J.R. Johnson

The Power of Story

January 27, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I do try to emphasize the brighter side of life in this blog and this is not that, but it’s important. Fewer children are taught this history and too many adults act like it never happened (and could never happen again).

As survivors pass on those of us who remain must remember what and how and why. Not only for those who died, but for ourselves and our futures. This is the power of stories.

It is right that those who committed atrocities be held responsible, but remembrance days like this aren’t primarily about blame for past guilt. They are about the political tides that make these events possible. They are about the ordinary people swept up in such times.

Most of all, they are about avoiding future repetition.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.

‘New way of bearing witness’: one of biggest Holocaust archives goes online

Announced on Holocaust Memorial Day, the Wiener Holocaust Library’s new online platform includes more than 150,000 items collected over nine decades. Users can view letters, pamphlets and photographs that record the rise of fascism in Britain and Europe.

My grandpa chose not to speak about his Holocaust experiences – but he asked me to tell the world

I’ve been asked why I believe Holocaust education is so important, and I find it hard to verbalise. It seems so obvious to me, as the grandchild of survivors, that these stories must continue to be told – it sounds cliche to quote “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it”, but with every passing year, it’s clear we are continuing to forget the horrors humanity is capable of. Gyuri’s final message was clear: tell the world, so they can learn from it.

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Posted in Holidays, Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, future of civilization, history, memory, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »

Understanding Others, and Ourselves

January 26, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

We had brunch today with good friends. They are smart and fun and interesting and love our cat (which, let’s face it, is about the best thing you can say about a person).

We don’t all share the same politics. Why do I mention this? To point out that it doesn’t matter.

We may not be on the same page in terms of voting and algorithms, but we like a lot of the same real-life things, we share a lot of the same fundamental values, and are always curious about the others’ experience and perspectives.

It doesn’t hurt that they like my cooking;)

How to step out of your inner monologue and understand the world better – Big Think

The interesting thing about being a human is that we’re stuck inside our internal model—it’s all we ever see. But with the endeavors of science, literature, and philosophy, we’re able to step outside of ourselves and understand, “Hey, the way I see the world isn’t the only way to see the world. It’s not the only truth.” The more we get good at that, the more we can try to build a better society.

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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, brain science, brunch, science, society, Thoughts, truth | Leave a Comment »

Today, It’s Baking

January 25, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

I work in whatever medium likes me at the moment.

—Marc Chagall

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Posted in Other, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, artists, creativity | Leave a Comment »

Have Fun Writing

January 24, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

“We are the opening verse of the opening page of the chapter of endless possibilities.”

— Rudyard Kipling

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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, creativity, life, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »

To a Future of Promise and Ingenuity

January 23, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

Perhaps you remember me mentioning the submission call for this year’s Grist climate collection. Folks submitted (1200 of them!), editors did their editing thing, and now we have a brand new collection of free climate stories for 2025!

Here’s the full collection, including twelve new stories with the goal of looking “beyond the current moment to picture what could be.”

Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest: The 2025 collection – Grist

Welcome to the 2025 Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors collection. For four years, this contest has celebrated stories that invite us to imagine the future we want — futures in which climate solutions flourish and we all thrive. These stories have never pretended the path will be easy — some of the most compelling Imagine stories showcase the struggle as well as the successes — but they all offer the promise that through the transformative power of radical imagining, we can envision a better world and work toward making it our reality.

Yes, please!

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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #ChooseYourFuture, books, climate, climate change, climate fiction, creativity, environment, free fiction, green futures, inspiration, Writers | Leave a Comment »

Art Is Inevitable

January 22, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

A NASA astronaut may have just taken the best photo from space—ever

Check out the article for the specific photo, but this is from the same series:

For more of Astro Don’s imagery, see his photos at the Portraits of a Planet exhibit, his book Spaceborne, or find him on social media.

“Art is an inevitable consequence of being human – even in space.”

— Donald R. Pettit

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Posted in Other, Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, creativity, inspiration, NASA, space | Leave a Comment »

Expect the Unexpected!

January 21, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

Ah, the ongoing joys of adulting! Fortunately, things are pretty okay today, and there are a lot of positives to adulting, too (ice cream for dinner! voting! autonomy!). That said, I ran across this comic the other day and it felt true, or at least truer than my eight-year old self might have expected.

I’m off to call customer service, figure out what’s for dinner, and then maybe watch a little Star Wars!

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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »

To Dreams, and Waking

January 20, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, everyone! Today, I plan to celebrate the beauty of dreams, and the satisfaction of bringing those dreams to life.

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

To learn more about Dr King, his impact, speeches like “I Have a Dream” and more, check out History’s site on Martin Luther King Jr.

I also appreciate this related quote:

“The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.”

— Anna Wintour

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Posted in Holidays, Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, action, inspiration, persistence, progress, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »

Be That Spark

January 19, 2025 by J.R. Johnson

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

— Albert Schweitzer

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