Something Good

This is happening in my garden right now

1. 23 ‘Small’ Signs That You’re A Highly Sensitive Person, alternatively titled “Everything You Need to Know About Me.”

2. Recipes I want to try: Bob Armstrong Chile Con Queso Dip and Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches. Also, I need to go buy some tortillas here, Stop at this Fort Collins bakery for authentic Mexican food.

3. Salon talk. A mom and her wee one are impossibly cute.

4. Sarah Silverman breaks down why she stopped calling things “gay.”

5. The Borrowed Words of Ivanka Trump. “The ‘inspirational quotes’ of her new book, Women Who Work, function as their own, tidy versions of the alternative fact.”

6. This Emotional Wedding Photo Is Bringing The Internet To Tears. So beautiful.

7. Wisdom from Elizabeth J. Andrew, “The ‘Who cares?’ question assumes writing to be a product, valuable inasmuch as others are willing to consume it. But writing is a product only at the tail end of a long and arduous process. The writing process, like any spiritual journey, is worthwhile for its own sake. The only answer to the ‘Who cares?’ question that really matters is whether or not you care.”

8. What you need to know about the House vote to repeal Obamacare. In related news, Republicans Celebrate Taking Healthcare Away from Millions, and In Rare Unity, Hospitals, Doctors and Insurers Criticize Health Bill, and See the full clip of Jimmy Kimmel’s powerful opening from last night, where he wasn’t just a TV host, but a father and a citizen.

9. Artist Creates Giant Wood Sculptures and Hides Them in Copenhagen Forests.

10. Powerful Comic Perfectly Captures the Hypocrisy of White Feminism.

11. Save the Holiday Twin Drive-In. “Re-new the drive in infrastructure to preserve this Fort Collins treasure for generations to come.”

12. Illustrator Draws Queer People of Color Doing Everyday Things.

13. Help save Everyday Feminism. It’s such a great resource.

14. W. Kamau Bell Unmasks Industry Racism in This Excerpt From His New Book. “In this excerpt from his new book, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell, the comedian describes a White show business figure’s duplicitious and patronizing treatment.”

15. Trump supporters forced this man out of a rally — after mistaking him for a protester. In related news, A Woman Is On Trial For Laughing During A Congressional Hearing, (but also this I’m facing jail time after laughing at Jeff Sessions. I regret nothing.) And, something else you might need, How to Stay Sane if Trump is Driving You Insane: Advice From a Therapist.

16. The Eating Disorder Community Has A Fat Phobia Problem. Because this, “A thin-obsessed world perpetuates eating disorders and fat phobia. A world that acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of body sizes, and that focuses on access to weight-neutral mental and physical healthcare for people of all sizes (rather than focusing on trying to make everyone the same size) is better for everyone’s health.”

17. Bodhi Hanna Kistner (88): “Only After Sixty My True Life Began.” Stories like this are such a relief to me, to know that there is still time, as long as I get to stick around for awhile.

18. These Los Angeles dancers are changing the way people protest.

19. We Belong to a Planet That Bends Towards Healing from Adreanna Limbach.

20. What is Cultural Appropriation? In related news, What’s Wrong with Cultural Appropriation? These 9 Answers Reveal Its Harm.

21. In one powerful tweetstorm, this woman demolishes the hypocrisy of fat shaming.

22. Maria Bamford Wants You to Know You’re Doing Great.

23. Pink’s IG Picture is Not Body Positive from Dances with Fat.

24. Wisdom from Tulku Thondup, “Every mother-being wants to be happy, just as a thirst-tormented person wants water. Most beings, however, have no idea how to secure happiness. Confused, they grasp at anything that they think will be rewarding. But they go about it in the wrong way—through grasping, attachment, obsession, or aggression. At best, they are chasing rainbows. At worst, they end up hurting themselves, like someone who tries to lick honey off the sharp edge of a knife.”

25. A New Map on Allowing Myself. Justine is writing some really amazing stuff about being a new mom, when she gets the time and space to write, cause you know — new mom.

26. There’s No Such Thing as “Good Police.”

27. Outdoor Recreation Isn’t Free – Why We Need to Stop Pretending It Is.

28. One Strike, You’re Out: Fucking It Up With Your Friend of Color.

29. Neil deGrasse Tyson Warns: America ‘Is Already Kind Of Fading.’ “The famed astrophysicist says “there’s no future” for a country that ignores science.”

30. Why White Lady Sisterhood Needs to Evolve.

31. Advice for the recent graduate from Austin Kleon. I would argue that this is good advice for anyone, at any time.

32. 100 questions to spark conversation & connection, an oldie but a goody from Alexandra Franzen.

33. Avoiding Activism Burnout from Dances with Fat.

34. (It’s Great to) Suck at Something.

35. Guardians of the Planet:12 Women Environmentalists You Should Know.

36. Aimee Mann Tiny Desk Concert.

37. Guy Hides Camera In Bucket Of Water To See Who Comes To Drink, And Result Doesn’t Disappoint.

1. Heavy Words, wisdom from Rachel Cole.

2. For Those of Us Who Don’t Have Our Sh*t Together, wisdom from John Pavlovitz.

3. Women making a real difference: Women like Anna Guest-Jelley, Amber Karnes and Dianne Bondy — (and their collaborative project Yoga for All) — Jessamyn Stanley, and Dana Falsetti, and Omega Johnson, and Valerie Sagun are doing such important work, for yoga and women.

4. The Meditation Hater’s Guide to Meditation.

5. Stand Against Suffering: An Unprecedented Call to Action by Buddhist Teachers. “Buddhism does not align itself with any party or ideology. But when great suffering is at stake, Buddhists must take a stand against it, with loving-kindness, wisdom, calm minds, and courage.” Which will come in handy considering what’s next on the list…

6. DT related information. Not so much “something good” as it is “stuff you should know,” and to be honest, hard to read. Would Trump supporters elect him again now? and 100 Days in Trump’s America and Transcript of AP interview with Trump.

7. For Our Black and Brown People Fighting for Survival in Toxic White Spaces.

8. Unique Ways White Women Enact Racism.

9. What it Really Means to Hold Space for Someone.

10. On Leveling Up, wisdom from Karen Waldrond on Chookooloonks.

11. How to Be Creative Like a Motherf*cker, Cheryl Strayed on the Tim Ferriss Show.

12. On treating your body like garbage & writing like you’re running out of time, wisdom from Esmé Wang.

13. The Very Best Writing Books, Ever from Jennifer Louden.

14. The Reason Your Feed Became An Echo Chamber — And What To Do About It. Just to be clear, I don’t actually think an echo chamber is always a problem. Sometimes you need to hear yourself, need to have yourself reflected back to you. Sure if that’s ALL you do, it could become neurotic, problematic, but to say that it’s inherently a problem doesn’t feel workable to me. And just because I’m in community or conversation with people who share the same basic values or beliefs doesn’t mean we have nothing to learn from each other. So, there’s no reason to abandon the echo chamber entirely. If you are using it as a way to remain willfully ignorant, sure; but if you are finding support and learning something, hang out if you want.

15. Writer with Tender Story Fears Return to Back-alley Abortions.

16. Nestlé’s water privatization push, a petition. Sign or don’t sign, but this is some pretty scary shit.

17. Meet The Woman Who Can Remember Every Day Of Her Life. There Are Only 80 People Like That Worldwide. Fascinating.

18. These NSFW pushups come with an important message: Love the body you have, from The Official Fan Page of Zach Anner.

19. SheaMoisture Is Cancelled: 38 Black-Owned Hair Care Brands You Can Support Instead.

20. The new status symbol: it’s not what you spend – it’s how hard you work. No, just no.

21. Systemic Racism: Australia’s great white silence | Jonathan Sri | TEDxQUT.

22. Weight Loss – The Credit Thief from Dances With Fat.

23. Wisdom from Melissa Toler, from her recent newsletter where she talked about opting out of diet culture:

On opting out of diet culture:

1. stop putting your money, time, and precious life energy into constant weight loss
2. eliminate any and all media (magazines, social media, etc) that idealizes and celebrates weight loss (believe me when I tell you there will be almost NOTHING left)
3. *do the internal work necessary to eliminate diet mentality…it’s an uncomfortable daily process*
4. don’t concern yourself with what other folks are eating and how they are (or are not) working out
5. don’t comment on the size and shape of someone else’s body

There are many more things you can do to opt out, but this list is a good start. It’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. The bottom line: diet culture denies us the right to exist peacefully in our bodies as they are. I can’t think of any good reasons to keep participating in it.

24. Wisdom from Diane Ackerman, “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

25. Roaring Gold, “an evergrowing collection of essays, poetry, quotes, and media documenting and illustrating the lives and experiences of people of color within the social justice movements aimed at colonization, anti-blackness, and patriarchy. RG concentrates on the empowerment and celebration of marginalized communities by centering and appreciating their voices in tangible ways.”

26. Lonely 90-Year-Old Woman Asks Neighbor To Be Her Friend In Heartbreaking Note.

27. Richard and Jaco: Life with Autism. “‘I’m being led by the hand by my child, not the other way around.’ – Jaco has autism. His dad, Richard worries about how he’ll fit into the adult world.” In related news, 6-year-old with autism has weekly reading date at animal shelter. “Jacob Tumalan, who has autism, once seemed to lose his verbal skills. But thanks to a collection of books and dogs at his local shelter, he’s now thriving.”

28. After 17 years Birchbark Books continues to center Native stories, space amid society of erasure. I want to go to there.

29. Best of Smitten Kitchen. So many recipes I want to try! Also this one, P.F. Chang’S Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Copycat Recipe).

30. A Beloved Canadian Folk Artist’s Paintings Now Sell for $20,000. “Despite her deformities, Maud Lewis answered an ad seeking a housekeeper for a tiny one-room home in rural Canada. There she would become one of the country’s most beloved folk artists.”

31. Wisdom from Syed Hussan, (by way of Desiree Adaway), “Decolonization is a dramatic reimagining of relationships with land, people and the state. It requires study. It is a unlearning.”

32. The 16-year-old girl winning international acclaim. “Abandoned as a baby, meet 16-year-old Tjili who is deaf and has cerebral palsy – she is winning acclaim for her art.”

33. 15 Ways To Be A Literary Advocate.

34. 5 Coded Phrases People Post on Facebook to Excuse Their Racism. In related news, 10 Defensive Reactions to White Privilege That Make No Damn Sense – But Are Super Common.

35. Wisdom from Matthew Lecki (by way of Christian Fabien), “Overtly racist white people are the sword of white supremacy. Silent white people are the shield.”

36. The Heineken Ad Is Worse Than The Pepsi Ad, You’re Just Too Stupid To Know It. “This commercial is the worst type of propaganda. It tricks you into thinking social problems can be resolved if only people tolerate their oppression just a LITTLE while longer. It pushes the idea that bigotry, sexism, and transphobia are just differences of opinion that are up for debate, and deserving of civil discourse and equal consideration.”

37. Burg’s Place fundraiser. I know I already shared this last week, but it’s even more important now — Burg has been diagnosed with a very aggressive type of leukemia, given a prognosis of two weeks to three months. So many people’s hearts are breaking, including mine.

38. Reasons That Lady is Crying in Whole Foods. *teehee*

39. The Trailer for Maria Bamford’s Netflix Special ‘Old Baby’ Has Arrived.

40. Wisdom from Toni Morrison, “If you can only be tall because someone else is on their knees, then you have a serious problem.”