If you've already caught up on this year's Academy Awards contenders, here's another cinematic well for you to draw from: Time's roundup of the most underappreciated films of the 21st century. Compiled by film critic Stephanie Zacharek "to get the gears of your own moviegoing memories turning," the list includes 50 flicks — so you should have enough viewing material for many months' worth of those "there's nothing to watch" nights. — the Nice News team
Featured Story
Dabbling Is Good for You: Why an Expert Says You Should Try New Things Just for Fun
RgStudio/iStock
When was the last time you tried something fun without worrying about the outcome? We're often taught that in order to reap the benefits of a new activity, we need to do it consistently. Yet as helpful as habits can be, dabbling — or engaging in activities sporadically just for the pure enjoyment of it — can actually be just as valuable. Dabbling is freeing for the same reason it's scary: While it requires you to release perfectionism, it can also invite a multitude of mental health benefits that come from simply trying. Karen Walrond knows this well. She's the author of In Defense of Dabbling: The Brilliance of Being a Total Amateur, and she told Nice News over email that dabbling helped her embrace "intentional amateurism," or the cadence of returning to an activity she loved over and over, "without regard to productivity, profitability, or perfection." Learn how dabbling can improve well-being and get inspo for your own dabbling journey at the link below.
Some researchers say one culprit behind memory decline could be a "brain drain" starving your neurons from the inside. The good news? Boston Brain Science has a simple daily solution using three common foods that addresses this root cause. Dr. George Karanastasis created a detailed video explaining the research behind brain drain, which specific nutrients your brain needs to function properly, and how these three foods work together to address the problem. The video walks you through the science step-by-step, so you'll understand exactly why this approach makes sense.
Silly Couch Pics Brought Community Together — And One Earned a Prestigious Award
Alex Elton-Wall / SWNS
You know what they say about one man's trash. A sofa that was dumped in Gloucestershire, England, last year inspired amateur photographer Alex Elton-Wall to gather his community for a series of shots — and one of his images recently won a prestigious Portrait of Britain award. Elton-Wall stumbled upon the two-seater sofa on the side of the road in the small village of Lydbrook in April. He has since taken the portraits of more than 150 nearby residents, who started adding living room items around it. "As people came down, they made the sofa their own — people came with their families, their dogs, the landlord and landlady of the pubs came down as well," he told SWNS. Within a few weeks of the project starting, the story went viral and was picked up by the media, with coverage including a photo essay in The Guardian and an episode of the CBC radio show As It Happens. Check out the award-winning shot (plus more pics from the project).
Culture
Ever Dreamed of Living at Disney World? Massive Home Inside Resort Hits Market
Pozek Group / SWNS
If you've ever wanted to live in "The Most Magical Place on Earth," this could be the perfect opportunity: A massive home built within Walt Disney World is on the market for $13.9 million. The nearly 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean-inspired home has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, and is located inside Disney's Golden Oak community in Orlando, Florida — just four miles from the Magic Kingdom Park. Sitting on a 0.79-acre lot, the estate is fittingly nestled on Enchanted Oak Drive. Built in 2019, the home features Disney-themed stained glass windows overlooking a courtyard as well as characters etched in and above the doors. It also boasts an exact replica of the marble fireplace from the Cinderella Castle Suite: an apartment inside the park's Cinderella Castle that was originally built for Walt Disney and his family. In the great room, you'll find a pizza oven designed to look like Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. See inside.
Humanity
Fur-Ever Yours:Nonprofit Spotlights Love Between Pets and Owners to Boost Adoption
Petco Love
In honor of yesterday's holiday, one nonprofit is recognizing love stories that aren't often acknowledged on Valentine's Day: those of adopted pets and their owners. After asking pet parents to share their stories in the fall, Petco Love chose 10 standout tales and are awarding grants totaling $250,000 to the rescue organizations that the animals were adopted from. The grand prize of $100,000 went to Virginia's Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation thanks to the heartwarming story of pup Yuki and her owner, Anna. After her nine puppies were quickly adopted, Yuki spent more than seven months at the foundation waiting for her forever home — that's when Anna stepped in. "She's made our home louder, funnier, and infinitely warmer," Anna said in a news release, adding, "Yuki may have started as a 'shelter dog,' but now she's our family, our laughter, our constant reminder that love isn't just something you feel — it's something you live." The nine other love stories include a kitty from the Animal Care Centers of NYC who became his owner's "sober companion," and a bunny from California's East Bay Rabbit Rescue who helped a man find the love of his life. "By spotlighting these beautiful stories, we invite more animal lovers to choose pet adoption in their community to create their own love stories," Petco Love President Chelsea Staley said. Meet the rest of the winners.
Sunday Selections
Deep Dives
Lighting designers, activists, and city officials are working to reclaim the night sky
Lincoln had a patent, Garfield had a Pythagorean theorem proof: Eight presidents who made their mark beyond the White House
It's time to stop saying "I'm too old" — here's how to embrace aging with joy
The subtitle of James Martin's new memoir — Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest — doesn't quite fit into the space above, an apt metaphor for Martin's own journey. The humorous coming-of-age narrative covers the many not-quite-right jobs the Jesuit priest tackled with zero experience before ultimately arriving in the place he was meant to be. A prolific author and the founder of an LGBTQ+ Catholic ministry, Martin shares the life lessons each job taught him, along with personal photos from his boyhood in the 1960s and '70s.
This new Ryan Murphy offering delves into the whirlwind romance between America's most eligible bachelor, John F. Kennedy Jr., and Calvin Klein executive Carolyn Bessette, a pairing that captivated the country in the 1990s before its heartbreaking end. The limited series stars Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, with Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and its first three episodes dropped Thursday on FX and Hulu. The remaining six episodes will drop weekly through March 26. Click the link to watch the evocative trailer.
This Week in History
The First Teddy Bears Go Up for Sale in the US
February 15, 1903
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
They may not be as hip as Jellycats, but good-old fashioned teddy bears are as beloved today as they have been for generations — and we have Brooklyn, New York, candy shop owner Morris Michtom to thank for their name. In 1902, the story of President Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a black bear that was tied to a tree during a hunting trip made newspapers across the country. It was in one of those papers that a political cartoon depicting the event caught Michtom's eye. In addition to candy, Michtom and his wife made stuffed animals, so he wrote to Roosevelt and asked permission to use his name for a line of stuffed bears called "Teddy's Bears." The president agreed, and the fuzzy creations placed in the candy shop window helped launch the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, which would grow to become a multimillion-dollar business. See the political cartoon that inspired Michtom.
Octave: You Don't Have to Carry It All Alone
Some days you're fine — until your brain won't stop spinning, your patience runs thin, and everything feels heavier than it should. Sound familiar? Octave Therapy makes getting support feel doable, not daunting. You'll work with a licensed therapist who will build a customized, evidence-based treatment plan that helps you build real traction and carry that clarity into the rest of your life. It's in-network with many major insurers, and clients pay $28 per session on average.
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