1. Howard Schatz’s Images Of Female Athletes. This is an older series of photos, but it resurfaced this week after all the weird gendered body shaming happening at the Olympics. The full series includes male athletes and is pretty amazing. 

2. 14 things that the misguided religious establishment doesn’t want you to know from Jim Palmer, a former evangelical megachurch pastor. My favorite is #14: “You are capable of guiding your own spiritual path from the inside out and don’t need to be told what to do. You naturally have the ability, capacity, tools and skills to guide and direct your life meaningfully, ethically and effectively. Through the use of your fundamental human faculties such as critical thinking, empathy, reason, conscience and intuition, you can capably lead your life. You have the choice to cultivate a spirituality that doesn’t require you to be inadequate, powerless, weak, and lacking, but one that empowers you toward strength, vitality, wholeness, and the fulfillment of your highest potentialities and possibilities.”

3. Oliver Chalk Meticulously Turns Found Pieces of Timber into Bold and Voluminous Vessels.

4. This year’s longlist for the Booker Prize.

5. Documentary Area. Watch hundreds of the best documentaries for a simple donation. In related news, The Best Documentaries & Docuseries of 2024 (So Far).

6. Telling the Story of Everest Pioneer Lhakpa Sherpa Took Patience and Trust on Outside. “Five questions with Oscar-nominated director Lucy Walker, whose latest documentary ‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa’ debuts on Netflix on July 31.”

7. PHOTOS: Colorado wildfires burn across Front Range.

8. The Newest National Parks Feature? Poetry. on Outside. “Ada Limón, America’s first Latina poet laureate, is helping us rethink wild spaces with some perfectly placed poems at a park near you.”

9. Homeowners are increasingly re-wilding their homes with native plants, experts say.

10. Hummingbird babies. (Facebook reel)

11. Snoop Dogg and Lester Holt one-on-one at Paris Olympics. (video) “Snoop Dogg, deemed the Paris Olympics ‘ambassador of happiness,’ has been making his rounds to almost any sport you can think of this year. Turns out, his love for the Olympic games goes way back. Lester Holt sat down for a one-on-one interview with Snoop before the two caught a Judo match together.” In related news, Snoop Dogg’s Olympics commentary is ‘pure gold.’ How the rapper’s love for Team USA is taking the internet by storm.

12. Recipe I want to try: Lemon Scones. 

13. I avoided plastic for a week. Here is what I learned about a plastic-free life.

14. Two American Families: 1991-2024, “a special, two-hour documentary filmed over more than 30 years, is a portrait of perseverance from FRONTLINE, Bill Moyers, and filmmakers Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes that raises unsettling questions about the changing nature of the American economy and the impact on people struggling to make a living.”

15. Marc Maron’s take on meditation. (Facebook reel)

16. How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Nap. This article is a few years old, but still relevant. 

17. ‘A rumpled paperback showed me I was not alone’: Charlotte Mendelson, Michael Rosen and others on the books that marked their coming of age.

18.  Reuse that teabag! Ignore that special offer! It’s time to join the underconsumer revolution. “Most of us already have more than enough stuff. No wonder so many young people are turning their backs on the marketers and influencers.”

19. A Few Wild Things from Laurie Wagner. In related news, Wild Writing Summer Pop Up with Laurie.

20. Love Letter Sent Back in Time to Myself Three Years Ago, another gorgeous and tender poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

21. I have trouble fitting in from Jenny Lawson.

22. ‘Trees show us what community means’. The importance of having access to forests, according to you. “Positive News readers share profound moments you’ve experienced in forests and how being around trees impacts your wellbeing.”

23. Rising and shining: one woman’s mission to demystify the baking of bread. “After making bread lifted her out of a deep depression, Kitty Tait made it her mission to demystify the alchemy of baking – and reawaken others to the many benefits of an honest, unprocessed, crust.”

24. Sinéad O’Connor’s cause of death revealed. 

25. Poetry Wednesday: Kinship is a Verb from Patti Digh.

26. 7 Things You Must Abandon for a Simpler Life on Be More With Less from Courtney Carver.

27. Happy Born Day, Ancestor James Baldwin! from Robert Jones, Jr.

28. The Joy of Staying Put from Maggie Smith.

29. 50 Shades of Self-Care: How to Give Yourself TLC for Every Occasion.

30. This collection of images I saved this week.

1. Watch 100,000 Dominoes Topple to the Ground in a Dazzling Eight-Minute Display. “Artist Lily Hevesh spent ten days creating the elaborate installation at the National Building Museum.”

2. Princess Leia’s Star Wars bikini fetches $175,000. “Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the films, said she thought director George Lucas was ‘kidding’ when he showed her the bikini.”

3. On loneliness, Issue #295 from The Red Hand Files. What I liked so much about this response isn’t something Nick said, but something he shares that someone else said: “Philosopher, neuroscientist and psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist says we require three things to attain a meaningful life. The first is feeling part of a wider community – family, friends, and society in general. Second is an understanding of nature and a connection to the natural order of things, which McGilchrist feels we have largely lost. Finally, we need to form a relationship with the sacred or divine – this can be found in art, music, poetry and religion, where we acknowledge the ineffable and all-encompassing force that holds the world together.” I feel like these three things are worth a lifetime of our effort.

4. and that’s the way it is, on Chookooloonks from Karen Walrond. “Because any time I hear a story about someone doing something really challenging or difficult (and I’ve been listening to a lot of stories as I research my book), or indeed, when I reflect on past challenges of my own life, the truth is sometimes the only way to make it through is just to make it through. Sometimes life can get so overwhelming, that there’s nothing to do but take as deep a breath as you can, and focus on the next 60 seconds in front of you, and then the next, and so on. Just one baby step at a time. And with consistency, little by little, you suddenly realize that you’ve created some light.”

5. Christina Rasmussen: Life Reentry: Exiting the Waiting Room on the Sounds True podcast. “Filled with unique perspective and compassionate insight, this dialogue explores the place of uncertainty and stagnation known as ‘the waiting room’; the original self, and how we get disconnected from it; the impacts of an ‘us vs. them’ experience; how to identify your primary invisible loss; three inner narrators—the survivor, the watcher, and the thriver; reclaiming our forgotten ‘thriver memories’; the cost of seeking approval; saying yes to what you’ve always wanted to do; cleansing our patterns of fear; the practice of mental stacking; the Life Reentry model; reframing our experiences and taking action from our wisdom; why the place of death is also the place of creation; and more.”

6. A bowl of rice from Seth Godin.

7. When I Was Feeling Alone After My Father’s Death, a poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. In related news, Wild Sorrow: Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on losing her son and finding her way forward on the Life Examined podcast.

8. Thousands of fireflies are thriving at a small marsh in Colorado.

9. This summer wisdom, from Morgan Harper Nichols:

10. No growing pains: the 20 houseplants that are hardest to kill.

11. 6 Slow-Living Habits to Help You Savor the Moments in Your Life.

12. Zoltan Kaszas – Honorary Jones (FULL SPECIAL) 2024. (video) “As the end of the world approaches, comedian Zoltan Kaszas reflects on his father figures, getting married, moving to New York and more in his brand new stand-up special.”

13. We asked, you answered: How do you stay cool without air conditioning?

14. Death on Shishapangma from Outside. “Two American women and two Sherpa guides perished while racing for a record. The tragedy illuminates how the recent rush to climb the world’s highest peaks is driving climbers onto dangerous mountains like never before.”

15. ‘I didn’t want to be swallowed up’: actor Josh Hartnett on swapping Hollywood for Hampshire. “On track for megastardom, the actor turned down the part of Superman (twice) and turned his back on Hollywood. Now living in rural Hampshire, he talks about choosing fulfilling projects, his hippie childhood, the perils of stalkers – and the fun of owning pygmy goats.” I know that so many people strive for it, but I think being “famous” or a “celebrity” or even just a social media influencer would be an AWFUL way to live.

16. White Women: Answer the Call 2024. (video) “Sunday night, 44,000 women gathered with Win with Black Women to support Kamala Harris, and they raised over $1 million.”

17. Goodbye from Britchida, who had to say so recently to her dog Elsa.

18. An Almanac of Birds: Divinations for Uncertain Days, a gorgeous project from Maria Popova.

19. Reading between the lines: the book club boom. “A desire for offline community and connection is fuelling a resurgence of interest in book clubs in the UK.”

20. Spatula love from Patti Digh.

21. Anti-Sex Beds, Swag Hauls: Follow These Olympians on TikTok for Award-Worthy BTS. “Olympians test out those cardboard beds and give us non-Olympians a look at (nearly) everything happening in the Paris Olympic Village.” In related news, What happens inside Olympic Villages? These athletes gave us a tour. “In interviews, Olympians compared athletes’ villages to summer camps, college dorms, crowded hotels and — in the words of one gold medalist — a ‘gigantic cruise ship.'” 

22. Joy is Underrated or Incorrectly Rated from Gurdeep Pandher. “Joy is more than just having fun or experiencing fleeting moments of pleasure. It’s a deep sense of well-being and tranquility that emerges when you feel content with your life and circumstances. It’s not about crafting a flawless world devoid of challenges—such a world doesn’t exist. Instead, joy is about finding and nurturing your own happiness amid life’s imperfections, embracing the highs and lows, and discovering meaning and satisfaction in the midst of life’s inevitable struggles and uncertainties.”

23. Prioritize Yourself: 10 Essential Reminders for Self-Care from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less. Also from Courtney, Slow Down and Thrive: 10 Ways to Hush the Rush in Your Daily Life.

24. Finding Hope (Through Civic Engagement), “A conversation with Democracy in Retrograde author Emily Amick.”

25. Frank Deschandol’s Photos Uncover the Some of the World’s Most Elusive Insects and Arthropods.

26. In Praise Of Not Knowing from Andrea Gibson. “The joy of choosing curiosity over certainty.”

27. “Parable of the Sower” Is Now, Says Gen Z. “Young people who have read Octavia Butler’s 1993 novel say it’s not only prescient, but also carries lessons for today.” I’m not sure why they had to frame this discussion as a Gen Z or young people thing, but okay.

28. Softening the Clenched Fist from Krista Tippett on The Pause. “Reflections from Plum Village on healing our world’s pain.”

29. Norah Jones: Tiny Desk Concert. (video) “‘I finally made it to Tiny Desk,” singer-songwriter Norah Jones excitedly declares during her performance. Her first Tiny Desk experience was a solo piano and vocal (home) concert, which reflected all the meditative, sonic hallmarks of performing in isolation. Since her juggernaut debut album, Come Away With Me, was released in 2002, she has crafted intimate songs that showcase her beguiling vocals…For her long-awaited in-person performance, Jones presents a light, breezy set of soulful tracks from her newest album, Visions, a collaboration with producer Leon Michels.” In related news, Feist: Tiny Desk Concert. (video) “There’s always been a disconnect between Leslie Feist’s music — soothing, thoughtful, deliberately crafted — and her warm, wryly funny personality. We got to witness both in her long-awaited Tiny Desk debut, which finds her showcasing new and old material amid self-effacing commentary on the pandemic, public speaking and her strange moment of reality-TV fame.”

30. 57 Deep Journal Prompts for Personal Growth & Self-Improvement.

31. How to Embrace the Glorious Mess of Everyday Life.

32. Heartwarming Stories of How Pets Help Us Heal. They also break your heart when they go. 💔