Rocks

Spring is here and with it comes aspirations of backyard gardens bursting with flowers and overflowing with a bounty of vegetables. Of course, for city dwellers, this can be a challenge. So where space is an issue, bring the outdoors in with simple-to-make terrariums that look great and are easy to care for. We assembled two different styles - a wet environment, which we filled with ferns and moss, and a dry environment, dotted with carefully arranged succulents. The best part of using succulents is that they're very easy to care for; it seems the more you ignore them, the better they grow.

The saga of lunar rock traveling from the first moon landing in 1969 to the Las Vegas Strip in 1987 and back to NASA in 2012 recalls other moon rock stories. Here are a few: — CASINO MAGNATE: If they are authentic, four tiny chips of moon rock given by then-President Richard Nixon to former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia would have been pilfered by a Costa Rican mercenary soldier-turned Contra rebel, traded to a Baptist missionary for unknown items, then sold to a Las Vegas casino mogul who displayed them at his Moon Rock Cafe before squirreling them away in in a safety deposit...

LOS ANGELES — Crowds of rowdy revelers poured into the streets around Staples Center after Game 7 of the NBA finals on last night, rocking cars, setting bonfires, and throwing rocks and bottles at officers. Nine people had been arrested for public intoxication, vandalism, and inciting a riot, but that number was expected to rise, said Mary Grady, Los Angeles police spokeswoman. “As the crowds left the area, we had some groups that decided to celebrate irresponsibly,’’ she said.

A rockin' good time is planned next month when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art pulls the covers off artist Michael Heizer's latest creation — a 340-ton boulder positioned to appear as though it's floating in mid-air. The gigantic work titled "Levitated Mass" will be unveiled June 24 and is intended to remain forever. Its centerpiece is the two-story-tall chunk of granite that was hauled 105 miles from a Riverside rock quarry earlier this year. Since then, the rock has been carefully positioned above a 465-foot-long trench that museum visitors can stroll.

Watching “Chelsea on the Rocks’’ is like being buttonholed at a New York bar on a rainy afternoon by an ex-junkie three stools down who proceeds to lay on you an endless series of tall tales concerning people whose identity is never quite clear and who may no longer be alive. The longer the guy talks (which is as long as you’re buying) the more you sense he actually is somebody, or was somebody, and that the ghosts he’s telling you about mattered and that maybe you’re getting history the only way it deserves to be told.

SPRINGDALE, Utah -- Las Vegas takes a lot out of me, and I'm not talking dollars. After a four-day professional conference, and the inescapable sights of pallid gamblers in the lobby casino, chain-smoking breakfast boozers, and girlie-show ticket hawkers, my batteries were drained. The recharge was 160 miles, away at Zion National Park. I felt my energy return as we drove west (my husband had flown in for the weekend), passing open desert and craggy rocks on our journey from wild life to wildlife.

G-Go portable Bluetooth speaker from Boombang Inc. $69 at Target Don't let the recent cooldown fool you. Summer's on the way, and it's time to think about outdoor gadgets. For example, a ruggedized, water-resistant Bluetooth speaker. The G-Go isn't completely submersible, but it's designed to tolerate a few casual splashes. Its rubberized body should also be capable of surviving a fair number of accidental drops and kicks. Pushbutton controls are coated in rubber to prevent leaks, and all access ports are locked behind plastic doors.

R&B "it" girl Shea Rose , who won R&B artist of the year at the recent Boston Music Awards, impressed the audience at the Fierce Styles Fashion Show the other night… . Esquire's John Mariani hosted an event at Towne Stove and Spirits to celebrate the venue's best new restaurant award. Chef Lydia Shire was in the house, as were Towne owner Ed Sparks , Steve Coyle of the Lyons Group, and hotelier Dick Friedman .

As if Chad Ochocinco didn't have enough to do learning the Patriots playbook. TMZ reports that his engagement to girlfriend Evelyn Lozada may be in trouble. The website says Lozada, who's Antoine Walker's ex and a regular on "Basketball Wives," suspects No. 85 has been cheating on her and confronted him about his behavior. Lozada hasn't iced the wedding, which was supposed to take place next summer, but there's a chance she might. Plans for the pair's new reality show, which was going to track them as they prepared for the wedding, are...

GOLFO DE PENAS — Well before we boarded the old cargo ship, before it plodded past the protection of the mountainous fiords, before the skies turned stormy and the seas swelled, we were warned. We were warned not to expect a cruise, about the smell of the cattle often herded below deck, and the inevitable nausea. So when the smoky, diesel engines of the 360-foot ship prodded us into the open sea and the waves began sloshing us around, we expected to feel it in our stomachs.

Britain's Barclays Bank PLC said Monday it intends to dispose of its entire 19.6 percent stake in the U.S. asset management company BlackRock Inc., valued at $6.1 billion. The bank said it will sell its holding through a registered offering and a $1 billion share buyback by BlackRock. Barclays acquired the stake when it sold its asset management division, Barclays Global Investors, to BlackRock in 2009. Analysts at Investec Securities said the deal makes sense in that Barclays gets little advantage from its stake.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade rehearsal Monday in Yemen's capital, killing 96 soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks in the city in years, officials said. The bombing appeared to be a failed assassination attempt against the Minister of Defense, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, who arrived at the heavily secured city square to greet the assembled troops just minutes before the blast ripped through the area. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but it came as the country's new political leadership has been stepping up the fight...

(Image courtesy BC High) Terrence Roberts speaking with BC High students. By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent Imagine trying to go to a school that doesn't want you. Imagine facing violence every day as you try to get your high school diploma. Those emotions and stories are what Terrence Roberts, a member of the Little Rock Nine, one of first groups of African-American students to integrate into all-white public schools in the 1950s, tried to convey as he visited students at Boston College High School on Friday.

See the future stars of jazz and rock for free June 2 and 3 as Brookline Music School's young ensembles of varying ages and abilities rock the house at Roggie's Brew Grille in Cleveland Circle. See what the school's ensemble programs and music technology classes produce for ages 8 and up, while enjoying the food, drink, and alternative-band atmosphere of Roggie's Cavo Lounge stage at 356 Chestnut Hill Ave. from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Details at www.bmsmusic.org.

It looks like a typical Saturday night at the club: The band is belting out high-energy sounds and the crowd is sweaty from dancing with abandon. Only it is not the midnight hour, but Sunday afternoon at the Plough & Stars in Cambridge, and the audience is decidedly tilted to an older crowd that may not rock like they used to, but won't miss out on a thriving music scene they say keeps them vital. For many boomers, rock music is a defining element of their generation and remains an essential source of both entertainment and inspiration.

Get ready for a blast from the past. The music around Boston this summer will feature some of the most venerable names of rock ‘n' roll of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. But though many are well over 50 years old, don't always expect them to play their age. Meanwhile, their baby boomer fans are briskly buying up tickets as they too try to recapture the sounds of their youth. "The older crowd comes out to see shows. They grew up with these artists. For us, they're like franchises," said Dave Marsden, a longtime vice president of Live Nation, which books most...

Four boys are facing charges of throwing rocks at cars in Worcester, State Police said. The boys, between the ages of 9 and 11, allegedly threw about 60 golf ball-sized rocks and 10 softball-sized rocks at vehicles on the ramp entering Interstate 290 eastbound. Twelve vehicles were damaged. Worcester police and one of the drivers chased down and identified the four boys. They will be charged in the juvenile division of Worcester District Court at a later date, said Lieutenant Matthew Murray, a State Police spokesman.

It's taken an animated trilogy about a gang of zoo animals to bring Ben Stiller and Chris Rock together. Two of the most influential comedians over the last two decades, they have seemingly always orbited in the same world — both New York performers about the same age — but have hardly ever collaborated. "We cross paths," Rock says of their roles in "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. " "We're cowboys. We see each other at the saloon. " Speaking from Cannes, where the two New Yorkers are promoting the latest installment in the popular DreamWorks Animation franchise,...

Beach rocks that caused a California woman's shorts to catch fire and severely burn her legs and hands appeared to be coated with phosphorus, but it was unclear how the flammable chemical got onto the stones found near a military base, authorities said Thursday. "We have never been aware of anything like this before," said Denise Fennessy, assistant director of Orange County's environmental health division. Field tests indicated the phosphorus was found on two rocks from San Onofre State Beach that will be submitted to a state-certified...