Drew Barrymore and Justin Long are crazy for each other after a few short weeks, but then she moves out of town. Romantic comedy ensues as they try to keep the fire burning in a cross-country relationship. Previews have deadpan married man Jim Gaffigan and creepy best friend Charlie Day (his forte) supplementing wittier humor typical of the genre. But even in preview, delivery lacks snap, and humor is blunted by fuzzy wuzzies. Probably a forgettable but happy enough distraction. Prospects:...

The Maryland General Assembly is a pretty animal-friendly place, according to the Maryland Humane Scorecard released this month. Across both houses, 117 of 188 members scored 75 percent or higher; only 12 legislators scored less than 50 percent. Forty lawmakers — six senators and 34 delegates — scored 100 percent. Representing Anne Arundel and Calvert, House Speaker Michael Busch (District 30) and Del. James Proctor ((District 27A) are 100-percenters. Eight lawmakers scored even...

If you examine a rose plant carefully, you will notice that it has compound leaves, meaning that there are either three or five leaflets to each leaf. The three-leaflet leaves appear near the top and bottom of each stem, and the five-leaflet leaves appear in the middle of the stems. In the axel of each leaf is a vegetative bud; however, the buds are more robust and pronounced in the axels of the five-leaflet leaves than in the three-leaflet leaves. You can control the growth of roses by pruning...

In not one but four books, gutsy Anne LaBastille tells her story of her life on 20 acres in the Adirondack Mountains. In Woodswoman, LaBastille meets her husband, divorces, finds her own place in the woods and, with a few helping hands, constructs a log home where she builds a new life. The next three books — Beyond Black Bear Lake, Woodswoman III and Woodswoman IV — follow LaBastille’s efforts to protect and preserve the wild Adirondack National Park and her lifestyle....