Nice Things! Oh How We've Missed You.
That applies to more than a post from Wonkette.
I searched for “Nice Things” in the Wonkette archives and the first thing that came up was from 2020, written by Dok and the header picture just happened to be of my kitty Bear squeezing all of his floof into a tiny box. If I fits, I sits!
Nice things still exist. Let’s find some current ones.
One of my favorite YouTube follows is BlackForager, a happy, singing vegan living in Columbus, Ohio, who offers up all kinds of cool edible things you can find in your backyard. She does a really fun “One is poison and one is a snack!” which she sings, pointing out similarly looking plants and telling us which ones are safe to eat. She also relates the history of the use of these plants as food in indigenous, Black, and poor, rural communities.
Alexis Nikole Nelson has over 6 million followers across different social media platforms, has written a book, and was interviewed by Forbes. She appeared on Jimmy Kimmel!
She always reminds people to be careful about knowing exactly what they are eating with her tagline, “Happy snacking, don’t die!”
In the video below she taps some black walnut trees and shows how to make syrup from the sap. She describes the flavor as sweet but a little nutty. Like me!
Baby goats, yes please! Even better how about triplets? The Sunflower Farm Creamery is located in Cumberland, Maine, and raises Nigerian dwarf goats; they sell feta, chèvre and yogurt and offer free visits to get up close with these adorable creatures. The goats are treated with love and respect for their unique personalities on the “no cull” farm, where they are not killed when they get old or stop producing milk, or are newborn bucklings (male baby goats); they get to live out their lives to the fullest.
They also have a fun YouTube channel where you can find goats in pajamas and a baby goat flood!
From the Black Girls Code YouTube channel and their Role Model interviews, they are talking with Ariel Paxton who is a motion designer for Noggin. When asked what it is like working as a Black woman in the tech industry, she explained, “It felt like there’s not as many of me … there needs to be more outreach, so more people know the jobs are available.” Girls Who Code is one of the organizations helping to do that. They have helped train over 860,000 girls, women, and nonbinary individuals, with a goal of positively impacting 5 million people’s lives with guidance and leadership in this underserved community by 2030.
Having a diversity of backgrounds and imaginations in the tech world would definitely improve all of our lives.
Speaking of animation, one of my favorite animated films, The Triplets Of Belleville, is available for free with ads on YouTube. (I managed to connect two nice things, triplets and animation!) There are no baby goats in this film but lots of frogs and great music.
I would like to add Wonkers’ personal Nice Things, please DM me or reply in the non-comments if you have something to share. Let’s celebrate us.
I received some great replies to my first request.
Cambridge Knitter shared that a friend and colleague’s husband who has been on the kidney transplant list for a long time is finally getting a kidney! Surgery is expected next week. You can register to be a donor with the National Donor Registry or Organ Donor.gov.
NewLarry sold his house after 13 months on the market and dealing with several big problems, like flooding from a burst pipe that did crazy damage. The new owners are good people, “I feel like I’m about 50 pounds lighter, and I’m a lot happier! NewLinda is over the moon, too. Plus, as a bonus, the new owners are really nice folks, which is good because we’re next-door neighbors!”
tehbaddr’s nice thing was exactly what we would expect from him, never change dude!
The extra nice thing beyond itch relief is that he is out of the hospital, “Still recuperating but feeling and doing way much better. Thanx.”
Let’s finish with some music. From NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series it is Lizzo (or Tiny Ass Desk as Lizzo calls it.) The Tiny Desk concerts are fundraisers for NPR, they have raised over $204,000. She sings and plays her flute, performing three songs, “Cuz I Love You,” “Truth Hurts,” and “Juice” — but when she first opens her mouth to sing, damn! She is also incredibly positive, my current favorite song by her is “Special” that reminds us all, that we are indeed, special.
Nice Things are always needed and Nice Things can be found here every Saturday. Look at it as a reward for making it through another week of all the bad stuff.
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Feel free to go OT!
The timing was uncertain so that was not added to the end of the post.
FYI, our dear departed friend Fukui was a big supporter of Black Girls Code..