"Instead of crafting a nation of self-fulfilled, happy workers, our DWYL [Do What You Love] era has seen the rise of the adjunct professor and the unpaid intern: people persuaded to work for cheap or free, or even for a net loss of wealth."In the Name of Love
Slate offered thoughts on how damaging the phrase "Do What You Love" is to the laborer's psyche and sense of societal contribution...in just about every field.
"My reason for quitting Facebook primarily had to do with the danger of (a) talking too much and of (b) pride. The Bible exhorts Christians to refrain their lips (Prov. 10:19) God warns of the dangers of hasty speech (Prov. 29:20). I found that social media encouraged me to violate both of these principles."Why I Kissed Social Media Goodbye
Adam Groza makes some excellent points, and while I'm not ready to pull the social media umbilical cord, I am spending less and less time there.
"I decided that if Mama is what I want to pursue as a job, then that’s exactly what I want to treat it like... I want to be present and intentional which is not at all easy for me with so many distractions. I am just ready to be a little more proactive and a little less reactive, and I think that is the great discipline of motherhood."The Discipline of Motherhood
I feel like I'm still crawling out of the life-with-this-baby-has-been-so-crazy-and-sleepless-and-why-does-she-still-have-this-horrible-eczema hole. I'm ready to inch toward intentionality again, and this was a good kick in the pants.
"And for me, I’m letting go of this idea that just because life isn’t going my way, my children aren’t perfect, there are meals to be cooked and laundry to be washed and folded in the midst of growing hearts into adults (that I pray love the Lord), that being a Mom is hard."Stop Saying Being a Mom Is Hard
Speaking of kick in the pants...I needed to hear every word of this. All jobs are hard, but that doesn't make endless whining okay.
"Now I loathe and despise the media in a way I did not think possible. I used to engage with the media knowing that some of it would be adversarial, but now it’s superfluous at best and toxic at its worst. If MSNBC went off the air tomorrow, what difference would it make? If the Huffington Post went out of business tomorrow, what difference would it make? Arianna Huffington accomplished what she wanted to accomplish. She created this wonderful thing. And what have they done with that? They want clicks, I get it. They’ve gotta have clicks for their advertisers, so they’re going to need as much Kim Kardashian and wardrobe malfunctions as possible. The other day, they had a thing on the home page about pimples. Tripe. Liberal and conservative media are now precisely equivalent."
Alec Baldwin: Good-bye, Public Life
Alec Baldwin's open letter to the world about retiring from private life is long, winding, full of profanity, and opinions I can't even begin to agree with. That being said, I share it because it demonstrates just how much media has changed in the past ten, or even five, years. I'm done with celebrity news; no more random clicks in sidebars, no more following celebrity storylines (though that had decreased in my life significantly, anyway). Increasingly, the news is worth less and worthless and I'm wondering how to stay informed in such a hate-saturated, polarizing, skin-deep media culture. Suggestions?
I Hate Celebrity Culture
Similar to the above, though much more philosophical and academic (and with a fun accent!). This actor discusses the American glorification of charisma and personality and other fun nerdy topics.
And to end on a positive note, I dug up this gem on a CD from the library...and I pretty much haven't stopped playing it since.
Here's to warmer weather (and much excitement in the Jorgenson household!) come March!
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