Clown

So far in 2012, Hampden has been a pretty crazy place. What I mean is, right before I sat down to write this column, I was outside trying to take a picture of a clown. No, I don't mean some goofball, I literally mean a clown. As in party clown. I noticed one across the street, hanging out. So I thought I'd try to get a picture of her. But then she kept staring at me and I became frightened. Clowns can be scary - just ask any child. So then, I'd go back inside and try to sneak back out, but she'd see me and keep staring at me and I'd get afraid all over again.

What is the big deal about what is going on in Annapolis ("After breakdown, what?" April 11)? We all know what's going to happen. The ringmaster ( Gov.Martin O'Malley) will call the circus back to Annapolis. They will then pass new tax laws that will hurt the people of Maryland. The clowns will pat each other on the back and adjourn. They will go home and think how to do it again next year. Ed Forsht, Glen Burnie

The New York Daily News had a simple message this morning for Donald Trump, whose faux campaign for president has gotten increasingly weirder as his "Apprentice" TV ratings rise.  That message? You're a clown.  Calling him "Sideshow Don," the Daily News painted circus makeup on The Donald's face and ran a big quote from White House senior adviser David Plouffe, who said Sunday that Trump had "zero chance" of winning the presidency.  As someone who (strenuously)

It's "The Amazing Race" Season 20! I need a flashy hand signal, but I don't have enough fingers! Oh, wait, I figured it out. Make your own flashy hand signal at home, because this recap requires audience participation. Do you know what Phil Keoghan has been up to? Well, what he was up to a couple of years ago? He was riding his bike across America and making a documentary about it. To commemorate that ride, Phil is making all of the teams cycle to the starting line while wearing skintight "Amazing Race" jerseys.

When Robert Dorfman was cast as Feste, the clown in Cente Stage's production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," the director asked if he could walk on a 4-foot rubber ball.To any other actor, this might have seemed an unlikely request. But Mr. Dorfman, 40, spent the early part of his career as a clown with the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.When other aspiring actors were study- ing in conservatories or struggling through auditions, he was wearing a patched tuxedo and performing a flea circus act.So, walk on a ball?

It's "The Amazing Race" Season 20! I need a flashy hand signal, but I don't have enough fingers! Oh, wait, I figured it out. Make your own flashy hand signal at home, because this recap requires audience participation. Do you know what Phil Keoghan has been up to? Well, what he was up to a couple of years ago? He was riding his bike across America and making a documentary about it. To commemorate that ride, Phil is making all of the teams cycle to the starting line while wearing skintight "Amazing Race" jerseys.

Residents say someone is clowning around in the Stevens Forest Apartments in East Columbia, but they don't think he's funny.Howard County police say they're working to separate fact from fiction in a series of sightings of a man -- with a face painted white, baggy clown pants, big red shoes and green hair -- who is scaring children.So far, there have been no reports of the clown touching children.While the sightings may be true, this story parallels a sporadic and unfounded rumor that has cropped up around the country.

AS A KID growing up in Glen Burnie, Jay D'Amico would clown around a lot for laughs. Now, at 25, he's still getting laughs -- as well as applause and a paycheck -- for his antics.D'Amico is a clown with the traveling Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus. On Tuesday, when the circus comes to Harundale Mall, it will be the young performer's first "professional" appearance in the old neighborhood since he joined the circus four years ago.D'Amico is one of eight clowns in the circus, which plays about 120 cities in the East over an eight-month period.

MILLERSVILLE resident Lois Gallagher discovered her love for the art of clowning while working in a bank. Her colleagues decided to wear costumes for Halloween a couple of years back, and Gallagher dressed up as a clown. As she greeted customers, Gallagher recalls, she was entranced by the smiles her clowning brought to adults and children alike. Gallagher decided then and there that she was good at making people laugh, and she wanted to learn more about clowning. Two years later, Gallagher still works at the bank.

Though he's wiped off the greasepaint and hung up the baggy pants, John Paul Ward can't seem to stop clowning around at the Florence Bain Senior Center in Columbia.Reach for a handshake and you're likely to get a lollipop instead, as the 82-year-old Columbia resident and former amateur clown makes his daily rounds, dispensing cheer and sweets."I carry them in my pocket everywhere I go," says Mr. Ward, who goes through a box of 100 lollipops every two weeks at Florence Bain. "I've always enjoyed clowning, and people get a kick out of it."

So far in 2012, Hampden has been a pretty crazy place. What I mean is, right before I sat down to write this column, I was outside trying to take a picture of a clown. No, I don't mean some goofball, I literally mean a clown. As in party clown. I noticed one across the street, hanging out. So I thought I'd try to get a picture of her. But then she kept staring at me and I became frightened. Clowns can be scary - just ask any child. So then, I'd go back inside and try to sneak back out, but she'd see me and keep staring at me and I'd get afraid all over again.

The joke began simple enough: "One hundred eighty-five gorillas walk into a bar. The bartender says, 'Sorry, we don't serve your kind here.'" Members of the Severna Park High School Improv Team stood beneath bright lights, and one by one each stepped forward and offered the best think-fast punch line. "Awww, we heard the Monkees were playing. " "What? But you served Darwin. " "But all we want is a little vine. " The exercise capped a two-hour practice of wisecracks and wit, puns and ploys designed to fine-tune the budding comedy skills of a group that regularly stages on-campus shows, often requesting material from their audiences.

A group of reporters was gathered around Ravens center Matt Birk this week, asking difficult questions about the team's pitiful pass protection, when someone across the locker room turned up his stereo as loud as it would go and began to sing. You didn't even need to turn around to identify the troubadour. Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in the Ravens' locker room over the last five years knew immediately that it was Terrell Suggs. When things get a little too tense during the season, especially after a difficult loss, there are a few things you can always count on at the team's complex in Owings Mills.

It's late on a steamy August morning. Forty scholars and their lecturer have been at their studies for a couple of hours. One of the more challenging courses in the summer program at Anne Arundel Community College is already well under way. But there are no desks or chalkboard. The classroom is a gym, and six young people are walking the floor on stilts. Eight more spin plates on sticks, and one weaves his way through the commotion on a bicycle the size of a ringmaster's hat. Welcome to Circus Camp, a five-day, 40-hour expedition through the big-top arts in which comedy is king, the teacher is a clown and the students — county children between the ages of 7 and 14 — will be able to conquer the course material only if they can manage not to take themselves too seriously.

The New York Daily News had a simple message this morning for Donald Trump, whose faux campaign for president has gotten increasingly weirder as his "Apprentice" TV ratings rise.  That message? You're a clown.  Calling him "Sideshow Don," the Daily News painted circus makeup on The Donald's face and ran a big quote from White House senior adviser David Plouffe, who said Sunday that Trump had "zero chance" of winning the presidency.  As someone who (strenuously)

They make a pretty easy crowd, these 4- and 5-year-olds packed into a basement TV room. Hugs the Clown, bright as a rainbow in red-sequined tie and mismatched shoes, is playing them for all they're worth. "Are you ready to have fun?" she asks. "Yeah!" they cry. And all 15 scream as the Anne Arundel County entertainer pulls a flag from a hat, waves a collapsing magic wand and shows them a bouquet of petunias that droop in her hand. It's a private party to celebrate summer, one of about 5,000 similar gigs she has performed in her day. Now in her 25th year on the circuit, Hugs the Clown — also known as Judy Ewald, 68, a self-taught artist and entrepreneur who lives in Arnold — is one of the longest-tenured full-time clowns in the Baltimore area.

AS THE NEW year unfurls, I am thankful for many things, including the fact that, as a paid voyeur of the Baltimore scene, I can learn something new almost every day about people, places and things. Yesterday, I learned the following: 1. "Balloonatic" is an accepted term in the entertainment industry. 2. There is an artistic difference between a "balloonatic" and a clown who merely makes animals out of balloons for children. 3. Despite their apparent composure, rabbits in magic acts generally do not perform up to standard in noisy rooms.

Being the house band at MTV's Beach House is no, er, day at the beach.Just ask David Walker of the Annapolis band, Bovox Clown. Even though it's barely 8 p.m., Walker is beat.Bovox Clown spent nearly nine hours taping Beach House segments in the Hamptons on Long Island; and having to play songs, soak up sun and frolic with good-looking beach kids has taken its toll."I don't know if you can imagine being fatigued from being out in the sun," he says, laughing. "But after eight hours of standing there with your guitar, you're just ready to go to sleep."

Salary: $50,000 Age: 60 Years on the job: 23 How he got started: David Felzenberg received his undergraduate degree from American University in political science. He worked for 30 years as a fundraiser for nonprofit groups, primarily those in health care. While working, he earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Maryland, College Park and became a certified fundraising executive. Twenty-three years ago, while looking for part-time work, he took an eight-week class on clowning.

Salary: : $10,000 per season Age: : 73 Years on the job: : 3 How he got started: : Fifty years ago, a friend asked Marty Kurland to fill in as a clown to entertain at an event. Kurland did, and he loved it. For the next 30 years, he performed as a part-time clown and later as a magician at birthday parties, events and school happenings. He also worked at the Social Security Administration full time as an administrative assistant, trainer and policy writer. Here he formed a clown club where he and fellow employees would perform at Social Security events and later at other government events like the annual White House Easter Egg Roll and the Christmas party for children of diplomats.