Archaeology of a Burnout: Why I spent my summer in a hole

Talk given at Donut.js meetup, September 2019

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPdiNR1hbsY&ab_channel=DonutJS

Transcript

1. ARCHAEOLOGY of a BURNOUT why I spent my summer in a hole
2. I’M BACK, DONUT LOVERS ! - KARA SOWLES @feynudibranch
4. Usually asleep Constant, desperate need to escape from work Disconnected & disillusioned
8. “You know there used to be an old trash pit behind the lilacs, right?”
16. I need a break
19. So I emailed my entire company, logged out of everything, deleted my to-do list, and shut my computer.
21. Late 1700’s - 1913: blockhouse built for farming 1913 - 1924: summer leisure house 1924 - present: expanded “modern” house
23. there’s always t r a s h
25. 19th century
26. 20th century
27. Our Trash Pit living memory: my father remembers a large trash pit as a young child oral history: my great grandfather shot rats in the trash pit as a kid material evidence: damn does that metal detector got hot right here specifically
30. Did you find any GOLD?
31. Did you find any SKELETONS?
33. late 1950’s - early 1960’s early - late 1950’s circa 1948 - 1952 fill dirt 1960’s rototilled for veggies
34. ultimate family activity ??
37. honestly trash is gross
38. "What are we supposed to be looking for?" Stanley asked him. "You're not looking for anything. You're digging to build character. It's just if you find anything, the Warden would like to know about it." - Holes, by Louis Sachar
39. doing nothing productive family stuff digging watching TV
41. “The point of doing nothing, as I define it, isn’t to return to work refreshed and ready to be more productive, but rather to question what we currently perceive as productive.” Jenny Odell How to Do Nothing
44. As a little kid...
45. as a young teen...
47. as an adult...
48. learning to look closely without overwhelm or boredom
52. crinoid column fossils
53. crinoid column fossils biology of lifeforms millions of years ago
54. mushrooms
55. mushrooms mycelial networks aka the wood wide web
56. mushrooms mycelial networks aka the wood wide web the forest as a superorganism
57. old nails
58. old nails 20th century: round 19th century: square
59. old nails 20th century: round 19th century: square manufacturing changes during the industrial revolution
60. sewer piping tile fragments
61. sewer piping tile fragments waste management history
62. sewer piping tile fragments waste management history current waste management practices
63. So what?
64. closure
65. Learn more on... beach trash → mudlarking ground trash → privy / bottle dump digs going nothing → how to do nothing modern garbage → rubbish! burnout → burnout archaeology tv → time team your life → motel of the mysteries special thank you to Dr. Fred Wiseman for his illuminating class on Vermont history from an indigenous Abenaki perspective
66. ARCHAEOLOGY of a BURNOUT why I spent my summer in a hole