Sutton Long

POSITIVITY // Some good stuff...

3/20/2020

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So many things feel uncertain and frightening right now, but despite the bad news there have been little bits of awesomeness — people being truly kind and generous to each other. Here are some of my favorites from this week:
  • The meditation app Headspace is offering a free collection called Weathering the Storm; also Elizabeth Gilbert has recorded a free meditation called Facing Fear with Compassion on the Insight Timer app
  • Artists on Instagram are doing daily live events: children's book author Mac Barnett started a book club and reads one of his books every day at 12pm PST; and illustrator and graphic journalist Wendy McNaughton is doing daily drawing time at 10am PST M-F
  • Simone Gordon, a woman who acts as a megaphone drawing attention to the needs of others, broadcasts on her Instagram account who needs what, and how and where to donate
  • Stories of people who can give, giving: Basketball players donating to arena staff; Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds' food bank donation; Ayesha and Steph Curry are helping feeding children; Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos made a large gift to NYC; and Russell Wilson & Ciara donated a million meals in the Puget Sound area
  • Artist and teacher Bonnie Christine is providing free access to talks and classes on her website: Dreaming to Doing and From Focus to Flourish
  • Upworthy on Instagram consistently posts stories of positivity
  • Two international stories from earlier in the week: homebound Italians singing; and in Seville, Spain, a trainer providing a workout for people on lockdown in their apartments
  • Swans and fish in Venice canals 
  • A compassionate teen teen making hygiene kits for the homeless in LA
  • If you want a culture breaks, take virtual tour of historical homes or museums
  • Missing hanging with your pals? Get everyone together for a virtual happy hour or coffee date (and here’s an LA Times article with tech advice on how to make it happen).


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LISTEN // Harry Styles Fine Line

3/9/2020

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Although I am fairly shameless in my love for pop music, I was never a One Direction fan and know very little about Harry Styles other than that he dated Taylor Swift ​and went on holiday with Adele and James Corden recently. But my friend's daughter introduced me to his new album Fine Line, and I'm in love! The music references the 60s and 70s — I can hear little bits of Simon & Garfunkel, the Beatles, and CSNY — with a lovely California vibe. Standouts for me are Golden and To Be So Lonely.
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READ // Hello Lighthouse

3/6/2020

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As I've been writing my own children's book, I've been reading about and researching the market, and one of my absolute favorite discoveries is Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall. Blackall is a two-time Caldecott Medal winner, for Hello Lighthouse, which she wrote and illustrated, and for Finding Winnie, which she illustrated. I'm in love with the illustrations in HL — the different ways she shows weather in the water, the nostalgic subject matter, and the color palette. Plus, it's a lovely and gentle story about humans and the changes brought by time. 
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WATCH // Hair Love

3/2/2020

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Hair Love, an Oscar-winning animated short, packs an emotional wallop into its 7 minutes. I'm always a softie for daddy-daughter stories, and this one is a heart warmer. Also, in a year in which the Oscars was stupidly short on representation of anyone other than white men, this film is a powerful reminder that all kids should — and need — to see themselves in the art and culture around them. I also found it fascinating to discover that the filmmaker, Matthew Cherry, is a former NFL football player who moved into entertainment after retirement to become a director and producer. 
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    I'm a omnivorous consumer of media in various forms, and this is a space for me share the fun, inspiring, and interesting things I find.

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