Pure

When John Baldessari's retrospective "Pure Beauty" opens at the L.A. County Museum of Art on June 27, expect to see several generations of artists on hand for the opening-week events. For as long as he has been making art in Los Angeles, Baldessari has also been, in a less tangible way, making artists: offering suggestions, encouragement and above all conversation to twenty-something students eager to follow in his footsteps by living a life of art. Follow they did, with their own gallery shows, museum shows, teaching gigs, and some commercial successes that have at times even surpassed their teacher's.

Into the still-unbuilt Los Angeles Hall of Fame -- in a niche between, say, the late Garfield High calculus teacher Jaime Escalante and the nameless guy who planted the first jacaranda -- let us now enshrine Tim McAuliffe. Not even an Angeleno, McAuliffe still deserves induction for the quick note excerpted just below. See how long it takes you to guess the subject: Dear Art : Thank you for your letter, I am making up two new L.A.'s for Buzzie . . . I will design them in the upper corner to show you what I mean, one will be identical with the LA I gave you only larger, and the other which is designed has the lower bar of the L, acting as a cross bar of the A . . . " Figure it out yet?

"Palestine," from which this is excerpted, is a memoir in monologue by writer and actress Najla Said , daughter of the late Palestinian American scholar Edward Said. Produced by Twilight Theatre Company in association with New York Theatre Workshop, it opens Wednesday at the 4th Street Theatre in New York and runs through March 21. Tuesday, July 11, 2006: I am in Beirut. My friend Alex calls and asks if I want to spend the day at the beach in Tyre with him and some other friends.

At first glance, it might appear that Claire Danes and HBO are a little behind the curve with "Temple Grandin," a biopic about an early autistic advocate and educator. In the years since "Rain Man," autism has created something of a stock character in television and film. Indeed, when Danes was preparing for the role of Grandin, she had to look no further than her husband, Hugh Dancy, who recently starred in "Adam." But you can't be behind the curve when there is no curve, and there is no longer any curve on autism movies because Danes and the makers of "Temple Grandin" have blown it out of the water.

While Hollywood gets its long overdue makeover, you can join in by getting pampered at Bliss spa, which is scheduled to open along with the new W Hollywood on Thursday. Launched by Canadian Marcia Kilgore in New York's SoHo in 1996, Bliss is considered a pioneer in making day spas chic and fun instead of clinical. Now with nearly 22 locations worldwide, Bliss gives treatments silly names -- Quadruple Thighpass for an anti-cellulite treatment -- and conducts tongue-in-cheek promotional campaigns.

As a woman who hasn't managed yet to thank her Facebook friends for last year's birthday greetings, it seemed odd to be online this week making arrangements to let them know when and where my funeral will be. I was creating my own legacy at Bcelebrated.com, a website that lets you record everything attendant to your death -- who gets your heirloom china, what you really think of your son's girlfriend, what dress you want to be buried in. You can tell your life story and construct your own legacy; "put your affairs in order and say your goodbyes now," the website video offers, "in case you don't get the chance later."

It's hard to put into words the feeling of representing your country in the Olympic Games in your home province.... The first time I put on a Team Canada jersey was back in 1991. It was at the World Juniors in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It was a huge thrill for me, just to make the team in the first place. I was one of the team's younger players at that time, and the tournament went very well for us. I remember getting a lot of good-luck wishes that were posted in our dressing room the day of the gold-medal game.

  Spiced squash and pear purée Total time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour roasting time for the squash Servings: 6 to 8 Note: You can use any winter squash for this; the best candidates are acorn, Table Queen and butternut. 1 (2 3/4 -pound) winter squash 1 pear, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon minced shallot 2 tablespoons room temperature butter 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon dried mustard 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 3 amaretti almond cookies, crushed 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

As two scholars with different political orientations but common concerns, we have each worked to challenge conventional wisdom that has undermined public understanding of the climate change problem. Many Republicans have been too reluctant to acknowledge strong evidence of human-caused warming and the need for prudent policies that could reduce its harmful effects. Democrats have let their own political judgments and values infect climate science and its interpretation, often understating the uncertainties about the timing and scale of future risks, and the tremendous costs and difficulties of effective action.