I have previously posted about a conference I'm organizing at the University of Oregon entitled Food Justice: Community, Equity, Sustainability.

In May of 2010, a Parisian art auction sold an Alexander Calder mobile entitled "Pour Vilar" (circa early 1950s) for 2.3 million euros, a record sale for a piece by the now famous American sculptor. I begin with this anecdote because it was the first news item to appear in my Google Chrome search today when I entered "minimalism" and "Calder."

An oil rig located about 200 miles west of the BP Deepwater Horizon site exploded today. The media has covered the explosion only cursorily, making brief mention of three points: (1) 13 workers on board the rig escaped safely; (2) The rig, owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy Company, was about 150 feet shy of the depth subject to the Obama Administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling (which applies to wells located in 500-feet of water or deeper); and (3) Although the explosion has not yet resulted in an oil spill, the event no doubt strengthens environmentalist calls for an expanded ban on drilling.

From February 19-21, 2011, an invitational conference will take place at the University of Oregon entitled "Food Justice, Security + Sustainability."