Butterfly

Never one to shy away from a challenge, the Spotlighters opens a production of David Henry Hwang's difficult-to-stage drama, "M. Butterfly," tomorrow. The seemingly bizarre plot is based on an actual event -- a 20-year love affair between a French diplomat and a Chinese opera star, who deceived him and his country in a most unusual manner.John Decker portrays the diplomat and Lee Baliton, the opera singer, reprising roles they recently played in Silver Spring. Direction is by Joseph Senatore.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Michael Phelps remembers this as the city where he "came back," prompting his coach Bob Bowman to ask with mock innocence, "from where?" Bowman well knows, of course, that Phelps was referring to swimming his first race, the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix in 2009, after returning from a suspension after a photo of him with a marijuana bong surfaced. This weekend, he competed here for the last time, another stop in the valedictory lap he has been taking as he trains for his fourth and final Olympics this summer.

David Henry Hwang is a busy man. Even his hair looks busy; it stands up in prickly bristles as if it could conduct electricity.Yet, like his plays, Mr. Hwang gives off contradictory signals.This is the man Time magazine described as having "the potential to become the first important dramatist of American public life since Arthur Miller, and maybe the best of them all." But there's nothing pretentious about him.In the lounge at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre -- where his Tony Award-winning play, "M. Butterfly," begins a one-month run Tuesday -- he sits with a leg casually draped over a neighboring chair.

Michael Phelps won his second gold medal of the Columbus Grand Prix by cruising to victory in the 200-meter butterfly Saturday. His time of 1 minute, 55.17 seconds unofficially is the fastest in the world this year. "It's my second-fastest in-season time ever," said Phelps, of Baltimore. "I guess I can't complain too much, but I wanted to break [1:55]. There's some little, small stupid things that I shouldn't be making mistakes doing — a couple of walls I was long on and breathing off the first stroke the last two 50s. It wasn't very good.

A few details that don't work can sometimes make opera go awry, resulting in three hours of thinking, "Why didn't I go to see 'Ace Ventura, Pet Detective?' " That was the view here -- admittedly a minority opinion at Saturday night's performance -- of the Washington Opera's production of Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly."This "Butterfly" not only couldn't take off, but also continually made one aware of Puccini's sentimental machinery. When Cio-Cio-San (or Butterfly) sings to her 3-year-old son that she is killing herself for his sake, a listener shouldn't be able to realize that the reason for her suicide is simply that the composer wants to make us weep.

THUS FAR it's safe to say that our Little League team, the Cubs, is having one hell of a fine season, especially if you don't count the time our catcher Matt got clocked in the nose with a relay throw, or the time our third baseman Sean R. took a one-hop grounder to the jaw, or the time one of our dads took a screaming foul ball to the forehead and needed stitches to close a gash the size of the Grand Canyon.The problem is, they won't let us play with hockey masks in this league. So we've had to shake off these various injuries (easy for me to say; I haven't been hit -- yet)

A movie of unforced nobility and quiet pleasures, "Butterfly" works on all sorts of levels: as a rationale for why good people do bad things, as a condemnation of political movements that forget about the people they're leading, and as a testimony to the value of a good teacher. Set in the days just before the Spanish Civil War, "Butterfly" unfolds through the eyes of Moncho (Manuel Lozano), a young boy deathly afraid of starting school because he's heard the teacher hits people. One look at Don Gregorio (Spanish actor Fernando FernM-an Gomez)

SOMERS, N.Y. -- Like any new father, John Karidis beams when people fuss over his new baby, oohing and aahing as they crouch in for a close look."It is the same reaction from everyone," he said.This time, however, it isn't his toddler daughter that everyone is gushing about -- though she does play an important role. It's his Butterfly.Mr. Karidis is the International Business Machines Corp. inventor who helped create the company's newest Thinkpad portable computer. His contribution, a breakthrough in portable computing, is a full-sized keyboard that tucks itself neatly inside the tiny machine when the top is closed.

The Baltimore Opera Company began the season in financial trouble and showed off a juicy Carmen in Isola Jones. It ends its 40th year in good financial graces and with soprano singing Madama Butterfly as beautifully as Giocomo Puccini fans might ever hope.Watanabe's Baltimore debut as Cio-Cio-San Saturday at The Lyric was one of the highlights of the music season here. From the moment her entering voice sailed over the other geishas, she was a wonder to hear. Her voice was as pure in its phrasing, tone and sureness as her sincere parting words to Kate Pinkerton: "Be happy always, don't feel sad for me."

ATLANTA - Matt Johnson of Johns Hopkins defended his NCAA title in the 100-yard butterfly Friday with a meet-record time of 48.67 seconds, breaking the record that he had set in the morning preliminary during the Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at Emory University.The previous record was 49.02, which was set at last year's meet by Tom Richner of Denison.Johnson, who was swimming in the 200 butterfly finals last night, also earned All-America honors in the 200 freestyle relay (second place)

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Swimming Columbia Clippers Columbia Aquatics Clippers swim team participated in two meets in December, the Maryland Suburban Swim Club's Christmas Championship at Fairland Aquatics Center and the Sport Fair Winter Classic at George Mason.

I was surprised to see several monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) fluttering around our "mums" (chrysanthemums) within two days of Jack Frost burying the plants beneath several inches of snow. Living a mere two to eight weeks, monarch butterflies migrate from north to south and then back again - making the round trip between Canada and Mexico during the course of several generations. They start the southward leg of their migration in August. Since they feed on plant nectar and not many plants bloom at this time of year, these colorful insects congregate around our mums.

Winfield Elementary School outdoor school teacher Mary Hoy was dressed for the part on Oct. 19 when school's kindergarten class hosted a butterfly celebration. The class held a "butterfly parade" — inside the school because of poor weather — but went outside to release the butterflies and celebrate their migration to Mexico. Hoy and the students "sprouted" wings to mark the occasion.

It's always a treat to spot a butterfly flying through your garden, and your appreciation is enhanced knowing that these short-lived insects are as ephemeral as they are colorful. What you probably didn't know is that so many butterflies that have forever flown from the scene are resting in perpetuity - actually, just for a few weeks - in an art installation at the Columbia Art Center. Rebecca Bafford's "The Butterfly Bones Series" makes an immediate impression by placing indoors something that we ordinarily expect to encounter outdoors.

In the final weekend of the Prince-Mont Swim League season, Russett and West Arundel placed second in their divisional meets July 23, while Laurel City battled tough to earn a third-place finish in Division F. Silver Spring (Division A) and Montpelier (Division C) each placed fifth in their divisions, while West Laurel placed sixth in Division B. Swimmers who placed first in their divisional competition received an automatic bid to compete in the league's all-star meet July 30 atWhitehall Pool and Tennis, in Bowie.

Don't look now, but Maryland's state insect is fluttering away. The Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, named for the state's founding Calvert family, has dwindled to just a handful of places, mostly in Western Maryland. Experts worry that the butterfly, once fairly common, may disappear entirely from the state. Pockets of dedicated butterfly lovers, though, are trying to slow or even reverse the decline by breeding the species in captivity. One such nursery is in a tent in back of an old maintenance shed at Black Hill Regional Park in Montgomery County.

The Baltimore Opera Company ends its season with two critically acclaimed singers, soprano Yoko Watanabe as Cio-Cio-San and tenor Richard Estes as Pinkerton, in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," opening at 8:15 p.m. Saturday at The Lyric Opera House.Love, faithfulness, faithlessness, honor, death and other operatic staples are bound up in the popular 1904 opera. The story was loosely adopted for "Miss Saigon," the current Vietnam War-era hit now on Broadway.Watanabe has become for many the Butterfly.

A breeding effort aimed at increasing the population of the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly - the official state insect - has suffered a setback, in part because of some unruly Montgomery County geese. Dozens of checkerspot caterpillars that successfully wintered at a Montgomery County farm escaped into the wild when pet geese apparently poked holes in the cages that confined the insects to the turtlehead plants on which they breed. Meanwhile, 23 caterpillars that had been growing in a tent at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore under the supervision of volunteers are down to just 14 insects.

Atholton The Atholton Swim Club Barracudas lost their first dual meet of the 2011 season to the Summer Hill Stingrays, 245-234. Barracuda swimmers recorded 88 best times. Ally VanNetta (11-12) and Timmy VanNetta (9-10) each won all four of their individual events. Taylor Myers (11-12) and Ryan Murphy (7-8) each won all three of their individual events and swam for winning relay teams. Winning two individual events and swimming for a winning relay team were Will Essl (13-14)

Basketball Tucker's 7 steals help U.S. to U-16 women's gold medal New Town guard Jannah Tucker broke a U.S. record with seven steals as the Americans won the FIBA Americas U-16 women's gold medal late Saturday night with a 73-40 rout of Brazil in Merida, Mexico. "It is surreal," Tucker, a rising junior, said of winning gold. "It's a great accomplishment, and I'm just proud to represent the USA. " Tucker finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.