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Someone recently asked me what my “process” is for writing this newsletter. You get that question a lot in this line of work, and I assume people are waiting for a sophisticated answer like, “Oh, I’ll pour myself a cup of decaffeinated green tea and take notes in a leather-bound book full of brilliant ideas until the mind of Joan Didion or whoever guides my eager mind.” Unfortunately that is not the case. I usually frown at my computer screen until a thought occurs. Sometimes I get up and walk into another room, forget why I’m there, go to the window and look at the birds, then sit back down and hope something has been shaken loose. It’s really not that glamorous. Very rarely does inspiration come at all. Of course, it is terribly rare. That certainly won’t happen now! I think it’s time for another bird break.
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Our favorites this week
Get started with some of our most popular good news stories of the week
What a friend we have in Elmo
Oh, Elmo. Our dear friend from Sesame Street walked straight into a steaming pile of sadness this week when he checked in with his followers on X – formerly known as Twitter – to ask how they were doing. To summarize the many, many answers: Not so great, Elmo! Thanks for asking. People were so open with the fluffy little guy that all of his Sesame Street friends on The whole thing was quite funny in a dark way. What’s more, it was surprisingly heartwarming: Saying you’re not doing well takes courage, and people were more than willing to be vulnerable with a familiar childhood icon. As Elmo said in one comment: “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked. Elmo has learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.” I wrote about the fun little social media moment here and talked to a therapist about ways you can open up to a friend — or be that all-important listening ear.
Say Cheese!
Apparently rats love taking selfies! What a fun fact to take with you. Artist Augustin Lignier witnessed the adorable behavior after purchasing two pet rats in 2021. He built them an elaborate cage and trained them using a mechanism that gave the rodents sugar when they pressed a button to take pictures of themselves. The project is a commentary on the concepts of pleasure, reward and the addictive behavior caused by social media. Lignier said the images offered a “playful” way to explore topics such as reduced attention spans and the impact of social media algorithms. After a few days of taking selfies, the pair were sent to Lignier’s mother’s house in Provence, France to spend the rest of the rodent days in peace (and anonymity).
Read the whole story here.
The future is locked up
A South African entrepreneur who designed a smart locker system that improves access to healthcare has won a major award for African engineering. Neo Hutiri is the maker of Pelebox, a system of internet-enabled lockers that provides medications for chronic conditions to patients. This safe approach helps reduce queues and waiting times and relieves pressure on hospital resources. For his future-changing device, Hutiri received £50,000 ($63,000) from Britain’s Royal Academy of Engineering. The event marked the 10th anniversary of the Academy’s prestigious Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, which recognizes entrepreneurs who have developed technology to address local challenges on the continent, from improving energy access to adapting to climate change.
Read the whole story here.
You have to see this
Yes, we can definitely see the family resemblance! The James Webb Space Telescope has captured mind-bending portraits of 19 spiral galaxies and the millions of stars that call them home. The telescope’s ability to observe the universe in different wavelengths of infrared light, such as near-infrared and mid-infrared, shows the stars, gas and dust within the intricate structure of each galaxy. Our own little solar system is located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way.
Read the whole story here.
Hear, hear!
Resist the lie that violence and destruction are inevitable, that this is the way it has to be. We have a responsibility to imagine a different way to be human.
– author Cole Arthur Riley
Shameless animal video
This week’s video comes from a retired postman who set up a camera to record whoever was clearing out his garden shed at night. (Click here to view)
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