Matt Costa

A while back I shared the "Mr. Pitiful" video from Matt Costa and just because he currently one of my favorite artists to listen to, I had to share another. This one is great too, and it comes from his "Songs We Sing" album. The "Unfamiliar Faces" album is good too, but I think I like this one more. Hard to choose a favorite!

dave eggers

four reasons why I like dave eggers:

1. His book "What is the What?". You may remember me mentioning I was reading it back in January. It is the autobiographical novel about one of the "Lost Boys" of the Sudan. It was so well written, and while at times difficult to read, it was also difficult to put down because the story was so incredible. Makes you realize how Ameri-centric we can be sometimes and know so little about what else people across the world have to go through every day.

2. His book "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". I am only in the early pages of this book but am so struck by the honesty of his writing. The way he describes little mundane details is so rich that you feel like you are an unseen visitor in his world. The book talks about how he came to gain custody of his 8 year-old brother at age 22. I am excited to finish it!

3. He opened 826 Valencia a few years ago here in San Francisco in the Mission district. It is a writing and tutoring lab for young people and you can hear more about it in the video linked to in number 4. What I think is particularly cool about it is that it is a true neighborhood institution which is there to support its community. They began by offering free tutoring to neighborhood kids, first from the people that worked in the back for McSweeney's (a literary publication), later by any adult volunteers who wanted to give one on one tutoring to kids in their space. And, in the front of their office is a pirate shop- yes a pirate shop. How cool is that?

4. He is a winner of the 2008 TED award. His wish video is here. You must watch it. It is incredibly inspiring. His wish is to collect 1000 stories of people giving their talents and help in some valuable way to their local public school. Even if you don't have kids. Even if you never volunteer for anything. Use what you have to offer to enrich a kids' life and greaten their chances for inspiration and success.