Family Matters

Hollywood might have self-absorbed mothers in its crosshairs (see Tea Leoni's turn in Spanglish, Meryl Streep's master manipulator in The Manchurian Candidate and the greedy, trailer-park mom from Million Dollar Baby). But selfless fathers and father figures are being celebrated, if not canonized, on America's movie screens. As a producer and a studio executive, Richard Gladstein was involved in any number of graphic and sadistic films, including Reservoir Dogs, Hurlyburly and Pulp Fiction.

Matt Harper's bedroom is a perfect mess. His desk is blanketed with papers, but don't expect the 16-year-old to organize it. That would ruin his system. A pile of posters, banners and flags litters a spare bed, which he calls the "loading dock," but they're not junk. He just hasn't had time to stick them to the ceiling. A heap of old cell phones grows in one corner, accumulated for a school fundraiser. And that weird-looking bug stuck in a plastic bag and tacked to the wall isn't going anywhere because, well, it's dead.

What, exactly, is the difference between ibuprofen and acetaminophen? Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug somewhat similar to aspirin. It lowers fever, relieves pain and reduces inflammation associated with sprains, strains and arthritis. Acetaminophen also diminishes fever and relieves pain but is less likely to ease inflammation. The biggest difference between these drugs is digestive tract upset. Acetaminophen doesn't usually cause such problems, but ibuprofen, aspirin and other NSAIDs can trigger heartburn or even ulcers.

MY COMFORTER is calling me, and I can't resist its siren song. It calls to me as soon as the sun sets, and it whispers to me at dawn. It sings to me, and its lullaby is irresistible. It has deceptive power, this down comforter in its pale blue duvet cover. Though light as a feather, it might as well be chain mail, so helpless am I to escape the weight of it on me. But then I do not struggle very hard. My comforter carries some kind of number that lets you know how warm, warmer, warmest it is. It is called "fill weight" -- no attempt to sugarcoat things here -- and the numbers range from 550 to 650. I think that refers to how many geese are now naked so that I may be warm, but I do not know for sure.

Jonathon Scott Fuqua, an award-winning children's book author who lives in Baltimore, will discuss his new novel, The Willoughby Spit Wonder, Thursday at a fund-raiser for the Woman's Industrial Exchange. The Willoughby Spit Wonder (Candlewick Press, $15.99), Fuqua's third novel for young readers, is set in 1953 in the Chesapeake region of Virginia. Carter Johnson thinks if he swims across the entire bay through a hurricane, then maybe his dying father will be inspired to beat death as well.

WHEN MYRNA BLYTH LEFT the business of editing women's magazines, she didn't just burn her bridges. She blew them up. The former editor of Ladies Home Journal and More magazines is now the author of Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness and Liberalism to the Women of America. (St. Martin's Press, $24.95) And she isn't just telling secrets out of school, such as how advertisers have co-opted the editorial content to such a degree that it's hard to tell the ads from the news items.

YOU DON'T REALIZE how out of shape you are until you are forced to climb a long flight of stairs, and the same can be said about marriage. You never know how out of shape your relationship is until a crisis hits. Mort and Ari Fertel, who recently moved to Baltimore County from Florida, faced a more tragic crisis than most. They lost a son and then twin daughters after only days of life, and they escaped their pain by running away from each other. "My wife became very depressed, and I immersed myself in work," Mort Fertel says.

Decorating for back to college used to be a no-brainer. All you had to do was buy a new bedspread, sheets, pillows and a plastic bucket in which to carry your toiletries to the communal bathroom. Not anymore. Everyone is competing for your back-to-dorm dollar -- from Ty Pennington's TYU Back to Campus Collection at Sears to Room Solutions at design-savvy Target. Even Kmart is trying to generate hipster hype with the 0-60 Collection, a brand kicked off just in time for back to school. These collections join the offerings from typical spots you shop in for dorm decor, such as Linens 'N Things, Bed Bath & Beyond and the Container Store.

JUST FOR PARENTS Advice and strategies to help your children read Holiday Hanukkah is a festival of lights Exploring the ways everyone has of celebrating together at this time of the year helps people feel connected to each other during the holiday season. Tonight Jews around the world will celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights. This holiday commemorates events that took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel. Long ago the Syrian King, Antiochus, ordered the Jewish people to reject their God, their religion and their customs.

At the conclusion of the awards ceremony for the senior class, I congratulated the father of the young man named scholar-athlete for his son's successful high school career both on the field and in the classroom "Thank you, but we still have to get through Beach Week," he said. Only the parent of another high school senior would understand that he was not making a joke or deflecting a compliment. Like a tiny electric shock, understanding passed between us. Understanding and trepidation.