A&E

We all know the general rules of staying healthy during the holiday season — wash our hands, cover our coughs and sneezes and stay home from work (and holiday parties) when we’re sick. But what else can we do to give ourselves the best chance of staying happy and healthy during what can be a difficult time of year?

In Stronger, Jeff Bauman goes to see the Boston Marathon to impress a girl named Erin, and loses his legs to a terrorist’s bomb. His obnoxious family rushes to the hospital and continues to scream at each other throughout the film. In contrast, Erin’s demeanor is reserved. She dumped Jeff before the race, was wary of meeting him at the finish line, and is challenged by his injury and subsequent double amputation. But she still shows up to be at his bedside and takes a slew of undisguised verbal abuse from Jeff’s alcoholic mother. In addition, two other issues take center stage: the unflinchingly realistic portrayal of Jeff’s recuperation, and the constant pressure exerted by the Boston community to have Jeff be their “poster boy” for the “Boston Strong” mantra.

Saddle up, there’s an equestrian shindig just around the

One of Murphy’s Laws is that you can’t get something clean without getting something else dirty. Depending on how you wash your car, you may be trading a dirty car for a polluted creek because the water that flows into our storm drains does not get treated, it flows directly into our creeks.

Since animals can’t speak our language, Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue is appealing to the community on their behalf.