Linguistic Underpinnings

For those of you who are subscribed to my blog, a vow:

No more lengthy essays, no matter how much I love a subject: a blog is a place for a brief and clever divergence.

So what new a clever tidbits are on the way?

A game played w/ current news media:100 DAYS IN THE NEWS

in which I will concoct daily artistic responses to info and gadgets found in my Google reader.

I realized a long time ago that we want a frame of reference.

This frame must be mutable and temporary to remain functional:

Temporary is forever.

A place can tell us who we are and what we should do.

So can a person.

How is it that these two things became so amazing and important to us?

To come and go from each- people- places- can change who we are. It is that simple.

Our identities are intertwined with stability and mobility.

Our backyards are enormous, or non-existent.

The sky unabashedly occupies the space over each of our heads.

Many of our fears are related to our sense of self.

Concepts of conspiracy are really a convenient way to package larger social problems.

Greed and apathy come from a lack of understanding our connection to people and place

There is no set way to achieve greatness or goodness.

There are many ways not to screw up.

I have never titled my portfolio by any fluffy title and I’m pleased to see others agree this should not becme a trend.

I recently attended an Alternative Economies symposium held in Pittsburgh organized by my friends Carolyn Lambert and Robin Hewlett. Up for discussion was the potential positive implications of local currencies. As both Pittsburgh and the neighboring city of Braddock try to find ways to stabilize their uncertain population and economies, all sorts of strategies are on the table.

When I told people I would be attending this event, many asked me ” What is an alternative economy? Hmmm. Not so easy to answer. As far as I can tell this is a term relating specifically to western ideas of any economy that’s not like the one we experience most often. An example might be a gift economy, a mixed economy (depending on whether or not that’s what you think is going on in the US), or some version of an anarchist economy.

I think I’ve often encountered settings in which anarchist economies are what’s being discussed when the term “alternative economy” is brought up, but the key factor in isolating the word’s identity will depend on who you’re chatting with and where they’re from. Different social/economic classes and different countries  will simply think of what we refer to as an alternative as an un-welcomed  necessity.  I find some people telling me that they are participating in an alternative economy and it simply means they are getting paid an under the table wage, often per Diem, and as a given there are no benefits in sight. Will an alternative economic model be able to find a way to connect us to health and dental care? The core of what I’m trying to say here is that “alternative” does not necessarily mean better.

Before talking about what I’m talking about becomes any more complicated, please enjoy this interesting perspective on local currencies.

Also of interest: Oliver Ressler’s book ( I’m not going to say the title for fear of being redundant) documenting an exhibition of artworks exploring alternative economies.

There are a plethora of perspectives available. Much of what I’ve found originates from artist’s projects.

Art on paper: “Alternative Economies”

Spruce Roots: “Hour Islands,..”

Steve Lambert: “The Samaras Project”

Julie Graham: “Imagining and Enacting Noncapitalist Futures”

Like everyone else I have about a million commitments. It can feel like a complex equation is necessary at times to determine what route towards time management and priorities will keep things in balance. What will help? More self-discipline? More free time? I have a feeling the answer is something like a well designed life- figuring out a way to structure the use of your time so that you derive the most enjoyment from your work and even your menial daily tasks.

Following a few days where I thought I might try to do a juice fast (and didn’t) or get up and out to work early (and didn’t) I started trying to figure out what was missing. I found myself thinking of a book I had read, Tying Rocks to Clouds, in which the author tells a story about being in a meditation camp and being asked to pledge reciting a mantra. Others around him are asked to pledge and they choose to dedicate themselves to an outrageous number of repetitions in hopes of awing the monk they pledge to, and really beating themselves into some “superior” state of mind. The author chooses to repeat his mantra once a day. People around him laugh. He tells the readers he has held true to his pledge for seven years now and is pretty sure the people who pledged 300 repetitions a day are having some problems keeping it up. Good man. Something to think about.

A blog I came across, Steve Pavlina.com- self development for smart people- suggests conditioning the subconscious so that the conscious mind doesn’t run through annoying loops in an attempt to reason the best solutions. Steve suggests we make a few decisions about what’s in our best interests and train ourselves into reflexive cooperation with our set goals.

Hmmm. Interesting idea in terms of getting up on time, but once you get up how do you stay on task and use time wisely? I suggest checking out Mind Tool’s Activity Log template to record your use of time. Though I personally prefer simply jotting down what I’ve done with my time throughout the day, a template, or the idea of one, might be useful to you. Last year I kept a journal of my time usage for a week and realized I spent tons of time commuting back and forth from school to home. This understanding pushed me towards more biking rather than busing, and to figure out how to stay in each location longer, i.e. spend some days working from home, pack meals to take to school, don’t over schedule commitments for the day.

I’m including Randy Pausch’s lecture on time management because I’ve heard excellent things about his turkey-sandwich technique. Enjoy!

I like to make things happen with people. Whatever I am making: food, an art project, an event, when I collaborate it almost always comes out better than if I had tried to do it by myself. The creative process is more thorough, the outcome (bad or good) is more completely explored, and it’s just more fun for me. The key is to choose the right person for the right project. With collaboration, problem-solving, and “getting advice” on my mind, I stumbled across Michael Melcher, AKA The Creative Lawyer. His blog suggests several interest hoops you might consider jumping through to make more informed decisions in shaping your “career”…whatever that word might mean to you.

His recent suggestion I enjoyed? Create a personal board of directors!