Arts

The book seems like it could easily be misread as twisted or offensive. In staging shots, especially the more graphic scenarios, Cassidy said the group tried to be aware of the reality of suicide and violence as societal concerns. But he also didn't see any reason to self-censor.

There's no mistaking whose lead Hedges follows, as he bemoans the dumbing-down of America via reality TV, gonzo porn and irrelevant intellectual-speak.

To tell the story of identical twins separated at birth, Torra introduces a new vocabulary of heightened, cartoony reality influenced by mambo and bossa nova.

While social responsibility and informed design are championed through "Into the Open," so is an understanding of the complex socioeconomic issues that make some of these projects necessary.

Geckos aren't formidable creatures, but they are beautiful, and the Academy of Natural Sciences is giving them some much-deserved due.

Lipsett's damning collages are dizzying condemnations of a rapacious species at play while civilization collapses around them.