Columnist

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

Having commented repeatedly on the literacy and exclusivity of the audience for this blog, I'd like to turn today to some particulars. Assuming, I think reasonably, that people who follow me as @johnemcintyre on Twitter are also likely readers of this blog, I present some recent followers and their self-descriptions. carrie mason-draffen (@newsgirlie): "Newsday reporter/columnist, author of 151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People. " Haven't read it, but if it excludes firearms and the cat, it must be an impressive list.  Lauren Raab @raablauren "Copy editor at @latimes.Contributor t o @latimespast.

The Howard County edition of The Sun is looking for a new community columnist for the Ellicott City/Elkridge page, which is published every Monday. Anyone living in that area who is interested in the position can send a resume and, if possible, writing samples to Michael Hill at The Sun at 5570 Sterrett Place, Suite 300, Columbia 21044; or fax to 410-715-2816. For more information, call 410-715-2821.Pub Date: 2/16/98

Colleges Terps drop series finale to N.C. State in baseball Maryland surrendered seven runs in the first two innings and lost to host North Carolina State, 9-4, in the series finale Sunday. The Terps (15-12, 4-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) were undone by nine Wolfpack hits and three errors in the first two innings. N.C. State (19-10, 5-7) recorded 18 hits compared to the Terps ' 10. Matt Bosse and Charlie White each had two hits for Maryland. Blake Schmit went 2-for-5, including a solo home run, his team-leading second of the year.

Jane W. Courtney, a former newspaper columnist, accomplished needlepoint worker and volunteer, died Thursday of a stroke at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 76. The daughter of a salesman and a seamstress, the former Jane Weismuller was born and raised in Livingston, N.J. She was a graduate of Livingston High School. After her marriage to James M. Courtney Jr., a chemical engineer, in 1951, the couple lived in Newark, and later moved to Mendham, N.J. Mrs. Courtney studied writing at the County College of Morris in Morristown, N.J., and at New York University's New School.

Susan Reimer must have been in a hurry to excoriate Rep. Paul Ryan because she didn't bother to get her facts or her logic straight ("Ryan and the GOP's women problem," Aug. 16). When did Rep. Paul Ryan disrespect nuns? Ms. Reimer says the nuns' objections to Mr. Ryan's economic principles are a bellwether for other women voters. But she's so anxious to get that Democratic propaganda out that she gets the message garbled in the process. When Congressman Ryan was "jousting" with the Jesuit priests at Georgetown, I wonder if he got their opinion on abortion, same-sex marriage, birth control, etc. Mr. Reimer also mentioned that Mr. Ryan probably knows more about the budget than a lot of people, including the president.

Sports columnist Mike Littwin of The Sun was honored last week with a third place in the Best Columnist category of the annual Associated Press Sports Editors Contest.Littwin has finished in the top five of the national contest for three straight years. He earned second place and fifth place the previous two years. Mitch Albom of the Detroit News finished first, and Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe (formerly of The Evening Sun) was second this year.Albom, who has finished first three consecutive years, and Littwin are the only columnists who have finished in the top five the past three years.

For his many years of public service,Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.has rightfully earned the respect of Maryanders. But as a columnist whose byline now includes the tag "Maryland chairman for the Romney presidential campaign," he's put in jeopardy any semblance of journalistic independence he may have had. For example, in his litany of purported differences between Obama-led liberals and tea party- inspired conservatives, Mr. Ehrlich now attributes the...

There’s no debating that Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 consecutive games, an incredible streak that spoke volumes about the shortstop’s dedication, durability and caliber of play. The sports world stood still as Ripken took the field at Camden Yards for his 2,131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995 and broke the record Yankees great Lou Gerhig had held for 56 years. And even if we had somehow missed that night and the hundreds that came before it and there was a legitimate question about the identity of the standard bearer for one of the most celebrated records in sports history, those 2,632 box scores would be pretty compelling evidence in support of Ripken, right?

"The Columnist," by Jeffrey Frank. Simon and Schuster. 237 pages. $22. The temptation in this enjoyable little screed -- excuse me, intricate yet compact tale of our times -- is to figure out which Washington columnist Mr. Frank is hinting at. When asked, the author waves a hand and says nobody, and that may be true. It may in fact be everybody, parts of a previous generation, Reston, the Alsops, more venerable in the sepia rear-view mirror. Or the current tiresome establishment scrivners like George Will, William Safire and Cal Thomas.

Sometimes, it's the small things that make you happy about where you are. Here's what I mean. It was an early spring day and I was walking back from the post office when I heard a bunch of commotion from kids, so I crossed the street to steer clear of it, anticipating the worst. As I progressed up the street a bit further, I saw what the racket was. Like a row of teeth with one knocked out, there was a grass lot in the line of row homes where a house used to be (it blew up a few years back, and now it's just an empty grass lot)

If you are anything like me, then your feelings about the city - this city, any city - are bittersweet. As you peer over your shoulder while walking down an unfamiliar street or lock yourself in for the evening, you have some idea, right or wrong, of what a stranger might do. You hope for the best and brace for the worst, as I did six months ago when I began this column. Back then, I had my own ideas about how many people would read it, what percentage might bother to write, and how many of them would do so only because I'd ticked them off. All of my guesses were wrong.

The first step to being successful at fly fishing is tying a fly creatively enough to make it seem real to the fish you're trying to catch. Considered by many to be something of an art form, tying flies is an acquired skill. With hopes of learning how to tie their flies or how to get better at it, 400 to 500 anglers from Maryland and neighboring states are expected to attend the 11th annual Tiefest, which is presented by the Kent Narrows chapter of Coastal Conservation Association Maryland.

I recently had an unnerving experience at a post office. I hasten to add that it did not occur at the Roland Park Post Office, our home branch, where we walk daily to pick up mail. On Saturday errands, I stopped at another post office to mail some letters, a book and two small packages that I had already stamped. The book is what caused the problem. I have used a media rate to send books for years. Books are a central part of my life. I am a writer and a reader. I have friends who are writers, whose books I often send as gifts.

Cindy Cummings Wheeler: How does it feel to be the only Sun writer (probably the only sports writer anywhere) to pick the Ravens to beat the Broncos? Thanks for having faith in our team! It wasn't about faith. Few good teams get blown out by the same team twice in one season and a little birdie got in my ear and told me about the law of averages. They were on the Ravens side going in against Peyton Manning because he had beaten them often.  Fran in Baltimore: I know you have been hard on Joe Flacco and at times you were right.

Our neighborhood is beginning its annual, seasonal, new year morphing, with a handful of businesses closing and a slate of new businesses opening. The keyword in 2013 appears to be pizza, with three new pizza joints either already open (Birroteca) or scheduled to open (Arthouse and Paulie Gee's Hampden). I'll let the dust settle before highlighting a lot of what's going on and instead I'll begin this column with a parable, or, more accurately, an anecdotal warning.  It was a typical Friday morning when I gathered up my emptied recycling bins, brought them inside, put them back in their usual locations and got about the business of my day. But as the day progressed, every so often I'd catch of whiff of something unpleasant.

Wendi C. Thomas, a columnist at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., will become a metro columnist at The Sun, the newspapers announced yesterday. Thomas, 34, is set to begin at The Sun in the middle of April and begin writing a twice-a-week column for the front page of the Maryland section later that month. She has been a columnist at The Commercial Appeal since August 2003. "Wendi has been an insightful and provocative voice for Memphis, and we're looking forward to her bringing that same writing flair to The Sun," said Howard Libit, The Sun's city editor.

Op-ed contributor G. Jefferson Price recently quoted the "prominent" Israeli journalist Gideon Levy to support his argument that an Israeli invasion of Gaza would be unwise ("For Israel, it's different this time," Nov. 20). Mr. Levy is better described as a vocal, radical journalist who represents a small group of radical Israeli leftists. He views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a very narrow, one-sided, biased prism. For him, the ultimate truth is that Israel is always the aggressor and the Palestinians are always the victims.