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For whatever reason, some issues resonate louder with fans than people in the game. Expanded use of instant replay is one of those. While Jim Joyce's missed call costing Armando Galarraga a perfect game stirred cries for instant replay, there was little response from within the game. The internal apathy — or willingness to accept bad calls, if that's what it is — was similar to last fall, when general managers barely discussed replay after a postseason in which missed calls were a hot-button topic.

There's one question that makes me cringe and instantly start doing the la-la-la, I-can't-hear-you thing with my ears: "Can I tell you how I really feel?" No, dear God, no! Anything but that! It's not that I don't care what other people think. In fact, being a reporter, I've spent a good deal of my life asking people what they think about something. (Well, usually I'm asking what they know, but people generally want to tell you what they think — big difference.)

I yelled at someone the other day. It doesn't happen often, maybe once every couple of years. You have to push the right buttons in proper sequence to set me off, but a state employee who works in the Maryland Board of Pharmacy office had my combination. I'll call the employee Wendy. (It just seems unhelpful bureaucrats shouldn't have names that contain more than two syllables.) My mission was simple. My wife is a pharmacist. She has a license in another state and wants to practice pharmacy in Maryland.

Landing both a comic and tragic punch, Kwame Kwei-Armah's "Let There Be Love" rips into as many hot-button issues as nighttime cable news-o-tainment shows - race relations, immigration, abuse, sexual identity, aging, medical care, dying with dignity. But the 2008 work by the British Afro-Caribbean playwright, receiving its American premiere in a spot-on production from Center Stage, manages to face all of these heady matters with a disarming freshness, not to mention piercing honesty. On one level, the play suggests an updated, expletive-friendly "All in the Family," with Alfred, an elderly, unwell West Indian immigrant in London, taking the Archie Bunker role.

Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Directed by David Fincher. Released by Criterion. $34.95 (Blu-ray $39.95) *** 1/2 (3 1/2 stars) dvds Cutting-edge film technology has rarely been put to better use than in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt as a man born old and growing ever-younger. Through methods that are exhaustingly broken-down in the DVD extras, makeup artists worked closely with computer wizards to, first, age Pitt several decades, and then to put his wizened face on a tiny body.

Name: : Davek Traveler Umbrella What it is: : Compact umbrella How it works: : Pretty much like any other collapsible pocket umbrella - until a gust of wind turns it inside out. Then you push a button and the umbrella closes, fixing its inside-out ribs. Pushing the button one more time redeploys the once-again-perfect umbrella. The good: : The mechanism on this sturdy umbrella works, which means no more hunting for a trash can to chuck your latest wind-ruined umbrella. It's attractive and comes in a range of colors.

This year's General Assembly session ended on a cool and dreary note. Perhaps it was befitting a dismal 90 days in Annapolis as the worst recession in a generation or three caused lawmakers to turn timid on numerous fronts. Remember when then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. told the business community some years ago to "get dangerous" with legislators? He should have recommended a rise in unemployment rates. That seemed to capture the attention of senators and delegates as powerfully as any super-lobbyist with an expense account.

College lacrosse has grown rapidly through the years, but it's not ready for the big time yet. The NCAA rules committee on lacrosse met recently to determine whether instant replay is needed. A few members thought it is time for a change, but upon further review, it isn't. There are instances when it would help, like on the last shot before time expires. Navy coach Richie Meade has seen games decided by whether a player has stepped into the crease, resulting in a goal being taken away.

Md. is ready to extend early education to all Congratulations to The Baltimore Sun on the editorial about the tremendous benefits of pre-kindergarten programs and Head Start ("Nurturing young minds," Dec. 29). Readers and state leaders should also understand that Maryland is in prime position to use new federal funding for these early care and education programs. To borrow a phrase currently in vogue, pre-K expansion is "shovel ready" in Maryland. A state-level task force has established principles for voluntary universal pre-K programs across the state.