Tuesday Tip: How to Create Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories is one of platform’s coolest features. It allows you to take a series of photos or videos and post them to your Instagram profile, where they stay for 24 hours. After that, they disappear. Sort of like Snapchat. But different, because there are options that let you and others download and save your Instagram Stories. In this article, learn how to use and create Instagram stories. 

How to make an Instagram Story

1. Tap the camera icon at the top left of your Instagram homescreen. This will open your camera so you can start a new Story. At the bottom of your screen, you’ll notice three buttons. From left to right, they are the flash (where you can configure flash settings), shutter and the rotate button that switches your camera from front-facing to rear-facing (or vice versa).

2. Tap the shutter to take a photo. Or touch and hold it to record a video. (You can turn your camera orientation to landscape but Instagram will post the photos and videos in your Story in portrait mode.) To choose a photo from your phone’s gallery, swipe up anywhere on the screen.

3. Once you’ve taken a photo or recorded a video, you can add text, draw on it or add stickers by tapping one of the buttons at the top right of the screen. There’s also a new option that allows you to add animated GIF stickers. Tap Undo to start over. To remove a piece of text or a sticker, drag and drop it in the trashcan at the bottom of the screen. Tap Done to save your Story.

4. Tap the Add Your Story button to share your Story. You can also tap the save icon to save this photo or video to your phone. If you click the arrow icon, you can send this photo or video to friends. Just tap the circle next Your Story and select the friends you want to share with.

To make your Story a slideshow, just repeat these steps. Each photo or video you add to your Story within a 24-hour period will be part of it.

How to save an Instagram Story

There are two ways you can save your Stories so you have them after their 24-hour lifespan.

1. You can open your Story and select Save Story to save it to your phone as a video.
2. You can set your Story to remain on your profile as a Highlight, even after it has disappeared. (Highlights appear below your profile photo.) To add a Story as a Highlight, go to your profile and tap the + below Stories Highlights. Tap the Story you want to add to Highlights, then tap Next. Choose a cover photo and enter a Story name, then tap Add. You can add more photos or videos anytime by tapping Edit Highlight.

Let us know how it goes.

How to Compost and Keep Your Plants Happy When You Live in an Apartment

How to Compost and Keep Your Plants Happy When You Live in an Apartment

If you live in an apartment, you probably have plants. And if you don’t, you should think about getting some, because indoor plants are good for your health.

They produce oxygen, which helps you sleep well. They absorb CO2 and other pollutants. They release phytoncides, which boost your white blood cells and neutralize microorganisms in the air. Plus having plants around improves your mood—a bit like a pet and a lot less trouble.

But you have to play your part and keep your plants healthy. Water them, give them sunlight and feed them compost.

OK, we hear you. How do you compost if you live in an apartment? Actually, it’s easier than you might think to turn your food scraps into plant superfood. Here’s what you’ll need to make compost with the perfect balance of plant nutrients.

Container

A wood box is your best choice. It looks good and it’s easy to make yourself. Choose a shallow, wide shape—8 to 12 inches deep—not tall and narrow. Your container should have holes in the lid for ventilation and in the sides for drainage. The lower side holes should be about 3 inches from the bottom. Then, if you have to drain your container, you just tip it and the “tea” will run out of the holes.

If you don’t go the DIY route, you can easily buy an indoor composting container online. They range in price from under $25 up to $250 or more.

Paper

Cut the paper into strips. Newspaper is a good choice. Also good is shredded brown cardboard. Soak it in water and squeeze out the extra so the strips are moist but not dripping. Line the bottom of your container with the paper—about one-third of the way to the top. Then add a thin layer of soil, sand, ground egg shells or sawdust.

Some papers you should not use, like bleached white office paper or any paper printed with colored ink. And some papers you can’t use, like coffee cups from Starbucks, thanks to Starbucks’ refusal to develop a cup not lined with polyethylene plastic. (This means 4 billion Starbucks cups go into landfills every year. CREDO Mobile funds the Stand.earth campaign to pressure Starbucks to come up with a recyclable cup.)

Worms

Yes, worms. They’re your best friends for indoor composting. After all, composting is what they’ve been doing for millions of years. Use red wigglers (Eisenia fetida). They’re surface-dwellers and like to live in the top 6 inches of soil—which is why your container should be shallow rather than deep. You can order worms online and get them in the mail.

How many do you need? You should allow 1 square foot of space for 1 pound of worms (which is around 2 cups). Worms eat half their body weight in 24 hours, so if you have, say, 1 cup of worms, you can feed them 1/2 cup of food scraps a day. But don’t worry too much—they’ll self-regulate their population fairly quickly (unlike some other species we could mention).

When placing your worms in the container, dig down a short way into the paper layer to make them feel at home. Put your container in a cool place without a lot of sun, maybe under the sink. If you put it out on a balcony or fire escape, keep in mind that worms are sensitive to extremes of temperature. They prefer the 55-to-77-degree range. Wait a few days to let them settle in before you feed them.

Start composting

Now comes the fun part. You can feed your herd all sorts of different scraps—fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds. Avoid meats, fish, oils, dairy products, processed foods, chili pepers and citrus fruits, which are too acidic.

It helps to chop scraps into smaller pieces. And it’s best to feed your worms every few days in small amounts. Compost itself doesn’t actually smell but if you feed worms more than they can handle, you’ll end up with a pungent odor, which is the smell of rotting food that hasn’t been eaten yet. Feed slowly and you won’t have an odor and likely no fruit flies either.

The compost your worms produce is an earthy hummus. Keep adding scraps until you have more hummus than scraps, then let your bin sit until the remaining scraps have been eaten. Then scoop out your compost (not your worms) and give it to your plants. Keep some compost aside, mix it with new bedding (moist paper) and start the cycle over.

It takes about 12 weeks for worms to produce a bin’s worth of compost, give or take some time depending on the size of your bin.

Let us know how it goes. Or, if you’re an experienced composter already, send us your tips.

Tuesday Tip: 6 Podcasts to Keep You Sane During the Trump Era

6 Progressive Podcasts to Keep You Sane During the Trump Era

“May you live in interesting times,” goes the old curse. We are certainly doing that. There are billion-dollar corporations getting tax cuts, then announcing mass layoffs. There are weather events across the country verging on the apocalyptic. There are world leaders willing to risk war by means of a tweet. I don’t know about you but I’m hoping for more uneventful times—and the sooner the better. 

Until then, there are many interesting (in the best sense of the word!) podcasts that help us make sense of this odd era we live in. In fact, at least a thousand political podcasts—most progressive podcasts have launched since the 2016 election.

Here are six of our favorites.

1. Daily Kos Radio

Daily Kos, if you don’t already know, is one of the premier progressive websites—a news organization, community and activist hub with over 10 million unique visitors every month. Daily Kos Radio is its voice. Episodes cover news of the day and progressive politics with insight, dry wit, and sardonic humor from host David Waldman (contributing editor at Daily Kos) and a cast of friends and other experts. Their podcast is engaging and approachable, as they explore topics with the enthusiasm and affability of pals sharing a chat over coffee at the local cafe. Find it here.

2. Democracy Now!

You may be familiar with Democracy Now!, the excellent independent TV and radio news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. This is that daily program in podcast form. It features global news headlines, in-depth interviews and long-form investigative reports free of advertising and government funding. Goodman and Gonzalez frequently discuss corporate and government abuses of power and often focus on ordinary people working to make change in these extraordinary times. The podcasts feature video for watching on-screen. Find it here.

3. Intercepted

“Could very well be the best political podcast available at the moment,” says Salon.com. Hosted by Jeremy Scahill—investigative reporter, war correspondent, and founding editor of pioneering “adversarial journalism” site the Intercept—the Intercepted podcast focuses each week on a particular news story. Lately, of course, it has zeroed in on Donald Trump and his rolling disaster but the show also features interviews with artists, thinkers, and newsmakers who challenge prevailing preconceptions. Episodes are ad-free and run an hour or more. Find it here.

4. Majority Report with Sam Seder

Seder is a comedian, writer, film director and actor who once appeared in Sex and the City, among other TV shows and movies. His podcast provides informed, thoughtful political analysis with a healthy dose of scathing humor and features insightful interviews with guests ranging from politicians to musicians. Daily 40-minute episodes are free but if you pay a small monthly membership, you get access to the “fun half,” an extra hour of content that includes more comedy, as well as banter with listeners on topics like, “Can social movements change policy or must we engage in bourgeois electoralism?” Find it here.

5. Pod Save America

It’s been called the new Daily Show and the best podcast for surviving the Trump era. It’s definitely the breakout hit of this genre. Four former aides to President Obama—Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor—are joined by politicians, activists, journalists, and comedians for irreverent, entertaining, “no bullshit” conversations about politics. Notable guests have included Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Barack Obama, who did his last interview as president with Pod Save America. Episodes are twice weekly and run 40-80 minutes. Find it here.

6. Politically Re-Active

Sometimes you just have to laugh. Hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu can help. Bell is a standup comedian and host of the CNN docu-series United Shades of America. Kondabolu is “one of the most exciting political comics in standup today,” says the New York Times. Together, they discuss living in the age of Trump—how to be active in the resistance and smile in the face of our national dumpster fire. The wide-ranging show has in the past hosted guests from Neil deGrasse Tyson to Jake Tapper. Weekly episodes run about an hour. Find it here.

Those are our six podcasts for riding out the Trump era, long may it not live. If you’re listening to others, let us know! We’re always on the lookout for informative and entertaining political podcasts.

Tuesday Tip: How to Make a Fiery, Furious, and Fabulous Protest sign for the Women’s March

How to make a fiery, furious, and fabulous protest sign for the Women’s March

Last year’s worldwide Women’s March was a powerful event. In the U.S. alone, more than 4 million people turned out peacefully in over 600 cities for what may have been the largest day of demonstrations in American history.

The 2018 Women’s March is coming January 20-21 to a city or town near you. Ready to make your own protest sign and join the march? Hey hey, ho ho! Let’s go.

Choose the best board

The backbone of a great sign is a good sign board.

Petroleum-based sign boards are very popular these days, but we’re not fans of these materials and do not recommend using them because of detrimental effects on the environment.

A great option is recycled, thick cardboard with recycled poster board attached to it. You should be able to find these at your local arts and crafts store.

Carry the day

Speak loudly but don’t carry a stick. The traditional wooden sign stick is now banned in some cities, so think about other options. A good one is a hollow cardboard tube, of the sort left over from holiday wrapping paper. Another choice is the easel back—those cardboard attachments you stick behind a picture to stand it up on a table. Get two and put them on either side of your sign.

Best, though, is probably a piece of string. Poke two holes in the top of your sign and use the string to hang it around your neck. Consider a shirt with a collar to avoid abrading your nape. Or make a sandwich-board sign and carry it on your shoulders.

Keep it simple

Many marchers opt for multicolored letters on a brilliantly hued background. They apply glitter and 3D additions. Sometimes these signs succeed but often they don’t. In a lively protest of hundreds or thousands, instant impact is key, so it’s optimal to design a sign that’s understandable at a glance.

Text-based signs in simple colors work well. White letters on black or black on white or orange on blue—any two contrasting colors are good. If you spell out your message in a rainbow of letters on, say, a red background, realize that the orange letters may not be legible.

Keep your message brief and your letters large. Before you ink them in, sketch them out in pencil. Use a ruler to keep them straight and evenly spaced. Take a step back to make sure your sign is readable from a distance. You might consider stick-on letters to make a neat sign quickly.

When a picture really is worth a thousand words

But let’s face it, signs with images can be memorable and a lot of fun to create. We all have that sign that stays on our minds long after the march is over. So if you want to work with images, follow the basic recipe for a successful logo: simple, impactful, and relevant.

• Simple – a simple image is one a person can recognize as soon as they see it. Detailed artwork doesn’t work for a protest sign. Keep it simple!
• Impactful – an impactful sign grabs attention and leaves an impression. Pick the one image that leaves the greatest impact. 
• Relevant – your sign should have meaning that relates to the main point you’re making. Try to make one strong point with your sign. Edit any words that do not absolutely have to be there, or any images that detract from your main point.

If your protest sign art follows those three guides, you’ll likely create a powerful sign.  

See you at the march!

All that’s left is to decide what to say on your sign. That’s up to you. We remember the fiery, furious, and funny protest signs carried by marchers to tell Donald Trump that women (and other people) won’t take his hateful agenda lying down. Signs like “You can’t comb over misogyny,” “Takes one to grab one,” and “If I make my uterus a corporation, will you stop regulating it?”

Whatever you say, what’s most important is to say it. Show up and speak out against Trump at the Women’s Marches on January 20-21. We will, and we hope to see you there.

We’d love to post pics of the signs you create. Please share them with us!