When Kevin Kelly’s published Cool Tools, his giant “catalog of possibilities”, five years ago, it immediately became our favorite catalogue. Its descriptions are literary, its selection attuned to creative minds. We find it relaxing to read while it makes our brains sparkle in unexpected ways. Now it’s available for $3.99.
Read MoreErling Kagge on ‘The Secret Bond Between Slowness And Memory, Emotion, Intelligence’
“The pace we choose when we walk can be decisive for how we think”, writes explorer and philospher Erling Kagge in Walking One Step at a Time. Apply it more broadly and it becomes a startling life principle that can profoundly shift everyday experience…
Read More@Mandy Patinkin’s Heartening Reality Sandwiches
Traumatized by seeing her aged face on Zoom, actress Kathryn Grody rants, despairing and conflicted, to her son Gideon as he films her with his iPhone. It is one of the many illuminating moments captured on @Mandy Patinkin, documenting the everyday life of actor Mandy Patinkin, Grody and Gideon as they shelter at their upstate NY cabin.
Read MoreLife’s a Mess, Channel ‘Pura Vida’
Understanding the nuances of “pura vida” made me wonder what if, in the face of all the chaos and uncertainty and rage and sadness, we were to embrace it as our daily mantra?
Read MoreKaffe Fassett on the Healing Power of Color
Color artist Kaffe Fassett likens color to oxygen, “…like breathing”. In this short video, he describes how he relies on color for healing, something it seems, we can all do:
Read MoreSeamus Heaney On Suffering, Self-healing, and Hope for a Great Sea Change
This Seamus Heaney poem from “The Cure at Troy” resonates POWERFULLY in this time of extraordinary social upheaval as though it was written yesterday, and lends hope to our sea change.
Read MoreA Poem to Transform the Pandemic
We had not heard of poet Lynn Ungar before we saw her poem Pandemic. It offers a deeply affirming way to view this “strange and terrible” time, referencing an ancient practice.
Read MoreHow to be Clear: Walk the Wind with Natalie Diaz, Ada Limón, Theo Jansen
Uitwaaien is an untranslatable Dutch word for a simple, transformative practice you can do almost any time. I came to understand it more deeply through art and poetry that expands the meaning of “air”.
Read MoreBolivia’s Cholita Wrestlers and Mountain Climbers Transform Stereotypes with Fierce Acts of Empowerment
Aymara indigenous women in Bolivia, long marginalized, have embraced wrestling and mountain climbing in traditional colorful skirts to affirm their history and their visibility. Their motto: To want is power.
Read MoreThe Best of Core 77’s Hilarious Weekly Roast of Really Bad Design
Core 77’s Weekly Design Roast gives our Annals of Bad Design a serious run for the money. Rain Noe deconstructs high-minded, idiotic design, channeling the hilarious design thinking behind it.
Read MorePrivate Office Rituals That Make Work Better, Deeper, Richer
Accepted for artists, rituals are taboo in the business world even though they can enhance productivity and well-being. Peter Bregman tells how to use them in any setting (once you understand what they really are and do.)
Read MoreDept of Astonishment: Listen to The Sound of a ‘Waterfall’ Made By Millions of Butterflies
For the first 3 minutes of this video of a visit to a butterfly reserve in Mexico, naturalist Phill Torres treks and talks while he makes his way to the winter encampment of millions of overwintering monarch butterflies. Then at 3:39, a miracle happens:
Read MoreGive it up. Go bare. Go free. Accept Your Shelf Life As Given (Guest Post)
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jim Allison’s headshot filling the back cover of a recent New Yorker got me thinking. Would that photo fly as a full-page ad if Dr. Jim were a woman?
Read MoreZoe Leonard on Why Her 1992 Poem “I Want a President” Stays Viral
When this astonishing image came over our email transom today, its force and clarity stopped us in our tracks. 25+ after she wrote it, artist Zoe Leonard refines its message.
Read MoreA Beautiful Trippy Voyage Deep Inside a Giant Redwood Leaf (with Big Bill Neidjie + Ansel Adams)
Two minutes of wonder to start the day: this wondrous, trippy visualization by the inside of a giant redwood tree leaf, with a remarkable poem by Australian Aboriginal elder Big Bill Neidjie…
Read MoreReading Poetry is Deeply Grounding Amidst the Crazy Shit that Life Brings
During the extended upheaval in my life recently, reading a poem each morning kept me grounded and refreshed by throwing whammies into my linear thinking about harsh realities..
Read MorePractical REAL-Life Wisdom from the Very Wise Ann Lamott
When she turned 61, Anne Lamott decided to “take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today.” It is a seriously good distillation of decades of living from the author of Bird by Bird.
Read MoreWords to Begin or End the Week (Maira Kalman)
This week in the life of artist Maira Kalman has some very important reminders for any week to come…
Read MoreSolar Lanterns Make Lunar Magic, Sensual Bubbles and, in the end, Stars
One of the best ways we know to create outdoor lighting magic in warm months are with Shoji Solar Lanterns…
Read MoreSimple Ways to Create Private Space with Fabric Room Dividers and ‘Slung Cloths’
The quest for a calming, private space can feel like an impossible dream, particularly for those who share tight living quarters. Here are some ideas…
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