Octopus

DETROIT -- It rained octopuses in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the New Jersey Devils, and there is every indication it will rain octopuses even larger in Game 2.Tomorrow at noon, Kevin Dean, who co-owns Superior Fish with his brothers Michael and David, will auction for charity Stanley, a 52-pound octopus, and his younger brother, Oscar, 36 pounds."

Using their keen eyesight, octopi stare at the world from two beady eyes. They maneuver through the sea with four pairs of bilaterally symmetrical arms that bear suction cups. They possess a hard beak - similar to that of a parrot, the only hard part about them - and as cephalopods, they squeeze into and out of tight places, helpful when fleeing moray eels and other predatory fish. Three hearts pump and heat blood that circulates through an octopus' system, and they have demonstrated both short- and long-term memory and problem-solving skills in mazes and in other experiments administered by biologists.

Using their keen eyesight, octopi stare at the world from two beady eyes. They maneuver through the sea with four pairs of bilaterally symmetrical arms that bear suction cups. They possess a hard beak - similar to that of a parrot, the only hard part about them - and as cephalopods, they squeeze into and out of tight places, helpful when fleeing moray eels and other predatory fish. Three hearts pump and heat blood that circulates through an octopus' system, and they have demonstrated both short- and long-term memory and problem-solving skills in mazes and in other experiments administered by biologists.

This just in. Pazo has added capacity for Thursday night's Stillwater Artisanal Ales beer dinner. Brewmaster Brian Strumke (pictured) is the special guest at a $79 per person, four-course dinner at Pazo . Strumke's travels and Stillwater have been the subjects of features stories on National Public Radio and in the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune. The dinner at Pazo, which will be preceded by passed hors d'oeuvres, includes shrimp poached with preserved orange and chili, octopus a la Planxa and herb- marinated, wood-grilled leg of lamb.

On Sunday afternoon, the Flying Karamazov Brothers juggled - among other things - an octopus, green Jell-O and a 5-pound sack of flour. They had Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia packed to its 700-patron capacity. But Monday morning, it was amateur hour. At the Rouse minitheater, the world-famous juggling group taught 30 fans - amateurs and connoisseurs, kids and not-so-youngsters - how to maneuver simpler objects in the air. "We're like their groupies, except that we don't travel to see them," said Richard Taffet, 59, of Rockville, who has seen the Flying Karamazov Brothers perform four times in the past five years and attended the events Sunday and Monday with his two daughters.

"I think the 'Arthur' series of books by Marc Brown is great. I like the books for many reasons. First, I like them because they give a lot of details. Next, I think they are funny. Then, at the end of the books, they are so silly and have wonderful things to laugh about." -- Jasmine Fonce Joppa View Elementary "My favorite book is 'Spiderman: Dangerous Dr. Octopus' by Michael Teitelbaum. It has lots of action. Dr. Octopus captures a girl and Spiderman comes and saves her and takes 'Doc Oc' to jail."

Ever since the four-ton carcass washed onto a St. Augustine, Fla., beach in 1896, it has been cited as the only evidence for the existence of Octopus giganteus -- an octopus with a 200-foot embrace.But now, scientists at the University of Maryland College Park say they have slain the old sea-monster legend. Their analysis of preserved tissue from the creature shows that it probably was just decomposed whale blubber.Dr. Sidney K. Pierce, a UM expert in the cellular biochemistry of invertebrates, says he'd hoped to prove the big octopus was real.

4Kids Featured site of the month MAGNIFICENT VERSAILLES Take a virtual tour to France to witness the magnificence of the palace of Versailles. The Chateau de Versailles Web site at www.smartweb.fr / versailles / features many images of the gardens, the palace, the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon and the surrounding parks. The history section will fill you in on all the major changes to Versailles, from its creation in 1038 to its role as the most sumptuous royal residence in all of Europe in the 18th century.

This just in. Pazo has added capacity for Thursday night's Stillwater Artisanal Ales beer dinner. Brewmaster Brian Strumke (pictured) is the special guest at a $79 per person, four-course dinner at Pazo . Strumke's travels and Stillwater have been the subjects of features stories on National Public Radio and in the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune. The dinner at Pazo, which will be preceded by passed hors d'oeuvres, includes shrimp poached with preserved orange and chili, octopus a la Planxa and herb- marinated, wood-grilled leg of lamb.

If you like the Ravens and you like sushi, you should be twice as happy about the recent signing of free agent cornerback Samari Rolle, whose name sounds like it would taste delicious on a plate with wasabi and pickled ginger. In honor of the newest Raven, we pondered just what a sushi Samari Roll should look and taste like. Here are some of our suggestions. Pick your favorite, then submit your own ideas. Tempura eggplant and sauted purple onion, to match Samari's new uniform color, with eel (hopefully he's slippery on the field)

Samos doesn't take reservations, doesn't take credit cards and doesn't have a liquor license. Yet it does have plenty of customers. What pulls people into this small, family-run operation is the food. The kitchen, supervised by chef and owner Nicholas Georgalas, dishes up zesty Greek fare in portions that would feed an All-American football player. The dozen or so tables split between two dining rooms, one offering a view of the open kitchen, are usually full — occupied by priests, workmen, staff members from nearby Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and extended families.

Frank Miller's take on The Spirit should make comic modern-day fanboys happy, what with its dark undertones, its beat-it-to-a-pulp action and its sly winks at comic greats past and present. Everyone else, including fans of Will Eisner's original Spirit, may find themselves wondering what all the fuss is about. By taking Eisner's '40s-era hero and updating him for the 21st century, Miller has done little more than make him just another guy fighting moral decrepitude in the big city. If that sounds like something you've heard before, it is - in both The Dark Knight and Miller's own Sin City, which Robert Rodriguez put on the big screen in 2005.

On Sunday afternoon, the Flying Karamazov Brothers juggled - among other things - an octopus, green Jell-O and a 5-pound sack of flour. They had Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia packed to its 700-patron capacity. But Monday morning, it was amateur hour. At the Rouse minitheater, the world-famous juggling group taught 30 fans - amateurs and connoisseurs, kids and not-so-youngsters - how to maneuver simpler objects in the air. "We're like their groupies, except that we don't travel to see them," said Richard Taffet, 59, of Rockville, who has seen the Flying Karamazov Brothers perform four times in the past five years and attended the events Sunday and Monday with his two daughters.

On Sunday afternoon, the Flying Karamazov Brothers juggled - among other things - an octopus, green Jell-O and a 5-pound sack of flour. They had Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia packed to its 700-patron capacity. But Monday morning, it was amateur hour. At the Rouse minitheater, the world-famous juggling group taught 30 fans - amateurs and connoisseurs, kids and not-so-youngsters - how to maneuver simpler objects in the air. "We're like their groupies, except that we don't travel to see them," said Richard Taffet, 59, of Rockville, who has seen the Flying Karamazov Brothers perform four times in the past five years and attended the events Sunday and Monday with his two daughters.

Hulk Hogan wants to toss animal cruelty out of the ring. The pro wrestling legend, who has a pet rooster named Lily, has joined with the Humane Society of the United States in an effort to persuade boxer Roy Jones, who recently bought a cockfighting arena in Louisiana, to get out of that business. Hogan's argument? Cockfighting, he said, is "not a real sport." The road to the major leagues can be paved with ... lousy motels. Listen to Gabe Ribas of Brunswick, Maine, describe the worst place he has stayed during his four years in the minors.

If you like the Ravens and you like sushi, you should be twice as happy about the recent signing of free agent cornerback Samari Rolle, whose name sounds like it would taste delicious on a plate with wasabi and pickled ginger. In honor of the newest Raven, we pondered just what a sushi Samari Roll should look and taste like. Here are some of our suggestions. Pick your favorite, then submit your own ideas. Tempura eggplant and sauted purple onion, to match Samari's new uniform color, with eel (hopefully he's slippery on the field)

PierpointPierpoint, 1822 Aliceanna St., 675-2080. This small Fells Point restaurant offers an atmosphere that is sophisticated in a "new Baltimore" kind of way. The dining area is just two deep, narrow rooms with the first room occupied by the bar and a few tables. The aisles are thin; the decor spare; the colors muted; the tables almost too close together. The lean decor only serves to emphasize the food, which is sophisticated, but traditional, rooted in Maryland's rich culinary traditions.

IN the spirit of the times, we are downsizing the staff that writes these columns. Thanks to the downsizing, we are at last free to say "downsizing," having downsized Walter Mulmer, whose task was to keep the column free of what he called "mushmouth" words.Good old Walter. How we shall miss him. He would never have let us say we were downsizing. He would have made us say we were firing people left and right.Making people say what they mean is a precious service, and Walter will soon be offering it to the nation's greatest corporations as well as to the Clinton administration.

Eight years after it opened, Sotto Sopra is one of the success stories on the North Charles corridor, which has seen more than its share of comings and goings. The restaurant's chic decor and casual attitude have given it plenty of trendy appeal. With-it people go there to see and be seen, while the creative southern Italian food is good enough to attract serious eaters. Mount Vernon uses Sotto Sopra as a neighborhood spot, and timid suburbanites are willing to venture downtown because there's valet parking.

4Kids Featured site of the month MAGNIFICENT VERSAILLES Take a virtual tour to France to witness the magnificence of the palace of Versailles. The Chateau de Versailles Web site at www.smartweb.fr / versailles / features many images of the gardens, the palace, the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon and the surrounding parks. The history section will fill you in on all the major changes to Versailles, from its creation in 1038 to its role as the most sumptuous royal residence in all of Europe in the 18th century.