Cultivating friendships is key to living a happy life, whether that means having a select few ride-or-dies or collecting more pals than you can count. Of course, as life progresses and circumstances change, it's natural to fall out of touch with certain friends. But what might feel less natural these days is making new ones. One common suggestion is to sign up for social activities, like team sports or art classes. To investigate how well that works, BBC reporter Molly Gorman tested out four popular ways of meeting people, evaluating each for its friendship-forming potential and science-backed benefits — and she shares a helpful icebreaker as a bonus. — the Nice News team
Featured Story
Why Artist Austin Kleon Thinks the Word "Amateur" Needs a Rebrand
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If there's one thing Austin Kleon loves, it's a list. "I always make the joke that it was good enough for Moses, so it's good enough for me," he tells Nice News. For the Texas-based artist, the beauty of lists is that they allow for big jumps between ideas, and they "bring order to chaotic things." It's through lists that Kleon dispenses much of his advice on creativity (nearly all of his books use the structure). His suggestions are helpful for pushing through the blocks that keep us from engaging in creative pursuits, and they apply whether you're a professional or an amateur — a word the 41-year-old thinks deserves a rebrand. "Amateur is a word that's kind of a pejorative, but the original meaning of the word 'amateur' is 'lover of,'" he explains. "So being an amateur at something just means that you're more interested in doing it for the love of the thing rather than the making money of the thing." Read our conversation with Kleon to learn how to shift your mindset and get more tips on unlocking creative freedom, from building a bliss station to making gifts.
Lots of people have security systems for their homes, but what about protecting your data online? Personal information like Social Security numbers, contact details, and addresses are commodities for many companies, putting you at risk of scams, fraud, and identity theft. Thankfully, Incogni can help. Incogni is an automated service that helps ensure your private details don't wind up in imposter profiles or on people search websites. It deletes your personal information from over 250 data brokers — and the company recently launched a new Unlimited Plan that allows users to request custom removals from websites that expose their personal data. The dedicated Incogni privacy agents take care of the rest. Click below to learn how Incogni works and get 55% off with code NICENEWS.
What Is a "Wellness Room"? All About the Home Design Trend
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We have rooms for sleeping, cooking, and lounging, and now more people are carving out spaces in their homes for well-being, too. Some refer to them as "wellness rooms" or "rest corners," but whatever you call them, they're places of serenity for reading, practicing yoga, meditating, crafting, playing music, puzzling, or doing whatever self-care ritual speaks to you. "Spaces for wellness, retreat, and recharging are all really popular right now," Gonzalo Bueno, who owns Dallas-based interior design firm Ten Plus Three, told the Associated Press. Some examples he cited include an outdoor Zen garden, a meditation space with a soaking tub, and music rooms. But what all these areas have in common — whether they're big rooms for jamming out or introvert nooks for alone time — is the intention to use them for unwinding and putting the world on pause for a while. The important thing is to feel attuned to yourself, said Jack Ovadia, who owns a design firm in New York. "A wellness room should be a space where the outside world dissolves; no background noise, no movement beyond your own. This is where you go to let go; to drop into something quieter, something deeper." Get inspiration to create your own wellness room — or corner.
Tech
World's Smallest Pacemaker Goes in Via Syringe — And Dissolves When No Longer Needed
John A. Rogers/Northwestern University
Scientists have developed a tiny pacemaker with tiny hearts in mind. A team of engineers at Northwestern University built a device that's so small it can be inserted noninvasively via syringe and dissolves when it's no longer needed. That makes it particularly well-suited for newborns with heart defects, who often only need temporary pacing. "We have developed what is, to our knowledge, the world's smallest pacemaker," bioelectronics pioneer John A. Rogers, who led the device development, told Northwestern Now. "There's a crucial need for temporary pacemakers in the context of pediatric heart surgeries, and that's a use case where size miniaturization is incredibly important. In terms of the device load on the body — the smaller, the better." Experimental cardiologist Igor Efimov, who co-led the research, added that for most of the roughly 1% of children born with congenital heart defects, the heart self-repairs within about a week. "But those seven days are absolutely critical," Efimov said. "Now, we can place this tiny pacemaker on a child's heart and stimulate it with a soft, gentle, wearable device. And no additional surgery is necessary to remove it." Watch a video of Rogers explaining how it works.
Sports
Best Seat in the House: A Canada Goose Nested in the Bleachers at Wrigley Field
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
You never know what you might see at a baseball game — a proposal, a grand slam, or a gaggle of "geesekeepers" protecting a bird nesting in the stands. If you can believe it, the latter recently went down at Wrigley Field. During the Chicago Cubs' April 5 game against the San Diego Padres, a Canada goose was spotted nestled in greenery boxes around the stadium's outfield bleachers (as you can see in this photo). The team stepped up to the plate to keep the goose safe, blocking off dozens of bleacher seats, adding signs, and designating staff to keep guard of the new fan. "At the Friendly Confines, we truly mean it when we say everyone's welcome, including the goose and her nest who took up residence in the bleachers," Cubs Senior Director of Communications Jennifer Martinez said in a statement to the Associated Press. She added: "Protecting our fans, and our feathered guest, is our top priority." The goose flew off sometime Monday, but not before fans had a chance to name her — some went with Suzuki, in honor of designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, while others dubbed the bird Pete Goose-Armstrong (PGA for short), as a reference to outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Though there's no word on where she's at now, the Cubs community knows there's a good luck charm flying around out there.
Award-winning poet Maggie Smith — whose poem "Good Bones" famously went viral in 2016 — has distilled her popular Substack newsletter and 20 years of teaching experience into a practical guide for writers of all experience levels. Through short essays followed by writing prompts, the author explores 10 essential elements that can be applied to creative work and life in general: attention, wonder, vision, play, surprise, vulnerability, restlessness, tenacity, connection, and hope.
In this sweet buddy comedy, Michael Cera stars as Glenn, an anxious expectant father who reluctantly sets out on a road trip with Rickey, the free-spirited best friend he's fallen out of touch with (played by the film's director, Michael Angarano). The characters' differences make them the perfect comic foils, and Maya Erskine and Kristen Stewart shine as Rickey and Glenn's ex-girlfriend and pregnant wife, respectively — but the movie's real heart lies in its exploration of fatherhood and male friendship. Catch it in theaters now.
This Week in History
The First "Looney Tunes" Is Released
April 19, 1930
Warner Bros.
There were no falling anvils or wise-cracking rabbits, but the very first Looney Tunes cartoon did have at least one trademark that will be familiar to today's viewers: It concluded with the phrase "That's all, folks!" Its title a play on the 1929 song "Singing in the Bathtub," the short film Sinkin' in the Bathtub was Warner Bros.' answer to the success of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons and featured its first animated star, Bosko. (Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny would all hit the scene by 1940.) Watch the short here, and, if you haven't seen it yet, check out the trailer for the first fully animated Looney Tunes feature film to get a theatrical release: The Day the Earth Blew Up, playing now.
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