Thoughts | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

Neurochemistry In Real Time

Posted in Science!, tagged writing, Writers, Thoughts, reading, #365Ways, #365Ways2026 on March 10, 2026| 4 Comments »

Because it can sometimes be hard to keep a positive attitude with everything going on in the world, I thought I’d share this article. Also, books are just a good time.

How reading books regulates your nervous system – Big Think

Reading is relaxing, and many people do it as a counterbalance to our overstimulated age.

But what exactly is happening when we read? What’s going on beneath the surface that makes reading a book feel so restorative?

The answer lies in how reading changes our neurochemistry in real time. Reading isn’t just about decoding words on a page. It’s a complex neurochemical process that affects everything from our heart rate to our hormone levels.

Go ahead, change your neurochemistry for the better.

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On Art and Commerce

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 9, 2026| 4 Comments »

It’s Monday, which seems like a perfect time for a bit of wisdom on the intersection of art and commerce. This quote comes from sci-fi author John Scalzi, who has famously taken a stand on the importance of being paid for creative work, and knows a thing or two about building a viable living around art.

As a writer, and as a creator, nothing one ever does, professionally or personally, needs to be wasted. It’s all fuel for the creative engine…

Anyway: If you’re a writer or creator, never be ashamed of what else you do. It’s 2026 and this special flavor of gilded age we live in at the moment means that what qualifies as “selling out” has an extremely high bar. Making a living was very rarely “selling out” in any era. I think these days the phrase should be mostly reserved for writing things you absolutely don’t believe, for the sort of people you would in fact despise, with the result of your work is you making the world worse for everyone. Avoid doing that, please.

Short of that, get paid, have those experiences and develop new tools. All of it will be useful for the art you do care about. That’s not selling out. That’s learning, with compensation. — There Is No Selling Out Anymore

Now I’m off to do some more learning!

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There, There

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #IamstillworkingontaxesandalltheotherthingsIdidnotfinishyesterdaybutIhopeyouhaveagoodday!, Thoughts on March 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today,” said Pooh.

“There there,” said Piglet. “I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

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As Much As

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, do more, inspiration, Thoughts on March 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“Your ambition should be to get as much life out of living as you possibly can, as much enjoyment, as much interest, as much experience, as much understanding. Not simply to be what is generally called “a success.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

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It’s Been a Day

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, fun quotes, Thoughts on March 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“Cats don’t drink cocktails,” I said.

“Cats don’t shoot lasers from their eyes, either, but here we are, Carl. Mama needs a night off.”

― Matt Dinniman, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario

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*Mine will be a mocktail, but you (and Donut) do you! Photo by kimia kazemi on Unsplash*

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First Sign

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Spring, Thoughts on March 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Today I’m happy to report that I spotted the first sign of spring.

Yes, we still have a couple feet of snow on our lawn and predictions call for another wave of cold soon, but I also saw my first outdoor insect of the year. It wasn’t anything fun or even remotely photogenic, just a fly, dull except for the fact that it arrived on a breath of spring.

And that is good news!

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Oh Look, My Parents Have Already Finished Their Taxes

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, procrastination, taxes, Thoughts on March 1, 2026| 2 Comments »

“Buttercup’s mother whirled on him. ‘Did you forget to pay your taxes?’ (This was after taxes. But everything is after taxes. Taxes were here even before stew.)” ― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

I’d better get to it!

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Going Back? Plan Ahead!

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, English, history, inspiration, language, Thoughts, time travel, what to pack when going back, Writers, writing on February 28, 2026| 4 Comments »

This is fascinating, educational and fun. One of the things they may not tell you when they give you the keys to the time travel machine is that language is a living thing, and English is now very old.

Linguist and teacher Colin Gorrie decided to illustrate how the English language has changed over the last 1000 years by writing a post that slowly transitions from the modern day, in hundred year increments. How far back can you understand?

How far back in time can you understand English?

He arrives, he checks in. He walks to the cute B&B he’d picked out online. And he writes it all up like any good travel blogger would: in that breezy LiveJournal style from 25 years ago, perhaps, in his case, trying a little too hard.

But as his post goes on, his language gets older. A hundred years older with each jump. The spelling changes. The grammar changes. Words you know are replaced by unfamiliar words, and his attitude gets older too, as the blogger’s voice is replaced by that of a Georgian diarist, an Elizabethan pamphleteer, a medieval chronicler.

By the middle of his post, he’s writing in what might as well be a foreign language.

The last 300 years aren’t so bad, but then things start to get squiffy enough that I hope you’re planning to pack a fairly comprehensive dictionary. The success of your time travel adventures may depend on it!

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Can’t Compute

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, health, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 27, 2026| 13 Comments »

Like so many of you, I spend a lot of my life looking at screens. I try to keep my eyes healthy but you know how it is, you start the day at the writing computer and then move to the work computer, and then you’re just about to take a break when an email comes in about an important work project, or family thing, or taxes. And when I do get time to take a break? I read a book.

By the end of the day, my eyes are frazzled. Just me? I’m betting the answer is no, which is why I’m sharing this happy little comic about taking care of your eyes.

How to prevent digital eye strain: An illustrated guide