1. Hey, listen to your emotions, a great chart posted by Andrea Gibson.

2. Putting the Ass in Aspirational from Dances with Fat.

This idea of “aspirational” images is far too often used as a way to justify reinforcing the current stereotype of beauty which is typically thin, white, cisgender, able-bodied (and which, thanks to Photoshop, at this point is only actually achievable via digital enhancement.) Representation matters. Seeing people who look like you – whether it’s in athletics, or television and movies, or on stage, or doing whatever it is that you want to do – is important. Denying people role models who look like them isn’t aspirational, it’s cruel, and it’s oppressive, and it’s bullshit.

We each get to choose what we aspire to, and none of us is obligated to aspire to a stereotype that is used to exclude and oppress us and others. We have the opportunity to speak out against the idea that the choice to exclude so many people is doing anything other than putting the ass in aspirational.

3. Harvard Has a Free Online Course on Buddhism That You Can Take Right Now.

4. She became the nation’s first Somali American lawmaker. A month later, she was harassed in a D.C. cab for being Muslim.

5. The 50 Funniest Tweets From Women In 2016.

6. Over 2,000 U.S. veterans are standing with the protesters at Standing Rock. “I didn’t take an oath to defend corporations. I took an oath to defend the people.” I really loved what Christian Fabien had to say about it. And, where the veterans plan to go next is good too. But still, there’s this bullshit, Dakota Access Pipeline to continue despite Army Corps failure to grant easement.

7. Best Christmas ad of the year. “This ad out of Poland — shot in English — tells a moving story…that touches on human truths and deep values, using subtle humor and pathos.”

8. Van Jones: Only a ‘Love Army’ Will Conquer Trump. In related news, Love Deez Nutz, or Why Van Jones Is Wrong and Maybe Even a Bit of a Bullshitting Magical Negro, or Happy Friday from My Corner of Trump’s America–Whatever You Like–I’m Tired.

9. This Is Why We Freeze. “It’s a Sisyphean task. All women are set up to fail, convinced it’s their own fault, and persuaded that all they need to do is keep trying, keep trying, keep trying, because the rewards of looking like you’re the perfect woman are relief from the efforts required to get there. Only, it’s a false fable. No woman has ever gotten ‘there.’” The cake is a lie.

10. Getting Back to Work. But What, Now, is the Work? from Ill Doctrine.

11. Love Notes for America. “In the wake of the 2016 election, mosques and other religious organizations across America have begun receiving anonymous hate mail and have been subjected to vandalism. This website was created to make it easy for all of us to combat this hate mail with love notes. On this site, you will find a list of mosques that have received hate mail (as well as other religious institutions that have been subjected to xenophobia), along with their mailing addresses. The goal is simple: Send a note or a postcard to these organizations to show their members that they are loved and appreciated.”

12. This comic from The Oatmeal illustrates how we’re missing the mark on happiness.

13. Let’s make magic in 2017! Susannah Conway’s (FREE) unravel your year workbook.

14. Food Psych #81: How to Honor Your Body and Feast on Your Life with Rachel Cole.

15. The other person is always right and Two kinds of winning from Seth Godin.

16. Now Is the Time to Stand Up: Practicing the Dharma in Uncertain Times, Part 2 by Jack Kornfield on Lion’s Roar. “Now a time of change has come. We must listen deeply, bear witness, honor everyone, and choose our actions wisely and courageously. Do not worry if the Right Action is not yet clear to you. Wait in the unknowing with mindfulness and a clear heart. Soon the right time will come and you will know to stand up.”

17. S*** Happens: Breaking the Perceptions of Perfection and Control. “In dog training (and in life), shit happens.” Word.

18. Put Your Hands Together, my new favorite podcast. “‘Put Your Hands Together’ is a first-of-its-kind weekly standup podcast. PYHT delivers 75 minutes of jokes and backstage chats with LA’s best and brightest comics directly to your earbuds.”

19. Insecure. I got a 30 day free trial of HBO through my Amazon Prime account just so I could watch this. The show is so good, really great writing, acting, and music.

20. Solange‘s A Seat at the Table. I can’t stop listening to this album. It’s so good.

1. Army Corps Denies Easement For Dakota Access Pipeline. I first saw the news on my Facebook feed while I was waiting in line at the grocery store yesterday — I don’t think anyone noticed I was crying. It’s also important to remember, however, that this isn’t over. And in related news, Beloved Horse Blanket Donated To Standing Rock. *sob* And in other related news that might make you giggle, Standing Rock – Ultra Spiritual Life episode 46.

2. An epic scavenger hunt. (Thanks for the link, Shellie).

3. BotJoy. (Thanks for reminding me of this one too, Shellie).

4. WhatDoIDoAboutTrump.com, “a resource hub for people who are upset about the election and want to make a difference. We feature the best campaigns and resources created since the election — in a simple and well-designed format — to help you get active. We also offer tools to help you stay active because we know it can be hard to find time in our busy lives.”

5. Patton Oswalt’s Year of Magical Parenting. Confession: I wasn’t ever a huge Patton Oswalt fan. I liked him just fine, but I didn’t go out of my way to seek out his work. Now though — I think he’s one of the most awesome humans, and any time he writes something or does an interview, I’m there.

6. Japanese Americans Talk About World War II Incarceration. Can we please not do this again.

7. There was some really problematic body-shaming during the “Gilmore Girls” revival. Word.

8. Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice, “Moving from Actor → Ally → Accomplice.”

9. Recipe I’d like to try: Curried Butternut Squash Soup.

10. Prison Reform Myths: Shutting Down BS with Michelle Alexander.

11. Justin Normand’s Facebook post, “I’m the Texan who held the “You Belong” sign in front of the mosque in Irving.”

12. DoSometing.org. “A global movement for good. 5.5 million young people making positive change, both online and off. Team up with young people in every US zip code and in 131 countries.”

13. Christmas gifts for the homeless. “What do homeless people want for Christmas? Their responses may surprise you.”

14. Injustice Boycott. It starts tomorrow. Watch this Facebook Live video to get some context, or watch this short clip from Democracy Now. Read this about the boycott’s historical and philosophical framework.

15. You can’t go home again on Rita’s Notebook. “Since November 8, I have felt as if we’re all now living in what we’ll come to think of as After.”

16. Racism With No Racists: The President Trump Conundrum. “The issue there is the definition of ‘racial’ — of or about race — isn’t at all what racism is. Racism is not about race. Everybody has race. And, that’s not how we’re using it. Racism is about racial hatred, animus rooted in racial superiority beliefs that often justify the unfair allocation of resources, both cultural and material.”

17. Gifts for Writers, 2016 on Terrible Minds.

18. This teen is the new leader in the fight against gun violence.

19. Top 43 Meditation Blogs You Need To Be Reading.

20. How my grumpy 75-year-old father learned Instagram to show his love to his three grandchildren.

21. Fuck this Shit, an Advent devotional.

22. What if you could change the world by doing nothing? | Susan Piver | TEDxAruba

23. Being Watched. “New website seeks to register professors accused of liberal bias and ‘anti-American values'” and Professor Watchlist Is Seen as Threat to Academic Freedom. This is some next level bullshit. The sort of thing that leads to this shit, White Power Leader’s New Target: Colleges. And this, I’m a liberal professor and my conservative students terrify me.

24. Supporting fat women in the time of Trump. “We don’t just need you to dispose of the noisiest bully. We need you to challenge the culture that created him.” And why it matters so much: Fatphobia Claims Another Life.

25. The FLASH drives from Seth Godin. “Fear, loneliness, anger, shame & hunger.”

26. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar: Among the Bodhisattvas at Standing Rock, and What About the Cost of Retreats?

27. You Don’t Have To Like Me—You Just Have To Believe I’m A Human Being.

28. Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. I didn’t get to watch this yet, but I’m going to.

29. You’ve Been Trumped, a documentary. Again, as above, I didn’t get to watch this yet, but I’m going to.

30. Episode #43: Are You Authentic, or Are You A Fraud? A podcast I want to listen to. Jamie always has good stuff to say. “In this episode Jamie reveals the magical 3 p’s: Presence, Peace and Power and how these lead to authenticity within yourself. You will also learn the tell-tale symptoms of when you are being a fraud and not living into who you actually are.”

31. Coping with Chaos in the White House. This sounds right to me.

32. “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack“, Peggy McIntosh’s classic essay about White Privilege.

33. Good stuff from Jena Schwartz: “How Can I Help You” and Other Three-Dimensional Questions, and The Art of Becoming a Boring Writer (and Embracing It), because this:

…when I’m no longer oriented towards the next shoe dropping or the next big drama, writing requires a new kind of courage and creativity.

It’s the creativity to recognize that everyday life is teeming with writing-worthy moments. And it’s the courage to show up not only when everything’s chaotic, not only when I’m in a place of unrest or searching or heightened emotion or shifting ground, but from inside of everyday life, against a backdrop and in the context of extraordinary conditions. Because for better or for worse, the world is not short on extraordinary conditions.

And later in the same post, “The whole having-a-body thing, being-in-relationship thing, and making-a-difference thing? Dude.”

34. David Rees breaks down how much money he’s made freelancing for 15 years.

35. My Grown-up Christmas List from Curly Girl Design. “Needless to say, this list has been eye opening and a tiny bit sobering. Full of practical things, things-that-I-wish-just-happend-for-me things, and things-that-would-just-make-my-daily-life-happier-or-easier (or, have fewer holes in it) things, this list is not glamorous, but I am willing to bet one or two of these things is secretly on your list.” The first thing on the list, for sure.

36. I Read 50 Books by Women of Color This Year! I’m keeping this list to add to my own, (which is already more than I could possibly read in one lifetime). In related news, 6 Podcasts Hosted By Women of Color, Because There’s Life Beyond Ira Glass, I Promise.

37. 20+ Comics That Capture Life With Anxiety and Depression.

38. Wanting to lose weight isn’t shameful. “Practitioners who offer weight loss may not understand the necessity to heal relationship with food and body in order to create the conditions that make body acceptance possible. Once you heal that stuff, the concept of weight loss is way too tiny to fit all the radical self-care you will employ to honor all that you are.”