Content warning: From a quiet street in Glasgow to a sunlit wall in Madrid, these artworks remind us that empathy still lives in the small, shared moments between strangers. Each piece captures kindness — a helping hand, a warm glance, a soft connection to nature. Togethe
From a quiet street in Glasgow to a sunlit wall in Madrid, these artworks remind us that empathy still lives in the small, shared moments between strangers. Each piece captures kindness — a helping hand, a warm glance, a soft connection to nature. Together, they reflect the tenderness that holds our cities together.
A tiny chalk figure drawn into cracked pavement looks up at a sprouting weed as if in conversation. Zinn’s playful work blends drawing and environment, turning small imperfections into living stories of care and growth. More!: Street Art by Happiness Maker David Zinn (21 Photos)
Case Maclaim: I believe the actual beauty of fairy tales is that it is up to our imagination how the character looks and moves and that version is not really up to debate, as it is just like a fingerprint, very unique and personal. With this mural in the old, historical city center of Madrid I wanted to try a different approach. So I gave the viewer a new character of a yet unknown fairy tale. I have high hopes that it will encourage specially the young audience to come up with their very own story, in which the lead is a confident, black child in a golden wheelchair and in a self-made mermaid costume.
3. Flirting — WD (Wild Drawing) in Ura Vajgurore, Albania
Two figures lean toward each other across the façade of a building, bridging architecture and emotion. WD’s mural transforms an ordinary block into a scene of connection and curiosity. More!: Beautiful 3D Art by WD! (8 Photos)
A minimal black-and-white street drawing shows two small figures pulling each other up a step. Exitenter’s simple gesture on the wall becomes a quiet message about solidarity and compassion.
A hooded figure sits against a wall, surrounded by loyal dogs. Lalone’s mural captures companionship and empathy through warm tones and realistic texture.
A large-scale mural of a mother holding her child, watched by a robin. SMUG’s work reflects tenderness and peace through natural light and emotional realism. More!: 24 Times SMUG Made Walls Look More Real Than Life
7. The Invisibility of Poverty — Kevin Lee, Haohui Zhou and Bin Liu in China
A body-painted installation of a child sitting on the steps, blending seamlessly into the urban environment. The work by Kevin Lee, Haohui Zhou and Bin Liu highlights the overlooked realities of poverty and homelessness through stillness, realism, and empathy. More!: The Invisibility of Poverty
8. Stay Close
Black letters painted on a yellow wall read: “Stay close to people who feel like sunshine.” A simple reminder rendered in urban typography, glowing with emotional warmth.
From a playful chalk monster to a balcony illusion that tricks the eye, this collection captures eight lighthearted street artworks and public interventions that bring smiles to passersby. From Paris to local sidewalks, here are moments where humor and creativity meet the streets.
A trompe-l’œil artwork showing two women leaning from a balcony, one laughing and the other observing, blending seamlessly with the building façade. More!: Wrong but Right – Art By Oakoak (9 Photos)
2. Nadine and the Surprisingly Effective Joke — David Zinn in USA
Sidewalk chalk art where a rock forms the head of a wide-mouthed creature holding a tiny mouse-like character in blue, blending humor with natural surroundings. More!: 9 Cute Spring Drawings by David Zinn
A playful flyer featuring a friendly dog with the text “Now you have. Have a GOOD day,” complete with tear-off tabs reading “Have a great day.”
4. Little People Museum — Slinkachu in UK
A miniature installation where tiny figurines examine a cigarette butt displayed as if it were a museum artifact, highlighting humor and commentary in scale. More!: 7 Tiny Street Dramas by Slinkachu
7. Please Do Not Touch — Michael Pederson in Sydney, Australia
A dandelion framed with miniature museum-style posts and a sign reading “Please Do Not Touch,” turning an everyday weed into a delicate exhibit. More!: Clever Art By Michael Pederson (17 Photos)
A playful crosswalk intervention by Oakoak in Auchel, created during the festival Les Petits Bonheurs. The artist turned a simple crossing into a scene of animated white stripes reacting to a ghostly visitor. More by Oakoak: Lovely by Oakoak (10 Photos)
Case Maclaim: I believe the actual beauty of fairy tales is that it is up to our imagination how the character looks and moves and that version is not really up to debate, as it is just like a fingerprint, very unique and personal. With this mural in the old, historical city center of Madrid I wanted to try a different approach. So I gave the viewer a new character of a yet unknown fairy tale. I have high hopes that it will encourage specially the young audience to come up with their very own story, in which the lead is a confident, black child in a golden wheelchair and in a self-made mermaid costume.
We were born into burning forests, melting ice caps, and timelines that refresh faster than the planet can breathe. We did not choose this chaos — but we will choose what happens next.
They told us we are the future. But the future is already on fire.
We are the generation of algorithms and anxiety, of streaming wars and real wars, of infinite content and finite resources.
And still — they expect us to stay quiet.
We won’t.
Because being the “intelligent species” doesn’t mean building better weapons, faster apps, or bigger lies. It means protecting the one system we cannot replace: this planet.
There is no backup Earth. No cloud storage for oceans. No reset button for extinct species.
We reject the illusion that destruction is progress. We reject comfort built on collapse. We reject a system that teaches us how to profit — but not how to survive.
They taught us to compete. We choose to protect.
They taught us to con
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THE LAST-GENERATION MANIFESTO
We were born into burning forests, melting ice caps, and timelines that refresh faster than the planet can breathe. We did not choose this chaos — but we will choose what happens next.
They told us we are the future. But the future is already on fire.
We are the generation of algorithms and anxiety, of streaming wars and real wars, of infinite content and finite resources.
And still — they expect us to stay quiet.
We won’t.
Because being the “intelligent species” doesn’t mean building better weapons, faster apps, or bigger lies. It means protecting the one system we cannot replace: this planet.
There is no backup Earth. No cloud storage for oceans. No reset button for extinct species.
We reject the illusion that destruction is progress. We reject comfort built on collapse. We reject a system that teaches us how to profit — but not how to survive.
They taught us to compete. We choose to protect.
They taught us to consume. We choose to preserve.
They taught us to look away. We choose to see everything.
This is not about guilt. This is about power.
Because the truth is: We are the most connected generation in history. Which means we can be the most dangerous — to injustice, to greed, to the lie that nothing can change.
We will not be remembered for our filters. We will be remembered for our decisions.
And we choose this:
To fight for clean air like it’s a human right. To defend the oceans like they are part of our bloodstream. To protect forests like they are our final servers of life.
We are not too young. We are not too late. We are exactly on time.
If this really is the last generation that can stop the collapse — then we will not go quietly into the end credits.
We will rewrite the ending.
Not with violence. Not with apathy. But with relentless pressure, fearless imagination, and the refusal to accept a dead world as normal.
We are not here to inherit a graveyard. We are here to defend a future.
This is our line in the sand. This is our warning. This is our promise.
Conclusões preliminares dos meus estudos mais recentes:
Cuidado, podes ser anarquista se:
usas GNU/Linux e outro software Open Source and Free;
pensas com a tua cabeça;
te preocupas com o teu bem-estar e o dos outros;
te preocupas com o bem-estar da tua comunidade e te dedicas a ela;
és contra a violência venha ela donde vier: pessoas, governos, instituições;
és a favor da auto-determinação e liberdade de decisão dos outros;
és a favor da cooperação para a construção dum mundo melhor para todos;
só aceitas a violência para resistir à violência dos outros;
te sentes livre e queres que os outros também se sintam assim;
és a favor duma vida mais humana e sustentável;
defendes que todos os seres humanos têm o direito a serem felizes e a ter a
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Conclusões preliminares dos meus estudos mais recentes:
Cuidado, podes ser anarquista se:
usas GNU/Linux e outro software Open Source and Free;
pensas com a tua cabeça;
te preocupas com o teu bem-estar e o dos outros;
te preocupas com o bem-estar da tua comunidade e te dedicas a ela;
és contra a violência venha ela donde vier: pessoas, governos, instituições;
és a favor da auto-determinação e liberdade de decisão dos outros;
és a favor da cooperação para a construção dum mundo melhor para todos;
só aceitas a violência para resistir à violência dos outros;
te sentes livre e queres que os outros também se sintam assim;
és a favor duma vida mais humana e sustentável;
defendes que todos os seres humanos têm o direito a serem felizes e a ter as suas necessidades básicas garantidas;
acreditas que todos os seres humanos têm o direito a terem as suas possessões, desde que elas não sejam adquiridas através da exploração de outros;
acreditas que a comunidade tem de garantir o bem-estar individual de cada um dos seus membros;
acreditas que todos temos a obrigação de melhorar, enquanto seres humanos, e de contribuir para que todos na comunidade melhorem também;
as decisões pessoais e da comunidade sejam tomadas com base em árduo estudo, investigação e análise dos resultados e não em simples emoções ou "achismo"...
(A ordem desta lista é completamente anárquica!)
Tem mesmo muito cuidado!!! Podes ser um/a anarquista sem saber!!!
Men may be divided almost any way we please, but I have found the most useful distinction to be made between those who devote their lives to conjugating the verb “to be” and those who spend their lives conjugating the verb “to have.”
Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author For the Time Being, ch. 6, epigram (1972)
I think cognitive dissonance is one of the great culprits of today's polarization and underlying violence in the world. I just had a very sad exchange here in Diaspora with someone who had so far behaved very politely in all our previous interactions, but resorted to name-calling and dismissive comments when faced with an idea that conflicts with his own practices.
This is just another example of a phenomenon I see very often, both out there in the world, as well as in the Internet. People are generally nice and decent to each other until they are confronted with an idea that puts them in a state of contradiction between what they do and what they believe. In other words, ideas with which they deep down agree with, but that stand in contrast to what their habits.
I think it's a shame, because the response is quite automatic, and therefore outside of most people's control. Yet, it has the very negative effect of distancing people away from each other, and of moving those affected by cognitive dissonance to extremes they would normally not be drawn into. However, such peo... show more
I think cognitive dissonance is one of the great culprits of today's polarization and underlying violence in the world. I just had a very sad exchange here in Diaspora with someone who had so far behaved very politely in all our previous interactions, but resorted to name-calling and dismissive comments when faced with an idea that conflicts with his own practices.
This is just another example of a phenomenon I see very often, both out there in the world, as well as in the Internet. People are generally nice and decent to each other until they are confronted with an idea that puts them in a state of contradiction between what they do and what they believe. In other words, ideas with which they deep down agree with, but that stand in contrast to what their habits.
I think it's a shame, because the response is quite automatic, and therefore outside of most people's control. Yet, it has the very negative effect of distancing people away from each other, and of moving those affected by cognitive dissonance to extremes they would normally not be drawn into. However, such people often prefer to inhabit these extremes rather than confront the ideas that challenge their deeply ingrained habits. And what is worse, in these extremes they meet with other people who, for whatever reason, have also found themselves moved to such extremes. Once people find each other in these extremes, they comfort each other and tell each other it is OK to be in such extremes, further reinforcing a behavior that results in alienation from others with different world-views, and results in the creation of bubbles of thought, where the exchange of different ideas no longer becomes possible.
I wonder what is the solution for this. Perhaps practices like Mindfulness help, so that individuals can notice how they are alienating themselves. Unfortunately, Mindfulness practices are not for everyone, and often are incompatible with the modern way of life we have nowadays.
I'm interested in what you think are possible solutions to this conundrum