purpletelescope
185 posts
Latest Posts by purpletelescope
A home library.
Mucus Buster
Everyone's got lingering congestion this year, so as someone who's no stranger to phlegm, and inherited the folk wisdom of a stage actress (the show must go on!) I share with you my recipe for making things better:
2L water
the juice and rind of one lemon (just dump the juiced rinds in, don't zest them, you maniac)
a small thumb of fresh ginger, sliced in coins
about a dozen cloves, some star anise, peppercorns, and maybe whole cinnamon or allspice or whatever else you like, in a tea ball (except the cinnamon if it doesn't fit, obvs)
good dollop of honey, to taste
Bring the water to a boil then dump in all the stuff. Keep it hot but not boiling – a slow cooker is good for this. Keep this pot on a low heat all day and serve yourself a mug every so often, adding water as necessary. At some point you will need to add a new lemon and some more honey, but the spices can generally carry over two pots if you're drinking it regularly.
The acid helps clear the gunk, ginger is good for the circulation, and clove/aniseed/pepper have some sort of decongestant/soothing properties. Honey is both nice and antiseptic, and apparently is a cough suppressant as well? Anyway, I just got over another run of Covid and this was wasn't 100% effective but it worked better than phenylephrine.
my morning coffee / jupiter
Romanticize your education
the midday stillness of a library
coursework sprawled on top of a desk
notes on the margins of a textbook
tracing names carved into an armchair
the inherent eroticism of the library after dark
a note falling out of a battered book
reminders scrawled across your hands
cursive handwriting
whispers cutting through the silence of the dormitory
the cold glow of a laptop screen in a dark room
ink stains
notebooks with half the pages crossed out
passing notes during lecture
getting up at 3 am to google something
leatherbound books with gold lining
crisp white paper
the smell of new books
December
fairy lights and holiday displays
neatly wrapped presents with elegant bows
the smell of pine trees
hot chocolate
mulled wine in paper cups
sucking on candy cane til it gets sharp
dark chocolate truffles
sliding on polished floors
long dresses and tailored suits
iron candelabra
the church choir
stained glass windows
listening in on family affairs
peppermint chocolate
garland wrapped around the banister
sitting in the dark with just the glow of the Christmas tree
the moon in the sky like a claw
cushions and throw blankets
your favorite sweater
dog-eared pages of a classic book
spring journal prompts
things to get rid of, things to gain
something you want to learn
go out and press some spring flowers, write how each makes you feel
write what each colour of the rainbow means to you
what does birdsong make you think of?
do some mental spring cleaning; dump old thought patterns that no longer serve you
set a "spring goal" for yourself
watch the sun rise, write about it
design your ideal ecosystem
what are you looking forward to?
go outside. what do you hear? how does that make you feel?
i am not taking questions at this time
My technique for Quick Literature Review
Literature Reviews were one of the most confusing things for me when I began my PhD. I would get lost in searching for papers, wallowing in tangential directions, sometimes looking at entirely unrelated stuff. Other times, I’d be trying so hard to read an article and stuck without moving forward.
From my fair share of struggle with literature reviews, I deviced a technique that helped me do quick literature surveys, especially when I needed to write a proposal or improve half-written manuscript or to understand a new method/theory. So, here you go…
1. Collecting literature: Research Rabbit App🐇
This is my go-to tool for literature discovery. In addition to quickly build a literature collection, it helps to see how all the papers in my collection are connected! This is very essential when you write your LitRev, as you will need to draw connections between different works.
Go to www.researchrabbit.ai and search the topic you need articles for, and add them to a collection.
The app will automatically suggest more papers based on your selections and will make connections between the articles in terms of authors, citations or references!
You can also look for other papers by a certain author or similar papers to the one you choose.
(Make sure to stop when you find yourself going down the Rabbit Hole ;) )
2. Extracting information: Skim & Annotate 📑
Once you finish collecting the literature,
quicky read the abstract and decide which ones are important, relevant or new.
Now and skim the chosen papers, and annotate the most important things you find. I usually go for paper and highlighters, sometimes use the annotator in Mendeley
Optional: categorize the articles and assign a colour for each.
(Don’t spend more than 10 minutes per paper. You can always go back and read the article thoroughly after completing this task)
3. Organizing thoughts: The Sticky Note Method 🗂
Here comes my favourite part. I developed this technique inspired by a lot of tools I found on the internet. The Sticky Note Method is to capture, rearrange and construct thoughts.
From the now annotated, categorized collection, write down the essence of each article in a separate sticky note.
(here is where the colour-coding might come in handy: you can use different coloured sticky notes for different categories.)
After doing this for all the papers, stick them in a board/notebook
Rearrange them till you get a coherent flow!
That’s it. Now start writing your review! ;)
100 days of productivity
starting 25th October 2023 ending 2nd February 2024
Rules
Success or failure -- just show up
No #ZeroDays -- No matter how hard it feels, do a little thing, a bare minimum. Don't let any day become a zero day
Do at least one PhD-related task everyday
Read a journal article everyday. Skim, AIC, full workout - anything
Weekends are excluded, but counted -- because rest is productive
Learn & practice mindfulness
Take two pictures everyday to represent the day (post them here)
Accountability
Daily update of task list here. Perfection is the enemy of done. So don't overthink, just post - even if it feels half-baked.
-----
I’m currently in the final quarter of my PhD. I feel quite demotivated and I find it hard to gain momentum. So I thought I'll take up an accountability challenge to help me stay motivated and eventually build a routine.
If you are already doing a 100 days of productivity challenge, or would like to take on one, please do comment/like this post. I'd love to have some company and inspiration! Please help me find similar accounts! <3
Sometimes I open this book again every once in a while to just see these. God I miss my shitty handwriting (that's a lie. No I do not.)
Dark Academia self-care tips for the wintertime.
Embrace the beauty of the natural world as we enter into the depths of winter. There’s something wonderfully haunting about the barrenness, the muted saturation, the quiet. This season is like the stillness between the exhale and the inhale. Dwell in that space.
Try and get in the habit of waking up early, even if you only manage it on odd occasions. This time of year, the sun might rise later than you. Bask in the morning twilight.
Dress well and fully, even if you do not intend to leave the house.
After you wake up, go for a walk, be it brief of meandering. Do not listen to music, but rather hone in on the silence, the sound of your footfalls, the winter birds.
If you live near a park or otherwise pleasant natural area with benches, take with you a novel or poetry collection, and linger for a time to read. Remember to wear gloves so that you may turn pages without discomfort.
Open a window periodically throughout the day, even if it is cold. That brief blast of air will anchor you to the natural world.
Try to complete at least one chapter of reading per day. You must tend to your mind just as you tend to your body.
If you wish, you may compose handwritten letters to those you care for, or fear with whom you may be losing touch. A physical letter holds so much more weight than a text or email. Practice your cursive, make the letter truly lovely.
Eat dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, tea rather than soda, whole bread rather than white.
Keep a handwritten journal of your upcoming tasks, daily aspirations and idle musings. Maintaining a written record of one’s obligations helps to remind oneself of the obligations’ true scales so that they do not try to expand and sprout teeth in the mind.
Work hard. This season is stark and unyielding, as are you. You were built for this. Face the storm head on.
As night draws in, play some classical music in the candlelight. Close your eyes, tip your head back, and lean into it. Let the song flow through you in haptic ecstasy.
Before retreating to bed, record some of the positive experiences brought to you throughout the day: from tasks you completed successfully, to poetic thoughts that stuck you, to birds you spotted on your windowsill. Kindle your childlike sense of wonder, for there is so much in this world to wonder at.
Breathe. Always. Feel it.
How to set up a research journal
This is just one way you can set up a research journal but it's helping me tremendously so maybe it also works for you. My set-up is partially inspired by this video by Answer in Progress and I suggest you check out their curiosity journal.
Preparation
First you need a notebook. The trick is to find a notebook that you're not afraid to "ruin". We all want a really neat, aesthetic research journal, but the reality looks more like hasty scribbles, but that's okay, that's where the research breakthroughs happen.
I personally bought a cheap lined notebook from Søstrene Grene that I thought looked cute and put a sticker on it. That way I feel good about using it but I also don't mind when my handwriting gets messy because it was only like 3€.
You should also stock up on pens you like writing with. Different colour highlighters and post-its are also a good idea but not a must. Keep it cheap but comfortable.
Title Page
Here you should put down all the really important information: year, title, deadlines, word count, supervisors. Maybe add an inspirational quote to spice it up but keep it simple and relevant.
Key
This should either be your next or your last page. I personally use the last pages of my journal so I can add thing and find it easier. Your key is there to list abbreviations and symbols.
For example, I have different symbols for statistics, dates, new terminology, questions, breakthroughs, important notes and abbreviations for the most important terms in my field. It's shorter to write T9N than Translation.
The trick here is to have enough abbreviations and symbols to save time and effort but not so many that you constantly have to look back and forth between your page and key. They should be memorable and not easy to confuse.
Topic Mind map
If you hate mind maps you can skip this of course or use a different method but what helped me is to visualise all the topics that connect to my research project in a mind map. I then colour-coded the main groups of topics with my highlighters. It helps me to keep an overview on how many topics I need to do research on.
Proposal
If you're writing a thesis/dissertation it can be helpful to have a page set aside for your proposal and take some bullet point notes on methodology, chapter structure, research context, aims and objectives and think of some titles. You can also do this for your lit review and a list of works to include.
Hypothesis and Question Pages
I set aside four pages for this but you can adjust this to your needs. The first page is my hypothesis. It doesn't have to be fully formed yet, it can just be bullet points with five question marks. You can always revise and update it but it is important to keep an eye on what you're actually trying to find out.
The next idea is basically just stolen from Answer in Progress: a section for big questions, medium questions and little questions. These aren't necessarily hypotheses you aim to answer but questions you have about your topic that might be good to look into (maybe they lead somewhere, maybe they don't).
Research Notes
Now comes the big, fun part. Research notes are allowed to be a little messy but you should have some sort of system so you can actually find what you're looking for afterwards. I'm currently just looking at books and articles so that's what my system is based on. You can totally adjust this to include other forms of research.
What I do is that I put down and underline the author and title of my source. Underneath that I use my highlighters and mark the topic of the paper based on how I colour-coded them in my mind map. You might have to do this after you've finished reading. For example, if a text talks about censorship and dubbing in Germany, three of my topics, I will draw three lines in light blue, dark blue and red, the colours I chose for those topics. This way you can easily browse your notes and see which pages are talking about which topics.
When it comes to the actual research notes, I include the page number on the left and then take bullet point notes on whatever is relevant. These are often abbreviated and paraphrased but if something is especially important I will write down a full quote.
As mentioned earlier, I have a key of symbols I use so I can simply put down a '!' in order to differentiate a research breakthrough from a normal note. You can insert your own thoughts much more easily when you know you'll be able to tell them apart later on. At the end of each article, book or even chapter I write down my main takeaway.
Other Notes
This is your research journal and you can do with it what you want. I also added lists of films that might be relevant for my research, a list of databases and publishers to check for papers and tips on research strategy.
If you're working with interviews or surveys you could write down your questions. If you're nervous about your research you could include a list of reasons why your research project is important or why you're doing it. You can include a to-do list or a calendar to track meetings with supervisors. Anything that helps you with your research.
OKAY CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THE FUCK YOU SHIP A PACKAGE OF COOKIES TO A FRIEND WHO LIVES IN NEW JERSEY, ONLY TO HAVE IT NOT GET THERE ON TIME BECAUSE IT SOMEHOW ENDED UP IN GUAM?
I JUST
GUAM?
Unrealistic polymath genius: has six PhDs.
Realistic polymath genius: just has the one set of degrees, but their bachelor’s, their master’s, and their doctorate are each in a different field, and they’d be happy to explain – at great length – how the three relate to one another.
the cruel choice between pdf (free) vs physical copy (annotatable)
Optical Astronomer: chronically tired, hates clouds, hates the sun
Radio Astronomer: sitting in the shade sipping lemonade while the big dish goes wheeee at 10 am
X-ray Astronomer: cries about the cost of a satellite launch
it rocks you know what 17776 is, I know so few people who’ve read or interacted with it at all and it remains one of my all time favorite pieces of writing to date
i am very fond of it :)
dearest followers go read 17776 if you haven't already. probably best experienced on desktop.
Listen to your elders
So last week I posted abut the importance of downloading your fic. And then three days later AO3 went down for 24 hours. No one was more weirded out by this than I was. But while y’all were acting like the library at Alexandria was on fire I was reading my download fic and editing chapter eight of Buck, Rogers, and the 21st Century. And also thinking about what I could do to be helpful when the crisis was actually over.
So first off, I’m going to repeat that if you’re going to bookmark a fic, you really need to also download the fic and back it up in a safe place. I just do it automatically now and it’s a good habit to get into.
But let’s talk about some other scenarios. Last October I lost power for over a week after hurricane Ian. Apart from not having internet or A/C I did find plenty to do, I collect books so I had plenty to read, but maybe, unlike me, your favorite comfort reads aren’t sitting on a bookshelf. So let’s do something about that, shall we?
In olden times many long years ago around 1995 we printed off a lot of fic. It was mostly SOP to print a fic you planned to reread and stick it in a three ring binder. And that’s totally valid today too, but you can also make a very nice paperback with a minimum amount of skill and materials.
Let’s start with the download; Go to Ao3 and select your fic, we’ll be working with one of mine. This method works best with one shots, long fic tends to need a more complicated approach. Get yourself an HTML download
Open up the HTML download and select all then copy paste into any word processor. Set the page to landscape and two columns, then change the font to something you find easy to read, this is your book, no judgement. This is all you have to do for layout but I like to play a little bit. I move all the meta, summary, notes to the end and pick out a fun font for the title:
No time like the present to do a quick proofread. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first typeset. On to the fun part.
Now you’re going to need some materials: 8.5x11in paper ruler one sheet of 12x12 medium card stock (60-80lb) scissors pencil pen or fine tip marker sheet of wax paper white glue two binder clips 2 heavy books or 1 brick butter knife
You’ll also need a printer, if you’re in the US there is almost a 100% chance your local library has a printer you can use if you don’t have your own. None of these materials are expensive and you can literally use cheap copy paper and Elmers glue.
Print your text block, one page per side. Fold the first page in half so that the blank side is inside and the printed side out:
use the butter knife to crease the edge. Repeat on all the sheets. When you’ve finished, stack them up with the raw edge on the left and the folded edge on the right. I used standard copy paper, because you’re only printing on one side there’s no bleed to worry about. Take the text block and line everything up. Use the binder clips to hold the raw edge in place.
Wrap the text block in the wax paper so that the raw edge and binder clips are facing out. I’m going to use my home built book press but you don’t need one, a brick or a couple of books or anything else heavy will work fine.
Once the text block is anchored down, take off he binder clips and get out the glue.
You can use a brush but you don’t need one, smear some glue on that raw edge.
Go make a margarita, watch The Mandalorian, call your mother. Don’t come back for at least an hour
In an hour smear some more glue on there and shift your brick forward so that the whole book is covered. This keeps the paper from warping. While glue part 2 is drying we’ll do the cover. Get out your 12x12 cardstock
Mark the cardstock off at 8.5 inches and cut it. Measure in 5.5 inches from the left and put in a score line with the butter knife (the back edge not the sharp edge)
Carefully fold the score line, this is your front cover. You have some options for the cover title, you can use a cutting machine like a cricut if you have one, you can print out a title on the computer and use carbon paper to transfer the text to the cardstock. I was in a mood so I just freehanded that beoch. Pencil first then in pen.
Take your text block out from under your brick. Line it up against the score mark and mark the second score on the other side of the spine
Fold the score and glue the textblock into the cover at the spine. Once the glue dries up mark the back cover with the pencil and then trim the back cover to fit with your scissors.
Voila:
I’m going to put this baby on the shelf next to the Silmarillion.
The whole process, not counting drying time, took less than an hour.
If you want to make a book of a longer fic, I recommend Renegade Publishing, they have a ton of resources for fan-binders.
Did I daydream this, or was there a website for writers with like. A ridiculous quantity of descriptive aid. Like I remember clicking on " inside a cinema " or something like that. Then, BAM. Here's a list of smell and sounds. I can't remember it for the life of me, but if someone else can, help a bitch out <3
literally though if you feel like your life is slipping through your fingers and every day goes too fast… try doing hard things, not just taking the easy route, like reading and making art and exercising and cooking a meal from scratch and journaling, doing these things without distraction, without being absorbed on a screen… the time will stretch and you’ll be reminded that life is long and beautiful if you make it so.