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Housed in a suite of galleries in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection includes masterpieces from four areas of European and British decorative arts: silver and gold, enamel portrait miniatures, micromosaics and gold boxes. Weidenbach consciously engages with the extravagance of these objects: her box is encrusted with the same abundance of diamonds and mother-of-pearl as their historic counterparts, posing questions of how this aesthetic functions today. more »

Julia Sneden wrote: "Bosky," my mother the English teacher said firmly. "It means covered with trees and shrubs. Thickly grown. And a dell is a..." "I know," I said, falling easily into our mother/teacher, daughter/pupil mode. "A dell is a small valley or hollow, usually secluded." I find myself wondering how long it will take people to realize that when we take out trees, we take out the oxygen producers that keep us alive. Humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Trees inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. It's that simple. more »

Another outbreak of E.coli: The FDA, along with CDC, state and local agencies, is investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses likely linked to romaine lettuce. The Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency, are also coordinating with US agencies as they investigate a similar outbreak in Canada. CDC and public health and regulatory officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella infections linked to raw turkey products. In the meantime, a significant, positive change in FDA’s food safety policies, and one that The Pew Trusts and 10 other public health groups had urged because store information can help people determine whether they may have bought or eaten potentially dangerous items. more »

Ferida Wolff writes: This Fall, though, has been slow in offering up its charms. The summer heat seemed to last longer than usual. I wonder if our winter weather will be different as well. Certainly different from my childhood memories of autumn. Weather-wise there are more storms, more drought, more floods all across our nation and the world. There is more political animosity, more anger, more active hatred. I try to look at people in a universal way, hoping to see what connects us rather than tears us apart. I look for the joy in life even though I know there are times for grief. more »