fun | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘fun’

Itching for Good

Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fun, home, plants, pollinators on July 6, 2021| 1 Comment »

We picked up a bunch of native plants from a local eco organization and added them to the garden over the weekend. To go along with existing pollinator plants like butterfly weed, chives, and Joe Pye Weed, I am now the proud owner of flowers like wild bergamot, yellow tickseed, and black-eyed Susan.

Also approximately one million extremely itchy bug bites, and as anyone who knows me knows, I really hate mosquitoes.

But.

Birds and butterflies and pollinators in general need food and shelter. These plants will live outdoors and I had to get them moved into their new homes; the mosquitoes just took advantage of my helpful nature. (Also my delicious blood.)

So both arms are itchier than I’d like, plus I have a row of awkwardly-placed extra bumps on my spine (particularly fun) and what I’m pretty sure is a spider bite on my wrist, which is now extra red, itchy and swollen.

Still worth it!

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Photos by Evan Buchholz, Joshua J. Cotten, Aaron Burden, Karl-Heinz Müller, Ilana Grostern, Gaétan Marceau Caron, Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

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Lego and Chill

Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, fun, inspiration, invention on June 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Lots to do today, so here’s a house-of-cards-building robot for you!

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Might As Well Have Fun

Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, adulthood isn't so bad, fun, quotes on June 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“Being silly is still allowed, not excluded by adulthood. What’s excluded by adulthood is thoughtlessness, so be thoughtful and silly.”
― Hank Green

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A Trip Downstream

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, environment, fun, geography, interactive, maps, quotes, USGS on May 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Oh, this is fun. If you have a little map, environment and/or geography geek streak, check out this interactive:

River Runner by Sam Learner

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“Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”
― Wendell Berry

When a raindrop falls, where does it go? If it falls on my hometown, it flows 390km to the Atlantic Ocean.

If it falls on the Denver Broncos’ Mile High 50-yard line, just east of the Continental Divide, the path to the Gulf of Mexico is 3862km!

Click a starting point and the site will calculate a route and then do a visual fly-over. I wish it covered places outside the US but it’s still a fun and impressive window into data from the always excellent USGS.*

* Ah, the USGS, font of so much maptitude! Wait, is that a volcano webcam? Stop browsing, woman, you have work to do! But remind me to tell you my volcano story someday:)

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river running through a forested glade — *Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash*

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As You Like

Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fun, quotes on May 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.”
— Katharine Hepburn

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And Also With You

Posted in Entertainment, Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways2021, #Maythe4thBeWithYou, fun, star wars, Star Wars Day, yay on May 4, 2021| 1 Comment »

I’m a little bit beat. I know it’s May the Fourth and therefore Star Wars Day, but I’m not quite up to a long-form essay on all that this world has meant for me.

Suffice it to say, I’m a fan.

If you’re in the mood for a quick recap of the main movies (or an introduction, I won’t judge!), here’s a quick summation by Star Wars actor Daisy Ridley, with a little help from Jimmy Fallon:

In honor of #StarWarsDay, enjoy Daisy Ridley’s rap recap of the first 8 Star Wars movies (Episodes I-VIII)! #MayTheFourthBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/RmgctIKu4Q
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) May 4, 2021

If you’d rather go back to the beginning and study the source, check out this piece on the first movie’s script:

Star Wars: A New Hope Script — Screenplay Analysis and PDF Download

We’re going to break down the essential aspects of the Star Wars script, and how George Lucas made a science-fiction classic.
Buckle up, we’re going into hyperdrive…

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The Classical Cartoon Connection

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, back in the day, cartoons, Chicago, family, fun, memories, music, Saturdays on March 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Saturday mornings always remind me of cartoons and classical music.

We didn’t have a television when I was growing up (or junk food like sugary cereals), which was great for reading and not quite so great for social integration. (This was before there was a smartphone in every pocket, terabytes of entertainment at every turn, and the splintering of society. But I digress.)

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I did manage to absorb a decent amount of after-school programming and advertising jingles at friends’ houses, and Saturday morning cartoons when we visited our grandparents.

They had a cute little house in Chicago, with a TV room in the back. That’s where I slept when we visited, and I loved it because it meant I could wake up early and start the day with a deliciously sweet diet of cartoons. My brother would join me soon after, and we’d watch until the rest of the house was up.

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Most Saturdays, though, we’d wake up at home. What those experiences had in common was classical music. Cartoons have used classical scores for decades. My father is a big fan, and likes to start the day with classical music, played loud. Especially on Saturdays. One of the first albums he bought us as kids was Peter and the Wolf.

To this day, I can’t hear that Prokofiev tune without smiling.

I wasn’t the only one indoctrinated by the classical/cartoon connection, of course. Many of you were right there with me. Click through for a fun thread that identifies a number of the more recognizable pieces.

Or perhaps you are looking for a 2+ hour collection of cartoon music? Then this is your lucky day!

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Since I’m thinking of my father and music, here’s a link I think he might enjoy:

I have no idea what most of these shows were (United States Steel Hour?), but I hope that he does, and that some of this music brings a smile to his face, too.

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Happy Saturday!