Good thought for the day.
Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
For when you’re stuck on a project and thinking that everyone knows how to do this but you.
Hallelujah! Leonard Cohen’s almighty struggle with rejected song that became a classic
Hallelujah is one of the most famous songs ever written, yet a new film reveals it took Leonard Cohen 180 attempts over a decade to perfect – only for it to be rejected by his record company. Nearly 20 years went by before an animated ogre, Shrek, turned the song into a monster hit.
Is this a little nuts? Maybe, but you won’t always know what’s “worth it” ahead of time. Tastes change, editors are human, and in the end, you’re the artist. Stick to it.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
You know you’re a writer when you look down to see that your sleeve is soaked in blood* and think, “For your next action story, remember the sensation of blood-saturated fabric as it cools against the skin.”
* It was nothing serious, just a Band-Aid failure after a routine blood draw, but it bled. A lot.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
Thanks to a short night and a long workday I’m feeling sluggish. The cat is helping by following me around and randomly flopping onto his side, then purring up a storm. It’s adorable and quite soothing, the perfect foil to an otherwise deeply average day.
But what if you don’t have a cat, or the cat you do have is severely lacking in chill? Never fear! The internet is here to help.
- Build your own purr machine: The Internet has a Cat! Meet Purrli, the Online Cat Purr Generator.
- Or listen to music that has been scientifically designed to relax cats. Seems to work on humans too: Website Lets You Listen to Cat Purrs Whenever You’re Stressed–And Can Calm Your Kitty, Too
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Posted in Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cats, inspiration, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
More than 100 Years before 3D Printers, We had Photosculpture
We did?
One of the most exciting technological advances of recent decades is arguably the 3D printer, allowing creators to turn their wildest inventions into real-life products. But 3D printers are far from the first foray into producing realistic, 3-dimensional replicas. Photosculpture is a process dating back to the 19th century, using a series of photos taken in the round to make a sculpture.
How did that work?
Fascinating. Technology changes, but a lot of what humans think is cool stays the same.
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, technology, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
Tuesdays don’t have to be all bad. You may remember I mentioned a call for optimistic fiction about our climate future. Here is the resulting free collection.
Imagine 2200: The 2022 climate fiction collection | Fix
This year’s three winners and nine finalists bring new perspectives to the vital genre of climate fiction, with short stories that offer visions of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope. Join us in celebrating an uprising of imagination with 12 stirring, surprising, and expansive looks at a future built on sustainability, inclusivity, and justice.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cli-fi, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing | 1 Comment »
Technologically speaking, today has been an uphill slog over broken ground interspersed with patches of quicksand.
Because sure, it’s Monday.
Shortly after 6:38a.m. this morning, my email decided it was done. Just, done. This happened a couple of years ago, just far enough in the past that I don’t remember all the details and have to start from scratch.
I have spent the hours since then attempting to resuscitate the mail system without scrambling all my carefully filed material. So far no luck.
/cries out to the heavens, pounds head against desk, sighs heavy sighs
Fine. You know what, Evil Gods of Tech? Challenge accepted.
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #whydoesmycomputerhateme?, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
I like October. Fall is well on its way, the sky’s blue a crisper, clearer shade, and any evening is improved with a hot beverage, a blanket and a good book.
That said, I could do without all the horror.
Yes, Halloween is this month, but be it in writing, games or movies, I am not a big fan of the horror genre. (Candy corn, yes. Knife-wielding murderers and zombie plagues? No thanks!) One of the first adult movies my father took us to was The Amityville Horror, and let’s just say it stuck with me.
Why Horror is Good for Your Mental Health (Sorry, still not convinced!)
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Tonight is a full moon, the Hunter’s Moon, and we’re also celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. I’m testing a breast-only version of Samin Nosrat’s recipe for buttermilk-brined turkey and will also find some way to use the orange-walnut butterscotch I made today.
For that and much more, I am thankful.
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Posted in Holidays, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Samin Nosrat, Thanksgiving, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
A young family member tried her first root beer float this past week. She preferred straight ice cream, in the end, but it got me thinking about the complex history of what appears to be a fairly simple treat.
From a societal standpoint, the road to such a dessert requires an understanding of the science of crystallization as well as carbonation, plus the ability to package and distribute the ingredients while maintaining temperature and freshness.
From an entrepreneurial perspective, who came up with the idea of merging frozen dessert with thirst-quenching beverage in the first place?
A lot of folks, it seems.
Meet the people who claim to have invented (some version of) this classic dish:
- Robert McCay Green, 1874, Philadelphia
The Delicious History of the Root Beer Float
As he was serving soda to his costumers, he ran out of ice to put in their drinks, so he decided to put ice cream in them to make them cold.
- Also claiming credit? Fred Sanders, Philip Mohr, George Guy, and Colorado gold mine owner Frank J. Wisner, 1893, Colorado.
The Root Beer Float Was Invented In 1893 By A Gold Miner In Colorado – South Florida Reporter
The full moon that night shined on the snow-capped Cow Mountain and reminded him of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. He hurried back to his bar and scooped a spoonful of ice cream into the children’s favorite flavor of soda, Myers Avenue Red Root Beer. After trying, he liked it and served it the very next day. It was an immediate hit.
Whether these somewhat fanciful stories reflect the full truth we can’t know. What we do know is that by the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S. was awash with ice cream floats.
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Why so many instances of similar inventions, all around the same time? That takes us back to the bit about this particular creation being part of a complex system of social, technical and economic factors. Simultaneous invention happens all the time, with ideas big and small.
In the Air | The New Yorker (Malcolm Gladwell)
The history of science is full of ideas that several people had at the same time.
So don’t worry that your idea for a vampire story or cake recipe or video game or mousetrap has already been done. The world needs new creations, and new versions of old inventions, all the time. Learn from what’s gone before, of course, but if a project captures your attention, pursue it.
It hasn’t been done your way. And your way may be exactly what the world needs right now.
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Posted in Food and..., Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, history, innovation, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
To me, the grounds for hope are simply that we don’t know what will happen next, and that the unlikely and the unimaginable transpire quite regularly. And that the unofficial history of the world shows that dedicated individuals and popular movements can shape history and have.
— Rebecca Solnit
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Posted in Other, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers | Leave a Comment »
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