letter four
If you're wondering, isn't this newsletter a week late? You're right. :) And how is it basically mid-November already? Friends, Thanksgiving (or as we say in Vietnamese, the Day of the American Chicken) is just around the corner - if you don't have plans, come over! We're going to cook all the things.
The last two weeks
Post-midterms and my anxiety-fueled cycle of donating/GOTV efforts, I am resting. Also, as an introvert, I am committing to donating, postcard writing, and textbanking as my preferred modes - I like that I can do these things anytime and also that I don't have to stand out in the cold desperately searching for an exit. Please join me!
In other activities - Karen and I wrote an NSF proposal for Getting Unstuck! I gave a 5-minute talk about Getting Unstuck at Blocks+! My portrait was accepted with major revisions to a journal! That years-old FICSIT paper is officially moving forward int he publication process! All good things, but my November motto is definitely revise, revise, revise.
I'm reading
Teaching as a subversive activity (thank you, KB!). You're more powerful than you think.
From Eric Liu's book:
"...reimagining civics as the teaching and learning of power is so necessary--now perhaps more than any time in the last century. If you don't learn how to practice power, someone else will do it for you--in your name, on your turf, with your voice, and often against your interests.
"Power plays out in every arena of life, from the home to the workplace to the public square...our focus is on power in political and vici life--how we live in public. And the core question of such power is this: Who decides?
"Every aspect of collective existence in a complex society is the result of countless layers of countless decisions, including decisions not to challenge long-ago decisions..." (10)
YA, news, and other things
Heartwarming stories about individuals' midterms experiences. What should your phone background be. How a woman becomes a lake. You are here. Gmorning gnight. Ignite the stars.
A GIF to share
Happy weekend!
-paulina