Timeline cleanse

Or, how I learned to appreciate Claude Monet. Also, 7 other things worth knowing today.

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Timeline cleanse

Some of the most popular "7 other things" lately have been suggested by my wife. Kudos to her! The response got me thinking about a phrase you see on social media, especially Twitter: Timeline cleanse.

Basically, there's so much angst and drama and news that some people appreciate it when others post pictures of ... cute animals, or babies, or scenes of nature, or art.

I realized I've got an ongoing timeline cleanse of my own that I find myself looking forward to. It's a Twitter bot that tweets images of paintings by Claude Monet every so often.

Example: Low Tide at Pourville, 1882.

Claude Monet @artistmonet

Low Tide at Pourville, 1882 #impressionism #claudemonet wikiart.org/en/claude-mone…

I never studied art history, so my appreciation might be kindergarten-level. But that’s OK. Until this sort of popped up in my daily information diet, I mostly associated Monet with college dorm posters.

But, I’ve found myself looking at some of these quite deeply as they pop up, appreciating even in such tiny reproductions how the images both seem to exist and not exist at the same time.

Anyway, it’s a Friday, in the middle of summer, and we’re in the middle of some of the most angst-ridden times since …. well, since the last angst-ridden times.

So, I thought I'd just turn things over to you and ask for a timeline cleanse. (Admittedly, this is also me attempting to do a better version of what I failed at last week.)

What's the good news … or the fun story people missed … or the image of beauty or laughter … that you think could clean up anyone's "timeline" right about now, whether they're on social media or not.

Share them in the comments. If we get a good response to this, maybe I can share some of them to a wider audience during the week. I can’t think of anyone who can’t use a good timeline cleanse right about now.

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7 other things worth knowing today

• Two key foes of former President Trump—former FBI director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe—were both selected for extremely intense, supposedly random IRS tax audits that the government says apply to one out of 30,000 tax filers. It's "an unlikely coincidence, and reeks of political targeting," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal. (The Hill)

• Boris Johnson said on Thursday that he would step down as Britain’s prime minister, after a wholesale rebellion of his cabinet, a wave of government resignations and a devastating loss of party support prompted by his handling of the the latest scandal that has engulfed his leadership. (NY Times)

• A Texan prisoner on death row requested a delay to his execution so that he can donate a kidney before his death. Ramiro Gonzalez, whose execution is currently set for July 15, wrote to Governor Greg Abbott asking for a 30-day reprieve in order to find a recipient for one of his kidneys. (Insider)

• WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court on Thursday, and she faces up to 10 years in prison. "Traditionally, the best defense is to admit your guilt and hope you get a lesser sentence," said William Pomeranz, an American expert on Russian law. Looking further ahead, an admission of guilt is considered a necessary pretext to a potential prisoner exchange with the U.S. (CBS Sports)

• A right-wing evangelical activist was caught on tape bragging that she prayed with Supreme Court justices. The court’s majority cited a legal brief that her group filed while overturning Roe v. Wade. "This disclosure was a serious matter on its own terms, but it also suggested a major conflict of interest." (Rolling Stone)

• Even bosses now want to quit: 70% of C-level executives tell Deloitte pollsters that they seriously might resign for a job that better supports their well-being. (Axios)

• A Canadian radio station that played Rage Against the Machine’s 1992 track, "Killing in the Name" on repeat for more than 30 hours has admitted it was all just a stunt to bring attention to the station's new format. "We couldn’t think of a better way to capture our local listeners’ attention ... and, well … it wound up catching the world’s attention." (Stuff)

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