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Poison Garden

July 30, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

A random guide that may or may not be related to the last scene I wrote: A Naturalist’s Guide to the World’s Most Lethal Plants

Not every threat in nature has fangs. Some sit quietly, rooted in soil, dressed in flowers, laced with poison.

And since we’re on the topic, what about the (mostly but not entirely historical) trend of poison gardens, and how are they related to the history of medicine?

Welcome To The Poison Garden: Medicine’s Medieval Roots

Visitors to the Poison Garden are allowed to look but not touch, says head gardener Trevor Jones. “They’re not allowed to stand too close to the plants. They’re not allowed to smell them or touch them or taste any of them, because they do all have the ability to kill you.”

In this as in so many other cases, knowledge is power!

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Creativity: A Tip

July 29, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

“Instead of looking at things, look between things.”

— John Baldessari

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Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

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Don’t Wait

July 28, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

Perseids meteor shower may be a bust; skywatchers’ best bet is this week – NPR

A ritual of summer is gazing up at the night sky in the hopes of seeing meteors, also known as shooting stars, flash across the night sky. While the annual Perseid meteor shower usually gets the most attention, a better bet might be a couple of less-famous meteor showers that will peak on Tuesday night.

It’s summer and that means it’s shooting star time, but what should we do when the astronomical calendar aligns in ways that make it harder to see what is usually one of the best meteor showers of the year?

Don’t give up. Instead, get outside early. Days early.

Peak Perseid will happen August 12th, right around the full moon. All that light will make it hard to see the meteors. 

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing else going on overhead, though. If you can, head out tomorrow night and look up. 

…the moon will be only about 25% full this week, when two meteor showers known as the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids reach their peak on the night of July 29 going into July 30.

And mark your calendars for next year’s Perseids, which should be excellent.

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Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

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At the Top of the List

July 27, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

I had the interesting experience of trying to explain my latest writing project to someone at a party last night. In French.

Do I speak French? I do not!

It was a hilarious experience (what exactly is “ethical thief” in French?) and I learned a lot. The best part was just diving in and figuring it out.

Did I get everything right? 100% no.

Did I get enough right to make it work? Yes.

And that’s what mattered. It also helped me think through what was important about the story and what could fall by the wayside.

So if anyone out there is aiming for perfection ? (And I include myself in this.) Maybe just don’t. Instead, focus on the important bits.

And having a good time is right at the top of that list.

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Photo by Darlin Gonzalez on Unsplash

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For the Better

July 26, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

Celebrations are fun, and we have another cluster of birthdays around now. That has me thinking about the passage of time, and how change happens even when you don’t notice it. Am I the same person I was twenty years ago? I am not. 

Hopefully that’s a good thing!

“Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”

— David Bowie

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Photo by Eduardo Barrios on Unsplash

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What to Say?

July 25, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.

— George Eliot

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Photo by Vika Strawberrika on Unsplash

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Pallas Athene

July 24, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

We’ve been watching a fun and insightful series called Stuff the British Stole (there’s a podcast too if that’s your thing). One episode focused on the Elgin Marbles, a collection of sculptures that were removed from the Parthenon in the early nineteenth century and are now famously (and controversially) housed in the British Museum.

Beautiful as they are, those sculptures provide only hints of the temple’s original magnificence. And having been fortunate enough to have visited both the Marbles and their original resting place, I found this article interesting:

A 3D Model Reveals What the Parthenon and Its Interior Looked Like 2,500 Years Ago | Open Culture

Standing atop the Acropolis in Athens as it has for nearly 2,500 years now, the Parthenon remains an impressive sight indeed…. One enthusiast in particular, an Oxford archaeology professor named Juan de Lara, has spent four years using 3D modeling tools to create a 3D digital reconstruction of the Parthenon at the height of its glory…

Check out the video:

The Parthenon 3D

Here’s to Athena, goddess of wisdom!

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Photo by Shpëtim Ujkani on Unsplash

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A PSA for the Future

July 23, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

I’m a little busy today with this, that and the other thing, so here’s today’s public service announcement: 

Make a will. And for extra credit, make sure whoever comes after can access your passwords.

Yes, it’s boring. Yes, it’s a little scary.

But your family will thank you.

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 Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

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Aim Higher

July 22, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

True strength lies in admitting weakness, and then working to fix it.

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Photo by Intricate Explorer on Unsplash

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From the Surface of the Sea

July 21, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

If you’ve ever wondered what’s down in the ocean deeps, the funnest version of the answer is that we mostly don’t know!

Here’s an interesting article featuring graphic illustrations by Angela Hsieh, showing what we know about the ocean, its depths, the differences between the Sunlit, Midnight, and other zones, and the many (many) things we have yet to discover about the oceans that surround us.

Why researchers are racing to study the world’s ocean – NPR

Did you know that the ocean produces approximately half of the world’s oxygen? Or that key medicines have come from ocean discoveries, like a painkiller found in a sea snail?

It’s all true! And so is this fact: Scientists know more about space than Earth’s ocean. Seriously, humans haven’t seen 99.999% of the deep sea floor.

So cool!

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Photo by Kees Streefkerk on Unsplash

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