13 seconds?! Impressive!
Japanese Speed Gift Wrapping, an art and cultural tradition of careHow to wrap presents
And for more details, here’s a tutorial series on How to wrap presents Japanese-style.
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Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
This May Come in Handy
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, learning new things, Thoughts on December 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Goodness and Light
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, holidays, look for what's good, Thoughts on December 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
It’s that time of year again, when the holidays come knocking and we’re all busy busy busy.
What’s that, you say? Must be time for a holiday round of quotes and pretty pictures? Right you are! I’ll get on that, and also dig through my special folder of fun and nonsense, looking for things that may excite and delight.
Whatever you’re planning in the next little while, I hope you have time for the sort of goodness and light we could all use these days.
Happy holidays!
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Positivity Bias
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thanksgiving, Thoughts, ways to be happy on November 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate today! Even if this isn’t your holiday, I hope you have a moment to remember the good things in your life.
The Right Attitude to Gratitude – The Atlantic
Gratitude is so effective that if you could bottle it, you’d be a billionaire. But as with so many beautiful parts of life, gratitude is not something you can market like a drug or nutritional supplement: It happens to be completely free—but not so easy to attain. Thankfulness requires neither payment nor subscription, just a commitment to stand up against your limbic system, which is lying to you with its negativity bias—saying that this lovely morning is actually pretty annoying, and that everyone is dissing you.
And if you want to learn more about overcoming your all-too human negativity bias, check out the full article. Because while evolution may be good for the species, it’s focused on survival. It doesn’t care if you have a good day.
Unlike me. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
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Ripple Effects
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, kindness, Thoughts on November 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Kindness Day! Not that you should limit kindness to just one day, but a little reminder can be useful. And knowing that people around you are more predisposed to be kind today?
That’s a good thing, and it’s catching!
If you’re going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!
Some hardhearted souls may even question whether small acts of kindness really matter. Spoiler alert: They do!
…
“And here’s the beautiful part: When someone receives kindness, they don’t just feel better, they become better.”
The bonus is that a little kindness is good for both the recipient and the giver. Win win!
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
— William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice
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Graveyard Poem
Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, death is inevitable but so is beauty, haiku, writing on October 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Live this moment
Feel this day this sun this breath
I loved those things too.
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That Halloween Thing
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, candy, Halloween, new experience, social contracts, statistics, Thoughts on October 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I recently received an emergency request from a friend for a critical mission: Could I please run over to the old Toys ‘R Us and check for a certain costume for their toddler?
That’s right, I was asked to visit Spirit Halloween.
Sure, I said, no problem. I’ve never been to a Spirit Halloween before, it’s bound to be interesting.
And it was. I’m not a big Halloween person (I believe I’ve mentioned my childhood scars from The Amityville Horror; thanks, Dad! and also thanks for not moving into that house that looked a lot like That House when we were kids).
My last real costume was a ghost (although I did attend one party as Trinity from The Matrix which was fun; still have the leather trench coat), so it’s been a while since I really celebrated.
I do remember that there were very definite differences between good candy and not-so-good candy.
As many of us prepare to do That Halloween Thing, I thought I’d share this highly scientific analysis of candy preferences:
The Ultimate Halloween Candy Power Ranking.
The social contract of Halloween is simple: Provide adequate treats to costumed masses, or be prepared for late-night tricks from those dissatisfied with your offer. To help you avoid that type of vengeance, and to help you make good decisions at the supermarket this weekend, we wanted to figure out what Halloween candy people most prefer. So we devised an experiment: Pit dozens of fun-sized candy varietals against one another, and let the wisdom of the crowd decide which one was best.
Or just buy what you like and share it with the neighborhood. Either way, have fun!
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To Dream As You Will
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, independence day, Thoughts on July 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Fourth of July!
“I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls, the right to breathe and the right to vote, the freedom to choose their friends, enjoy the sunshine, and ride on the railroads, uncursed by color; thinking, dreaming, working as they will in a kingdom of beauty and love.”
— W.E.B. DuBois
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This Beautiful Country
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, quotes on July 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Canada Day!
Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die.
— Pierre Trudeau
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Happy to Be in the North
Posted in Holidays, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, solstice on June 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Today the sun will reach its northernmost latitude. It will sit above the Tropic of Cancer, which means that today is the longest day in the northern hemisphere, and the shortest day in the southern hemisphere.
On this Summer Solstice, will you have one longest day or two? – The Weather Network
This marks the start of astronomical summer for the northern hemisphere for this year.
And in parts of Canada, we have a bit of added fun.
The entire country will experience the longest day of the year on Friday the 20th.
However, if you live anywhere from northern and eastern Ontario to the Atlantic coast, Saturday the 21st will be the exact same length as the 20th, down to the second. This includes Timmins, North Bay, Ottawa, and Bainsville in Ontario, plus everywhere to the east — all of Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Check out the rest of the article for more on the astronomy of it all, where the name comes from, and what a solargraphy is (pretty, that’s what).
I hope you enjoy the solstice, no matter where you are. And if you (like me) get two, even better!
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Happy Holiday!
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025 on June 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Juneteenth, everyone! Today’s holiday marks the day Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger entered Galveston, Texas in 1865 and issued General Order No. 3. In essence, it said “The war’s over, and the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery is the law of the land.”
I’ve written about the holiday before:
Our Newest Federal Holiday (and my Confederate great great grandfather)
As Dr. Shane Bolles Wash said, “It immediately changed the game for 250,000 people.”
“You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.”
― Booker T. Washington
Here’s to freedom, for us all.
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