Other | J.R. Johnson

Archive for the ‘Other’ Category

Curious Horses Change History

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, cool facts, history, knowledge on February 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Last night, we watched the original Ghostbusters, which is always fun. Coincidentally and just in time to inspire this post, today I ran across this article from Dan Lewis at Now I Know that opens with that film and evolves into a fascinating discussion of why firehouses have poles.

Curious horses, that’s why!

How Horses Created Firehouse Poles – Now I Know

…in the late 1870s, “David Kenyon of Company 21, an all-African-American firehouse in Chicago [. . .] reached the ground by sliding down a wooden pole normally used to bale hay for horses.” Kenyon realized that this could be made into a permanent feature…

Read the whole thing for more on why poles were not just a good idea, but critical for firefighters. Spoiler alert, it’s not just because sliding down poles is fun!

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Leveling Up

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, creativity, current events, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Storytelling is good for so many things: entertainment, shared cultural touchstones, lessons from elders, or other instruction manuals for living. Even so, speculative fiction has always been burdened by accusations that it is less able to comment on reality than, say, literary fiction.

I disagree.

In fiction or nonfiction, no matter the genre or approach, storytelling is always, always, grounded in the cultural currents from which it springs. It’s how we pass on what’s important, even if it isn’t always “real.” Whether it shows us futures to avoid, goals to achieve, values of importance or daily ways to survive, the work’s foundation always reflects its context.

On a related note, here’s a short document on surviving difficult times, written in the form of an RPG-style guide. It wouldn’t surprise me to see an actual game follow soon.

Because life and art are two facets of the same die. And we’re all just players, trying to level up.

“The idea that any of us can do everything is instant failure. We all have our own skill sets and our own passions and we will accomplish the most if each of us works within those arenas to do what we’re already good at, what we already care about. You don’t have to do it all. Just a little.”

— Bree Bridges

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*Photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa on Unsplash*

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Telling Stories for the Future

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, climate change, creativity, storytelling, Writers, writing on February 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“To care about climate change, you only have to be one thing, a human living on Planet Earth.”

— Katharine Hayhoe

(I submit that other animals and any Earth-bound aliens also qualify, but “humans” is a good place to start.)

If you are a creator concerned with the livability of the planet, this guide from This Is Planet Ed may be useful. It’s designed for works aimed largely at younger audiences, but the ideas apply across the board.

A Toolkit For Climate Storytelling

Whether you want to develop a whole show, a story line, or embed climate solutions in your character’s world, this guide offers ideas, strategies, and tips to help.

Because as my landing page reminds us:

“Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

— G.K. Chesterton

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Dreaming Sweet Dreams

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, poem, Thoughts, writing on February 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The cat lies dreaming

claws spread wide to catch the Moon,

Her bright wings outstretched.

The cat’s fine, thanks for asking:)

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*Photo by Nadezhda Nikolaenko on Unsplash*

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Of Course, Cuddles

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, cat tales, home on February 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“I’m sorry,” the vet said, “but it looks like Chewie’s teeth are in pretty rough shape.”

Hang on, what? I mean, he had bad nutrition and little care before we got him, but he’s not that old.

“See this line of tartar, and the inflammation in his gums?”

I could indeed see that. That’s why we asked about a cleaning.

“We won’t know how bad it is until we get him under and take x-rays, but it’s possible we may need to remove some teeth.”

Ruh-ro. That sounded not great.

We made an appointment. The day arrived. Today is that day.

/cue dramatic montage of us packing up a cranky cat, delivering said cat, and distractedly working while waiting for word on the cat

The phone rings.

“He’s fine.”

Phew.

“Only one tooth was very bad so we’ve removed it. He’ll need a couple of weeks with just wet food, pain management, and of course, cuddles.”

That we can do.

And this, gentle reader, is my cat story for the day. Join me later for the inevitable followup, “Shameless Cat Exploits Injury to Extort Excessive Number of Treats from Family.”

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An Absolute Treasure

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, good people doing good work, inspiration, kindness, taxes, Thoughts on February 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I recently had a bit of tax-related drama. I believe I’ve mentioned that I pay taxes in two countries, and that doing said taxes can be a bit of a pain. That’s particularly true when one receives unexpected mail from a tax agency requesting a complicated document within a given time frame.

All fine and good, except when the request gets stuck in the mail during a postal strike and that deadline is now looming.

I reached out to my accountant in a bit of a panic and heard back from her right away. Not only was she familiar with the form that needed to be filled out, but she could do it that day.

The whole process took about an hour in an otherwise unremarkable afternoon, but it brought home the value of people who are able and willing.

I wrote a note thanking her for being an absolute treasure.

Accounting is her profession, of course, and maybe this wasn’t a big deal for her. That said, her timely and thoughtful help was a big deal for me.

In a world that is often dark, it’s worth trying to bring a little light.

The nice part? This isn’t about heroism or constant perfection. It’s about doing what you can, where you can.

If we can do that, we can all be treasures too.

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An Endless Carnival of Snow

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts, winter on February 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“In reality, Little Ones, there are two winters. One made for kids; the other for adults. The one made for adults is always too cold and always too long. The one made for kids is always perfect. A kid winter is an endless and wild snow carnival where all the rides are free.”

— Carew Papritz

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Snow Squared

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, astronomy, moon, snowstorm, Thoughts, weather on February 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Tonight’s full moon is called the Snow Moon. How appropriate, as we are about to get hit with what people are calling Snowmageddon 2025.

How to see tonight’s full Snow Moon rise with the ‘Heart of the Lion’ before Valentine’s Day

The moon will be officially full at 8:53 a.m. EST on Wednesday (Feb. 12) and will be best seen at dusk at the moment of moonrise where you are. It will be in the constellation Leo, hanging above the bright star Regulus.

And since we’re talking storms, if you’ve ever wondered why some bring snow while others bring sleet or freezing rain, check this out: Severe Weather 101: Winter Weather Types.

We may not be able to see the moon tonight, if the storm is as dramatic as predicted, but it’s nice to know it’s up there!

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