#365Ways | J.R. Johnson

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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Do and Dare

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Dare to be strong and courageous. That is the road. Venture anything.”

— Sherwood Anderson

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Sunshine in a Jar

Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, cooking, food, learning stuff on July 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today, a quick visit to Sicily to make tomato paste by hand. I had no idea it was this concentrated!

How to Make Tomato Paste in Sicily | The Kid Should See This

It’s easy. Take a ridiculously large amount of perfectly ripe Sicilian tomatoes. Cut them up. Leave them in the sun for 4 days to reduce down to about one tenth of their original volume. Put them in a jar and save it for a gloomy February day.

Here’s the video:

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Art’s Enemy

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, creativity, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“For only after, can one nail down, examine, explain. To try to know beforehand is to freeze and kill. Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.”

― Ray Bradbury

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