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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’

I am pleased to announce that the new edition of Polar Borealis is out, and it includes “A Needle Pulling Thread.”

I wrote the story in 2018 but the themes of humanity and hope still strike a chord. My thanks to editor R. Graeme Cameron, who remains dedicated to furthering the cause of Canadian speculative fiction, and congratulations to all those in the issue.

Find the free PDF online:

POLAR BOREALIS #24 – February 2023

Poems by Roxanne Barbour, Rodolfo Boskovic, Carlyn Clink, Robert Dawson, Catherine Girczyc, Jim Smith, Richard Stevenson, and Dean Wirth. 

Stories by Warren Brown, Victoria K. Martin, J.R. Johnson (hey, that’s me), Cathy Smith, Rhea E. Rose, Jacqueline Thorpe, Gerald L. Truscott, and David Wiseman.

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Photo by Santoshi Guruju on Unsplash

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Inquiring minds want to know!

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Photo by Laurent Grattepanche on Unsplash

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It’s like this: I have a whole folder titled 365, full of interesting and informative ideas for this blog. I even had an idea for the post I wanted to do today, but lo (for various reasons involving day job bureaucracy for both myself and Mr Man), ’tis not to be. Instead, I give you ChatGPT’s idea of “a quote about joy in the voice of my cat.”

“Joy is found in the simple things, like a warm sunbeam, a cozy napping spot, and a good belly rub. Purr-fect happiness is just a whisker’s length away.”

— Your Cat.

Because this is the sort of information that everyone needs.

For more on cats and whiskers:

* You may also know that “chat” is French for cat. So now we know what’s really behind A.I…. that’s right, animal intelligence.

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Photo by Joyful on Unsplash

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Some things take longer than expected. Today’s plan involved a project that was expected to take two hours, and instead took five. And that’s ok. Mr Man was productive, I was social, and a good time was had by all.

In keeping with the theme, we picked up the mail on the way home and found a postcard that had made its way here to Canada from Port Lockroy, in the British Antarctic Territory (how cool is that?). Dated Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2022. 

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Photo by Ian Parker on Unsplash

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“covered in snow

the trees rest in 

winter silence” 

― Meeta Ahluwalia

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Photo by Hans Isaacson on Unsplash

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That’s All

“You have to pay your own electric bill. You have to be kind. You have to give it all you got. You have to find people who love you truly and love them back with the same truth. But that’s all.” 

― Cheryl Strayed

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Photo by Julia Kuzenkov on Unsplash

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I’m trying to deal with an online renewal and it is taking forever.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Over and over again. It’s like it’s Groundhog Day.

I check the calendar. Wait, it actually is Groundhog Day!

Photo by Scenic States via Unsplash

Here’s some holiday history (and a little movie-related fun).

Groundhog Day – Wikipedia

Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund’sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day)[1] is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrows on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. 

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.[2]

Groundhog Day- the perfect comedy, for ever | Groundhog Day | The Guardian

“What’s so remarkable about it,” Jones observes over a pint in a north London pub, “is that normally when you’re writing a screenplay you try to avoid repetition. And that’s the whole thing here, it’s built on repetition. That’s so bold.”

Whatever is happening in your day, I hope it’s a good one!

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Let’s give one last shoutout to our visitor from outer space. C/2022 E3 (ZTF), the universe’s charismatic invitation to look up and wonder about our past and our future, is at its closest point to Earth today. That means it will be at its brightest. If the world and weather are on your side, you might be able to see it with the naked eye. Look to the north after sunset. Is it fuzzy? Is it green? It might just be a comet!

Green comet C-2022 E3 (ZTF) will be closest to Earth today | Space

During the comet’s perigee, it will come to within a distance of around 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) from our planet, which is equivalent to about 28% of the distance between Earth and the sun. If you’ve been waiting to get a look at C/2022 E3 (ZTF) before it speeds away, now is your best chance. You can also watch the comet live online on Feb. 1 in a free webcast at 11 p.m. EST (0400 GMT) from the Virtual Telescope Project.

If the weather isn’t cooperating where you are or you have a hard time finding it or you just can’t see yourself outside in the cold, there will be a live webcast tonight. Pour a cup of hot cocoa and wave as The Green Comet flies by!

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Photo by Junseong Lee on Unsplash

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“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”

— Charles M. Schulz

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Photo by paul walker on Unsplash

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Hello! So nice of you to stop by and see what’s up on this Mondayest of Mondays. I’m a little busy and I don’t want to bore you, so perhaps you might enjoy a bit of cultural enrichment? Maybe learn a bit about a master like Vermeer? 

I just discovered that the Rijksmuseum has an online tour of Vermeer’s work and world narrated by Stephen Fry. Sounds fun, right?

Closer to Johannes Vermeer – Rijksmuseum

I enjoy Vermeer’s paintings because 1) that light, so amazing, and 2) he captured the details of regular people doing regular things. Not always, of course, an artist still has to pay the bills, but enough to pass on the sense of real people doing real things. 

Art as time travel, is how I like to think of it.

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Photo by JJ Jordan on Unsplash

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