Feelings

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Right now, it's hard to get around the feeling that the Orioles have run out of magic. Maybe it evaporated when their on-field clinching celebration at Camden Yards on Sunday was put on hold by the Los Angeles Angels, who staged a late rally in Texas to win the first game of a doubleheader and keep the Orioles guessing until late that night. Maybe it was when they were squeezing their arm rests during that emergency landing in Jacksonville, Fla., on their way to play their final series of the year against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training's Baltimore complex is full of neatly made beds and shining-clean floors, a military-like environment for homeless former service members working to get their lives back on track. Its executive director, a retired Navy lieutenant, would love to expand the nonprofit so he can take in families — children as well as their veteran parent. But as David T. Clements works to pin down new funding for that effort, he's worried about the money he's already got. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently warned the center to expect a cut in grant funding of more than 3.5 percent, which Clements said would hit late next year.

WASHINGTON -- "Poets," noted G.K. Chesterton, "have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese." His point was that this was not mysterious: Cheese is not the sort of subject that summons poetic thoughts.Presidents have hitherto been mysteriously silent about child-safety seats. However, last Saturday President Clinton's radio address concerned an improved fastening mechanism for such seats in automobiles. This was the third time this president has used a Saturday address to talk about child-safety seats.

Maryland for years benefited from its close proximity to the nation's capital, but the mandatory federal spending cuts called sequestration will be a drag on the state's economy for the next couple of years, said the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. "This retrenchment at the federal government level ... is tough this year. We are still finding out what the dimensions of this are," said Jeffrey Lacker, the Fed president. Despite the pain, the spending cuts are needed for the long-term fiscal health of the country, he added.

Do you believe Hollywood stars are too trivial a matter to think about in these boiling hot political times? Consider this: The most talked-about political events since Labor Day, a time when voters supposedly get serious about coming elections, were firmly tied up with star-studded show biz. Competing with the MTV Awards for weekend attention was Oprah Winfrey's fundraiser for Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama at her California estate, in which he...

Your little one tells you that he hates his friend and won't play with him anymore."Of course you want to play with him/her again," you say, trying to soothe your child. "And don't say you hate him; he's your best friend. You shouldn't feel that way."Whether your child should or shouldn't feel that way is not the issue. He does feel that way. And, when you try to talk him out of his feelings, you do three things, each destructive:* You send a message that his feeling is wrong (feelings are neither right nor wrong, rather they are a gut response to a person or situation)

It's reality check time tonight for all those viewers who've psyched themselves into believing that David Caruso wasn't really all that good, and that his Detective John Kelly won't really be missed when he leaves "NYPD Blue" in three weeks.Caruso's going to break your self-deluded little hearts tonight with his performance in the season premiere of "NYPD Blue" at 10 on WJZ (Channel 13). He is so, so good -- and it hurts so much to admit it now that he's spit on our emotional bond to Kelly and opted for a big screen career.

Q. My 4-year-old son is very bright. He has been reading for about a year already and can read Dr. Seuss-type books unassisted. But he's so, so sensitive! The movies "Peter Pan" and "The Wizard of Oz" made him cry so hard. If he feels someone is in danger, he gets upset.Is this part of being smart and seeing more depth to the movies, or is he just a very sensitive little boy?A.It's probably a sign of both - seeing below the surface and being very sensitive to his own issues about aggression.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Designated hitter Harold Baines has come back to the Bay area, where he spent more than two seasons with an Oakland Athletics club that was the powerhouse of the American League West.Now, when he looks across the field, he sees a team that has changed dramatically in the eight months since he last wore an Oakland uniform. The A's are just a shell of the team that won the AL West championship last year, but Baines is not the least bit surprised. He saw it coming just like everyone else.

It may have been pouring rain, but inside Ryan's Daughter Irish Pub & Restaurant, stars were shining brightly. Three cast members of the movie, Rent, added pizazz to a crowd bubbling with excitement over the film's Baltimore premiere that evening. Wilson Heredia and Anthony Rapp came down from New York to support cast member Tracie Thoms, who is from here. "Family" is how Heredia and Rapp described relationships among the cast. "It's the nature of the story," Herediasaid. In fact, that "family feeling" permeated the place.

There is no set criterion for a great dive bar. A dingy bar can have character. An unassuming exterior could hide a spectacular interior. Sometimes, the right jukebox is all it takes. But all great dives are unified by one factor: They possess an instantly comfortable atmosphere. That can come from a warm bartender, cheap drinks or an overall lack of pretension. The really good ones have it all. Coach's Rendezvous (which was called Rendezvous Lounge before new owner Ray Harcum took over)

Some restaurants just feel comfortable. E.W. Beck's Pub is one of those places. From the food to the service, dinner at the restaurant is easy, fun and enjoyable. Scene A Sykesville staple since 1992, E.W. Beck's occupies a large building right on the town's charming Main Street. The restaurant includes a bar and tons of dining space - most of which was filled during our Thursday night visit. E.W. Beck's is popular, and rightfully so. Between the friendly, prompt service and well-prepared takes on classic American food, it's no surprise that locals keep the restaurant busy.

When Albina Digaeva, a Chechen who was granted political asylum in the United States, first learned that the Boston bombing suspects were from Chechnya, she called the California family who initially put her up when she arrived 15 years ago and apologized. A member of the host family that originally hailed from Boston "tried to calm me down and said I can't claim responsibility for the actions of two individuals," said Digaeva, who now lives in Los Angeles and doesn't know the two brothers suspected in the bombing.

Though the flicker of collegiate game tape isn't exactly candlelight, it can sometimes be love at first sight for a scout sitting in a dark film room, pining over pro prospects. Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout who worked four years in the Ravens organization, experienced one of those moments in the months leading up to the 2007 NFL draft while watching tape of Iowa's Marshal Yanda. Years later, he still remembers one play when the senior offensive lineman de-cleated a defender with a violent peel-back block.

When Bill Clinton took the podium to address the country in January 1993, I was moved to tears. Here, then, was my first president. My parents had had all the presidents up to that point. Here was a man of my generation. Married to the working mother of a school-aged child who was his educational and professional equal. To someone like me. Mr. Clinton acknowledged the passing of the "greatest generation" when he thanked outgoing President George H.W. Bush for his 50 years of service to the country.

I'm sure George Orwell is looking down at the Associated Press and saying, "I wasn't exaggerating was I?" ("AP makes 'illegals' illegal," April 6). At the AP they're saying to themselves, why don't we next replace "shoplifter" with "non-paying shopper?" Being progressive sure makes you feel better. Ken Waters, Berlin Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

M. Gary Neuman says there's one sure way not to find out how a child is coping with his parents' divorce."The worst thing you can do is look them square in the eye and ask them," says the family therapist and author.It's not that youngsters aren't willing to share their feelings, he says, it's just that they can't be expected to respond to an adult question like an adult.But put a crayon in their hand - or engage them in a role-playing game - and soon they will divulge their innermost feelings.

At first glance, Valeska Populoh's fancy formal ball gowns look like something lifted straight out of a John Singer Sargent portrait. As upper-class bling, these ornate confections are artworks in their own right: The lines are perfect, the fabrics luxurious and the style impeccable. Each seems to reek of old money and manners. But step closer and the illusion fades. The frilly ruffles, delicate pleats, form-enhancing bustles and other extravagant ornaments of the couturier's art actually are stitched together from bits of plastic garbage bag, black umbrella cloth, old coat linings, carpet scraps and other thrift-store detritus.

Don't tell anybody in the Orioles clubhouse that there is some kind of magic in the air, because they work too hard to make it seem real. That's going to have to be our little secret. How else do you explain a team that shakes off adversity the way Chris Davis shrugs off an 86-mph fastball down and away - all the way into the left-field bleachers. The Orioles awoke on Friday morning wondering just how long second baseman Brian Roberts would be lost after suffering a painful leg injury in the ninth inning of Thursday's victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stevenson - ranked third in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll - has secured resume-building victories against No. 5 Rochester Institute of Technology and No. 7 Lynchburg. The team can now add No. 6 Salisbury to the list, and Wednesday night's 10-8 decision at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury may be the most significant in terms of psychological impact. “I think it's a pretty big win,” coach Paul Cantabene said Thursday morning. “We had lost to them four times in a row, including three times last year.