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The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA); the state of California's "mission is to protect and enhance public health and the environment by scientific evaluation of risks posed by hazardous substances." A couple of reports currently on the website: Protecting Public Health from Home and Building Fire Ash and Art and Craft Material Exposures and Impacts to Children's Health; Inorganic Arsenic in White and Brown Rice. more »

Elaine Soloway writes: I have turned to therapy a handful of times. My slim record is not because I disdain the practice or am reluctant to reveal my secrets. Fifty-five minutes focused on me, a sympathetic witness to my angst, a collaborator in my version of the story; who wouldn't relish the experience. Because I had not lived in the same city as my daughters for 25 years, and since I was unfettered in Chicago (no husband, house, dog, car, debt), I thought the time was right to jump into their world. But, instead of considering this decision an abandonment of Los Angeles, I'll add Bi-Coastal to my labels and have the best of both worlds. more »

The items exploring the vast spectrum of Tolkien's creative and scholarly output range from his early abstract paintings in The Book of Ishness to the tales he wrote for his children. Original manuscripts of his popular classics sit alongside lesser-known and posthumous works and materials, some of which will be on public display for the very first time. The range of objects on display includes Tolkien's creation of language, his childhood and student days, his career as a scholar of literature, and his family life as a husband and father.       more »

Earlier this season I had found that a shallot in my fridge had started growing. I took a chance and planted it. Then I forgot about it, never really expecting anything to come of it. Then the garden surprised me. A tall stalk reached out of the dirt. I thought it was a wild onion and left it alone. It continued to shoot up and then there was an intriguing flower at the end of it. When I dug it up to see what was growing, I saw the shallot had grown and multiplied! Not only was the flower beautiful to see but the shallots were delicious to eat. more »