Abound

Have you seen the latest demon movie? Al Pacino in "Devil's Advocate," with his novelty-store fangs? Have you heard the new tune by Marilyn Manson (who hit the heights with "Antichrist Superstar"), or anything by other devil-worshipping rock stars?If so, you might wonder at the continuing preoccupation in this country with satanism, satanic cults and all their foul and bloody rituals. Such as they are. Clearly, these days people expect the worst. Especially these days.Why else would those who run animal shelters around the state (( be extra protective of the black cats under their care in the weeks before Halloween?

WASHINGTON -- We live in the age of proliferation -- not of nukes, but of presidential privileges.In its determined crusade to hornswoggle independent counsel Kenneth Starr, the Clinton White House has manufactured many previously unknown privileges and put inventive new twists on old ones.They have argued, for instance, that executive privilege applies not only to the president, but also to employees who might talk to him. While the courts have hinted that first ladies can hide from scrutiny under the auspices of privilege, nobody seems inclined to agree that a conversation with President Clinton obliges participants to observe priestly silence.

There's an old story of the country politician who always wound up his campaign speech with the ringing summation: "These are my most cherished convictions, and if you don't like 'em -- well, I'll change 'em."That exercise in candor must have been the model for the truly bizarre press conference held yesterday by Michael L. Williams, the U.S. Education Department's assistant secretary for civil rights.Williams is the man who ignited what he now concedes to be "a firestorm" last week with his ruling -- a wholly gratuitous ruling which no one had asked for -- that college scholarships designated exclusively for minority students were illegal.

    1.          When Madison Jacobson receives her Towson High School diploma on June 1, the celebration will just be getting started. Jacobson, who will head to Roanoke College in the fall, will continue the festivities at home the day after graduation, when her family throws her a garden-themed party. "It's Madison's launch from the nest," says Debbie Jacobson, her mother. "We are working with Lilly Pulitzer colors and pretty, picnicky food, like chicken salad with green grapes, croissants, fruit salad and sangria.

Could a production titled "Daddy's Girl" by a little-known playwright from Kansas offer rewarding theater? Gary Ray Stapp, who wrote his first play in 2003, sets this story - staged by Bowie Community Theater - in an eatery called Maudie's Diner and fills it with masterful one-liners and amusingly quirky characters. "Daddy's Girl" follows 25-year widower and diner proprietor Benard Muloovy as he tries to identify his long-lost daughter. A portrait of Benard's wife, Maudie, hangs on the diner wall, talking to him and enlisting the help of an angel to reunite her husband with their child Elizabeth.

Firing Ozzie Guillen isn't going to fix what's wrong with the White Sox, not in 2011 and certainly not in future seasons. To sack him and leave general manager Ken Williams in charge would be a mistake, as Guillen consistently has found a way to stay competitive without the homegrown studs who ruled Comiskey Park when Ron Schueler was the GM. But there's no easier "fix" for a team than changing its manager, and in the Williams era...

It's a sweaty kind of summer. And while the multiple days of triple-digit temperatures have made some people glow and others drip, everyone seems to be seeking ways to dry off. Some are showering more or slathering on "clinical-strength" antiperspirant. Others, some vain and some desperate, are seeking Botox injections to block the nerves stimulating sweat glands. And those living with extreme conditions are even undergoing surgery to stop sweating permanently. "Everyone sweats," said Dr. David M. Pariser, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Three marathons, one telethon, and still it seems like nothingthon.* "Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon" (continues 6 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Channel 2) -- Jerry Lewis, still at the helm of the TV fund-raising phenomenon he turned into an annual event and media institution, is planning to go the distance again, with help during this 29th annual telecast from Tony Bennett, Boyz II Men, Elayne Boosler, Larry King and others.* "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" (8-10 p.m., Channel 45) -- This 1991 telemovie, starring Christina Applegate of "Married . . . With Children," is echoed, in a way, in another Fox series, the family drama "Party of Five," which premieres a week from tonight.

An ancient Roman playwright named Plautus had a great idea for a comedy: A pair of twins are separated as infants. One twin, now grown, travels to a place where, unknown to him, he has a brother. Complications arise when the two are mistaken for one another. Many centuries later, the idea still seemed funny to Shakespeare, so he borrowed it for a play of his own. To "make assurance double sure," as Macbeth once said, he created another pair of twins, also separated at a young age and now working as servants to the first pair.

I can't stand the suspense anymore. Let's rip open those envelopes."The Cosby Show" (7: 30 p.m.-8 p.m., WNUV, Channel 54) -- Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) rounds up a bunch of his middle-aged friends (former NBA players Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and Walt Hazard) to take on a team of young women on the basketball court."Barbara Walters Special" (8p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) - As much an Oscar-night tradition as the Oscar, Ms. Walters' annual tri-fecta of movie star interviews includes Richard Dreyfuss, Oscar nominated for "Mr. Holland's Opus" and a previous winner for "The Goodbye Girl"; Annette Bening, once-nominated and married to the oft-nominated Warren Beatty; and the never-nominated Demi Moore, who shows Barbara how to do a striptease.