Notorious Belle: The Story of Belle Cora March 7, 2016 Born Arabella Ryan in 1832, Belle Cora was the daughter of a Baltimore minister and a doting mother. She rose to become one of San Francisco’s most celebrated madams. Along with her paramour Charles Cora, Belle opened her first San … Read the rest
Bernie and Hillary: Gloves Off in New Hampshire February 7, 2016 At Thursday’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton went head-to-head (sans third wheel Martin O’Malley) on the stage for the first time. It was a slugfest relative to earlier debates, signaling an end to the congeniality … Read the rest
The Calendar, The Clock and The 5-Day Work Week: Arbitrary or Inevitable? January 17, 2016 A few nights ago I was talking with a bartender friend, and we got caught up in a conversation about the calendar. She told me the story of railwayman Moses Cotsworth, who, vexed by his irregular monthly earnings, created a … Read the rest
Competing Institutions – Pope Francis In Context December 31, 2015 Today we see in the news that Pope Francis has tied with Donald Trump for second place in a poll of the world’s most admired men (both lost to Barack Obama, which is no surprise: the sitting US president typically … Read the rest
The New Paradigm In Sustainable Development September 16, 2015 Just as 2015 has been a milestone year for climate change awareness, it has also been a game changer in the world of sustainable development. Starting with the May publication of the Papal encyclical Laudato Si, a blistering critique … Read the rest
Where The Road Leads – Vasilios Pavlounis July 31, 2015 By Joe Bonadio A first generation Greek-American reared in Nova Scotia, Bay Area entrepreneur Vasilios Pavlounis graduated with a business degree from The University of Halifax in 1986. His life changed course, however, when he saw an ad for a … Read the rest
Epic Hike With A Dozen Wearables: Eran Frohman July 31, 2015 By Joe Bonadio “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw, “Man and Superman” I recently … Read the rest
Repurposed Phones Defend Rainforests July 29, 2015 | 1 Comment By Joe Bonadio A San Francisco nonprofit called Rainforest Connection has devised an ingenious way to convert used cell phones to solar-powered listening devices, and is now employing them to monitor old-growth rainforests for the sounds of illegal loggers. The … Read the rest
Huge Legal Victory For Women In Afghanistan July 29, 2015 | 1 Comment By Joe Bonadio Twenty-two Afghani men, ten of them police officers, have been convicted for the killing of Farkhunda Malikzada, a 27-year old woman lynched by a mob in Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a copy of … Read the rest
The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams In A Can July 29, 2015 By Joe Bonadio This week, we shot an amazing “World Changers” TV interview with Dr. Tererai Trent. Oprah Winfrey has singled her out as her favorite guest of all time, and as inspiring as Dr. Trent is, it’s not … Read the rest