Lisa MacKay-Ring

“The Benefits of Science” by Lisa MacKay-Ring is a derivative of “Amusement Park, Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone” by AcquaClara, CC BY 2.0 This assignment was edited with Canva.

Thriving 2015 by Matt MacKay-Ring CC BY-NC 4.0

Thriving? 2026 by Lisa MacKay-Ring CC BY-NC 4.0

The photo that I selected for this assignment is one of a construction site taken 10 years ago in Minneapolis. The original photo tells a very different story, one of tearing down an old building to make way for something new that is more fitting to its surrounding structures. What was here is out of place with the implied trajectory of a city on its way up. I cropped it the way that I did to rid the photo of the prospect of interpreting it as one telling the story of promise and improvement. By eliminating the skyline of buildings that represent success, the viewer is only left with the juxtaposition of blight with the logo of a financial investment firm based on responsible planning for the future. Clearly this is one risk that didn’t work out according to plan. It calls into question the sense that this is a firm to be trusted with one’s future.

Cropping Concepts used for this assignment: crops to tell a different story, crops to change and emphasize a focal point, and leaves out unnecessary details. Photo was cropped and color was adjusted using Gimp.

“AVIDAC — First Argonne Computer (1953)” by Argonne National Laboratory, image licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Some rights reserved.

“Corporate Motivation” by Jason Shaw (AudionautiX.com) song licensed under CC BY 4.0

I selected this music because of the title. (My husband has been grinding it out in the Fortune 500 for the last 25 years and until he got some relief from the “new normal” of hybrid work, he frequently complained about Muzak blaring in the office to provide a screen of privacy for conversations.) I like the idea that this woman is taking that common office practice to the next level. It is her job motivate underperforming workers by pumping this inspiring music directly into their cubicles until they meet their production quotas. Middle management has helpfully provided a list of which employees require her assistance to overcome their flagging enthusiasm for their assigned tasks.

I think that the meaning of the picture has changed by this combination and my interpretation. The image of this woman was captured at a time of great optimism that “computers were going to improve our lives” and now that hyped narrative seems a little dubious to many of us. I might be projecting here but Jason Shaw’s title of “Corporate Motivation” for a piece tagged as “bouncy, bright, and uplifting” really speaks to the ambiguity I feel about the benefits and drawbacks of the technological progression of our culture. Benefits for whom? If is is such an improvement for humanity, why do we require such interventions to boost our motivation?

“Provocation Incorporated” by Lisa MacKay-Ring derivative licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

“It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” – Rumi.

Hey Everyone! My nama is Lisa. Somehow, I have lived in Tallahassee for the last 15 years; I still don’t know how that happened. Currently, I am a PhD Candidate in the Religion Dept at FSU with an expected graduation date of Spring 2026. (If I suddenly disappear from this course in a couple of weeks, my suspicions that a doctoral defense will kill me were confirmed.) I am slightly amused that I just mentioned one of the banished words for this course by answering the question of what I am studying. I work as the Undergraduate Academic Program Specialist in FSU’s Math Dept.

I grew up on 500 acres in mid-Michigan and earned my BA in history and French from UM-Flint. I paid for my undergrad degree by milking cows. I moved to Tampa in 2002, earned my MLIS at USF, and was a GA for the department. I spent a couple of years in both Gainesville and Overland Park, KS where I worked as a school library media specialist before I in landed here in Tally. It was supposed to be “temporary” move. (For those not “in the know,” we are home to the world’s strongest magnet, and it keeps people from leaving and hurricanes from landing!) During this time, I also earned my MDiv from Asbury Theological Seminary. Because, why not?

My hobbies align with every other middle-aged lady blog post on the Internet: hiking, gardening, reading, cooking. Last summer my husband and I combined our passion for walking and our preference for “under tourism” to complete the Wicklow Way. It was a success as we saw thousands of sheep and only one other American!

Something that interests me about this class is that when I took its ancestral equivalent in one of my past lives and at that time it was mostly about PowerPoint. That leads me to why I am here this semester. What I hope to gain from this course to lose some of my obsolesce and antiquarian ways. I just spent the last 3 years reading the diaries of 19^th century priests. Since I am not adjunct teaching for FSU this semester, I have some “free time” with only a full-time job and a manuscript to edit. I am really looking forward to being creative and learning some new skills with you.