alexandra-modiv-blog

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May 6, 1920 - NYTimes

Trade disputes, presidential election and the talk of repealing the Volstead Act (otherwise known as prohibition). 

Also, in more eerie news, a prominent Christian Science adherent let their daughter die of diphtheria. That echoes the anti-vaxxer debate, for me at least. 

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May 5, 1920 - NYTimes

Coverage of a bishop’s address to his congregation made the front page of the NYtimes. The assertion was that individuals had begun to turn away from Christ. What else is new.

I know it seems like a stereotype, but did evvvvverryyybody have nicknames in the roaring 20s? “Big Bill” Furey? “Count Carrigan”?

Also, I know we think all this election interference stuff is new, but it’s not. Seems like the 1920s primaries were rife with “gentlemen’s agreements” trading votes around. 

Nothing is new under the sun is my pervasive takeaway so far. 

(Still no mention of Harding in a major way in 1920 coverage!)

1920 Presidential Election wikipedia page

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May 4, 1920 - NYTimes

Interesting how things have changed yet things stay the same. Today in 1920, there were reports of strikes, wars and the presidential election during a pandemic. Surreal the similarities.

What’s not similar is the amount of hype that modern articles give to the same types of stories. Now, it’s all huge, larger than life. Reality in 1920 seemed a bit more muted, perhaps the media sensationalism and competing for eyeballs is to blame (duh).

There are only two stories covering the presidential election on the front page. No mention of the Spanish flu (although they’ve had 2 years to discuss it already). At this point in 1920, they’re not even talking about Harding being the presumptive nominee, but Hiram Johnson from California (never heard of him). The field is also massive, both sides have at least 10 people running. A key difference between this election and our current one is that they had no incumbent whereas we do. 

My favorite article on this cover page was the story of a famous female author who was married for five years and kept it all secret. An excerpt:

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/05/04/96887436.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

She refused to take his last name or even live with him (her husband was a famous pianist). They kept separate friend groups and kept doing their own thing, despite the cultural pressure suggesting otherwise. Truly remarkable for the time. 

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CF30 - Week 3

Here’s this week’s challenge: read the front page from a newspaper printed 100 years ago.

Luckily the NYTimes has an easy way to do this:

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/05/04/issue.html

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CF30 - Day 15

I did it. Took a week and I worked on it every night, but I completed my first stop motion film.  What was the process like? What new ideas did it open your mind toward?

I wrote it, storyboarded it, designed the sets, assembled the cast. I realized that I knew more than I thought about the movie-making process, which was neat. Knowing I got information through osmosis. Kind of cool. 

How did working with your hands affect other aspects of your life? 

Working on this project every night left me drained, yet inspired. There were a few times where I was about to give up. But I kept going. And I also worked with my boyfriend on making the film. I don’t know how much I realized how much having a teammate would help me through the creative process. Creativity doesn’t have to be a solo activity. 

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CF30 - Day 9

I had a huge hiccup starting in week 2. Last week I thought I could teach myself how to crochet. 

Boy, what a joke. 

With a huge ball of yarn and a knitting needle, I watched a few different YouTube tutorials. I could get the first few steps down, but the resulting product? Reaaaallly bad. So it was hard getting motivated on doing something that looked like a tangled yarn mess. 

So I’ve switched gears and pivoted to a more enjoyable hands-on project. I’m going to make a stop-motion short film. I wanted to do this my whole life and haven’t. 

I’ve written a script, storyboarded it out and now am in the shooting stages. We’ll need to record VO lines as well. I’ve not used Premiere very much, so I’ll also be teaching myself some editing skills. 

Stay tuned. 

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CF30 -Day 8

Week One in Review

How did you feel about this experiment?

At first, I felt very reluctant about it. But just like a kid who craves sweets, you have to cultivate some mental discipline for yourself.

What did you like about it? Dislike? 

Initially, I disliked my link selection. But all it took was finding a way of personalizing the information to make it matter to me. Do I care about the logistics of DNA even if I’m thankful about how they work? No. But I am intrigued by all the applications this topic can have on other areas of my life that I am interested in.

Do you have any new insight patterns into your thinking?

Well, I found myself craving the sweet release of junky YouTube videos. But now, I don’t miss them. I’m not just compulsively turning it on, even if I do find myself watching one every once in a while. 

How do you feel mentally after a changed input “diet”?

I’ve had a few new ideas that I don’t know if I would have had before this week. I think that’s a success. 

What new ideas did it open your mind toward?

It’s not necessarily thinking about using DNA in my work, creative or professional (although that can be helpful). It’s really about using the skills learned in this week to find new “ins” to my existing life. It’s more about learning how to attack a topic from different angles. I think that’s a fairly valuable skill. 

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CF30 Day 4 - Inputs (Part 2)

Day 4 and I’m finally charting out my second part of inputs.  Without further adieu...

First, I’m mapping my time across my days. Things are a little different now because of corona. The curriculum said this about that: 

Try not to be overwhelmed. This isn’t an exact science. We’re looking for the major influences. Perfectly tracking and then categorizing how you spent a random sliver of time on a one-time task isn’t worth it or necessary. Just focus on the big building blocks.

I know we’re not looking for exact, but it was fun divvying it out anyway.

Corona-version of my time:

At home, working: 8 hours (33 percent) At home, working out: 2 hours (8 percent) At home, eating: 1.5 hours (~6 percent) At home, watching TV or playing video games: 3 hours (12.5)

At home, working on hobbies 1.5 hours (~6 percent) At home, sleeping: 8.5 hours (34.5 percent)

Besides working and sleeping, the most I do is probably consume fun media or play video games with my friends. What if I swapped any piece of “fun” media for something more edifying? DNA related or not.

Macro influences

How were you raised? Where were you raised? One place? Move a bunch?

Modestly. Small town Oklahoma after moving there when I was 5 for my dad’s professor job. I went to the same school system my entire life until I moved to Edmond, OK for college. 

Level of education? How many of your friends can you trace back to a common school or work environment?

Master’s degree. My three core groups of friends come from high school (they went to the college), the second group I met in undergrad and the third group I met through friends of friends. But my boyfriend got a job where he works with one of them, so there’s a work tie now. 

Interests

What subjects come easily to you? What do you love to learn about?

Literature, art, writing, music, movies, design. The Arts. Government management. 

Hobbies?

Reading, video games, writing, working out, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, cooking, making stuff. 

Blind Spots/Dislikes

What are subjects you have a blind spot for? 

Math, science, computers. Sorry, I’m a walking stereotype of An English Major. Also I can’t dance, but I like watching other people dance. 

What music can you not (under)stand? Ever tried opera?

Commercialized country about big trucks and hot girls and cold beer. Screamo metal. Dad was a music professor. I like opera. 

How about shows and movies?

Super christian-y movies and media. 

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CF30 Day 3

Meant to blog for Day 2. Didn’t. Maybe it’s because the 30 minute DNA research didn’t click yesterday. I broke a couple of times to watch an episode of a TV show or an unrelated YouTube video. 

But even if I have splurged on some “fun brain” stuff, what I am finding is that I’m not just compulsively scouring YouTube for a new hit of dopamine. I honestly feel kind of bad for mindlessly consuming that stuff, even if I did watch a makeup tutorial while washing dishes. 

If the goal was to make me just pause and think about what I’m doing before I do it, then that’s a success already. 

But today, surprise, the DNA stuff did take off for me. All it took was finding a website that has the kind of stuff I want to read about. I think I was being too strict about learning about how DNA works. Since I’m not wanting to be a geneticist, watching video after video about the nuts and bolts of how DNA works was less than inspiring. While I’m glad I know the gist of how it works again, I’m not cramming for finals.

So I’m going to drop some of my favorite links below, but my favorite was probably learning that some renegade biologists raided a conference of world leaders to harvest their DNA. Trump, Merkel, Teresa May. Anyone who was anyone in world leadership in 2018. And their DNA samples are up for auction in this beautifully produced auction booklet. 

Ethics

‘Human Nature’ Review: We Can Now Alter Our DNA. But Should We?

Stephen Hawking feared race of ‘superhumans’ able to manipulate their own DNA

Crime-Solving

‘Old School’ Technique Helps Identify Victim in 50-Year-Old Killing

The Genealogy Website That Helped Crack The Golden State Killer Case Has Been Bought By A Forensic Genetics Firm

Boston Strangler Case: How Long Does DNA Last?

Combatting Disease

Folding@Home

Haunted by a Gene

Why Does Covid-19 Make Some People So Sick? Ask Their DNA

SCIENTISTS: SALAMANDER DNA COULD REGENERATE HUMAN BODY PARTS

Phylo

Charting DNA Through Time

Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA

World's oldest human DNA found in 800,000-year-old tooth of a cannibal

DNA analysis reveals just how intertwined ancient human lineages are

Privacy

EXPERTS: CORPORATIONS COULD DO TERRIBLE THINGS WITH YOUR DNA

APPLE’S EMPLOYEE “WELLNESS” PROGRAM INCLUDES FREE DNA TESTS

Misc.

Stephen Hawking is one of humanity's designated survivors

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Rosalind Franklin, the forgotten female scientist behind discovering 

dna! Currently reading: Rosalind Franklin, the Dark Lady of DNA!

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CF30 Day 1 - Inputs (Part 1)

The second part of getting started on CF30 today is logging my existing Inputs and media habits. We’re getting up close and personal. 

Does anyone remember MySpace’s Bulletin Board Surveys? This part kind of reminds me of these -- definitely mean it as a compliment, because those were fun. 

Interests What do you like to do in your free time? - I really like making: gardening, crafting, baking, cooking, drawing, writing.  - Under not-covid, I like rock climbing and going to the gym. Yoga too. Anything that gets me in my body and out of my brain.  - Don’t get me wrong, I still watch plenty of YouTube and play video games. 

What kinds of shows do you gravitate to? - People being creative on TV with different methods of doing so. One example, reality TV competitions like The Great British Bake Off, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Project Runway, Queer Eye.  - Exceptional dramas. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul....those come to mind. - YouTube blogger content of people being creative.  

Job What do you spend your time doing? - Copywriting for clients at an ad firm.    Co-workers, who are they? - They’re similar in race, socio-economic status and background (as far as I know) for the most part.

Travel Patterns Exposure to new places, whether near or far. - Right now, no one is doing much traveling. I loved (when things were different) going to small towns and exploring their downtown. I’ve not traveled much out of a handful of states I’ve already gone to, nor much abroad besides the U.K. I’m solidly south and midwestern. States I’ve visited...

Content Consumption TV Channels/Websites - More like streaming channels, but I honestly watch YouTube the most. Funimation, Amazon Prime are a couple of others. 

Podcasts - My Brother, My Brother and Me. Any McElroys podcast. Some Chapo Trap House, Last Podcast On the Left, Laser Time.... don’t listen to many podcasts right now, however. 

Videogames - Right now, Persona 5 Royals, Of Guards and Thieves, Jackbox. Recently Persona 4 Golden, Slay the Spire, The Sims 4, Table Top Simulator. I enjoy multiplayer games, as well as 2D pixel art games, as well as turned base RPGs. Social Apps Are they people you know personally? A mix? - Yeah, I follow about 400 people on IG. I don’t have a social media presence I use actively on any other platform besides YouTube, but that’s a totally different beast. For the most part, I follow local businesses in OKC, my friends, acquaintances and a few celebrities.  

What do they talk about? - I really just watch my friend’s IG stories at this point (because we’re all trying to stay sane during the outbreak.) I use the actual feed for news about local businesses. My friends send me memes, jokes or funny tweets but I don’t seek them out.

This is something I didn’t think of: how do these bubbles of social groups work? Like, aren’t my friend’s algorithms rubbing off on me? Will write more on that subject later. 

Part two tomorrow.

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CF Day 1 - Beginnings

This is the first day of the Modiv Creative Fitness 30 (CF30).  As I’m writing this, I’m already noticing how stiff I feel. Not literally in just my low back (RIP gym schedule) but...my brain.  

I’ve tried SO many of these mental or self-help cleanse programs. If you know about it, I’ve probably tried it. But hey, I need to wake up out of this creative malaise. Worth a shot. So here we are.

One of the tasks of the CF30 was starting a blog (check), writing in it at least once a week (check). It’ll be interesting to catalog my progress and process throughout all of this, so I think this is worth it. 

Today’s task, besides structuring the first week and filling out the Input Mapping, is starting Experiment 1. Which is:

The third link on Stokehold on Day 1 of your CF30 sets your media consumption for the week. All non-necessary media must explore topics related to the subject(s) in that link.

That link is...drumroll please...

Everything Worth Know About... Ancient DNA.

Welp.

I’m not going to lie, I think this falls in the sweet spot of “I don’t really care” recommended by the program and “casual passing interest but no working knowledge of.” Did I take AP Bio senior year? Yes. Could I tell you what DNA even stands for without Googling? Eeergh, maybe....

Its deoxyribonucleic acid, right? Cool, yep, confirmed. Ms. Pettijohn will be proud, wherever she is. 

So for this week, all my fun-times, not working content consumption will be related to DNA. I think DNA itself is fairly niche (for me at least). Maybe for someone actually good at science, this isn’t niche. Oh well -- my circus, my monkeys. 

And to honor the occasion, I’m listening to every song just titled “DNA” on Spotify. So far, I actually like all of them, even if they’re from a wide range of styles such as rap, K-Pop, 1990s singer-songwriter and 2010s indie rock. 

I know that most of these songs have n o t h i n g to do with the actual subject matter of DNA. But I don’t want to listen to nothing this week because no one is singing songs about DNA like Tom Lehrer did about the Periodic Table. 

I’ll drop in my links and other content about DNA throughout this week. Maybe there’s a DNA video game I can try?

(Also, does this mean I get to watch Jurassic Park because of Mr. DNA?)