Your Monday Motivation
In case you, like me, need this today (or any day):
Author: Bjorn Munson
Various and Sundry
Finding Joy amid the Interesting Times
While I continue to spend less time on Facebook and more time on Bluesky (or reading or, gasp, walking in the outside world), there’s a couple elements of connectivity I find still useful. One is remembering birthdays, which I did used to do via a treeware calendar designed for the purpose (specifically one with artwork by international treasure Sandra Boynton). But let’s face it, some electronic and digital reminders help us. And so I often…
Various and Sundry
Carl Sagan & “The Age of Exploration”
I’ve found myself looking up previous read books and old videos that speak to bigger pictures and “the vision thing” as we all continue to trundle through these interesting times. One video I revisited was a lecture Carl Sagan at his 60th birthday symposium at Cornell (he regrettably died just two years later). Evidently, the lecture was unavailable to the public at large for decades, but through a course of events, was recovered from its…
Acting Voiceover
Who Doesn’t Want to Play a Doctor Who-Style Villain?
I’ve been remiss in my shameless self-promotion, and this one is a treat, because I grew up with a lot of classic Doctor Who and this particular part reminds me of one of the villains you might hear facing off against one of those Doctors. I mean, who doesn’t want to voice an evil -er- a deeply misjudged alien intelligence? It’s all part of the Audible Visions podcast, which features a variety of shows. This…
Various and Sundry
The New Worlds Continue to be Strange… and Genre-Hopping
Just dropped earlier today. I have a mixture of emotions that is most un-Vulcan-like.
Various and Sundry
The Logic of Putting a Little ZIP in Mailing Addresses
So, in case you hadn’t heard, the United States Postal Service has decided to glow up Mr. ZIP for a new generation (see image above). And in case you forgot, “ZIP” stands for Zone Improvement Plan, but perhaps you’re wondering how ZIP codes really work. Enter the inimitable CGP Grey: Mind you, there are funnel people who will happily expound on some of the nuances the video above doesn’t get precise, but it’s still wonkily…
Various and Sundry
Just Loose Your Arrows & Dig Another Ditch: A Guide to Ancient Warfare
One of the last times I talked about pirates, I referenced a couple videos with pirate experts. Truth be told, I love these sorts of videos where historians review films and explain how accurate or, frequently, how wildly inaccurate the films are. It’s especially fun when the historians are clearly having fun with it. Historian Roel Konijnendijk clearly has fun talking about ancient and medieval warfare, even though he’s clearly pained by certain cinematic tropes.…
Various and Sundry
Satirical Space Opera… from the 2nd Century?!?
I’m always up for looking for interesting public domain works we might adapt for Jabberwocky Audio Theater, and as you may imagine, that’s meant various science fiction, fantasy, and horror works from the 1920s. But apparently, I haven’t been looking back far enough because there’s a space opera from [checks notes] Ancient Greece?!? I’ll let Austin McConnell take it from here: Now, I will disagree with the title of the video because I absolutely will…
Various and Sundry
Wondering if you can learn more about the Mongol Empire? Yes you khan!
I know how it is. We live in excessively ‘interesting times.’ Many organizations are asking people to do “more with less.” Most importantly, despite you, like my family, being very interested in Mongolian history especially the Mongol Empire, you simply haven’t had time to brush up on the main points of this consequential, multicultural empire whose echoes have been felt ever since in world history. Well, luckily, the internet abounds in concise, informative, and entertaining…
Various and Sundry
Why are Incompetent Leaders Celebrated?
I’ve been thinking about leadership over the past couple weeks in terms of how one may rise to the challenge of inspiring and motivating their teams… as well as how to avoid the Peter Principle of being promoted to a level of, well, incompetence. And when you read about leaders who were so very incompetent, you wonder why they’re often more studied than leaders who succeed… because not all of these studies come from the…