I like to talk to young women who have dreams of starting their own business. When I was first dipping my toe into the entrepreneur waters, I had no idea of the rough waves that I’d find ahead–I’ve learned a lot and I’d never change my path. Read More…

We all have aesthetic responses. Some of us cringe when we see a moldy sandwich, cry when we hear a sad song or feel more confident when we wear our favorite red jacket. Aesthetics, which Alexander Baumgarten named from the Greek word aisthanomai, simply means “perception by way of the senses.” Aesthetics are how we perceive the world through our senses. For non-human animals, colors, smells and sights provide a means for survival, for humans they are also the way we interpret and understand the world.

After spending the past few years at Hollywood Arts, an arts school I founded for the homeless…

A week ago Newsweek published “L.A. Residential,” an essay showcasing the work of three prominent architectural firms tasked with envisioning a Los Angeles of 2030. The three firms were asked to consider how the built environment would influence the way in which Los Angelenos would live, work, commute and play 20 years into the future.

Minus the presence of genetically-engineered slave replicants, the architects dealt with many of the same factors considered by Ridley Scott decades ago with his apocalyptic film Blade Runner…

I’m a renter. I love my large apartment with big windows, interior arches and white walls. But I don’t love the kitchen. Not only do I not love the kitchen, I actually have a psychological aversion to the kitchen — which means breakfast dishes pile up and I frequently order in. Why? The building owners decided to keep the original counter tiles which are red, mustard yellow and forest green. They then decided to match the linoleum squares to the tiles (yes, the floor is a paler version of each color). And they painted the cabinet frames yellow and the cabinet doors pink. The colors are disharmonious and the cacophony of color makes me uncomfortable and motivates me to want to avoid the room.

Architects and interior designers agree that space has a very real impact on how we feel…

I recently bought a new toy for my cat, Rashi. This string on a stick was an instant success as evidenced by his pouncing from under chairs and running after me. After 15 minutes of following the string at break-neck speeds, Rashi was left panting but meowing for more. While he had plenty of opportunities to play alone with the toy mice that litter my living room, he was missing social play with me. He now follows me daily, meowing and getting more excited when I walk to where the toy is stored. Since we have begun to play together, Rashi now sleeps next to me at night. Social play is turning on neural circuitry that is causing him to bond to me.

A well-known rap star stated that on tour he always carries with him a token item that brings him good luck. On his current tour it is a small, carved elephant he picked up at a market in Thailand. When he unpacks in his hotel room, the elephant takes a place on the nearest dresser.

In graduate school, I read an essay by an anthropologist who was visiting a museum in Canada with an Aboriginal young man. They stopped in front of a large flat bowl on display. Pausing at the bowl, the young man turned to the anthropologist, smiling, and said: “I remember this bowl…when I was little and it would rain in the village, we would take out this bowl and ride down the flooded streets.”