Fluff — from a maudlin tearjerker to disaster porn — As a movie lover, I have a set of standbys that draw my attention when I’m flipping channels. These movies may not be the ones I recommend to my erudite friends, but they serve as my comfort food. …

And I’ve got an agenda — As a West Pennsylvania farm cat, I had, like, zero opportunities to see the world. The way I saw it, when Dr. Jill came to the farm to give a speech, I had my one chance to split this cider stand with absolutely nothing to lose. I plastered on my…

Tales of on-stage performer banter — Concerts are intense, lengthy affairs with ample time for musicians to go off-script and ad-lib to the crowd. People don’t listen to concerts to get life advice from musicians* much as no one wants to listen to a Ted Cruz rendition of Born to Run. …

A bizarre story with 10 baffling details — Occasionally, a news story appears chock full of nutso details but lacking adequate explanation. This November 23, 2022 story of the nurse accused of amputating a patient’s foot for display in her family’s taxidermy shop is one such example. These ten gruesome highlights of the article raise plenty of questions: 1. A 62-year-old man in Wisconsin fell in his house. The heat cut out. Exposure to the cold caused severe frostbite on both feet. He entered a nursing home where hospice nurses expected imminent death from causes other than frostbite.

A retirement guide for the terminally aware — Those who read publications like “Crow’s Feet” likely weigh the important senior questions. Collect Social Security at 62, 67, or 70? Long-term care insurance — yea or nay? What if we knew how much longer we’d live? First-time novelist Nikki Erlick provocatively explores this question in her 2022 book, “The…

Slow and steady wins the race — Many old-age “highs” — high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol — may be resolved through weight loss. For most people eligible for AARP membership, packing on the pounds or kilograms is astonishingly simple, and losing it is absurdly difficult. …

Matt Saracen, Smash Williams, and the Dillon Panthers redux — Times are tough for Dillon Panthers football. Tammy Taylor left her high school guidance counselor job in a huff, incensed that most of the school budget goes to the team. Yet, even an NFL-level scoreboard and full-time groundskeeping crew aren’t sufficient for the insatiable Panthers. The smarmy but weirdly persuasive…

Better communication, less testosterone — My unrepentant cardiologist soured me on male doctors many years ago when I had a brush with death related to a flawed medical decision. I didn’t know if women made better doctors than men. But from that point on, I vowed to choose female doctors whenever possible. My original, factory-issued…

Daily routines make David a dull boy — No question, good habits are hard to acquire and even harder to cement. That’s why self-help books like Atomic Habits and The Power of Habit fly off the shelves, purchased by strivers hoping to turn New Year’s resolutions into permanent habits. The relentless quest to acquire healthy habits blinds people…