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Seek out the sweet stuff during N.E.’s maple syrup season

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Could New England’s mud season be the sweetest season of all?If we’re talking maple syrup – that super sweet sap we take from trees and boil down to magic – it is.Discovering the maple syrup process and products across the region can make for delightful day or weekend trips. Part of the charm: visiting quaint towns along the way.“One of the nice things about us,” said Dave Fuller, owner of Fuller’s Sugar House (www.fullerssugarhouse.com) in Lancaster and a long-time member of the New Hampshire Maple Producer’s Association, “is that we are truly accessible. If you see steam coming out of a sugarhouse, stop in.”Maple harvesters as a whole, he said, love to share their art and craft. And coming out of the long winter, he said, it’s a welcome event.“Really, maple syrup is the first crop of the season,” he said. “Some people milk cows. We milk trees.”New England states rank high in maple product production, with New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts all busy with sap...

Markelle Fultz’s career-high 28 points lifts Magic to road win over Clippers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Before the Orlando Magic’s 113-108 Saturday road win over the Los Angeles Clippers, coach Jamahl Mosley addressed the “small pieces” of Markelle Fultz’s game that “go unnoticed.”“His level of communication with his teammates, getting guys in the right position. Constantly playing with a sense of joy for the game. Those are the little things he provides this team,” Mosley said.“The pace in which we’re playing has changed because of how he pushes the basketball.”Fultz (career-high 28 points to go with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals) displayed this throughout Saturday when it was needed, helping the Magic complete the fourth-quarter comeback to give them the first win of their four-game trip.His 4 first-quarter steals set the tone defensively and helped the Magic score easy points in transition. The Magic finished with a season-high 14 steals.But when he subbed in at 4:44 remaining with the Magic having a 93-91 lead ...

Can dogs become vegetarians?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Dear Dr. John,I have heard that some vegan and vegetarian people are now feeding their dogs the same diets. Is this safe for the dogs?  I also heard that dogs that are not spayed or neutered bark more. This information came from a person who owned a boarding kennel. I want to respect their experience, but it doesn’t seem to make sense to me. J.F.Dear J.F.,Social media and the internet provide a great deal of information but misinformation as well. One needs to be judicious in believing what they research or read. I cannot begin to stress how many veterinarians are frustrated by Dr. Google. The crazy thing about information from respected sources is that there are experts that can come down on both sides of any issue.The vegan and vegetarian issue when it comes to feeding dogs has been around for some time now. Most veterinarians that I am familiar with are not advocates but there are some veterinarians that support such dietary lifestyle. Dogs are omnivorous but technically are carn...

Ones to watch: ‘Magician’s Elephant,’ ‘Extrapolations’ & more

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Here are some of the week’s TV shows well-worth tuning in to:‘The Magician’s Elephant’Celebrated author Kate DiCamillo should be tickled pink by this animated film version of her 2009 children’s classic, a rip-roaring adventure about a teenager who must perform three impossible tasks to find his sister. The story nods to “E.T.” and “The Wizard of Oz,” but it’s a wholly original tale, one that Hans Christian Andersen would be proud to call his own. First-time director Wendy Rogers steers the comedy and cast, which includes Mandy Patinkin and Oscar-nominated Brian Tyree Henry, like an old pro. Netflix‘The Daily Show’Since Trevor Noah stepped down as host in December, the series has relied on guest hosts like Wanda Sykes, Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn and Hasan Minaj. Now, it’s Al Franken’s turn. The former Minnesota senator may have taken a long hiatus from comedy but his substitute duties on “Jimmy ...

Schoen & Mangel: President Biden’s economic woes piling up

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

In September, Doug warned that the U.S. economy was on the brink of a crisis that would cause real pain for American households and businesses. Economists at the time posited that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive efforts to combat surging inflation, while necessary, portended an impending recession, or worse, a period of stagflation.Six months later, the economic crisis that we – along with many others – feared is unfolding before our eyes, and has taken on a new dimension.Last week, in the span of 72 hours, two banks – Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the country, and the New York-based Signature Bank – collapsed, forcing the federal government to intervene in order to avert a breakdown in the global financial system.The consequences of these failures will take months to actualize, but in all likelihood, other banks will rein in lending, triggering a credit crunch and greater volatility in the stock market. Taken together with the continued fallout from the quickest pa...

PBS offers fresh take on portrait of ‘Marie Antoinette’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Sunday’s “Marie Antoinette” on PBS brings a 21st century focus to  one of history’s most enduring enigmas.Re-imagined by writer Deborah Davis (her Oscar-winning “The Favorite” mocked eccentric English royalty), this is emphatically a sympathetic portrait.Emilia Schüle, a Russian-born German actress, began with only vague notions about the Austrian princess.“Like everyone else, what I knew about her was mostly based on Sofia Coppola’s film. I knew she was beheaded. I knew she said, ‘Let them eat cake’ and she was addicted to dresses and parties and gambling.“And that perception totally changed,” Schüle, 31, said in a Zoom interview from Europe.“Because the first episode that Deborah Davis wrote is about Marie’s journey from Austria  to Paris where she’s about to be married off — and it is written like a nightmare! You really feel for that poor 14-year-old that’s been sent away from her mother, from her home country, to marry some guy she’s never met.“And this ...

How Javier Assad’s offseason velocity program and WBC performance has him in contention for Chicago Cubs roster spot

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Adbert Alzolay’s emoji game got a workout this past week.Alzolay tuned in for both of Chicago Cubs teammate Javier Assad’s stellar relief appearances for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. And as Assad racked up the scoreless innings on the international stage, Alzolay made sure to give his performances a shout out on Twitter, punctuated with the appropriate emoji.“I mean, he’s just electric,” Alzolay told the Tribune. “Seeing him growing up in the minors and now seeing him on the biggest stage right now doing what he’s doing against the hitters and the teams he’s been doing it against tells you that this guy is already ready for the playoffs.”Like Alzolay, most of Justin Steele’s career has overlapped with Assad’s at the minor- and major-league levels.“That’s Assad, baby,” Steele said. “That’s just how he is. He’s really good.”Assad’s success in the WBC built of...

The difference between home state & habitual residence

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Q. My ex-boyfriend and I are fighting about where I can live with our daughter.  Kelly was originally born here but we moved to Ireland during the pandemic (where my ex is from).  She was only three at the time and his parents cared for her so he could work and I could continue my PhD program remotely.  We never intended to live there permanently, just during the lockdown.I moved back in March, 2022 to defend my dissertation, attend my graduation and get Kelly ready to begin school here in September.  He chose not to move back.  I got engaged over New Years and when my ex learned of my impending marriage, he filed for custody of Kelly and the right to move her to Ireland.  He keeps threatening to file that I kidnapped her.My lawyer said it’s not a problem because Massachusetts is Kelly’s home state.  His lawyer keeps telling the judge that Ireland is Kelly’s habitual residence.  What is the difference in these terms?A. Unless he files an action under the Hague Kidnapping Conve...

Boston Israeli Film Festival spotlights diverse, exciting lineup

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

For Lisa Gossels, the artistic director of this week’s Boston Israeli Film Festival (BIFF), part of the challenge and reward of programming is the films themselves – and the reactions they can provoke.In selecting movies she chooses “what our community and Boston-area audiences will be excited to see.”Gossels looks at both subject matter and issues. “This year, 50% of the films in our festival are directed by women.  Festivalgoers will find films about love and family relationships. People longing for and seeking connection. A range of social justice issues, and overcoming adversity and moving through trauma to healing.”Beginning Sunday, then on March 21 and 23, BIFF presents four in-person programs and then virtually from March 26-29 with three programs.“This is only the second festival I’ve programmed,” she said, “but I’m always looking for representation to hopefully experience different perspectives in nonfiction and fiction.”“The Narrow Bridge” she calls, “An extraordinary docu...

When child keeps a secret from the other parent

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:19 GMT

Q. I have been divorced for six years. My son is 14. When he wants to tell me something important, he starts the sentence with, “Mom, don’t tell Dad, but…” I promise him I won’t say a thing, but I feel very guilty not letting his dad in on some of the conversations. Since my son says he prefers to be with me, the last thing I want to do is betray his trust. What’s good ex-etiquette?A. First, it’s “our” son, not “my” son, and if you adopt that mindset, you may not be as torn as you appear to be. It’s not your son and you against dad. It’s dad and you for your son. If your son is asking you to keep something from dad, he’s probably afraid of dad’s reaction.Or — and this is something parents hate to hear — asking one parent to not tell the other is a subtle way to divide and conquer. If you don’t compare notes, your son is ruling the roost. He can say “Dad said this,” “Mom said that,” and no one is checking to see if it’s true.That, and “Don’t tell Dad (or Mom),” is also standard behav...