#it's probably very different for people who view themselves as more extroverted vs introverted

[jattendschaton]

Some people are very good at talking to a group and creating an environment where all of them feel very welcome and proactively making sure people are included in all aspects of the conversation and then some people talk to a group as if they are trying to keep everyone divided? Like they are using inside jokes that only one person understands or talk in a guarded way that suggests they are everyone's closest confidant but no one else is allowed to know each other. No real point, I'm just thinking about how much I would rather be the first type of person but how much more common I think the second is

[willel]

Your saying that characters on their own is compelling is fine but that's not how stories and characters work. Just because I am also an introvert doesn't mean that I expect a show to do that to appeal to me personally. It just seems like you only like the characters who relate to you and the show references.

That is how characters and stories work. After all, there are different ways to tell a story. Character driven or plot driven. In my opinion, Stranger Things started as a character driven story but at some point in season 3, the agency was taken from the characters and the plot took over.

Season 1 is probably still my favorite season because the show allows you to really sit in the perspective of each character, whether they're introverted or extroverted so that the audience can understand their perspective and relate to them. Well, except the villains but even they get a little bit of headspace time. I LOVE when stories let me experience a scene from the eyes of a specific character and how they understand it vs how another character might feel and think about a situation.

Just because a character is introverted or passive does not make them objectively less compelling. That is completely down to someones personal preferences and if they allow themselves to walk in someone else's shoes while experiencing a story.

As for characters who are nothing like me but I like them a lot, Nancy, Lucas, and Max are top tier for me. I wouldn't really call any of these character introverts. They're also a lot more proactive and vocalize their opinions no matter what others might think. Lucas is seriously one of my favs. I guess I could "relate" to him because in some ways he reminds me of my younger brother, but still. I didn't go through a "want to be popular" phase or anything like that, but I guess there are a few things here and there I can relate to him with.

I have no one in my life like Nancy but I admire how every season she steps up to the plate to take charge. I can't relate to her live life given I am extremely aromantic but I do my best to understand not only is she just a teenager, but love lives can be messy and confusing things sometimes. I suppose I can relate to trying to figure yourself out as do most people even though we aren't very similar people.

My life has been nowhere near as terrible as Max. Like, if I were her, I'd be angry with how my life was turning out too. If I had a Billy in my life, I dunno if I'd ever have the courage to not only drug him, but threaten him with a nail bat and then steal his car. She is extremely brave and courageous. Someone you want to cheer for. Every headcanon of mine involving her rescue includes El, Lucas, and Will. My dream 4 to be honest.

In my opinion, everyone should be able to relate to all the Stranger Things characters in some ways (maybe not some of the villains, but still). Even the "boring" ones. Even the ones who are nothing like you. So I don't really understand where your statements about appealing to individuals or catering to anyone comes from? It doesn't matter if you're introverted or extroverted, that's the point. You should still try to walk in the shoes of the characters...

Maybe you think I'm saying "WILL IS FOR THE INTROVERTS ONLY"? No, what I'm trying to say is "Whether you're an introvert or extrovert, it's really not that hard to understand Will's character or point of view. He can still be a compelling character despite his introversion. Calling him boring just because he is introverted is silly."

[acidmatze]

I said “I wont elaborate” under my Gojou is autistic blurb earlier but that was because it was 3am and now its not and im more or less conscious (Awake would be an overstatement) and my need to overshare is as big as my brain telling me not to because my words dont make any sense anyyway (Unstoppable force VS unmoveable object)

This isnt meta or an analysis its just me screaming excitedly into the void while i wait for my headphones to charge so i can leave the house (music blocks out noises)

So why would I say he is autistic in the first place? Because I can. “Oh but he doesnt seem autistic hes so open and extroverted and talkative” Bruh, if i would have to list all extroverted, talkative, open autistic people i know we would still be sitting here tomorrow. Autistic = introverted, quiet and shy is a false equivalency and we should bury it. Anyway, I wouldnt have thought of him as autistic too until i read how everyone else around him (sometimes including the reader) reacts to him. How they describe him and I realised that this didnt match up at all with what I was perceiving. And then i realised that people used to perceive me exactly the same way as they perceive Gojou now. The reason they now view me differently is 1. I avoid people out of fear 2. I did years of therapy and introspection and think i have the worst mistakes under control now. NTs are really picky with what behaviours they accept and when and seriously i still dont know what their deal is, just chill out. I am still consciously choosing different dialogue options than i normally would but those would piss people off for reasons i can only vaguely understand. Gojou meanwhile doesnt limit himself like that, he does what many of us really want and just says whatever. Hes still respected cuz hes the strongest sorcerer while when i would say whatever i naturally would people would beat the shit out of me. (Catch me throwing hands with Barbara in the soup aisle because i let her know that her coat is hideous. After all, if people are allowed to openly and loudly tell me that the way i look is weird then i should be allowed to tell people that their fashion sense sucks. At least their choice is deliberate while i can do very little about my face)

Okay back on track. Gojou actually sucks at communicating. But he has enough self-esteem to not care. If they dont get him they dont get him and those who will, will. People would perceive him differently if he wouldnt suck. He sucks at communcating empathy He sucks at communicating his thoughts and intentions He sucks at communicating his emotions He only sucks at this in the eyes of many neurotypicals, mind you. My autistic bff and me understood him plenty. (Pls dont ask me what he Actually means cuz i just cannot put it into words. If i could i would have more friends cuz i wouldnt suck at communicating too) Somehow his use of metaphors stroke some people as odd which stroke me as odd cuz many people do that to help others or themselves understand complex issues better. But apparently when he does it its wrong? Maybe because you need to know the source of the metaphor? I dunno. Probably. I think if he opens his mouth to say something you only get roughly 50-60% of the actual message. The emotions, true intentions and everything else is left behind cuz shits hard to communicate, especially when your mind has a million thoughts at once and everything is happening so much. Its something you just learn to live with eventually. Some start overexplaining, some dont realise that the other party doesnt get the entire message and some dont care. I mostly overexplain, Gojou doesnt care. Its like youre getting only raw data and data isnt the most emotional stuff ever, right? (Unless youre a nerd like me and get Very Emotional over raw space data because SPACE IS BEAUTIFUL, MAN) I forgot what else i wanted to say because

Unlimited Void just reads like a sensory overload. Someone should trap me in there and I would probably say it feels like a regular Tuesday. The entire eye thing reads like either constant sensory overload or having shitty eyesight or both. (As someone who has both..... both) I have to block out sounds and Gojou has to block out sight, understandable. Sight is the sense we take in the most with so i can imagine that gets overloaded the fastest, especially when you see more than regular people do. (Sometimes it DOES feel like we see more than everyone else. Maybe we do? Who knows) Like yesterday i went absolutely ballistic in the supermarket cuz they changed their entire layout and colour scheme and its already a big and noisy and overwhelming store to begin with and the new layout made everything even worse. New things sucks. They make me anxious. Unless i want them. Years before i was only able to enter a store with music on and blocking out every other noise and dont even attempt to talk to me Im focussing on not loosing my shit over all the other senses being overloaded. Now i learned to suppress the shutdown until im back home so i can loose my shit there. Have you ever seen everything at once? Heard everything at once? If youre NT you maybe say yes but i would say nah you havent. If you would you would loose your shit, you wouldnt even know what to do anymore, you would probably either lie down on the floor screaming or shut down completely and not do anything, because just breathing is now taking all energy. There is nothing because there is everything. Yeah sounds like Unlimited Void to me, if you ask me.

I forgot every other reason i had because what is Taking Notes So You Can Remember Later, theres only one impulse after another cuz ADHD. (They too see and hear and notice everything at once) This is a jumbled mess, have fun

[danganronpedits-archived]

Hello! I wanted a kin match if possible, preferably danganronpa! I’m an INFP-T (sometimes I get INFJ-T) and I’m probably either a 5w6 or 6w7. I fake my personality and lie to make people happy when I’m around them. I’m super anxious, self-conscious, and self-deprecating. I have many hobbies but feel completely talentless. I fake being bubbly and optimistic around people and I act cold and analytical when I’m trying to protect myself. I cry and daydream a lot, and I always feel like a burden. -🍈

yes, you can definitely get a kin matchup...! it’ll be placed under the cut, in case i start going off on a tangent again... i want your matchup to be as accurate as possible, so there’ll only be two major characters that i’ll assign you,, since you’re not asking for more than one source,,

um, but i do want to say that i hope you can feel better about yourself soon,, i’m sure that you have talent and that things will get better for you! you seem really lovely from this ask,, and i understand feeling stuck in your own head at times,,, but i promise you’re not nearly as much of a burden as you may think...

-mod tsu (mikan shift)

first off, from danganronpa another episode: ultra despair girls, i match you with...

kotoko utsugi!

unfortunately, kotoko doesn’t have free time events for me to refer to. however, like you, i think that even though she has extroverted tendencies, kotoko... has more of an introvert vibe to me, if that makes sense. she doesn’t really seem to get energised by other people the way extroverts do, although she does seem to generally like people. i think you could relate to this- it’s okay to take some time to wind down, haha... um, your enneagram types. i think that for 6w7s, both of you enjoy being around other people, fear losing your support systems(other people), strongly value reliability/trust in relationships, have a tendency to doubt themselves/others, and are naturally social and spirited. for 5w6s, both of you are hard-working and analytical solvers of problems, tend to pick up skills or knowledge that can be useful, remain calm in times of crisis(typically), have difficulty taking action when not inspired, and can be private or defensive. those are just some similarities.. and i think that the two of you share a lot of general traits. i don’t know you personally, but maybe you relate to her eccentricities- like how she’ll get into strange tangents(for example, in a conversation that’s too long, she starts going on and comparing it to how giraffe necks or elephant noses are too long). maybe not exactly something like that, but maybe you can relate to being a little odd in some areas !! i love that mango. and like, i don’t want to say “maybe you’re ~quirky~ because you use the ~melon emoji~” but at the same time... maybe you’re quirky because you use the melon emoji ? you’re gonna have to fill me in. ah or don’t !!! you don’t have to !!,, sdjf plus, i think that kotoko does fake her personality. in the art book, it’s implied that kotoko’s cutesy, cheerful personality is all a front. in fact, it’s specifically said by kotoko that without that character she plays, she would become miserable. she could also be joking here, or at least playing off her feelings as a joke, which relates to that self deprecating comment you said. she is definitely a liar, though... her ingame relationship with monaca is based off of her acting ability, at least until the end of it. 

i think that kotoko is very anxious. specifically around adults- she has a strong distrust of them due to her... upbringing, and a lot of her jokes are very dramatic( “Sorry for the intrusion, tank you veddy much! Phew, I reached waaay back for that reference! I had to deal with baby boomers all the time, so my gags are kinda dated.”). um, with the implication of her theatrics being a persona, it can also be implied that her jokes are also part of that mask... um, plus, i think that her general vibe doesn’t make her come off as self conscious per say. but you may be able to relate to that too... since while i don’t want to call either of you dishonest, the “bubbly” and “optimistic” demeanor you both give off is a facade, as you said. while her happy facade isn’t directly for other people, she does find value(to an extent) in cheering up monaca, and does care about the other warriors of hope. plus, a big part of why she wants to be strong is to surpass her upbringing, in my eyes. it’s kind of clear with her trauma that there’s something lurking under the surface, though- you may not have the same story as her, but there’s a similar concept there. while kotoko doesn’t have many hobbies... honestly, you’d be a bit pressed to find a danganronpa character who does. however, i think that aside from acting, she also has enjoyment in the fashion department, as well as enjoying things she deems “adorbs”. she collects said objects, and is like... a connoisseur of cute. a cutenoisseur, if you will. she may feel talentless to an extent, however, as she doesn’t seem to enjoy talking about her previous stage life despite claiming to adore it. it could be that the acting reminds her of the upbringing she lived through, but. lastly, i think that kotoko fakes being cheerful, polite, and bubbly around other people. though i’ve already talked about that haha,, she does get very cold, borderline rough, when she’s paranoid or upset. she mans a robot from god-knows-where to take down what she sees as threats, and does have an entire setup of lies that she presents to monaca in order to keep herself safe. she does also cry very often, and we don’t exactly know about her daydreaming, but she doesn’t seem to have the highest attention span- as i touched upon with her off-topic rambles.

second off, from danganronpa V3, i match you with...

angie yonaga!

please hear me out on this one... despite angie’s extroverted tendencies, i think that she is an introvert to an extent. for starters, she’s the ultimate artist, a very introverted activity. for the rest of your mbti type, um... while i won’t go over the P/J since that’s not really set in stone... in the N(intuitive) and F(feeling) aspects, i think that angie can shine. while angie is a very logical person, i think that this is mostly because of how in tune she is with her feelings regarding her religion. um... her intuition is very much to trust in what she believes her god can do for everyone.. sorry, i got a bit off topic there. in the enneagram types, i think there’s also some overlap between both of them that fits into angie as well. um, first off, 6w7 types fear losing their support system(which for you can be other people. i think angie’s is her religion, but you may be able to relate to her in this way, using “support system” as a concept, instead of religion vs relationships specifically.), devote themselves to specific causes, enjoy being around others, and care deeply for other people(see the student council, and her classmates in general). plus, the 5w6 types also tend to make logical decisions, feel stressed out by emotional vulnerability, can struggle to believe in or understand others, and prefer to do deeper thinking alone. while they have a bit of contrast in both of their descriptions, all of the listed traits apply to angie, and i assume that at least a few of them apply to you as well. though, your “probably” kind of makes me feel like you got more unrelated types on the enneagram test, haha... maybe you got a 3, or something? my point is, both types “combine” to make angie. the two of you, i think, lie about your personalities. some people even point out how angie’s constant smiling is eerie, but i don’t think she’s that happy all the time. this comic made by ministarfruit pretty much sums up how i see angie... not to be a stan or anything ajfsdjf,,,, she does lie to an extent though, and is chipper and eccentric for the sake of people around her. she’s essentially everyone’s “hope” in the face of the k/lling school semester- or at least, she tries to be.

um... despite us not really being able to see into her possibility of self loathing, shuichi(in her free time events) finds it likely that she becomes lonely very easily. she has a sickle ready to... well, stab into her window in case she feels sad- and in her free time events she seems very ready to do so. even if it is dismissed as a joke- which, that “joking” part i think you can relate to, actually. plus, the fact that she finds it hard to budge from her own views could possibly,, be a defense mechanism for insecurity... i don’t want to assume, but !! um, also, it’s strongly implied that she struggles to differentiate her god’s intentions from her own. even though religion can be part of someone’s self, yes, i think that this could show that she has issues with her identity. at least, the identity she has that’s “her own”. like, beyond how her god demands her to be. without her religion, she might struggle to have an identity of her own. once again... we don’t really know a lot about her past, but issues with the self can... definitely cause(or be caused by) anxiety, like you mentioned experiencing. also, identity issues can be caused by factors of one’s upbringing, or stressful events... so while she’s not very self deprecating, i think angie could have lower self esteem. whether that’s from her upbringing or something else. despite her pride in her religion, which might make you disagree, she doesn’t seem to be very proud of her own achievements(such as being the ultimate artist), as she says that that’s all her god’s work. maybe you could relate to that; people complimenting you and you finding it hard to accept for one reason or another. i’m proud of your achievements, anon... um. but i think that this relates to your next point, saying that you have several hobbies yet feeling talentless. while “art” technically is one hobby, art is definitely an umbrella term. sculpting and drawing are very different medias, and angie is very talented in both, but both of you share the belief that it’s not really... a talent that you possess. there,, might always be a reason that you come up with for someone else being able to do it too, you know? eh, but that could be me just guessing... oh, and something i forgot to mention- in trials, angie also becomes colder or more analytical when she’s trying to protect herself/classmates. she doesn’t hesitate to incriminate others if she thinks they’re suspicious.

-

in the minor matchups category,, you also remind me somewhat strongly of masaru daimon, and kokichi ouma, as well as somewhat of toko fukawa. oh, and you lightly remind me of misaki asano, himiko yumeno, and ruruka ando...

i hope this was helpful anon !!! i had a bit of trouble deciding on someone for you,,, so if there’s anything i got wrong please let me know- i’m happy to modify something in here for you !! i’m not super confident in this one haha,, so if you disagree i completely understand, go ahead and tell me ,,,,

[creativesage]

(via Great Leaders Learn To Shift Their Mindset – Innovation Excellence) — an earlier version of this post appeared in Inc.com.

By Greg Satell

In Mindset, psychologist Carol Dweck argues, based on decades of research, that how we see ourselves is a major factor in what we can achieve. Whether it is children in school or executives in a boardroom, the mindset people adopt has a significant influence on how they perform.

Yet what she doesn’t say is that we need different mindsets for different jobs. A successful mindset for one set of tasks may hinder our performance in another. For example, aggression and competitiveness may work great for a professional athlete on the field, but not so great for building a productive home life.

Most of the changes in mindset we need to make, however, are far more subtle. They lack the social and environmental cues of the delineation between work and home life. So we always need to be looking for when best practices in one area lead to poor performance in another and shift our mental models accordingly. In an age of disruption, we need to learn to adapt.

Being A Motivator vs. Being A Manager

In Drive, author Daniel Pink lays out what you need to motivate employees. He points out that decades of research have shown that financial incentives tend to be a poor motivator for most tasks and people are far more productive when they are intrinsically motivated. It’s much easier to get people to do what you want if they want what you want.

His research identifies three key factors in motivation, autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy gives people a feeling of control, opportunities to improve their mastery of skills helps them feel that they are making progress and purpose imbues work with meaning. None of these, it should be mentioned, are exorbitantly expensive.

However, managers often have conflicting interests. Giving people more autonomy sounds like a good idea in theory, but it makes it harder to coordinate work among a lot of people. Time devoted to training opportunities is time not devoted to productive work and giving people a sense of purpose sounds simple, but is much easier said than done.

So leaders must adopt two often competing mindsets, that of the enterprise and that of a trusted employee coach. That can be a challenge.

Managing Operations vs. Driving Innovation

A recent McKinsey report found that while 84% of corporate executives think innovation is key to achieving growth objectives, only 6% are satisfied with innovation performance in their firm. Part of the problem is that executives tend to rise through the ranks not through driving innovation, but by competently managing operations.

The truth is that there is often a tradeoff between innovation and operations. Good operational executives build consensus, get everybody to see things the same way and reduce variability to improve quality and efficiency. Innovators need to explore, seek out a diversity of views and accept the inevitable bugs and glitches that go along with doing something truly new.

Clearly, these are two very different mindsets and many are unable to traverse the two. Determined operators have a need to drive projects forward, while skilled innovators understand that sometimes you need to step back, change direction and give yourself options. They learn to accept failure as an inevitable pit stop on the way to success.

However, just as clearly, every organization needs to both innovate and optimize. The best leaders understand how to juggle mindsets.

Marketing And Publishing

Another case of dual mindsets that has arisen more recently is that of marketing and publishing. As I explained in a pair of articles in Harvard Business Review, marketers increasingly need to learn to think and to act like publishers if they want to be competitive in content-driven marketing.

A large part of marketers’ role within their organization is that of a customer advocate. They study consumers, identify their needs, work to ensure that those needs are fulfilled and message accordingly. This role is, necessarily, somewhat backward looking, focused on understanding trends and getting a sense of where they are going.

Publishers, on the other hand, are mission driven. They look to shape opinions and trends. Editors like Anna Wintour of Vogue and David Remnick of The New Yorker didn’t get to the top of their profession by telling readers what they want to hear, but by challenging them and expressing a clear point of view.

These two opposing mindsets explain why so many content marketers fail. They try to apply a marketing mindset to publishing by analyzing what customers want them to say and then delivering a message that conforms to expectations. The result is bland corporate-speak that goes largely unnoticed unless there is a major gaffe.

The One Thing That Every Leader Needs To Learn

The term “leader” is probably best defined as “one who has followers” because great leaders have little else in common. Some are extroverted and charismatic, others are introverted and cerebral. Some are visionary, while others are detail-oriented. Success is largely determined by how they apply their particular talents to the job at hand.

Peter Drucker famously said that “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things” and there is more than a little truth to that. More importantly, however, is that you need to apply the right mindset to the things you need to do. As should be clear by now, that’s not at all straightforward.

The main thing leaders do is make decisions, usually decisions that others in their organization are either unable or unwilling to make. These need to be made with limited information, in a rapidly changing context and under significant time constraints. No matter how smart or careful you are, you are going to get a lot wrong.

The one thing that all great leaders learn to accept is that it is their job to take responsibility for being wrong. They have to make decisions with the understanding that there may very well be a mess to clean up afterward and they will have to do it, without pointing fingers at anyone but themselves.

That’s why the most important mindset for leaders is to understand that being in charge doesn’t make you infallible, but it does make you accountable. Once you learn to accept that, everything else becomes easier.

[Entire post — click on the title link to read it at Innovation Excellence.]

***

You’re working on your goals, and your team’s goals. We can help you spring into action and develop a real plan that you can implement in a smart way, so you’ll start seeing results immediately, before you feel discouraged. If you feel that you’ve already gone off-track, we can help you get your focus, courage, and motivation back.

At  Creative Sage™, we often coach and mentor individual clients, as well as work teams, in the areas of change management, building resilience, making personal, career or organizational transitions — including to retirement, or an “encore career” — and facilitating development of leadership, creativity and collaboration capabilities. We also work with clients on work/life balance, finding purpose and meaning, focus and productivity issues, and how to present themselves and their ideas more effectively in professional situations.

We guide and mentor executives, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, artists, and creative professionals of all generations, to help them more effectively implement transition processes, and to become more resilient in adjusting to rapid changes in the workplace — including learning effective coping techniques for handling failure, as well as success. We work with on-site and virtual teams.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss your situation. You can also call us at 1-510-845-5510 in San Francisco / Silicon Valley. Let’s talk! An initial exploratory phone conversation is free. When you talk with me, I promise that I’ll always LISTEN to you with open ears, mind and heart, to help you clarify your own unique path to a higher vista of success.

              ~Cathryn Hrudicka, Founder, CEO and Chief Imagination Officer of Creative Sage™, Executive Coach, Consultant, and Mentor.

***

[irenenorth]

New Post has been published on Irene North

New Post has been published on http://www.irenenorth.com/writings/2017/12/my-2017-reading-list/

My 2017 reading list

Every year, I make a list of the things I read – books, long articles, graphic novels – and share them. Hopefully, you will find something interesting to read here and expand your mind.

To make it easier in case you don’t like one type of reading, I created sections for each type of reading and then listed in the order I read them.

BOOKS

The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care by T.R. Reid

Does a wealthy country have an ethical obligation to provide access to health care for everybody? Do we want to live in a society that lets tens of thousands of our neighbors die each year, and hundreds of thousands face financial ruin, because they can’t afford medical care when they’re sick? This, of course, is the “first question” that Professor William Hsiao asks whenever he reviews a country’s health care system. And on this question, too, every developed country except the United States has reached the same conclusion: Everybody should have access to medical care. – Pg. 242

Though the question comes near the end of the book, it is researched throughout. Reid looks at the different models used around the world – Bismark, Beveridge, National Health Insurance, Out-of-pocket. If you want to understand health care, you should read this. You will learn there are very good, working models around the world that the United States could use or adapt so everyone has access to care.

Quiet by Susan Cain

There’s a reason this book is a best seller. It provides new insights into introverts and can also be beneficial to extroverts to learn about and understand their friends, family, and coworkers.

Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War by James Risen

Most of what Risen writes about was not new to me. I had read the stories in other books, newspapers and magazines. By, if you want to know what goes on in Washington, D.C., you need to read this book. It covers everything the United States government has done wrong since 9/11 and shines a light on the many abuses of power of the American government under the cloak of “providing security” and making American safer.

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder

One of the best books I read this year. I could hardly wait to get home from work each day to continue reading the book.

There are two stories here. First is Sergei Magnitsky’s life and death and second is the corruption and murder in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Browder recounts his journey to becoming the founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005. When his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was murdered in prison for uncovering hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud by officials in the Russian government, Browder became vocal about human rights abuses in the country.

Actually, I’m surprised Browder made it out alive.

America’s First Great Eclipse: How scientists, tourists, and the Rocky Mountain eclipse of 1878 changed Astronomy forever by Steve Ruskin

I interviewed Ruskin before the solar eclipse that passed through Nebraska on Aug. 21, 2017.

As easy read that can be accomplished in a day or two, the book discusses the solar eclipse of 1878, including emerging technologies that allowed scientists to better view the sun as well as citizen scientists helping out and the sheer joy surrounding the event.

It’s only $8.99. Pick up a copy and lose yourself in the joy of a total solar eclipse.

Planck: Driven by vision, Broken by War by Brandon R. Brown

Max Planck is considered the father of quantum theory. He was good friends with Albert Einstein. And he was German. Planck stayed in Germany after World War II broke out. He spent his life fighting the fact that he did not think as his government did, but was compelled to remain in the country.

I get a lot of book recommendations from the science and history subreddits on Reddit. This one was highly recommended. However, I found myself slogging through the book, feeling like I had to finish it because I bought it. It was a chore that needed to be done.

There is no doubt. Planck is an influential scientist and more should be known of him. If you’re a fan of Planck, this will probably be a fun and interesting read. It just didn’t do anything for me.

They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook

I think I read too much because a lot of these stories I already knew.

The book covers a part of Civil War history that isn’t covered nearly enough – that of the women who fought in the war. Hundreds of women fought in the war by disguising themselves as men. The book explores their reasons for enlisting, and staying, as well as their combat experiences and what their fellow soldiers thought of them.

Each of the women in the book could have biographies of their own. Some probably would, if they had been men.

A well-researched book on a topic not many people know about.

Paper Tiger: An Old Sportswriter’s Reminiscences of People, Newspapers, War, and Work by Stanley Woodward

https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Tiger-Sportswriters-Reminiscences-Newspapers/dp/0803259611

I really enjoyed this book. I’m not a big fan of sportswriting and I don’t read much of it today, but this book is so much more than that. Woodward is considered one of, if not the, best sports editor to have ever held the position in America. Throughout the book, he discusses the problems within a newspaper, many of which still plague the industry today.

One day, toward the end of my vacation in 1955, I received a letter from Mr. Welsh, my managing editor. He said that I was a wonderful operator but that my salary was too high for the News and therefore I was fired. I can’t say I was terribly distressed, for I wanted to get North not only because I hated the South but also because I was afraid one of my girls might marry a Floridian. God knows enough of them were hanging around the house. – Pg. 261

It doesn’t make any difference to me what happens to the newspaper business; that is, it doesn’t make any difference to me economically. But I can’t bear the thought of a general newspaper collapse. For I still believe what Nick Skerrett told me when I was a cub reporter – “The American newspaper is the greatest institution in the world.” – Pg. 286

Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Conner

Need to brush up on your grammar? Check out this book. I’m still probably never going to get the “that vs. which” thing right. But that’s why I have a copy editor.

Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis

https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Wind-Movement-John-Lewis/dp/1476797714/

Senator John Lewis recalls his life and journey to Washington, D.C. It is an important story about the Civil Rights Movement and one everyone should read.

“There is an old African proverb: ‘When you pray, move your fee.’ As a nation, if we cre for the Beloved Community, we must move out feet, our hands, our hearts, our resources to build and not to tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill. In the final analysis, we are one people, one family, one house – the American house, the American family.” – Pg. 503

Extract from a Diary of Rear-Admiral by Sir George Cockburn

https://archive.org/details/extractfromadia00cockgoog

Another recommendation from Reddit.

The full title is a mouthful: Excerpt from Extract From a Diary of Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn: With Particular Reference to Gen. Napoleon Buonaparte, on Passage From England to St. Helena, in 1815, on Board H. M. S. Northumberland, Bearing the Rear-Admiral’s Flag.

This manuscript was found in Cockburn’s own handwriting among his other writings. It was published due to its intrinsic value to history about the late career of a soldier.

Cockburn was there when the White House was burned and was chosen to escort Napoleon to Saint Helena for exile. Though Cockburn would later die at Saint Helena, this is his journal of the voyage there.

Minatare Memories: A Historical Account of the Tabor-Minatare Community of Western Nebraska by the Minatare Historical Committee.

A history of Minatare, Nebraska. I came across some ladies documenting the history of Minatare. They planned to write a book when they were finished, charging only what it cost to have it printed. I wrote an article about them. Then, I wrote another when the book came out. U.S. News and World Report picked up my story. I didn’t plan on it, but I’m on page 139.

After printing, the ladies noticed a few typos and they received even more information than what they had. I know how that feels.

Black Hills Doc 1892-1945 by C.W. Hargens, M.D., Edited, by D.M. Hargens-Hallsted.

This is the story of an instrumental figure in the history of Hot Springs, South Dakota. D.M. Hargens-Hallsted, or as I know her, Dorothy Waldren, brings her grandfather’s story to life.

This is a great and easy read to learn about how life was along the frontier. It tells the story of Dr. Hargens from his early life in the Missouri Valley teaching to becoming a doctor to settling in Hot Springs where he helped transform the city.

Tales in the book include his thoughts on how women should be treated and the “discipline” men received when women were bullied, a run in with Calamity Jane and enforcing the use of masks in public during the Influenza epidemic of 1918.

A novel feature of Kidney Park was a contribution box, urging patrons to drop a coin in order that good works might be carried on. The box was attended daily by the Chief of Police; we overlooked no possible source of contributions, even to having the night cop sit on a chair observing the late night comings and goings from certain establishments, a report culminating in an early morning call for a donation or perhaps an invitation to leave town on the next train. – Pg. 141

These dances by the Indians, with shuffling feet and synchronous movements and the songs in a plaintive monotone, brought to the sympathetic viewer visions of a western scene never to be forgotten but later to be tarnished by the restrictions and degradation of reservation life. – Pg. 144

The Battle of Wounded Knee had occurred on the Pine ridge Agency in December of 1890 and was a massacre of Indians by the Seventh Cavalry. The Indians’ presence there was attributed to the Custer massacre, the current Messiah craze among the Sioux and the mistreatment of Big foot’s band by the whites. The Indian warriors wore “ghost shirts” which they had been told would magically protect them against the bullets of the white man. Victims of this fallacy were buried in their shirts except for a few shirts taken as souvenirs by those handling the bodies. – Pg. 146

I have always admired the Indians use of his environment; the religious and moral convictions which abhorred waste of any part of the animals he hunted, particularly the buffalo; his early use of the horse, his reverence of the Black Hills as an abode of the ruling spirits of his people. Any white man who claims superiority to the Indian because the Indian was defeated by an advanced armament is deluded. White men in no way, mentally, morally or physically are superior to the Indian. We defeated them only because of the “advantages” of a more developed science.- – Pg. 188

The Indian believed profoundly in silence, the sign of perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of the body, mind and spirit. The man who preserves his silence ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence, not a ripple on the shining surface of the pool, not a leaf stirring on the tree, that man, in the mind of the unlettered safe, is in the ideal attitude and conduct of life. – Pg. 188

This is a fascinating read. If you’d like a copy, the best way would be to call Dobby’s Frontier Town and they can put you in touch with Dorothy. Alternatively, you can pay way too much for it on Amazon.

This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm by Ted Genoways

Genoways follows Rick Hammond and his family from harvest to harvest where they raise cattle and crops on Hammond’s wife’s fifth-generation homestead in York County, Nebraska. The book goes back and forth between the struggles of the Hammond family and the future of family farming to the history which got us here.

As the family fights to keep their operation afloat, they must deal with a myriad of issues, including the Keystone XL pipeline and the ever-increasing demands of security precautions put into place from DuPont Pioneer for the transportation and planting of seed to the ultimate harvest.

Far from an isolated refuge beyond the reach of global events, the family farm is increasingly at the crossroads of emerging technologies and international detente.

If there’s one thing I learned from this book, it’s that I don’t ever want to be a farmer. If you know nothing about corn, soybeans, and modern farming in Nebraska, this is the book you want to read. Genoways weaves the Hammonds story into complex issues without ever making the reader feel overwhelmed with information.

When I finish reading a book, I usually pass it on to others. I’m keeping this one and recommending you all go get your own copy.

Longer readings

The Things by Peter Watts Have you seen the movie “The Thing” and wondered what the thing was thinking? Now you can read what it thought of us.

I Just Wanted To Survive by Tisha Thompson and Andy Lockett A college football player thought he and a friend were going to meet up with two women. Instead, they were abducted and tortured for 40 hours — all because of a teammate.

How American Lost Its Mind The nation’s current post-truth moment is the ultimate expression of mind-sets that have made America exceptional throughout its history.

This article was adapted from Kurt Andersen’s book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire—A 500-Year History.

The First White President The foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency is the negation of Barack Obama’s legacy. The essay was drawn from Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book, We Were Eight Years in Power.

Interview with Edward Snowden by Martin Knobbe and Jörg Schindler In an interview, whistleblower Edward Snowden discusses his life in Russia, the power of the intelligence apparatuses and how he will continue his battle against all-encompassing surveillance by governments.

Jesus as Whippersnapper: John 2:15 and Prophetic Violence by Hector Avalos, Professor of Religious Studies, Iowa State University

This essay challenges a pacifistic interpretation of John 2:15. In particular, it addresses the linguistic, historical and literary arguments of N. Clayton Croy, who argued that Jesus should not be portrayed as committing any act of violence in John 2:15. More recently, Andy Alexis-Baker concludes that Jesus did not even strike any animals with a whip, which was made of materials too soft to injure anyone or any animal. A violent portrait of Jesus is consistent with the Deuteronomistic view of divine anger and prophetic zeal that may have influenced the portrait the Johannine Jesus. Otherwise, the temple episode in John exemplifies another case where some streams of Christian scholarship seem reluctant to characterize Jesus’ behavior as unjustifiably violent.

The Danger of President Pence by Jane Mayer Trump’s critics yearn for his exit. But Mike Pence, the corporate right’s inside man, poses his own risks.

How the Elderly Lose Their Rights by Rachel Aviv Guardians can sell the assets and control the lives of senior citizens without their consent—and reap a profit from it.

A Generation in Japan Faces a Lonely Death by Norimitsu Onishi The New York Times examines the growing problem of forgotten senior citizens in Japan. The story follows two apartment residents who eat lunch together in a retirement community in the suburbs of Tokyo. They have outlived nearly all their blood relatives and are simply ignored or forgotten by the rest.

Who Gets to Live in Fremont, Nebraska? by Henry Grabar A new Costco plant could save the town—by bringing hundreds of immigrants to the only place in America that passed a law to keep them out.

This massive Twitter thread about the 2016 election and True Pundit is a pro-Trump fake news site that began publishing on June 9, 2016 by Seth Abramson

“It’s time to tell the biggest untold story of the 2016 election: how a cadre of pro-Trump FBI agents and intel officers—some active, some retired—conspired to swing the election to Trump. The story involves Flynn, Prince, Giuliani, and others. Hope you’ll read and share.”

Is This Genocide? by Nicholas Kristof Survivors describe Myanmar soldiers killing men, raping women and burning babies in a Rohingya village.

From the article:

“Ethnic cleansing” and even “genocide” are antiseptic and abstract terms. What they mean in the flesh is a soldier grabbing a crying baby girl named Suhaifa by the leg and flinging her into a bonfire. Or troops locking a 15-year-old girl in a hut and setting it on fire.

The children who survive are left haunted: Noor Kalima, age 10, struggles in class in a makeshift refugee camp. Her mind drifts to her memory of seeing her father and little brother shot dead, her baby sister’s and infant brother’s throats cut, the machete coming down on her own head, her hut burning around her … and it’s difficult to focus on multiplication tables.

“Sometimes I can’t concentrate on my class,” Noor explained. “I want to throw up.”

An honest, dark, and moving piece about what is happening to the Rohingya and whether it should be considered genocide. Yeah, it’s genocide. Go read the article anyway. It tells of the brutality the Rohingya have suffered and the indifference the world and those in Burma seem to have about them.

Burmese politician Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize and the defacto leader in Burma[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41139319], continues to defend the army. She has called reports of sexual assault by soldiers as “fake rape” and, essentially, believes there is an “iceberg of misinformation” about the Rohingya.

It is a graphic and harrowing account of what the Rohingya have been forced to live through. If only we would listen, and take action.

A journey through a land of extreme poverty: welcome to America by Ed Pilkington The UN’s Philip Alston is an expert on deprivation – and he wants to know why 41m Americans are living in poverty. The Guardian joined him on a special two-week mission into the dark heart of the world’s richest nation.

Alston’s journey takes him into the “dark side of the American Dream,” where the richest country in the world is also the host to abject poverty.

The two men carry on for block after block after block of tatty tents and improvised tarpaulin shelters. Men and women are gathered outside the structures, squatting or sleeping, some in groups, most alone like extras in a low-budget dystopian movie.

We come to an intersection, which is when General Dogon stops and presents his guest with the choice. He points straight ahead to the end of the street, where the glistening skyscrapers of downtown LA rise up in a promise of divine riches.

Heaven.

Then he turns to the right, revealing the “black power” tattoo on his neck, and leads our gaze back into Skid Row bang in the center of LA’s downtown. That way lies 50 blocks of concentrated human humiliation. A nightmare in plain view, in the city of dreams.

Alston turns right.

There are many great points in the article, including this:

The link between soil type and demographics was not coincidental. Cotton was found to thrive in this fertile land, and that in turn spawned a trade in slaves to pick the crop. Their descendants still live in the Black Belt, still mired in poverty among the worst in the union.

You can trace the history of America’s shame, from slave times to the present day, in a set of simple graphs. The first shows the cotton-friendly soil of the Black Belt, then the slave population, followed by modern black residence and today’s extreme poverty – they all occupy the exact same half-moon across Alabama.

As one gentleman in the article said, “The safety net? It has too many holes in it for me.” These are people who are in despair and America turns a blind eye to it, preferring to believe people cause themselves to be in these situations when that is far from reality.

Where Wind Farms Meet Coal Country, There’s Enduring Faith in Trump by Clifford Krauss

Hoping for more unfettered production of coal, oil and gas even as it erects wind farms, a Wyoming county sees the president as a key to job security.

The Making of an American Nazi by Luke O’Brien

How did Andrew Anglin go from being an antiracist vegan to the alt-right’s most vicious troll and propagandist—and how might he be stopped?

This is a really long read, but a good one and a damned fine piece of journalism. This is why I have a subscription to The Atlantic.

On December 16, 2016, Tanya Gersh answered her phone and heard gunshots. Startled, she hung up. Gersh, a real-estate agent who lives in Whitefish, Montana, assumed it was a prank call. But the phone rang again. More gunshots. Again, she hung up. Another call. This time, she heard a man’s voice: “This is how we can keep the Holocaust alive,” he said. “We can bury you without touching you.”

When Gersh put down the phone, her hands were shaking. She was one of only about 100 Jews in Whitefish and the surrounding Flathead Valley, and she knew there were white nationalists and “sovereign citizens” in the area. But Gersh had lived in Whitefish for more than 20 years, since just after college, and had always considered the scenic ski town an idyllic place. She didn’t even have a key to her house—she’d never felt the need to lock her door. Now that sense of security was about to be shattered.

There are also these unsettling things in the article:

In the summer of 2015, another great white savior—himself a troll—appeared to Anglin, this time gliding down a golden escalator in Manhattan in front of a crowd of paid extras.

Anglin immediately put all his resources toward willing a Trump presidency into reality. He churned out cheerleader posts and deployed his trolls on behalf of Trump, directing several of his nastiest attacks at Jewish journalists who were critical of the candidate or his associates.

His absentee ballot arrived in Ohio from Krasnodar, a city in southwest Russia near the Black Sea, according to Franklin County records.

Anglin worshipped Putin, and seemed like exactly the type of online agitator Russia might use to sow chaos during the U.S. election.

Also from Whitefish: Ryan Zinke, Richard Spencer and Whitefish Energy, the two-employee company who were originally given the no-bid contract to restore power to Puerto Rico. I suspect we will hear more about Whitefish in 2018.

O’Brien also did an NPR interview about the article and his findings.

Graphic Novels

No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure By Susan Hughes

https://www.amazon.com/No-Girls-Allowed-Dressed-Adventure/dp/1554531780

This is a great little graphic novel geared toward children under twelve. Within its pages, you’ll discover women throughout history have had important roles, including viking, pharaoh and general in the Kahn’s army.

It also covers topics, such as women disguising themselves as men and why they needed to do so. Most the these women risk it all, including their lives to pursue their dreams.

A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle

A delightful little read. Hilarious. I say this is how you should raise kids.

The Dark North – Volume 1

The illustrated prose-art book consists of five new stories by some of Scandinavia’s premier illustrators and concept artists. Everything was well done visually and the stories were compelling. The art is what is on display here and it does not disappoint.

This is not your typical graphic novel, and it isn’t trying to be. The artists are trying something new and, for the most part, it works.

The Forever War by Joe Haldemann (Author), and Marvano (Illustrator)

Released in Belgium in 1988, the science fiction graphic novel by Marvano is closely based on the novel of the same name by Joe Halderman, who provide the dialogue. It was originally published in Dutch and later translated into several languages, including English.

The Forever War tells the story of William Mandella, an elite soldier fighting for Earth in an interstellar war, which lasted for centuries. He is one of a handful who eventually survives the entire war. Mandella eventually settles on a planet with other veterans called, “Middle Finger.”

The Forever War focuses on many themes, including the dehumanizing effects of war and the changes in society as the soldiers continue to fight.

Like Halderman’s book, the graphic novel touches on themes from the Vietnam war, such as the treatment of the enemy and propaganda.

The original was released in three volumes, but has since been incorporated into one. The art is part of the story and often enhances what is taking place. In almost every place, the art is intertwined with the story and it feels as if each pane is meant to be with the text.

The only drawback is that in a graphic novel based on a book, there will, necessarily, be cuts. If one reads the book, they will learn more about why only people with IQs above 150 were drafted, why military-approved drugs were allowed, and more about how partners were sexually assigned.

The relationship between William and Marygay is also diminished, but I didn’t feel it took too much away from the graphic novel. It may be because I have read the book so I went in with some notion of the story.

All in all, it’s a good graphic novel that I recommend, even if you’re not a graphic novel kind of person.

That’s it for 2017. I’ve already got 20 books stacked up on my desk for 2018. Happy reading and I hope you find a gem or two in my list.