From The New York Times: FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — It’s been 10 years since L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first elected black governor, unveiled a plan to build the United States National Slavery Museum on 38 acres here. It was to be the only institution of its kind, housed in a soaring glass-and-travertine building and illuminated at night so that cars passing on I-95 could see the full-scale replica of a slave ship in its atrium.Today the land remains vacant and is drowning in tax bills. Read the full story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/arts/design/wilders-plan-for-slavery-museum-may-have-ended.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1311262168-iGCOq9NZBJLqoD4oFfb9NQ
The Strange History of the Indian Trade Blanket
Slate Magazine’s Julia Felsenthal asks: Why are these prints suddenly so popular? And what, if anything, do these Native American or Navajo prints have to do with Native American textiles? Read the full article and view a slideshow at: http://www.slate.com/slideshow/arts/the-strange-history-of-the-indian-blanket#slide_1
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Posted in Arts
The Perfect Tomato, Cultivated for Bland Uniformity
The New York Times reviews Barry Estabrook’s new book, Tomatoland: Hard, tasteless, uniform green balls that barely dent when they fall off a truck at 60 miles per hour and that must be gassed to achieve the sick-pink hue they present in supermarkets. It’s no wonder generations of Americans have grown up thinking tomatoes were a fraud perpetrated by God, their parents or Taco Bell. I remember biting into one of these objects in a salad and thinking: Now there’s a supposedly tasty thing I’ll never eat again. This volume simmers like a big, bright kettle of heirloom tomato sauce. Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/books/tomatoland-barry-estabrooks-expose-review.html
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Posted in Environment, Literature