Friday Menagerie: Collection #8

The â€œFriday Menagerieâ€ is a handful of links & tweets & other goodnesses from around the web that I gather throughout the week and then corral into a post. Stuff I loved, found fascinating, got a kick out of, etc. Please to enjoy!

Dude (Links Like A Lady)

What if there is no such thing as falling “behind”? Julien Smith points out in The Myth of Behind that thinking you’re behind is an energy & motivation suck. He suggests acting as if you’re beginning fresh in this very moment, cutting away all that heavy energy that “behind” brings with it and instead just making progress from the moment you’re in right now. This article turned my entire week around.
“Your life needs you away from your email inbox.” So sayeth Goddess Leonie, and I emphatically agree. Leonie offers up four tips for dealing with email overwhelm, all of which are absolutely doable for anyone in any stage of email overwhelm. The shackles of the inbox can be tough to break–Leonie gives you four simple ways to do it. (Really, do it.)
I chatted with Srinivas Rao at BlogcastFM about how to find your voice online, why your offline voice matters for your online presence, and the value of authentic connections. You can tune in to my interview (and find out just how long I’ve been online… and what on earth I used to post about in my Angelfire days!).
Gala Darling puts her foot down about radical self-hate–specifically, the insidious focus on calories / points / fat grams / dieting / collective body bashing in which women, especially, tend to engage. I’m with Gala–I can’t stand it when people use that as conversational fodder. If you’re not interesting enough to talk about something other than your thighs and calories during a meal, I don’t care to dine with you. Gala declares, “Radical self-hate is bullshit, & standing by & being a silent witness to it is almost as bad.” She & I both are all for emphasizing wellness, but doing so without the “body snark.” Right. On.
Turning the experience of receiving criticism on its head, Lori Deschene serves up a host of reasons to embrace criticism. Lori points out criticism can reinforce the power of our personal space, give us a chance to teach others how to treat us, and help us become better listeners. Not that I’m evolved enough to look forward to my next criticism, but at least I’ve got 25 new ways of examining it when it happens!
And turning the experience of going viral on its head, Gwen Bell examines “going viral” impacts you, how it impacts others, and ponders what our responsibility is (or should be) for what we say online. Percolate on this: “Sharing is no longer sharing for the sake of sharing… We’ll help someone, some product or service, go viral today with the hope that they’ll help us reach our personal tipping point tomorrow.” I see a lot of overlap between that notion & the echo chamber effect of affiliate marketing too. The article is good food for thought, and a conversation worth continuing.

Billie Tweet

Great secrets can be found at the bottom of an iced latte. @sbspalding
I am afraid to exorcise my demons, ’cause my angels might go too. –Tom Waits @Jim_Brewer
I am incredibly frustrated by people who are given opportunities, but deign not to take them. That’s way worse than a genuine obstacle. @amyhoy
I am going to have oreos and milk for dinner. Because I’m a grown up, damn it. @vevice
I’m not going much of anywhere today but MAN, am I going there fast. @communicatrix
The only way your passion will pay off is if you don’t give up on it. @nickberger
When Shakespeare wrote: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing,” I believe he was describing Friday. @mrjackolson

This Week’s Jukebox: It’s Dance Party Week!

You can visit the Friday Menagerie Jukebox playlist anytime, all week long!
If youâ€™re viewing this in a feed reader or by email, you may need to click through to see the videos.

This week is Dance Party Week on the Jukebox. Go on, clear yourself some space, kick off your shoes and prepare to shake what yo’ momma gave ya.

01. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) by Aerosmith

02. Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

03. Smiley Faces by Gnarls Barkley

04. Love Train by The O’Jays [Soul Train]
There’s a red rectangle on part of the video, but the dancing is so freaking great, it makes up for that. Frankly, I love the idea of just forming a Soul Train dance line at random times throughout the week, wherever you’re at–grocery store, office, traffic–and just taking 5 minutes to give everyone around a chance to strut their stuff. How awesome would that be?!