A Life of One's Own
"In art speak, James Hubbell could be called an 'outsider' artist; in architecture, a 'fringe' architect. Talking with Hubbell, one feels the irony of these terms. As I spent time with him, something quietly grew, an impression that it was really Hubbell, the man himself, who was the most remarkable element in all of this. Outsider? Not if it's humanity you're interested in." In this Works & Conve... posted on Dec 26 2009, 2,519 reads

Sweet 16 Brings New Meaning to Generosity
There were more than a hundred gifts carefully laid out on a table at the Hilton Garden Inn, where Megan Ajello was celebrating her Sweet 16 in style. But not one of those gifts was for the birthday girl. Megan was beaming, nonetheless, because she got to donate them all to one of her favorite charities: The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. The extraordinary act of generosity has become fairly com... posted on Dec 23 2009, 2,790 reads

Help Portrait: A Worldwide Photo Shoot
"Jeremy Cowart is a professional artist in Nashville, Tennessee, who has photographed rock stars such as Sting and Britney Spears. But on Saturday, he turned his lens on people unlikely to be recognized by anyone but family. Cowart staged a one-day, worldwide photo shoot called Help Portrait. "We just want to show people that they are beautiful, that they are valued," Cowart told CNN. Cowart used ... posted on Dec 18 2009, 4,508 reads

Flying On One Engine
Wheelchair bound, without a larynx, and diagnosed with a life-threatening aortic aneurysm, Dr. Sharadkumar Dicksheet now lives only (and barely) so he can travel to India to perform free operations in marathon-like surgery sessions where up to 700 children receive treatment for their cleft lips and other deformities. Although Dicksheet survives off of social security while living in his Brooklyn a... posted on Dec 14 2009, 3,412 reads

A School That Serves As A Lifeline
Principal Sherrie Gahn said she was shocked when she first came to Whitney Elementary School seven years ago."The kids were eating ketchup packets," Gahn said. "I said to one of my teachers, 'What on Earth are they doing?' and she said, 'That's their dinner.' " Whitney Elementary is in a dusty, rundown neighborhood of Las Vegas. Families here live at the edge of financial disaster. Gahn estimates ... posted on Dec 10 2009, 3,561 reads

The Stranger Exchange
John Wilson stopped in Chicago during a road trip from Boston. He was walking by Wicker Park when he noticed a totally anonymous and unsupervised local drop box where you could leave or take unwanted books and DVDs. John and his friend Chris tried to replicate this box in their hometown, and have had amazing results so far. Read how these two, and others, try to bring ideas of reciprocation and ... posted on Dec 07 2009, 4,104 reads

Leadership Without a Secret Code
Being a leader anywhere can be a difficult job. In this interview, Drew Gilpin Faust discusses what her life has been like as the leader of one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Harvard. Read how Faust uses simple tools like communication and team-building to create a cohesive atmosphere. Learn how hectic and rewarding a position of leadership can be.... posted on Dec 05 2009, 3,929 reads

"Feed Me Bubbe": Not Your Usual Cooking Show
The Internet is full of some amazing and impressive technological feats. However, sometimes, very simple things have just as much, or more, impact. "Feed Me Bubbe" is a heartwarming collection of videos of an 83 year old Jewish grandmother and her loving grandson. "Bubbe" shares recipes in her cooking videos, but she also shares stories, life lessons, and advice. Watch this video interview of ... posted on Dec 04 2009, 5,020 reads

A Ray of Hope After Twenty Years
After his car accident, Houben was classified as a hopeless case, a coma patient in what is called a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Such patients have their eyes open, but they do not react consciously to their environment. Experts are relatively sure that they do not even feel pain. Their prospects of recovery are considered slim to nonexistent. However, recent research is showing that ma... posted on Dec 02 2009, 4,174 reads

How Food Shapes Our Cities
Ten thousand years ago, humans began settling in cities, moving away from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Since then, food has shaped our cities. In her speech, Carolyn Steel discusses how food has dictated so much of human activity, and more specifically, city growth. Steel gives a realistic appraisal of our current consumption, and what our food patterns mean for the future of humanity. Learn... posted on Nov 30 2009, 3,458 reads