5 simple, evidence-based, ways to improve mental capital and mental wellbeing throughout life. Developed by the New Economics Foundation, the 5 ways to wellbeing are:
Connect
With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and
neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.
Be active
Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.
Take notice
Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.
Keep learning
Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.
Give
Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.
What Works Wellbeing has a neat post of how the UK compares to other European countries on the 5 ways to wellbeing and how they are affected by age, gender and other factors: 5 ways to wellbeing in the UK.
Art of Succubi doesn’t always need to be overtly sexual in its form. The use of shadow, a pose, a bit of something in the depths of the art can create something very special. Today then on the Tale, a work of Succubi art that hints at something beyond the succubus herself…
What I particularly love about this art is that it relies on the viewer’s imagination to fill in what’s hidden in the shadows and I think that’s intriguing overall. Yes, her wings are there, there’s a hint of her horns as well, but all else is left open to what one’s imagination can provide.
It’s a minimalist approach, but it is so very thought provoking and that fascinates me…
The tragedy of the commons is the all too common outcome of individuals making use of a shared resource and one of the true challenges of our times. The original scenario referred to commons land that soon becomes overgrazed as each individual tries to maximise their value from the share resource. The tragedy is that the overgrazed land is then ruined for all.
We see the effect, perhaps most perniciously, with invisible or hidden shared resources such as taking water from underground aquifers for irrigation, or overfishing of fish stocks in the sea. The same effect is at work with problems such as littering, or washing plastics into the sea, or polluting the atmosphere — while it’s easier for any individual to take another fish, leave their litter on the ground, let pollution run into a river or the sea, or not worry about air pollution, the tragedy is it can have the effect of ruining them for all of us.
When shared resources are moderated or governed fish stocks can be managed to recover, water supplies to replenish or pollution to be naturally treated.
With development of some things in full-swing, I wanted to post up the latest build of the Magebound class for everyone to check out. The rules for this build are based on 5th-Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. Keep in mind[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry...
I almost didn’t give Ufgren a name (or use it in the story). His head injury at death and his centuries wandering the ruins of Honor’s Hold alone taking it from his mind. I think it is an interesting story[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry...
Dork Tower is updated Tuesdays and Thursdays. For as little as $1 a month, you can join the Army of Dorkness – and help bring more Dork Tower to the world! We’re nearly 80% of the way towards three comics a week! Become a Dork Tower Patreon backer – you get everlasting gratitude. Oh, wait – and also swag!
Bike the Barns helps the FairShare CSA Coalition bring fresh, organic food from Dane County, WI, farms to low-income families in the Madison area.
It’s an amazing local charity, helping farmers as well as low-income families.
The Army of Dorkness (this means YOU!) has become hugely important to this campaign, raising $75,000 over the past six years! You all are AMAZING!
In the meantime, I’ve biked more than 360 miles because of you people!
This year, you maniacs passed the initial $10,000 goal. You also blew away the $11,000 stretch goal – so I have to wear the tentacles this year, once more.
There are two stretch-goals left:
$12,500 –Phil Masters will update his rules for Muskrat player characters in Dungeons and Dragons (published in DRAGON magazine), from 3.5 to 5thedition! This will go out as a PDF to all backers!
$15,000 – I will do the bike ride with two ducks on my head – a Duck of Doom, and a Duck of Gloom. Is this attainable? Who knows. I’ve never had to ride with two ducks, so this could be a first!
As usual, there’s swag – some great, great swag!
So…do it to help a wonderful charity.
Or do it for the swag.
Or do it to make me wear another duck on a stupid long bike ride!
There’s no wrong answer, really.
PLEDGE LEVELS
The FairShare CSA Coalition is a registered charity, and donations are tax-deductible.
1) ANY and EVERY pledgewill get a pdf of the limericks Neil Freaking Gaiman and Patrick FreakingRothfuss created for the ride (in 2014 and 2015), illustrated by me. PLUS, a pdf copy of both charity coloring books I drew.
2) Any pledge $25 or moregets a brand-new, signed MUNCHKIN CHARITY POSTCARD! Created exclusively for donors of this ride, this will let you start one game of Munchkin at Level 3. AS WELL AS THIS, you’ll also get a signed Admiral Ackbeer mini-print! And, of course, the PDF limericks and coloring books.
3) Any pledge $50will get all of the above, plus a unique-to-this-ride new ARMY OF DORKNESS Sergeant button! (Image coming soon).
4) Any pledge $125will get all of the above, plus this year’s GAMEHOLE CON plushie – the Displacer Beast! (4 of 10 left)
5) A pledge of $175will get you this year’s postcard, plus all six previous Charity postcards! I came across a stash of a few, from years You also get the button, (6 of 15 left)
6) A pledge of $250will get you this year’s postcard, the Sergeant button, and an ORIGINAL PIECE OF MUNCHKIN CARD ART.A charity donation is the only way you can get original Munchkin art from : I don’t sell original Munchkin card art. But you can be one of life’s winners (and I only choose my favorite pieces to send to folks). The art will be from a classic Munchkin core set or supplement. You also get the button, and this year’s postcard.
(Munchkin Artwork that went to 2017’s Bike the Barns supporters.)
7) A $500 pledgegets the NEARLY complete set of Gamehole Con plushies from the last four years! The Owlbear is long sold-out, sadly – but we’re replacing it with the OWLBEAR BACKPACK, which will come stuffed with the Bulette (2016), the Mimic (from 2017) the Otyugh (from 2018) and 2019’s new DISPLACER BEAST (SO cute!!) Plus, a piece of Munchkin art, the current postcard, and all six previous postcards. (3 of 10 remaining).
8) A $1,500 pledgemeans EITHER (a) I will paint a cartoon portrait of you, and/or your family (up to five members), and/or your pets, either digitally (for use on cards, etc.) or physical (acrylics on canvas, 14″ x 16″ or larger). Or (b) You get to star in an original DORK TOWER comic, and also get to keep the original artwork! You also get a piece of Munchkin art, the current postcard, and all five previous postcards. (2 of 4 remaining)
9) A $2,000 pledgemeans you or a loved one can be drawn onto a Munchkin card that will actually be used in a published game. We’ll talk about what kind of card you’d like to be on, and I’ll work with you to make sure it’s something you love. (1 of 1 remaining)
So there you go!
Six days left, for an amazing local charity that depends on the Army of Dorkness!
In six days, I strap a duck onto my bike helmet, and hit Bike the barns – possibly better known, to my readers, as Insane Charity Bike Ride 2019.
