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 […]

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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

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Made to Stick

I enjoyed Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The subtitle, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, explains much of its appeal. If you want to get across a message that people will understand, remember, and act on, this is your book. A lot of the Heath brother’s advice is common sense but

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Grown Up Digital

I have to recommend Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott. I found it excellent preparation for back to school, both for understanding my students and giving extra insight into the group dynamics of my co-workers. It’s also a handy guide for those who wish to market to

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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

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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

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