juxtaposition

Last week we continued our work with literary devices working on themes and their workhorses: symbolism and motifs. This week we’re looking at flashback and juxtaposition. Juxtaposition – is another theme workhorse so in the interest of continuity for our binge-listeners, we’ll start there. 

Juxtaposition

What is juxtaposition and why should you use it? Not exclusively a literary term, juxtaposition means to put two or more things close together to demonstrate the contrasts between them. 

Grammarly provides this guidance on when to use it:

• Strengthen an argument
• Create an emotional response
• Add deeper meaning.

Sufficiently vague? I thought so, too. Some juxtapositions are antithesis – “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” or a deafening silence, a sweet sorrow (also oxymorons, btw).

Full show notes out on the blog here.

How insanely inventive can your monsters be? Be like Bosch in your monster creation and think surreal. Also, what is the curse of exoticism? How can you make your fantasy cogent & relevant without resorting to exoticism?

It’s a big day for the Fearless Self-Love Podcast, as Andrea Catherine welcomes Sara Hughes-Zabawa as her new co-host. As Andrea’s business partner in the Fearless Self-Love Retreats, Sara has been a guest on previous episodes but is thrilled to join as a co-host. Sara is licensed clinical social worker and yoga instructor. Sara and Andrea welcome Dana Pulis to today’s podcast.

Dana is a big supporter of the Fearless Self Love Retreat, both as a previous participant and as marketing and communication consultant. Dana brings the hard-earned wisdom of her self-care hacks as a successful business woman to today’s discussion. She is a natural and unique leader. She is the owner and operator of Kinetic Marketing and Creative (https://kineticmc.com) and provides an overview of how she stays grounded and connected in a demanding profession and leadership role.

• Why giving time and space for emotions is Dana’s Number 1

• How to create time every morning for meditation, reading and “clearing the deck”

• How to Use the “delete” button to clear certain beliefs

Links Mentioned:

Dana’s website

https://kineticmc.com/

Abraham Hicks https://www.abraham-hicks.com/

Fearless Self-Love Retreat www.fearlessselflove.com

Sara Hughes-Zabawa’s  website

Show Highlights:

01:29 Easeful Living Practice

10:25 Introduction of Sara Hughes-Zabawa & Interview with Dana Pulis begins

15:02 How to live life with Juxtapositions

17:52 Dana reflects on the challenges of her childhood, leading her to start writing and learning about the power of words

22:57 Dana talks about how to be centered and grounded -- “natural, organic, hippy Dana”

27:07 How do you speak to yourself in moments of transition?

38:01 Dana discusses how to manage stress and stay grounded

41:20 Utilizing the “delete button”

52:40 Creating a culture of change for women who want to be a part of Dana’s professional business

1:03:18 Courageous Self-Care Tip

Favorite Quotes:

I don’t walk out that door until I know that I’m walking out that door set for the day. I’ve brought my whole person into my company and my whole person to myself.” -Dana Pulis

“Intentional living--that’s built in time, that’s built in structure, that’s built in self-care habits that allow you to show up as your best self.” -Sara Hughes-Zabawa

“Really good thinking comes forward in the right time when you’ve invested in it.” -Dana Pulis

“It’s just another day in this amazing paradise.” -Dana Pulis

“If we do these things long enough, they flow through us and we are one with what we do everyday.” -Dana Pulis

“I don’t believe I can be harmed anymore in most respects because I learned to carry with me my own safety and my own peace.” -Dana Pulis

“If there is no exposure or experience with failure or deep disappointment we aren’t as practiced in it.“ -Sara Hughes-Zabawa

We can’t control how other people show up, but we can choose our boundaries, and we can choose how much energy we allow them to take from us.” -Sara Hughes-Zabawa

“Nurture yourself, fill your brain with the good things. Learn on a daily basis how to navigate through every place where there is conflict and contrast.” -Dana Pulis

“Clear the deck: rage if you need to rage, let fear fly if it needs to fly. Whatever that emotion is, give it the place and the space and honor it.” -Dana Pulis

“If I encounter a difficult situation in my day, if I feel emotion coming through, I will just tell myself hang tight, put it in the parking lot, we’ll catch it tomorrow.” -Dana Pulis

“The biggest tool to change my thinking is delete or cancel or forgive the belief I have that is driving the results I don’t want. By doing that, I tell my brain, let go of that. I tell my brain we’re going to delete this thinking or this program and we’re going to fill it with this new program.” -Dana Pulis

“Allow all of yourself to show up.” -Dana Pulis

“The person who makes a mistake is the person who does something great.” -Andrea Bachman

Meet Guest:

Since launching her marketing and communications firm, Kinetic, in 2007 Dana Pulis has focused on moving businesses forward through creative marketing communications. Her intense focus has produced amazing results for a long list of local, regional and national clients. That focus has allowed her to dramatically grow her company, which has doubled in size since 2016.

Dana is a nationally-known marketing expert. She’s an award-winning writer, accomplished public speaker and respected business leader. She recruits top pros – account directors and project managers looking for the next challenge, and designers and writers looking to push their creative boundaries.

While her professional credentials are undoubtedly impressive, what makes Dana so fascinating is how she shows up everyday as her multidimensional self. She describes herself as a “hippy boss, wearing a pencil skirt and stilettos, while smelling like patchouli”. Dana’s ability meld her advanced self-care practices, including meditation and nutrition, with how she moves through the hard and fast paced world of business, provides lessons for all of us.

In February, Laurence Rickels stopped by Austin, Texas. Dr. Rickels, who is the Sigmund Freud Professor of Psychoanalysis at the European Graduate School as well as Professor of Art and Theory at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe, Germany, was in town as part of the tour for his latest book: Germany: A Science Fiction. During his visit, he also swung by UT-Austin's Digital Writing and Research Lab and was generous enough to sit down for the following interview.

In his new book, Rickels focuses on psychopathy as, quote, "the undeclared diagnosis implied in flunking the empathy test." He does so via an exploration of Germany's role in Cold War-era science fiction: from the Thomas Pynchon novel Gravity's Rainbow to B movies like 1962's The Day of the Triffids to the science fiction of Philip K. Dick. In addition to Germany, Dr. Rickels has written numerous works tracing connections between psychoanalysis, popular culture, critical theory, science fiction, and mourning. His books include The Case of California, The Vampire Lectures, a three-volume series entitled Nazi Psychoanalysis, and Spectre, in which Rickels turns his attention to Ian Fleming's James Bond. He's also the author of a recent article entitled "The Race to Fill in the Blanks: On (Animal) Testing in Science Fiction," which appeared in the 2014 issue of Philosophy & Rhetoric touched on in this podcast's premiere episode.

In our conversation, I ask Dr. Rickels about his use of the term "psy-fi," the impetus behind his new book, the relationship between his work and that of the late media theorist Friedrich Kittler, as well as the puns and juxtapositions that punctuate his pages.

This and all other Rhetoricity episodes are also available on iTunes and Stitcher.