Kliptown Youth Program ~ CNN's Change Heroes

CNN's Kathleen Toner spotlights Thulani Madondo and his KYP colleagues Helping 'Kliptown' kids take control of their future. The story begins with Kliptown resident Brian Munyai...

"Munyai found basic necessities like food and clothing difficult to come by. But although his circumstances didn't make it easy, he was determined to get an education. "I spent a lot of time without a school uniform," he said, recalling the embarrassment he felt being different from classmates from middle-class neighborhoods. "Going to school with a hungry stomach... it was very tough." Munyai worked hard, however, and in high school, he heard about the Kliptown Youth Program. The after-school program, commonly known as KYP, provided him with intensive tutoring that helped him pass his senior exams and find funding to attend the University of Johannesburg. He recently earned a national diploma in banking. "This program actually changed my future," Munyai said. "(Without it), right now, I would not be standing here and saying that I went to university."

Self Illuminated ~ Strattman's Plasma Sculptures!

The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation is hosting Self Illuminated, an exhibit by kinetic plasma sculptor Wayne Strattman! Opening reception this Sunday 15 July 2012 7p!

Cycling Girl ~ Copenhagen Cycle Chic Spotlight!

The amazing Copenhagen Cycle Chic spots the iconic Cycling Girl!

It Only Takes Ten ~ Educate Lanka's Campaign!

Our MIT Development Ventures alum Manjula Dissanayake (Tufts Fletcher '12) writes about his philanthropic venture Educate Lanka and their It Only Takes Ten initiative...

"...a six-month long fundraising campaign to raise a minimum of $10,000. Volunteer 10 minutes of your day, give $10 out of your pocket, or just tell 10 more people about us!"

Mining Deep Seabeds ~ Gold Rush in the Abyss

NYTimes Science section spotlights A Gold Rush in the Abyss...

"A new understanding of marine geology has led to the discovery of hundreds of these unexpected ore bodies, known as massive sulfides because of their sulfurous nature. These finds are fueling a gold rush as nations, companies and entrepreneurs race to stake claims to the sulfide-rich areas, which dot the volcanic springs of the frigid seabed. The prospectors -- motivated by dwindling resources on land as well as record prices for gold and other metals -- are busy hauling up samples and assessing deposits valued at trillions of dollars. [...] Skeptics once likened mining the deep to looking for riches on the moon. No more. Progress in marine geology, predictions of metal shortages in the decades ahead and improving access to the abyss are combining to make it real. Environmentalists have expressed growing alarm..."

LEGO Machines ~ Models, Devices, Mechanisms

Seen several interesting LEGO-based machines lately! First Candy Machine via UniqueDaily... 3D Milling Machine... Tic Tac Toe player... Volvo EC290C Tracked Excavator... Rolls-Royce engine via Inhabitat...

Voice of the People ~ Hong Kong vs Politburo...

The Economist shares the voice of the people versus Politburo from one of the two relatively free places in Mao's China...

"Colonial-era social freedoms still apply in Hong Kong, and pro-democracy groups in the territory have staged protests on July 1st ever since the first anniversary of the reversion to Chinese sovereignty 15 years ago. [...] Hong Kong officials were at pains to prevent Mr Hu from encountering any disaffected citizens, whose complaints range from Hong Kong’s growing wealth gap to the mistreatment of dissidents in mainland China to [...] the crushing of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. [...] Mainland Chinese media imposed a virtual news blackout on the demonstration."

Ecoducts ~ Nice Bridge Overpasses for Wildlife...

I've written before about Critter Crossings, the Habitat Highway, Freeway Cap Parks, Urban Parks, and even the Elephant Underpass, so it's really excellent to see this World Geography post on Unusual Bridges For Animals -- Wildlife Overpasses with excellent photos...

"The bridges are for the animals; the animals walk over the road, and the vehicles go through the structure. Most of the structures are between 10m and 60m wide. They typically have soil, litter, and vegetation on top to provide suitable habitat for a range of different species and species groups"

From the Heart ~ Bill Warner on Startups @ TEDx

Check out Bill Warner at TEDxBoston speaking on How to Build a Startup Company from the Heart...

Liberty ~ Root Ideals of American Independence!

Take a mo to read the full US Declaration of Independence, think about how far this country has strayed away from TJ's epic ideals -- and what you are going do about it -- and cast your eyes upon the best symbols of American greatness -- the Statue of Liberty and fireworks!

Happy Birthday USA!

Vision Quest ~ Al Jaz on India's Aravind Eyecare

Al Jazeera's 101 East spotlights Vision Quest, a documentary on India's Aravind Eye Care System...

"Founded in 1976, surgeons working for Aravind are among the most productive in the world, with fewer complications than British doctors. But what is truly astonishing about Aravind is that nearly half of the 300,000 procedures it conducts every year are free. Aravind treats everyone from presidents to paupers, regardless of what they can pay."

Orsos Island ~ Floating Luxury Yacht+House...

CNN's Stina Backer reports on $6 million man-made floating island...

"The oval-shaped "Orsos Island" has been designed to combine the mobility of a yacht with the comfort of a house. It offers six bedrooms spread over three floors and 1,000 square meters -- nearly four tennis courts -- worth of luxury living space. [...] The island is the passion project of Hungarian-born entrepreneur Gabor Orsos, a former hotelier who wanted to combine the best features of luxury hotels with the flexibility that a superyacht provides. Measuring 37 meters long, the island can be anchored anywhere in the world its owner fancies."

Darling Goes Adult ~ MIT Research on Porn+Tech

Our MIT Media Lab colleague Kate Darling (visiting from ETHZ) studies intellectual property and economics, including especially intangibles and what are sometimes called "soft assets". Since no media sector exposes more in this regard than adult, Kate has become deeply engaged in the porn industry, observing its dynamics up-close. She shares some penetrating insights in this recent interview with Jon Tribb of LadieZ Night, Kate Darling on Tech in the Adult Industry...

"The adult industry is notoriously innovative, and it’s going through the same technological disruption as other entertainment industries in the Internet age. [...] When I looked for research on the subject, I couldn’t find very much, so I decided to do it myself. [...] Adult entertainment has always been in tremendous demand. Also, many new media formats have increased privacy and convenience, which is something that consumers value highly. Another reason may be that the adult industry has never really had the option of fighting technological change. [...] As with previous technological disruptions, the companies that figure out ways to use this new architecture to their advantage rather than spend all of their resources trying to stop it are more likely to win in the end. [...] once the current dust settles, I think we will be left with some highly professional, smart, competitive players, and I think that they have a good shot at surviving, and even thriving."

Finally, Darling answers the obligatory question about sexbots...

"I’m fascinated with all of the directions that social robotics is taking and truly hope we manage to develop sophisticated sex robots"

Be sure to read the full, uncut interview;-)

Boy Eclipsed ~ Colleen Pinski's Stellar Photo!

The DailyMail spots American photographer Colleen Pinski's stellar photo of a boy eclipsed by the outline of the Sun!

From NL To US ~ Translating Best Bike Ways...

Nice Streetfilm on going From the Netherlands to America: Translating the World’s Best Bikeway Designs...

"Streetfilms joined a group of city leaders from Chicago, Washington, DC and Miami on a study tour of the Netherlands, through the Bikes Belong Foundation's Bicycling Design Best Practices Program. The program shows American transportation professionals and policy makers real life examples of what it looks like to invest in cost-effective bicycle facilities. This video takes you on a tour of the incredibly well thought out street designs in the Netherlands. You'll see the infrastructure, hear from the experts on the ground, and watch the tour participants react and imagine how they might implement similar designs in American cities"

Cape Cod Rail ~ Legacy & Heritage Train Lines

There's well over a century and a half history of railway links between Boston and Cape Cod. Today, alas, only a shadow of that remains. But perhaps there's opportunity for revival as heritage rail or even commuter and tourist rail, especially with more people willing to go "asset-light" and use Zipcar when needed for local travels. Anyway, here's a couple nice historical maps...

Hong Kong ~ Ryan Cheng's Lovely Panorama!

Click for the full view of Ryan Cheng's Hong Kong panorama photo!

No Ordinary Teacher ~ Gul-e-Khandana Inspires!

Rina Saeed Khan writes in the Guardian Weekly about the valley where girls are the future...

"In a rundown building in the mountain village of Sijban, girls sit at their desks, hair loosely covered in white or black scarves, staring raptly at their teacher. They say they want to become either doctors or teachers when they grow up. This is the one government primary school for girls in the Swat valley that was spared destruction by the Taliban. Their headteacher, Gul-e-Khandana, is no ordinary teacher -- she stood up to the Taliban and managed to save the school [...] now the Taliban have left the valley, enrolment is increasing. "More girls are coming back and many want to go on to college. There is a change; parents are willing to encourage their daughters. As for the girls, you can see the happiness on their faces, they are so happy to be back in a proper school again. Many lost almost two years of their studies." The Taliban destroyed more than 400 of the 1,576 schools in Swat. "Seventy percent of them were girls' schools," [...] as the conflict with the government intensified they started destroying both boys' schools as well as girls' schools. It was a terrible time. How can you build a nation without education?" [...] Gul-e-Khandana believes that girls are the future for Pakistan. "Above all, girls must be educated," she says. "When one girl is educated, she educates her entire household. The role of women is very important in our society -- it is they who can change our way of life for the better."

Tiger Immigrants ~ America's Newest Additions

Bard College professor Walter Russell Mead writes in the WSJournal about America's New Tiger Immigrants...

"The conventional picture is of an unstoppable wave of unskilled, mostly Spanish-speaking workers -- many illegal [...] But this picture is both out of date and factually wrong. [...] America needs and benefits from both kinds of immigration. Like all waves, the Asian influx mixes the skilled and the unskilled. But overall it resembles earlier waves of educated and already urbanized immigrants. [...] most of them have in spades what Max Weber called the Protestant work ethic. Arguably, in America's long history of immigration, the group that the new immigrants resemble most is the original cohort of Puritans who settled New England. [...] More Asian-Americans (69%) than other Americans (58%) believe that you will get ahead with hard work. Also, 93% say that their ethnic group is "hardworking." There also seems to be some truth in the "Tiger Mom" syndrome described by author Amy Chua. While 39% of Asian-Americans say their group puts "too much" pressure on kids to succeed in school, 60% of Asian-Americans think that other Americans don't push their kids hard enough. Other family values are strong as well. [...] The world's best, the world's hardest-working and the world's most ambitious are still coming our way."

And that's what has and continues to make America great.

100 Riffs ~ Brief Guitar History of Rock N' Roll!

Thanks to Paul at GeekPress for spotting 100 Riffs!