A re-examination of the life of Michelangelo Merisi da Carravaggio concludes that he was "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous". The distinguished Italian painter was apparently ignored after his death and his reputation has only been enhanced during the 20th century.

Architect Vincent Callebaut has proposed a development for the reconstruction of living spaces in Haiti called Coral Village. Callebaut uses prefabricated units that produce a wave-like design using minimal energy resources. The units are meant to accommodate 1000 families, with each family also owning land to grow food.

The great American artist Robert Rauschenberg who died at the age of 82 in his home in Captiva, Florida in 2008, has been credited with creating "combines" in 1950, in which he used nonconventional materials in unorthodox ways to create artistic statements. He loved to cause consternation with untraditional gestures, including erasing a deKooning drawing. PBS's American Masters series presents an interesting article about the artist, as does Artchive.

Sarah Kay is polishing the art of "Spoken Word Poems". Poignant, deeply felt, beautifully expressed, her poetry reaches out to places of feeling that many of us would rather not explore.

Most of you know of my fascination with curved, organic forms. Seeing them appear in the fields of electronics and medicine is deeply satisfying. Here, John Rogers, professor of material science, shows us how stretchable forms can be included in manufacturing devices.

Nikon has sponsored a "small world" competition for photographs of miniature objects in science that appeal to our aesthetic sense or that artists have incorporated into their work. The results are pretty spectacular.

the De Young Museum in San Francisco has mounted an exhibition titled, "Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico". The Olmec culture, existing between 1200 and 400 BC, remains a mysterious one. As one curator put it, "There is no Olmec Rosetta Stone". We know little of their beliefs or their ritual life, but these sculptures and votive objects testify to a vibrant cultural presence.

San Jose State's Thompson Gallery is showing the sculptures of the late Italo Scanga. Exuberantly painted wood figures resembling contemporary totems, these sculptures seem to marry the cubist aesthetic with a present-day sensibility.

If you haven't already, run, do not walk, to the Art Project powered by Google. Some of the world's greatest masterpieces are shown in exquisite detail, as you choose from museums and paintings at your pleasure. For me, rethinking Paul Cezanne at MOMA was worth the trip.

The title is simply Make, but if you love to tinker, build and put things together you will want to see what Reuben Margolin does in his workshop. I think you will understand why he is called a "Bay Area visionary".