Bump ini from 1.3.5 to 1.3.8

README.md

@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ Some things I'd planned for the site were:
 
 Most of that didn't pan out, as I had a lot to learn, but I plan on getting there in a future re-do of this project.
 
+### Building
+
+Build new versions of the site with:
+```sh
+yarn run deploy # see package.json for the script this executes
+```
+
 ### Road-blocks
 
 _I will be documenting things that I struggle with here._

package.json

@@ -22,15 +22,17 @@
     "gatsby-transformer-remark": "^2.6.6",
     "gatsby-transformer-sharp": "^2.2.3",
     "gh-pages": "^3.1.0",
+    "graphql": "^15.5.0",
     "hover.css": "^2.3.2",
-    "lodash": "4.17.14",
+    "lodash": "4.17.19",
     "node-sass": "^4.12.0",
     "prop-types": "^15.7.2",
     "react": "^16.8.6",
     "react-anchor-link-smooth-scroll": "^1.0.12",
     "react-dom": "^16.8.6",
     "react-helmet": "^5.2.1",
-    "react-icons": "^3.11.0"
+    "react-icons": "^3.11.0",
+    "sharp": "^0.28.3"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "babel-jest": "^24.8.0",

src/components/book-review/book-review-entry.js

@@ -1,14 +1,11 @@
 import React from "react";
-import AOS from "aos";
 
 import FluidImage from "../utilities/fluid-image";
 import Modal from "./modal";
 import Tag from "./tag";
 
 import "./styles/book-review-entry.scss";
 
-AOS.init();
-
 class BookReviewEntry extends React.Component {
   constructor(props) {
     super(props);
@@ -31,7 +28,7 @@ class BookReviewEntry extends React.Component {
           isOpen={this.state.detailsOpen}
           closeModal={this._closeDetails}
         />
-        <div className="box" onClick={this._openDetails} data-aos="fade-up">
+        <div className="box" onClick={this._openDetails}>
           <article className="media">
             <div className="media-content">
               <div className="columns">

src/markdown/blog-posts/creativity-for-the-busy-person.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: "Creativity for the Busy Person"
+author: "Ben Davis"
+date: "2020-10-16"
+class: "blog-post"
+type: ""
+---
+
+Last year, I graduated from college and began working full-time. During this time, I also got back into producing electronic music after falling in with a new group of friends who were interested in that sort of thing.
+
+I had started making music as a sophomore in college after googling "how to make dance music." After a year spent in fascination with the craft, I rather abruptly hit what is commonly referred to as "the wall." This was when everything I made started sounding the same, I doubted my own abilities, and became discouraged. Coupled with a growing disillusionment with the music industry, I gave up.
+
+After two years away from music, I met the aforementioned friends, who introduced me to some of the "underground" stuff they listened to. I was immediately smitten with this new musical subculture. It was authentic, exciting, and created mostly by artists that didn't have dollar signs telling them what they should or shouldn't make. To me, this was music in its purest form. At this point, I started fooling around with FL Studio and Serato again, with a much more stoic attitude than before.
+
+I was soon producing stuff that I actually liked listening to. It was contemplative, true to my own experiences, and no longer guided so much by the boundaries of genre.
+
+Working full time meant that a large part of most days couldn't be dedicated to music, which was sometimes aggravating when a particularly intriguing idea popped into my head. But I found that the busier I got, the better my output was at work <em>and</em> at home. I've compiled a few thoughts about being busy and creative below:
+
+- Creativity is like weight training. You need to be persistent over time. Once you break down your creative brain and run out of energy, you'll eventually return with renewed fervor, a little better than before.
+- You should try to do a small amount of idea-creating every day, even if just for a few minutes. If you can't actually create them, merely thinking about ideas will still allow your mind to explore interesting thoughts in a way that is conducive to future creative output.
+- Organize and optimize your workflow so that the time you spend on things is worthwhile.
+- Absorb creativity of all kinds as much as you are able.
+- Creativity is just a skill that anyone can learn.
+- Not all creators are artists. Artists do create things, but being one is more of a lifestyle.
+
+And if you've made it this far, here's a little bonus..A track I produced that will remain private: [The Curiosity of the Cat](https://soundcloud.com/zbxd/the-curiosity-of-the-cat-original-mix/s-Crp8dgl01VZ). I still don't have anything public, in fact, but I hope to this winter.

src/markdown/blog-posts/the-importance-of-consistency.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+title: "The Importance of Consistency"
+author: "Ben Davis"
+date: "2021-06-09"
+class: "blog-post"
+type: ""
+---
+
+Something I've been thinking about a lot over the last year is goal achievement. Most people have a few particular things they want to get better at. Whether you want to lose weight, learn a new language, or teach yourself to write music, there are a lot of similarities in the journey of improvement. Goal achievement translates to any task, but for me, the biggest lessons in this arena have come from running.
+
+I really enjoy running as a lifestyle sport because I generally think that it has a lot to offer as a metaphor for other things. As a former collegiate track and cross country athlete, I am lucky to have a baseline of fitness that makes going on a jog pretty easy. But there was a time, shortly after college, when I a possessed a bitterness that precluded me from getting out the door to run. I had a rough experience during the last couple years of my time as a college athlete, and as a junior and senior, I wanted nothing more than to be done with my running committment.
+
+The break I took after graduation was nice at first, but pretty soon, I sensed I was missing the foundation that grounded many other parts of my life. Lacking an exercise routine definitely hindered my adjustment to full-time work. Luckily, I had a friend living nearby that was *very* persistent about getting me to run with him. The interesting thing here is that he was much more adamant about making progress and getting better, whereas I was happy to get outside. We quickly made a habit of meeting at 6:05am on the street corner outside my apartment each morning.
+
+I wasn't expecting to enjoy running again, but that's exactly what enabled me to welcome it back into my life. The absence of pressure gave way to a healthy appreciation for the simple joy of the body in motion. And after a couple of months, I was in really good shape again. I reluctantly agreed to start doing some workouts and signing up for races. Unfortunately, Covid prevented those races from happening, but overall, I had already learned a lot about the merits of consistency.
+
+When we are passionate about making something happen, the inclination is often to try to do too much too soon. Passion can lead to burnout, so it's important to be mindful of how you are choosing to balance your approach. Dedicating several hours per day to something can help you make leaps and bounds in the beginning, but is detrimental when end up needing to walk away from something for multiple weeks. I believe the best philosophy is to focus on how *often* you can do something, not how *much*. This is because the most difficult part is usually making the decision to start something. The more days you can do that, the better. And if it's not your day, then be lenient with yourself.
+
+That's why I make my focus getting out the door, not running.

src/markdown/book-reviews/at-the-existentialist-cafe.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Existentialism is my favorite philosophical school of thought that I have discov
 I was immediately hooked when I first read the descriptions of the ways that early existentialists in France would go about their days, hanging out in cafes to debate philosophical ideas and later attending jazz clubs to dance, drink, and chat. At these clubs,
 <br />
 <br />
-<b>"...they would admit anyone 'so long as they were interesting - that is, if they had a book under their arm.'"</b>
+<b>"...they would admit anyone so long as they were interesting - that is, if they had a book under their arm.'"</b>
 <br />
 <br />
 This is all very indie. The existentialists were a creative bunch, constantly reading, writing, making music, and dancing. They were the type of people that you can count on having late-night intellectual talks with. I'm in. I wanna hang out with these people.

src/markdown/book-reviews/educated.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ type: "entry"
 Tara Westover's childhood is shaped by a ruthless father and acquiescent mother. Before the main text begins, we read a disclaimer that the book is not about Mormonism. But Mormonism is what Tara's father, Gene, draws upon in any of the instances when he shames Tara for being a whore, denies medical care and education to his children, or blames the government for an array of conspiracies against honest, god-fearing citizens like himself. My instinct is that Tara included this disclaimer not to ironically condemn Mormonism, but rather to separate people like her father from those who don't use faith as an excuse for contemptible or illogical action.
 <br />
 <br />
-Many of us go through life wishing to be different than everyone else so that we can stand out as an icon in a cookie-cutter society. At least I do. Technological advances brought us social media, which does little more than to make us wish we were one of the people that gets endless validation for everything they do. But as for the people doing all the validating... few of them will every stand out. Tara never had to choose to be different. Her circumstances, built on survivalist and extremist foundations, immediately separated her from any other person she could ever hope to meet. This is why her outlook on dance class is interesting to me:
+Many of us go through life wishing to be different than everyone else so that we can stand out as an icon in a cookie-cutter society. At least I do. Technological advances brought us social media, which does little more than to make us wish we were one of the people that gets endless validation for everything they do. But as for the people doing all the validating... few of them will ever stand out. Tara never had to choose to be different. Her circumstances, built on survivalist and extremist foundations, immediately separated her from any other person she could ever hope to meet. This is why her outlook on dance class is interesting to me:
 <br/>
 <br/>
 <b>"I loved the sensation of conformity. Learning to dance felt like learning to belong."</b>
@@ -35,13 +35,13 @@ In an interview with Tara that I found on Youtube, she said this:
 <b>"An educated person is not someone that can recite an army of facts and knows a lot of things, but rather it is someone that has the flexibility of mind. Someone that is willing to explore her own prejudice and has acquired a depth of understanding that allows her to see the world through another point of view."</b>
 <br/>
 <br/>
-Interestingly, I also recently came across the other quote from Vitalik Buterin (the created of the cryptocurrency Ethereum), which strongly reminded me of Tara's:
+Interestingly, I also recently came across the other quote from Vitalik Buterin (the creator of the cryptocurrency Ethereum), which strongly reminded me of Tara's:
 <br/>
 <br/>
 <b>"Education is ultimately much more than simply memorizing individual facts or even learning individual concepts. What matters most: learning how to think, learning how to reason, and learning how to learn."</b>
 <br/>
 <br/>
-It is this emphasis on process over result that I believe individuals to fully reach their potentials.
+It is this emphasis on process over result that I believe enables individuals to fully reach their potentials.
 <br />
 <br />
 Favorite quotes from "Educated":

src/markdown/book-reviews/flow.md

@@ -20,7 +20,4 @@ The goal of <em>Flow</em> is to underscore how we may go about decreasing "psych
 The idea of flow is extremely powerful to me. It drew me to this book, as I desired to understand more of its facets and figure out how it can be leveraged in my own life. M.C. is adamant that the influence of external factors on the quality of subjective experience can be greatly reduced by individuals with fantastic control over their consciousness. This reminded me of Frankl's <em>Man's Search for Meaning</em>, from which it is evident that the human mind is capable of prescribing meaning even to horrific events such as the Holocaust. I feel confident in the author's supposition that control over the mind's processes is a skill - like any other - that can be practiced and perfected. Flow is accessible to anyone, regardless of living situation or background, no matter how absurd that may seem.
 <br />
 <br />
-There was a small stretch where I was considering labeling this as a two-star book. After the impact of the beginning, where M.C. lays out the framework of his thesis and invites the reader into the world of flow, I got a sense of stagnation for a short while. I had trouble relating to some of the anecdotes about individuals who had managed to find flow in their lives, and I believed M.C. to be disapproving of some things that I would argue can induce flow if received properly. But, just as I was starting to wonder, he pivoted to existentialism and the meaning of life. I felt that he expounded upon these things beautifully, and the book wrapped up in what I felt to be a wonderful way.
-<br />
-<br />
-I read this book during a period of significant struggle, and its profundity played a significant role in helping to reframe my perspective for the better. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially if you are enduring hardship.
+This book's profundity played a significant role in helping to reframe my perspective for the better. I recommend this book to all, especially those enduring mental hardship.

src/markdown/book-reviews/garbage-land.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+author: "Elizabeth Royte"
+class: "book-review"
+coverImage: "book-cover-images/garbage-land.jpg"
+date: "2020-09-20"
+tags: ["Non-fiction", "Environment", "Science"]
+title: "Garbage Land"
+type: "entry"
+---
+
+An investigative piece that examines the lifecycle of waste, <em>Garbage Land</em> serves to elucidate perhaps the largest environmental issue that no one thinks about. Author Elizabeth Royte, a resident of New York City, begins by quantifying her own household trash (for which the U.S. averages 4.5 lbs per person, per day), picking through it to separate the detritus into categories. She then examines, first-hand, some of her city's processes for handling waste as she learns about the more general state of affairs for dealing with refuse.
+<br />
+<br />
+I had this book on my list for simply because I was curious about the destination of my trash. I wasn't shocked by too many of the specifics (most stuff gets buried, while what can be recycled is processed in dedicated facilities), but I admit that I had no idea how privatized all of this was. We leave the free market to take care of even the things we don't want: forgotten toys, clothes, decaying food, and even our poop and pee. Of course, this means that industry practices are dictated by what is profitable, not what is most efficient or least impactful on the environment.
+<br />
+<br />
+A landfill is a place filled with a countless assortment of items. Some aid the natural process of decay, while others take thousands of years to break down. These dumps release methane into the air and leachate (contaminated moisture) into the soil. There are ways to control these byproducts, but the corporations that control the sites aren't very interested in best practices. They also tend to force landfills on poor communities that they tempt with hefty sums of cash. Citizens of these communities end up with higher rates of asthma and other diseases induced by the pollutants outgassing from the fills.
+<br />
+<br />
+People want to be eco-conscious citizens, Royte believes, citing the increased sales of "green" products and services. There are myriad reasons for recycling paper until it cannot weather the process any longer (after about 4 cycles, the fibers become too short to be used in things like cardboard): Trees are not cut, oil is not used in logging, water and electricity are not used for wood pulping, and the materials are not sent directly to a landfill. Recycled metal cuts air pollution 85% and water use 40%. Even sewage can be refined into "biosolids", a nitrogen rich fertilizer. But despite these creative solutions to conserving materials for future use, municipal waste still accounts for only 2% of the national amount. Every 100 pounds of product generates 3200 pounds of waste.
+<br />
+<br />
+The "hierarchy of waste", Royte concludes, is **reduce consumption** > **reuse consumer goods** > **recycle/compost the rest**. We should spend less time trying to figure out how to get rid of things, she thinks, and instead not put ourselves in the position of getting rid of them in the first place. The path forward is not towards better products, but fewer products, something that may not be realized without sweeping changes to the structure of this consumerism-fueled country.
+<br />
+<br />
+<em>Garbage Land</em> answered many of the questions I had about trash, but a footnote that I'll add is that it was published in 2005. There's the possibility that much has changed since then, so I'll look into it. I also couldn't help but thinking that this book would have been much better as a documentary. I was lost by much of the imagery surrounding machines I didn't understand and operations I couldn't imagine. But, in 2005, before everyone watched Netflix, a book might have been a more powerful way of reaching a wide audience. Much has changed in so little time.
+<br />
+<br />
+"Emptiness - cleanliness - was a condition so brief as to be nearly undetectable."