daily intentions

At the beginning of the month you challenged me to go public with my intentions:

Lastly we come to week 4. Because it’s so easy for all of us to get wrapped up in the one billion things we have going in our lives and fall behind, I dare you to post your daily to-do list on our blog AND check-off each item. That’s right, for the week of 9/24-9/30, you will have to blog your non-job-related tasks for the day (appointments, reading, errands, yoga class, etc.) and then let us know how you did. The whole idea is to focus on what you need to accomplish and then make it happen. I think it’ll be a little difficult, but for one week totally manageable. And even more, it’s a great practice of letting go of distractions and impulsive procrastination.

I decided to start a few days early. I’ve said YES more than NO lately, which is exciting, but it means juggling a fair amount of commitments. I am hoping this little experiment will help me get back on track, or at least teach me a few lessons along the way.

If people can lose weight by tweeting out their weight every day, I can certainly check of some to-do’s.

Here’s today’s list. There are definitely other items that I should do but probably won’t happen, so why kid myself. I’ll report back tonight on how it all went.

heritage of pride

Kate,

A thriving heritage depends on two things: understanding the past and valuing it to create a fantastic future.  Every June we are caught up in a whirlwind of PRIDE activities, but here in NYC, I typically find little evidence of our community’s heritage whatsoever.

It’s odd, then, that the organization that manages NYC Pride is in fact called Heritage of Pride.  One would assume that a visit to their website would lead you to information about the history of the queer rights movement in New York, or perhaps the issues that have brought this group of people together.  Instead you see a calendar of events for 2011 – which is great for early planning – along with a Pride Store, a donate button, and a list of corporate sponsors.  Bearing this in mind, what isn’t surprising is that the organization has now shortened its name to HOP and rebranded itself as New York City Pride.  They have scrubbed away heritage!  It’s really a logical shift though considering the complete absence of heritage from the work that they do.

Now, I’m not naive.  I know that events cost money and I get that.  But wouldn’t it be great to have a guerilla pride that was just a parade permit and street performers, funded by the citizens of NYC?  When I see Delta, Bud Light, and Wachovia plastered at these events and on the web, I just can’t trust it.  Sure there may be fine and lovely people at these companies who want to support a cause, but at the end of the day I can’t help but feel like there’s an ulterior motive at work.  They have a business agenda.  This isn’t about celebrating a culture and community’s heritage.  It’s about selling more Tylenol PM and Kiehl’s products.

Looking back on our June challenges, your exhibition and my flash mob, I feel true, authentic pride in the honesty of our efforts.  It was so liberating to bring people together and revel in my own gayness in Union Square in a way that didn’t feel tainted by market values.  My flash mob didn’t affect thousands of people, but a group of 25 plus tons of passersby were able to experience the freedom and joy of expressing whoever you are without limits.  And it cost next to nothing!  It’s in that spirit that Christopher Street Liberation Day began.  How many of today’s LGBT New Yorkers even know what that day is?

Thank you again for pushing me to take on that challenge.  The creative process and final result represents our community’s true heritage and its power.  Most importantly, it all makes me feel so proud.

B

free fallin’

Alright Brendan,

I am quite inspired by your scheme to use this transitional month to catch up on the last three dares. And touché on that last challenge to blog my to-do list every day. I hear you loud and clear… follow through.

In the spirit of accountability, I’d like to set my intention for this first week revisiting the Pride dare.

By next Thursday the 9th I will have:

– scanned & uploaded all of my photos from “If I were a boy…”
– edited & posted the video of the showing at Mission Minis
– followed up with any of the participants from the project

How are you going to revisit your flash mob?

And just in case you are wondering about your 4th week challenge… you’ll have to wonder a little longer. I think it will be better a bit more spontaneous.

i keep on fallin’

Kate,

Can you believe we’re already into month 4 of our challenges??  We’ve tackled so much this summer and it’s felt sensational to be creative and productive.  That said, the season will change to fall soon and I think some of us may have fallen a bit behind.

Falling aside, the whole autumn season really is about letting go, which always leads me right down the path of reflection.  So it’s with that inspiration that I think we should embark on our September double dares.  We’ll revisit our past challenges each week of the month, and then we’ll surprise each other with a week 4 mini-challenge!

So the first few weeks look like this:

• Week 1: Contemplating PRIDE
• Week 2: Contemplating SUPERHEROES
• Week 3: Contemplating BACK TO SCHOOL

Lastly we come to week 4.  Because it’s so easy for all of us to get wrapped up in the one billion things we have going in our lives and fall behind, I dare you to post your daily to-do list on our blog AND check-off each item.  That’s right, for the week of 9/24-9/30, you will have to blog your non-job-related tasks for the day (appointments, reading, errands, yoga class, etc.) and then let us know how you did.  The whole idea is to focus on what you need to accomplish and then make it happen.  I think it’ll be a little difficult, but for one week totally manageable.  And even more, it’s a great practice of letting go of distractions and impulsive procrastination.

At the end of the month, and with the new season upon us, you will rise up to a fantastic fall knowing you have a clean slate.  Good luck!

Brendan

doc syllabus

Brendan,

This month certainly was a challenge. I always admired my professors but now I have a tremendous amount of empathy for the time and energy they pour into teaching.

Here’s what I learned while attempting to create a syllabus for “The Contemporary American Documentary” imaginary college course:

a. The more you know, the less you know. I thought I knew a thing or two about docs, but the deeper I dove the less grounded I felt. There is nothing more humbling than trying to wrap your brain around teaching someone else about something you love.

b. The internet is a mixed blessing. Yes there is more information at your finger tips, but while searching for relevant criticism about filmmaking I was reminded yet again that there is a lot more noise than signal online. One of the beauties of affiliating with an institution of higher learning is access to periodicals and journals. I miss that access.

c. I still love documentaries. Love. Love. Just as I am far more inclined to read narrative nonfiction than pick up a novel, I tend to gravitate more to documentaries than mainstream features. When compiling the list of films to watch for the course I impressed myself with how many of them I had already seen.

d. It would be super fun to actually teach a class on documentaries. For years I’ve harbored some fantasy of starting a film club, perhaps this is the motivation I need to make it a reality.

I’ve put up a 15-week syllabus online for you and others to review. I built the class off of pairs of themed movies in order to spark discussion about technique, genre and content.

The bones are there, but it is definitely a work in progress. You’ll notice that while I have two required texts, I haven’t yet figured out the reading schedule nor have I identified the right articles to supplement each weeks’ readings.

I have a sample lecture and lesson plan in the works… I’m planning on lecture on the basics of film language and a lesson plan on writing a treatment.

More to come, thank you for the challenge…

back to school

Well, kind of.

This month of back to school mini-challenges has been, no surprise, quite a learning experience.  So Kate, I find it fitting that today I have enrolled in a 36-week Anatomy and Kinesiology course.

Looking back on all of the different components of the last four weeks, the moving body has been the common theme.  I learned more about Craniosacral Therapy, taught a little Pilates, and designed a graduate program for myself concentrating on the performing arts.  While I’m not ready to take on that program – yet – this month has solidified my need to wet my feet in the world of academia.  I’m craving knowledge and new inspiration.

The anatomy course I will be taking covers the musculoskeletal system and applies it to yoga asanas.  Jason Ray Brown designed the curriculum and his open house today was really enticing.  All of the people in the room expressed such an eagerness to discover the intricacies of the human body.  It’s going to be a fun community to start working with.  A lot of geeks.  Fun geeks.

Thanks for another great month.  I’ve learned a lot and I’ve reflected A LOT.

So, how’s that doc course coming along?  ; )

B

doc hustle

For the past month I have been thinking a lot about hustle. I first learned of the concept through sports when our mother used to describe how a baseball player might not be the fastest but he “had hustle.” Now I understand a whole host of other meanings, but putting them aside for now, I’m interested in hustle to represent that energetic push towards something.

It takes a special kind of underdog drive to make a documentary film. Most docs emerge out of a filmmaker’s passion, rather than a Hollywood studio’s bank account. Many spectacular documentaries are by first time filmmakers who learn as they go, beg for financing, borrow off credit cards and heavily rely on the goodwill of others. And then comes the hustle to get subjects to agree to be filmed, which only matters of course if you have secured the necessary equipment. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

For a fantastic mediation on hustle in documentary filmmaking, take a look at “Street Fight” Marshall Curry’s 2005 documentary on Cory Booker’s run for mayor of Newark, NY. As Booker campaigns to unseat a popular incumbent, Curry struggles to just cover the race without interference from the opposition.
As I come close to the end of this month, I am in my own hustle trying to finish this syllabus on time.

Let’s pretend… classes are about to start. You’ve signed up for a new course offering this semester,”The American Documentary“, intrigued by the course description promising “an investigation into the history, theory & craft of American non-fiction films”. You are headed to the campus bookstore tomorrow to buy your books, but first you are going to head out for the evening and get to know your new neighbors on the hall.

Meanwhile, your professor is up later than planned typing away putting that syllabus together…

sweet sweet fantasy

Kate,

So here it is!  Part 3 of this month’s challenge.  If I could enroll in any graduate program in the world, this is what it would look like.

This has been an incredible exploration for me.  Comments/thoughts/criticisms are welcome.  Also, if you or anyone you know happens to discover that this program already exists somewhere, let me know!

B

**You might not be able to read all of the text in the video, so you can download a PDF here: GradSchoolFantasy

my name is ?

I’ve been contemplating my ideal graduate program as the final element of this month’s challenge.  With a lot of focus, I’ve identified the coursework and the key areas of interest.  Now I just have to put it all together – and name it!

What do you think of M.A. in Arts Policy and Practice?

More to come soon.

ya got that contrology

Kate!

So what if I was a Pilates teacher?  That’s what I’ve been tossing around in my head for the past few years weeks and this month’s challenge was a perfect opportunity to experiment.  Undertaking a reputable certification program someday would involve lots of time and money, so I really wanted to proactively investigate how I would feel instructing within the Pilates system.  I’ve been an on/off student for 8 years and I feel extremely comfortable with how to perform a Pilates mat workout, but articulating the exercises to someone who is totally unfamiliar made me a little nervous.  Short story: It was fantastic!

In order to make this tryout happen, a wonderful friend volunteered to come to my apartment today and be a willing and able student.  He had no prior experience or knowledge of Pilates, but he’s quite fit and knows how to work intelligently with his body.  Once he confirmed, I knew that preparation would be key to maximizing this trial session.  First, I created a lesson plan for a basic, beginner mat with some built-in flexibility depending on how it was progressing.  Then I had a couple of amazing friends give me some great advice.  One is in the process of obtaining her Pilates certification now and gave me excellent tips about setup, timing, and cues.  Another is a professional yoga teacher who shared important perspectives about working with someone in a one-on-one setting.  With all this information stored in my head, I then just had to let it happen.

And it did.  It happened.  My friend seemed to learn a lot and was interested in learning more.  What more could I ask for?  Should I want to pursue a career teaching Pilates, I definitely need some work on verbal instruction.  That said though, I am extremely positive about the whole experience.  Mostly I was excited to discover that Pilates really does excite me.  It’s a system that I believe in and feel confident about.  I would love to lose some of its language, but the movements and exercises are truly beautiful.

I also like teaching!  I have had a variety of teaching experiences in my life ranging lots of ages and lots of topics, some informal and others more professional, but none of them were recent.  I enjoy learning and I enjoy sharing what I learn.  No matter what path I may take, this week has been a clear lesson to me to find ways in which teaching can be a part of my life.

Thank you!

B