Good News To Make Your Holiday Feel Good, Week of 11/20/17

Your healthy dose of feel-good current events in pop culture, fashion, travel, science, and everything in between…

And with a soft sigh, the latest round of carefree updates has arrived just in time for a lazy weekend of elastic waistbands. In honor of the extra portions you deserve, we’re showcasing 11 (a holiday bonus to the usual 10) topical reports cherry-picked to deliver an opportuuunity to chill out and deeply breathe in the scent of easy times that lie so very directly ahead.

Take the chance to unapologetically recline, perhaps in a marshmallow-puffy robe, and lounge with some harmless (yet fascinating) stories selected to give you some clickable, likeable current events that are finally worth sharing with your favorites.

Peruse, ponder, audibly “awww,” lol a little, and enjoy the good news you might have missed:

There’s something to be said about being thrilled with the life you have, rather than chasing down the one you don’t. Here, The Journal of Positive Psychology shows evidence that making a reverse bucket list, or practicing “grateful recounting” can help you see your real world with rosy, disco-twinkling glasses. Even thinking of 3 good things in the past 48 hours and writing a bit about them every day could spark a new attitude.

“Distinguished by a sly, comedic beauty, her work has a playful, knowing, almost-Rococo lightness of being in which pleasure, humor, intelligence, and a seductive sense of usually high color mingle freely,” is how The New York Times describes the work of painter Laura Owens, whose midcareer survey is on display at The Whitney Museum until February. The artist came of age during the “anything-but-painting attitude” of the 90s, lending a lighthearted dreaminess to her lavender seascapes and airbrushed clusters of cats. 

As devoted Wes Anderson fil-um fans swelled with pride, Bill Murray strolled up to a South Carolina country music box office, bought every ticket available, then handed them out to fans waiting in line for the show. Perhaps the most touching moment of the account is when this Page Six writer characterizes Murray as a man who “has a history of doing nice things for strangers.”

Interested in learning how to correctly pronounce Phuket, but on location? Feel like sailing around Thailand with a group of adventure-seeking babes? FP’s new Escapes are taking the guesswork out of cruising around the world in catamarans: One trip option “is a 7-day voyage exploring coves and coasts in the Andaman Sea,” the company shares of its plans to take travelers “sailing, snorkeling and diving their way through some of Thailand’s hidden secrets.” 

How far can a shout carry over a hilltop? Not far enough. That’s why we have Mazateco, a language created entirely of whistles that’s still used in Oaxaca, Mexico. Originating as a method of carrying messages across long distances and mountain ranges, the dialect is still touted by local elders for its limited strain on vocal cords and connection with nature. 

For anyone that proudly counts adult Harry Potter enthusiasts amongst their very closest, dearest of friends, a theory that scientists have recently proven true will come as no surprise: “We conducted three studies to test whether extended contact through reading the popular best-selling books of Harry Potter improves attitudes toward stigmatized groups (immigrants, homosexuals, refugees). Results from one experimental intervention with elementary school children and from two cross-sectional studies with high school and university students supported our main hypothesis.”

P.S. Kitchen, the upscale plant-based restaurant that opened in New York City this August is donating 100% of its profits to organizations that help those in need. “We apply a business engine to a social problem,” co-founder Craig Cochran says. “The idea is your money should have multiple lives.” Also working with The Doe Fund, which offers aid to the homeless and previously incarcerated in the form of job training and housing, the owners hope to create a stigma-free environment for employees hired from the non-profit. “I think part of helping people move on is letting them leave their past behind them.” 

This 11-second clip showcasing the day-to-day reality of one No Fear pet-owner relationship will turn into at least 110 seconds after a series of mesmerized loops.

Editor Sheryl Garrett pays tribute to a beloved youth culture icon: “If you come from Mars, or even from 2017, and you want to know what was happening in popular culture in the 1980s and 1990s, pick up The Face and it’ll tell you all you need to know.” Now that the Brit-born magazine is slated to relaunch in 2018 thanks to a resurgence of interest in indie print media, take a glance through this window into its original Kate Moss-filled pages. 

Finally, facial hair serves the community. In the first scientifically verified program created for dog training, researchers found that the first six months of a puppy’s life are crucial to its future behavior. Little, adorable tricks like combing its coat with a toothbrush or brushing it against the bristles of a moustache or beard while it’s still teeeeny tiny can improve social skills as a big dog. 

Yet another reason to sleep in has arisen! According to the recorded healing times of three control groups, the team that slept more without nutritional supplements healed their wounds faster than those that slept less with healthy doses of different proteins and nutrients. Goodniiiiight. 

 

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Love that tidbit of information about Harry Potter. I’m a Potterhead through and through! ;)

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

6 years ago

Love this! :)

Patricial Shiels
6 years ago

nice article