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I picked up Museum Of The Missing by Simon Houpt about two weeks ago, and I think it's the first book I've really been able to read without interruptions from the new job. Not that I've been reading on the job or anything, but life has been...upheaved a bit, and it was good train reading.

It is rather big, though, and when I opened it I was immediately transported back to the textbooks of my high school years, because the layout is very, very similar.

The book is essentially an overview of art theft in the modern era; it talks a little bit about the Napoleonic wars, but that's really where it begins and most of the discussion forcuses on the 20th and 21st centuries, with particular though not overwhelming emphasis placed on Nazi war looting. For me, it wasn't necessarily useful, because I'd read other books that express in detail what's just summarised here, but it's a very good text for someone who either has no experience with art theft or who needs a quick summary.

In any case, the Louvre was hit again in 1939, by another aesthete with a very particular aesthetic, an art student who snatched Watteau's L'Indifferent and returned the painting a short time later, after removing the varnish.
--p. 84

Plus there's some great trivia. :)

The book looks like it's designed to fit into a class nobody's teaching yet. There are several art historians and a few law enforcement officers agitating for more focus to be placed on art crime, given it's a multi-billion-dollar industry based on the theft (and potential destruction) of unique objects, so perhaps that makes sense.

The real prize of the book is the appendix in the back: a visual directory of some of the most famous stolen art in the world. Whenever I read about art criticism or art theft I always run to the internet to look up the painting, so that I can get an image of it, and that's one thing the book does very well, both in the text and in the appendix. The back is fascinating to page through, a series of thumbnail images with artist information and blurbs about where and how the piece was stolen.

So in all, pretty enjoyable, but I can't really figure out who would buy this book. Anyone that interested in art crime is going to own books with much more in-depth reporting on it, and anyone not interested probably isn't going to blow money on a book of this size. I suppose it makes an interesting coffee-table book...

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So, quite a while ago I promised you guys a post on Presentation Performance For Introverts. I was inspired to do this when I attended a conference recently, but really it's been brewing for a long time.

It has always struck me as strange, at the conferences I've attended, that so many of the presenters are so bad at it, even when they're visibly not shy people. They ramble, they get confused, they speak in the most soporific, soothing monotone that puts people directly to sleep.

It baffled me for a long time because starting in my freshman year of undergrad I was rigorously trained in presentation technique. At least twice a year I had to mock-interview and present my portfolio, from my first year of undergrad up through my third year of grad school (when I also had to present and defend my graduate thesis). I had to present in most classes, because as theatre professionals we'd be expected to talk a lot about process to our teammates. I was competing, in a sort of nobody-really-wins way, with actors and dancers, people who are very comfortable in front of others, so I had to hit at least a certain level of competence.

I'm not a happy person when you put me in front of a crowd. I hate presenting and will do almost anything to avoid it. But I am very good at it, because I had it more or less beaten into me.

And I know how much easier it is on the psyche to give a good presentation than to get up onstage and promptly start dying.

So I thought I would write about some techniques that have helped me become, if not a dynamic presenter, at least a competent one, because most of the books and articles I've read on this subject suck. Protip: if you ever read an article whose title ends "For Introverts" you can assume that a majority of the advice will boil down to "don't be an introvert". Presentation advice in particular usually begins and ends with "Do it until you're comfortable with it".

The hell with those assholes. I will never be comfortable presenting. So this is not for people who are inexperienced. It is for people who are terrified. Although it's okay if you're terrified and inexperienced.

(Most of my how-to articles start with "Books about this suck". I should look into whether I have an attitude problem or whether everyone else is just more willing to lie.)

( Presentation Performance for Introverts )

Conclusion (Again)

This is all a lot to remember, and there's no reason you should freak out trying to do everything I've said here. For one thing, it'll probably give you some kind of seizure.

The point, the ultimate crux of all of this, is that there's basically nothing you can do to stop being afraid. This isn't about not being afraid; I can talk for hours about how the audience is made up of people just like you and nobody's going to judge you for existing and you will probably never see these people again. All that is irrelevant, because fear is irrational. If fear were rational, we'd be way less afraid of public speaking and way more nervous every time we got in a car.

All of this is about giving a good presentation while afraid -- knowing the formulas, knowing the social boundaries, and understanding what makes a good presentation. In the end, as with most things in modern life, it's about the importance of information, and how that information is expressed.

And now, some words from the experts:

How not to Powerpoint
Chicken Chicken Chicken

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And now for something if not completely different then at least slightly shorter...

A reminder -- because I keep forgetting myself -- Trace goes on sale tomorrow at ten am Central time. There will be a post on Extribulum, and the sales page there will go live; I'll also be posting on the various Copperbadge journals and mirrors.

If you're interested in a signed copy, you'll be able to sign up for that at LJ, Dreamwidth, or IJ; all you'll need to do to sign up is post a comment to the announcement post (which will have more info about signed copies in it). Signed copies are $30 with the profits going to charity. Otherwise the book will sell for $12 hardcopy and $3 ePub, and will be available free as a PDF download.

Also of note, Sunday at 2am is when Daylight Savings ends (or begins, I can never god damn remember) in the US, which means Saturday night all statesiders should set their clocks back an hour. Or prepare to be late to everything on Monday....

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The drama of this day. Seriously, I don't even.

For resolution's sake, I should share the information that due to some actions he took yesterday, the guy who's been harassing his boss has been fired. Straight-up walked out with a box of his stuff and a security guy at his elbow. I'm not going to get into details because it's fairly specific and kind of awe-inspiring, actually, but suffice it to say he is gone, and I don't have to worry that he will storm over to his boss (who now sits next to me) and require me to jump in and brain him with Nero's plant pot.

Also my mother called me at work, never a good sign, but again omg do I even have to talk about this. Mum was born and raised in Canada and as she gets older she is becoming more and more the stereotypical polite Canadian. It'd be hilarious if it didn't mean I had to pep talk her into kicking a little ass.

I'm going to make myself a bowl of popcorn, possibly finish off the tiny amount of vodka left in my freezer, and watch stupid cartoons all night. Everyone who wants to join me better get in the blanket fort now.