Lansky

With Richard Dreyfuss starring and a script by David Mamet, you might think "Lansky," an HBO film about the legendary crime boss, would be something special.But you would be wrong.The film, which premieres tonight, does feature a fascinating, though ultimately not very engaging, performance by Dreyfuss. Can you recall any performance by him that wasn't at least interesting?But Mamet, who also serves as executive producer, made some bad choices in deciding how to best tell the story of Meyer Lansky, proving that even great writers aren't always great.

My 21-year-old son, who has never traveled alone, has bought a Eurail pass and will be heading across Europe, starting from Barcelona. I'd like him to travel with other Americans. Can you help? Moms will always worry. But we're going to get you through this! For advice (for your son) and peace of mind (for you), we consulted with two experts: Doug Lansky, who pretty much wrote the book on backpacking around the planet, and Amanda Webb of STA Travel, the world's largest student travel organization.

ALL WEEK LONG, a word banged through our brains: Powerball. It made me think of Julius "Lord" Salisbury. And the word Powerball was attached to a number, $300 million, and we heard these words so constantly that I thought about William L. "Little Willie" Adams and Philip "Pacey" Silbert. And as the moment of selection came near, and millions anticipated the dawning of a new, Powerball-sponsored life of luxury, I thought about Robert "Fifi" London and Louis Comi. Powerball is a lottery game involving 22 states, officially sanctioned and supervised by governments, and played by millions of people who do not have to look over their shoulders for the cops as they place their wagers.

Today Aaron Lansky -- Founder of the National Yiddish Book Center will speak on his book Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books. 7 p.m. / Weinberg Park Heights JCC / 5700 Park Heights Ave. / $5 / 410-735-5010. Wednesday, March 26 Linda Pasta -- This past Maryland poet laureate will read from her work, share selections from her favorite poets and discuss the significance of poetry in our everyday lives. / 11 a.m. / Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped / 415 Park Ave. / 410-230-2424.

SIGNSPOTTING Lonely Planet / $7.99 According to Doug Lansky, there are 406 million people in this world who claim English as their mother tongue and another 350 million or so who speak English as a second language. That's not the same thing as communicating with it, though, as Lansky demonstrates in Signspotting, a compilation of confusing signs from around the world. From Danville, Ill., for instance, comes the instruction for motorists: "To go left make 3 right turns." A roadside billboard for a Wisconsin Dairy Queen promises "Drive-Thru Seating."

Georgy Porgy might have kissed the girls and made them cry in the old days, but these days, old Georgy is a mere shadow of his former self.And he's not the only one. In "The New Adventures of Mother Goose" (Meadowbrook Press, $15), the three blind mice of nursery rhyme are now the three kind mice. And Little Miss Muffett used to be scared of spiders, but no more. Now she's bossing them around.Welcome to the Mother Goose of the '90s -- complete with revisionist verses of traditional nursery rhymes.

''Mobsters'' is a bloody little fairy tale that makes good guys out of Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky.According to the film, a largely plodding affair, they were just four kids who liked to kill people once in a while.The real villain of the piece is Mad Dog Coll, who may or may not have known these buys, but what's it matter? This is, after all, a fantasy.''Mobsters,'' shot in California, takes place in New York (1917 to 1931) where the four leading characters begin their association as boys.

FOLKS LIKE vice because it's fabulous. That's right, gambling is a kick, cocktails taste good and porno flicks are arousing. Is it OK to say that out loud? Sure, because I don't do these things, it's other people. But the numbers from the business section and the smiles on American faces suggest a whole lot of other people. Last year, according to industry statistics, Americans spent $95 billion on alcoholic drinks, $10 billion on X-rated movies and, brace yourself, more than half a trillion in wagers.

My 21-year-old son, who has never traveled alone, has bought a Eurail pass and will be heading across Europe, starting from Barcelona. I'd like him to travel with other Americans. Can you help? Moms will always worry. But we're going to get you through this! For advice (for your son) and peace of mind (for you), we consulted with two experts: Doug Lansky, who pretty much wrote the book on backpacking around the planet, and Amanda Webb of STA Travel, the world's largest student travel organization.

AMHERST, Mass. -- The phrases are familiar, spoken in American communities across the country: "He has chutzpah." "She's a schmoozer." "I'm tired of schlepping these kids around."What many don't realize is that the phrases were born of Yiddish, a once-flourishing language that was obliterated by the holocaust and the Communist crackdowns in Eastern and Central Europe during and after World War II.The language also withered away in the United States, where many immigrants taught their children English, not Yiddish.

Many middle-aged American Jews have identical memories of Yiddish - the language their parents spoke when they didn't want the children to understand. That's what Gila Haor remembers from her childhood in upstate New York. But at 33, she's trying to change things in her Pikesville household by speaking Yiddish as often as possible to her three daughters, ages 3 to 8. "It would make my grandparents - they are gone - so proud to know that I am speaking Yiddish," she says. Enthusiasts like Haor are few and far between.

SIGNSPOTTING Lonely Planet / $7.99 According to Doug Lansky, there are 406 million people in this world who claim English as their mother tongue and another 350 million or so who speak English as a second language. That's not the same thing as communicating with it, though, as Lansky demonstrates in Signspotting, a compilation of confusing signs from around the world. From Danville, Ill., for instance, comes the instruction for motorists: "To go left make 3 right turns." A roadside billboard for a Wisconsin Dairy Queen promises "Drive-Thru Seating."

ATLANTA -- Grandma Mary and Grandpa James, meet Baby Emily and Baby Jacob. Those are today's top names for newborns. Odds are good that Mom and Dad are Jennifer and Michael. Mary is the horse-and-buggy of girls' names, dependable for decades, now considered quaint. Along came Lisa, Jennifer, Jessica, Ashley and, most recently, Emily. John, a solid male favorite from 1890 to 1920, gave way to Robert, James, Michael and, since 2000, Jacob. Now the nursery's likely to be populated by Madisons and Hannahs, Joshuas and Matthews, according to The Very Best Baby Name Book by Bruce Lansky, who bases his rankings on records of the Social Security Administration.

ALL WEEK LONG, a word banged through our brains: Powerball. It made me think of Julius "Lord" Salisbury. And the word Powerball was attached to a number, $300 million, and we heard these words so constantly that I thought about William L. "Little Willie" Adams and Philip "Pacey" Silbert. And as the moment of selection came near, and millions anticipated the dawning of a new, Powerball-sponsored life of luxury, I thought about Robert "Fifi" London and Louis Comi. Powerball is a lottery game involving 22 states, officially sanctioned and supervised by governments, and played by millions of people who do not have to look over their shoulders for the cops as they place their wagers.

FOLKS LIKE vice because it's fabulous. That's right, gambling is a kick, cocktails taste good and porno flicks are arousing. Is it OK to say that out loud? Sure, because I don't do these things, it's other people. But the numbers from the business section and the smiles on American faces suggest a whole lot of other people. Last year, according to industry statistics, Americans spent $95 billion on alcoholic drinks, $10 billion on X-rated movies and, brace yourself, more than half a trillion in wagers.

LAS VEGAS -- The establishment in the "new" Las Vegas loves to talk about the explosion in family entertainment, the number of churches per capita ("Highest in the nation!") and the joys of living in suburbs that reach ever farther into the desert.Oscar B. Goodman loves to talk about the old days, when he busted up dozens of government attacks on reputed mobsters and kept Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro out of jail despite suspicions that the feared Mafia enforcer had committed nearly two dozen murders.

Many middle-aged American Jews have identical memories of Yiddish - the language their parents spoke when they didn't want the children to understand. That's what Gila Haor remembers from her childhood in upstate New York. But at 33, she's trying to change things in her Pikesville household by speaking Yiddish as often as possible to her three daughters, ages 3 to 8. "It would make my grandparents - they are gone - so proud to know that I am speaking Yiddish," she says. Enthusiasts like Haor are few and far between.

Although the holiday season is upon us, savvy parents know the festivities begin when they must pack three temperamental children into the family auto for the long drive to visit seldom-seen family members.Aahhh! The joys of parenthood.But holiday travel doesn't have to be foreboding and stressful; it can be downright pleasant. At least that's what Vicki Lansky says.Ms. Lansky, author of 26 books for parents with young children, has written a new one titled "Trouble-Free Travel with Children," which contains hints for parents on the go.How does she know so much about children?

With Richard Dreyfuss starring and a script by David Mamet, you might think "Lansky," an HBO film about the legendary crime boss, would be something special.But you would be wrong.The film, which premieres tonight, does feature a fascinating, though ultimately not very engaging, performance by Dreyfuss. Can you recall any performance by him that wasn't at least interesting?But Mamet, who also serves as executive producer, made some bad choices in deciding how to best tell the story of Meyer Lansky, proving that even great writers aren't always great.

AMHERST, Mass. -- The phrases are familiar, spoken in American communities across the country: "He has chutzpah." "She's a schmoozer." "I'm tired of schlepping these kids around."What many don't realize is that the phrases were born of Yiddish, a once-flourishing language that was obliterated by the holocaust and the Communist crackdowns in Eastern and Central Europe during and after World War II.The language also withered away in the United States, where many immigrants taught their children English, not Yiddish.