When I was a kid, Batman and Superman didn’t just kick supervillains’ butts, they also helped me battle the slings and arrows of outrageous adolescence. I had already read many exciting classic novels like The Three Musketeers, Ivanhoe and Treasure Island, which gave me hope that — unlike the mind-numbingly boring daily routine of childhood — adulthood could be an exciting adventure in which the battle to defeat evil and corruption paid off in massive public adoration and endless attractive women. Comic books were a modern shorthand version of those thick old books, made more exciting by the addition of superpowers or cool gadgets.

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar celebrated Ramadan with the Israeli Consul General Sam Grundwerg on Thursday. Grundwerg hosted an Iftar dinner, or the meal eaten at sundown during the Ramadan period of fasting observed by Muslims.

Princeton University awarded honorary degrees during Commencement exercises Tuesday, June 6, to five individuals for their contributions to athletics, education, the humanities, public service and the sciences.