Good Vibe #1: Penguins embark on a gallery tour
When zoos started to close in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, many decided to set up live-streaming capabilities so folks could still get a glimpse of the beautiful animals online. It didn’t take long before we were basing our daily schedule around seal feeding sessions and the ideal times to get a peek at a giraffe – we simply could not (and still cannot) get enough animal content. Imagine how quickly our hearts melted when we heard about the little excursion arranged by the Kansas City Zoo, which sent a trio of Humboldt penguins to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for a cultural outing. Sensing that the penguins were going a little bit stir-crazy without their regular interactions with zoo visitors, the Kansas City Zoo team decided to escort the flightless birds to the nearby museum, allowing them to wander the closed gallery and take in and react to work from several Renaissance masters. The whole outing is about as adorable as you’d expect – check out the video of the excursion here and try to resist falling into a vortex of penguin videos on YouTube straight after.

Good Vibe #2: Celebs team up to sing ‘Eat It’ by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
Back in March, a group of celebrities got together for a well-intentioned but ultimately cringe-worthy group sing-along of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’. The attempt spawned a few satirical responses (and was largely panned by many), but a newly released imitation has arrived to tickle the funny-bone of lovers of comedic parodies and celebrity lampooning. A group of comedians united to perform a rendition of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s seminal parody song ‘Eat It’, contributing snippets of their performance to create what might be the celebrity compilation we needed all along. The likes of Arrested Development‘s David Cross, Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston and Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman, Jack Black, Fred Armisen, Rachel Bloom, Patton Oswalt and Al Yankovic himself feature, with the video hoping to encourage audiences to donate to LIFT, a community-focused charity that helps parents and caregivers in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

Good Vibe #3: The new plant-based bottles that can degrade within a year
Although the pandemic is justifiably dominating the current news cycle, there is still plenty of good work being done behind the scenes in the fight against climate change. Renewable chemicals company Avantium in the Netherlands has announced a new project that aims to create plastics from plant sugars instead of fossil fuels. The company is looking to partner with leading food and beverage companies to kickstart the project later this year, endeavouring to reduce microplastic pollution and divert some of the 300-million tonnes of global plastic waste by creating an alternative vessel that will degrade in a year when composted. The new bottle is made from broken down sustainable plant sugars drawn from corn, wheat and beets, and is also recyclable. Although there is still much to be done before these bottles will be placed into mass production, there is hope that the product could hit supermarket shelves by 2023.

Good Vibe #4: A mother-daughter tandem recreates iconic album covers
It can be a challenge keeping kids occupied while they are at home during the age of social-distancing, but one mum has nailed iso-parenting by getting creative with her daughter on a little photography project. In mid-April, Los Angeles-based photographer Stephanie Girard and her daughter Lola launched their Quarantine Portrait Series, recreating famous album covers with Lola as the stand-in for the various musos. The project kicked off with a recreation of Lady Gaga’s Joanne, and has since seen the duo take on iconic covers or photographs from the likes of Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and No Doubt to Lana Del Rey, Beyonce and Freddie Mercury. Check out the whole series on Stephanie’s Instagram page!

Good Vibe #5: Snoop Dogg’s Disney listening session
Our final vibe for the week is a genuine bonafide day improver. Rapper, mogul and cultural pillar Snoop Dogg isn’t afraid to share little slice-of-life snippets with his social-media following, but the latest video post on his Instagram page takes the cake for biggest mood of the quarantine age. The video is simple – it’s Snoop in his car listening to ‘Let It Go’ from the Frozen soundtrack at full volume. Aside from the perfectly bizarre circumstances (you couldn’t make a happening like this up), the best bit is Snoop’s reaction during the track’s iconic crescendo chorus. The man is truly enjoying himself, relishing the song’s power and message while sagely comforting us all but promising “we’ll all be outside soon”. Amen Snoop, amen.

BONUS GOOD VIBE: The priest who sprayed holy water at drive-through churchgoers with a water gun
Adapting to the need for social distancing, Detroit’s St. Ambrose Parish continued its Easter tradition of blessing food baskets when Father Tim Pelc decided to whip out a toy gun filled with holy water. Check out the priest blessing drive-through churchgoers and their Easter picnic hampers with his holy water squirt gun here.

Image: NPR