This article, written by clinical psychologist Beth Kurland, shifted my perspective on the necessity of processing raw emotions. She describes sadness as "a bit like food that needs to be digested in order to move through you. When left undigested, it can sit there for a long time and cause unintended consequences”. The author provides six powerful "views" or vantage points to help process these heavy emotions. The one that works best for me is the Audience View, which helps to loosen the grip of the story I've attached to the emotion. The practice involves imagining yourself as an audience member observing your experience and then distinguishing between your raw emotions and your thoughts. For example, you might say: "There is sadness, and I am aware of thoughts telling me that I should be over this by now." This helps me label emotions as emotions and thoughts as thoughts, recognizing that neither of these are facts, but rather "food" to digest. — CD

As someone with dry, itchy winter skin and unfortunately non-gibbon-length arms, this 17-inch wooden lotion applicator has become an essential tool. I squirt moisturizer onto the applicator pad at the end of the stick and can easily reach every spot on my back. It's low-tech but solves the problem — no more asking family members for help or leaving patches of dry skin unreached. — MF

This website was made by the creator of the Tree Spirit Tarot and shares the historical significance and symbolism of 78 different trees across many different cultures, as well as psychological and philosophical insights and messages from each tree. It's interesting and educational, and it makes me feel connected to the ancient wisdom of trees. — CD

Netflix is showing a sweet, gentle, sometimes funny, series about old age and a nursing home. A Man on the Inside is created by Michael Schur who did The Good Place, The Office, and Parks and Rec, but this one is quieter, and less edgy. There are 8 very short episodes that are easy going. It’s the most heartwarming thing we’ve watched since Ted Lasso. — KK

I love my Mova Globe. This is a globe that slowly spins without batteries or wires. Its silent revolution is powered by ambient room light, and it will spin forever even from the light of a desk lamp. Internally there are two layers, the visible layer which spins inside a seamless clear shell, which sits on a clear tripod. Mova comes in 5 sizes, and 5 different forms, such as Mars, Moon, a map Earth, or a photorealistic Earth. I have the 4.5 inch (19 cm) version of the realistic Earth which spins next to me as I work. It is drifting right now. Since it isn’t cheap ($218), it makes a great gift for the right nerd. — KK

OSEA is a clean beauty brand that specializes in seaweed-based skincare products. I’m slowly working my way through their entire product line and all of their lotions and oils feel incredibly luxurious. You really can’t go wrong by gifting any of their sets. My favorite rebuys are the Vagus Nerve Trio and the Body Hydration Heroes. — CD

I bought the Pueblo Leather Round Zipper Card Case from SOT when I was in Japan in 2018, and it's one of my favorite possessions. Mine holds a few cards, some paper bills, a band-aid, an ibuprofen pill, and an Apple AirTag. After six years, it shows no signs of wear besides a natural patina on the leather. I think the only way to order it is from the SOT website, or Amazon.jp. Thanks to a favorable exchange rate, it’s about $100. — MF

Modifying a toy nerf blaster to make it faster and stronger was a standard teenage hack. You can now buy hot-rodded nerf blasters online that rapidly shoot magazines of darts 150 feet (45 m). A good choice is the Dart Zone Max Omina Pro ($60) which is equipped with two magazines of half-length darts. It shoots in such a forceful direct line that I can have fun with soda can targets. Ideally you want two of them. Warnings: its battery-powered engine is loud, and you obviously need eye protection (included). — KK

The JBL Go 4 bluetooth speaker is the perfect size for personal use, and its sound quality has proven to be good enough for having a dance party with friends. It’s so easy to take anywhere and connect to instantly, that I find myself listening to music all the time now. Right now it’s priced at $40 and available in multiple colors. It would make a great gift or stocking stuffer. — CD

Looking for a unique holiday gift for your favorite curious person? A premium subscription to my long-running blog, Boing Boing ($45/year), is like giving them a year-long ticket to a cabinet of curiosities. Your gift recipient gets our new ad-free site and newsletter covering tech, art, and wonderfully weird cultural phenomena. It's the gift that delivers fresh surprises every day. — MF

If you're curious about the occult and esoteric but unsure where to begin, Vestus Mysteria is a great newsletter to subscribe to. Joe, the writer, is a history buff who provides clear and easy-to-understand context on the most mysterious subjects. I appreciate that he includes links to sources and book recommendations for those who want to learn more. Each issue feels like taking a sip of the unknown. Here’s a link to a recent issue where he explains the origin of the phrase "Dark Night of the Soul". — CD

In our home we went with window blinds instead of curtains. Over three decades we’ve tried all kinds of blinds, and have settled on these Persilux Cellular Cordless Shades as the best. Through some kind of magic you can raise or lower the blinds with two fingers, and the blinds will rest at the level you leave it. There are no strings to haul or to get tangled. You can get translucent or blackout versions. A number of different brands make them; the key words seem to be “cellular cordless.” The Persilux brand has worked great and I order them online. — KK

The Public Domain Review website resurfaces forgotten visual treasures and literature. It’s one of my daily visits. Its online store offers museum-quality prints from their vast archive of historical art, illustrations, and curiosities. Check out this surreal 1892 illustration of meteor showers over Niagara Falls. — MF

These nearly flat ThinOptics reading glasses are made from elastic nitinol metal and shatterproof polycarbonate and weigh less than two sheets of paper. The genius is their magnetic case, which attaches to your smartphone for quick access and secure storage. — MF

AudioPen is a voice recording tool that transforms my rambling thoughts into coherent, well-structured text. I recommended it last year, but it’s worth resharing since it’s now available as an app on both iOS and Android. The free version allows you to record voice notes up to 3 minutes long and save up to 10 processed notes, all without needing a credit card. The prime version offers more features, including the ability to record up to 15 minutes, save unlimited notes, and adjust the writing style. I continue to use AudioPen regularly for summarizing calls, capturing ideas, and drafting newsletter posts. — CD

The Museum of the History of the Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland is one of the best museums I’ve ever visited and I’ve visited a lot of museums. It’s a several hours meander through recreated time periods over thousands of years, which immerses you into that period with brilliant veracity. It emphasizes the everyday life at each period, which makes it larger than just a Jewish experience. I recommend a visit to the museum even if you are only interested in the art of exhibits, storytelling, and immersive experiences. — KK

Our son recently convinced us to upgrade from a Roku streaming device to an AppleTV 4K device ($130), particularly since we are an Apple systems family. This small box is a huge and surprising improvement. It was insanely easy to transfer all streaming accounts using my iPhone, which I can also use as a remote. It easily pairs with Airpods for private sound, instead of the old wired earphones we had. But the best thing is how Siri is incorporated. You can ask, “what did they say” while watching a video and it will back up and repeat the last bit of dialog. Or I can audibly ask it to run “For All Mankind” and it will search and find it among all the streams we subscribe to. No typing to find out where a particular show can be watched. That alone is worth the price of admission, but there are a lot of other cool smart features as well, like displaying photos from my phone. — KK

SaveWisdom.org is a project dedicated to preserving individual wisdom. On the website, there are 1000 questions designed to interview someone about their early life, formative experiences, values, perspectives, and challenges. These questions are intended to invite deep reflections and greater self-understanding. They are open-sourced and can be used freely for personal use. Because of this website, I feel empowered to interview my grandmother, who is flying in from Morelia, Michoacán at the end of this month to celebrate her 80th birthday. Inspired by this list, I have been creating my own list of curious questions I would like to ask her. I plan to record her answers to gift to my extended family. — CD

This retro-style Amazon Basics suitcase turntable is an inexpensive way to rediscover your vinyl collection. Audiophiles with precious LPs should steer clear, but this lets you play your dusty collection without committing to a complex setup. It has built-in stereo speakers and it plays all three speeds (33/45/78). Bonus: it doubles as a Bluetooth speaker for your phone. — MF

I am really enjoying the book The Mythmakers, which is mostly a graphic novel about the productive friendship between JR Tolkien and CS Lewis, who basically invented the fantasy literature genre for adults. This book slips in and out of text and comic drawings in an easy way, and it makes it fun to see the two friends inspire each other to invent. The pair, and the graphic novel, explore the meaning and power of myths, versus mere stories, as a transcendent medium. It’s the best thing on myth making since Joseph Campbell’s Power of Myth, which is free on YouTube. — KK