So glad to be partnering with Yoganonymous to share this list with a larger audience.
1. A new album from Furns. I have a particular soft spot for European style pop music, the sort that is sometimes called Chill, Beach House, Shoegazer, Dreampop, or Electropop. Musicians like Morcheeba, Zero 7, Tina Dico (my blog is named after one of her song lyrics), Dido, Galimatias, Flunk, Tycho, Gemma Stone, and Pablo Nouvelle. Furns talked about how they decided on their name, and I think it’s a really good description of their sound, “Mathias came up with it after battling for several months trying to find a proper name. We thought it was catchy, and it sounded good. It’s a mix of the words ferns, fur and furniture, we guess. Three things we like: The colour green, something warm and something comfy.”
2. Edouard Martinet’s Masterfully Sculpted Animals and Insects Made from Bicycle, Car, and Motorcycle Parts. And somehow, this seems to be related news, Macro Photographs Composed of Nearly Ten Thousand Images Show the Incredible Detail of Insect Specimens.
3. Mom posts pic of her post-baby tummy to prove that not losing weight doesn’t mean you’re “letting go.” It is so important that women push back in this way against the ridiculous, dangerous standards promoted elsewhere in the media.
4. A woman defending herself against a creep on a elevator has gone viral on Chinese social media. Take that, creep!
5. In related news, I Was Assaulted By A Married Man. I have always loved Meghan Tonjes’s honesty, her sense of humor, her strength, but I have never appreciated it more than in this video.
6. In 66 tweets, this woman perfectly explains how white privilege works. An important read.
7. Elisabeth Moss Will Star in “The Handmaid’s Tale” Mini-Series. Everything about this makes me happy. If you haven’t seen Moss in “Top of the Lake,” I highly recommend it.
8. The Sixty Second Photograph, a beautiful video project. “We are a group of still photographers who have come together to learn and grow in the art of making moving pictures. We believe that to grow as an artist requires exploring and pushing yourself to places you are no longer comfortable. The Sixty Second Photograph embraces the process of learning, feeling vulnerable, and sharing alongside our peers. Once a month we will make a 30 second to 2 minute film and share it here.” I want to live inside of some of these videos. If you have some extra time, follow the links offsite and check out their still photographs too. Beautiful.
9. Recipes I want to try: Triple Chocolate Banana Bread and Key Lime Poundcake.
10. Infographic: 3 Levels of Meditation, a really great explanation of what can happen when you practice. And in related news, this gif of what meditation is like is brilliant.
11. How to Take Yoga Photos for Instagram – Ultra Spiritual Life episode 34. This guy cracks me up. His take on meditation, gluten intolerance, coconut oil, etc. are hilarious, funny because they come so close to the truth.
12. A Tiny Pep Talk from Adam J. Kurtz. I’ve been keeping this link handy ever since he posted it. Just hit pause at any point in the video and get a special message. Mine for today was, “Of course you can.”
13. I Couldn’t Grow Real Plants So I Made These Paper Ones. These are pretty amazing. And in related news, Kate Alarcón, who makes similarly amazing paper flowers, “unusual paper plant life, handmade just outside Seattle.”
14. The Top 10 Self-Improvement Teachings that Hold People Back on Elephant Journal, (where oddly enough, you can find articles promoting the exact same teachings this author is suggesting hold people back). “There are many popular self-help teachings that—on the surface—seem to make sense and be helpful, but are actually disempowering. These teachings lead people to inaction, keep them dependent on their teachers, and prevent them from creating the life they desire.”
15. Justine has been writing some amazing, important stuff on Allowing Myself lately, such as Dr. W, as in, The Worst (Part 1), and Dr. W, as in, The Worst (Part 2), and To Touch That Deeper Level.
16. What I’d Like To Say To Young Writers, Part Two. Chuck Wendig gives the best writing advice.
17. On the Heartbreaking Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books, “Summer Brennan Attempts Marie Kondo’s Approach to Tidying Up Her Library.” Super interesting, (says the one who has WAY too many books, except in this case, what does “too many” even mean?).
18. Chobani CEO Giving Employees an Ownership Stake in Yogurt Empire. “The man who built Chobani yogurt into a multi-billion dollar brand is giving thousands of employees the financial surprise of a lifetime.” I love everything about this.
19. Should You Start a Business? 51 Female Entrepreneurs Weigh In. Laura Simms asked, “What 3 pieces of advice would you have for someone who is wondering if they should start a business?” and the responses are a rich collection of wisdom. One that I personally can’t stop thinking about is from Tiffany Han, who said “Try to discern if you really want a business or if you’re looking for relief from your current job situation.” Oh, snap!
20. Transformation tourism from Seth Godin, who says “Change comes from new habits, from acting as if, from experiencing the inevitable discomfort of becoming.” The inevitable discomfort of becoming… whoa.
21. Things Dudes Have Said to Me After Sex, equal parts funny and sad.
22. Your fat friend doesn’t feel fat. An important distinction.
23. Checking in, paying attention, and friendship, a great post from Lindsey Mead. In related news, “‘The worst thing that can happen is that friends disappear’: Love, loss, and the unappreciated art of checking in” (which in part inspired Lindsey’s post).
24. Ads Vs Reality: 20+ Hilarious Examples Of False Advertising. So funny.
25. 15+ Of The Most Beautiful Bonsai Trees Ever. I have a longstanding obsession with the art of Bonsai, and these are 15+ reasons why.
26. How to Release the Painful Memories and Emotions Stored in Your Body. Seems worth a try.
27. One of Many, “One of Many is a monthly series of photo essays about twelve American cities and their creative communities.” I found this site because they recently featured one of my favorites, Austin Kleon, but looked around and realized the whole project is way cool.
28. Padgett Powell’s rules on “What Writing Should Do”, a really great list.
29. Share your story: #WhenIAlmostDied. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and read the responses. And if that’s not enough, you could go listen to the podcast. Creepy good.
30. “Sweet Darkness” by David Whyte, read by the author (who could read me the phone book and I’d be happy).
31. Long Ambients1: Calm. Sleep. by Moby. “Over the last couple of years I’ve been making really really really quiet music to listen to when I do yoga or sleep or meditate or panic. I ended up with 4 hours of music and have decided to give it away. You can download it for free below or stream it.” Very cool. Thank you, Moby.
32. Depression Lies from Jena Schwartz. Word.
33. Rescue Hummingbird Won’t Leave The Dog Who Saved His Life. Such a sweet story.
34. A 12-Minute Guided Framework for Journaling and Gaining Clarity. “How I used Think Clearly’s Clarity Cards to inspire wisdom and peace at the end of my pregnancy.” I need a deck of these cards!
35. Powerful Project Gives Anyone the Opportunity to Become Frida Kahlo in 15 Minutes.
37. One year ago, today. “I know this much, a year later. Losing someone you love hurts. It hurts deeply, and it hurts for a long time; probably forever. But if I could tell Kelso something now, I’d tell him it was worth it. I’d tell him I’d do it all again.” Word, probably forever AND I’d do it again, (have, and will).
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 