Lifestyle

Eighteen eighty-three got off to a blazing start.

LIMA — The circus is coming to town again.

FICTION

If you’ve followed this column for a while, you know this is the week when I get to share jokes and groaners that may even be remotely related to food.

Last Sunday, I got baptized. Immediately following, my daughter got baptized. Right after that, my bonus daughter got baptized. And by the end of the service, my other daughter felt God nudging at her heart and was at the alter proclaiming her salvation.

Christian Espinoza, director of a Southern California drug-treatment provider, recently began employing a powerful new assistant: an artificial intelligence algorithm that can perform eye exams with pictures taken by a retinal camera. It makes quick diagnoses, without a doctor present.

Q: My girlfriend and I moved in together about 4 months ago. We both have sons about the same age. They are nothing alike and it’s really difficult for her—and me — because she compares the boys all the time and it makes it very uncomfortable. For example, her son is very athletic, mine is not. He prefers to draw and she has out and out said my son was weird because he doesn’t want to play soccer! Weird! There’s more, but in the name of keeping this short, what’s good ex-etiquette?

CHICAGO — With a healthy dose of paranoia, fear of darkness, Felicia Bailey comes to life in the 145 pages of M. Denise Conner’s book, “Bailey’s End: Book 1 The Encounter.” Conner lets the audience glimpse the inner workings of the introverted, yet successful Felicia as she traverses the Chicago landscape trying to cope with her anxiety and bolster her mental wellness.

PHILADELPHIA — While most mainstream comics feature super-powered heroes and menacing villains bent on world destruction, Philly-based creators Don Steinberg and Rich Harrington feel the world of corporate America is just as wicked.

For many people, one of the most uncomfortable parts of a colonoscopy is the preparation for the procedure.