A Gratitude Concert for Cabdrivers
The violinist stood on a makeshift stage under a weathered vinyl canopy hastily erected outside Newark Liberty International Airport in the taxicab holding area. The audience watched him in awe, about 50 drivers in three rows, their yellow cabs a few feet behind, some lined up neatly, others askew. "It was so pleasing to see people dancing -- that never happens," said Mr. Quint, a Grammy-nominate... posted on Aug 26 2008, 3,539 reads

No I Won't Lend You 30 Dollars But ...
In 1996, Conor Bohan stepped over the open sewers of Cite Soleil, a teeming slum on the harbor in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to visit a promising former student at the Catholic high school where he was teaching. The student, Isemonde Joseph, asked Bohan if he would give her thirty dollars to attend secretarial school. He briefly considered Joseph's request, but declined. Instead, Bohan offered to spon... posted on Aug 20 2008, 2,660 reads

29-Day Giving Challenge
Feeling desperate and hopeless after spending eight days in the hospital related to multiple sclerosis, 35-year-old Cami Walker, decided to take an odd "prescription" from an African medicine woman. The remedy? Give away one thing each day for 29 days. "I thought the suggestion was crazy at first, but decided it wasn't going to hurt me to try it. Things couldn't get much worse," said Walker. "I wa... posted on Aug 19 2008, 3,889 reads

Light A Store, Save A Town
The residents of Powell, Wyoming, a windswept basin 100 miles from anywhere know that if they want something done, they have to do it themselves. Whether it's repairing a tractor or rejuvenating Main Street, the people here fix their own problems. So when the town's last clothing shop shuttered, forcing them to make an hourlong roundtrip for a pair of socks, they decided to fix that too... with un... posted on Aug 18 2008, 3,296 reads

Seeing Human
"Seventy-five percent of pet owners consider their animal part of the family. Eighty percent of computer users curse out loud at uncooperative machines. Seventy percent of people who own a Roomba the much-hyped room-cleaning robot end up giving it a name. Most of us are apt to attach human characteristics to nonhuman objects and animals, a tendency known as anthropomorphism. New research now sugge... posted on Aug 17 2008, 2,877 reads

A 101-Year-Old's Literary Lifeline
Stephanie Sandleben, a yoga instructor, just finished Chapter 19 of Tina Brown's biography of Princess Diana. Sara Nolan, a graduate student, is 30 pages into a Rumer Godden novel. Mark Kalinowsky, a real estate broker, has long since stopped reading; he just comes to chat. These three disparate characters are part of a ragtag crew that drops in on 101-year-old Elizabeth Goodyear. A lifelong lover... posted on Aug 12 2008, 2,563 reads

Towards More Tolerance
Today's students are the most racially tolerant generation our nation has ever seen. According to recent studies, they are more likely to have friends, or to date, across racial and ethnic lines than the generations who came before them. On the whole, they believe racism is wrong. But we still have a long way to go. According to federal statistics, one in four students report being targets of raci... posted on Aug 11 2008, 2,135 reads

A Young Millionaire's Unique Birthday Bash
Multi-millionaire Taj Chahal has thrown himself some great birthday bashes. He has rented limos to take his friends to San Francisco. He's flown to Vegas. But this year, for his 29th birthday, Chahal decided to do something a bit different: He hosted a surprise party for 300 total strangers -- complete with birthday cake and party favors for everyone -- at Martha's Kitchen, a San Jose charity that... posted on Jul 31 2008, 3,450 reads

Finding A Lost Sunset
"Around 5:30pm, I was on the bus one day and everybody on the bus was quiet. People had just gotten off from work, students had just finished their last class and everybody was a little tired from a long day. I was just looking outside of the window without any specific thought in my mind. It was the same view I have seen many times before, people hurrying home. In front of me, there was a guy si... posted on Jul 30 2008, 5,813 reads

A World Without Waste
Kamikatsu may be a small backwater in the wooded hills and rice terraces of south-eastern Japan but it's become a world leader on waste policy. Kamikatsu residents have to compost all their food waste and sort other rubbish into 34 different categories. There are no waste collections from households at all, instead people take full responsibility for everything they throw away. This BBC story sha... posted on Jul 28 2008, 2,692 reads