Ribal Zebian, a student from the city of London in Ontario, Canada, already made headlines last year when he built an electric car out of wood and earned a $120,000 scholarship from it. Now, he's in the news again for something a little different. Concerned with homelessness in his hometown, Zebian got to work creating a different kind of affordable housing made from fiberglass material. In fact, he’s so confident in his idea that the 18-year-old plans on living in it for a year to test it out himself.Currently an engineering student at Western University, Zebian was concerned by both the rising population of the unhoused in his community and the rising cost of housing overall. With that in mind, he conjured up a blueprint for a modular home that would help address both problems. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ribal Zebian (@ribalzebian)Zebian’s version of a modular home would be made of fiberglass panels and thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam. He chose those materials because he believes they can make a sturdy dwelling in a short amount of time—specifically in just a single day.“With fiberglass you can make extravagant molds, and you can replicate those,” Zebian told CTV News. “It can be duplicated. And for our roofing system, we’re not using the traditional truss method. We’re using actually an insulated core PET foam that supports the structure and structural integrity of the roof.” See on Instagram Zebian also believes these homes don’t have to be purely utilitarian—they can also offer attractive design and customizable features to make them personal and appealing.“Essentially, what I’m trying to do is bring a home to the public that could be built in one day, is affordable, and still carries some architecturally striking features,” he said to the London Free Press. “We don’t want to be bringing a house to Canadians that is just boxy and that not much thought was put into it.”Beginning in May 2026, Zebian is putting his modular home prototype to the test by living inside of a unit for a full year with the hope of working out any and all kinks before approaching manufacturers.“We want to see if we can make it through all four seasons- summer, winter, spring, and fall,” said Zebian. “But that’s not the only thing. When you live in something that long and use it, you can notice every single mistake and error, and you can optimize for the best experience.”While Zebian knows that his modular homes aren't a long-term solution to either the homeless or housing crisis, he believes they could provide an inexpensive option to help people get the shelter they need until certain policies are reformed so the unhoused can find affordable permanent dwellings. @hard.knock.gospel What to buy for the homeless at the grocery store. ? Most people get it wrong. After being there myself, these are the survival items that actually matter ? The 2nd to last one is about more than survival—it’s about DIGNITY. We are all one circumstance away from the same shoes ? SAVE this for your next grocery run. ? IG@hardknockgospel Substack@ Outsiders_Anonymous #homelessness #helpingothers #kindness #payitforward #learnontiktok Zebian’s proposal and experiment definitely inspires others to try to help, too. If you wish to lend a hand to the unhoused community in your area in the United States, but don’t know where to look, you can find a homeless shelter or charity near you through here. Whether it’s through volunteering or through a donation, you can help make a difference.

On March 26, 2022, as the final seconds ticked away from Genesis’ farewell tour, the crowd at London’s O2 Arena was clearly emotional. The prog-pop band’s most famous lineup—front man Phil Collins, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, and keyboardist Tony Banks—had finally reunited after a 13-year hiatus (and a temporary pandemic delay), and no one wanted this improbable run to end. But there may have been another reason for the sadness: a glaring absence onstage.Peter Gabriel had co-founded the band in 1967, helping catapult them to rock glory with his golden rasp and surreal stage antics, before leaving in 1975 to launch a solo career. Collins, previously the drummer, got the promotion to lead singer, leading the group through the commercial heights of “Mama” and “Invisible Touch.” Hardcore prog fans pined to hear Gabriel sing Genesis again, but outside of a few powerful one-offs—a tease of their epic “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight” during a 2016 solo tour, a 1999 re-recording of their starry-eyed ballad “The Carpet Crawlers”—that door remained shut. - YouTube www.youtube.com Now here he was at the O2, seated among the commoners, with an opportunity to help bring the Genesis story full-circle. Instead, he took the unselfish (if, let’s face it, slightly unsatisfying) route: avoiding the spotlight and letting his former bandmates enjoy the curtain call they’d rightly earned. (“Me going was a rite of passage, really,” the singer told Mojo in 2023. “I’d been part of the creation of Genesis, so I wanted to be there at the end.”)Here’s the thing, though: A lot of casual fans forget that Gabriel had already reunited with Genesis for an entire show—it just happened 20 years earlier. Oh, and it occurred not because of rosy nostalgia but due to mounting debt and death threats.The reunion stemmed from the financial disaster of the first WOMADGabriel staged the inaugural WOMAD (World of Music, Arts, and Dance) in July 1982, with the noble vision of sparking genuine cultural fusion. The three-day event featured British post-punk (Echo and the Bunnymen, Pigbag) and art-rock (Peter Hammill, Robert Fripp), traditional Irish folk (The Chieftains), Indian sitar players (Imrat Khan), Afro-Caribbean dance companies (Ekomé)—a legit anything-goes atmosphere that remains novel at music festivals decades later, let alone in the early days of MTV. "I [wanted] to celebrate all these fantastic musicians, art, dance, film from around the world that weren't getting exposure,” Gabriel told filmmaker John Edginton in a raw-footage clip filmed for his 2014 documentary, Genesis: Together and Apart. He had big dreams for WOMAD, and, as he noted in the 2007 book Genesis: Chapter and Verse, the first fest was “magnificent.” - YouTube www.youtube.com "We put it on during school time, so there were a lot of schools working on projects about world music; it was very exciting, fresh, passionate,” he said. “But the people just didn’t come. There was a rail strike that weekend, and even though we thought we had enough names to pull in an audience, we were hopelessly under each day, and suddenly realized the financial consequences.”Gabriel found himself in an alarming situation, receiving “horrible phone calls and death threats” from his creditors. “It was a very oppressive nightmare,” he said. Luckily, his old band stepped in—not that anyone involved would have chosen the reunion without this dire prompt.By 1982, Gabriel had been enjoying a successful solo career, crafting artful pop songs and studio experiments while tinkering with new recording technology (the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer, for one). He had little interest in looking backward—outside of a couple early solo tours where he was forced to play a Genesis song or two due to a lack of material, he’d more or less distanced himself from his old band. (His debut single, “Solsbury Hill,” is about his desire to leave Genesis—and the music business entirely. “I felt like I was just in the machinery,” he told Rolling Stone, citing a lyric. “We knew what we were going to be doing in 18 months or two years ahead. I just did not enjoy that.”) The band, meanwhile, had soldiered on just fine without their original front man, growing into a stadium act with Collins behind the mic. - YouTube www.youtube.com "It made sense to us"When manager Tony Smith reached out to Genesis, seeing if they could help Gabriel escape his dark spiral with a one-off benefit reunion, everyone felt it was the right thing to do. “Whether or not he felt he needed our help to get himself out of trouble, it made sense to us,” Collins wrote in Chapter and Verse, “and it certainly was not a condescending gesture.” Banks added that, beyond the kind act of helping their friend, it made sense as an act of fan service: “People had been asking us to organize some sort of get-together for years and years, and this seemed a very good reason to do it, at the same time as helping Peter pay off this particular debt. We did need a reason because it wasn’t something we were itching to do."It’s not like they hated each other: Collins had even played on Gabriel’s self-titled 1980 solo album, helping create the distinctive “gated” drum sound that became ubiquitous throughout the decade. But it was a somewhat awkward fit musically, given how far their respective sounds had diverged. "Having tried for seven years to get away from the image of being ex-Genesis, there's obviously a certain amount of stepping back," Gabriel reportedly told NME ahead of the show. "I don't think they would choose at this point to work with me … [but] I’m very grateful and I'm intending to enjoy myself." - YouTube www.youtube.com The problem was how to solve their logistical puzzle—Genesis was only still playing a few of their Gabriel-era songs, and their old front man wasn’t up to speed on any of them. They managed to arrange two or three rehearsals at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, where Genesis played a triple-header on September 28th, 29th, and 30th. The quirky set drew from Gabriel’s time in the lineup, sprinkling in one solo cut (“Solsbury Hill,” ironically) and a single '80s-era track (“Turn It on Again,” with Gabriel on second drums). Understandably, the performances were rather loose—not up to anyone’s respective standards—and the massive downpour of rain probably didn’t improve anyone’s mood.But in the widely shared bootlegs of that show, fans were just happy to see everyone on stage again. They even saw a brief reunion of the full ‘70s quintet lineup: Former guitarist Steve Hackett, who learned about the event while on vacation in Brazil, flew back to the U.K. to play on “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” and “The Knife.” "As they’d already rehearsed up their stuff, I was only able to join the encores,” he wrote in his 2020 book, A Genesis in My Bed, “but I was thrilled to be involved with the team once more." - YouTube www.youtube.com “It felt like a bit of a dream”It’s easy to look back on the gig with a what-if feeling. Could they have somehow figured out more rehearsal time? (Probably not.) Should they have professionally recorded the event, no matter how sloppy they expected it to be? (Definitely.) “I regret it now, but I was keen not to record the show,” Rutherford wrote in his 2015 memoir, The Living Years. “I thought it would be a bit rough and ready and that it was better to be there and in the moment.”Ultimately, what matters is that with Six of the Best, Genesis accomplished their primary goal: rescuing their old friend from a terrifying plight.“It felt like a bit of a dream,” Banks wrote in Chapter and Verse. “I was very glad when it was over, because I hadn’t particularly enjoyed playing that stuff at the time. I always tended to be into what we were doing either at the time or whatever the next thing was. I was pretty glad to have left some of those old songs behind. But the audience reaction was very good, and I believe that show did go some way to sorting out Peter’s financial problem; now WOMAD is a monster thing.”Indeed. The festival re-emerged stronger in the mid-’80s and has continued annually—without death threats—ever since.Gabriel might have been watching the final Genesis show, but he was on stage in spirit. Collins gave him a shout-out during the set, and the band wrapped this historic occasion with their swirling ballad “The Carpet Crawlers,” a track Gabriel helped craft for his Genesis swan song, 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.Few major rock bands have replaced one iconic singer with another. Even fewer have done it by promoting from within. And while Genesis achieved such longevity because of their songwriting—the imagination, the color, the dynamics—perhaps that familial spirit had something to do with it. They weren’t always on the same page, musically or otherwise—but as Six of the Best proved, they came through for each other when it mattered most. - YouTube www.youtube.com

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  In the northeastern corner of the United States, Maine has a reputation as a place where citizens mind their own business and visitors escape from the bustle of city life. The sign at the state border reads “Welcome Home,” which would seem to indicate that people from all walks of life are invited to make their home in the state. However, despite this welcoming mentality, Maine is still the least diverse state in the country. It may rank second in equality among the 50 states, but Maine has a hidden history of racism that it has battled to overcome, most glaringly the example of what happened on Malaga Island in the early 20th century.   Malaga Island: A Rocky and Rugged Panorama The Maine coast is known for its rocky outcroppings. Source: SDantzer / Wikimedia Commons   Part of the municipality of Phippsburg, Maine, Malaga Island is located off the coast of Phippsburg proper. It’s about twenty miles northeast of Portland, the largest city in Maine. Sitting at the mouth of the New Meadows River in the Atlantic Ocean, it neighbors other coastal islands, including Bear Island and Harbor Island, formerly known as Horse Island. Malaga’s name may refer to an Abenaki word for “cedar.” Others have suggested the name arose from the shipwreck of a brig that was loaded with timber from Malaga, Spain. It was also known as “Mitchell’s Island” in the 18th century.   Like much of the Maine coast, Malaga Island is rocky. The island has a beach, but instead of a sandy one, it is a shell-encrusted expanse. Forty-two acres in area, as of 2024, the island was owned by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, with no residents inhabiting it. Despite its current status as a nature preserve, Malaga has a history that is deeply entwined with its historical population. The residents of Malaga were the center of a great tragedy that befell the island at the start of the 20th century.   History of Settlement Benjamin Darling arrived on the Maine coast as part of a crew planning to establish a saltworks in Phippsburg. Source: CBuske46 / Wikimedia Commons   Maine’s Indigenous people inhabited Malaga Island periodically within the last thousand years, but despite archaeological activity, very little is known about these early residents. Many of Malaga Island’s later residents could trace their lineage to Benjamin Darling, an African American man who had lived in the West Indies. Likely a slave, he arrived in Maine, then part of Massachusetts, in the late 18th century with Captain Darling. The legend states that Benjamin saved the captain’s life during a shipwreck, and in return, the captain gave him his freedom and a sum of money. Benjamin Darling used those funds to purchase Horse Island, about a half mile southeast of Malaga.   Darling’s descendants later diffused to other islands in the vicinity, including Malaga. The first known family to live permanently on Malaga was that of Henry Griffin and his wife, Fatima (Darling). They built their home on the east side of the island in the 1860s. The majority of Malaga’s residents were Black or mixed-race people, born free of the bondage that still existed in other areas of the US, according to Maine’s status as a “free state.” Despite this, racism was still prevalent throughout the country, and intermarriage was discouraged. By 1900, the population of Malaga totaled around forty people.   Economic Struggles and a Bad Reputation Proponents of the eugenics movement believed that the study of the skull and brain, known as “phrenology,” gave clues as to the individual’s mental status and suitability for procreation. Source: Wellesley College Library / Wikimedia Commons   The early 20th century was a period of rapid and sweeping change in Maine. Social reform was a popular cause, as it was in many areas of the country. At the same time, the economy was suffering as the golden age of shipbuilding and fishing came to a close. Despite the interest in social change, eugenics was becoming a popular theory among many. These ideas blamed heredity for things like immorality, criminality, and disability, pushing for only those who met certain social standards to be allowed to reproduce.   The citizens of Malaga would be caught in the eugenics movement. Gossip and yellow journalism soon led to the Malaga community facing numerous accusations. They were said to be escaped southern slaves, immoral, lazy, dumb, and alcoholic. They were referred to as “Malagaites,” a term that was viewed as a racial slur. This poor reputation was damaging to Maine’s rising tourist industry, which was a saving grace in a time of economic trepidation.   Fishing from canoes and small boats was an important endeavor for Malaga residents. The Fog Warning by Winslow Homer, 1885. Source: Museum of Fine Arts Boston / Wikimedia Commons   While some of the residents of Malaga may have been considered to be living in poverty by some standards, they were largely a subsistence community. Fishing, not only for fish but lobsters and clams, sustained a large part of their diet. They grew small gardens in the rocky soil. Some residents traveled to the mainland to work or sold baitfish and clams. Carpenters, laundresses, and housekeepers were among those who lived on Malaga. It was a challenging way of life, but it worked.   People living in Phippsburg worried that the basic, sometimes rundown cabins and shacks on Malaga were affecting their property values and reducing the area’s tourism value. As early as the 1890s, efforts began to dismantle the community, masked by a false concern to “help” the Malaga citizens.   Rare Kindnesses The Eason family in front of their home on Malaga Island in 1911. Source: Maine State Museum   Not everyone was on a mission to destroy the Malaga community. George and Lucy Lane, missionaries who frequented the Maine coast, arrived on Malaga Island in 1906. The Lanes focused their efforts on educating Malaga’s children. They conducted fundraisers enabling the construction of a permanent school building on the island. Students learned typical educational pursuits along with art, music, and domestic skills. The school reportedly had a good reputation, and at least one student came from the mainland in Phippsburg, paying tuition to attend the school. The Lanes also procured funds for clothing and other necessities to benefit the children.   Eviction Ensues Malaga Island’s red schoolhouse. Source: Maine Coast Heritage Trust   During the summer of 1911, Maine state governor Fredrick Plaisted, accompanied by an entourage of state officials, visited Malaga to see the conditions there for himself. He admitted that the school was impressive but stated that the “shacks” should be burned, as the appearance of the island was not “creditable” to the state. Not long after the governor’s visit, the Perry family of Phippsburg laid claim to ownership of the island. The state upheld the Perry’s claim to the land, though later investigation found no confirmation that a deed supporting their ownership ever existed. Despite this, the state supported the Perrys, and went on to purchase Malaga Island from the family early in 1912. Next, the state served the people of Malaga with an eviction notice. After over fifty years of habitation, the citizens were ordered to vacate by July 1, 1912.   More Than a Move Map of Malaga Island. Source: Maine Coast Heritage Trust   Continuing their sweeping changes to the lives of Malaga residents, a doctor serving on the governor’s executive council signed paperwork that committed eight Malaga residents to the Maine School for the Feeble Minded without any consultation with the individuals or their families. This state-run mental institution has a tragic history, including incidents of abuse and forced sterilization. No aid or alternative housing was offered to Malaga residents needing to relocate. A state representative traveled to the island on the deadline and found Malaga completely vacated. The residents had dismantled and moved their homes in accordance with the eviction order.   The Malaga Island Memorial located in New Gloucester, ME, at the former location of the Maine School for the Feeble Minded, now Pineland Farms. Source: Seasider53 / Wikimedia Commons   To push the eviction to completion, the state exhumed the cemetery on Malaga Island. Seventeen graves were combined into five caskets, which were then transferred to the School for the Feeble Minded and buried in the cemetery there. Most of the residents who had been interred in the school would join their ancestors in the graveyard in the years that followed. The Malaga residents who had been forced from their homes scattered across the Maine coast, and most worked to hide their identity. The “Malagaite” slur continued to be commonly used around the state.   Maine Governor John Baldacci issued an apology to Malaga descendants in 2010. Source: Debbie Houston / Wikimedia Commons   As time passed, the story of Malaga Island was largely buried. However, as attitudes changed with modernity, descendants of the Malaga Island residents began to share memories and reflections on this horrible period of racism in Maine history. Archaeological excavations and new research have brought the conversation about Malaga back to the public sphere.   In 2010, Maine Governor John Baldacci issued a public apology in conjunction with a resolution passed in the state legislature expressing “profound regret” regarding the eviction. It’s impossible to travel back in time and fix the injustices issued to Malaga Island’s residents by the state and their fellow Maine citizens, but the continued discussion surrounding dark history such as these events is key to building understanding and awareness to strengthen humanity moving forward.