Weird title, huh? Well, if you know me, which you probably don't, you know I love physics. If you love physics, you'll know what static friction is; if you're reading this post, you'll know soon enough (because I'm going to tell you what it is). Static friction is the friction that must be overcome to start the movement of an inanimate object.
The inanimate object is my progress on this blog post.
I've had a lot of trouble beginning the process of really hashing out ideas for my passion blog. I think it's safe to say that most of us don't think daily, or actively, about our passions. This quote from the blog Free Range Humans by Marianne Cantwell sums it up pretty well:
"Who in the real world ever even thinks about passions? Seriously, who says 'oh I can’t go out with you tonight because that’s not one of my PASSIONS'."
(You can access the full article here, though I don't necessarily endorse all of Ms. Cantwell's assertions.)
Since I am a person who rarely thinks about her passions, it took a lot of digging to come up with the ideas presented below. I have pinpointed at least two of my passions: I am passionate about observing and creating, and I am passionate about TV shows. That brings me to my potential passion blog topics.
Side note: You might be thinking, hey, why doesn't she just write about physics? My question for you is: do you really want to read about physics? I like physics and even I don't want to read about it in my free time. So there's the answer to your question.
My first idea is tentatively named Stories from a Park Bench and would involve my sitting on a bench outside, observing passers-by, and inventing stories about significant days in their lives (that may or may not have actually happened), occurring either in the past or in the future. I know it's pretty abstract, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I kind of feel like I ripped off Overheard at the HUB, and that the content could be construed the wrong way; there's a chance that racial or gender-based stereotypes could affect the stories, and I don't want anyone to be offended. I also believe that I might not have the experience to see things from so many different perspectives. Let me know what you think about this idea.
My second idea, which is my favorite, is (very) tentatively named "Not all good-looking people are cool", with the subtitle 'and other lessons from Freaks and Geeks'. The show is pretty hilarious:
But it also has a lot of great life lessons and is very relatable. For the blog, I would watch an episode and analyze the use of music, visuals, and dialogue, as well as extracting some of the lessons and applying them to my life (and our lives) now. The first and last blogs would be on the series premiere and finale, and the other eight blogs would each cover two episodes at once. This, I believe, is the better of my two ideas. Again, let me know what you think.
I also had an idea on the fly for a blog called One and Done that reviews one-season TV shows. I would give opinions on how good I think the show is and then try to guess why it only ran for one season. Then I would do research to find out why and talk about whether or not I agree. This is the least developed idea, but I think I like it as much as the Freaks and Geeks idea.
Let me know what you think of these ideas! I'm excited for some peer feedback.
All sources of non-original information are linked within the post.
I really like the idea of sitting on a bench and making up stories of people as they pass by. It seems like a very imaginative idea and something I would do in my free time. One time I went to the city with my ftiends, and we sat in satrbucks for 2 hours just looking at people as they walked by. It's pretty cool what comes to mind as you view the different people.
ReplyDeleteI really love the one-season tv show idea! I think we've all started watching a new show, only to be devastated when it just stopped running. The only problem that might arise is that a lot of shows stop running for the same view reasons (lack of viewers, lack of funding, etc). So if you feel like it wouldn't be too easy to do that one, or you just don't want to, the Freeks and Geeks blog sounds like it would be really enjoyable to read!
ReplyDeleteI felt like I was the only one who watched Freaks and Geeks! I think of the options, this would give you the most freedom to explore, as well as the ability to share the sharp humor of this show. I never really thought of how the music affected the plotline, but it's an interesting concept. Maybe you could relate each Freaks and Geeks post to another one-season tv show to integrate a bit of One and Done with the original concept.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I think all of your ideas are great, and you should definitely choose the blog that would interest you the most, not pick one you aren't quite so interested in just because I, or someone else, thought differently.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I love your idea for Stories from a Park Bench! It seems whimsical and comical, and like a good way to really slow down and think about your surroundings in a fun way. I definitely agree, however, that some racial/ethnic biases could influence your knee-jerk story creations. As a psychology major, I can assure you that most every person is taught throughout their lives to be at least a little racist, whether we act on it or not. But, if we were taught to be racist, that means we can be untaught to be racist (at least from a psychologist's perspective). So I think having these stories be influenced (of course not eccentricly) by these learned biases could be good, for you can then reflect on your stories afterwards and think on why, for instance, you assigned a certain job or personality aspect to the main character of your story. You could start by posting your story and then end with an analysis of your story, was there any biases, did you think something you are aware is wrong? And then through the coarse of your blog, hopefully (and if psychology hasn't been a wasted practice) you will have less and less story aspects influenced by your biases.
Of course, this is just a thought I had after reading your ideas and, really, all of your ideas sound interesting. This was just my psychologist-to-be spin off, as I feel about psychology the same way I imagine you feel about physics.
Good luck to you!