There are at least two private security vehicles parked about 50 yards off the Diag every time I walk on campus, and it's been that way for the last couple of years
UM's most beloved, famous public space is, in fact, constantly policed
it made me cry, in a good way
did the four arrive as a package? that's the only explanation here
coachability is the whole game!
that of course involves learning the registers that feedback comes in---it can be quiet or loud, explicit or implied, given as a directive or couched as a suggestion
but people in all parts of your life are out here sharing the actual cheat codes, over and over again, if you have ears to hear
if you're one of the categories that is never expected to listen to feedback and you learn how to hear it, and maybe even solicit it, from the people who aren't supposed to tell you anything?
**turbocharged** development of whatever you're doing, plus a bit of societal repair as a bonus
our entire society would be better if we hadn't gendered and raced the shit out of just who gets to give feedback and who can never give it, who is on the hook to hear feedback and who is never on the hook to hear it or take it seriously, and the various combos of those categories
It's a superpower, truly
like, knowing how to regulate yourself through the experience of getting it and then to discern what's useful and take the next step and another step after that? unlocks so much, *and* it works whether the feedback is bad/good right/wrong well-delivered/poorly-delivered
the corollary: one of the best things you can do for yourself is to get good at getting feedback
Maybe my entire outlook on life these days: more people needed to have gotten more feedback more often, and short that, they need more feedback now
they tucked the words of the title into the little jar (surely an allusion to Pandora)---when I first saw it, I yelled out loud
An off white book cover, where the central image is a gold-and-iridescent glass jar: the author's name is in one color that shows in the iridescence, the title of the book in another (and tucked into the jar) and the subtitles is in a third color from the jar
not medical history, but the UC designer killed with this--the trick being that the Cleveland Museum of Art put the image of this little Roman glass jar up for fair use. Lots of museums do, (Cleveland's catalog is very deep) and I bet your designers would love you for finding various images for them
oh my god
Man, half the fun I've had in the last few years doing big train-to-trail trips like the GAP and the C&O is being out there with a bunch of 60-80 year-olds on e-bikes, all grinning their faces off like fifth graders and having the time of their lives
more people on bikes = e-bikes gotta happen
truly unhinged people---again, I love them all, but that distance in the water or on land is just a selection point for the human race and it tells you many things about a person, lol
i have such a hard time cutting because i am emotionally attached to all my words, even the bad ones!
it's easiest for me to send my drafts to trusted *and* brutal readers who'll be like, "yeah, so, this'll land harder if you cut like half." hurts every time, but they're always right.
The whole Element trend is *great*
I hate it and it hurts and it also works
tl;dr the academic article is
1) not an endlessly expandable genre
2) not automatically better when longer
3) very responsive to editing for concision
(sorry, 800 runners, I love you but you are hors categorie)
But, if you're an academic, a leisurely 10,000 words can become a blazing, unforgettable 8,000 words---if, iff, you put your hand to it and cut cut cut
(you'll notice I'm leaving out the 800m; if you know you know)
there's a reason that there are different distances in track---the 400m is hard, sure, and the mile is hard, yes, but they are different events!
500 words is harder---like, so much harder!
you have to really know what you're doing, and if you start fluffing it out to 600, 700 words, it's easier
But here's the thing: a 500-word paper is a very different exercise than even a 750-word paper, not to even talk about 1000 words
My students are usually not prepared for how deadly serious I am about word count
A colleague once described a book of mine as being "without a single superfluous word or move" and I will never reach that pinnacle again
I mean, put it on my tombstone
I know it's hard! It is also totally worth the effort---there shouldn't be any cushion on your beautiful argument. It's smart, it doesn't need insulation!
And, I'd even say, 10% might not be enough!
I've seen 16,000 word articles become flashy, zippy 12,000 word pieces
I've seen 12,000 word pieces become a muscular 10,000 words
