The Super Bowl’s dark side
The Super Bowl is one of the most widely celebrated sporting events in the world, and each year the U.S. city selected to host the event benefits with a huge boost in its economy. Even with all of the excitement surrounding the game, there is a dark and often overlooked tragedy surrounding the event. According to […]
Makerere University’s research is charging Uganda’s economy
Makerere University is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Africa. Located in Kampala, Uganda, it’s been providing students with first-class education for the past 90 years, including my beloved Ugandan teammate Komakech Lawrence, who graduated from the university in 2005 and boasted about it’s academic superiority throughout our tour this past fall. Makerere […]
Thinking inside the box
Repurposing has become a buzz word for designers and ecologists over the past several years. The concept has little resistance and plenty of benefits. It’s cost effective, great for the environment, and aesthetically pleasing. Architecture and design firms Perkins+Will, Group8, and many others are taking repurposing to a whole new level and are arguably creating a […]
How Kickstarter changed Sundance
When filmmaker James Spione wanted to premiere his documentary Incident in New Baghdad in Los Angeles in order to make it eligible for Academy Award consideration, he turned to Kickstarter to garner support. Through the crowd-funding website, Spione was able to raise $11,000 and premiere his Tribeca-winning film in the city of angels. New Baghdad was nominated […]
TWLOHA’s Heavy and Light Tour: hope + great music
When Jamie Tworkowski first envisioned the Heavy and Light Tour, he dreamed of an evening of songs, conversation, and hope. He didn’t want a benefit show, but rather an intimate setting where people from all walks of life could come together for one night, share in the human experience, and come alive through music and the […]
The social network of good
If you’ve ever seen The Social Network you more than likely remember the old pair of Adidas sandals that Mark Zuckerberg – played by Jesse Eisenberg – wears religiously throughout the film. It’s not a symbol of status for Eisenberg’s character but rather a reminder that he has more important priorities than keeping in line with the […]
Cultivating the concrete jungle
We can credit a lot of things to the 1960s. Taco Bell, Sesame Street, and Jolly Okot are just a few of the gems created in the turbulent and iconic decade. Add another to the list: guerrilla gardening. Guerilla gardening grew out of an idea created during the Summer of Love in 1967 and has […]
A different kind of pool party
Swimming pools and skateboards have always gone together. It was in empty swimming pools in southern Californian backyards during the 1970’s that the sport was born. Skateboards were created to mimic surfing, so it only made sense to try to carve the curvaceous walls of swimming pools in suburbia. During an iconic scene in the […]
Bridging the gap on African economics
The continent of Africa is on the rise, and while the majority of today’s headlines may indicate the opposite, many of its countries may be in a position of economic power before the halfway point of this century. In the late 1800s the Berlin Conference and King Leopold’s quest for global dominance crippled the continent […]
Jay Shafer’s Tiny House Movement
Meet Jay Shafer. He’s the founding father of the Tiny House Movement, the George Washington of simple and sustainable living. After completing a Master’s of Fine Arts in painting, Jay did what anyone with a Master’s Degree would do – he went to work at a grocery store #sarcasm. Soon thereafter, he founded Tumbleweed Tiny […]