Buy soap, bring clean water to a community thousands of miles away.
That's the premise behind LifeSoap, a new company that
sells trios of organic bar soap—which it calls Boxes of
Joy—and pledges 90 percent of the after-tax profits to fund
clean water and sanitation projects in developing countries. For $20 a
month, LifeSoap delivers a fresh Box of Joy to your door every four
weeks, along with an update on their humanitarian projects. The company's 25-year-old founders, Juwon Melvin and
Aaron Madonna, are passionate about solving the clean water
crisis—and making great soap. Their bars combine organic oils
with soothing ingredients like oatmeal and shea butter (and skip
synthetic fragrances, colors, and preservatives). LifeSoap's
first project, rehabilitating wells and building latrines at a school in
Nicaragua, is already under way.
* Laurence Fishburne wanted to help his friend, the designer Ozwald Boateng, to become a better husband and father, so he channeled his considerable charm into a cooking lesson. Lucky for us, it was caught on tape. (The Nowness)
* If you're looking for a little inspiration, take a tour of the mechanical wonders and vintage toys in cartoonist Chris Ware's home and studio. (Trip City)
* Mantyhose: Are men ready to wear tights? Are we ready for men to wear tights? (The Week)
"Dreams, for most kids, stay in a blur. For John, it's starting to clear."—Will Orozco, a retired sanitation worker in the Bronx, on his gymnast son John's Olympic hopes. (NYTimes)
"Like most teachers I know, I’m
a bit of a perfectionist. I have to be. Dozens and dozens of teenagers
scrutinize my language, clothing and posture all day long, all week
long." -William Johnson, a high school teacher in the Bronx.
"Life is too short and we cannot spoil it. I don't have 300 years in
front of me. So I just do the things that I really want to do at the
moment because that's the only way you will do them well." -Author and film director Marjane Satrapi.
Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.
* The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore won an Oscar® on Sunday, and you can watch the whole charming video above. (YouTube)
* "From the age of 3 to the age of 23, Brian Spitulnik was sure of one thing: he wanted to be a Broadway dancer. When he was 24, he was cast in the long-running revival of Chicago." Find out what it's like to be a guy who wears black mesh in front of thousands of people in the Chorus Boy Chronicles. (McSweeney's)
* "Davy Jones was unfailingly gracious to his fans, delighted by the longevity of his career and grateful for the life it gave him."—Kerry Nolan in her lovely remembrance of the Monkees member and former teen idol who passed away this week at the age of 66. What's your favorite Monkee's song? (WNYC)
* Come on, baby, don't you want to go... President Obama got bullied into singing Sweet Home Chicago at a concert on Tuesday, and it was very charming. (Videogum)
"And what more can you say about books? They're the greatest things ever, and everyone should have more."—John Locke, a designer who's turning New York City phone booths into guerrilla libraries. (The Atlantic Cities)
Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.
Photo: High Museum of Art
* In 1928, Bill Traylor, an illiterate former slave in his seventies, moved from the Alabama plantation where he was born to Montgomery. There, he drew what he saw, and if you're lucky enough to live near Atlanta, you can see his amazing work on display at the High Museum of Art through May. (Prospero)
* "I am still very much aware of people's perceptions of me—or what I imagine their perceptions to be... And now that I am a published young adult author, in addition to my job as, essentially, a reviewer of YA fiction, some of the people in my imagination look at the direction my life has taken, furrow their brows, and mumble: 'Weird.'"—Lucas Klauss on being a grown man who loves young adult fiction. (Omnivoracious)
* The Nextness gathered some inspiring lessons for creatives from British artist David Hockney, including this gem: "I think I'm greedy, but I'm not greedy for money—I think that can be a burden—I'm greedy for an exciting life." (The Nextness)
The Oprah blog is a place where you can find engaging news coverage, fresh inspiration, and the straight talk you've come to count on. A place that
provides the tools you need to make a change—if not in the world—then at
least in your little corner of it. It's a place that will raise your energy, lower your blood pressure and
occasionally make you laugh—in short, a place of possibility.
