There's an ebullient message in my childhood diary, from the summer I was nine: "Today, mom let us have ice cream in the afternoon. And then she went to book club when dad got home...and he didn't know we had already had ice cream and let us have ice cream again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Except in my diary, the exclamation points actually went on for lines.) That's one of very few entries I wrote—it was obviously the highlight of my summer. Then I grew up and realized, calories and health aside, I could have ice cream whenever I wanted, and however… Read More >>

Whether you’re suffering from political burnout or don't want to visually declare your candidate of choice, Retro Campaignshas a solution: vintage campaign t-shirts. Even the most devoted political wonks would be impressed with the expansive selection of iconic American campaign images and slogans, from William Henry Harrison’s famous "Tippecanoe and Tyler too"… Read More >>

Next month, the Internet phenomena of adorable cats doing painfully cute things—like fitting themselves into way-too-tiny boxes and creeping up on you ninja style—will pounce on the real world. The Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will host the first ever Internet Cat Video Film Festival. Cat ladies, video trolls, and even open-minded dog owners are invited to experience the once-solo enterprise of lol’ing till you cry at a cat playing…as a… Read More >>

Great, classic biographies often feature people who are both larger than life and seriously flawed. They fascinate us because warts-and-all tales make their subjects' accomplishments all the more impressive, or at least very interesting and highly entertaining. To this point, I just finished reading Steve Jobsby Walter Isaacson. I bought my first Apple computer, an… Read More >>

My mom always taught me that I need to speak up more, because my voice is too soft and girlish to be taken seriously. But despite training, my voice still doesn't command attention. Then I heard about a pioneering surgeryrecently performed in Russia, in which two patients successfully received laryngotracheal implants. The implants were created from synthetic scaffolding… Read More >>

Talk about a visionary: I was blown away by Gates’ description of something that is eerily like the iPhone in his mid-90s book The Road Ahead, as described by Maria Popova on brainpickings.org. He called it a “wallet PC” and described its functionality as such: “[It] will display messages and schedules and let you read or send electronic mail and faxes, monitor weather and stock… And he even predicted Siri! “A voice from its built-in speaker will let you know that a freeway exit is coming up or… Read more about Gates’ ideas for the iPhone here—and get more cool cultural finds from @brainpicker on Twitter. Photo credit:…   Read More >>

Have you seen what the American athletes are planning to wear for the opening ceremonies at the Olympics? Uniforms designed by Ralph Lauren—blue blazers, white trousers, and a smart, little cap. It’s wonderful … if you’re a retired yachtsmen cruising on the Long Island Sound to your 50th Choate/Rosemary Hall class reunion. Surely we can do better… Read More >>

Get world-class inspiration and winning insights from 13 of America's top Olympic coaches, including Bobby Knight, Herb Brooks (pictured), Billie Jean King, and Bill Bowerman. Perfect for track stars and cubicle jockeys alike. Gold medals sold separately. Read all » Read More >>

I was enjoying lunch with my colleague Andrea last week when I stopped her mid-sentence: "That. Is. Genius!" I exclaimed. Andrea looked confused. I pointed to her chopsticks, which were neatly perched on a miniature stand so they wouldn't touch the table before or during our meal. I made her show me the magic technique: Andrea had taken the little paper… Read More >>

Not to state the obvious, but it has been a hot summer. In fact, weather experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently reportedthat the last 12 months have been the warmest since 1895, and more than 170 heat records were broken in the second half of June alone. If we all lived in South America, we could cool off by taking a collective dip in the… Read More >>