Geese over the Poudre River, image by Eric
1. When a Boyfriend Joins the Marriage on The New York Times. “They agreed she could have sex on the side as long as he didn’t have to know about it. Then she fell in love.” I am so happy about this! The writer is my dear friend Sherry, and when this piece first got accepted for publication she was so excited but then there was some question whether or not it was going to actually happen, for the same reason all writers who write about our own experience often run into – our stories aren’t always just OUR stories, but rather other people are involved. And in this case, as so often also happens, love found a way.
2. Good stuff from Susannah Conway: Unravel Your Year and Find Your Word.
3. Good stuff from Seth Godin: Everyone’s got their thing and Seeing what’s right in front you.
4. People We Meet, a short film written and directed by Keith Powell. He also did a really great web series, Keith Broke His Leg.
5. How to Get Good at Dealing With Massive Change on Zen Habits.
6. An Edwardian English Kitchen. We aren’t going to really have the funding to do a full kitchen remodel or refinish our hardwood floors in the rest of the house, so might just paint the cabinets in the kitchen and do something less to the floors. I love the color of these cabinets and the floors remind me that the hardwoods in the rest of our house don’t need to be redone to look “fancy” but rather rustic is perfectly fine.
7. Adapting – Pilot. “This is the (mostly) true story of an advertising copywriter and his life coach wife who, after dealing with infertility and breast cancer, begin the emotional, difficult and surprisingly ridiculous journey of adopting a baby. It’s a journey that will test their wills, their love, and their ability to make sarcastic comments to each other without being heard by other people.” (video)
8. INFJ: 6 Therapist Tips To Express Your Emotions (When You Don’t Want To Rock The Boat).
9. 10 Leading Thinkers Choose Their Favorite Buddhist Films.
10. How Personal Grief Connects Us to Shared Compassion. “Laura Johnson’s eight-month-old cat died as the California wildfires destroyed nearby homes. She reflects on how her deeply personal loss opened her heart to society’s shared humanity.”
11. Michelle Obama: By the Book on The New York Times. In related news, Michelle Obama’s Take On ‘Lean In’? ‘That &#%! Doesn’t Work.’
12. TRUTH: A Year-Long Exploration of Personal Values The Back Story.
13. Xicanisma shares what it’s like to run their platform. “Xicanisma sat down with us and shared what it’s like to run a platform that fights the patriarchy and other forms of oppression.”
14. 4 year old Lyla decided she wanted to ride the big roller coaster, and immediately regretted it in the most hilarious way possible. (video)
15. Kitty says “Don’t touch my presents!” (video).
16. Adorable toddler with spina bifida warms hearts with video showing him celebrating his first steps. (video)
17. Watch this video to the end. It’s the best. (video)
18. Kate artist can’t walk or raise her arms and she needs a ventilator to breathe, but she’s always had a passion for art. (video).
19. Hannah Gadsby meets Roxane Gay: ‘Trolls get incensed by a woman daring to think she’s funny. I’m very funny.’ In related news, Hannah Gadsby Calls Out Hollywood’s ‘Good Men’ for Their Hot Takes on Misogyny.
20. Victoria Hanna left her Orthodox Jewish community to rap and defy gender norms. (video)
21. 50 Of The Most Incredible Photos Of The National Geographic Photo Contest Of 2018.
22. 30 Hilarious Memes That Will Make Every Introvert Laugh Out Loud.
23. OMG, his little accent though! (video)
24. Rumpus Original Poetry: When I Die, I Hope They Talk About Me by Camille Dungy.
25. Jersey City poet laureate is 24-year-old poetry slam champion.
26. A Black Orthodox Rabbi Explains How He Navigates Both Racism And Anti-Semitism.
27. This Holiday Season, Resist The Unbearable Whiteness Of Wellness. “Without connection, care and community, self-care is simply narcissism. And, without engagement in real, political efforts to change the racial and economic status quo, the ideology of self-care amounts to a radical reinvestment in the individual, in neoliberal capitalism, and in regimes of whiteness that reinforce the mythology of the primacy of the individual. Wellness without a radical, collective politics doesn’t offer resistance to regimes of power, but rather, a way to remain in them.” In related news, Self-Care Won’t Save Us, and Gwyneth Paltrow Takes Credit For Yoga Boom. Twitter Bent Out Of Shape – I’ve been willing to roll my eyes and move on most of the time with her, but this makes me feel stabby.
28. This company in Ghana is building roads out of plastic waste. (video)
29. 26 Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism & Resistance.
30. Fuck Lena Dunham And The White Feminist Horse She Rode In On. “White women lie. We been knew this. White women lie to protect white men and themselves, and white women lie to bring direct harm to people of color. This kind of harm is the one source of power that white women have, and they exert it as much as possible, from calling the cops on Black children and adults minding their own business, to actively supporting racist and misogynistic policies that sometimes end up hurting them too. Dunham’s support of Miller is not shocking within the context of American history. White women will continue to lie to protect white men and their crimes against women of color.”
31. 23 Insanely Cool Products Selling Like Crazy (Under $50).
32. No More “We Can’t Find Any Black Female Writers”: Here Are 62 Scribes in One Photo.
33. The Last Curious Man. “The enormous life of Anthony Bourdain, according to those who knew him best.”
34. Soothing Watercolor Paintings by Cindy Lane. (video) “Cindy Lane Art is a watercolor painter and illustrator who uses her talents to recreate the beauty of nature. She focuses on the sky and the sea, capturing the intense colors and textures of our swirling galaxy and majestic marine life.”
35. These are the cutest thieves EVER. (video)
36. White Lies, “Ijeoma Oluo On Privilege, Power, And Race.”
37. Tiniest Puppy Loves His Pack Of Pit Bulls. (video)
38. Photographer Captures Extremely Rare White Baby Reindeer While Hiking In Norway.
39. Glennon Doyle Is Trying To Wake Up White Women. Is It Working?
40. In this week’s edition of People Behaving Badly: Homophobic Man Punches Woman After She Receives A Kiss From Another Woman On New York Subway, and California Teacher Cuts Off Student’s Hair While Singing The National Anthem, and Bulldozers to soon plow through National Butterfly Center for Trump’s border wall, and Apparently, the New York Times Really Misses White Supremacy, and White Woman Causes Scene At Target After Minding Two Black Women’s Business, Accusing Them Of Loudly Discussing Sex, and This man was tased and body slammed — and it turns out that he was innocent (video).
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 