I shared the previous post introducing the interview podcast project, We Respectfully Disagree, just to put something on the blog after 2 months dormant. If this podcast project were a recipe it's not on the front burner or even the back burner. It's a bunch of ingredients still in the pantry for now.
Look for me:
Randomly streaming on Twitch, where I use the excuse of streaming to get my phone out of my hands, and to mumble a few ideas while getting things done. So far I don't use Twitch to interact with viewers.
Current Temporary Contact Email:02.bowling.foals@icloud.com
Humanissome podcast series: We Respectfully Disagree
I'm currently seeking guests willing to be interviewed on video or audio-only for the program described here. I have 2 friends in mind currently & think that I would need a lot more lined up before launching. Maybe?
intro
Rob: Welcome. I'm your host, RMiddleton.
Guest: And I'm [guest name].
Both: And we respectfully disagree.
Rob: Welcome, Guest. Before we start talking I want to welcome any listeners, and since this is a brand new podcast I will explain what I hope to offer. I like my work as an artist to meet 2 criteria, to help me and to offer something different than most other content. I think learning to love all humans is the challenge that's required to make major improvements in the world; and a personal challenge for me to feel more at peace. Before I can learn to love those I dislike I thought I would practice how to respectfully disagree with those I like. Interview styles I'm most familiar with either feature zero conflict whatsoever, 2 people discussing a mutual interest, maybe promoting a project; OR they are all-conflict, antagonists representing polar opposite positions trying to win an argument and humiliate the other side. Zero conflict content can feel like forced positivity or meaningless marketing, while verbal combat does nobody any good. I'm starting small, hoping to interview many people I know and like who are willing to tread into areas of disagreement. Guest, are you game?
Guest: [ ... ]
Rob: Ok, well, I see no reason to leap into disagreement without first establishing who we are, how we know each other, and things that we like about each other. Also I should point out that I'm a sneaky host and Guest does not know all the subjects we may get into talking about today. In fairness they also could bring up unexpected topics. It will be a free-ranging conversation. My policy with these interviews is that both parties approve the final edit before it is published. So today's Guest I know from [ ... ] and they are [ ... ].
* Alternate titles: I Roll With It, I Make It Tea, I Break Bread With It, I Befriend It, I Comfort It, I Coddle It, I Cuddle It, I Kiss It, I Ride It, I Surf Its Waves, I Embrace It, I Endure It, I Accommodate It, I Hang Out With It, I Tell Ghost Stories Around A Campfire With It While Making Smores
This Blog Is Changing
I cannot say for certain from what into what. Writing this should help me figure it out. In good news — for me; this is all for me1 — I can say that I have made decisions!
In classic blog fashion I might begin, “Sorry it's been a while since I posted...” I recently have considered a secondary blog for more fragments and keeping this one to my original vision of posts I put some work into, edit, add photos to, etc. This post is not that. Maybe it's ok to have a mish mash blog. Whether it's ok or not for the long haul, that's what this will be for now.
I am taking a short break. To write just to write, to meet a schedule, is antithetical to the principle of doing everything with meaning. Quite frankly, the weather where I live has been too gorgeous for me to sit at a keyboard!
The loveliest lies of all are the ones we tell ourselves, now unceasingly aided and abetted by technology valued into the billions of dollars.
All for little ol' me?
Yep. You're worth it. At least in combination with everyone else your value is infinite. Unfathomable resources are right now being devoted to commanding your attention.
Isn't it all a bit pointless?
Don't get me wrong, the power wielded by the phone-industrial complex is undeniably immense. And what do they do with it? Besides undermining democracy and eroding the human ability to pay attention and collecting billions of dollars, what do these attention hoarders do with our focus once they've got control of us? I think I bought a shirt once off Instagram. Yeah, that's kinda all there is to it.
I'll beat them at their own game
It's natural to want to stand up and offer meaning within a meaningless system. Here are two attempts that caught my eye for different reasons:
