Hoot

On February 28, 2007, BARBARA L. HOOT (nee Hill), beloved wife of the late John H. Hoot, I, devoted mother of John Hoot, II, and his wife Dale, Paul C. Hoot and his wife Deidra and Bonnie Lee Hoot, loving daughter of Charles G., and Mary Rosalie Hill, Sr., dear sister of Charles G. Hill, Jr., and his wife Dolores and Robert D. Hill, loving grandmother of Kyle P., and Austin H. Hoot. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be held at the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex, 300 Mace Avenue on Monday 11 A.M. Visiting hours on Sunday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Interment Gardens of Faith Cemetery.

Anyone who thinks of a silent film as something to be endured, not enjoyed, has never seen a film by the great Charlie Chaplin. To see what I mean, check out 1936's Modern Times (8 p.m., TCM), Chaplin's last silent and one of the greatest comedies of all time. Chaplin had been perfecting his Little Tramp character for nearly a quarter-century, and though talking pictures had come in nine years earlier, he saw no reason to add dialogue to his films; his screen persona - an unkempt, ill-clothed little fella who endured every social injustice the world could throw at him, while rarely losing his perspective and never losing his heart - spoke a universal language that had no need for dialogue.

Havre de Grace -- The late-fall air, misty and chill, has been fuller than usual of memories this year. Mostly they're on the move early in the mornings, long before the first light, while the house is still and the big owls are hooting down in the woods along the creek.First something rustles in the cerebral underbrush, and then a recollection, often an unexpected one, jumps up. Sometimes these encounters are prompted by approaching anniversaries of some sort. Anniversaries come galloping out of the future, flash across the present like a hunted deer crossing a clearing, and dissolve into the past, gone forever.

The Circle of Life becomes the Three-Ring Circus of Life in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Remember how Robin Williams in Aladdin giddily exploded the dignity of 2-D animated classics right after they reached a high point in Beauty and the Beast? Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa gleefully pulverizes the moods and methods of 2-D and 3-D cartoon classics alike with a plot that turns The Lion King on its head. Alex (voice of Ben Stiller) started the first film as the King of New York, the headline performer at the Central Park Zoo. In the prologue to Escape 2 Africa, we learn that he began life in Africa, the presumptive heir to his dad, Zuba (the late Bernie Mac)

Hoot needs more owls. And more Florida. Ostensibly about some adorable owls who are about to have their homes bulldozed in the name of progress -- hence the title -- it's more about three teens who decide this is a bad thing and pledge to do whatever's necessary to stop it. Hoot (New Line) Starring Logan Lerman, Brie Larson, Cody Linley. Directed and co-written by Wil Shriner. Rated PG. Time 94 minutes.

Mike Roland is huge. He's 6-feet-5 and weighs about two pounds less than Rhode Island.Peggie Roland is tiny. She's 5 feet even when she stands up straight, and she weighs an ounce or two more than a hummingbird.But this isn't a column about Mike and Peggie, or even about their contrasting sizes. This is a column about the size of their hearts and about the size of the hearts of some of the people Mike and Peggie love.Six years ago, Peggie started Camp Hoot. She had many helpers: Mike, the Special Populations Rec Council (now the Therapeutic Rec Council)

WHITNEY HOOT did not set out to save the Chesapeake Bay. To be honest, the Girl Scout project that brought her the attention was not even her idea. "Actually," says Whitney, sitting on her couch one day after school and eating Tagalongs, "I didn't want to do this." She can admit this now, a few months after she galvanized her Anne Arundel County community into action and learned something about the nature of giving along the way. Because of Whitney, thousands of young oysters, or spats, are floating in cages from 24 piers outside her window.

On September 3, 2004, LOIS MARJORIE HOOT; beloved wife of David James Heyl, Jr,; devoted mother of Dana J. and his wife Tammy R. Heyl, Stacey M. and her husband Raymond H. Poe; loving daughter of Carl F. Jr., and Audrey Seiler Hoot; grandmother of Joshua D. Poe; sister of Charles F. Hoot of Vero Beach, FL; cousin of Earle R. Cummings. The family will receive friends at Havenwood Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Ridgley Road-Lutherville, on Tuesday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M., where funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 11 A.M. Interment Parkwood Cemetery.

Baseball Home Run Derby 7 p.m. [ESPN]: This is the two-hour version of "going, going gone" from the All-Star festivities at Yankee Stadium. OK, so we know who won (and in case you don't, we won't spoil the surprise), but it's still a hoot watching - and no deep counts.

They might not be able to bring gasoline prices back down to the $1-a-gallon level, but Maryland grain farmers are exploring the possibility of building an alternative fuel production plant in the state. Lynne Hoot, executive director of the Maryland Grain Producers Association, said yesterday that the group has contracted with a Minnesota-based research company to study the feasibility of building an ethanol plant in Maryland. Ethanol is a gasoline substitute or extender that can be made from such grains as corn or barley, or from other starchy products, such as sweet potatoes.

Baseball Home Run Derby 7 p.m. [ESPN]: This is the two-hour version of "going, going gone" from the All-Star festivities at Yankee Stadium. OK, so we know who won (and in case you don't, we won't spoil the surprise), but it's still a hoot watching - and no deep counts.

When the Orioles shock the world and reach the World Series this October, we'll look back on April 7 as a watershed day in club history. We will all remember it as the day the O's - in unison - let us know they were mad as hell and not going to accept the ridiculously low expectations that have been ascribed to them by the supposed experts in the media. It started when reliever Jamie Walker angrily called out a local writer before the game for repeating the spring mantra that the Orioles will probably have one of the worst records in team history.

We were at a Gilbert family reunion a few years ago, and someone evidently married someone who is Scottish, or has some Scottish in his family, or who likes Scotch, and bingo. Bagpipes appeared. First of all, is it a bagpipe, or is it bagpipes? I'm going to refer to it as a bagpipes because while it is clearly just one instrument, we must acknowledge that it certainly sounds like a whole lot more. Anyway, at our final formal family reunion dinner, in sashayed one of the family members, playing a bagpipes.

Two years ago, musicians Sean Hoots and Andrew "Hellmouth" Gray reached back to vintage Americana for inspiration. The acoustic sound they came up with -- part gospel, part barnyard stomp -- inspired them to form the core of the Pennsylvania-based band Hoots and Hellmouth. Live, Hoots and Hellmouth incorporate the audience into the show. Sometimes they have concert-goers sing or clap along. Other times, they jump off the stage and charge into the center of the crowd. Tomorrow, they'll bring their raucous act to the 8x10, opening for Will Hoge.

The surging price of gasoline in recent months is giving new momentum to an old plan for Maryland farmers to move into the energy business. About seven years ago, the Maryland Grain Producers Association began work on a plan to build an ethanol production plant in the state. The plan has changed over the years, and it might take a change in federal policy before a Maryland plant becomes a reality, but officials say rising energy prices only can help the initiative. "We're moving, but we're moving slowly," said Lynne Hoot, executive director of the association, a member organization of grain producers that is based in Edgewater in Anne Arundel County.

In funding programs ranging from farmland preservation to cover crops, the General Assembly smiled on farmers during the 90-day session that ended last week. In a year when money is tight, lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Martin O'Malley seemed to favor the Department of Agriculture in the budget process, members of the farm industry say. Legislators approved $70 million for agriculture land preservation programs and $8.5 million for cover crop initiatives designed to limit pollution of waterways.

The surging price of gasoline in recent months is giving new momentum to an old plan for Maryland farmers to move into the energy business. About seven years ago, the Maryland Grain Producers Association began work on a plan to build an ethanol production plant in the state. The plan has changed over the years, and it might take a change in federal policy before a Maryland plant becomes a reality, but officials say rising energy prices only can help the initiative. "We're moving, but we're moving slowly," said Lynne Hoot, executive director of the association, a member organization of grain producers that is based in Edgewater in Anne Arundel County.

When Lynne Hoot pulled up to the pump at a Chevron station near Fort Meade yesterday morning and filled the tank of her 1998 Dodge Caravan, she considered it a momentous occasion. The majority of the fuel she pumped into the van hadn't come from an oil well in the Middle East or elsewhere, but from cornfields around Peoria, Ill. It was E-85 ethanol, and Hoot was at the first service station in the state to offer the alternative fuel. "I've had this van for three years," she said. "It was built to run on E-85, but it has never been available in Maryland."

You say you don't understand what all the fuss is about. In your office, knots of people gather like something out of an M. Night Shyamalan movie to scream at the TV. Generally, the only time people scream at the TV is when the president is on, talking about the war in Iraq. But now people are screaming things like: "How can they call that a foul?!" and "God, why is he taking that shot?!" And the people who aren't screaming at the TV are sitting at their desks studying sheets of paper with brackets the way you'd study for the law boards.

On February 28, 2007, BARBARA L. HOOT (nee Hill), beloved wife of the late John H. Hoot, I, devoted mother of John Hoot, II, and his wife Dale, Paul C. Hoot and his wife Deidra and Bonnie Lee Hoot, loving daughter of Charles G., and Mary Rosalie Hill, Sr., dear sister of Charles G. Hill, Jr., and his wife Dolores and Robert D. Hill, loving grandmother of Kyle P., and Austin H. Hoot. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be held at the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex, 300 Mace Avenue on Monday 11 A.M. Visiting hours on Sunday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Interment Gardens of Faith Cemetery.