Category Archives: Something Good

Something Good

1. How to Grow Re-enchanted with the World: A Salve for the Sense of Existential Meaninglessness and Burnout“Katherine May explores what it takes to shed the cloak of meaninglessness and recover the sparkle of vitality in Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age — a shimmering chronicle of her own quest for ‘a better way to walk through this life,’ a way that grants us ‘the ability to sense magic in the everyday, to channel it through our minds and bodies, to be sustained by it.'” I really enjoyed May’s book Wintering and am excited for this new one.

2. The Courtyard

3. The Furniture Hustlers of Silicon Valley on The New York Times. “As tech companies cut costs and move to remote work, their left-behind office furniture has become part of a booming trade.”

4. Wisdom from Omkari Williams“To change things we need to understand them. Let’s deepen our understanding of these deeply inequitable and immoral systems and then let’s do what we can to shift to systems of collective concern, collective care, and collective support.”

5. Could We End Wealth? “In 2019, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines at the MLK Now conference. When Ta-Nehisi Coates asked whether the world is moral when it allows billionaires to exist, she answered, ‘No. It’s not.'”

6. This Is a Better Term for ‘Highly Sensitive Person’.

7. Maga Hat in the Chemo Room(video) a new poem from Andrea Gibson.

8. 36 questions to stay in love.

9. How radical gardeners took back New York City(video) “Seed bombs, the ‘tree lady of Brooklyn,’ and the roots of urban gardening… New York City looked a lot different in the 1960s and 1970s. A sharp economic decline and white flight meant there was mass disinvestment and urban decay, particularly in the city’s lower-income neighborhoods. It’s what Hattie Carthan and Liz Christy noticed in their communities when they each set out to revive their neighborhoods by making them greener. Ultimately, their radical acts of gardening would transform the landscape across New York City.”

10. #44 Transitions, part 1: The fundamental ambiguity of being human“A three part series on what to do when you don’t know what to do.”

11. Ezra Klein Interviews Jane Hirshfield“She’s a poet. She’s the author of many collections of poetry, including her most recent ‘Ledger,’ which is probably the book of poetry I’ve gifted to others most often. She’s also the author of two very beautiful books of essays on poetry and how it works and the poetic mind.” 

12. Bernadette Mayer will give you ideas“On the late American poet’s irrepressible confident weirdness.” If you like writing prompts, read this.

13. Dandelions and orchids from Austin Kleon.

14. UnPrisoned | Official Trailer | HuluI just finished watching this and while the season ender was a bit of a bummer, the show is really good — the acting, the writing, the music. “Inspired by Tracy McMillan’s life, ‘UnPrisoned’ is a half-hour comedy about a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.”

15. 99 Things To Do Instead Of Reaching For Your Phone.

16. How to Find ‘Microjoys’ When Everything Is Bad and You’re Not OK.

17. On 3/11/20, WHO declared a pandemic. These quotes and photos recall that historic time.

18. Chris Rock Looks Very Small Right Nowan opinion piece on The New York Times by Roxane Gay.

19. Author Alice Walker Defends J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia*sigh*

20. The Whale is not a masterpiece – it’s a joyless, harmful fantasy of fat squalor by Lindy West. “The Oscar nomination for The Whale must mean it’s great, right? Wrong! It is a shallow and stigmatising reflection of thin people’s assumptions about fat bodies.”

21. Are Some of Your Well-Intended Eating Habits a Problem? “Unhealthy eating patterns are pervasive in fitness culture. Whether it’s the latest ‘wellness’ trend on TikTok, advice from elite athletes, or general messaging from an industry that thrives on athletes’ desire to perform optimally or meet an unattainable aesthetic standard, this messaging can lead to patterns of consumption or restriction that are disordered, and eventually, meet a diagnostic standard for an eating disorder.”

22. Wild Bird Brings Someone Special To Meet His Human Mom(video)

23. ‘The God of Endings’ is a heartbreaking exploration of the human conditiona book review.

24. Trying to finish the chapter before bed(Instagram reel) This is me, every night.

25. Rogan Brown, Paper Sculptures Portfolio

26. Meleana Sessions x Mana Wahine “Rise Up.” (video) Gorgeous.

27. The 41 Best Oregon Mom & Pop Restaurants to Eat At in 2023.

28. A Geese Love Story on CBS Sunday Morning. (video) “Last August, Blossom the goose lost her mate, Bud. They’d lived on a pond at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown, Iowa. Blossom’s grief was evident to the cemetery’s staff, and so general manager Dorie Tammen decided to post a personal ad for Blossom. Correspondent Steve Hartman reports on the results of an avian blind date.”

29. Comedian Sarah Millican’s YouTube channel. She is hilarious, slightly naughty but so sweet at the same time.

30. Abstract and organic textile sculptures with vibrant colors by Serena Garcia Dalla Venezia.

31. “Incomplete” Sculptures Capture the Playful and Timid Personalities of Children.

Something Good

1. Let’s Talk Memoir, “a podcast for memoir lovers, readers and writers, featuring interviews with memoirists about their writing process, their challenges, and what they’ve learned about sharing the most personal of narratives. Hosted by writer, speaker, and memoirist Ronit Plank, each episode of this limited series highlights different aspects of the memoir writing experience, writing tips, and inspiration.”

2. The Case for Hanging Out“There’s a growing crisis in our social lives. Could the cure be this simple?”

3. Permission: Time to Choose“What permission does is remind us that we have choices, and what our limited life span means is that our choices matter.”

4. The book is hereI just preordered my copy of Maggie Smith’s memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, because, again, poets write the most beautiful memoirs.

5. Share Your Wisdom: What spiritual/life lessons have you learned from your pet? on Lion’s Roar. I think I might have to do this.

6. How to Not Burn Out on Lion’s Roar. “Sustainable activism begins with not calling yourself an activist, says Keisha Bush.”

7. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön: “Joy has to do with seeing how big, how completely unobstructed, and how precious things are.”

8. 10 Books By Living Black Women to Read During Women’s History Month.

9. The news ≠ your life by Oliver Burkeman. “You hear it said that it’s a marker of privilege to be able to back off from the news – to spend a pandemic planting bulbs in your backyard, or get absorbed in your creative work while democracy declines. But if it really has become a privilege to retain one’s sanity, I think it’s one the privileged need to exercise, not disavow. In an era when the news leaves half your friends paralysed by misery, it’s no indulgence to make time for whatever’s pleasurable or engrossing in your life. On the contrary, the world needs sane people more than ever.”

10. How to Deal With a Narcissist When You’re an IntrovertFor about ten years, I worked for a narcissist and it was incredibly painful. I wish I’d understood then what was happening, been able to access resources like this for support and guidance.

11. 3 Things to Do When a Family Member Won’t Change Their Toxic Behavior.

12. An Open Letter To The Next Generation Of Artists by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Really, this advice applies to any human of any sort. RIP Wayne Shorter.

13. Imperfect your memories from Austin Kleon.

14. Selected artwork from Sarah GrahamGorgeous.sg05_2020_sarah_graham_paeonia_emodi_iisarah_graham_paeonia_hillary_ink_on_paper_2019

15. I’m a nutritionist from Japan, home to the world’s longest-living people—here are 5 longevity foods we eat every day.

16. Restoring Dignity to Our Animal Kin on Tricycle. “Anthropologist Amanda Stronza reflects on death, grief, and the profound interconnections between animals and humans.”

17. Margaret Atwood Is Still Sending Us Notes From the Future on The New York Times. “Her new story collection, ‘Old Babes in the Wood,’ offers elegiac scenes from a marriage plus a grab bag of curious fables.”

18. Abstract Masses of Porcelain Consume Embracing Figures in Sculptures by Artist Claudia Fontes.

19. Artist Reorganizes Found Organic Objects Into Visually Satisfying Arrangements.

20. in praise of I don’t knowa poem from Maya Stein. 

21. Video of Philly Teen Reacting to Being Accepted to Morehouse Goes Viral(video). “Amir Staten from Germantown was jumping for joy in the rain after finding out he was going to Morehouse College. The video of the young man went viral after his mom posted his reaction to social media. NBC10’s Leah Uko spent time with the family, to learn more about the journey that led up to the special moment.”

22. FurtureMe: Write a letter to your future self“Write. Pick a receiving date. Send. Verify. That’s it 😊 Your letter is safe with us – we’ve sent over 20 million letters in 20 years!”

23. Pep Talk: on Getting Unstuck from Maggie Smith.

24. Man sees frog living in his fence and builds ‘Frodrick’ a customized house with a fancy pool.

25. Puppy Plays Tug of War With Horse(video)

26. Surpising kurt with fish(video)

27. Thoughts from this morning from Susannah Conway.

28. 6 scholars explain what a real climate solution is.

29. Self-care is important – but we shouldn’t mistake it for feminist action“As long as there is a big gap between the women who have the most freedoms, and those with the least, our work as feminists is not over.”

30. Everyone messes up. Here’s how to say you’re sorry.

31. “I don’t know” from Seth Godin.

32. The ‘inside magic’ of healing and growth.

33. Some people (we are all some people) from Jena Schwartz.

34. How Introverts and Sensitive People Can Finally Stop People Pleasing.

35. Somebody Somewhere Is Coming Back, and It’s as Lovely as Ever“Bridget Everett and company preview the second season of their HBO cult favorite—a show that’s low-stakes in all the best ways.” I adore this show.

36. How to Feel Alive Again on The New York Times.