J. D. Fielder

Crowdsourcing a Literary Art Project: Part I

I love bookstores.  Particularly used bookstores and the heady scent of old paper, binding and knowledge.  In fact, a few weeks ago Nialle Sylvan at the Haunted Bookshop in Iowa City gave me the honor of perusing a book published in 1798.  I opened the book and thought, "I could be the first person to read this particular page in over a century. Maybe longer."  For a fellow with a Bachelor's in History and love for all things books and narrative, it was a glorious moment.

What I really love, though, is coming across used books with handwritten messages, old receipts, notecards, and other archeological evidence of past ownership.  At that moment, the book takes on another life: the deeper meaning of what the book meant to previous readers. For example, what if they left a bookmark? Why did they stop at that point in the book?  Or gift messages: why did the reader give the book away? Or grocery lists: did they forget the milk? 

Thus, several years ago I got this fool idea in my head to document these finds, but nothing came of it since I didn't think anyone else would be interested.  But, then came along sites such as Tumblr and Pinterest where people share all sorts of images to receptive audiences.  That, and I stumbled across this gem of a notecard inside a book.

So, I threw together a quick proof-of-concept site back in November, showed it to Nialle (who approved), but left it fallow due to grad school (priorities, priorities).  But, now that I've graduated and have a little more time to actually consider creative endeavors, I figured I'd dust the concept off and see what you think:

http://www.literaphemera.com/

Anyways, back to the "crowdsourcing" bit in the article title. I'm thinking big: I want to collect images from used bookstores around the U.S.--hell, the world--and I figured the best way was to solicit images.  The risk, of course, is being deluged by submissions.  But creativity requires effort, does it not? (and bandwidth, for that matter... but never mind that for now).

Also, I'm debating whether to leave this on Typepad or to move it to Tumblr.  On one hand, I know my way around Typepad; on the other hand, Tumblr seems better for sharing works of this nature.

In short, what do you think of the idea, and do you have and recommendations? Drop me a line in the comments below or at james@jdfielder.com

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On Internet Sabbaticals

The prelude:

"For years, the idea of a digital sabbatical has appealed to the hyper-connected set -- people who spend most of their days in front of computer screens, checking blogs, reading Twitter and somehow trying to figure out how to get their work done in between. At the office, they dodge dozens of click-me-now messages per minute, each demanding instant attention." CONTINUED

This concept sounds really attractive, particularly after spending most of the past three years glued to a laptop screen.  The last thing I wanted to see after turning in my final dissertation deposit was a keyboard and mouse.  Or to sit in a chair, for that matter.

The irony, of course, is I study the Internet and politics. That, and I'm in a tech-heavy Air Force career field.  Thus, I have no choice but to remain plugged in.

I suppose it wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the "above to fold" nature of the Internet--or, at least that's how I see it.  For those of you who don't know what a real, honest-to-god newspaper is, the term refers to reading the catchy headline on the front page just above where the paper is folded in half.  In Internet terms, it's been transposed to mean reading information without scrolling down the page. 

In other words, good for getting the gist, but you miss the deeper analysis.  Or, as The Atlantic once asked, "Is Google Making us Stupid?"

Note, though, that I'm the kind of guy who can spend an hour and change reading a paper New York Times from cover to cover. When I read and article, I want to read everything.  I don't feel whole otherwise.  Indeed, reading is my favorite pasttime.  I owe my "smarts" not to being particularly more intelligent than the next fellow, but because I read widely on a variety of subjects.

Yet, continuous information bombardment on the interwebs makes reading down to the last word almost impossible--and this is coming from a fellow who can read over 100 book pages an hour (naturally, too--I don't use any speed reading methods).  Thus, I find myself treating more and more online information like tweets: what does the first paragraph say? The first line? What info pops up when I hover the mouse over a link?  To paraphrase Bilbo Baggins, such reading makes me feel intellectually thin, like too little butter spread over too much bread.

That said... man, did I read over my doctoral studies. Mountains of text, both palpable and electronic.  I mean, getting paid to read and drink coffee is a gig that should theoretically never get old. But, I found myself turning to cheap pulp Forgotten Realms fantasy novels in the evening after spending my days consuming academia.

Even so, I preferred reading hard copy political science over electronic articles when given the opportunity.  For one, reading over twenty pages on a lit screen gets old after a while; and second, I cave easily to distractions such as Twitter and other social media.  In the latter case, it's amazing how quickly and hour can disappear just from reading 140 characters of text (and don't get me started on Wikipedia surfing).

The end result of this rambling diatribe is I'm just ****ing tired of staring at computer screens all day, let alone depending on endless supplies of concise ones and zeroes for all my information. 

No, I'm not going offline; nor am I giving up my research.  But before I move to San Antonio in late June, I think a few days with paper books that can actually be weighed on a scale will do me good.

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Maj James D. Fielder, Ph.D., USAF!

Successfully defended my dissertation on 23 April and turned in the final draft to the graduate college offices today.  Now, I can finally put on my Ph.D. t-shirt!

In other news, I'm moving in June to the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency headquarters, where I'm supposedly going to head up the Strategic ISR Analysis section.  Thankfully, the USAF is letting me remain in Iowa until my kids finish school. 

Thus, I'm off to celebrate by:

1) Changing all my magazine subscriptions from "Mr." to "Dr."
2) Going to see "Pirates! Band of Misfits" with the fam on Sunday, followed by a phat steak dinner.
3) Playing video games for three days.
4) Reading a book at Haunted Bookshop for pleasure rather than work.
5) Drinking a beer this Friday. Maybe two.
6) Buying myself two things I've always wanted: a "Fishbone" t-shirt, and a deluxe rubber chicken.

Finally, this calls for an appropriate "rage face" meme:

Infographic: What Happens in an Internet Minute

Submitted my dissertation to my committee yesterday! Defense scheduled for 23 April. Now prepping for the Midwest Political Science Association annual conference in Chicago--leaving tomorrow afternoon, back on Sunday. Presenting a paper that has nothing to do with my dissertation... also a discussant on one panel and the chair of another. I like keeping busy. In the meantime, found this on a friend's Facebook post. I don't know who the original designer is, alas (Intel, perhaps? Their logo is on the right-hand side of the graphic).

Current Status

First dissertation draft turned in last Thursday; second draft due to my committee on 9 April, with committee defense scheduled for 23 April.  So close!

- J.D.

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A Quip on International Activism

Couldn't resist this one (from *Clean* Funny Pics):

 

"Dissertating"

I'm on the final, mad dash to complete my Ph.D.  Currently scheduled to defend my dissertation on 23 April, and have a good bit of writing left to do.

Needless to say, I'm focusing all my efforts on the big D.  Not that I'm terribly verbose here as it is, but I think you'll understand if I don't post much between now and the big day in April. ;-)

- J.D.

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