The media we consume daily has an impact on our thoughts and emotions. And during the wreck that was 2020, many of us probably experienced how easy it is to fall into regularly watching or listening to bad news. So Amii James, an illustrator from North Devon, United Kingdom, decided to create a counterbalance to this.
Good News This Week is a news series where Amii regularly shares positive stories. While working on this wholesome project, Amii has improved her own mental health, and her followers love it too. Which is understandable: didn't you get excited just by reading the self-explanatory title of the series? I thought so. So close all the mainstream media tabs you have on your browser, continue scrolling, and get your dose of feel-good vibes.
More info: amiiillustrates.com | Instagram | Facebook
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Amii is 22, born and raised in Ilfracombe. "It's a small town, so opportunities are definitely limited, and the prospect of going to university and avoiding a 9-5 did feel unrealistic for the majority of my life," she told Bored Panda. "At 19, however, I got into the University of Plymouth to study a degree in Illustration, where I struggled to find my niche until the final year!"
"During the first COVID-19 lockdown, I began posting my simplistic humorous webcomics with less concern over how they would be received (albeit by my humble audience of roughly 200 followers), and that's when things began to rapidly pick up!"
Now, the artist has over 24,000 followers, appreciating her "embarrassingly minimalistic" uploads. Amii uses this phrase to describe her work because posting a 3-panel comic of a dog calling his owner a prick to a large audience might seem like "questionable behavior" to some. But is that really the legacy she wants to leave behind? Yes.
"The humor in my work is absolutely a reflection of my personality, and I believe that's why I never get tired of it," the artist explained. "Having a following that loves my work means that I also have a following that enjoys my personality, which creates a lovely community of like-minded people. It also means that if anybody reaches out to me for commissions, collabs, etc., then they already know what to expect from me."
Great news. I’m afraid, as humans, we’ll pick that scab right off again. Every little action helps, people!
Coming back to Good News This Week, the series came after Amii made a post called Good Things That Happened In 2020, which was inspired by a list she had come across of positive news from last year. "It's worth pointing out here that I should have done a better job at cross-checking some of these 'facts' before using them as a source, but I've learned from that mistake and we shan't dwell on the past," Amii explained.
"The 2020 post received a hugely positive response; it became clear that nobody had seen much positive news in a very long time so that small dose of joy was a welcome relief. It only made sense from here to make this a weekly occurrence! It will also leave me with a wonderfully long list at the end of the year – what I plan to do with that is a secret!"
My son was diagnosed with MS two years ago. BP you just made my day, my week, my year. And oh yeah, you too Pfizer. Thank you!!
"I also receive many responses from people expressing their gratitude, informing me that they also never seem to see anything positive about the world throughout their week until they see my post. So, not only is it excellent for my own mental well-being, but everybody who stumbles across the work learns something that makes them feel good, and it’s a pleasure to be able to provide that!"
No excuses not to get checked now the test is less invasive.
Love this idea, as long as landlords are protected, especially by irresponsible pet owners that let their animals destroy the house, like extra for bond.
This is exactly it. It stops landlords saying no to pets without any decent reason. If they have a good reason, fine. It doesn't mean pet owners get the go ahead to create unchecked damage. They'll be penalised and will have to pay for repairs if they ruin anything. Deposits get held in a government-approved tenancy deposit schemes which protects both parties. If the damage is more than the deposit then off to court they go.
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My parents were landlords that allowed pets initially. Then they rented out to a woman that had 3 cats. The entire unit had to have all of the carpeting and padding replaced. The bathroom had to be taken down to the studs and the bottom 3 feet of the studs themselves had to be replaced entirely. Fortunately they weren't load bearing walls. It cost my parents a little more than $10,000. And the whole process took a month and a half so they also missed out on the new tenant that had originally been lined up. I'm all for responsible renters being allowed to have pets, but I hope this law was written that protects the people that actually own the property.
Awful. It is the owner that was the problem though, not the pets. Chances are she'd have been a disgusting nightmare without animals. I work on properties between lets and it is always people who cause the worst damage. Surprised that the smell wasn't overwhelming, I've been to properties where you can smell it outside. In the UK Landlord inspections are typically conducted every quarter, and then reduced to every six months after enough positive inspections to the same tenants. Would have picked up the problem within three months at least so a bit less awful. Then take them to court if the damage exceeds the deposit (slow paying back but can be worth it) I've provided reports on property damage for this purpose. The law is to stop pet owners ending up homeless because they can't rent when they lose their own property. Other laws exist to protect the landlord in the UK. So sorry for your parents though.
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The reason many landowners have a "no pets" policy is because of how much damage pets do to property. Dogs will dig up yards, for example, and there's no way to stop them from doing so because it's what dogs do... And the security deposit will not cover having the entire yard re-landscaped to repair the damage.
As long as there also a provision preventing sky high pet deposits, which would just replace one kind of discrimination with another, and effectively keep the ban in place.
There is a phrase missing. "Without good reason" I have had some truly awful landlords and trust me, they would manage to find a good reason not to allow it. It took me 6 years to find somewhere that would allow pets and tenants who needed housing benefit support.
Yes, but they have to be able to show what that good reason it. No longer can they hide behind the words. https://landlordlawblog.co.uk/2016/10/04/tenant-penalties-breaching-tenancy-rules
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In France any rental contract which bans dogs/cats from the appartment or house is consider as illegal.
If they do that in the US, I'm going to go homeless before I live in an apartment. F**k hearing dogs barking constantly. All it takes is one irresponsible dog owner and everyone's lives become very disrupted, hour by hour, day-in-day-out, for months, for years. Terrible law.
You are not living at the let property, Karen.. Leave the tenants alone
Load More Replies... CO, USA As someone with severe dog allergies, I can't live in a place that‘s had a dog in it within the past 6-9 months (the amount of time the allergens take to degrade). I've had difficulty finding apartments because of this. Even if they don't "allow" animals, if someone has an emotional support or service animal the landlord is forced to not deny the applicant based on that alone. My allergies cause difficulty breathing and a constant flu-like feeling. There need to be safe places for people like me to live. Free-roaming pets can cause damage to houses/apartments which can be expensive and time-consuming to fix. Even if the tenant has to pay for it, it still takes up some of the landlord's time to deal with it. If the property is privately-owned, why shouldn't the owner have the right to decide if they want to allow animals or not? I love animals, and I understand the valuable companionship they provide. However, I think this issue needs to be looked at from multiple angles.
Hence 'good reason'. If the landlord wants to offer the property to only people with pet allergies fine. Free roaming pets rarely cause much damage. The worst damage is caused by children (I've had a few horrors from young single men too but not pets). As allergies to pets are caused by dander most is easily removed by deep cleaning & air cleaners. I usually do the deep cleaning twice. I also have properties with hard flooring rather than carpets and shutters/blinds not curtains which removes most of the problem. The maximum window recommended for pet dander is four months for cats and less for dogs as dog dander is less sticky. I do end up with gaps this large at times as I'm redecorating or doing maintenance between lets and gas and electrical inspections. If a person has a severe allergy and so is at risk of anaphylaxis then they can work closely with the landlord in advance of starting a tenancy to ensure that risks are removed.
Load More Replies... Then they tenant can get help with that - there are rules around this in the UK for the protection of both parties.
Load More Replies...Graham Davey, a professor emeritus of psychology at Sussex University in the UK and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, thinks that the way that news is presented and the way that we access news has changed significantly over the last 15 to 20 years. And according to Davey, these changes have often been detrimental to general mental health.
The professor says today's news is "increasingly visual and shocking," and points to the inclusion of smartphone videos and audio clips as examples, explaining that bystander-captured media clips can be so intense that they can cause symptoms of acute stress—like problems sleeping, mood swings or aggressive behavior—or even PTSD.
I think somebody should send Davey a link to Amii's "embarrassingly minimalistic" Good News This Week. Something tells me he'd follow her account.
Explained why this product was necessary and how it works here- https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/21/rnib-develops-worlds-first-pregnancy-test-for-people-with-sight-loss-13458568/
I think you mean ok job humanity and awesome job nature
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This was lovely; the artist is very talented and the news is great! :)
Let us remember where we came from. 1914 World War 1 Raged across the Western World. 1929 Saw the Great Depression devastate the US and European economies. 1939 was the start of World War 2 the worst conflict in human history. 1945 was the beginning of the communist expansion and the start of the cold war. The 1960s saw internal conflict over civil rights and anti-war sentiment while America was bogged down in an eight year conflict in Vietnam. So in contrast things are not all that bad.
It’s a general problem that because information is so easily obtained now, it SEEMS bad. There’s plenty of stuff that IS worse now than it used to be - plastic waste, endangered animals, habitat loss, school shootings - but like you said, plenty that was worse before. It just seems worse now because we constantly get news from all over the place instead of just local news for 30 minutes once or twice a day.
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This should be a monthly thing of all the good things that happened this month-
Check your spelling in the headline. It should be "from" not "form."
I think you mean ok job humanity and awesome job nature
Load More Replies... This was lovely; the artist is very talented and the news is great! :)
Let us remember where we came from. 1914 World War 1 Raged across the Western World. 1929 Saw the Great Depression devastate the US and European economies. 1939 was the start of World War 2 the worst conflict in human history. 1945 was the beginning of the communist expansion and the start of the cold war. The 1960s saw internal conflict over civil rights and anti-war sentiment while America was bogged down in an eight year conflict in Vietnam. So in contrast things are not all that bad.
It’s a general problem that because information is so easily obtained now, it SEEMS bad. There’s plenty of stuff that IS worse now than it used to be - plastic waste, endangered animals, habitat loss, school shootings - but like you said, plenty that was worse before. It just seems worse now because we constantly get news from all over the place instead of just local news for 30 minutes once or twice a day.
Load More Replies... This should be a monthly thing of all the good things that happened this month-
Check your spelling in the headline. It should be "from" not "form."
