- I just finished reading Brian Fies' graphic novel Mom's Cancer. I had stumbled across it upon discovering it was going to be released on GoComics. Fies starts his preface with the phrase You are not alone. I was struck by this because it's a fact I've been discovering, especially once my mom passed away. Sometimes in situations like that (someone we love is dying of a terminal illness), we want to think we are alone. That there is no one like us, no one who has gone through something similar. And that's a naive thought to have. While Fies' mom dealt with cancer brought on by smoking, the story still spoke to me. Definitely worth checking out (it's a quick read).
- Debbie Chachra write a stunning article back in January 2015 on the maker culture (and her critique of it). It really resonates with me as I've thought a lot about Fab Labs and Makerspaces and their place in the library (and in our culture as a whole). We place so much importance on production and producing something that sometimes we forget about the other things/traits that don't include making but are just as important.
- On Thursday, I was part of an all day retreat that was sort of a giant brainstorming session for our grant this summer (the Digital Innovation Leadership Program aka DILP). One of the presentations (the most memorable by far) was Professor Deana McDonagh, part of our Industrial Design program on campus. She talked about empathic design. To start her presentation, she showed this video, which I think is fantastic. Lots of times we struggle with the difference between sympathy and empathy. Dr. Brene Brown wonderfully explains the two. This video is so helpful as I think about my writing -- it captures what I was feeling when my mom was sick and I couldn't explain why I was frustrated with my friends. This is why.
- Ever since reading A Long Goodbye, Meghan O'Rourke has won a spot as one of my favorite authors. In honor of Mother's Day, The New Yorker ran O'Rourke's story about her mother. It's beautiful and hits me in all the right emotional spots.
- With classes being done, I've had some free time. I decided to tackle season two of Game of Thrones. I watched the first season last summer and while it was very good, I couldn't bring myself to watch the second season once school started. There have been lots of deaths, and far too many characters to keep track of, but season two is good.