Virtual museums gain curators, viewers

"The economic downturn has taken its toll on traditional museums with cutbacks and closings, but one corner of the collecting world is flourishing.

Virtual museums, just a few years ago seen as a curiosity, are gaining legitimacy as collectors open online galleries to share their passions."


Read more about these online museums - click here.

The sweet smell of morality: How scent can shape our thinking

"Can a clean smell make you a better person?

That’s the provocative suggestion of a recent study in the journal Psychological Science. A team of researchers found that when people were in a room recently spritzed with a citrus-scented cleanser, they behaved more fairly when playing a classic trust game. In another experiment, the smell of cleanser made subjects more likely to volunteer for a charity."

Click here for more on this study.

New Orleans praline maker basks in attention from appearance in Super Bowl ad

"Loretta Harrison received a phone call over the Christmas holiday.

''They said, ‘Would you like to be in a Super Bowl commercial?’'' Harrison recalled. 'We said yes, but I thought it was a hoax.'

It wasn’t."

For more on Loretta's amazing story, click here.

Mardi Gras comes to church on the Uptown parade route

"It's Parade Sunday at Christ Church Cathedral, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, situated along the St. Charles Avenue parade route.

And at morning Eucharist that means the annual reappearance of the Rev. David duPlantier's Mardi Gras vestments."

Click here for more on this interface between the church and society.

Witty Witnessing: Humor as a Conversion Tool

"When it comes to religion, Eric Metaxas has a knack of meeting people on their own ground. He lives in New York City—a highly secular town, after all. But through his talks and his books, Eric speaks to his New York neighbors in a language they understand: the language of humor."

To meet this witty witness, click here.

Mississippi senators vote to cut their salaries 10 percent for 2011

"The Mississippi Legislature won’t be shrinking anytime soon, but lawmakers might collect smaller paychecks for a single year.

Senators passed a bill Wednesday that would trim lawmakers’ salaries by 10 percent for 2011 only — a move designed to show solidarity with other government workers who are worried about their job security amid shrinking state revenues."

Click here to read more on the Mississippi Senate's actions.

Bridge collapse widow adopts Haitian twins

Betsy Sathers wears the glow of a new mother as she perches on the couch in her family room, smiling and chatting with visitors while still managing to keep an eye on the 2-year-old twins burbling and cavorting at her feet.

Sathers — whose husband was killed when a Minneapolis freeway bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007 — is realizing her dreams of being a mother with the adoption of Ross and Alyse from Haiti.

Click here to read the rest of this Good News story.