this was extremely meaningful to me

May. 30th, 2025 10:58 pm
kanadka: a maple leaf with a cut-out heart and sun shining behind (maple leaf heart)
[personal profile] kanadka
from this video, about making a Bayeux-stitch tapestry
I wanted to talk a little bit about... putting projects on hold, cause um. I started this in April of last year
so it's - it's been ten months. and we're going on a full year of working on this
like ten months is a long time to be working on something! and granted, this is a big project, so ... it makes sense that it would take a long time
but
a lot of that time, I just wasn't working on it. I wasn't doing anything.
and that's ok!
that's - not a crime?
this is something that like, I think and feel, so maybe... you don't have the same issue, but I think this is a fairly common, um, feeling among people who make stuff
that like having works in progress and not finishing things quickly enough is like, bad, and that's just not true?
I mean it's different if like, it's your job, or if it's something for school, um, because then obviously there's deadlines and, you need to, y'know, fulfill commitments and that kinda thing.
but
I'm doing this for fun.
this is supposed to be fun.
if I'm working on this... and it's no longer fun...
then I've like.
lost the plot.
I think it's important to keep that in mind. that like, I'm working on this because I like to embroider. and I want to have some big embroidery hanging on my wall.
but wanting the finished product is not as important to me as the process of making it.
like, the actual act of like... putting needle through fabric is what's enjoyable for me.

And when it's done, I'll have this like lovely reminder of all the hard work that I put in and the time that I enjoyed spending on it.
but
the - the time is the point.
the process is the point.
the medium is the message.
       marshall mcluhan
           uh nOT what this is about!
and if you take anything away from this video, I want it to be that... it's ok to like put projects on hold. you'll get it done eventually. the time will pass. you will come back to it later on and feel motivated and inspired to work on this again. and ... you will get more out of the experience than if you just push yourself through and rush and make yourself finish it
because like, 'it's been so long, I need to get it done' like -
no, you don't.
you can, you can - you can take your time. you can be chill about it. and just enjoy the process.
and have a good time.
and I think the finished product will be better overall.
bethbethbeth: Star of David (Misc Star (destina))
[personal profile] bethbethbeth
On May 8th, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the sixth recced book review.

Rules for Ghosting (2024), by Shelly Jay Shore (recced by mx-sno on bluesky)

Yes, this is a romance (gay cis man/bi trans-man), but it's also a story about family dynamics, grief, birth and death, found family, Judaism, and a dog named Sappho.

Oh, and ghosts!

I'm passing on the rec, but I'd offer two caveats:

One...if you have anxiety surrounding death rituals, including taharah (the "ritual washing, purification, and dressing of a deceased Jewish person before burial"), you might want to think twice.

Second, on a pure story level, there's sometimes a little too much "not telling people important things either for their own good or because you don't know how to start the conversation" for my personal tastes, but for all I know, that's your favorite trope. :)

However, Rules for Ghosting is generally an interesting, good-hearted story with a clever premise and a diverse group of likable characters.
bethbethbeth: (Film Audience (rexluscus))
[personal profile] bethbethbeth
On May 8th, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the fifth recced book review.

Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism (2020) by Jevin D. West & Carl T. Bergstrom (recced by Snakeling)

So glad this was recced, especially since the 5 years since publication has seen bullshit grow ever more ubiquitous ("Blah blah this administration blah blah.")

The book touches on so many things: linguistics, whether animals can bullshit, the debunked but not-dead-yet theories of Wakefield about Autism, the way technology (inc. the printing press) has changed how we bullshit, communication theory, etc. And that's just in the first 2 chapters!

It also looks at ways of assessing whether something's bullshit, even when we don't have a background in the field (e.g., if we don't have expertise in vaccine side effects), and when & where - if possible - to refute bullshit when you see it (w/o being that "Well, actually...." person)

Caveat: I had to get the audiobook (regular print & digital books had 2 month waits). This proved to be a problem because some of the scientific examples were relatively technical and required referring to downloadable pdfs of graphs, charts, illustrations etc.

OverDrive used to allow audiobook downloads, even after Libby was introduced, but OverDrive is no longer available in my library system and Libby doesn't allow PDF downloading. This made following some of the arguments difficult.

What I'm saying is...if at all possible, read the book instead of getting the audiobook.

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