Adventurous avant-garde picture books from Bolshevik Russia; a Civil War-era patriotic reader published for children of the Confederate States; a Noah Webster speller aimed at teaching a uniquely American English to the schoolchildren of the newly formed US; the manuscript of James Stephens’s Irish Fairy Tales to help preserve Irish tradition in a time of English rule; Japanese comic books meant to teach children English during the post-war Allied Occupation; a fascinating recent picture book from post-colonial Francophone Africa.

Margaret Cullison writes: Flush from the post-war economic boom, Dad bought his first airplane, a 1946 cream and red Taylorcraft BC-12D. I recall the anticipation stirring in the pit of my stomach as we waited for someone to prime the propeller and yell out above the noise of the wind and the engine, "all clear", as he waved us out onto the runway. I recall the instant the wheels left the ground, that first gentle lift into the air, and a magic I didn't understand moved us skyward.

Officials also cited the need for greater awareness of elder abuse by the public and training of direct service providers who interact with older adults on a regular basis, to help prevent elder abuse or recognize its symptoms. Five of the nine regional agency officials GAO spoke with said elder justice issues need to be elevated to national attention for the general public by a national public awareness campaign. The Elder Justice Coordinating Council is considering a recommendation to sponsor a national campaign but has not yet done so.

Don't buy from sites that offer to prescribe a prescription drug for the first time without a physical exam, sell a prescription drug without a prescription, or sell drugs not approved by the FDA. Use sites that provide convenient access to a licensed pharmacist who can answer your questions. Avoid sites that do not identify with whom you are dealing and do not provide a US address and phone number to contact if there's a problem. Beware of sites that advertise a "new cure" for a serious disorder or a quick cure-all for a wide range of ailments.

Roberta McReynolds writes: The genealogy bug bit me when I was exposed to this 'illness' through my Aunt Bessie. She would spread out her albums of family research at annual family reunions, hoping to deliberately infect the younger generations. I honestly don't know if my elders would be more pleased or horrified at the results; research inevitably digs up surprises and secrets ... but more about that later.

"Our mission is to understand not only what happened but why and how it happened, ... We want to make sure we do not have events where interstate bridges drop into the waterway below them. That is not what we expect." "I think too many parents — we're all guilty of doing as I say not as I do, ... What you really need to do is model that behavior because they are watching you, and you are actually one of the best indicators of what your child's behavior is going to be." "The NTSB is concerned that in these events, [air traffic control] was not able to ensure the safe separation of aircraft."

Since 2007, more women have died from drug overdoses than from motor vehicle traffic injuries, and in 2010, four times as many died as a result of drug overdose as were victims of homicide. Men are more likely than women to die from drug overdose; however, between 1999 and 2010, the percentage increase in the rate of overdose deaths was greater for women (151%) than for men (85%).

The cirrocumulus clouds I saw recently delighted me. They brought to mind popcorn scattering over the earth I wanted to open my mouth and catch them on my tongue. For a while I was a kid again. These were high atmosphere clouds and they lifted my spirits. The rain made it all glitter. The scene went from damp to delightful. And all it took to make the shift was my letting go of what I expected so that I could see a gift of diamonds.  

"We needed a portable system of actionable medical orders that would follow the patient and be consistently respected across settings of care, whether that was in a long-term nursing care facility, home, hospice, the ambulance or an acute care hospital," Dr. Susan Tolle has said. POLSTs are often confused with advanced directives, but they differ in significant ways. An advanced directive is often completed by a healthy person, and is purely hypothetical. It lacks the medical authority of a physician’s signature.

"Specifically, we continue to have a 6.5 percent unemployment threshold for beginning to consider a first increase in the federal funds rate. As we have emphasized, the threshold nature of this forward guidance embodies further flexibility to react to incoming data. If, for example, inflation readings continue to be on the soft side, we will have greater scope for keeping the funds rate at its effective lower bound even beyond the point when unemployment drops below 6.5percent."

"Even if Jane Austen had not attended this public exhibit, it would still be well worth reconstructing. ...The British Institution's show was a star-studded 'first' of great magnitude for the art community and a turning point in the history of modern exhibit practices." Among the canvases in the retrospective gallery, portraits of 18th-century politicians, actors, authors and aristocrats offer examples of just how someone such as Jane Austen, who did not personally circulate among the social elite, was nonetheless immersed in Georgian England’s vibrant culture.

Jill Norgren reviews: Each of these novels is a thought provoking domestic drama. Sit down with each and then consider what Gwen and Margot would have thought of "Hem" and Hadley, and what the Hemingways might have made of Anthony, Gwen, and Margot. Smiles or snickers? – the contemplation will be interesting, perhaps provocative.

Work with Congress on legislation that would restrict patients who are suspected of "doctor shopping" to obtain painkillers. One Miami psychiatrist8,900 prescriptions in 2010 for powerful antipsychotics to patients older than 65, including many with dementia. Require that all providers who write prescriptions to Medicare patients be enrolled in Medicare. That means they must verify their credentials and disclose if they’ve been disciplined or criminally convicted.

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Every day, except Sunday, my mail carrier inundates my mail box with mountains of miscellany — sales flyers from every store within a fifty-mile radius of my home, and mail order catalogs from companies based in states boasting purple mountain majesties or fruited plains, from sea to shining sea — and even from across those seas. (How did that cheese maker in Liechtenstein get my address? And who gave that tailor in Hong Kong my measurements?)

Julia Sneden writes: The name Grandabbie was my own invention. Before she came to live with us, my mother’s mother lived next door to a lively band of six nieces and nephews who called her Aunt Abbie. One day I referred to my Grandmother as Aunt Abbie, whereat several of them pounced on me. "She’s not your aunt. You can’t call her Aunt Abbie," said another. I remember feeling crushed, but I don’t remember how I came up with the solution of combining Grandmother and Abbie into what was to become her label for life. She used to tell me: "All my life, I looked forward to being called Grandmother. It’s a beautiful word. But then," she would sigh, "I hadn’t reckoned with you."

The good news is that as we understand more about how surveillance works, it helps the people who create and use secure tools to make better and more informed choices — even if that choice is simply not minding having their data collected. There are a lot of ways to talk to people securely on the internet, some are purpose-built to enhance your privacy and security. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a place to start.

Does Fluffy have dreams of grandeur? A cardboard cityscape scratcher can help her fulfill those dreams by allowing her to reenact her favorite 1950s horror film. From proper revolving door etiquette to learning how to tie a Windsor Knot The Gentleman's Deck will help men become a man of the 21st century. Four sets of blocks to play with: Hebrew, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. And a bird house like no other, the Sylvester Bird Box. A articulated elephant named Hattie performs.

The exclusion of natural substances from eligibility for patents was the theory on which the Court relied Thursday in its unanimous ruling that a company cannot get a patent monopoly on the use and study of human genes that it isolates in the bloodstream, and them takes them out — without changing their natural character — for research. The Court said the company actually did not create anything at all, but simply extracted the genetic material from its location in human blood, and setting it apart for study.

Val Castronovo writes: His debt to the Impressionists, his friend Monet in particular, is readily apparent in these sun-drenched, en plein air works that seek to capture particular moments in time. As the curators note, he was drawn to certain themes — "sun on stone, reclining figures tumbled together, patterns of light and shadow." White on white — light as it strikes a house, a sheet, a garment, a marble block or a balustrade.

"Consumers need to be able to anticipate and avoid unnecessary fees on their checking accounts. But we are concerned that some overdraft practices may increase consumer costs beyond reasonable expectations," said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray. "What is marketed as overdraft protection can, in some instances, create greater risk of consumer harm."

A survey of Emergency Medical Services leaders in the 200 largest cities found 44 percent had cut services last year, according to the Journal of Emergency Medical Services. It found 28 percent of big-city EMS agencies had a hiring freeze or were not filling vacancies, some for the third consecutive year.

I’ve done a lot of reading about Tommy’s condition and am relieved to learn he has not taken on another emotion that is sometimes linked to the illness: rage. If anything, he has become kinder (witness his charity), more sentimental (the tears), and softer. Because he can no longer speak, he doesn't send irritating comments to television commercials, obese strangers, or other innocent targets as I once complained about.

Under the military's criminal procedures, commanders have clemency powers, which means they can dismiss military court convictions "for any reason or no reason." The policy came under fire when Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin overturned a jury's ruling that Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, was guilty of aggravated sexual assault ... Under [Secy of Defense Chuck] Hagel's proposal, commanders could still reduce someone's sentence but would have to submit a reason in writing. [Democratic] Sens. Claire McCaskill and Barbara Boxer have called for similar changes. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., introduced a House bill that goes further, removing a commander's authority to overturn or reduce a judge's sentence.