Wednesday, May 28, 2014

WisCon Notes Part 1: Women in History, Taking Care of the Writer's Body and Random Important things

So, this last weekend I was at WisCon, a feminist writing con and for once I wasn't selling our books.  We were going from panel to panel and I was writing notes the entire time.  So here's the stuff I wrote down for myself to use and anyone else who can use them as well.  Some of my notes are sporadic, sorry about that.  I mostly wrote down the stuff I would use.


The Once and Future Badass

* This panel basically went through historical women who actually lived and kicked ass!
* Olympias - mother of Alexander the Great
* "They Fought Like Demons" - women who dressed as men and fought in the Civil War
* Harriet Wilson - premiere courtesan
* "I, Claudius" - book recommendation
* "Princesses Behaving Badly" - historical princesses who unsettled people
* "Sin in the Second City" - novel focusing on the biggest brothel in Chicago

Care for the Writer's Body

* "The Practice of the Wild" - Other animals only approach humans when we dance and sing and that might be our place on earth as a whole, to create art in all forms
* Sugar severely affects your body.  Alzheimer's is being called Type 3 diabetes
* Sugar is connected to short term memory
* Good practice to get up every hour for a few minutes
* Bic feedback is a program that tells you if you're sitting wrong or hitting the keys too harshly, etc things like that
* Human bodies need to be rested and supported, leaning back can take the pressure off your spine
* Check out 'zero gravity chairs'
* Sitting also exhausts you
* Practice 'dynamic sitting' - basically sit up straight and tighten your core and butt, then release to about 10%
* If you sit for too long your body basically goes into hibernation.
* Check out the 'wishbone pen', it forces you to hold the pen correctly - also known as 'pen again'
* They do sell under desk bike petals
* You need variety, one tool will not cure everything, so don't rely on it.  Also, you can build up an immunity to tools and find that you'll still have to switch later
* RSI Performer - a timer for your computer that tells you to take a break
* Check out vertical mice and trackball mice if you have issues with your wrist and a normal mouse
* Habit RPG - an app that you can track your habits with and gain exp
* Zombie running app - running app that has episodes and tells you when to run from zombies
* Fuel in your body makes a big difference
-- crunchy and salty and sweet speed up your metabolism
-- however if you do fats and proteins it makes your body more level and works better
-- protein helps your writing if you have it for breakfast instead of carbs
-- might be worth trying an Elimination diet to see how your body reacts to different foods and what makes you feel the best. 

* Make a list of small physical things to do each day to remind yourself to move
* Check out 'desk aerobics' and 'office yoga'
* Pay attention to your body!
* Yoga and Taichi help
* "Get fit where you sit" - yoga website for sitting at the office
* KK.org - cool tools - tools and items at a cheaper price for your home office and use
* Intuflow - exercises for every joint - low impact
* Take the arms off your office chair so your arms can't rest
* If you work at home - get dressed for work, it helps put you in the mindset even if you never leave the house. 


Random Notes to Remember

* "Lee Hoffman - Room 777"
* "Parable of the Sewer"
* "Inheritance Trilogy"
* "Nerdgasm"
* Look up 'Black Nerdgirl podcast'
* Cyberology - a sociology blog on geeks and online things
* Look up information on "The Jester" - hacker, reference for Storyteller series
* NBC's "To Catch a Predator" - used as a tool to teach their daughter what can happen online to people
* Why do we need a clean slate online?  Why are we forced to create two different 'selves'?  Why can't we just be ourselves?
* Why are we told to protect ourselves online vs working on stopping people who actually hurt others online?  This is actually victim blaming
* Survival traditions - stuff people do and create to survive
* "Tremaine" - New Orleans show after Katrina

I have more notes, I'll post them in another entry coming soon. 


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