Joel Kotkin writes: In 2000 only three US metro areas had more elderly than children under the age of 15 (Pittsburgh, Miami and Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL). The 2010 Census showed we now have 10, with the addition of Buffalo, Boston, Cleveland, Hartford, Providence, Rochester and San Francisco to the first three. The elderly population is overtaking the younger population not only in Florida’s retirement havens, but in a number of Rust Belt and Northeastern cities.

The exhibition explores the varied ways in which European monarchs and aristocrats were represented by court artists and those outside of these rarified circles in works that served as propaganda, commemorated an historical event, or even poked fun at perceived excesses or ineptitude.

Julia Sneden writes: It happened quite late on Christmas Eve. As I recall, the only ones in the living room were my son William and his five-month-old son Adam, who was being walked and burped after polishing off his late bottle. I was in the kitchen, busily putting things to rights for the umpteenth time that day, when William called me into the living room. "Watch this," he said.

Katie's Law, also known as the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2010, has been passed as a federal law to provide funding to states to implement minimum and enhanced DNA collection processes for felony arrests. "The bill is named after Katie Sepich, who was brutally attacked outside of her New Mexico home in August 2003. She was raped, strangled, her body set on fire, and abandoned at an old dump site."

Joan L. Cannon writes: Did you ever notice the inverse proportions of our lives that seem to be dependent on our ages? The changing importance of common segments of time, of course, are most obvious, perhaps — like a decade seeming half way to forever when you’re fourteen, and about like a week when you’re seventy. During our middle years, we often wish only to expand our horizons — all of them. Then along comes the evidence that whether we like it or not, those horizons are drawing closer to us instead of receding.

Last minute ideas for gifts should be able to be found in your local stores and online: The ECOlogical Calendar for 2013; a book about illusion and art; a 4-cylinder motor to build; a pattern book for sewers; a 1000-piece puzzle for bird watchers and others, Avian Friends; building warrior robots for racing and an adventure game, Forbidden Island.

In 2009, 31,347 persons died from firearm injuries in the United States, accounting for 17.7% of all injury deaths that year. The two major component causes of all firearm injury deaths in 2009 were suicide (59.8%) and homicide (36.7%).

Ferida Wolff writes: We visited a Cuban cooperative organic farm. The land is still state-owned but the produce can be sold privately. We ate in a few paladars, small, privately owned restaurants located in homes. What we found was a resourceful culture, friendly people, and music that enlivens everything.

The state impact of the fiscal cliff’s expiring federal tax provisions and scheduled spending cuts is missing from the national discussion. This PEW study finds that the effects on the states vary greatly based on the extent to which states are tied to the federal tax code and federal spending.

A NIA study has shown that older people are less adept than younger people at discerning visual clues of dishonesty in others, helping explain why many older people are more susceptible to financial fraud and other scams. In the other study, science faculty participants rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hireable than the (identical) female applicant. These participants also selected a higher starting salary and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant.

The Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (S. 3331) would apply universal accreditation standards to adoption service providers in all countries involved in the adoption of foreign orphans under the age of 16, regardless of whether or not the country is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

Rose Madeline Mula writes: We’ve all heard stories from the old folks of how they used to be beside themselves with joy if they found so much as an orange, instead of a lump of coal, in their Christmas stockings. Today it’s not so easy to please a kid. Unless the eight-foot tree is completely hidden behind a pile of bionic, electronic, computerized, overautomated and overpriced toys that cost more than you used to have to spend to furnish an entire house (real, not doll), they start reading you their Constitutional rights.

"We expected that differences in password usage would be evident across age and education level. More specifically, based on findings from extensive prior studies on memory and aging, we expected that older adults would report a higher rate of forgotten passwords, an expectation that was surprisingly unconfirmed."

Jill Norgren writes, This holiday season you may be thinking, iTUNES, or video games, or clothes. My grandgirls suggest that whatever your choices, let there be a book among them. I particularly appreciate that most of the titles they have suggested are available in inexpensive paper editions. And more than a few are books that I would enjoy stealing off with for an hour or two.

J E Cosnett writes: Doctors are prominently represented in Charles Dickens's fiction. In 14 major works there are at least 27 members of the medical profession, some named, others anonymous. The main medical personalities provide vignettes of Victorian medicine, seen through the eyes of a very observant, critical, and socially conscious layman.

The first group of recordings posted will consist of 25 interviews including those with Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Bo Diddley and Linda Rondstadt. "One of the great things about the interviews is how relaxed many of them are ... They’re not on camera and they’re talking to someone who’s very much a colleague and a peer."

My daughter and I were combing the aisles of Ocean State Job Lots, not seeking the retailer’s “quality brand name merchandise at closeout prices,” but instead searching for Tommy. Perhaps he had had enough of my hovering, my reminding, my suggesting, and decided to give me the slip. I worried because his condition has left him vulnerable if he should get lost.

Ideas from our favorite science and math venue: Secrets of famous magicians and illusionists; Science Tarot cards that display images of mitochondria, neurotransmitters & scientists; Ant-O-Sphere Pod Kits use a system of clear and red-colored pods to simulate an “above” and “underground” sensation for the ants; the Pizza Pi Cutter helps serve up a true slice of genius; 25 experiments to learn how an electric motor converts electricity into motion and an electric generator does just the opposite, converting motion into electricity.

Julia Sneden writes, There is a long line of British novels that aim to raise social consciousness: Dickens springs to mind, as do the mysteries of writer Dorothy L. Sayers, whom J.K. Rowling has said she admires. Rowling’s standards could hardly be higher than those two, and her story comes close to being every bit as distressing and rewarding and inspiring as the books of her idols. In Larson's book, as civil liberties eroded and Jews endured terrifying attacks, US Ambassador William Dodd endeavored to make the State Department aware of what was happening in Germany. His measured, careful responses to the growing chaos did not please the fascists nor, sadly, did they stir up outrage back home.

"Although Mr. Steichen is widely known for his photography, this is the first time his delphiniums have been given a public showing. They are original varieties, as creatively produced as his photographs. To avoid confusion, it should be noted that the actual delphiniums will be shown in the Museum — not paintings or photographs of them. It will be a 'personal appearance' of the flowers themselves."

Out of the mainstream gifts like the Little Librarian will provide book lovers with everything they need to transform their book collection into a library; a silk scarf embodies part of the biblical creation story from Genesis; a book about women of the north and south in the Civil War and their courage and daring, by donning men's clothes and fighting as soldiers, becoming spies, working as nurses; armillary bookends and Dori Csengeri jewelry, all from museums.

Joan L. Cannon writes: You know how Mickey Mouse looked in the Disney version of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice? I emptied the bucket four times and the wastebasket three times before I finally got the level of soapy water too low to immerse the upper end of the siphon, and so had to give it up. Besides, I was whipped. I was wet. The floor was awash. It was time for lunch.

The bill would allow the secretary of HHS to establish the Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality, which would provide advice and recommendations to the secretary on strategies and efforts to reduce infant mortality and improve the health status of pregnant women and infants. It also would require HHS to conduct a study on hospital readmissions of preterm infants and to submit a report to Congress on the findings and recommendations resulting from the study.