Category Archives: Something Good

Something Good

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” ~Desmond Tutu (from our walk this morning)

1. Giving Back During the Holidays Is *So* Important — Here’s How To Do It During a Pandemic.

2. The Birds Are Outside on The New York Times. “One bird feeder became two, then three. Months passed.”

3. Social Reproduction and the Pandemic. “The coronavirus crisis has made clear that care and life-making work are the essential work of society.”

4. The pandemic is starving us. Communities — not the government — are stepping up. “26 million Americans now report not having enough to eat; 16 percent of households with children report not having enough to eat.”

5. Turns Out It’s Pretty Good: Fall. “Why are we so skeptical of the things right in front of us? ‘Turns Out It’s Pretty Good’ is a series that examines the path from resisting the well-known to wholeheartedly endorsing it.”

6. New York Bodega Worker Gives Free Snacks To Customers Who Solve His Math Problems. Love these videos, happy to know the back story.

7. Sorting Through a Hoarder’s Lifetime of Clutter, We Learned the Meaning of Love. “When my boyfriend took a job helping a widow clean out her house, among the urine-soaked rugs and years-old piles of laundry, I saw our relationship in a new light.”

8. President-elect Biden Adds Navajo Nation Health Director, Dr. Jill Jim, to His Transition Team’s Coronavirus Task Force.

9. Wisdom from Krishna Das: “Our lives are the path. There is no ordinary life and spiritual life.”

10. The Thanksgiving Myth Gets a Deeper Look This Year on The New York Times. “For many Native Americans, the Covid-19 toll and the struggle over racial inequity make this high time to re-examine the holiday, and a cruel history.” In related news, 6 Native American and Indigenous Charities to Donate to for Indigenous Peoples’ Day & Thanksgiving.

11. Less Than A Year To Develop A COVID Vaccine – Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Be Alarmed. This is a case where “fast” doesn’t mean lazy or sloppy or careless, it means “this is urgent because people are dying so we have to work really hard and get this done asap.” In related news, Moderna released more Covid-19 vaccine results. They’re very encouraging.

12. Chef David Chang On Depression, Being A Dad And The Burden Of ‘Authenticity’.

13. 7 Great ‘This American Life’ Episodes for Thanksgiving on The New York Times. “From family mysteries and Native American history to stories that delight, here’s what the show’s host, Ira Glass, recommends to get you through the week.”

14. The Losses We Share on The New York Times. “Perhaps the path to healing begins with three simple words: Are you OK?”

15. The Dog Journal That Became a Diary of the Sky.

16. TikToker finds her 2020 goal list from January and well… It’s hilarious.

17. ‘In My Room’ With Aimee Mann. “Aimee Mann celebrated the 20th anniversary of Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo by playing tracks for Rolling Stone’s In My Room.”

18. Wisdom from David R. Hawkins: “Love is misunderstood to be an emotion; actually, it is a state of awareness, a way of being in the world, a way of seeing oneself and others.”

19. Mary Lambert Debuts Breathtaking Holiday Song ‘Seasonal Depression’. Her cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River” is also gorgeous.

20. Normal People Official Playlist on Spotify. As much as I’m enjoying the story, the acting, the visual mood; I’m loving the music.

21. You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes: Hannah Gadsby on Spotify, (podcast).

22. December Reflections with Susannah Conway. “The idea is simply to take a photograph (and share it if you wish) every day in December while reflecting back over the year. I’ve provided a list of daily prompts with a mix of things to photograph — for example: star, red, ornament — and things to ponder.”

23. Charlie Mackesy’s lessons in kindness. If you don’t already know his work, go find out (links are included in the article), it will be SO worth your time.

24. Solitude Is a Life’s Work, a poem by Belén Atienza.

Something Good


1. Mabel Magazine No. 5 – Living in the Now, “writing and art and musings from this time we’re all living in, this time outside of anything we’ve ever known before—and the stories and artwork that speak to this are, well, quite extraordinarily true and real. We’re taking pre-orders through 11/30, pre-ordering will get you a copy of Mabel plus a few lovely surprises.” This issue is LOADED with so much good stuff. Added bonus: I have a piece in it.

2. ‘Slow Down,’ ‘Don’t Quit’: Advice From 7 Women Who Overcame Their Pandemic Struggles.

3. Steampunk Busts Sculpted from Resin and Repurposed Objects Evoke Futuristic Relics.

4. ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Sends Chess Set Sales Soaring on The New York Times. “The Netflix show about a chess prodigy has reignited interest in the game and fueled demand for sets, accessories and timers.”

5. Artist Helps Soothe Anxious Minds With Adorably Supportive Cat Comics.

6. New (to me) music: Gracie and Rachel – Sidelines (Official Video). I listened to their whole new album, Hello Weakness, You Make Me Strong, this morning and LOVED it.

7. Here’s how the U.S. government plans to distribute the first Covid-19 vaccines on The New York Times. In related news, Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint on The New York Times, and The Vaccines Will Probably Work. Making Them Fast Will Be the Hard Part on The New York Times, and Rachel Maddow urges people to “recalibrate” their lives after revealing her partner’s COVID-19 diagnosis.

8. Is This Where We Are, America? by Roxane Gay on The New York Times. “Some people oppose student loan forgiveness because they want others to suffer, too.”

9. 15 Signs Your Partner Is Gaslighting You, According to a Relationship Expert. “Gaslighting is a form of manipulation meant to leave you feeling insecure and questioning your sanity. Here’s how to spot it.” Pro Tip: watching the outgoing administration for the past four years has been a masterclass on gaslighting.

10. Ten Thousand Books, a nonprofit organization. “We value diversity in our schools and in our community. Ten Thousand Books aims to add diverse experiences and voices to school classrooms in Minnesota and beyond. Books are powerful tools we can use to teach lessons of empathy and identity. We want students to read about as many different types of people with as many unique voices as possible. As well, we want ALL students to see themselves represented in books in their schools.”

11. Blinking hell: how to keep tired eyes healthy during a pandemic.

12. It’s Not “Just” Anxiety. When you live with an anxiety disorder — it’s not “just” anxiety.

13. The Best of Brevity: A Roundtable Discussion on Flash Nonfiction. “In celebration of this release, I brought together three of my fellow Best of Brevity essayists…for a conversation. We talked about the glories and limits of the flash form, and about our experiences working with editors who don’t share our backgrounds.”

14. Joy Harjo will serve a rare third term as U.S. poet laureate.

15. Be the Priority of Your Own Life (starting now) from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

16. Calm in the Midst of Chaos on Lion’s Roar. “Sharon Salzberg on the power of equanimity.”

17. The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture. I’ve shared this before, but it’s worth a revisit.

18. Wisdom from George Saunders: “So here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little corny, and I don’t quite know what to do with it: What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.”

19. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön: “Whatever you are doing, take the attitude of wanting it directly or indirectly to benefit others. Take the attitude of wanting it to increase your experience of kinship with your fellow beings.”

20. Meditation: Be Kind to Yourself on Lion’s Roar. “A three-step contemplation to give yourself the compassion you need (and deserve).”

21. The comedy of survival from Austin Kleon.

22. A year-long observation reveals the secret life of a tree and its animal visitors.