“…there there might not be angels, but there are people who might as well be angels.”
― David Foster Wallace
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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’
Look for the Halos
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, goodwill, Thoughts on December 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Journey to The Journey
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, history, Writers, writing on December 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I ran across this short piece by Brian Lewis (self-described Cosmic Poet, which is awesome), and wanted to share.
In the fall of 1929, with America days away from financial ruin, Joseph Campbell committed what everyone called “professional suicide.” He walked into his advisor’s office at Columbia—degree in hand, future within reach—and announced, calmly, boldly, disastrously: “I don’t want one field. I want all of them.”
Yes, that Joseph Campbell, Mister Hero with a Thousand Faces.
By now, most of us have heard about Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, and how it distills thousands of years of mythology into a useful, easily transferrable model to help reach an audience.
(It also generated follow-on models, including Gail Carriger’s Heroine’s Journey.)
But how did Campbell build that original model? The essay shares some of the backstory of that process, and was full of new-to-me details. How did Campbell go from obscurity to one of the best known framers of storytelling?
Read the full essay for more. And yes, George Lucas plays a significant role:)
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First Things First
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Your first workout will be bad.
Your first podcast will be bad.
Your first speech will be bad.
Your first video will be bad.
Your first ANYTHING will be bad.
but you cant make your 100th without making your first.
So put your ego aside, and start.
— Alec Zamora
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He Went to 11
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, storytellers, Thoughts, Writers on December 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Rob Reiner, Actor Who Went on to Direct Classic Films, Dies at 78
“People take a look at ‘Princess Bride,’ and exclaim, ‘God, this is such an odd conglomeration!’” Mr. Reiner told The New York Times shortly after the movie was released in 1987. “‘How could you balance all those things?’”
“But it didn’t seem all that strange to me,” he went on, “because those are all parts of my personality. I’ve definitely got this satirical side to me, and this romantic side, and this more realistic way of looking at things.”
I don’t know about you, but Reiner’s eclectic approach to storytelling was one of the things I loved about his work. That and the clever humor, the touching moments, and the personal stories.
My favorite quote from this statement, Close friends of Rob and Michele Reiner release statement on their lives and work, is a reminder that we all make an impact.
“Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” — from It’s a Wonderful Life
Maybe we’ll watch The Princess Bride this weekend. Or Stand by Me. Or Spinal Tap. Or When Harry Met Sally. Or A Few Good Men. Or or or.
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Dare to Think
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on December 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Best Advice
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on December 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »
People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is – just be a little kinder.
— Aldous Huxley
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Look What We Did!
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, accomplishments, cool projects, creativity, history, inspiration, Thoughts on December 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Last month marked 25 years of humanity’s continuous presence in orbit around this fair planet.
25 years, one website: ISS in Real Time captures quarter-century on space station
Two NASA contractors, working only during their off hours, have built a portal into all of those resources to uniquely represent the 25-year history of ISS occupancy.
ISS in Real Time, by Ben Feist and David Charney, went live on Monday (October 27), ahead of the November 2 anniversary. In its own way, the new website may be as impressive a software engineering accomplishment as the station is an aerospace engineering marvel.
It’s a good story about persistence and creativity, and it’s great to have all of this history and knowledge in one place.
It’s also easy to get bogged down in the trials of life and forget what’s good. But really? Our adventures in space are pretty incredible. For most of our species’ existence we’ve looked up at the stars and dreamed. And now?
Look! Look what we did!
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Here and Now
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, the writing life, Thoughts on December 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“The here and now is all we have, and if we play it right it’s all we’ll need.”
— Ann Richards
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For My Fellow Nerds
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, fandom, history, movies, star wars on December 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Here’s something fun for my fellow sci-fi nerds:
How the Written Word Evolved in ‘Star Wars’
The original Star Wars is covered with English signage and written words on displays, something that would change in the wake of the film’s blockbuster success. Both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi would, with the confidence that audiences had accepted the galaxy far, far away, move away from putting English text on-screen, instead creating unique writing systems—reams of text that were not just left untranslated, but were never given meaning behind the symbology beyond the graphic design.
How that changed, and why, is actually a pretty fun read if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s also one of the many reasons why my first re-watch of the Star Wars re-release was repeatedly punctuated by me exclaiming, “Hang on just a minute!”
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Hello Snow
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, haiku, poem, sentiment distilled, writing on December 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »
With crisp sunbright snow
on a cardinal’s red cape
winter welcomes you.
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