non-fiction

A strange flying unicorn critter puts a magician's hat on a rhino-bunny

The Steak Trick: Top 5 Tips to add Sizzle to your Writing

Dean Wesley Smith’s steak trick for accountability On Medium, I haven’t set specific publication goals. Instead of aiming for an article a week or daily blog posts, I’ve written when the Muse struck. The result has been heartfelt articles, written on a whim, without regularity. I need to follow the steak trick for accountability My […]

The Steak Trick: Top 5 Tips to add Sizzle to your Writing Read More »

Exercise and the brain

Spark Book Review: The Science of Exercise and the Brain

Changing thinking about exercise and the brain Written by bestselling author and psychiatrist John J. Ratey with Eric Hagerman, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain is a positive book that looks at how exercise can improve neuroplasticity, learning, and executive function. It suggests exercise as a helpful addition to medication, or sometimes even a replacement

Spark Book Review: The Science of Exercise and the Brain Read More »

The Globe and Mail — “The Face of Chinese Cost-Cutting”

Today’s Globe reports that Chinese citizens are dying due to toxic contaminants in their food and medicines and that Chinese authorities are unwilling to make companies pay for their infractions. Guo Ping, whose young daughter Liu Sichen was killed by contaminated antibiotics, complained that the authorities “don’t think that ordinary people are important.” No investigation

The Globe and Mail — “The Face of Chinese Cost-Cutting” Read More »

Theatre of the Mind

Currently reading: Theatre of the Mind: Raising the Curtain on Consciousness You may have seen Jay Ingram co-host Discovery channel’s science magazine, Daily Planet. It’s my son’s favorite show. What would he think of me if I confessed my other favorite is something called “Ugly Betty?” I am enjoying Ingram’s book, which initiates the layman

Theatre of the Mind Read More »

Tim Flannery — Making waves about weather

Canada’s investigative journalism magazine, W5, did a recent expose on Canadian climate change skeptics. Of these, many are paid by the oil and gas industry, many have not published recently in peer-reviewed scientific journals and some are linked to the same American publicity firm that tobacco companies hired to question evidence linking smoking with health

Tim Flannery — Making waves about weather Read More »

CANSCAIP — Research for non-fiction

Last night I attended the monthly CANCAIP meeting. The atmosphere was, as always, very friendly. I enjoy meeting people who have actually “done it” before — published a children’s book, that is. The special topic for October was research for non-fiction. Editor and writer Gena Gorrell talked about predicting unforeseen problems, filing and obtaining photo

CANSCAIP — Research for non-fiction Read More »