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Site Note

Posted in Favorites, tagged , , , , , on August 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

For years, I was what you might call a desultory blogger. I’d pop on when I had something I wanted to note, or when I realized it had been too long between posts. Ironically, the first year of the pandemic was a particularly dry spell in terms of my online communication. 

That changed in 2021. As a way to kickstart my output and overall creativity, I decided to post daily. I’ve talked about that goal before, and I’ve mentioned the benefits of sticking with a streak. It’s been a good move for me in a number of ways, but it has produced a significant number of posts. WordPress is a useful platform in many ways, but it can get cluttered. Or maybe I’ve just dropped the ball on the keyword tags, but whatever. It’s a lot.

My mother asked me for a list of my favorite posts the other day. I think she wanted to share what I’m doing with a friend, but didn’t want to overwhelm them with a deluge of posts. 

That’s fair.

I do have a Favorites tag but it’s a bit haphazard and also still pretty extensive. So I put together a quick selection of some of my favorite posts and added that list to the sidebar. You may need to scroll down a little but you’ll see that the widget is called (very cleverly, I thought) “Favorite Posts.”

Now, these aren’t all of my favorites and they aren’t necessarily the most popular posts; that honor tends to go to the “quote and a pretty picture” post category, or ones that feature fluffy cats. (Maybe I’ll go back and tag those posts for easy access.)

I get it, some days you just need a pick-me-up.

But if you’re curious, check out these favorites. Comfortable with a little chaos? Dive right in with a random post. 

Whatever path you decide to take, enjoy.

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Photo by George Hiles on Unsplash

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Behavioral Science for Creatives

Posted in Favorites, Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on June 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Some days it feels as though all the ideas have been done. We went for a walk today and passed a posse of girls in the park. I did a double take, because it was as if I’d been pulled back in time to the 1980s, at least as far as their outfits went. Are those high-waisted (deeply uncomfortable) stiff denim jeans I see? Check. What’s that, a Madonna-esque bustier? Check. Could that be a pair of Converse sneakers and a fluffy scrunchie? Check and check.

That got me thinking about Ötzi the Ice Man, a Neolithic-era man whose body (with clothing) was discovered in the South Tyrol Alps between Austria and Italy more than 5,000 years after his death.

Ötzi’s equipment is the oldest and best preserved in the world. His Copper Age clothing and weapons were frozen in the ice with him and therefore remained well preserved to this day.

— Ötzi’s New Clothes

If you follow that link, you’ll see that his clothes are surprisingly stylish.

I have no idea exactly why someone murdered Ötzi (not for his excellent goatskin coat, apparently), but it was probably for a reason we would at least recognize, if not condone: love, hate, anger, fear, revenge, greed, justice or security, just to name a few. Human needs, human abilities, human issues haven’t changed all that much in millennia. Even so, it would still be fascinating to know the specifics of Ötzi’s story.

In some ways, it can be the same with story ideas. The ingredients are the same, it’s how you mix them up that matters.

On the Quest for Originality, Recombine the Familiar – By Adam Alter – Behavioral Scientist

Often, the best way to get unstuck on the quest for originality is to combine two old ideas to form a new one, rather than searching for a single, novel creative nugget…. Trying to do something completely new is a recipe for paralysis. 

If you’re stuck on a project and looking for a way forward that doesn’t feel like a 5,000 year old retread of the same old same old, this approach might help. 

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Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

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Who Needs Libraries? Everyone

Posted in Favorites, Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on May 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Like many of you, I love libraries. Like, a lot:

Run, Don’t Walk | J.R. Johnson

Passport to Wonders | J.R. Johnson

Keys to the Universe | J.R. Johnson

Inquiring Minds Want to Know | J.R. Johnson

Books Neverending | J.R. Johnson

Keys to the Universe | J.R. Johnson

Lovely Libraries | J.R. Johnson

What Now? Check Out a Ukulele at the Library | J.R. Johnson

I don’t love that some people are trying to control what others can read in libraries. If this is happening in your neighborhood, what can you do?

How to Protect Your Local Library From Book Ban Campaigns – Bloomberg

Library boards, school boards and legislatures are becoming battlegrounds in a push to censor books. Communities are fighting back.

I was also glad to see this policy on Intellectual Freedom And Controversial Material at my childhood library: 

The libraries have a responsibility to serve all segments of the county. Materials useful to some may be objectionable to others.  Selections are based solely on the merits of the work in relation to building the collections and to serving the interests of readers. The libraries attempt to represent all sides of controversial issues. Their function is to provide information, not to advocate specific points of view.

Reading preferences are a purely individual matter; while anyone is free to personally reject books and other materials, this right cannot be exercised to restrict the freedom to others.

Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, and no cataloged item will be placed on closed shelves, except for the express purpose of protecting it from injury or theft. Items may be placed on temporary reserve for specific class assignment or projects.

Responsibility for what children and young adults read and view rests with their parents’ and/or legal guardians. Selections will not be inhibited by the possibility that controversial materials may come into the possession of children or young adults.

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Photo by Marissa Daeger on Unsplash

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Happy Book Birthday, v39!

Posted in Entertainment, Favorites, Likes, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2023| 5 Comments »

Today is the day: Volume 39 of Writers of the Future is live!

Where to buy: Amazon | Apple Books | Audible | B&N | BAM | Bookshop | Google Play | Indigo | Kobo | OverDrive Libraries | Powell’s | Vroman’s

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Here’s the synopsis:

In the world of speculative fiction…

Your favorite authors…

Have selected the best new voices of the year.

24 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators 

3 Bonus Short Stories by Kevin J. Anderson • L. Ron Hubbard • S. M. Stirling 

Art and Writing Tips by Lazarus Chernik • L. Ron Hubbard • Kristine Kathryn Rusch 

Edited by Dean Wesley Smith • Jody Lynn Nye 

16-page color gallery of artwork • Cover art by Tom Wood

Check out the stories Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye and others chose as the best of the best.

Be amazed. Be amused. Be transported … by stories that take you by surprise and take you further and deeper into new worlds and new ideas than you’ve ever gone before….

Twelve captivating tales from the most exciting new voices in science fiction and fantasy accompanied by three from masters of the genre.

A miracle? An omen? Or something else? One day, they arrived in droves—the foxes of the desert, the field, the imagination….—“Kitsune” by Devon Bohm

When a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua meet on a beach in Key West, fireworks go off! But that’s just the background. —“Moonlight and Funk” by Marianne Xenos

Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., faces one of his funniest and most perplexing cases ever—an enlightened ogre, a salamander with low self-esteem, and a raging fire dragon terrorizing the Unnatural Quarter! —“Fire in the Hole” by Kevin J. Anderson

The Grim Reaper, trapped in an IRS agent’s dying body, must regain his powers before he dies and faces judgment for his original sin. —“Death and the Taxman” by David Hankins

In a metaverse future, a woman who exposes falseness in others must decide what is real to her—the love she lost or the love she may have found. —“Under My Cypresses” by Jason Palmatier

Vic Harden wasn’t lured by glory on a daring mission into the reaches of outer space—he was ordered out there by his editor.—“The Unwilling Hero” by L. Ron Hubbard

Dangerous opportunities present themselves when an alien ship arrives in the solar system seeking repairs. —“White Elephant” by David K. Henrickson

With her spaceship at the wrong end of a pirate’s guns, a former war hero must face down her enemies and demons to save Earth’s last best chance for peace. —“Piracy for Beginners” by J. R. Johnson

Years after the Second Holocaust, the last surviving Jews on earth attempt to rewrite the past. —“A Trickle in History” by Elaine Midcoh

When I said I’d do anything to pay off my debts and get back home to Earth, I didn’t mean survey a derelict spaceship at the edge of the solar system—but here I am. —“The Withering Sky” by Arthur H. Manner

High-powered telescopes bring galactic life to our TVs, and network tuner Hank Enos figures he’s seen everything—until the day an alien boy stares back. —“The Fall of Crodendra M.” by T. J. Knight

Knights, damsels and dragons, curses and fates foretold—the stuff of legends and stories, but unexpectedly perverse.—“Constant Never” by S. M. Stirling

Determined to save his wife, Tumelo takes an unlikely client through South Africa’s ruins to the heart of the Desolation—a journey that will cost or save everything. —“The Children of Desolation” by Spencer Sekulin

When a terrorist smuggles a nuclear weapon into London, a team regresses in time to AD 1093 to assassinate a knight on the battlefield, thereby eliminating the terrorist a millennia before his birth. —“Timelines and Bloodlines” by L. H. Davis

The Grand Exam, a gateway to power for one, likely death for all others—its entrants include ambitious nobles, desperate peasants, and Quiet Gate, an old woman with nothing left to lose. —“The Last History” by Samuel Parr

You will love this collection of the best new voices because, as Locus magazine puts it, “Excellent writing…extremely varied. There’s a lot of hot new talent.”

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The Light of Longer Days

Posted in Favorites, Other, tagged , , , , , , on April 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

We have our first flowers in the backyard. Violets, small and brightly colored, peeking up through the felled branches and unkillable Creeping Charlie and pine litter.

I know that many of you have had green grass and flowers for weeks now, but not so in my neighborhood.

Here, I wait. And watch. And finally, the light of longer days helps the first amethyst petals brave an unpredictable spring.

Welcome, little ones.

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 Photo by Bruce Kee on Unsplash

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Our Ancestors’ Dreams

Posted in Favorites, Science!, tagged , , , , , on April 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A century ago gasoline-powered cars really came into their own. (In 1920, if memory serves, Ford sold a million Model Ts for the first time.) Now, a hundred or so years after that milestone, we’re living in the midst of another significant change. 

Mr Man and I were discussing electric vehicles today. As an example, in the space of a block we spotted half a dozen Teslas. Regardless of what one thinks about the company (or its owner’s shenanigans), it has been a pioneer and visible symbol of the shift from fossil fuels to electrification. Despite decades of resistance from established interests, that change is now happening at a rapid pace. 

That also got me thinking about the speed of technological change over humanity’s history, which brings me to this article. 

Technology over the long run: See how dramatically the world can change within a lifetime

…we live in a time of extraordinarily fast technological change. For recent generations, it was common for technologies that were unimaginable in their youth to become common later in life.

The graphic captures this well. 

Click for more detail. Used under CC-BY, credit to author Max Roser

It makes me think of my grandparents, born around the time of that Model T milestone. They lived to see the moon missions, internet and cell phones.

It’s been said before but it bears repeating. We’re living our ancestors’ dreams. Let’s make them good ones.

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Photo by Simon Zhu on Unsplash

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Moses of Her People

Posted in Favorites, Holidays, Likes, Other, tagged , , , , on March 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Today is Harriet Tubman Day. Who was she and why do we celebrate her?  

Harriet Tubman: Facts, Underground Railroad & Legacy

Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading enslaved people to freedom before the Civil War, all while carrying a bounty on her head. But she was also a nurse, a Union spy and a women’s suffrage supporter.

When I was young we lived across the street from a mansion. A massive Victorian from the 1870s, it had a wrap-around porch and beautifully kept grounds. Flowers bloomed behind wrought iron fences and mulberries spilled over onto the sidewalk. One Halloween, the woman who owned the house took at look at my ghost and my brother’s Batman and invited us inside. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a scary story.) 

We were greeted by a wide foyer, elegant wooden paneling, high ceilings and chandeliers. Our neighbor gave us a brief tour and then, perhaps looking through our costumes to the skin underneath, said, “Once upon a time, this house was part of the Underground Railroad.”

Based on the age and location of the house I don’t think that’s likely to be true,* but I didn’t know that at the time. The story helped bring to life the books I’d read about runaways, slave catchers and the transformation of a young girl with a disability into a savior of her people.

How to Experience the Lasting Legacy of Harriet Tubman

Pressing my hands against the bricks of the home Harriet Tubman built, I closed my eyes and listened to the wind rustling between the leaves of the trees surrounding this place where she lived and worked as a free woman, awaiting a message from the Underground Railroad conductor and Union spy.

She continues to be an inspiration and so to her, to my ancestors and all those who braved so much during that frequently harsh and terrible time: thank you.

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you… Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

— Harriet Tubman

* The specifics of this particular house aside, there was an active spur of the Underground Railroad running through the region. The Bellefonte Art Museum down the road hosts a permanent exhibit showcasing its operations.

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Photo of the Harriet Tubman Mural by Kirt Morris on Unsplash

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Bilbo It Up

Posted in Favorites, Likes, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“The truth is that the world is full of dragons, and none of us are as powerful or cool as we’d like to be. And that sucks. But when you’re confronted with that fact, you can either crawl into a hole and quit, or you can get out there, take off your shoes, and Bilbo it up.”

― Patrick Rothfuss

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Photo by Amanda Swanepoel on Unsplash

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Mostly Love

Posted in Favorites, Likes, tagged , , , , , , on August 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Transcript available on YouTube, or here: “Failures of Kindness”

Do all the other things, the ambitious things — travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers (after first having it tested for monkey poop) – but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness. 

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Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

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Meditation on the Multiverse

Posted in Favorites, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on July 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Drabble for a Monday morning.

Today might be crap. Wake to rain, the car won’t start and the kid’s hamster is under the weather too.

You’re out of coffee.

Steam builds and you dash headlong toward the Scylla of anger and the Charybdis of self-doubt. You seriously consider a cup of despair.

The boss asks you to step in last-minute for the most important meeting of the year or the kid’s hamster dies or it really is uphill both ways or (fill in the blank here) and you think, “I just… can’t.”

I hear you.

But. 

What if this is the ‘verse where you can?

— J.R. Johnson

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Photo by Tom Henell on Unsplash

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