January 6
The difference between owning a pet and having a kid — well, one of the differences, I mean, of course; there’s also the fact that if you let kids out the back to pee then people look at you funny — is that, when your dog has dental surgery that lasts for hours and leaves him without the same number of teeth he started with, you can’t really let him know what’s going on. Kids, at least, you can say “Hey, take better care of your teeth, you don’t even want to know how much that cost” and they’ll have some idea what you’re talking about.
I kid, obviously, but the sheer amount of worrying Kate and I did yesterday for Gus as he was in surgery pretty much made yesterday a bust as far as work was concerned — we both did the bare minimum to get by, but our hearts weren’t in it. He’s fine, now (Well, as fine as you can be when you’re missing teeth and on crazy pain medication and antibiotics and you’re a dog), so today, we’ll just spend our time catching up on the important stuff and quasi-worrying about our little guy.
2015, you’re looking nuts already.
One of the current aesthetic trends that I think’s very exciting is a recognition that diversity is interesting for its own sake, especially in finding new things to do with longstanding franchises. Whether it be Missy, Ms. Marvel, or the “Idris Elba for James Bond” rumors, there’s not just been a…
To Me, My Future Downton Abbey
If there’s one thing that contemporary television period dramas like to do, it’s poke at the outdated societal norms that now seem, if not quaint, then at least faintly comedic from a distance. Oh, look, he’s worried that coming out will destroy his social standing, the shows sneer from a quasi-enlightened standpoint. Or He’s come home from the war injured but now has to deal with people thinking he’s a coward, will he cope?
(British period dramas do this more than American ones, but I suspect part of that is simply that there are more British period dramas. Although things like Mad Men do tend to have elements of “Those wacky old guys, smoking and sexist!” in weirdly comfortable tones.)
It got me thinking – when there are period dramas made about nowadays, what are the issues of the day going to be that get revisited with a smug tone of superiority? Are the audiences of tomorrow going to shift uncomfortably in their seats as the HoloViewers of 2094 scoff at racism and cis-privilege?
Yes! Starlin!
In order to really take podcasting to the next level, the natural social habits of people needs to be included in how they are found, downloaded, listened to, and discussed afterwards. New approaches, new software, and a new frame of mind will be required to do it. What follows are a bunch of ideas on how each anti-social aspect of podcasting could be improved.
File under “Not Read Fully Yet, So Don’t Consider This An Endorsement, More A Reminder To Myself To Check It Out Later.”
January 5
There’s a certain feeling that comes with the start of each workday that’s difficult to describe; I know that, because I’ve just spent moments trying to define it inside my head before writing this. It’s not anticipation, exactly, because that would suggest a sense of excitement about what’s to come, but it’s also not dread, because I’m not quite so downbeat about it, either; instead, it’s this acceptance and awareness that I have no idea what’s going to happen between now and the end of the workday, but I know something will.
What that something will be changes from day to day, of course. Today, I know that it includes one of my dogs having to have dental surgery, which I’m nervous about on his behalf, as well as a couple of drop-dead deadlines this afternoon, some smaller deadlines to juggle and the whole “getting back into the work mindset” in the middle of all of that. I’m sure there’ll be other things to poke and prod — there are emails I need to reply to, and plans that need to be made — and that’s kind of the point. At the start of each workday, it’s all potential, this massive mountain of To-Do List that seems entirely insurmountable, yet you know you have to do it anyway.
Here’s hoping we get to the end of the day in good shape.
January 4
As if in rehearsal for the week ahead, I woke up before 7 this morning for the first time since Tuesday. It was a weekday awakening, despite it still being the weekend: this sudden, complete jolt of Now you are awake. No yawning, slowly coming out of sleep; just BAM and there I was, lying there and knowing that I should probably be doing something productive or close to it.
This kind of morning guilt feels better in the summer, when you can wake up at 6:45 and at least it’s light out. Right now, it’s pitch black and entirely still outside. The idea that I’ve missed anything, or should be doing something, feels that much more like a neurosis in winter.