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The body is constantly talking to us and yet, we still have not learned to listen to it. Sometimes it is even worse for we do listen to it, but we choose to ignore it. Here is the story:

I told you already about a podcast I produce and host about Comic Art research. It is called Comments on the Top and it was supposed to have a single season, since it was part of a grant provided by an institution called IAMCR- International Association for Media and Communication Research.

Now, I had the brilliant (sarcasm alert) idea of doing a second season. Why not? , I thought. What could go wrong?, I insisted to myself, it will show your love for the group and its mentor, my dear friend and comic art research legend Prof. John A. Lent.

Of course, there was a whole plan in my head it it included producing the episodes in advance. I even invested some money in a “podcaster kit“, which reduced editing time a lot, so I really thought I had it all under control, except for a little detail: in the middle of all this planning, there was an element that I forgot to take into account: life.

The reason for the plot twist on my plans was actually quite a nice one. After the pandemic plus a terrible government in Brazil, 2023 brought finally good news for those involved in cultura productions: a series of funds to support culture opened their convocatories, whichmeans a lot of paper work to do. In practice, months of hard work that naturally caused my episode production plan to fall behind schedule.

Sure I could also mention en passant that some guests are slow to send the me their files and sometimes I lose valuable time writing reminders for the ‘deadline ignorers”, but none of these events change the fact that the blame for the delays in the release of the episodes lies solely with me. In the same way that the responsibility rests solely on me for not having known how to reestablish my schedule.

Instead, I tried another strategy: working to the point of exhaustion, including an epic workday last week, which ended four in the morning. I worked resless, despite neighborhood parties, no-stop-barking dogs etc.

Even so, the last episode was released two days late. A few hours after I uploaded the files to the streaming platforms I started to feel sick, with flu-like symptoms, mixed with a general malaise. In other words: burnout.

Fortunately, I am not talking here about a high degree of physical and mental exhaustion, which usually leads to the hospital and often leaves consequences, but rather a degree of exhaustion in which the body asks for a day or two off to recover, whether you like it or not.

At these moments, I always think about the signals my body sent before: tense shoulders, sore eyes, you know, the usual computer problems related to computer over expostion. Did I pay attention to them? No. Looking forlornly at my podcaster microphone covered by the plastic protector, I think that it will still take a few days for my voice to recover so that I can record a new episode.

Was it worth pushing the limits of my body so much? Certainly not. I find some confort though in the thought that there are already enough podcasts running and the world can probably wait a day or two for another episode.

I hope to have learned my lesson once and for all: as difficult as it may be, establishing limits is more than a personal choice. It is a universal right.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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I am not very good at putting things together, but I am great at finding the information I need. This is the reason why, no matter what I do, there will somehow be research involved in it.

Recently (or rather “finally”), I have acquired a microphone stand and a portable recording booth. The purchase happened after a lot of research on models, features and, of course, prices. After a long while, I believed to find a suitable model for my needs. Purchase made and received, it seemed like the end of the story. Big mistake.

Why? What could go wrong?, you may ask yourself. And the answer is quite simple: the assembly. Apparently, the producers think that everyone knows exactly what to do, when it comes to puting the pieces of their products together, and the precise place my unskilled fingers should place each so-tiny-you-can-barely-hold-it piece of metal.

Only a solid belief in the abilities of others can explain the lack of an instruction manual. I looked for information on the box. Nothing. Then I tried the official page of the manufacturers. A lot of bad pictures, but no information about the assembly. At these times I feel terribly embarrased, you know? I mean, I have a PhD, for crying out loud! It should mean something! Okay, my thesis is not about assembling and disassembling sound accessories, but still.

I thought about calling for professional help, but first there was one last thing I wanted to try. The ultimate way to go. After all, I was ready and willing to go to the last consequences to assemble my new appliances! The approaching end of the trying period also counted a little, I might add.

So I decided to go there, rock bottom: I looked for tutorials on Youtube. Nothing against tutorials, in principle, but the fact is that in order to save time, a lot of time is wasted.

This happens because the number of videos whose content does not match the title is huge. Sometimes, it is even worse: the title and description are ok, but the video does not add anything new to your precarious knowledge about the subject. Let us face it: this is a lot of useless content out there.

But bravely I waded through all the click baits and pubs, until I clicked on the one video that actually helped me. In gratitude, I subscribed to the channel and left a sincerely grateful comment. Later, I felt tremendously smart after seeing my stand and recording booth all set up.

This little adventurous got me thinking a lot about the dynamics of the relationship between fans and artists.

Just as I never would have landed on the right tutorial if it were not for a series of more less random search results (a video suggesting another etc), in the same way many people may come to my work (and to yours) through indirect ways.

Will they jump my content or become regular listeners and (ultimate blessing) true fans? There are lots of reasons involved in such a decision, but it also partially depends on my ability to solve a problem they have at that very moment.

An eastern proverb says that a friend is a person who knows how to play the strings of our heart. I think this comparison is beautiful and quite true. Did my song strike the right chord in your heart? Then, a bond emerged between us.

Despite of all the algorithms and paid tricks to get more likes on socials, I still believe there is a kind of fan-artist relationship that is purely instinctive. The kind that, luckly, does not need any intructions to be assembled.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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The Girl Code is the tenth episode of The Simpsons 27th season. Its first segment holds a delightful scene at Springfield Elementary:

Principal Skinner: “Welcome to computer coding class, which, uh, replaces our last educational fad -mindfulness. Did anyone ever figure out what that was?”

Class: “Uh… Uh… Uh…”

Milhouse: “Uh, shutting up?”

Principal Skinner: “Sure. Why not?”

I just love the definition of mindfulness as ‘be quiet’ because it is impossible to argue with. The episode came right to my mind, when I heard about J.O.M.O.

Oh no, another hipster acronym? Probably, but this one might interest you for the Joy of Missing Out may be a form of liberation.

Do not worry, we are not talking about happiness through alienation (never worked for me), but the ability we have, but which we increasingly give up, to enjoy the here and now. that is, it is mindfulness with a touch of happiness.

You not only do not do stuff, you choose not to do them! I have already written about the right not to do things, which sometimes seems like a taboo. Well, J.O.M.O. is not about defending a right. It is about having a choice. What kind of choices? All kinds, from staying informed but not watching all the news (is it just me?).

It has also to do with not feeling pressured to watch all the series and, instead, rewatch an old movie or maybe go back ten pages in the book I am reading, just for the pleasure of rereading a passage.

The way I see it, J.O.M.O. has mainly to do with knowing what your priorities are and recognizing that for every door we open, several others remain closed. It is not possible to do everything, all the time, and this is not easy for me to recognize.

I am usually that person who is constantly applying for calls, while looking for gigs in the summer and (why not?) filling out forms for artistic residencies during the winter. Not to mention the “almost finished” article that the magazine asked me to write . .. last year. In short: I am the one who tries to open all the doors or at least peek through the keyhole.

As much as I love what I do, it is always necessary to know how to put limits on the to-do list. After all, not even the most organized of the agendas can change the fact that there are only twenty-four hours in a day, regardless of how many activities you schedule to perform.

As much as “overcoming internal challenges” is a frequently repeated subject nowadays, there are times when the best thing to do is to embrace external limits and invite them to dance.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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During the incredibly strange year of 2020, many people found in a hobby a most-needed moment of relief and relaxation. Homemade bread, painting, gardening, each one sought refuge in the comfort zone provided by any activity that gave the feeling of having some practical use. I chose a course on time planning, more specifically an online course on how to put together the perfect weekly schedule.

The nice young lady who presented the pre-recorded lessons made the tedious process of putting together a weekly schedule of appointments seem like a delightful experience. This is often the problem with online courses: they make everything look easy and there is no point in answering a loud “No!” when, at the end of the lesson, the instructor asks: “everything alright?”, because they will not listen.

If it worked? Yes and no. I managed to get to the fifth version, if I’m not mistaken (the idea was that each week everyone would check what had worked or not in the planning and what could be improved for the following week), but I could not stick to my planning.

Do not blame the planning. It was good one. It even left somne room for the unforeseen. In fact, there are no culprits, just life itself. There are times in our lives so crazy, that not even the best of weekly plans will be able to organize.

The end of the year is usually one of those times. By the way, a good indication that the year is coming to an end is that the stress level goes through the roof and if you do no’t want to join the year-end stress crowd, perhaps the best thing to do is to admit that your schedule will suffer repeated upheavals, including strokes of luck.

Last week, for example, I managed to get an appointment for a very busy doctor simply because I called after patients who canceled. A true stroke of luck that not even the most perfectly conceived agenda could have foreseen, but which nevertheless changes the planning of the day. But what if the surprise is not such a pleasant one?

Accepting that it will not always be possible to stick with the plan and realizing that, sometimes, it will not be possible to recalculate the route, and that you may end up losing control and even hit head-on with what you wanted, can be an important tool for maintaining your mental health, strange at it seems. And staying mentally healthy is the best gift you can give yourself, this or any other time of the year.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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The Gavião (Hawk) people is one of the Brazilian indigenous groups. They live in the Northeast of the country, in the central region of the State of Maranhão and they managed to preserve a significant part of their ancient rituals. In a very interesting example of their ability to mix their tradition with elements of contemporary life, tribe youths record on their cell phones the ancestral songs sung by the elders.

Some of them also have profiles on socials portraying the routine of the group. The passage from childhood to the teenage years, for instance, is marked by a period of six months, during which the teenager can only leave the house covered by a wicker mat.

The idea that transition times, such as puberty, demand retreat and self-communion (in other words: time to adapt) is a lesson nature is frequently trying to teach us. Butterflies and their journey from egg to larva, then the amazing pupa period and, finally, adulthood is one of the most beautiful expressons of it. Another way of dealing with changes it through silence.

From the respectful minute of silence in solemn ceremonies to the the vow of silence present in various religions orders, there are many different cultural manifestations of silence as a method or a means to achieve something. After a hard week and a even ahrder weekend, I tried the silence game à la G., which consists of talking only the strictly necessary, no social networks and, most important, no news for 48 hours.

I cannot say my detox days were easy, but the experience was totally worth it. The first impact is that time seems to grow, when we are in silence: suddenly you will have some extra hours in your hand. In my case, those were probably the hours that I would had spend reading the news or checking hashtags and getting angry on Twitter. Anyway, the fact is that instead I had time for long, guiltless, refreshing naps.

The real surprise, though came after my silent days, on my way back to normal, noisy routine: after my “unplugged” period, I did not feel the urge to read all the news, nor to post on my socials. While checking the headlines, I have selected three of four news that really interested me and read them throughfully. After that, I was ready to go back to my things, no trace of F.O.M.O whatsoever.

You might find it funny to have a singer writing an ode to silence, but deaing with sounds is precisaly the reason why I cherish my quiet moments so much. Keeping the communication noise down from time to time helps me a lot to curate my interests in music, just like it happenned with the news. In other words: it helps me to focus on what is really important.

The rest is silence.

Be seeing you!

G.F.