"...Inspired by the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, ...these miniature forests, often no larger than a tennis court, are densely planted with native trees and shrubs that mimic natural forests, leading to rapid biodiversity growth and ecological restoration.

"Miyawaki’s method involves planting a diverse mix of native species in a small area, using techniques that promote rapid growth and resilience. Within just a few years, these forests can become self-sustaining ecosystems, offering a haven for wildlife and increasing urban biodiversity. This rapid development is crucial in urban settings, where space is limited, and the need for green spaces is pressing." - Design Exchange

Article: Rewilding Cities: How Tiny Urban Forests Are Combating Climate Change

Article: Media Literacy A to Z: How Finland is Arming Students Against Misinformation

"Visitors to the Springline complex in Menlo Park, Calif., are surrounded by a sense of comfort and luxury often found at high-end hotels: off-white walls with a Roman clay finish, a gray-and-white marble coffee table and a white leather bench beneath an 8-by-4 resin canvas etched with the words “Hello, tomorrow.” Springline’s signature scent — hints of salty sea air, white water lily, dry musk and honeydew melon — linger in the air.

"But Springline isn’t a hotel. It’s a 'work resort,' meaning that its office space designs have taken a page from boutique hotels.

"The complex is a 6.4-acre town square steps from the Menlo Park Caltrain station in San Francisco’s Bay Area. It includes two premium office buildings, nine restaurants, outdoor workspaces and terraces where people can mingle and connect, gym facilities, a high-end golf simulator, an upscale Italian grocery store and a 183-unit residential building. And like any good resort, it has a calendar of community events from craft cocktail fairs to silent discos." - Stacey Freed

Article: The Hotelification of Offices, With Signature Scents and Saltwater Spas

"(In one) study, two groups of participants were given a task in which they had to repeat random strings of numbers back to the study coordinator whilst they walked around either an arboretum, or a busy city street, and then repeated the same test once they arrived back at the lab.

"The results of this study showed that the participant’s performance was improved by nearly 20% after spending 35 minutes in nature, whilst those who wandered through the city showed no reliable improvements whatsoever."

"...If you’re looking to incorporate the benefits of nature into your career, you’ll be happy to know there are often plenty of actionable ways to achieve this." - Lewis Walsh

Article: How Nature Creates Productivity 

"In 1965 the advertising agency Foote, Cone and Belding commissioned Andy Warhol to film an advertisement for a laxative called Cadence, created and manufactured by Menley & James Laboratories. Shot in August of that year, this rare film pre-dates the commercial Warhol would make for Schraft’s Diner a few years later, previously thought to have been his first commercial.

"The commercial was produced during the same period as Warhol’s renowned Screen Tests (1964-1966), and carries many of the same characteristics as these counterparts – subjects appear in black and white films against plain backdrops, and look directly into the camera while maintaining minimal movement. Warhol’s signature fixation with the celebrity is already felt in these films as many well-known persons of the time participated as subjects.

"The Screen Tests were inspired by a booklet of mugshots released by the New York City Police Department titled 'The Thirteen Most Wanted,' which would also inspire a mural by the same name at the 1964 World Fair. The repetition of images intrinsic to the mugshots coupled with Warhol’s enthusiasm for photo booths, echoing by way of both form and subject Warhol’s treatment of recurrence, a central theme in the Pop Art movement." - Sotheby's Website

Auction Lot Detail: Andy Warhol | Cadence Commercial (Standing Woman)

Meg Crane, the inventor of the home pregnancy test, was married to Ira Sturtevant who commissioned Warhol’s first commercial. In this interview she tells the story of how her late husband, who knew many young New York artists like Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg before they were well known, wanted Andy to work with Cadence. 

The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh has the purchase order between the agency and Andy. For three experimental commercials Andy was paid $600. Adjusted for inflation this would be about $5,900 today.

Article: The Mad Man Who Commissioned Andy Warhol to Make a Laxative Commercial

"On April 1, 2020, it was abundantly clear that New York City was, by all definitions, not OK: Schools, bars, restaurants, and other businesses deemed “non-essential” had suspended operations weeks prior as the COVID-19 death toll steadily climbed. Gabe Fowler, sole proprietor of Desert Island, the legendary Williamsburg comic shop, had shuttered its doors and hightailed it out of the city (in his case, to a cabin in Connecticut). Feeling isolated and terrified — the seemingly dominant emotional state at the time — Fowler put out a call via Desert Island’s Instagram account: 'We all need something positive to think about, and lots of us have time on our hands,' the post read. 'Who wants to make something?'”

"Rescue Party: A Graphic Anthology of Covid Lockdown (2024) is the result of Fowler’s invitation. Newly published by Pantheon Books, it presents a selection chosen from the over 250 responses Fowler received from more than 50 countries. It also includes warmly personal yet incisive essays by both himself and Hillary Chute, a literary scholar whose prolific writings on the genre (including Graphic Content, her column in the New York Times’s Book Review section) have helped define and defend the form within and beyond the confines of academia." - Sarah Hromack

Article: Making Comics Rescued These Creators During COVID-19