Cobb Theatres are showing kids' movies this summer at 10 am every Tuesday，Wednesday and Thursday. Doors open at 9：30 am，and many of the theaters fill quickly with summer campers，so arrive early if you want a seat.

The films will be at three MiamiDade theaters：

◆ Dolphin 19，11471NW 12th St.，Miami；

Tel：3055910785.

Ticket Pricing：$12.00 (adult)；$9.00 (child under the age of 12)

◆ Cobb Grand 18，17355 NW 59th Ave.，Miami Lakes；

Tel：30523135252.

Ticket Pricing：$13.00 (adult)；$10.00 (child under the age of 12)

◆ Miami Lakes 17，6711 Main St.，Miami Lakes；

Tel：3055583810.

Ticket Pricing：$11.00 (adult)，$8.00 (child under the age of 12)

The schedule is as follows：

★June 14，15 and 16：Norm of the North (all three theaters) and Shaun the Sheep (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★June 21，22 and 23：Minions (all three theaters) and The Spongebob Movie；Sponge out of Water (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)；

★June 28，29 and 30：Penguins of Madagascar (all three theaters) and Dr.Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 5，6 and 7：Alvin & The Chipmunks；The Road Chip (all three theaters) and Shark Tale (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 12，13 and 14：Home (all three theaters) and The Peanuts Movie (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 19，20 and 21：The Peanuts Movie (Cobb Grand)；Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 26，27 and 28：Dr.Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Cobb Grand)；Goosebumps and Smurfs 2 (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★Aug.2，3 and 4：HotelTransylvania (Cobb Grand)；Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007) and Happy Feet (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

Caroline Solomon was on her high school's swim team. But at times she could not go into the creek（小溪）near her home. It was simply too polluted. "I decided I wanted to do something about it，"she recalls. So she studied environmental science and public policy at Harvard University in Cambridge. Later，she went to graduate school. Some of her classes could be challenging，though，since she couldn't hear her teachers. "I've been deaf since I was 15 months old，"Solomon notes.

Today she teaches biology at Gallaudet University in Washington，DC. She has no trouble communicating with her students. They，too，are primarily deaf or hard of hearing. That's why all classes at Gallaudet are taught in American Sign Language. Solomon also has an active life outside the classroom. She especially enjoys hiking，biking and other activities with her family.

Her research takes her to the Anacostia River. "It is very close to Gallaudet，and I easily bring my students there，"she says. Water running through local forests and marshes drains into this river，so does water running off urban streets，golf courses and industrial sites." The river's watershed（流域）kind of concentrates all the things that happen when humans mess with the natural landscape，"she explains. Not surprisingly，this river has developed a reputation for being quite polluted.

Solomon has been focusing on how pollutants affect tiny organisms that form the base of the river's food web. "I am now looking at the bacteria population，" she says，"to see what types there are."

Solomon wants to see more students who are deaf or have other disabilities make a difference in environmental science and other fields. As she often says, "If I can do it, you can do it."

Dealing with obesity is difficult. A lot of factors such as ethnicity, genetics, lifestyle, and personal habits should be considered in the management of obesity. Obesity, if not properly managed, can lead to a lot of health problems that may later evolve into life-threatening diseases.

The management of obesity mostly focuses on lifestyle changes. Reaching your healthy weight involves proper management of your diet and exercise. The obese person may seek the help of a dietitian or a personal trainer.

There are a lot of diets that have gained popularity. However, it is best that you consult your dietitian on what is best for you. Furthermore, your dietitian would consider your food preferences. If you are a little low in the budget, take into consideration the current dietary recommendations that were based on the food pyramid. This is researchable on the Internet. You can use this as a guide on how much you are supposed to eat.

Exercise has a lot of benefits. It burns those extra calories and prevents different health problems from occurring. Thus, exercise is vital if you wish to lose weight. People are often too lazy to engage in exercise. However, there are numerous alternatives to the-usual exercise routine. If you want things to be plain, walking or biking is a good exercise. It is important that you stick to your exercise plan so that you would achieve your desired results. However, you must set realistic goals so as not to be disappointed.

Behavioral changes are vital to conquering obesity. Those who engage in crash diets are mostly unsuccessful in weight management because they do not have any behavioral change.

Sedentary lifestyle contributes to weight gain. Perhaps adding physical activity to your schedule would help in weight management. Physical activity could be as simple as dancing around the house or just plain strolling along the mall.

“You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” That line comes from American writer Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird. Now compare her words to another famous expression: “Blood is thicker than water”.

However, if forced to choose which is more important, American researchers now say friendship is more important than family. Their new study suggests that friends may be more important than family members, especially as we age.

The study comes from researchers at Michigan State University. They found the importance of friendship on health and happiness grows as people get older.

William Chopik is an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State and was one of the lead researchers in this study. He says, “Friendship becomes even more important as we age. Keeping a few really good friends around can make a world of difference for our health and well-being.” Chopik notes that we need to think of friendship as an investment in our future happiness.

The Michigan State researchers considered information from two separate surveys. In the first group, both family and friendships influenced overall health and happiness. However, in the second, researchers said that friendships “became a stronger predictor of health and happiness” as people get older. Also in the second group, unhealthy friendships led to increased chronic conditions. But with supportive friends, Chopik noted, participants reported being happier.

One reason is that people can keep the friendships that make them feel good and move on from the ones that don’t. Family, on the other hand, will always be with you. They can be helpful and enjoyable, but can also cause troubles.

This may be good news for people who don’t have strong ties with family members. Not all of us are born into the families we need. But we all have the ability to choose friends that we need.