Monthly Archives: February 2013

Top Soil Depletion and the impact on humans, plants and animals To soil scientists, the time horizon is only part of the political challenge. Ultimately, it may be the issue of climate change that drives public interest in soil hopefully … Continue reading →

CRISTALLERIES DE BACCARAT Baccarat is a small town of about 6,000 people in Lorraine, about 250 miles due east of Paris, in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. In 1764, when Monseigneur de Montrnorency-Laval, Bishop of Metz, petitioned Louis XV, … Continue reading →

THE ART OF CAMEO INCRUSTATION or “suiphide” The art of cameo under glass comes from this observation that the “drops of rain or dew give a silvery aspect to the leaves which are villous and rough to the touch. From … Continue reading →

PAPARAZZI This word is usually encountered in the plural, like the swarms of free-lance, celebrity-chasing photographers that it describes. Few people know that the Italian word comes directly from the name of Signore Paparazzo, a photographer in Federico Fellini’s film … Continue reading →

David Hume 1711-1776 David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment. Hume … Continue reading →