Happy Juneteenth, everyone! If you’re interested in the history behind the holiday celebrating the effective end of legalized slavery in the United States, I’ve written about it before.
This year, I’m marking the day with a biracial poem.
Half of me is glad
to be free. Half is glad I’m
not holding the chain.
Here’s to freedom, for us all.
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Posted in Holidays | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Emancipation Proclamation, haiku, Juneteenth, poem | Leave a Comment »
A storm rolled through today and now strong winds gust through the trees, making me more than usually aware of the weather. Which is why this bit of magic caught my eye.
Hypnotic Film Transforms Satellite Data Into Stunning Film
At first glance, Water World looks more like a painting than satellite imagery. Deep teal and silver clouds swirl slowly across a darkened sky, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. But every formation seen in the film genuinely existed above Earth, recorded in remarkable detail by a weather satellite orbiting roughly 22,000 miles above the equator.
The article goes into more detail on the how and the why, or you could just put the video onscreen and let yourself chill.
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Posted in Other, Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Earth, inspiration, NASA, nature, relaxation | Leave a Comment »
William Gibson riffs on writing and the future
So I would recommend that people read a lot, and as broadly as possible, and then I would suggest that people write a lot. You have to have written a very good deal in order to become really good at it. And if you do it often enough and pay sufficient attention, you’re much more likely to get somewhere than if you don’t.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, interviews, read stuff, sci-fi, sff, Thoughts, William Gibson, write stuff, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
A relative of Irish descent reminded me that today is Bloomsday, or a day to celebrate the life and work of James Joyce.
What is Bloomsday? – Bloomsday Festival
Bloomsday celebrates Thursday, 16th June 1904 — the day immortalised in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, one of the novel’s protagonists. The novel follows Bloom’s life and thoughts (as well as those of Stephen Dedalus and a host of other characters, real and fictional) from early in the morning to the twilight hours of the following day.
It may also be helpful for other writers to know that even Joyce worried about his work being forgotten.
No chance of that today!
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Posted in Holidays, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Bloomsday, classics, James Joyce, Thoughts, Writers | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #keepwriting, creativity, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
Some days the advice you need comes to you at just the right time, all unexpected.
Lorem Ipsum and Light Bulbs, Hank Green
You’ve probably heard the bowl story, or some version of it, but I’m going to tell it to you again. Some diabolical teacher split his ceramics students into two groups. One group was told to spend the entire semester making one perfect bowl. The other group was graded on sheer volume… just make as many bowls as you can, quality be damned.
At the end of the semester, the group that was told to just make a bunch of bowls made the better bowls.
This is a common idea in creative circles, but Hank’s version popped up in my inbox just when I needed to hear it.
Maybe it will help you too?
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, helpful advice, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
It’s a classic question for writers: “Where do you get your ideas?” In my experience, they come from lots of sources, and certainly not the same places for everyone. Find what interests you and follow it. Think big, think small, think sideways.
And if you’re stuck or just looking for new inspiration, you could do worse than follow advice from one of the masters of the field.
“Make a list of ten things you hate and tear them down in a short story or poem. Make a list of ten things you love and celebrate them. When I wrote Fahrenheit 451 I hated book burners and I loved libraries. So there you are.” — Ray Bradbury
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
This week, Venus and Jupiter are in planetary conjunction, and unlike some astronomical events this one should be easy to see.
To see Venus and Jupiter together this month, you won’t need binoculars or even a telescope. Just look up after sunset and you’ll find them emerging as the sky grows dark near the western horizon.
Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Sky’s 2 brightest planets meet (includes a helpful video for orientation)
Venus and Jupiter – the sky’s 2 brightest planets – are shining together in the west after sunset. They were closest on June 8 and 9. But June overall offers your best opportunity to see them together.
Even more photos to pique your interest:
Jupiter and Venus dazzle in planetary conjunction photos. Here are our favorites | Space
Enjoy the dance!
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Posted in Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, astronomy, look up!, NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day | Leave a Comment »
“If you don’t like how culture is going, that’s a huge opportunity, because culture is us. You can move the needle just by showing up to the places you like to be, posting and promoting the kind of stuff you’d like to see, ignoring the things you don’t like, and vacating the places you think are bad.” — Adam Mastroianni
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, good society, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
Perhaps you remember the “Dear Aliens” contest? Maybe you even submitted a story to be shared with our alien visitors?
Mr Man and I have had a lot going on over the past few months so I did not get a story together, but I’m glad that many of you did. And now, the winners have been announced!
To Those Arriving Soon by MacEagon Voyce
“You’ll know by now that we humans fear the unknown, and that we fill that chasm with stories, imagining endings we have some agency over.”
See the full list for the top ten stories, and enjoy!
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, aliens, contests, free fiction, scifi, Writers, writing, writing contest | 1 Comment »
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