November Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of November:

Questions I Asked –

What Are Ramparts? – Pop quiz time…what was so gallantly streaming in the Star-Spangled Banner? Answer: the ramparts. Second question: what are ramparts?

 

Why is a Ping Pong Paddle Black on One Side and Red on the Other? – This post has it all — fun knowledge and jabs at my younger brother.

Things We Learned –

One Simple Way To Increase Our Brainpower – Does your brain feel fried? Can’t seem to pay attention or come up with any ideas? Here’s one simple thing you can to do increase your brainpower…

Laughter Can Make You Feel Invincible – Here’s how.

You Don’t Need A Cape – “Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Nowhere in that famous description of Superman does it say, “unstoppable due to his sleeveless outer garment.”

Full Proof Way To Avoid Hitting the Snooze Button – This is pretty smart. And risky.

How It Can Help To Burn The Ships – Take it from an explorer in the 1500s.

People Hated Electric Light At First – Sounds like fake news, but it is true.

 

Fun With Numbers –

One Thing I Am Thankful For Today – I had nothing to do with it.

 

 

October Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of October:

Questions I Asked –

 

Is Maury C. Moose and The Basketball ChamPUNship Now Available? – Yes!

Why do we say ‘boo’ on Halloween? – I am not sure if there were Halloween decorations in the year 1515, but if there were, they very well could have featured the word boo.

Things We Learned –

I Have Many Reasons To Say Thank You! – Here’s one in particular.

The One Thing Happy People Do Differently – Guess what? You can do it too.

How To Get Some Luck On Friday The 13th – Spoiler alert: these things work on days other than Friday the 13th.

You Need To Understand You Don’t Understand – Confusing, right? Read the post and it will make more sense.

It Is Not About Brushing Your Teeth Today – Check out a lesson I learned right before I went to the dentist.

Fun With Numbers –

3 Indispensable Virtues That Make Teams Successful – Many times, I will read something online and immediately think, “that was great, I wish I wrote it.” I may not have written it, but I can still share it. Here’s the latest…

5 Good Things – Having a rough week? Feel like there is nothing but negative stories online, on TV and in the newspaper? Looking for a little pick me up? Here are 5 good things going on in our world…and as you’ll notice, this month we have a theme: Sports.

 

August Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of August:

Questions I Asked –

Who Invented The Chair? – It is something I have never thought about before, but it may just be the most important question ever asked during a Wonder Why Wednesday post.

Where is Sesame Street Located? – Now I can tell you how to get to Sesame Street.

Why Do We Call Them the ‘Dog Days’ of Summer? – Hint: the term “dog days of summer” has nothing to do with dogs lying around in the heat.

How Big Is A Rainbow? – If you are anything like me, your mind will start to wander after you read ice cream cone in the post.

Why Is There Traffic? – Americans spend 38 hours a year stuck in traffic. Find out why.

Things We Learned –

The One Time To Procrastinate – If there is one thing we need to learn to procrastinate about, it is tomorrow’s problems.

What Happens When We Look For Roadblocks – When we are driving, it is important to look for roadblocks. Not spotting them can take a chunk out of your bumper and your wallet. In other aspects of our life though, looking for roadblocks may actually be harmful.

What Inspired The Post About Roadblocks – In order to let the readers into the parts of my brain that are missing, I came up with an idea that will show how I came up with the idea for certain posts.

What Once In A Lifetime Looks Like – Just don’t stare directly at it.

What Johnny Cash Can Teach Us About Worrying – From his very expensive to do list.

Fun With Numbers –

Top 10 Lines From The Elements of Style –  My brother is not a fan of #1.

5 Science-Backed Ways to Have a Healthier Weekend – Fun fact: Research shows that people log the least amount of exercise Friday through Sunday, while bacon, beer and French fry consumption spike.

July Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of July:

Questions I Asked –

Why Do We Say “Cup of Joe”? – Everyone has heard of a cup of Joe, but who knows where that phrase came from? Who is this legendary Joe?

Why Is 1000 Called A Grand? – According to Word Detective, the use of “grand” in reference to money dates back to around 1915. It came from American underworld slang, as in a grand sum of money.

What Are Nooks and Crannies? – Have you ever searched all around your house looking for something? Perhaps you lost your keys or your wallet. Did you turn over the entire house? Did you look in every nook and cranny? Now you can learn what those are.

How To Pronounce GIF? – WARNING: This post is going to expose how non-tech savvy I am. If you want to continue to picture me as someone who is smart and knows a lot about technology, you might want to stop reading.

Things We Learned –

Something To Know If You Can’t Get Your Dream Job – Let’s learn a lesson from one of the top basketball coaches in the country.

If you are tried here is what you need to do – Read this

What the one coin loophole is – In this world where bigger is better, it is important to be reminded that even the smallest actions have meaning.

Another Example Of Great Writing – This comes from an awesome book about building resilience.

What one NBA player gave up to win a championship – Spoiler alert…it is drugs. Now, do you want to read the post?

One more thing about the post above – Find out what is even harder than giving up drugs.

Why We Need to Relax Like Roger Federer – This post combines two of my favorite things.

Fun With Numbers –

5 Good Things – Read this if you need a pick-me-up.

5 Things We Can Learn From Seat Belts – The great thing about learning is that it is not confined to certain times or locations. Learning can happen anytime, anywhere. I like to highlight this fact by, once a month, looking at things we encounter on a daily basis and seeing what important lesson we can from them.

April Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of April:

Questions I Asked –

What Is A Tar Heel? – It is, in fact, something besides the team that crushed my dreams.

Why Do We Say “Pull Your Leg”? – There are many theories. Which one is correct?

Things We Learned –

What I Would Have Told Gonzaga and UNC On The Eve Of The NCAA Championship – If I were their coach, I would have told them to write for ten minutes about their feelings and concerns regarding the game. Here’s why.

What I Would Have Told Gonzaga After The Championship Game -Keep shooting. Here’s why.

What North Carolina Would Tell Gonzaga – If I had to guess what advice UNC would give to Gonzaga, I would suspect that they would tell the Bulldogs to find meaning in this obstacle. Here’s why that works.

How To Develop Original Ideas – Would you like to learn research-backed strategies for generating—and recognizing—your most promising original ideas? Well, I have something for you.

What Advice Kobe Bryant Has For Us – Check it out. It is quite helpful.

Fun With Numbers –

5 More Strange But True Facts – Did you know you are more likely to die from a coconut than from a shark. — I can’t wait for Discovery Channel’s Coconut Week.

5 Good Things – Feel like there is nothing but negative stories online, on TV and in the newspaper? Looking for a little pick me up? Here are 5 good things going on in our world…

1 Secret to Leading a Fulfilling Life – This great Inc. article looks at a Harvard study that has tracked the physical and emotional well-being of two populations for over 75 years. Thanks to multiple generations of researchers, the study has one power conclusion…

5 Things We Can Learn From A TV Remote – The great thing about learning is that it is not confined to certain times or locations. Learning can happen anytime, anywhere.

10 Lines From Snoopy’s Guide To The Writing Life  – Here are some great quotes from a roundup of 30 famous writers and entertainers responding in short essays to their favorite Snoopy “at the typewriter” strip.

March Recap

In case you missed a post or two last month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of March:

Questions I Asked –

Where Do Ash Wednesday Ashes Come From? – To start Lent, churches are stocked full of ashes so that priests and deacons can really cake on the Catholic finger paint to their parishioners faces. But where do they get the ashes? Find out here.

How Many Websites Are There?– Answer: More than there were when you started reading this sentence.

What Do The Letters On Batteries Mean? – Turns out, battery nomenclature is quite complicated. Who knew?

Things We Learned –

What Good Parenting Looks Like – The other night I met a mom who deserves parent of the year nomination. Check out what she did.

All About March Madness – As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament got underway, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some March Madness related posts. Check out the following, and let me know how your bracket did.

What Belief Looks Like – It may not always look how you think it will.

To A Writer, There Are Only A Few Things As Rewarding As This – If you are a writer, let me know if you agree.

The Best Thing I’ve Read All Day – Jen Sincero describes chasing your dream in a way I had never heard before.

Fun With Numbers –

23 Ways To Fail As A Writer – In a hilarious post for the Book Baby blog, Field provides 23 tips that will “help you stave off success and fail as a writer!” #12 and #20 are my favorites.

7 Ways To Quiet Our Worries – I can’t promise these ideas will work for you. But they seem worth a try. Especially if you have to choose between trying these ideas and continuing to worry.

Top 10 Lines From Bird By Bird – Check out some great lines from a book that has been called “A gift to all of us mortals who write or ever wanted to write… sidesplittingly funny, patiently wise and alternately cranky and kind — a reveille to get off our duffs and start writing now, while we  still can.” (Seattle  Times).

5 Good Things – Here are 5 good things happening in our world.

5 Things We Can Learn From Spellcheck – Spellcheck is pretty amazing…as long as we turn it on. See what happens when we don’t.

January Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of January:

Questions I Asked –

Why do we say “play it by ear”? – Find out why, when we begin to improvise, we use our ear and we do not play things by say, our knee or elbow?

Why Do We Throw Rice At Weddings? – Your drunk uncle throwing out his back out during the Electric Slide, isn’t the only thing thrown at weddings. Find out why.

Why Do We Say “Right Off The Bat”? – Find out if the bat is of the animal, or baseball variety.

Things We Learned –

Why I Would Not Be A Good Football Coach – Forget the fact that I would always run the fumblerooski, there is a new type of scouting that I know I would struggle with. (Here’s a follow up to the original post)

Why I Write My Goals In Crayon – Not just because I am a child trapped in a small adult’s body.

How to get some luck on Friday the 13th – And any day, for that matter.

A Writing Tip For The New Year – Turns out this trip can not only help us with reading books, but also writing books.

The side effects of giving up on your New Year’s resolutions in January – Consult your doctor is your resolution does not last longer than 4 hours.

An example of great writing from Stephen King – See how he paints a perfect picture of what the crowd looks like — race & emotions included — in just 16 words.

Fun With Numbers –

5 Things We Can Learn From Silverware – Click here if you want to learn from forks, knives and spoons.

5 Good Things – If you are having a rough day and need a pick me up, here are a few good things going on in the world.

10 Puzzles – Try these puzzles and let me know how many you solve. I got 6 right.

10 More Strange But True Facts – #10 is important for all men to read.

9 Weird Habits That Famous Writers Formed to Write Better – I want to try #5.

December Recap

In case you missed a post or two this month, here’s a quick recap of what I wrote about during the month of December:

Questions I Asked –

Why Do We Kiss Under Mistletoe? – Well, not you and me…

Are All Parking Spaces The Same Size? – Here we learn how big a packing space can be. I am terrible at parking, so I wish they were much bigger.

Things We Learned –

How to really paint a scene of Christmas chaos – Here’s another example of great writing from Max Lucado.

How to Beat Holiday Stress – Important tips on how to relax and enjoy the holidays.

How To Only Do Things You Actually Want To Do – You will want to read this as you are working on your New Year’s resolutions.

What A Saturday Night Live Star Does To Improve – Guess what? We can improve in much the same way.

Fun With Numbers –

5 star review – My latest book, Maury C. Moose and The Ninja Worrier just received a 5 star review from Lesa McKee at Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews!

4 Ways To Shed The Holiday Pounds & Stress At The Same Time – If you are reading this now, it is too late for Christmas 2016…or is it??

5 Lessons I Learned From A Month Of School Visits – I spent the past month speaking with kids and hearing their hilarious questions. Here’s what I learned.

2016 Recaps –

This year in Great Writing

This year in 5 Good Things

This year in I Wish I Wrote It

This year in Wonder Why Wednesday

This year in Side Effects May Include…

This year in 5 Things We Can Learn From Everyday Objects

 

 

This Year In I Wish I Wrote It

Many times, I will read something online and immediately think, “that was great, I wish I wrote it.” I may not have written it, but I can still share it.

Here’s a recap of those examples from 2016…

Everything You Need to Know About New Year’s Resolutions – by Carolyn Gregoire

7 Things Extremely Happy People Do Every Single Day by Peter Economy

7 Mistakes We Make to Be Successful & What We Should Do Instead by Emma Seppala

How Successful People Manage Their Time by Amanda Foust

Make Your Life Better by Saying Thank You in These 7 Situations by James Clear

What the Most Resilient People Have in Common by Lolly Daskal

The Complete Guide to Saving Money: Our 73 Favorite Tips—Ever!  by EveryDollar.com

A Poem About Room by Brad Montague

How To Only Do Things You Actually Want To Do by Christine Carter

 

 

This Year In 5 Things We Can Learn

The latest 2016 recap might be my favorite segment that I write. It is the one where I look at things we encounter on a daily basis and see what important lesson we can from them.

Here’s a year’s worth of “Five Things We Can Learn From Everyday Objects”

5 Things We Can Learn From Calendars

5 Things We Can Learn From Superheroes

5 Things We Can Learn From The Great Wall Of China

5 Things We Can Learn From Disney Dads

5 Things We Can Learn From Fans

5 Things We Can Learn From The NY Times Crossword Puzzle

5 Things We Can Learn From The Arizona Cardinals

5 Things We Can Learn From Our Couch

5 Things We Can Learn From Books