Balloon

Plans for a prominent site on the eastern edge of downtown, in the heart of the city's entertainment district, have substantively shrunk since they were announced two years ago, according to Baltimore's economic development agency. Developer David Cordish intends to build only half as much as he formerly envisioned on land once home to a helium balloon ride that closed after a harrowing incident in 2004. Cordish had promised Baltimore Development Corp. that at the foot of a 250-unit high-rise of condominiums and apartments, he would build a Lucky Strike Lanes, an upscale bowling "lounge" - part of a network with 16 locations nationwide including Washington.

There's nothing like a housing slump to challenge the notion that buying a house is smarter than renting. Even in a rising market, there are times when shelling out monthly rent can make more sense than a mortgage payment. Add the anxiety generated by a down market, and all bets are off. "When you live in a house whose value goes down over the short term and you have a small down payment, then you can get stuck," noted Holden Lewis, who follows mortgage issues for Bankrate.com. At the very least, you could end up paying more to own than you would to rent.

GENEVA -- They have cleared the Alps, crossed Africa and Asia and the great Pacific. They have skirted war zones and bumped through storms. They've been practically becalmed, traveling as slow as 20 mph, using up precious fuel at 8,000 feet. And they have hurtled at speeds up to 115 mph in the jet streams at more than 35,000 feet.They have been chilled and frightened, mesmerized and challenged on an aerial journey for the ages -- the quest to become the first human beings to circumnavigate the globe nonstop in a balloon.

IN JULES VERNE'S fictional account, it took 80 days to circumnavigate the globe. Balloonists Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones completed their 29,054.6-mile trip around the world in 20 days, becoming the first humans to make such a trip. Ironically, in a era when manned space vehicles circling Earth in 90 minutes is routine, the attempt to travel the globe by air currents galvanized the world.People have long been fascinated by wind and the potential to ride the air currents like a bird. As early as the 18th century, French aristocrats and inventors were experimenting with flying in balloons.

The stakes are high at this year's Preakness extravaganza, and the horses are not the only participants preparing for the event.The spirit of competition will spread through the city as swift sprinters, skilled balloonists and savvy sailors take part in the hot-air balloon race, 5-K Preakness Run and a Great Schooner Race during the annual weeklong Preakness Celebration. It begins tomorrow and continues through May 15, the day of the Preakness Stakes.Other races during the celebration include the lighthearted Preakness Crab Derby, Lee's Ice Cream Banana Split Stakes and the Pee Wee Preakness.

NBC's Katie Couric may not mention it on television this morning, but Millennium Snoopy, the 64-foot-long opening spectacle in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, is being escorted by a troupe from Glen Burnie: friends and co-workers of Earlene Bradford, 47, an effervescent saleswoman in the children's department at Macy's Marley Station.If the cameras pan down far enough, you might spot her, a brown-haired lady toward the back of the balloon. Extra-wide glasses, smile, a bulge under her black cowl-neck sweater where her camera is hidden?

The Stanislavsky Theater Studio might not sound like a Maryland troupe, but this young company is based in Silver Spring. Founded by theater professionals who immigrated to this country from the former Soviet Union, the company takes its name from the late Russian director, actor and teacher Konstantin Stanislavsky.Tomorrow, the Stanislavsky Theater makes its Baltimore debut with the first of two productions to be performed at the Theatre Project. "The Little Tragedies," a quartet of short pieces by Alexander Pushkin, will run weekend nights through April 11. On March 20, it will be joined by matinees of a double bill of "Kashtanka," an adaptation of an Anton Chekhov story about a dog, and "The Miraculous Magical Balloon," an original pantomime.

Maryland's weeklong festival building up to the Preakness Stakes next Saturday is under way. Today's events:Hot Air Balloon Race. The weekend-long race continues with hot-air balloons, including the official Maryland State Balloon, filling the hills of Druid Hill Park, 6: 30-8 a.m. Free.5th Annual Fila 5-K Run. More than 800 runners race from Rash Field through South Baltimore beginning at 8 a.m. Entry fee is $20.25th Preakness Parade. Michael Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, Chessie Skipper George Collins and Arthur the Aardvark join marching units, floats and balloon characters in the parade along Charles and Pratt streets.

"Enduring Love," by Ian McEwan. Doubleday. 245 pages. $23.95.Take Stephen King, cut his throat - humanely - drain him of blood and gore; then remove that chisel he uses to write with and replace it with the most elegant fountain pen you can find: that may give you an idea of Ian McEwan.Like King, this British author taps into the deep desires and psychoses roiling beneath the surface currents of everyday life, but unlike America's master of horror, McEwan is, well, an artist, and the evils his characters face are never so blunt as slavering dogs or diabolical cars.

Not just hot airCelebrate Frederick County's 250th birthday with a balloon festival. Tomorrow, Balloon Glow features lighted hot-air balloons, food, souvenirs and more. Balloons will include Shamu the Whale from Sea World and a 14-story Indianapolis Race car, the largest balloon ever made.The balloon bonanza continues with Races & Chases on Saturday and Sunday. Watch the "Hare" balloon take flight and, five minutes later, the "Hounds" following in hot pursuit. The Saturday and Sunday races at the Wings of Freedom Air Show are sponsored by the Confederate Air Force at Frederick Municipal Airport.

* www.medtipster.com recently launched an early version of its drug price comparison Web site. Consumers type in their drug name, dosage and ZIP code, and can find prescription drugs available on discount generic programs and where they can find them in their neighborhoods. The site will eventually offer users information on scheduled immunizations, health screenings and mini-clinics in their area; recalls and warnings; an "Ask the Pharmacist" feature; and an online community in which individuals can share information.

The folks who work with the Berg Dental Group in Forest Hill are always looking for ways to make their patients relax. On a recent afternoon, about 25 employees at the dental clinic gathered in their break room for a class on magic and balloon sculpting. For more than an hour, the employees watched as Jeff Teate, the balloon man, showed them how to lighten up a visit to the dentist. "I was terrified of the dentist when I was a kid," said Teate, 42, of Aberdeen. "I wanted to do something to help kids become more relaxed when they go to the dentist.

Linebacker Alex Wujciak injured his knee in August practice last year and continued practicing. Having redshirted the year before, he simply decided he didn't want to miss more time. "I thought I just hyperextended it, which I had done before. So I finished practice. When I came in from practice, my knee just looked like a balloon," Wujciak said. Diagnosis: torn ACL and another year without football. But he was ready to go for 2008 spring practice and is now a starter (16 tackles against Clemson)

The annual running of the Preakness Stakes means many things to people. For horse-racing enthusiasts, it's the top 3- year-old thoroughbreds racing for $1 million in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. For gamblers, it's a chance to cash in on a spur-of-the-moment bet. But for infielders at Pimlico Race Course, it's an exercise in debauchery, where tens of thousands of partygoers are poised for just about anything but a horserace. "People seem comfortable with the fact that they'll probably never see the races," says Mark Rosencrantz, 27, of Westminster, who has attended Preakness for the past three years.

Turf Valley Resort will host a hot-air balloon festival and other activities leading up to the Preakness, the second leg of thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown. The two-day event, which will start at 2 p.m. tomorrow, will include the Hot Air Balloon Festival and a Pee-Wee Preakness with competitions for children such as three-legged races, face painting and appearances from characters such as Bob the VidTech. There also will be more than 50 vendors at the event. Balloon-related activities will include tethered and untethered rides, and walk-throughs.

For the second year in a row, Turf Valley Resort is hosting a hot air balloon festival and other activities in the days leading up to the Preakness, the second leg of thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown. The two-day event starts at 2 p.m. Thursday and will include the Hot Air Balloon Festival, and a Pee-Wee Preakness with competitions for children such as three-legged races, face-painting and appearances from characters such as Bob the VidTech. There also will be more than 50 vendors at the event.

For Baltimoreans, the month of May is quite an eventful time. With the annual running of the million-dollar Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 17, there are a variety of adult and family-friendly events taking place throughout the city, leading up to the big race, starting tomorrow. Live Music by the Crawdaddies --Kicking off an entire series of summer concerts, the Crawdaddies perform their signature Cajun, zydeco, roots rock and ska-based music from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Belvedere Square, York Road and Belvedere Avenue.

Julio Valcarcel III built a self-propelled machine, a remote-controlled robot and a wooden catapult for competitions yesterday at the Maryland State Science Olympiad at the Johns Hopkins University. He is 13. In an event dubbed "The Scrambler," the Thurmont Middle School eighth-grader and his seventh-grade teammate Morgan Smith launched the self-propelled device from a ramp toward a wall 9 meters away. It had to start and stop on its own, without cracking a raw egg attached to the contraption's nose (hence the name of the event)

1. Any commercial that references The Godfather has got to rate high. The Audi spot goes to a mansion's bedroom with a man waking up to pull back the blankets and find sheets covered in oil and the torn-off grill of a car. He unleashes a blood-curdling scream. Not sure I'm buying an Audi because of it, but entertaining. 2. Feel that beat of "What Is Love." Look at the bobblehead dolls, then the people's heads bobbing as they start to doze off. Until they drink Diet Pepsi Max. Then everyone is in the old Saturday Night Live sketch, bobbing along energetically to the Haddaway hit. SNL alum Chris Kattan shows up at the end to tell everybody to stop it. 3. Peanuts, get your peanuts.

There's nothing like a housing slump to challenge the notion that buying a house is smarter than renting. Even in a rising market, there are times when shelling out monthly rent can make more sense than a mortgage payment. Add the anxiety generated by a down market, and all bets are off. "When you live in a house whose value goes down over the short term and you have a small down payment, then you can get stuck," noted Holden Lewis, who follows mortgage issues for Bankrate.com. At the very least, you could end up paying more to own than you would to rent.