Jill Norgren writes: For young adults, Ali Benjamin's The Thing about Jelly Fish; and Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming. For folks of all ages, Betty Caroli's Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President. My teen granddaughters have asked for a gift certificate to a few sessions of jazzed up stationary bike classes." We can add one crafting book and an Easy Indigo Textile Kit. Cufflinks made from watch movements from the early to mid-20th century and a portable carafe, this pour-over coffee stand adjusts to accommodate your vessel of choice should pique your interest as well as items for birders.

New York and Nevada have banned the sites, labeling the games illegal gambling ? rulings that the sites are challenging. But many more states are working on legislation for upcoming sessions that would subject the games to oversight or licensing. California law has a "predominant purpose test," which determines an activity to be gambling if greater than 50 percent of the outcome is derived from luck. In New York, the state has something called the "material element test," which determines that the activity is one of chance, as long as chance plays a "material role" in the outcome.

Julia Sneden wrote: Back in my sixties, when I read the advice of those who are experts in the elderly mind, I figured that as a word puzzle addict, I was well set to keep myself mentally fit. I come from a family whose women have remarkable (and some would say dreadful) genes for living long. All my older female relatives have died in their 90?s, and both grandmothers and a great aunt came close to a hundred. If you're likely to live that long, you need to do everything you can to take care of your mental agility.

Wisdom was first banded in 1956. And because Laysan albatross do not return to breed until they are at least five years old, it is estimated Wisdom is at least 64 years old, but she could be older. Laying only one egg per year, a breeding albatross will spend a tiring 130 days incubating and raising a chick. Albatross forage hundreds of miles out at sea periodically returning with meals of squid or flying fish eggs. Wisdom has likely clocked over six million ocean miles of flight time.  Meet Wisdom, the oldest living, banded, wild bird. This 64-year-old bird returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on November 19, 2015, after a year at sea. A few days later, she was observed with her mate. Wisdom departed soon af…

Worried that bicyclists who chat, send messages or listen to music on smartphones are creating a danger, a number of cities have banned cyclists from using hand-held cellphones or texting while riding. And several states prohibit bicyclists from using headphones or earplugs.

Is it a myth that plants respond to human/plant interaction? Years ago my friend and I heard that talking to plants help them grow so we each prepared pots with the same soil and the same plants. We watered them equally. Then we talked to one plant but not to the other. After a month we noticed that the plants we spoke to flourished while the other plants were not as vibrant. Science now shows that plants interact with each other. We seem to be part of a universal communication system even if we don?t all speak the same language.

Chet Lunner, a security consultant and former official at Homeland Security (DHS) and Michael Balboni, a security consultant and former NY state senator who wrote homeland security laws for his state, say even if smaller cities and towns aren't at high risk for violence and are short on the financial resources that big cities have, they should still plan and practice for terrorist attacks. Until there is centralized information-sharing between the national and local governments, it will be difficult to get localities invested in sustained antiterrorism work, Balboni said.

Serena Nanda and Joan Greg review: Culture plays an essential role in the crimes committed in these three extraordinary murder mysteries in the lives of the victims and perpetrators, and in the interactions of the investigations. Each narrative situates its action in historical realities that extend from the past into the present. These novels are all available through the public libraries and Amazon.com.

Frans Grijzenhout, Professor of Art History at the University of Amsterdam, consulted seventeenth-century records that had never before been used for this purpose and clearly indicate the site of 'The Little Street' in Delft. The discovery of the wherea…

Elizabeth Bernier writes: My oldest son had these reflections: "Parental praise has had a lasting impact. I don't mean general statements like 'good job' or 'I'm proud of you.' Those mattered, of course, but I'm talking about thoughtful praise; hearing an observation about me, coupled with specific examples that showed how closely my parent was paying attention to who I was. Another kind of real praise was expressions of deep pride and delight over who I was as a person."

23 states have legalized medical use of marijuana or effectively decriminalized it. Ohio recently voted against legalization, but another 17 states will consider the issue next year. A survey of American adults revealed that drug use disorder is common, co-occurs with a range of mental health disorders and often goes untreated. "Based on these findings, more than 23 million adults in the United States have struggled with problematic drug use," said George F. Koob, Ph.D., NIAAA director.

This Week: The International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking (H.R. 515) and a resolution condemning the ongoing sexual violence against women and children perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants (S. Res. 310); Floor Action: Health - This week, the House is scheduled to consider  S. 799, the Protecting Our Infants Act. Mark-Ups: Employment/Violence Against Women- On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

"The Department will also add the following aliases to the ISIL listing: the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), ad-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi al-?Iraq wa-sh-Sham, Daesh, Dawla al Islamiya, and Al-Furqan Establishment for Media Production. Furthermore, under the same authorities, the Department of State designated al-Nusrah Front as a standalone FTO and SDGT."

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Getting old. I absolutely hate it. There is nothing positive about the so-called golden years. Even all the senior discounts can't begin to compensate for all the disadvantages ? the aches and pains, the wrinkles, the unflattering shoes my bunions force me to wear, the fact that all the names in my little black book have 'M.D.' after them, the fact that I still have a little black book because I can't figure out how the calendar on my smart phone works.

"What the marriage equality movement really did not think about is that there is a kind of normalizing process that goes on in marriage," says Professor Melissa Murray. "Marriage signals that these people ? the sexual relations that they have ? are respectable, are valued, are worthy."

Americans are eligible to claim Social Security retirement benefits without any reduction when they reach what the Social Security Administration calls the 'full retirement age.' For people born after 1942, their full retirement age ranges from 66 to 67, depending on the year the person was born. But consumers can begin to claim their benefits at other points as well, starting either several years before or several years after their full retirement age. The outcome is not the same, however, depending on when you opt to claim your benefits.

Joan L. Cannon reviews: A Marriage of Opposites provides nuanced, layered, sensual images of a time and of people completely out of ordinary 21st Century experience. Hoffman's rich language combined with the eye of a visual as well as a verbal artist make for a uniquely vivid read. Color, temperature, atmosphere cling to a reader like a special scent long after the last page is turned.

"There is a real necessity to bridge the gap between civilians and those who have served in the military. It is our hope that the film will encourage a candid discussion in communities across the country, and create understanding and awareness of the sacrifices involved in military service," says Ric Burns, director of the film.

Partners who become romantically involved soon after meeting tend to be more similar in physical attractiveness than partners who get together after knowing each other for a while. The level of match on attractiveness was not associated with relationship satisfaction for either men or women in a study. Both friends-first and stranger-first relationships seem approximately equally happy years later. 

Stanford professor Kronengold says five decades of music makes the Bond canon "an interesting target for humanistic inquiry." He says the odd allure of the Bond music is that it maintains an underlying sameness "in an age when everything is changing faster than you can imagine." (That and stars such as Daniel Craig and Sean Connery, also known for their allure.)

What makes a good life? Usually this question is in the domain of priests, philosophers and metaphysicians but the OECD, a think tank consisting of 34 mostly rich countries, sought to find the answers with data. People's well-being is higher in Northern European countries, such as Norway and Iceland, both which score high in terms of employment and job security, as well as environmental factors. What makes a good life? Usually this question is in the domain of priests, philosophers and metaphysicians, but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),…

The artist collaborative Fallen Fruit explored Oregon's paradisiacal backyard through the lens of Portland Art Museum's permanent collection. Based in Los Angeles, artists David Allen Burns and Austin Young create site-specific projects using fruit to examine concepts of place, history, and issues of representation often addressing questions of public space.

From his earliest days as a watchmaker, Breguet set out to streamline not only the internal mechanisms but also the external forms of his watches. As the hands are an essential part of the watch, both functionally and aesthetically, it is not surprising that this is another area in which Abraham-Louis Breguet left his indelible mark.

Jacquie Murdock is a jazz aficionado, dancer, and fashion maven. Right now, she?s working on her memoir in between modeling for high-end fashion houses like Lanvin. She's also a legally blind 85-year-old New Yorker. What's it like to live in New York City as an octogenarian like Jacquie?