filed under a folder labelled “blog entries” on my desktop are half finished drafts of what i’ve been up to since my return from Tanzania. part of the distraction that keeps me from finishing my edits (apart from trying to desperately catch up with school work), is all the great online reading/video watching i’ve been doing (partly as procrastination from the schoolwork i should be doing). In addition to being hooked on TED talks, NYtimes video, and worldchanging, i’ve also come across a great series of articles written by Mariane Pearl for Glamour Magazine. The magazine’s online interface is hokey, but don’t let that distract you. Each article features incredible women who, in the words of Ms. Pearl “by challenging their own fate, are shaping our world and helping to write the history of our generation.” A child of war, building peace, The AIDS orphan who’s healing her country, Can she save her country?, The sex slave tragedy are incredibly moving and inspiring. For all articles, click here

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image stolen fromhttp://www.sweetbeginningsllc.com

during my research on urban interventions, i found something very cool that’s been happening in chicago: a programme that hires ex-convicts to become beekeppers/upscale beauty and consumer product producers. situated on a site that has a history of riots, poverty,umemployement, drugs and crime; this programme is revitilizing the area, creating jobs for “unemployables”, and creating a positive impact on the environment. read http://www.nlen.org/documents/in_the_news_09_24_2006.pdf