Talking Tuesday: The Paradox of Technology

This week I read Andy Crouch's slim volume called The Tech-Wise Family, which is a kind of primer to thinking through the proper place of technology in the home.  While his approach deals most specifically with internet-connected technology, he makes the point that his approach can be applied to all technology in the home.  It is well worth the read and I highly recommend the book.  My only complaint is that the book is padded out with Barna research that is interesting, but is presented twice throughout the book (once in info-graphic form, and then in dense paragraph form; I found the double presentation distracting).  But Crouch's book is extremely important as we navigate the new landscape dominated by technology, and increasingly, screen-based technology.

I wanted to share a short passage from the book that is near the beginning that I thought was a great statement about what technology is.

"Here is the heart of the paradox: Technology is a brilliant, praiseworthy expression of human creativity and cultivation of the world.  But it is at best neutral in actually forming human beings who can create and cultivate as we were meant to.

Technology is good at serving human beings.  It even--as in medical or communication technology--saves human lives.  It does almost nothing to actually form human beings in the things that make them worth serving and saving.

Technology is a brilliant expression of human capacity.  But anything that offers easy everywhere does nothing (well, almost nothing) to actually form human capacities.

Since forming our capacity to be human is what family is all about, technology is at is best a neutral factor in what is most important in our families.  But it is very often not at is best, because we are very often not at our best, maybe especially in our daily lives with those closest to us.  In the most intimate setting of the household, where the deepest human work of our lives is meant to take place, technology distracts and displaces us far too often, undermining the real work of becoming persons of wisdom and courage."

~Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family.  Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2017, 66.  Emphasis in original.

The book goes on to detail ten commitments a tech-wise family can make to put technology in its proper place.  We already do a lot of the things he talks about, but I still have some food for thought about further steps we can take to make our home a peaceful place that cultivates human beings of wisdom, courage and deep character.

Orkney

I do not love this dress.  It is the second of the Sarah York for Cloud 9 voile dresses (the first being the Hebrides dress which I do like a lot and plan to keep around) and I think it isn't the most flattering print.  It is a very pretty print, but it doesn't "read" that well at a distance, I think.  

It suffered a lot of the same construction issues as the Hebrides, since I made this one in tandem with it.  I did fix the interlining issue at the hem on the front end, which means it looks neater on the inside, but the interlining is still an issue at the shoulders and neckline because of how the whole thing hangs.  

The shoulders did loosen on this one with wearing, but it still isn't the most comfortable thing.  I also really miss having pockets, especially at church, where I'm quite paranoid of locking my keys in the car on accident.  We drive an hour to church, so this is a quite unpleasant thing to happen (and it has, several times!)

I did manage to wear proper sandals the day I wore this dress, and I didn't mind wearing the dress to church, but I'm just not sold on it.  I'll probably keep it for now to have a "nice" dress in reserve, but I really like the Hebrides dress better, and I'm not sure I need two "nice" dresses that aren't getting regular wear.

See--the print is really pretty!  Just hard to see at a distance.  It also reminds me of a print I bought a few years ago that I ended up not liking that much once I made it into a dress.  I think I thought this dress would read darker than it does.

Still, I'm glad I made it because I learned so much in the process and it isn't a total waste in terms of wearability.  

~reading, listening, watching~

A non-sewing post--what?!?  I wanted to write a quick little post about what I'm reading, watching, and listening to at the moment.  I've been spending insane amounts of time in the car the last couple of weeks with camp commutes, and I bought some new things to keep me going.

~listening~

1. The Lumineers--I bought two of their albums and like both very well, although Cleopatra is particularly good.

2. Mumford and Sons--I know, I know.  Always late to the party, but I tried them a few years ago and couldn't understand the appeal.  Now I get it.  Wonderful lyrics, great folksy-sound, love it.  I particularly like Sigh No More, although Babel is a close second.

3. The Strumbellas--they are like a more upbeat version of the Lumineers, and I like them a lot too.

4. Bryan Adams' Bare Bones Tour--this is a favorite album that I return to again and again.  I've been a Bryan Adams fan since the early 90s when he came out with Waking Up the Neighbors, but I really loved his MTV Unplugged album.  The Bare Bones tour is like a better version, with some new songs included in the familiar canon.  Plus it is live, and he is funny.

5. The Head and the Heart--I discovered this group while I was casting around for the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons.  I bought two albums and like both very well.

6. Hozier--oh man.  I had this album on repeat for almost a solid week.  It is so good.  He needs to make a second album, because I'll be all over it.

7.  All five Twilight albums.  On repeat.  All awesome.  'Nuff said.

8. Outlander soundtracks (all three): I put these on at home to put together a cabinet and it was the perfect background for a long project.  I do listen to these in the car sometimes, but I prefer to listen to them at home.

If you like any of these, I also recommend Laurence Fox's debut album (he of Inspector Lewis fame); it is very very good.

~reading~

My reading list is kind of insane right now, since I'm working through some story research.

1. Something Other than God by Jennifer Fulwiler.  I used to read her blog regularly (and contribute to the Seven Quick Takes linky) but never got around to reading her book until now.  It is VERY good.  Entertaining and thought-provoking.  I dog-eared a lot of pages.

2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  I read this book my freshman year in college and definitely did not appreciate Lewis' mastery.  I decided I needed to revisit it after finishing Jen Fulwiler's book.

3. The Temperament God Gave You/The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse/The Temperament God Gave Your Children, by Art and Larraine Bennett.  I read the first two and am hoping to start the last one soon.  The first two were quite illuminating, as I had thought that my husband and I were quite similar, but it turns out that we are quite different.  I am a classic melancholic, whereas he is a classic choleric.  I'm still figuring out my kids, but the books offer a lot of strategies for communication, problem-solving, and parenting the different temperaments that I'm finding helpful to think through.

4. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon.  I'm re-reading this one in fits and starts because I want to get through the whole series again before Tell The Bees That I Am Gone comes out (and yes, I know there isn't a publication date on it yet, but I've not read the later books as often as the first five, so I think it is good to revisit them in order).  I also find this book the hardest to read of the whole series because of all the hard things that happen in it, so I'm having to set it aside pretty often.

5. The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch.  I've not started this year, but it is high on my stack.

6. A bunch of books about writing by K.M. Weiland and Martha Aldersen.

7. The Power of Silence by Robert Cardinal Sarah.  A friend recommended this to me recently when I was asking some questions about something I'm writing, and I look forward to diving into this one soon.

8. Volatile Bodies: Toward a Corporeal Feminism.  This book was suggested by a book of critical essays about the Twilight series that I read earlier in June (The Twilight Mystique, also very good and thought-provoking.  I found it a helpful way to process my need to return to the Twilight series last month; I'm sure I'll write more about it all later).

I have a few other novels on my stack, and a book about the Silk Road, but those are rather further down on the priority list.

~watching~

1. Only Lovers Left Alive.  The Hollow Crown.  I Saw The Light.  I basically want to watch everything Tom Hiddleston has done right now.  He's so stinkin' talented.  And smart.  And thoughtful.  Basically all the things my favorite actors share.

2. The Arrangement.  I heard about this show sometime last fall and the premise seemed interesting.  I'm watching it on amazon and find it more compelling than I expected.  It's very meta.

3. Quantico, season 2.  I loved season 1 of this show, and watched it in a rush last August.  I started season two before abc cut me off, so I've been waiting for it to hit netflix.  The second season is following a similar structure to the first and I am hooked.

4. The Exception.  I watched this movie a few weeks ago, and can't really decide what I think of it.  Christopher Plummer and Janet McTeer were amazing as the Kaiser and his wife, but the main storyline seemed a little forced in places.  There were some weird things that didn't fit.  But I liked it well enough to finish it, so I guess that is something.

5. Life.  Robert Pattinson continues to amaze me with the interesting projects he's picked since finishing Twilight (I don't really understand why people don't give him any credit as an actor; I think he is an incredibly subtle actor).  This one is about the photographer who captured James Dean, and the strange relationship between the two men. I'm looking forward to it.

6. Song to Song.  Michael Fassbender sings.  The end.  I've been waiting for this one to come out for a little while and I'm eager to watch it.

7.  Two Women.  As if Ralph Fiennes couldn't get any better, I discovered last year that the man speaks Russian!  And now has done a Russian language film.  Well done, Mr. Fiennes.  My admiration knows no bounds.  The man is a brilliant and thoughtful actor.

8. Fugitive Pieces.  I find Stephen Dillane to be a really interesting actor in a quirky kind of way, and try to seek out the projects he appears in.  I think I might even have seen this when it came out a few years ago, but I think it is worth revisiting.

That 1940s dress

This dress was hard to photograph because it is so light, but I really like it.  The fabric print has a 1930s/1940s feel to it, and the lightness of the lawn makes it an ideal summer dress.  I could easily imagine this dress on a WWII-era housewife.  

The fabric is from Moda, a company I've not really bought from before, but I will be looking at again.  The fabric was really lovely to work with, even nicer to wear, and I really like the vintage vibe of their prints. 

Not much to say about construction, as this is just like everything else I've made lately.  I've discovered that a good back elastic length is 6"; I've noticed that almost all my dresses that survived last summer need to be snugged up several inches in the back, so it is good to have that as a guide.

I thought patch pockets went better with the 1940s feel of the print.  I could easily imagine this on a feedsack.

My happy face at a successful dress project.  

And Keds again.  

A happy late addition to the summer rotation!  (This might even work in my spring rotation; it has layering possiblities and I always like to have a lawn dress or two in my spring).  I'm to the point of feeling pretty happy with my rotation this year.  I'm really not wearing my separates much, but I'm okay with that, I think.  To everything a season.  I have enough dresses for variety and I don't have to think much about getting dressed in the morning, which is a plus at this stage of my life.

Blue Forest

Sorry to drop off the face of the earth there for a bit.  We've had some technical issues and I've been without the computer I use for blogging for a while.  Also, life has been busy.  I spent 3.5 hours a day on the road last week with camp commutes and I spent the time in between just trying to recover and keep up with the house stuff.  This week has been a bit better, and next week all the kids will be in camp together so that will be lovely.  

I have a backlog of things to share, starting with a few last minute summer makes.

Let me just state at the outset that I love this dress!  It is double gauze, and my first time working with that substrate.  I had bought some double gauze in the late spring for another project later this year, but I decided to get a different print for a summer dress, and I'm glad I did!

Double gauze is incredibly soft and breathable--it has a lovely hand and feels wonderful against the skin.  I think this will make a nice transition dress in the early fall when it is still crazy hot but I don't want to be wearing a summer palette.

I ended up cutting the pocket on the cross grain because I was trying to be thrifty with my yardage, but looking at the pics, I realize that the leaves go in slightly different directions on the dress vs. the pocket.  Oh well.  I think it is busy enough that it doesn't matter so much.

I really love the colors on this dress.  I think it will go well with my Chinook scarf once the weather cools a bit.  And you can see I'm in Keds.  I imagine most of my summer photos will include Keds, as I'm nursing a mysterious foot injury and the only shoes that don't make me want to scream are Keds.  I'm used to spending my summers in sandals, so this is new territory for me.

I went for the kanga pocket because I wanted fewer edges to finish.  Double gauze is VERY fray-prone, so I had to be careful about seam finishes.  In retrospect, I probably should have French seamed everything, but I couldn't work out the math.  I ended up pinking the edges and then using a dense zig-zag stitch to mimic overlocking.  It worked well everywhere except the underarms where I typically clip the curves.  I did zig-zag the clipped curves (which I've done with my linen dresses and other things that need more seam finishing) but the double gauze proved a bit resistant to the finish there.  Hopefully it holds up over time.  I thought about adding a tiny bit of seam binding to the curved edge to reinforce it.  I might still try that.

Trusty Keds.  They are different from what I remember wearing 25 years ago, and apparently the last the company uses has changed, but the footbed is still comfortable.  I'm still figuring out my ideal size, however.  These blue ones are an 8 regular, but I bought some red ones that were 7.5 wide, and I think I could have gone with a 7 wide and called it good.  Maybe on the next pair.  

I wish the screen came with a touch and feel option--this fabric is just so soft!!  It was like wearing air all day (in a good way).

I intend to keep my eyes out for more double gauze that is dress-worthy--a lot of double gauze is very juvenile or comes in very light prints, but Cloud 9 seems to have some good prints out there.  I'll definitely be including the fabric in my warm weather sewing plans for the future!