Noteworthy entries.
In a recent article appearing in Nature, "More Than Skin Deep," Martin Kemp asks what we are to think of Andrew Krasnow's work of art entitled "Flag from Flag Poll." The artwork is a 2 meter long American Flag made out of human skin. Consider, also, the online exhibit entitled "Making Visible Embryos," by Tatjana Buklijas and Nick Hopwood. In Nature, Alison Abbott describes the exhibit as "the story of how embryos have been depicted."
Two nights ago, I was riding a bicycle past a midtown St. Louis landmark, Saint Francis Xavier Church, better known as "College Church," due to its location on the Jesuit campus of St. Louis University. I know this campus well, in that I am a graduate of the SLU School of Law. I've often enjoyed this architecture--I decided to stop to take this photo.
I spent the afternoon at Dallas-Fort-Worth Airport, unsuccessfully trying to get on a standby flight, then waiting for my originally scheduled flight. While I waited, I walked about, amazed at the size of the airport. The airport stretches as far as the eye can see.
Gazing out of the terminal, you can see several control towers in the distance. A woman at the information booth told me that DFW covers more ground than Manhattan. I had a difficult time believing it, but it turns out that it's true. I learned here that DFW covers more than 29.8 square miles (18,076 acres), whereas Manhattan covers only 22.96 square miles. The airport is so big, that it is necessary to travel between terminals on an elaborate tram system ("Skylink" covers a 5-mile route at speeds of up to 35 mph).
The vast grounds of DFW are 
overwhelming, but so is the interior. It's an entire city, staffed with 60,000 employees. There must be hundreds of restaurants and stores. Including this one, called "Lone Star Attitude." I noticed this store because I sat across from it waiting for my standby flight. It was a bit creepy, looking at the cows dressed up in human clothes. I think I'll get over it, but I did wonder whether this was an effective form of marketing. Perhaps only in Texas.
[Photos by Erich Vieth]
If you're looking for t-shirts with Darwin images and slogans, look no further.
TED has some incredible offerings these days. Here is one that about knocked me out of my chair. Turn up your computer sound and sit back for 20 minutes. Here's the description from TED.
Gustavo Dudamel and the young members of the orchestra, many born into poverty, had had their lives transformed by a national music teaching program built by TED Prize Winner Jose Antonio Abreu. The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra contains the best high school musicians from Venezuela's life-changing music program, El Sistema. Led here by Gustavo Dudamel, they play Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, 2nd movement, and Arturo Márquez' Danzón No. 2.