Haircut

You take your good news where you get it and here's mine: the Preakness sent Kegasus packing. You remember Kegasus. Sleaze-ball centaur with the biker haircut and beer gut? Budweiser-swilling centerpiece of the Infield Fest ad campaign the past two years? Gone. Got the proverbial pink-slip. You won't see him Saturday for the 138th Preakness Stakes. "He went back to the islands and I haven't seen him since," Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas joked the other day. Good thing.

Super Bowl Sunday arrives, and Nate Smith has an important message for his girlfriend, Darlene Griffin. It goes like this: "Don't be wearin' my slippers. " That's a warning Nate uttered the other day, after cutting my hair in the West Baltimore shop where he styles and teaches the tonsorial arts. He seemed to be asking me to convey the message for him, though I'm sure he's delivered it directly by now: "Don't be wearin' my slippers, Darlene. " Those are Nate's 'Niners slippers, see, a gift from a customer.

 A Texas born barber has one of the more original tributes to Ray Lewis: He shaved an incredible portrait of the legendary Raven right into one of his client's coifs. The hair portrait is unmistakably Lewis. The war paint. The steely gaze. What looks like a 52 right down the side. "I did this cut to honor the great linebacker of the Ravens," Joe Barber said on YouTube when he posted a picture of the cut. "May be the greatest or close to it.... hope you enjoy. " This barber, whose real name is Joe Barajas, is not just a guy who cuts hair.

 A Texas born barber has one of the more original tributes to Ray Lewis: He shaved an incredible portrait of the legendary Raven right into one of his client's coifs. The hair portrait is unmistakably Lewis. The war paint. The steely gaze. What looks like a 52 right down the side. "I did this cut to honor the great linebacker of the Ravens," Joe Barber said on YouTube when he posted a picture of the cut. "May be the greatest or close to it.... hope you enjoy. " This barber, whose real name is Joe Barajas, is not just a guy who cuts hair.

Whenever I'm asked to speak at a journalism seminar or creative writing class, some well-scrubbed student inevitably shoots a hand in the air and inquires brightly: "Where do you get your ideas?"Then the rest of the students crane their necks forward expectantly while tiny beads of blood form on my forehead and I stammer: "Well, um . . . you see, there's no one . . . it's sort of like being a bricklayer, in the sense that. . ."By this time, of course, the student who asked the question is playing with her hair and staring at the ceiling while the others glance at the clock.

WASHINGTON -- In an act of shear politics, the House of Representatives trimmed its perquisites yesterday by sharply raising prices at its tax-subsidized barbershop.A House administration subcommittee doubled the tab for a basic haircut from $5 to $10 and bumped the bill for a shoeshine from 75 cents to $2 in the barbershop's first round of price increases since 1979.The action comes at a time when polls show voters are in a political lather over congressional benefits ranging from free drugs at a Capitol Hill pharmacy to free parking at National Airport.

We'll start with the haircut, because it's the haircut that historians will remember.Bill Clinton has what they call in the trade "bad hair." Others have had this problem and still gone on to lead productive lives. Einstein. Beethoven. Kramer.But bad hair may have done in Clinton.Once upon a time, his was a truly majestic story, this man from Hope who grew up in a dysfunctional family where his mother used to cut his hair using a bowl, which would have been fine except that most of his hair collected in the top of the bowl instead of outside it, meaning little Bill always ended up looking something like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals.

WASHINGTON -- In an act of shear politics, the House of Representatives trimmed its perquisites yesterday by sharply raising prices at its tax-subsidized barbershop.A House administration subcommittee doubled the tab for a basic haircut from $5 to $10 and bumped the bill for a shoeshine from 75 cents to $2 in the barbershop's first round of price increases since 1979.The action comes at a time when polls show voters are in a political lather over congressional benefits ranging from free drugs at a Capitol Hill pharmacy to free parking at National Airport.

Musings (" reflexiones") from the Puerto Rico Tip-Off *Was Nick Faust really sporting a modified mohawk cut during a workout yesterday  at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico? He sure was. "He says it's lucky for him," coach Mark Turgeon said. Faust may be a freshman, but he's sure got his hands full. "Poor kid. he's got to play point guard. He's got to guard the best player on the other team. He's got a lot on his plate," Turgeon said. If you follow me on Twitter, you can see a photo I posted last night of a limping Pe'Shon Howard with Faust and his haircut in the background.

A 25-year-old man who was shot while waiting for a haircut in a downtown Baltimore barber shop on Saturday died from his wounds, city police said. Shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday, Dwight Taylor, who recently lived in South Baltimore's Brooklyn neighborhood, was shot by two unidentified men who entered the Focal Point barber shop in the 200 block of W. Saratoga Street. Taylor was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died at 6:10 p.m. Saturday, police said. Police did not release information about the suspects or a possible motive in the attack.

jcpenney is ushering in the back-to-schoolshopping season by offering free haircuts all month to elementary school students in the department store salons. "We really just want to help kids go back to school in style, and we're helping the parents too," said Ann Marie Bishop, a company spokeswoman. "Whether you have one kid or more, the value really adds up. " The offer, for students entering grades K through 6, is good through the end of the month, while reservations are available, Bishop said.

Get a hair cut and help animals at the same time. On Aug. 1, Patrick Lomantini, owner of Lomantini The Salon, is embarking on a 50-state tour to complete 50 haircuts per day in 50 days to bring attention to and raise money for the many animals in shelters across the country. Lomantini will stop at Bel Air's Domani Studio on Aug. 10 for a day-long cutting extravaganza. All haircuts will be free, however a suggested donation of at least $20 per person is recommended. That money will go to The Humane Society of Harford County.

Musings (" reflexiones") from the Puerto Rico Tip-Off *Was Nick Faust really sporting a modified mohawk cut during a workout yesterday  at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico? He sure was. "He says it's lucky for him," coach Mark Turgeon said. Faust may be a freshman, but he's sure got his hands full. "Poor kid. he's got to play point guard. He's got to guard the best player on the other team. He's got a lot on his plate," Turgeon said. If you follow me on Twitter, you can see a photo I posted last night of a limping Pe'Shon Howard with Faust and his haircut in the background.

Click here to print out a coupon good for $5 off any haircut at any participating Supercuts through July 31st. That should make your average buzz cut almost free!

A 25-year-old man who was shot while waiting for a haircut in a downtown Baltimore barber shop on Saturday died from his wounds, city police said. Shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday, Dwight Taylor, who recently lived in South Baltimore's Brooklyn neighborhood, was shot by two unidentified men who entered the Focal Point barber shop in the 200 block of W. Saratoga Street. Taylor was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died at 6:10 p.m. Saturday, police said. Police did not release information about the suspects or a possible motive in the attack.

Before we get started today, let me go on record as saying this to Joe Flacco: Love the new haircut, dude. I got a good look at it the other day when you spoke to the media at the Castle. It's definitely you, Joe. The "faux-hawk" on top with the stripes etched on the side? That's inspired. The outline of New Jersey shaved into the back? OK, that's a little "busy" for my taste. Think I spotted the Vince Lombardi rest stop near your right earlobe, though. You say the coaches aren't sure how to take your new 'do?

Vincenzo Pasqualucci - Vince for short - is ready to groove. He's wearing a blue pinstripe suit and has groomed his bushy white mustache that's shaped like a frown. He oozes a sweet cologne called "Sex Appeal." It's Monday night, time for big-band dancing at the Eastport Clipper restaurant near his downtown Annapolis home. Time to cha-cha, mambo and swing "with all the beautiful women." "I still beat all the young men on the dance floor," he says matter-of-factly. He uses the term "young" loosely.

Good morning --Steve Nash--Does the second Most Valuable Player award come with a haircut?

As the Ravens officially began their bye, they had to deal with an unexpected situation Tuesday. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco surprised teammates and coaches alike by rocking a "Jersey Shore"-inspired haircut for the team's charity Halloween party, which featured a faux hawk on top and the state of New Jersey shaved into the back of his head. The idea to transform from Joe Cool to Jersey Joe (which is how he referred to himself during the party) popped into Flacco's head when he saw Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino on the popular MTV series.

Bieber fever has found its way into the barbershop and beauty salon. The Canadian crooner's straight, side-sweeping mop has created almost as much news as the throngs of fans that have made him the reigning prince of 'tween pop. Rowan Sher, a stylist at Dakota Salon in Columbia, has been flooded with customers as young as 4 wanting their longer locks to be transformed into sweeping bangs across their foreheads just like Justin Bieber, who...