Dion

Who went home: No one! Really. The lowdown: According to Ryan Seacrest, last night's results were the most shocking ever! And for once, he was only slightly exaggerating. After two hours of charity appeals, the Idol powers that be apparently thought it would be tacky to snuff out one of the singers. But next week, they will send home two singers based on the votes from this week and next. Shining moment: It would be easy to call the special cheesy (i.e. the dead Elvis and undead Celine Dion duet)

MONTREAL -- Quebec has had it with "pie terrorists" and is starting to hurl criminal charges at the political pastry throwers who in recent months have gotten in the faces of many prominent figures.The crackdown on the "Entartistes," as the cream pie anarchists call themselves, is winning praise from news columnists and others who usually delight in taking aim at the high and mighty -- but who say the pie throwers are far more pompous than the politicians they harass."They are nothing more than out-of-control aggressors who are to democracy what germs are to public health," said Pierre Bourgault, a political commentator for Journal de Montreal.

Titanic; Music from the Motion Picture (Sony Classical 0) 63213)Kundun; Music from the Original Soundtrack (Nonesuch 79460)In the stores, soundtracks tend to be pop-oriented affairs, star-laden packages that sound more like rock or R&B compilation albums than film scores. In the theaters, though, most of the music heard behind the actors still tends to be orchestral in nature -- the better to convey drama, tension or pathos. As a result, films from "Batman" to "Men in Black" end up spawning two separate soundtrack albums: A pop collection for the mass audience, and an orchestral album for film score collectors.

Music may be an art first and foremost, but there's also a lot of craft involved. Particularly on the performance end, where taste and timing are worthless without the ability to implement them. After all, there are few things as frustrating for music lovers as hearing a weak voice struggle to carry a strong melody.But when dealing with virtuosos, the situation reverses. If a singer has been blessed with a voice that can do almost anything, ability matters less than taste and timing. Because there's nothing more embarrassing than hearing a great voice squandered on a mediocre melody.

Indians: Outfielder Ryan Thompson (Chestertown) was sent to Triple-A Buffalo.Mariners: The team lost $20.23 million last season, but club president Chuck Armstrong is optimistic about its future. The 1995 fiscal-year loss was 34.6 percent greater than the 1994 loss of $15.03 million.Rangers: Dean Palmer made his debut at third base after missing two games with a tight hamstring. He struck out in his first at-bat with the bases loaded in the first inning.Yankees: New York signed free-agent outfielder Dion James and sent outfielder Matt Luke to Triple-A Columbus.

There is a Lego Statue of Liberty and a Lego eggbeater. Lego skyscrapers and a Lego parking meter. A Lego arena filled with Lego people cheering a Lego robot. A Lego dragster and a Lego bridge over a Lego cavern.If there is a Lego Heaven, this was it. And my son had just entered the pearly Lego gates."Somebody, like, did this for their job?" asked Joe as we entered the Maryland Science Center's Lego exhibition."YES!" I thought, pumping my fist. It was a revelation for us both. The kids who would rather play Legos than do anything else can grow up and make a living at it.John Dion did. He's the project manager for "Invention Adventure," the first touring museum display by Lego, the Danish toy maker whose plastic bricks are surpassed in their penetration of American homes only by Crayola crayons.

SEASIDE CHATS:Here's a different thing to do Around the Inner Harbor, and you have all summer to try it.The Maryland Historical Society's Radcliffe Museum and Ocean World Institute will be conducting a series of lecture cruises aboard the old skipjack Minnie V as it sails the Patapsco River and explores some places not everyone has seen.Lecturers aboard the classic oystering craft are to include David Gleason of the Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fells Point, speaking on old Fell's Point, sea captains and shipyards on June 6 and 8. On June 13 and 15, Scott Sheads, the author of "The Rocket's Red Glare" will speak about Fort McHenry and Baltimore during the War of 1812.

Ocean City--This is the way summer officially ends in Ocean City: Not with a whimper, but a bang (apologies to T. S. Eliot). The Beach Boys, Dion and Starship will put on an end-of-summer concert on the beach Saturday, Sept. 3."I think we're at least going to match last year's number," says Ocean City's tourism director, Bob Rothermel. "Last year it drew 10,000 people. We may even draw more than that."Labor Day weekend is a difficult one to predict, he says, because of the changing date each year (the first Monday in September moves around the calendar)

Bowie State is a small, NCAA Division II school with a tight athletic budget. The football team usually has only 12 players on full scholarships. Two years from now, one of those scholarships could be reserved for a young man in a wheelchair.Dion Johnson, a special teams player for Douglass High School in Prince George's County, was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a state playoff game against City College last November.Several Bowie State coaches were in the stands that day, scouting a handful of players from Douglass and City.

Police were searching for a West Baltimore couple yesterday in connection with the death of a 2-year-old foster child from severe head injuries.Officials at the pediatric trauma unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital said Dion Dixon died Saturday night from massive brain swelling. They said he had suffered a blow to the head and had bruises all over his body when he arrived at the hospital Friday afternoon.Warrants were issued for the arrest of Verlinda Timmons, 28, and her boyfriend, Keith Anthony Hamlin, 27, both of the 1600 block of Druid Hill Avenue.

"All these projects mean thousands of jobs are coming to Harford County," said Councilman Dion Guthrie, who represents the Edgewood area. "The base has already gone from one security gate to six." Since the research institute project is not related to BRAC, it does not have to meet that 2011 deadline. "It is not BRAC, but this project is critical to the build-out and transformation at APG," Ruderman said. "We are really changing the landscape."

His parents, his girlfriend and his teammates all say the same thing about Domonique Foxworth. The Ravens cornerback might look like a 26-year-old, he might run like a 26-year-old, but he thinks and conducts his life like a 40-year-old - always has. n His parents considered him more responsible than his brother, who is two years older. His NFL mentor, Champ Bailey, considered him the levelheaded one in their relationship. Whether the subject is President Barack Obama, the role of a black athlete in modern society or the NFL players union's treatment of retired players, Foxworth can deliver a well-crafted opinion.

Trainer Reade Baker looked around the Pimlico Race Course barn Saturday morning. What he saw was the rain pounding on the roof and, aside from his Preakness entry Kentucky Bear, a lot of empty stalls. "I'm from the old school," Baker said. "I've been in this a long time, and I've always thought you take a good horse to a big race early. "I want my horse here. I want to take him to the track and breeze him and see how he likes it. I want to take him to the paddock and school him in the gate.

On January 7, 2008, SEAN DION PARTLOW. On Today, friends may call Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services, 4905 York Road, where the family will receive friends from 4-8 P.M. On Saturday, services will be held at Christ United Methodist Church, 2005 E. Chase Street, where the family will receive friends from 10-10:30 A.M., with services to follow. Inquiries to (410) 433-7500.

Who went home: No one! Really. The lowdown: According to Ryan Seacrest, last night's results were the most shocking ever! And for once, he was only slightly exaggerating. After two hours of charity appeals, the Idol powers that be apparently thought it would be tacky to snuff out one of the singers. But next week, they will send home two singers based on the votes from this week and next. Shining moment: It would be easy to call the special cheesy (i.e. the dead Elvis and undead Celine Dion duet)

Violence that claimed the life of a 15-year-old boy Saturday - one of three victims of reported weekend homicides in the city - brought a crowd of more than 100 people last night to the site of the killing in East Baltimore. The teenager, Dion Williams of the 3200 block of E. Lombard St., was found shot several times in the 2700 block of E. Monument St. about 2 a.m. Saturday and died a short time later at Hopkins Hospital. A dozen balloons and as many teddy bears adorned a light pole near where Dion, a 10th-grader and a football player at Lake Clifton High School, was shot.

Harford County Councilwoman Veronica L. "Roni" Chenowith was said to be recovering yesterday after being rushed to the hospital just before the start of a meeting Tuesday night. Chenowith, 68, recently received a diagnosis of leukemia and has been undergoing chemotherapy. She has vowed to run for a fourth term on the council representing the Fallston area. About 7:30 p.m., Chenowith said she was running a fever and experiencing shortness of breath - possibly because of a change in medication - and was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, said Councilman Lance C. Miller, who accompanied her to the hospital.

On Friday, September 9, 2005, ANNA E. (nee Gawens) DELL'ACQUA, 71; beloved wife of the late Samuel Dell'Acqua; devoted mother of Dion D. Dell'Acqua, Sr. and Denise K. Avery and her husband Glenn; grandmother of Dion D. Dell'Acqua, Jr., Kristin A. Buttke and her husband Keith and Kara B. Kingsbury; great-grandmother of Dylan A. Hill. Services and interment private. Arrangements by Peaceful Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Center, P.A.

Here's where Yahoo! Autos messed up. The Web site recently conducted a nonscientific poll of the best driving songs of 2003, which is reasonably interesting -- OutKast won, with 20 percent of 2,482 voters picking "Hey Ya!" Mega-platinum rapper 50 Cent came in second, with 19 percent voting for "P.I.M.P." But what if the Web site had combined its poll with a recent Budweiser survey that found Tim McGraw and Celine Dion topping a list of people's fantasy designated drivers? Imagine the beautiful synergy of voting for a fantasy designated driver singing your favorite driving song.

It probably helps to be drunk. But that's the point. An awful lot of people want to get wasted and ride around with Tim McGraw or Celine Dion, according to a recent survey asking Americans to pick a fantasy designated driver. McGraw and Dion led their respective gender categories, with 33 percent of 1,167 over-21 respondents choosing the black-hatted country star and 27 percent selecting leather-lunged cash cow Dion. What if she sings in the car? Maybe a cab isn't such a bad option. McGraw surely got a boost from his role as a designated driver in a Super Bowl beer ad last January.