At age 35, Jennifer Flewellen was put into a medically induced coma after crashing her car into a pole. Doctors soon became certain she would never recover and encouraged Flewellen’s mother, Peggy Means, to take her off life-support. Means refused. Weeks turned to months, which turned into years, but Means’ fierce love for her daughter wouldn’t allow her to give up. Despite … [Read more...]

“Newton was sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell on his head and he discovered gravity. And we here are living in darkness and tragedy, and rockets are falling on us, therefore I thought of creating light.” Using two fans salvaged from a scrap market that he rigged to some wires, 15-year-old Hussam Al-Attar has created his own source of electricity. His goal was … [Read more...]

There’s no place so identified with car culture as California.  Once the fourth-largest crude oil producer in the U.S., my home state’s abundant fossil fuels and balmy weather helped birth a culture of iconic cars, highways, drive-in theaters and restaurants. Whether it was Model-T’s at the beach, Mustangs on the track or lowriders in the ‘hood, Cali folks have worshipped our … [Read more...]

Martha Graham’s provocative dance, Errand into the Maze In the mid-1940s, legendary dance choreographer Martha Graham was on a flight to Iran that got caught in a brutal snowstorm. As the plane was tossed about, everyone onboard went into a panic – terrified that they were going to die. Everyone, that is, except for Graham. “For me,” she said later, “the escape has always … [Read more...]