Things I Like(d) - Issue #23: Keep your foot on the gas ➡️
What stops our forward momentum? Does what I share actually make a difference? And what does art have to do with any of it?
Forget gimmicky "life hacks," to fighting apathy: here's some real thought on keeping our individual and collective foot on the gas.
Self-professed "rabble-rouser" Dave Meslin redefines apathy, "not as some kind of internal syndrome, but as a complex web of cultural barriers that reinforces disengagement" in this talk form 2010 that touches on the role of billboards, zoning notices and political coverage on civic engagement. Full transcript here.
-
You are what you share — seths.blog
"The culture we will live in next month is a direct result of what people like us share today. The things we share and don't share determine what happens next." Five years later, this article seems more prescient than ever.
-
Here Are the Times I Am Typically Free to Meet — www.mcsweeneys.net
Sure, this is about work meetings, but it could just as easily be about our willingness to show up for anything that matters.
-
One of my favourite things about art is the influence time and context can have on its meaning. Case(s) in point: Alyson Schotz's Mirror Fence, and Joy Charbonneau's "This is a Vase" (Bomb Vase).
-
Mavis Staples' 2007 take on this folk classic kept it's foot on the gas well enough, but it was her 2019 Newport performance with Hozier, Our Native Daughters (and more!) that put the pedal to the metal.
(The sound quality on this alternate angle isn't as good, but it gives a better view of all those on stage).
-