When I first saw this picture of Essentia's claim that their water is too pure to be tested with pH strips, I never thought things would go this far, but... wellp. Here I am, a little bit of crowdfunding and some fancy new equipment later, ready to test some claims this Sunday (for Essentia and seven other brands of water!). What exactly am I testing?

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The common impression of art’s relationship to biology is usually that art, or illustration at least, is a convenient teaching tool in classrooms and textbooks. At best, biology makes a nice subject for art, and at its worst, drawings of dissected animals and cells are strictly utilitarian. There is, however, a commonly overlooked role art has played...

This is the version of The Flax that I have used in several of my art pieces. This exact version, taken from William's Choice Literature, Vol. 1, doesn't exist in text form anywhere else on the internet as of the time of this publishing. While there are a lot of great translations out there, I like this one for being fairly true to the original Danish...

The most obvious way to help any small business is to buy their stuff; "vote with your wallet," they say. But there are plenty of things you can do to help out for absolutely free. In fact, doing some of the following may help their business grow even more in the long run.

1) Make the most of Facebook.

Follow the small busniesses you like, and b...

I can never keep Hans Christian Andersen out of my head. He wrote stories on so many subjects; some have clear morals like The Ugly Duckling or The Red Shoes, while others are a little more vague. The Daisy is one of those-- markedly depressing and innocent-- which leaves some questions. I don't generally like to tell people what to get out of art, s...

"The Artist is a trickster."

People have long described the role of artists as "tricksters", and rightfully so. They serve as social commentators, satirists, philosophers, and comedians without being fully direct. An innocent looking painting can contain symbolic imagery that viewers might pass up at first glace; a set of sculptures can criticize the s...