Art houses all over the Triangle are taking hits in this economy (the Varsity in Chapel Hill officially closed two Fridays ago, while other theaters have had to play mainstream movies to make money), raising questions about the repertory scene.

Strange as it seems, there's something about impending disaster that can really liven up your day.

The mantra is freshness at Jamil Kadoura's restaurant, Mediterranean Deli, or "Med Deli" as the locals call it in Chapel Hill.

The second-most-talked-about dish at last month's Farm to Fork picnic was the DIG teenagers' lemon balm sorbet.

Colonial Williamsburg is hosting a "Foodways of the 18th Century" conference Nov. 8-10.

The idea of starting a new summer music festival in the Triangle -- or anywhere else, in this economy -- and anchoring it with a popular European chamber orchestra, then inviting high-caliber international and local guest performers seems a little far-fetched.

Music review:Wilco mastermind Jeff Tweedy seems perpetually harried. His public mien is that of a bleary-eyed everyman who happens to possess songwriting gifts that may or may not be a curse.

Michel Legrand and Norman Gimbel's "I Will Wait for You," the first song on singer and pianist Daniela Schachter's self-produced "Purple Butterfly," clearly establishes her jazz integrity.

Michel Medina Gonzalez shakes violently in his chair inside a patient room at Orlando Health, where he was fitted earlier this month with a brain implant to control his symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Book review:If Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons are the king and queen of Lowcountry Lit, then Dottie Frank is surely one of the slightly less serious, slightly more lighthearted, members of the royal family.

Book review:Little boys like to play at adventure and dream of danger in faraway places. But what 11-year-old Norman Ollestad endured atop a California mountain in 1979 was a nightmare.

Creators:Dusk falls on Durham Central Park, where a dozen folding chairs dot a lush, green field.

The Ozarks spread like a lush green belt across the nation's middle, spilling over southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Q: When grandparents are traveling in Europe with grandchildren, are there any particular documents they should have (in addition to passports) indicating that the parents authorize them to travel abroad with the grandkids?

The Terpsichorean Club of Raleigh has invited 225 young women to the 83rd annual North Carolina Debutante Ball. The event will be held Sept. 10-12 in Raleigh.