Category: Writing

Apparently, journaling has “mega mental health benefits.” It can help to process thoughts and emotions, reduce stress, increase self-awareness and even help to improve sleep. Journaling can also be used to set goals, track progress and boost creativity.

“A 2018 study involving 70 adults with elevated anxiety found that online journaling for 12 weeks significantly reduced their mental distress. Long-term journaling was also associated with greater resilience.”

This suggests that journaling can be an effective tool for managing anxiety and strengthening mental health over time. Additionally, journaling can provide a sense of catharsis, helping people to process and release difficult emotions.

And it doesn’t only apply to mental dealing with challenging daily issues or mental health strain. Journaling is a good source of self-reflection and can offer insight into patterns of behavior or thought processes that may be contributing to one’s anxiety. It can also be a helpful tool in overcoming negative thought patterns and developing positive coping skills, as well as providing a safe space to work through any underlying issues that may be causing distress.

Last month, the media site OZY was shuttered following a scandal involving its founder, Carlos Watson. Prosecutors stated that Watson had “engaged in a scheme to defraud Ozy’s potential investors, potential acquirers, lenders and potential lenders” by inflating the site’s audience statistics and financial records. 

One unintended consequence is that emails sitting in inboxes across the world no longer have images. Links stored on OZY’s servers, no longer operational, all lose the ability to display in an email message. And, thus, all we’re left with is text. 

This happens because when an email is sent, the images are not actually sent with the message. Instead, the images are stored and linked to the email, so when the message is opened, the images are retrieved from the server and displayed. When the server is no longer operational, the images cannot be retrieved, leaving only the text of the message.

It’s just one of those causal relationships that you may not otherwise think about.

Someone said to me, “I partied a lot in college, and now I’m much happier sitting at home then going out to party with friends”. Which I think is somewhat common now, especially in this post-covid landscape. Staying in has become more accepted, and sometimes even preferred, over going out. People are realizing that sometimes it can be more enjoyable to stay home, relax, and enjoy a quiet evening than to go out and partake in activities that can be overwhelming and exhausting.

Of course, maybe it’s just that as I get older, I find it easier to stay in. 

It’s been wet here in Southern California. The streets are slick with rainwater. The smell of rain is in the air. Flash floods are occurring in some areas, and mudslides have occurred where snow had fallen just several weeks prior. 

In a state known for droughts and forest fires, rain has been welcome in some ways. In others, though, it’s been problematic – for infrastructure, for any outdoor work, and for people’s homes. 

For me, though, I think I like the rain. I like the sound of rain on windows, and the wind rustling, if not howling, through the trees. I don’t like power outages, or leaky apartments. But, there’s little more relaxing than a bit of rain when drifiting off to sleep. 

The question of lightning isn’t just one of beauty in nature. Lightning, like many natural phenomena, can be incredibly useful. It is used to measure distances and can even be harnessed for energy production. 

Ideas, too, can be dangerous things. It is important to be mindful of the power of our own ideas and how they can be used for good, or for… not good (evil, ill, whatever).

Ideas are spontaneous. Uncontrollable. Even the smallest spark of a thought can become a full blaze, igniting those who come into contact with it. Ideas can take on a life of their own and spread quickly, regardless of our intentions. 

Much like lightning, ideas can be dangerous when made contact with. And beauitful.

As of right now, there are plenty of good shows on television. Some might say too much.

But what really elevates a show from good to great is if enough planning has been put into it. If only one season has been planned out, it can only go so far in terms of character development and plot points. 

Not necessarily detrimental in the first season. However, if it’s renewed, the work on subsequent story arcs may suffer. If the showrunners didn’t have future seasons in mind, the show may never reach its full potential.

You do get the wonderful visuals of jumping the shark, but it won’t be as enjoyable to watch. Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment when something that was once great has now gone too far and is in decline. The phrase is often used to describe the moment when a television show has run out of new ideas and is resorting to desperate measures to stay popular, and it became the phrase when, in Happy Days, Henry Winkler’s Fonz jumped his motorcycle over a shark. 

But I digress.

Each show that has been on for a while has to balance its commercial appeal with its artistic integrity. It’s a delicate balance that often leads to a compromise of quality. This can be seen in shows that have been running for a long time, as the storylines become predictable and the characters become static. Oftentimes, the series strays from its original premise and gets lost in its own popularity.

A number of examples exist, and the final seasons of Lost, Game of Thrones, and The O.C. are among those cited (these being ones I’ve watched). Seemingly perfect, cultural-icon shows, suddenly lost their pacing in the final leg of the race. Careers have been destroyed for less.

So, even if the creativity behind tv shows has nothing to do with you, keep it in mind as your consuming you Netflix and Hulu. Streaming had changed things as well, but it does seem that we’re shifting back to the more episodic nature of television, rather than whole seasons dropping at once. 

There are a lot of lists on the internet. Some of these lists are helpful for organizing tasks or for providing information on a certain topic. Others are simply made for the purpose of entertainment. Regardless, these lists are often shared widely on social media. Some of the reasons for this are:

Lists are easy to make. You can identify a topic and find a few points to share about it.

They can be made visually appealing. It’s easy to separate with a few images on inforgraphs.

They are easy to read and understand. People often find them interesting or useful, or at least easily digestible.

They are easy to share. They tend to be shared widely because they can be quickly skimmed and understood without requiring a lot of time or effort.

But you should read them with a grain of salt. Not all the lists you find on the internet are accurate – some of them are just made up by people with too much time on their hands!

At the start of this year, I decided that I would devote myself to my creative endeavors. 

Have I done that? 

Well…

Thus far, I’ve consistently posted here every day. I have several bits of writing in varying states of completion, which I’m happy with. Though I’d prefer them to be completely completed. 

I’m planning to dedicate more time to these projects to bring them to completion. But more importantly, I’m looking to find more ways to embrace creativity. 

This has been, and continues to be, a useful forum for improving my writing, getting my opinions out, and committing to practice. But it’s not enough. 

As Adrien Brody’s character, Julien Cadazio, says in The French Dispatch: ” All artists sell their work. It’s what makes you an artist. Selling it.” 

So, maybe it’s time to create something to sell.

The stars have been used by sailors for centuries to navigate the oceans. They served as a reliable compass, helping to determine direction and location. This knowledge allowed sailors to explore the world and travel to previously uncharted lands.

Now, we use our phones. Everything has been made accessible, and all we have to do is click our destination. However, we are losing our connection to the stars, and to the mysteries of the night sky. This disconnection is a loss for us all, as it reminds us of our place in the world and the universe.

There’s something about looking up under a black night sky dotted with pinpoints that makes finding your place seem infinitely more exciting.

The first time I went on a ski trip (many years ago, and I took up a snowboard rather than skis), I was reading a book on internal medicine. It was by an Indonesian author, and he said that your core was what you needed to keep warm the most. 

I think about that often, especially now in these winter months. Most people wouldn’t think it’s particularly cold in LA, not compared to other places. But it’s cold enough. And this year has been unusually wintery.

So, just like in those colder climates, it’s imperative to keep your body warm. Layering your clothes is the best way to retain heat and stay warm. Wear a thin base layer, like a long-sleeved shirt, followed by a thicker, insulating layer like a sweater and a waterproof outer layer. Just like that look book of internal medicine suggested.