Moon

You may not be able to see it through the rain clouds tonight, but a waning moon just past its fullest is up there. Luckily, I snapped a shot of it last night. The moon was technically "full" at 4:40 a.m. Thursday. It rises at 6:50 p.m. Thursday. March's full moon is known as the Worm Moon or the Sap Moon, for coming as worms begin to slither through softened ground and maple sap begins to run again.

Before every Ravens game, the team's fine media relations staff sends reporters a useful packet of stats, info and other tidbits to help us find enough Sunday subplots to make sure you're drowning in Ravens coverage. Each week, they include a quick player Q&A. This time it was defensive end Cory Redding, whose hobbies apparently include rollerblading and crashing kids' parties that have those inflatable moon bounce things. What does Redding -- who is 6-foot-4 and nearly 300 pounds -- like to do in his spare time?

Get the grandparents, kids, teens and adults together and enjoy a brisk Harvest Moon hayride along the Patuxent River in Riverfront Park, Friday, Nov. 4, 6 to 9 p.m. Drinks, snacks and entertainment are all enjoyed around a roaring bonfire. Pre-register for groups of 10 or more and receive a discounted rate. Cost is $3.50 per person, free for kids under 2. Ride originates at the former Police Department parking lot on C Street and is sponsored by Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation.

Martha & Mary's stands along Reisterstown's bustling Main Street, a corridor packed with small shops offering everything from antiques to ski equipment. The strip bristles with signs. It's impossible to read them all while driving the posted speed. But this restaurant's name stands out in blue and white on a sign large enough to be seen for at least a couple of blocks. On days when weather permits outdoor dining, wrought-iron tables and chairs are topped with very visible canopy-class umbrellas.

"I was born the night she found me. " -- Eric Northman Whether or not you believe in the powers of a full moon, it's hard to deny that if a place would be affected by lunar fatness, it would be Bon Temps. Let's see: In this episode, Jason finally got some time to shine (funniest Jason lines ever!) but did he become a werepanther? Arlene and Terry had more baby drama -- or it it babydoll drama? We found out just what Marnie can do (though it's still a bit confusing). Even in Mexico, the moon did some powerful things. And there was some full-moon romance as well.

There is no such thing as a gay marriage. Just because two people of the same sex take their vows at some kind of ceremony doesn't make the result a marriage. If a group of politicians passes a law declaring the moon to be the sun, their votes don't change anything. The moon is still the moon and the sun is still the sun. From the beginning of mankind, a marriage has been a union of one man and one woman. This is over 4,000 years. Politicians, who should have more important matters to take care of, think they can vote to make a same-sex union a marriage.

It takes a long time to save the world in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon. " This special effects-driven, 3-D extravaganza does not know when to quit. Indeed, it's a lengthy summer blockbuster that will keep you in a dark movie theater for much of the summer. There's no denying that the movie possesses a lot of entertainment value, but there's also no denying that director Michael Bay savors every explosion in a plot that blows something up every few minutes. It's a noisy spectacle that has no use for restraint.

We've come so far in 40 years: From streaking to planking, from walking on the Moon to the last shuttle mission, from Nixon to Obama, from the dawning of Aquarius to the failed apocalypse. I say let's bring back moon roving, and roving while mooning. Theodore Carl Houk

In recent Bel Air Women's Summer Lacrosse League action, Little Miss Sunshine knocked off the Black Magic team 12-6, while Save the Ta-Ta's was able to pull out a narrow 8-7 defeat of the Blue Moon team. Playing on Thursday afternoon, Little Miss Sunshine used a big first-half offensive push to grab the victory, outscoring the Black Magic squad 7-2 in the opening frame. In the second half, the two squads were a bit more even, with Black Magic posting four goals, while the winners netted five.

The penultimate program of the Baltimore Symphony's season balances feel-good orchestral pieces by Osvaldo Golijov and Benjamin Britten against a piano concerto by Johannes Brahms packed with darkly emotional drama. It makes for an engrossing combination. The orchestra-only portion includes the local premiere of "Sidereus" by Golijov, the Argentine composer with Russian-Jewish roots and a knack for writing music of uncommonly broad appeal. The BSO was among nearly three dozen orchestras involved in commissioning the work, first performed in Memphis, Tenn., last fall.