Most people think the world is more violent than ever, with more wars and murders, but in reality, we've never had it so peaceful. That's the thesis of a new book by prominent Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. It uses graphs and statistics to reveal dramatic reductions in war deaths, family violence, racism, rape, and murder.
It's not just an "old adage" that tells us laughter is the best medicine these days. Scientists, doctors, mental health professionals, and patients themselves call humor a remedy for any ailment -- at least temporarily. In the book, 20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know, the #1 statement in a recent survey of more than 600 survivors is, "I need to laugh – or just forget about cancer for a while." Now there is a resource and you can contribute to the funny file.
Not since the cute, yellow HIV-positive Muppet premiered in 2009 on Sesame Street in South Africa has a new character from the Workshop taken such a lead role in educating kids about a societal woe. The furry 7-year-old girl named Lily, will appear first tonight on an hour-long PBS special to raise awareness of the issue of hunger in America.
Optimism is something Hanks has never been shy about bringing to his movies, whether it is Forrest Gump's naïve faith in people or the dogged determination to survive in Cast Away, In his new film, Larry Crowne, opening Friday, he goes back to Community College after losing his job. Searching for something positive, that is what he finds.
"42" is an inspirational and ultimately uplifting drama about perseverance in the face of turbulent opposition. And the greatest credit to writer-director Brian Helgeland is that none of this is shown through grand melodramatic movie monologues, but through simple restraint on the screen.
CIA spies are the good guys for a change in Argo, Ben Affleck's shrewd reconstruction of a heroic real-life mission aimed at retrieving six Americans from Tehran during the 1979-1980 Iran hostage crisis. There's not a single gunshot fired over the course of the film and Affleck delivers an uplifting portrait of one mind-blowing chapter of the Agency's legacy.
For 91 years, James Henry, a lifelong fisherman, did not know how to read and write and carried the shame of not being able to order from a menu. Now 98, the Mystic, Connecticut man has changed that and penned a memoir full of short stories from his life at sea.
Julia Cameron, best known for her landmark book on unblocking creativity, The Artist's Way, has a new book that answers the question, 'How can I live the creative life but still pay my mortgage?'
Valentine's Day can be the bane of any person's year. It can fling daggers of loneliness, rather than gentle arrows from Cupid. Instead of dreading another February 14th, use the science of mindfulness to make a healthy relationship resolution and rewire your brain for love.
Among all the fantastical superhero figures parading at this year's Comic-Con was the elegant and modest Congressman John Lewis, who has earned the moniker hero in real life. His incredible life story is now a graphic autobiography entitled March.Read More
Comedic genius Jim Carrey is one of the world's biggest names in entertainment, having starred in films like Liar, Liar, Bruce Almighty and won Golden Globes for Man on the Moon and The Truman Show. Now, add children's book author to his varied list of credits. His self-published book, How Roland Rolls, about a young ocean wave who is afraid of hitting the shore, will be available on book shelves and e-readers September 24. Carrey wanted to help kids feel safer and not so alone by offering them the notion that all life is interconnected through the metaphor of a wave as part the ocean.
Can you remember how good it feels when someone tells you how wonderful you are, or when you receive an unexpected thank-you gift in the mail? But, how can we sustain those feelings of happiness longer and more consistently on our own. Author Judith Umlas says we can actually have those feelings more abundantly when we make a point to acknowledge others. Studies show why it is beneficial for us to give positive acknowledgment to our fellow human beings.