Hopeful Summer June 21, 2018 11:00 AM Subscribe
Let's get some sparkle back into MetaFilter. This summer use the tag HopefulSummer to make posts about positive and hopeful things. It's easy to be down in the trenches with life, with politics, with the state of the world. Let's make MetaFilter somewhere people come to get a little shine back in their day, and lighten the load. Tell us about solar punk, about found communities, about magical art programs, about Native American women changing the world. Tell us about plants, and geology, and the sky. Tell us about the moments of joy that bring you peace and happiness. Tell us with links and HopefulSummer Posts.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble
Brilliant. Love this. Thank you!!
posted by zarq at 11:09 AM on June 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zarq at 11:09 AM on June 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I also love this concept, and will help anyone who has an idea who wants to bring an FPP to the front page and isn't sure if anyone else wants to read it.
I ought to dig out the links for the bit on dimples I did some researching on a while ago. Or the bit on snowsnake and long distance communication.
posted by sciatrix at 11:57 AM on June 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I ought to dig out the links for the bit on dimples I did some researching on a while ago. Or the bit on snowsnake and long distance communication.
posted by sciatrix at 11:57 AM on June 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 12:06 PM on June 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Oh, God, I need this so much right now. Thank you.
posted by sarcasticah at 1:26 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by sarcasticah at 1:26 PM on June 21, 2018
Egads, the inaugural hopeful thread has already taking a turn for the "actually…"
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 1:58 PM on June 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 1:58 PM on June 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's one thread, and it's fine so far. Let's not be so braced for bad that we can't relax and let good happen.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:23 PM on June 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:23 PM on June 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
My Hopeful Summer contribution. Books and book lists. Enjoy.
posted by Fizz at 4:55 PM on June 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 4:55 PM on June 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
my picklepost went up before this was proposed but I've added HopefulSummer to it anyway, hopefully it still counts
posted by Anonymous at 8:28 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by Anonymous at 8:28 PM on June 21, 2018
Ok, I posted about one of favorite positive, corny people on the internet, Wilbur Sargunaraj.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 10:44 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 10:44 PM on June 21, 2018
I'd give $100 to the charity of the winner's choice (including to the metafilter kitty) for the best post that is on puppets or puppetry related, but would want someone else to judge the winner.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:24 AM on June 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cjorgensen at 7:24 AM on June 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
There's a Metafilter Kitty? Why haven't I seen it? Is it cute? Of course it is, it's a kitty!
What? Oh...
Never mind.
/emilylitella
posted by Daily Alice at 7:44 AM on June 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
What? Oh...
Never mind.
/emilylitella
posted by Daily Alice at 7:44 AM on June 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
I just came back here to say that I've been thinking a bit over the last few days about how I personally can adjust my engagement with MetaFilter to make it healthier for me and healthier for the community. My conclusions have been pretty much the same as what this post represents, so I'm very happy to see this project here.
I have a sense that we see a lot more "look at these assholes" type posts than we used to around here. It's understandable given how much bad stuff is going on in the world, but I'm not sure if those kinds of posts are good for MetaFilter and I know they're not good for me personally. When a post can be boiled down to "Here is a terrible thing, let's talk about how terrible it is," I just feel like there aren't a lot of healthy ways to engage with it.
That stuff is important, of course—it's important to know what's going on, to engage with the world as it actually is, to recognize injustice. But it's much better to go beyond mere recognition, to action. I would love to see more posts that highlight and center the ways that people resist injustice, how they persevere in the face of an inhumane world, how they fight for positive changes. Not posts that minimize the scale of the problems people face, but ones that show how people stand up to those problems in ways both great and small.
I don't post a lot, but I made one recently that I think is in that spirit and I intend to go on in that vein in both my posting and commenting. I intend to dial way down my expressions of despair, righteousness, and commiseration and focus instead on finding and highlighting the hopeful stories and the ways in which we can strive for change. I intend to steer clear of posts that evoke feelings of anger, anxiousness, and sadness, unless I can think of something tangibly useful to contribute.
That will probably mean less participation for me overall. It's much easier for me to get mad about a problem and tell everybody how mad I am than it is for me to find some scrap of a solution to show people, but I don't think that just telling everyone how mad I am helps anything. I think it can even instill a sense of despair and hopelessness in the community, and that's not the impact I want to have.
So I'm going to work on finding and highlighting the hopeful stories, and on letting the ones that are just pure despair pass me by. Not because I am unwilling to face the evil in the world, but because I think the most valuable thing I can do here on MetaFilter is to promote the things that people are doing in the cause of good.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:44 AM on June 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I have a sense that we see a lot more "look at these assholes" type posts than we used to around here. It's understandable given how much bad stuff is going on in the world, but I'm not sure if those kinds of posts are good for MetaFilter and I know they're not good for me personally. When a post can be boiled down to "Here is a terrible thing, let's talk about how terrible it is," I just feel like there aren't a lot of healthy ways to engage with it.
That stuff is important, of course—it's important to know what's going on, to engage with the world as it actually is, to recognize injustice. But it's much better to go beyond mere recognition, to action. I would love to see more posts that highlight and center the ways that people resist injustice, how they persevere in the face of an inhumane world, how they fight for positive changes. Not posts that minimize the scale of the problems people face, but ones that show how people stand up to those problems in ways both great and small.
I don't post a lot, but I made one recently that I think is in that spirit and I intend to go on in that vein in both my posting and commenting. I intend to dial way down my expressions of despair, righteousness, and commiseration and focus instead on finding and highlighting the hopeful stories and the ways in which we can strive for change. I intend to steer clear of posts that evoke feelings of anger, anxiousness, and sadness, unless I can think of something tangibly useful to contribute.
That will probably mean less participation for me overall. It's much easier for me to get mad about a problem and tell everybody how mad I am than it is for me to find some scrap of a solution to show people, but I don't think that just telling everyone how mad I am helps anything. I think it can even instill a sense of despair and hopelessness in the community, and that's not the impact I want to have.
So I'm going to work on finding and highlighting the hopeful stories, and on letting the ones that are just pure despair pass me by. Not because I am unwilling to face the evil in the world, but because I think the most valuable thing I can do here on MetaFilter is to promote the things that people are doing in the cause of good.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:44 AM on June 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
And now that I know this is a thing, I've added the hopefulsummer tag to my Unlikely Hikers post.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:52 AM on June 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:52 AM on June 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
I've been wondering where to put this, and I might drop it in the megathread as well. I choose to see it as hopeful : How many people does it take to start a revolution?
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:34 AM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:34 AM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
This started as a comment but it's now a post. Because lasers.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:36 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:36 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I seem to be pulling out of my depression? This week I signed up to be a volunteer to teach English to refugees, teach basic computer skills to an underserved population, and serve on a Planned Parenthood advisory committee that reviews educational material for accessibility to the LGBTQ community. I also got accepted to be a city election inspector for the August primary. I don't have paid work yet but I feel good that I am Doing Something other than sitting in front of my laptop.
posted by AFABulous at 1:50 PM on June 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by AFABulous at 1:50 PM on June 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
I have a small contribution. It's my first post on the Blue. I want to make some more over the weekend. Thanks for this! I'm so nervous.
posted by Freeze Peach at 2:07 PM on June 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Freeze Peach at 2:07 PM on June 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
Freeze Peach, don't be nervous. I'm sure it's going to be awesome. I'm glad you're sharing and putting something into the community. Cheers.
posted by Fizz at 2:24 PM on June 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 2:24 PM on June 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh bless you for announcing this! I'm looking forward to hope and positivity winning over the front page of the Blue!
posted by hippybear at 7:41 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 7:41 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Today is strawberry day at my house. "Why is it strawberry day?", you may ask. Because I live in Olympia, WA. is why.
This morning I bought a flat of strawberries from our local Spooner Berry Farms at their berry stand near me. We never buy strawberries out of season anymore. Any supermarket strawberries I've had in the last 40 years are woefully anemic by comparison, so why bother.
I just finished hulling 12 pints of strawberries. The tips of my thumb and forefinger are burning from the acid eating under my fingernails. On the other hand I am really good at grabbing that tiny stem and pulling it out so I don't have to use a knife and waste a precious morsel of the once a year bounty.
So the strawberry orgy starts. Tonight we will have strawberries with homemade vanilla ice cream. Tomorrow it will be strawberry shortcake. After that who knows? Strawberry ice cream? How long will it take the two of us to eat 12 pints of strawberries? Only time will tell.
posted by Altomentis at 8:37 PM on June 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
This morning I bought a flat of strawberries from our local Spooner Berry Farms at their berry stand near me. We never buy strawberries out of season anymore. Any supermarket strawberries I've had in the last 40 years are woefully anemic by comparison, so why bother.
I just finished hulling 12 pints of strawberries. The tips of my thumb and forefinger are burning from the acid eating under my fingernails. On the other hand I am really good at grabbing that tiny stem and pulling it out so I don't have to use a knife and waste a precious morsel of the once a year bounty.
So the strawberry orgy starts. Tonight we will have strawberries with homemade vanilla ice cream. Tomorrow it will be strawberry shortcake. After that who knows? Strawberry ice cream? How long will it take the two of us to eat 12 pints of strawberries? Only time will tell.
posted by Altomentis at 8:37 PM on June 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
The summer desert of choice at my house growing up was strawberries with whipped cream and brown sugar. Just put a pile of each ingredient on your plate and go to town using the strawberries as scoops for the whipped cream and the brown sugar. Delicious!
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:30 AM on June 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:30 AM on June 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
To find positive material worth sharing, I highly recommend the newsletter Future Crunch, a weekly consolidation of good news and a focus on providing "intelligent, optimistic thinking about the future."
posted by edgybelle27 at 2:10 PM on June 23, 2018
posted by edgybelle27 at 2:10 PM on June 23, 2018
I'm planning on going to Opening Day at Saratoga. I went last year and it was great fun.
posted by KazamaSmokers at 3:36 PM on June 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by KazamaSmokers at 3:36 PM on June 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
>strawberry orgy
Great band name, BTW
posted by KazamaSmokers at 4:03 PM on June 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Great band name, BTW
posted by KazamaSmokers at 4:03 PM on June 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh, AFABulous, that’s fantastic!! I, too, have been teaching English to refugees (through the IRC’s Home program) and have found it very rewarding. I hope you enjoy it!
posted by greermahoney at 11:49 AM on June 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by greermahoney at 11:49 AM on June 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
>strawberry orgy
Great band name, BTW
The Strawberry Statement is a really great soundtrack album, BTW. It's worth a listen.
posted by hippybear at 1:37 PM on June 24, 2018
Great band name, BTW
The Strawberry Statement is a really great soundtrack album, BTW. It's worth a listen.
posted by hippybear at 1:37 PM on June 24, 2018
My partner solo biked down to California on a tandem bicycle to pick me up and bike me home. We are on our way back now, and there's an IRL event for it in case anyone wants to meet along the way. I just tagged it hopefulsummer :D
posted by aniola at 10:54 AM on June 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 10:54 AM on June 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wasn't sure if my current post qualifies as "hopeful" but i thought the resource was really cool so I threw in the tag. :)
posted by zarq at 8:44 AM on June 26, 2018
posted by zarq at 8:44 AM on June 26, 2018
You people need a strawberry huller.
Just can't get the hang of one of those dealies. I need the sensitivity at the tips of my fingers to feel when I have hold of the stem.
posted by Altomentis at 4:17 PM on June 26, 2018
Just can't get the hang of one of those dealies. I need the sensitivity at the tips of my fingers to feel when I have hold of the stem.
posted by Altomentis at 4:17 PM on June 26, 2018
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:06 AM on June 21, 2018 [10 favorites]