#365Ways | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’

Aim Higher

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts, Writers on July 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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

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From the Surface of the Sea

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, oceans, science, Thoughts on July 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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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Living a Life

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, another Hank Green quote, human existence, Thoughts on July 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

People things are the hardest work, but also often the most important work. Orient yourself not just toward the construction and acquisition of new tools, but to the needs of people, and that include you, it includes your friends and your family. I think we can sometimes feel so powerful and like the world is so big that throwing a birthday party or making a playlist for a friend can seem too insignificant when placed against the enormity of Al and climate change and the erosion of democracy. But those thoughts alienate you from the reality of human existence, from your place as a builder not just of tools, but of meaning. And that’s not just about impact and productivity and problem solving, it is about living a life.

— Hank Green

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Wishing You Charming Gardeners

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on July 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

— Marcel Proust

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Take Heart

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on July 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“What will survive of us is love.”

— Philip Larkin

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Now, I Think

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, action, creativity, inspiration, procrastination, Thoughts, writing on July 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

There is no perfect moment to begin.

— Seth Godin

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Lunch, Olde Time Edition

Posted in Food and..., Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, better now, FDA, food, olden times, regulations, Writers on July 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Let’s call this post the latest in my “actually, some things are very definitely better, thankfully!” series.

What was food like before the FDA? | Popular Science

Short answer? Not good!

Read the article for more on formaldehyde, brick dust, lead and other things you never thought would be mentioned in a story about food. (There’s also a shout-out to Upton Sinclair’s classic novel The Jungle, which, among other things, helped publicize the unsavory conditions inside Chicago’s meatpacking plants.)

Now I’m off to have a Plaster of Paris-free sandwich, yum!

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Some Day Is Today

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers on July 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Not getting everything done you’d hoped? Life intruding into your carefully made plans? It happens. Some days are weird.

And some days you just need to give yourself a break.

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The Secret to Speculative Fiction

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, speculative fiction, Writers, writing on July 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Why Tolkien thought “sub-creation” was the secret to great fantasy and science fiction

There is something about great fantasy that emboldens the spirit and gives fire to the fight. It is found not only in the words and plot but in its atemporality. It tells us that there is something universal to the human condition that ought to be celebrated. It is something as true for Anglo-Saxons in their snowy mead halls as it is for office drones changing their login passwords.

It says that no matter what monsters we face, we shall overcome and live on. We shall not be defeated.

That’s a pretty good secret.

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