write Practice): I'm thinking about this as I prepare for writing my dissertation and also for teaching my first Comp 2 class in over a year (I've been on the Comp 1 train for a loooonnnnggg time). 

• Ways Writers Can Hack through Distractions (Live, Write, Thrive): I NEED TO DO THIS!!!

Technology:

• How Billionaires Stole My Mind (Raptitude): So, I'm not sure that I could really handle a technology detox because it's part of how I get my work done (okay, a huge part of my distraction from work, too), but I like this idea: "For the next 30 days, I will not be waking up to a torrent of images, opinions, jokes and fears from around the world. The first step was to get the most addictive apps—Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, for me—off my phone. I still have accounts, and will still use them, but I’ve set them up so that I can’t reach them from my bed, or from waiting rooms, coffee shops, and sidewalks. And they can’t reach me in those places. All my social media use will be done “2007 style”: when I want to use one of these services, I have to go to my desk, and manually “log on” by typing in my username and password. At least for the next 30 days, social media will no longer have an all-day, or even everyday, presence in my life. I want to use them like the tools they used to be, picking them up when I need to use them and putting them down when I’m done." I don't have a lot of these apps on my phone, but I will admit I've given in to the app addiction more lately. Might give this a try! 

Life in General:

• A to-do list trick (Modern Mrs. Darcy): This looks like a great idea!

• Bad at remembering to take care of yourself? These 25 tips can make it almost automatic. (Upworthy): I struggle with this a lot and hope that this will help others like me!

• We Really Need to End the Stigma about Introversion in the Workplace (Introvert, Dear): This reminds me of one of my most frustrating moments as a campus minister interacting with another campus minister. I was at Naz Farm and made a comment about how I'm an introvert--I was telling my duckies I was going to go get introvert time and they could come get me if they needed me. Another CM turned to me and said that I couldn't be an introvert because I was so bubbly and friendly. I had to explain what introversion really means (not shy), but I really wanted to punch him in the face and be like, well, our job REQUIRES us to pretend to be extroverts, but all the best CMs are introverts underneath!

• The Best Walking Workout for Non-Exercisers (Fitbit): Kind of obvious, but a good reminder!

• The Disease of Being Busy (On Being): Oh my gosh, I had forgotten this phrase that I used to use all the time with students. How fitting to be reminded that I am a human being, not a human doing right now: "Tell me you remember you are still a human being, not just a human doing. Tell me you’re more than just a machine, checking off items from your to-do list. Have that conversation, that glance, that touch. Be a healing conversation, one filled with grace and presence." 

To Make You Laugh:

• What the Heck’s a Pupper? New Video Explains Internet Dog Lingo for the Rest of Us (Daily Treat): For those of you who need help with this new doge lingo!

• 10 Fierce Dogs Channeling Their Inner Wonder Woman (Daily Treat): Everyone needs this in their lives. 

• Golden Retriever Puppy Battles Doorstop in Adorable Video (Daily Treat): I was going to share only two dog things in this section, but then I pressed play on the video and Gary freaked out and started whining because he wanted to play with a pupper and it was just too cute. 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• 8 Tips for Teaching With Mentor Texts (Edutopia): In our program, sometimes we struggle with mentor texts that don't match our learning objectives. I'm spending a lot of time thinking about this as we prepare for the next term. 

• At Northwestern, Not Just Adjuncts Voted to Unionize (Chronicle of Higher Ed): Good information here. I'm glad that others are standing up for adjuncts!

• Rebooting Industrial Era Seating (Edutopia): This is something I think about, too. At UD we had tables that allowed us to sit in a circle. Now, I have to take time out of every class period to have my students move their high school-sized desks into a circle. We need a new norm. 

• Detours and Diversions — Do Open Access Publishers Face New Barriers? (The Scholarly Kitchen): Interesting thoughts. OA is a big topic in lit crit circles. 

• Double-Edged Sword of Dual Enrollment (Inside Higher Ed): I have a lot of opinions on Dual Enrollment classes and community colleges, both from the perspective of a current instructor at a large research university and as a former dual enrollment student and the daughter of a former community college student. I think that there's a lot of room to improve a system that should be serving both its instructors and its students better. 

• I'm Never Assigning an Essay Again (Inside Higher Ed): I'm in love with this essay and can't wait to see how I can adapt his ideas to my student's work. 

• How Acaddemia Uses Poverty, Oppression, and Pain for Intellectual Masterbation (Racebaitr): This article is very challenging for me, as a white woman studying Chicana and Native literature. I was struck by this statement: "One of the tragic consequences of a traditional system of higher education is working with colleagues who claim to have expertise on the topic of social activism, but who have never experienced any form of intervention. I am referring here to those academics who have made careers out of the pain of others by consuming knowledge obtained in marginalized communities." I think it's good to consider these perspectives as I go forward with my dissertation. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

• How to Maintain Motivation to Simplify Your Life (Be More With Less): I think that this article is pretty helpful. It's easy to start the process of simplifying and purging, but harder to follow through. 

• Making a Marriage Magically Tidy (NYT): I thought this was a great article about keeping clean and how to change your habits. 

Money, Budgeting, and Finance:

• Why Splitting Your Savings Can Give You a Boost (Grow Acorns): I'm thinking about different ways to do this. 

• 101 Ways To Start Saving More Money Today (The Financial Diet): I don't know about all of these, but this is a good read for people looking for ways to save money!

Environmentalism, Farming, Food, Health, and Nutrition:

• U.S. Leaders Respond to Trump’s Paris Climate Deal Pullout, and What You Can Do (Modern Farmer): Obviously, I'm upset about this, but I'm glad our real leaders are responding. 

Dogs: 

• How Do I Keep My Dog Calm Around Guests? (Daily Treat): #workingonit

• Responding to False Alarm, Police Shot and Killed Family Dog (The Dogington Post): This is terrifying. I don't know what I would do!

• 5 Things You Should Never Forget When Preparing for the Pet Sitter (Daily Treat): Good information!

• The Unbearable Whiteness of the Liberal Corgi Owner (Racebaitr): So, at first I was pretty upset about this title, but after reading the article, I get it. I'm all about dogs being off leash (in places where it's legal) when their owners are present to make sure they are behaved and safe or when in a fenced-in backyard. But letting your dog go into someone else's yard? THat's bad parenting and bad manners. However, it does get complicated in my apartment complex, as my facebook friends are already aware. None of my neighbors care that gary is off-leash as long as he is nice and stays with me (my preference too, obviously). But people who don't live here seem to think they have the right to complain? Ugh. Leashes are more complicated than I ever realized before I got a dog. 

Link Love

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this week:

What I’m Reading in real life: This weekend, I read five books of poetry for my reading list. At least I'm making some good progress! If you want to see what I'm reading, check it out on my instagram feed. 

What I’m watching: I just finished the latest season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I thought it was good. I'm also rewatching Young and Hungry to prepare for the Netflix launch of the new season later this month. 

What I’m listening to: I'm still listening to podcasts. RSVP is my latest favorite. 

What else I’m digging: Dog sitting for Rover! Dudes, if you have a dog and need someone to care for them, check out my dogsitting page.  

My Writing

Two years ago: I want Stan Lee to be My Adopted Grandpa and other musings on Dallas Comic Con 2015 (Popery, Pens, and Paperbacks)

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• The Politics of Traversing Difference—Acts 2:1-21 (Amy Allen) (Political Theology Today): I hate to spoil this wonderful article, but I have to share with you the very end in case you don't click through (but do, it's a beautiful story)."This, I believe, is God’s wish for the Church as a Pentecost community—not that we settle upon one common (or colonized) way of doing or communicating things, but rather, that we recognize the one power, the true Power, is broader than any one (or group) of us. I believe that God’s will for the Pentecost community is that we live together in our diversity (not in spite of, or overcoming it). To the colonial, homogenizing force of the Roman Empire, this must have been quite a threat. To the post-colonial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural churches in Namibia in the early 2000’s, I heard this message proclaimed and celebrated with hope. For us, today, in 2017, what do these politics mean? How might we live together and grow together across our differences, with God’s Holy Spirit as our guide?" What a great reflection on language and the Gospel message!

• How to See an Old Church (Experimental Theology): I loved doing this when I was in Rome. 

• Paving the path to social change guides the life of young Indiana sister (Catholic Herald): Loving this article shared by my college spiritual director about my sister and friend, Tracey, who she didn't even know. Tracey and all my sisters inspire me daily. <3

• What Would Jesus Resist? (Historical Jesus Research): Read this. 

• Prison Diary: How To Stay Cool (Experimental Theology): Why does no one care about this very important pro-life issue?

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

• Review: Baron Fig Mastermind and Nomad Review (The Gentleman Stationer): So, I had never really used Baron Fig until I dug out my Confidant I had bought like two years ago and started using it as my bullet journal. Now I'm in love. I would really like one of these masterminds! 

• Pencils in Literature: The Bell Jar (CW Pencils): This one could go under "stationery" or "books," but I thought I'd put it here with its pen/pencil/paper friends. I love that the CW Pencil people consider the roles of analogue tools in literature! So cool. :)

• A Moment in Pencil History: Japanese Pencil Designations (CW Pencils): What a cool piece of information! 

• How to Make an Origami Pencil (CW Pencils): Haven't tried it yet, but this looks fun!

• A science-backed trick to reduce fear and anxiety takes just 30 seconds and a pen (Quartz): This isn't a new idea, but I have to ask: why is the cover photo of a nun? Or are nuns mainstream now?

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, etc.):

• The Sweet Sorrow of Purging my Bookshelves (Book Oblivion): I get you, Girl. My bookshelves, my closet, and my grandma's garage are all way past book-bearing capacity!

• Sherman Alexie: "I think we Live in a Constant Funeral" (Lit Hub): Another glimpse into the life of an author I'm studying. 

Writing

• How To Connect With Your Writing Tribe (The SITS Girls): I'm still looking for a writing tribe, but this is a good article!

• When It’s Hard to Maintain Your Focus (Writer Unboxed): I found this article really helpful because it's sooo hard to focus right now on writing, reading, anything. But we have to keep going! 

• Surround Yourself With Success (Writer Unboxed): This is a really great tip for writing and academia, and it's weirdly harder than you would think. Academics get burned out so easily that they spend more time complaining than really talking about each other's craft. I'm blessed to have one really good friend who talks with me about her dissertation and I talk with her about my reading. It's been so helpful!

Life in General:

• Why a Pets at Work Policy Is a Good One (Fitbit): I'm blessed to have a dog who can go everywhere with me. I wish that everyone was able to bring dogs to work!

• What makes you switch your ways? (Unclutterer): One of the things about recovering from what happened to me over Christmas break has been figuring out how to change my life, my habits, and everything else that fell apart or contributed to my life falling apart because of the sociopath. It's good to think about methods of motivating ourselves (and others) to change. 

• There's an Important Reason We should be Having More Meaningful Conversations (Introvert, Dear): I really appreciate this great article and the ideas for how to go deeper in conversation with people. 

• Critical Thinking Series: Reading as the Arena of Critical Thinking (Decolonize All the Things): I'm seriously thinking about giving this to my students on the first day of class in the fall. "If you don’t understand the benefits of reading or why it is useful to you and crucial for your own self development then you aren’t likely to take advantage of reading lists which are crucial to sustaining an anti-colonial political awareness to then apply to your actions.  Below  I discuss the importance of reading to critical thinking and praxis.  One of the greatest benefits of the methods of critical inquiry is NOT so you can argue with others but for you to argue with YOURSELF. " So important!

• Our Mothers as We Never Saw Them (NYT): A great article. 

• The Real Problem With Being Child-Free and Unmarried In Your Mid-30s (Huffpost): So, I might not feel the same way about my future as the author, but I do relate to this: "I realize I should probably sound more apologetic when I tell people I’m not married. Perhaps I should try a bit harder to make those around me less embarrassed when they meet me. I’m a disgrace. I’m a single lady. I was about to get drunk on lots of prosecco. I’m always the wedding guest — not the bride. And I don’t even own a cat." I guess I'm doing better than he because I don't drink a lot and I have a dog, but still. Stop judging!

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

• What My Dogs Are Teaching Me About Slow Living (Cait Flanders): This breaks my heart in so many ways. I can't imagine my life without Gary Bear. He's teaching me so much every day. 

• You Said This Was What You Wanted (Tiffany Quay Tyson): So, I don't like that photoshoot and I only saw one image and refuse to look at any more. But this is a good and solid point. 

• What Is Plus Size Privilege? Models Dounia Tazi & Mina Mahmood Spill On The Subject (Bustle): So, I've also heard the term "small fats" in the fat feminist community I'm part of online. I think that this is kind of hard to talk about, but important. 

• Behind The Photos That Changed How America Saw Domestic Violence (HuffPost): Wow. 

• Why I require FBI agents to visit the Holocaust Museum (Washington Post): Comey's thoughts are so much more important and relevant now than when he wrote them.

To Make You Laugh and Smile:

• Eggnog the Bulldog Has the Coolest Custom Doghouse [Video] (The Daily Treat): OMG, I would want to live in this dog house! Don't show Gary, he'll be jealous!!

• WATCH: Dog Caught on Tape Stealing Loaf of Bread from the Store (The Dogington Post): Adorable. And so funny! I just wish I could give them cuddles and feed them healthy food. 

• 15 Times Dogs Forgot How To Dog (Cuteness): Do you ever notice how most of the articles in this section include dogs?

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• Accreditation Is Broken. Time to Repair It. (The Chronicle of Higher Ed): So, accreditation organizations are also running out of funds because they ARE LITERALLY NOT PAID for the work they do. "Why is the accreditation system falling down on the job? Because, as my research shows, by and large accreditors don’t have the budgets or staffing to do their job properly. Despite the tremendous burden of guarding the roughly $120 billion awarded each year in federal student grants and loans, a review of tax filings shows that the 12 main accreditors spend a shockingly small amount on measuring quality — just $75 million in 2013. For comparison, Corinthian raked in $1.3 billion in taxpayer money in one year. That is 17 times more than the combined sum that all 12 accrediting agencies spent monitoring quality at nearly 7,000 campuses over the same period." So, why are these people the ones harassing us into submission for preposterous accreditation requirements while our students can barely read at an 9th grade level?

• Who Defines What Is Racist? (Inside Higher Ed): This is problematic all the way around. I would hate to be in that atmosphere right now. 

• Analyzing Black Lives Matter Without Black People Involved (Inside Higher Ed): Ummm??? Who made this decision?

• When Things Suck and You Still Have a PhD To Do: 7 Tips to Get Stuff Done (Academic Mental Health Collective): This line particularly spoke to where I am: "There is no shame or failure in being realistic about what you are capable of in this current moment. The amount of work you do is not a reflection of you as a person – whether that amount is high or low. It can be hard to believe this and drop the self-judgement. But if it’s going to make life easier for ourselves, doesn’t it make sense to do so?" There was a lot of shame involved in changing the dates of my exams, but I had to be honest about what I could do in that moment. I'm so grateful for a director who understands. 

• Clinging to the Core (Inside Higher Ed): It's not often that my awkward little alma mater makes a large academic site, but when it does, it's because there's a huge hullaballoo going on that common sense could have stopped. "The university’s president, Thomas W. Keefe, acknowledged the idea has been enveloped in drama. But he said that Dallas needs to explore new ideas" Yes. Like getting a new president who doesn't refer to alumni as brats or students as dogs. Ahem. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

• A different kind of childhood (Restoring Mayberry): I have often enjoyed reading the posts at Restoring Mayberry, but this one, perhaps, more than any other, connects with my soul. He describes the friends he sees when he comes back to the states in this way: "One way or another, they grow angrier every year; they know in their bones that something has gone terribly wrong. Most of them know they’ve lost something, and search for it in different ways. Some of my friends build things in their shed, or cook, or in some way find pleasure in creating something. Some read books about people who lived more traditional lives, anything from Amish romances to medieval fantasy. Some drive off on weekends to hunt or fish, something to get them back to nature, and draw far more from their surroundings than from the animal. ... Some of these approaches do more good than others, but I don’t mock any of them; all these people, I think, are trying to fill the same void." What do you think about this article? I would love to hear your thoughts!

• Here's How I (Painlessly!) Purged 80 Percent of My Closet (Apartment Therapy): So, I really enjoyed this. I've been getting rid of A LOT of things lately, and hoping to get rid of even more in the future!

• I Planned My Wedding in 5 Days. You Could, Too. (NY Times): THIS. IS. AWESOME. 

Money, Budgeting, and Finance:

• How To Stretch Your Dollars (Living Well, Spending Less): As usual, there's nothing truly enlightening in this, but it's a great reminder. 

Environmentalism, Farming, Food, Health, and Nutrition:

• What ag schools really need to teach: a report (Food Politics): This is so important. I hope that we can rise to the challenge!

•  Are You a Millennial? Congratulations! Climate Change Will Cost Your Generation $8.8 Trillion (The Nation): Thanks, Trump. 

• 6 Reasons Pulling Out of the Paris Climate Agreement Was Totally, Definitely the Right Move (Ben and Jerry's): Leave it to an ice cream company to see clearly. AN ICE CREAM COMPANY? What even is 2017?

• Trump to planet: Drop dead (CNN): Oh, no, wait. There's CNN. Ahem. 

Dogs: 

• 5 Natural Ways To Help Relieve Your Dog’s Allergies (I Heart Dogs): Has anyone used any of these methods?

#kaitreadsforcomps Mini Reviews #4-5: Shifts in Drama and Feelings of Instability: the Beginning of the Cold War Fear

#kaitreadsforcomps #4: Shifts in Drama

This reflection will discuss several plays of the 40s-60s:

• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, 1949
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, 1955
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee, 1962
• Deliverance by James Dickey, 1970

To be honest, I didn’t actually enjoy a single one of these plays. I can see how they were working to change the way that the average theatre patron thought of drama by discussing topics often left out of polite conversation, but at the same time as a resident of the 21st Century, I have a hard time appreciating it. For me, the ideas of families falling apart and the clash between “civilized” and “barbaric” cultures (shown through rape, no less) aren’t really dynamic, new, or interesting. I see enough of this in reality. Outside of their importance in terms of a shift from propriety to a more open discussion (which I admit is very important), I see no reason to ever read or watch these again. That’s all I have to say about that.

#kaitreadsforcomps #5: Feelings of Instability

This reflection will discuss four texts:

• “The Morning of the Day They Did It” by E.B. White (1950)
• Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron (1951)
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)
• Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill (1956)

Really, this list could be broken down futher into realistic instability (Styron and O’Neill) and early dystopian instability (White and Bradbury), but I’m keeping them together because I think they’re participating in the same conversation.

“The Morning of the Day They Did It” by E.B. White is one of the texts on my list that I had read many times before. I love it. It’s a super short story, so you all should check it out. It was published in The New Yorker in 1950 and is honestly pretty prophetic. White discusses both the dangers of nuclear war and the problems of genetic modification in this short fiction. While I’m sure it’s not the absolute earliest piece of dystopian environmental fiction, it’s certainly up there. This text certainly indicates that there were feelings of instability about the environment and the dangers of war earlier than I had imagined.

Of course, everyone is well aware of the 1953 great, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Again, we find the fear of instability expressed this time concerning the dangers of censorship and illiteracy as well as the loss of knowledge of the humanities. Perhaps all the people in our political administration should consider this as they cut the funding to all humanities grants—or perhaps they already have.

Lie Down in Darkness and Long Days Journey Into Night are like the connection between these dystopian texts and the plays mentioned above. Here we are discussing the taboo, but it is not simply for the sake of discussing it, but out of an acknowledgement of the culture of fear.

I think that all in all, what we see here in both of these sections is the beginning of the Cold War narrative of fear. The downfall of the family, the suspicion of knowledge contrasted with the necessity for it, the general degradation of culture—Cold War culture.

#kaitreadsforcomps Snippet#1: "The Man Who Planted Trees"

So, this text doesn’t really fit in with any of the others, but I LOVE IT. It ended up on my list rather on a whim. This story was recommended in a list by a dear mentor of mine who passed away during the first year of my doctoral program, Dr. Karl Maurer. It fits in with my theme of agrarian texts, so I kept it in the final version even though I was trying to cut down my reading. I’m so glad I did.

The main idea is that the narrator is out on a walk and comes across a man planting trees. This man, who has lost his family and cares more about leaving behind a real legacy than making money, has devoted his life to planting trees and wishes to do so anonymously. The story follows the narrator on his many adventures and through the two world wars. Every once in a while, he comes back to visit the man planting the trees.

This is such an endearing story. You should check it out for sure.