10 Good News Stories to Prep Your Heart for Valentine’s Day

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 weekly updates has arrived, showcasing 10 topical reports cherry-picked to deliver an opportuuunity to chill out and deeply breathe in that soon-to-be-V-day scent of heartwarming times that lie so very directly ahead.

Take the chance to unapologetically recline, perhaps in a petal-soft 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:

This touching tribute to late 90s voice-of-a-lifetime Dolores O’Riordan beautifully explains all of the reasons to love The Cranberries’ debut masterpiece “Dreams” that you always felt but never attempted to fully explain. With poetic moments that articulate “the heartbeat percussion” and “waves of arpeggios that crash resoundingly from the opening chord, a near-flood of instant feelings,” feel no shame for getting carried away with replays.

Riffing on Einstein’s quote, “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university,” this piece on ethical leadership is just short enough that key players might actually read it. It ends simply and fairly with the Dalai Lama’s words, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” 

After all of the holiday generosity that was kindly spread across the last flashes of 2017, wouldn’t it be nice to unapologetically delight the one you love most this Feb 14th? Whether that manifests in an unnecessary-but-uplifting gift for yourself, your partner, or both, this list from The New York Times of romantically leaning wares (picture neon-lava-glowing-heart art or red cotton pajamas whose proceeds support female power moves) will help you cherish a quiet moment of self-indulgence. 

The Friends resurgence, sparked by a decade of near-vintage episodes now ripe for streaming, is the feel-good phenomenon of 2018, providing a pop culture point of reference for Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and BB Boomers alike. In her interview with Conan O’Brien, Lisa Kudrow adorably explains why the show’s fake movie trailer may not guarantee a comedic reboot.

When this tiny dog owner found out that he and his wife were expecting a tiny baby, he decided to build a tiny room to encourage sisterly affection. “I thought I would try to give her her own little space to make the transition easier,” new dad Michael explains of his inclusive nesting logic.

Young Susan’s forward-thinking execution of her school project is worth a tip of the hat to adolescent bravery. Proving that even time-honored systems have their faults, her final findings read simply: “Everyone hates the science fair.”

Caihong juji, or “rainbow with the big crest” in Mandarin, is the chicken-sized dino that scientists think may have lived in China 161 million years ago. Believed to share elements of hummingbirds’ iridescent spectrum of feathers, the flashy species would have used its multicolored plumage to attract mates according to recent research. Julia Clarke, a professor the University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences, helped describe the new species in terms of personal preference: “It is really cool… or maybe creepy looking depending on your perspective.”

Giving new meaning to the LEO 4 LYF attitude shared by superfans, Tom Hardy lost a bet with Leonardo DiCaprio over whether or not the former’s performance in The Revenant was worthy of an Oscar nom. DiCaprio wanted to believe, and his winning forecast resulted in Hardy adding a “Leo Knows All” tattoo to his collection.

Kitty the Duck was born on a family farm in Australia after her mother accidentally wandered away from the nest. Watch with pride as Unicorn the Cat takes in the abandoned baby as one of her own. Kitty’s happy bathtub footage alone is cause for celebration. 

::: And a double serving of cats for the lovers in the house ::: Ben’s tortoiseshell feline Baloo, who he’s raised since she was a kitten, has learned a new way to show gratitude to her favorite person after a series of crack-of-dawn gifts she left on his chest were ill received. “She brought little dormice, and on a couple of occasions, little birds, and they were always alive,” Ben explains. “It would certainly wake me up because I’d then have to chase the things around my room.” Still hoping to lavish her affection, Baloo began collecting leaves for him each morning and quickly changed her owner’s tune. “Just picturing her wondering around ‘oh that’s a nice leaf, he’ll love this one!’ ‘no this one’s far too similar to the one he’s already got’. It’s just too cute.”