Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, haiku, Thoughts on December 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
We’re enjoying the holiday but our time this week has included a funeral. It left me with a thin veneer of sadness, and what better time to shake that off than the last day of the year? And so, a haiku to siphon those thoughts away and make room for the new.
Your first accidentfirst break first loss first body
and if becomes when.
Now, on to better days.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Thoughts on December 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And if you’re interested in knowing how many people share your day, The Daily Viz has a fun graphic for that. But no matter how many other birthdays there are out there, yours is still special.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
― Dr. Seuss
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, Thoughts on December 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Programming note: We’re taking a bit of a break this week, so expect more quotes and pretty pictures.
Oh look, a quote! And a pretty picture!
“If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by ‘we’ I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.”
― Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, Thoughts on December 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
So there I was, wading through old backups and oddly named files and all the other detritus that accumulates on the drives of most computers, when I stumbled across a story start. At some point in the hazy past, I was writing/still half-dreaming/avoiding other work when I came up with a snippet. (I do this a lot. Most of my story starters are corralled into a central file, but apparently this one escaped.)
Does the idea still speak to me? Maybe. Here is its beginning.
The room was twenty feet wide by fifty or so deep, and high enough to stash a semi trailer. The basement warehouse hid inside a larger complex designed to cloak all manner of shady dealings. The walls were concrete, bare in some spots and painted a dull grey in others. Dim afternoon light filtered in through a series of filthy windows set just below the ceiling. The west wall contained a pile of musty wooden crates stacked head high, and the door sported a series of aging and graffitied corporate memos. Whoever Toby was, I could call him for a good time. Dust bunnies occupied the corners. It was the dullest den of iniquity I’d seen yet.
Still, I wouldn’t have minded the decor so much if it weren’t on fire…
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, holidays, Thoughts on December 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A lot of things surprised me when I moved north of the border. In Canada, it’s more Tim Hortons than Dunkin Donuts. Milk comes in bags. Elections can happen any old time. There is a lot less information on your average label, because they need room for both French and English. And Smarties are still candy, but not at all what I’m used to.
And what, I asked, is this event called Boxing Day, a.k.a. December 26th? In modern Canada, this Commonwealth holiday is typically associated with Black Friday style sales, but it’s also a day for holiday fun and generosity.
What Is Boxing Day? The History, Purpose, and Name Meaning
The BBC explains that Boxing Day got its name when Queen Victoria held the throne in the 1800s, and is borne out of the tradition of wealthy families boxing up gifts to give to the poor. Since servants of aristocrats were required to work on Christmas, the following day became the time when their employers filled up boxes with gifts, money, and Christmas leftovers for them, much like a holiday bonus.
So today I think I’ll drink some eggnog, enjoy the snow, drink more eggnog, and donate to some of the local organizations I like.
Because Santa took care of Christmas, and now the rest is up to us.
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, Thoughts on December 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Thoughts, winter, writing on December 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
One of the secrets, and pleasures, of [creating] is to learn to correct something if it goes awry; and one of the lessons is to grin and bear it if it cannot be fixed.
— Julia Child
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.”
– Elbert Hubbard
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, social media, technology, Thoughts, Writers on December 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Brief social media aside:
So, Twitter continues to be a cross between a quagmire and a cesspool, and many users are looking for greener pastures. If you are one of them, or just happen to have an interest in other forms of this thing called social media, you may have heard of Mastodon. It operates on a decentralized platform, it’s cool and it’s just a tiny bit confusing.
In the interest of clarifying the model and the process of getting started, Joanna Stern over at The Wall Street Journal (of all places) put together a short, free explainer.
How to Use Mastodon, the Social-Media Platform Blocked by Elon Musk’s Twitter – WSJ
Important note for those of us who are still five at heart: messages on Mastodon are called toots.
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J.R. Johnson 
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