Hi, all. Wise & Shine is looking for a few new writers. If you’d like to apply to join the team, send samples of your writing via our “Contact” form. Please familiarize yourself with the sort of things our blog publishes before contacting us. We’ll send a set of writing guidelines to those who send … More Want to Write for Wise & Shine?
Learning a new language is like learning to drive. It doesn’t matter in which order you learn to steer, use the brake, or change gear. It’s what you do as a whole that is important, not which component you learn first. The latest breakthroughs in neurosciences, combined with innovative technology for measuring brain activity, are … More How Learning a Foreign Language Has Positive Effects on Your Brain
Dear Readers and Listeners, As you know, Wise & Shine started a podcast at the end of last year. As newbies to this sort of thing, we were mostly flying by the seat of our pants during those early episodes. We’ve decided to provide a little thematic focus to the podcast going forward. Here’s what … More New Wise & Shine Podcast Focus
In October of last year, Wise & Shine started a podcast. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be recording new episodes for your listening pleasure. Tuesday will be the day we publish new podcasts to the site. If you haven’t already done so, please have a listen to our recordings from 2022. We are interested in hearing … More Wise & Shine Podcasts in 2023
In the latest installment of the Wise & Shine podcast, I talk with Billy Osogo—one of our writers and a brilliant young man who lives in Nairobi, Kenya—about what the world can learn from Africa. In Billy’s very insightful response, he tells me about “Ubuntu” and a variety of other subjects. Have a listen and … More New Podcast: What Can the World Learn from Africa?
Hi! We’ve just posted a new episode of the Wise & Shine podcast. Have a listen as I talk with the uber-talented and insightful Art Russell. In this podcast, we attempt to answer the question “What’s Really Important?” Thanks for tuning in!
I’m pretty upset with myself. I grew up in the Austin area (and yet!) I never once heard of El Arroyo restaurant, not until a few days ago. Since the 1980s, besides serving fine Tex-Mex cuisine to countless customers, the eatery has been posting imaginably funny and clever signs in its parking lot. In fact, … More That’s Punny!
I’m amazed by how my mind works. I never know when an idea for a blog is going to come to me. For example, this morning, just after pulling into a parking space upon arriving at my work and then killing the engine, I immediately realized that I do a lot of the same things … More Pardon Me While I Get This Off My Chest
Hemingway said you should write your story, and then take all of the “best” lines out. Would we like F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Toni Morrison, or James Baldwin half as much if they took our their best lines? S … More How To Kill Your Darlings. In Your Writing, I mean. Obviously. Not In Some Creepy Jim Jones Way.
Not long ago, I wrote a piece about thinking that prompted lots of reaction. After publishing it, my mind moved on to other topics. Recently, though, like in the last couple of days or so, I started thinking about thinking again. As you can probably tell, thinking is one my favorite activities. We think for … More I’ve Been Doing Even More Thinking about Thinking
Last Saturday I went to visit the private art collection of Proximus, a Belgian digital service provider. In 25 years the company has collected about 600 artworks and last December they opened the doors to visitors. For the moment, only 200 paintings and photos are displayed. The exhibition is called Art with a View, because … More Art with a View
As someone who manages a couple of writing centers at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas, USA, I’m often asked, by faculty members of one sort of another, to do writing workshops for students. Exactly one week ago today, I did a critical thinking activity with a class of writers. It’s a workshop I’ve … More I’ve Been Thinking about Thinking
Before I get into the body of this piece, I’d like to say that the conflict in Ukraine is especially interesting and tragic because I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Poland during the mid-nineties, not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was sent … More What Vladimir Putin’s War Is Teaching Me
I almost never have writer’s block, but I’ve had it recently. That’s at least partly a function of having published somewhere between 150 and 200 pieces on this website. Here’s the thing. Writer’s block does exist. It’s often a byproduct of mental fatigue. It can also be caused by what I’ll call “bad living.” In … More The Result of “Bad Living”
I didn’t really have a topic in mind for this week’s blog. I was running out of time, and then, miracle of miracles, late on Saturday evening, I watched Austin City Limits, a weekly TV program, run out of Austin, that features hour-long musical performances. This week, they had a concert by Terry Allen and … More Terry Allen: Writer, Artist, Musician, and Generally Cool Guy
Hi, all. Not long ago, I was contacted by “Ay,” a blogger who asked if I’d mind being interviewed. After we’d corresponded a bit, she sent a list of interesting questions that I responded to. The full interview can be found here. After checking out my responses, you should look at Ay’s piece about pointless … More I Was Recently Interviewed
By Troy Headrick It’s that time of year again when people think about the new year and how they’d like to make changes in their lives going forward. We often refer to these proposed life modifications as “new year’s resolutions.” The other day, while stepping out of the shower, the idea hit me—insights come as … More The Importance of Language When Making New Year’s Resolutions