storydoula Story doula notes

Note June ’18 no. 1: Sequins or Satin?

In which my mailing list gets a new name in an idealistic attempt to claim my own information, front row seats to a true crime podcast, and I seek your advice on sequins or satin for Audiocraft.

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE ARCHIVED

I’ve been thinking a lot, for many years, about how I share information on the net, especially social media. This has been a journey, seriously, in which I’ve mostly silently judged people who share everything with the big data companies (i.e. nearly everyone, myself included), and ranted at friends over wine. Trying to break up with Google, Facebook etc. is difficult because I’m lazy and I don’t want to be inconvenienced that much.  I know because I’ve tried quitting everything. But anyway, this is my favourite kind of social media— letters, emails, marginalia— so now I’m committing to writing these notes to you, that will stay on a website that I own (not really, just rented out from internetland, and built by another big company- WordPress). I have previously run this mailing list via TinyLetter but it nagged at me that everything I wrote was stored on their servers as default. Maybe it’s just major hubris but I want to have permanent ‘ownership’ of my own archives*. I’m going to see if I can keep this ‘Notes from Belinda Lopez’ thing up. I’ll aim for once or twice a month, probably less. Filled with typos & super low-key.  Please encourage me. I respond well to external validation and obligation: [email protected].

*I’ve read a lot about ownership of data/ keeping an archive of your social media etc over the years but a post that comes to mind was one by Luke Bacon I read over at his website Equivalent Ideas a while back. It’s actually a dedication to a woman who I learned from Luke had thought a lot about digital preservation and storytelling: Chloe Weil. It’s here.

A hike with friends in the Blue Mountains recently.

 

UNRAVEL & GETTING FRONT ROW SEATS TO HISTORY, REVISITED

Unravel: Blood on the Tracks podcast is just out, and I’ve had the pleasurable work of listening to some episodes with the team before they’re released.

It’s the result of reporter Allan Clarke‘s five-year investigation, and it breaks out of true crime genre stereotypes to present a really gripping account of the death of Aboriginal teenager Mark Haines, and the subsequent bungled police investigation. Add it to your listen list. You should also take a listen to Curtain podcast investigating racism in the Australian justice system.  Speaking of investigative history podcasts- that’s what the new History Lab from 2ser and UTS calls itself [props to Emma Lancaster who worked on both Unravel and History Lab]. Looks exciting- am adding it to MY listen list. History Lab came to me via the historian Vannessa Hearman, who also recently reminded me that the Human Rights Media Awards are once again open. Last year Vannessa nominated my documentary Bina-gurri about the work of Deaf Aboriginal community researcher Jody Barney, and it was a finalist. So go on. Nominate someone you like (you can also just like yourself).

My PhD supervisor Kate Rossmanith- an incredible mentor and writer- has just published her book Small Wrongs and if you’re in Sydney you can come to the launch on June 13th at Gleebooks. I’ve had the pleasure of reading it — it fuses ethnographic research with memoir to explore the performance of remorse in her own life and in the criminal justice system. You can read the first chapter here.

TRIAL RUN FOR NEW HOST OF THE BACHELOR. HELP.

I’ve been asked to run something of a speed dating event at Audiocraft, which is tomorrow (June 2nd). I said I’d dress up like I’m the new host of the Bachelor and now I realise that I haven’t invested enough time in actually watching the Bachelor to know what to wear. If you had to choose between sequins and satin, what would you do? Please, please help me: [email protected]. Also get in touch with tips, suggestions and love poetry. Or hardcopy letters to PO Box 531, Broadway, NSW 2007 Australia.

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