Something I thought about:

  • Structure – I've been trying to get various pieces of a dissertation chapter to coalesce, and it's been helpful to think of writing in fractal rather than linear terms. I can chase down an idea to its finest points and then zoom back out for the next higher-level idea before drilling down again. I'm visualizing this as a kind of winding/unwinding motion.

Something I did:

  • Got back into the swing of things with dissertation writing.
  • Left Substack.
  • Redid my website.

Something I read:

  • I liked this essay by Rachel Coldicutt on Delinquent Telephone Activity. It's about how technologies like telephones and text messaging had their intended uses completely subverted for social purposes.
  • Coldicutt's essay was particularly interesting when paired with this piece on Facebook, AI, and misinformation. I wonder if it's possible to use something like Facebook in the delinquent, loving way that Coldicutt describes. I like the sideways/social technology takeovers, like using Slack for friend chats instead of work or when LJ was used for fanfic RPGs.
  • I grew up on The Karate Kid and appreciated this essay on Cobra Kai, Mr. Miyagi, and Anti-Asian Racism.