Volunteering Hits Highest Level In 7 Years -- Reuters [via NYTimes.com] →

“People are finding that beautiful nexus between making a difference and being changed.”

Reason #491 why I love the Internet: availability of clips from the Seinfeld coffee-table book episode.

(The subject of said episode was a topic of lunch discussion today. Now this is research, people.)

Via murketing:

Consumed: The appeal of geeky merit badges

Gorgeous day. Giving some thought to checking in (via Foursquare) at Rothko Chapel’s reflecting pool and working toward my “Inbox Zero” Nerd Merit Badge.  ;-) 

Music Matters -- New Study Reports Case Studies on Orchestra Innovations →

The book Fearless Journeys: Innovation in Five American Orchestras, produced by the League of American Orchestras and funded with grants from MetLife Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, is a first-of-its-kind case study about innovation in orchestras.

The five orchestras’ stories featured in the book are only a few examples of how the orchestra field is testing important new approaches to administrative/artistic organization, community partnerships, and artistic initiatives. The book’s conclusion focuses on factors that have enabled innovation in all five orchestras in the study – critical knowledge that orchestras can use. The book serves as hard evidence that, even in these challenging times, the field is taking risks and discovering ways to become increasingly resilient.