Lindsay Harris Friel

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I lit a candle and sat outside on the cool grass and poured a glass of Carmen Stevens Cabernet Shiraz blend into the dirt. Carmen Stevens is the first black winemaker in South Africa. I figured it was the most appropriate tribute on hand. 
We have so much work to do. 

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9/18 '20 3 Comments
Tomorrow I sign up with Vote Save America and adopt a battleground state.
Googled it and signed up for the mailing list. Thank you for the tip.
So sad. She was super inspirational.
 

Hi, everybody! 
I'm making a public post because I want people to be able to see how cool One Post Wonder is. Here are some things I can do with OPW. 
I can post a photo of my cat stealing my office chair. 

Isn't she a scamp? 

I can also post links to documents. I used bit.ly to make a shortlink to a document in JSTOR. https://bit.ly/3bX3eit

Here's a YouTube video of Mongolian throat singing. 

I hope my friends who can see this will leave lots of comments and sub-comments to show how that works. 

This could be a good thing for people who need an alternative to all the bad platforms that are out on the Internet. I hope more people will benefit from this post and the One Post Wonder community. 

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9/14 '20 15 Comments
Who's the Funko figurine?
That one is General Leia, in her Last Jedi outfit. I’ve also got Captain Phasma, Maz Kanata, and Jack Harkness from Doctor Who. A guy at my old workplace was super scary right wing, really pushy, and thought he was the king of all science fiction knowledge, and also thought it was his job to go around asking women personal questions and pushing his opinions on them. So, my husband bought me these for my desk, so I had an easy conversation re-direct in case I needed one. If you put pop culture stuff on your desk, people assume that’s the sum total of your personality and they think they know what your deal is.

Plus, three wise women and a bisexual rogue are a good posse to have.
I'm trying to woo 11th Hour Audio over here, because they want to move their organization scheme away from Facebook. They mostly need to be able to post discussions with nested comments, I think, and share images to some extent. They can use Google Drive to share sound files.
I would love to see something like that happen!
the guy who runs it would too. He said, "is there a way for people to PM each other through OPW?" I said, "Nope. They would have to email each other, so their conversation is not your problem." he said, "I like the sound of that."
lol! That's a great point that I hadn't considered.
By and far my favorite form of social media. Thoughtful, interesting folks leaving considered responses. What a novel concept!
Did you not have any public posts before this one?!
I don’t know if I did. I was trying to woo Dr. Fig over here, but what she needs to needs to be done through office City University of NY channels. Shrug.
This is an example of a comment. You can also leave photos as comments.
That’s the Woodmere Art Museum, but Ted and I had exactly the same reaction when we first saw it.
Whoa. You never told me you knew the Addams Family. What IS that building??
You can interact with people online and not contribute to the downfall of society? What a great site!
 

Here's a heartwarming short story that a friend made, recently. It's less than 4 minutes long. 

The Kindly Nettle 

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8/31 '20 4 Comments
Really like his accent!

Reminds me that one of my creative writing profs was originally from Jamaica. It was great to listen to her read passages or poems.
Oh my gosh that was LOVELY.
That's my boss, the same guy who said today, "I'm stoic." I said, "yup, you're stoic as a rock."
 

I promise you, there is strong demand for this software. Audio drama writers desperately want scriptwriting software. 

The format has to look like this: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/bbcradioscene.pdf

It HAS to have line numbering. The sound effect directions often include stuff like, "rain continues through line 45" and so on. 

Shortcuts, like you find in Final Draft and Celtx, are needed. It's easier if we can hit tab twice, type "b" and get "Brienne Of Tarth."

Essentially, Celtx needs to get off its ass and bring back its radio drama script format (which I think they 86ed) at a reasonable price point, or a disgruntled Celtx employee needs to rip off the software and make an open source version on the DL. Final Draft is the most commonly used software in the US for scriptwriting, and they've never had a radio play format. They need to get with the program. 

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5/23 '20
 

I was in a bad mood, but I'm feeling much better now. 

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WAUGH! AAAA!

Holy shit share that
HEEHEEHEE. Thank you. I could draw pointy headed Mike Pence inhabited by aliens for the rest of my life. Ted was the one who came up with “and the alien is just a big giant eyeball.”
This has a very Bill Plimpton feel. I love it.
(googles Bill Plimpton)
That guy? Ooh, thank you!
Okay, these are seriously frickin great!

We need to get you some unlined paper lady. ;)
I know, but I also have Journal Fear. Like, "Oh, this is a Good Notebook, I can't mess it up." as opposed to "this is a regular notebook, I have room to make mistakes." Room To Make Mistakes is the room where I tend to do well. In a perfect world, cheap-ass notebooks would be made with recycled paper so I don't feel like I'm killing a tree, the pages would have a great texture, and would be dotted instead of lines, so I can write on lines when I want to and draw with reckless abandon when I don't.

I also know that "pages with great texture" and "recycled paper" don't always go hand in hand.
All good thoughts - I will just add:

>>"I also have Journal Fear"
They're called SKETCHbooks. Not REFINEDPERFECTARTbooks.

>>"In a perfect world"
They make cheap ass notedbooks with dots out of recycled paper. Or at least, I know that they make all three of those things, so I'm confident SOMEONE put all three concepts into a single notebook.

>>>"I also know"
Yeah - the whole recycled paper / great texture is the one area where you might have to go without. I have yet to find that particular combo, but it's probably a quest worth undergoing. I also find that I sincerely enjoy ball point pen on way-too-smooth computer paper. The whole 'glide-y factor' can and does make drawing different and fun at times. So paper texture might not be the ultimate concern.

Basically, what I'm saying here is "MOAR Lindsay Art Please!"
Also? I just noticed that there's a little American flag sticking out of the hooman suit crumpled in the background. Not sure why, but that's slaying me.
Oh, thank you. That turned into an overthinking point for me. I realized that I should go back and put the flag in the first picture, like a lapel pin or something, then I thought, well no, it'd be too small to match with the final frame, then I thought, okay he could be holding it, and then I decided I was overthinking it.
Definitely. I kinda like it just as it is. :)
Yeah, and what I need to remember is that any drawing is better than no drawing at all. Ivan Brunetti's style is helping my confidence. I tell myself, "just draw shapes and then figure it out." I had a terrible time with the 2nd panel, thinking, "what are the shapes of someone reaching up to unhinge their own jaw?" and then I thought, there aren't really shapes for that because the human body isn't supposed to unzip itself like a suit, so I figured anything was OK as long as the eyeball looked good.
Wow!

First: I'd never come across Brunetti before. After some quick Googling / YouTubing, I'm fascinated! I can see his influence in Ted's stuff now that I'm aware of it. :) Thanks for broadening my perspective. I wouldn't have seen it in yours if you hadn't said something because you seem to be fleshing out (heh) more details. Your drawing fu is strong.

Second: Nice work on the breakdown of someone 'unzipping'. You figured out what the focus is and as long as that expresses what you're trying to get across, the rest are just details. THIS is the stuff of master Pictionary artists. (And truthfully, ANY kind of illustrator, but it's even more critical in the time constrained world of Pictionary.)
Yep! The "FIELD NOTES" brand of sketchbooks/journals are all that and moar... plus: hipster cachet!
I use Amazon's knock off band every day for my driver's log. Bought myself a nice leather 'wallet' to keep it in, and have it with me pretty much always. https://smile.amazon.com/Field-Notebook-x5-5-Black-Graph/dp/B07488WL4F
 

Ted and I were asked by an organization called PAR (they help people with autism and intellectual disability) to make videos advocating for support for Direct Support Professionals. 

Ted's is better. He's a handsome devil. 

This was take 3. I read a media kit explaining all the issues to Ted, while he took notes. Then he wrote out what he wanted to say, while I asked him open ended questions to help him stay on topic (he would have been happy to talk about every musical he had ever performed in or wanted to perform in). 
He recorded it once, reading off of his notes. It looked like he'd been kidnapped. I made cue cards. We recorded it again with the cue cards. Somehow, that was worse. Then we tried doing it as an interview, since he pretty much had the copy memorized by that point. I still think this looks overly coached, but most people would at least read talking points off of index cards for something like this. 

Feel free to share the videos. 

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5/3 '20
 

If you need a mask and you can't sew, this might help. 
http://blog.japanesecreations.com/no-sew-face-mask-with-handkerchief-and-hair-tie

Why not just wear a bandanna? This fits on your face more snugly, and you'll see that it has more layers. 

How am I supposed to get an 18" square of fabric? Dude, if I can cut up a pair of pajama pants, you can cut up an old t-shirt or a pillow case. 

I put away my sewing rig for now, I was tired of having it take up the entire living room. It's streamlined now and I brought it up to my office. I'm still obsessed with watching mask tutorials, though: the idea of making something flat into something three dimensional and useful continually astonishes me. 

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3/31 '20 8 Comments
I kinda want to make some crazy paper mache demon mask with a cloth filter insert. Because why not?
Might not even have to make something. Looks like they make the ones above for paintball protection. The whole thing is on velcro which attaches to a harness around the face. I could simply add velcro to both sides of a protective mask, and I'd be done.
I found a similar tutorial on YouTube. I'm taking an air conditioner/HVAC filter apart and using the HEPA filter paper as an insert. i'm happy to send you some if you need it!
Wow, it's like mask-making and origami all in one! That's incredibly cool.
 
 

Today I learned that a last name like mine (Harris Friel) is known as a double barreled surname.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-barrelled_name#British_tradition

I will be sure to use this information the next time they can't find my prescription at CVS and try to shame me for not allowing myself to be absorbed into patriarchal standards of naming conventions. 

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11/21 '19 9 Comments
Seriously. The Spanish like to string all their family names together too. It's by no means new, and also, it's 2019? Have they been living under rocks?

Thank you for alerting me to Leone: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leone_Sextus_Tollemache

I must share this info with my Names You Might Enjoy group.
Heh. I found this out by reading the Wikipedia entry for Sacha Baron Cohen. His grandfather added “Baron” to the surname.

By the way, this is exactly what goes through my head every time someone insists on hyphenating my last name or not leaving a blank space in between. Fucking databases, I swear to Dog.
Ooh, and I found out that OPW won’t force me to hyphenate! I can have blank spaces in the name field! YAY!
You're welcome!
You have MORE IDENTIFICATION. It should make it EASIER.
YES, AND...
Here’s where it gets ugly. My insurance company says that my last name is Friel, because I get my health insurance via marriage to Vince. My identification has my entire full name. Pennsylvania is awesome and let me do that, out of exhaustion and rage over the whole thing. But, my first and middle name are printed on line 1, and my last name on line 2, so when most people read it, they assume that my middle name is my last name.

So, when my prescription is filled, my doctor’s office says my surname starts with an H, but the pharmacy files the prescription under F. And because my middle name starts with a Y, they always start on the wrong foot with, “we don’t have anything with that name.”
Wow. I don't have your level of suffering at all. Two of my kiddos do have double middle names, spaced with no hyphens, so occasionally someone tries to take the second middle name and hyphenate it with the last name [giant eye roll]. It's mostly airlines that screw it up, which normally doesn't matter much until we're traveling out of country with a passport (which has the correct order of things). Then the airlines have to reissue the whole ticket. Big nuisance.
May your kids never, ever, ever, have to apply for SSI. That is where they git ya.
Well... eventually they'll turn 65... I hope.
 

I'm working on an article about bullet journaling for podcasters, specifically about handwriting vs. writing on a keyboard. I came across this James Pennebaker guy, and his research into the therapeutic value of writing. I'm linking to Wikipedia instead of a more credible resource because, as I write this, I have something like 40 tabs open on my computer right now, and this bit of info felt most important to share: 
"These results have hatched further studies, numbering over 200. One of these went on to strongly suggest that expressive writing has the potential to actually provide a 'boost' to the immune system, perhaps explaining the reduction in physician visits. This was shown by measuring lymphocyte response to the foreign mitogens phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (ConA) just prior to and 6 weeks after writing. The significantly increased lymphocyte response led to speculation that expressive writing enhances immunocompetence. The results of a preliminary study of 40 people diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder suggests that routinely engaging in expressive writing may be effective in reducing symptoms of depression."

What I can't figure out from this is whether or not the study participants wrote using pen or pencil and paper, writing longhand, if they typed, or either. 

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11/11 '19 6 Comments
I'd also like to know if they accounted for wanting to write when feeling better, versus the depression being lifted by writing. Also, do any of these people experience difficulty writing while in a severe depressive episode? A stifling of creativity?
They did. Basically, they had to write whether they felt bad or good. As I seem to recall reading about this, it was one of those "hey, university student, show up at this office and get paid to participate in a study."
"okay."
"show up at this office for x number of minutes a week and write in this journal about a particular traumatic event that happened in the past."
"Okay."
"oh yeah, and take these tests."
"okay."
"and make sure you write about your feelings."
"okay."
You know, this kid. https://youtu.be/1AtrI9PoiBQ
"Okay." *snickers* .....taint

That was unbelievably accurate. And fun. Yay, Benedict Cumberbatch.
I had to look up why he said “safety” after he farted, and Urban Dictionary did not disappoint in adding a new layer of delight to that sketch.
I feel like I need to test this out on my brothers. 😂
I'm going to start doing that to Vince.