Sage

Kudos to reporter Childs Walker for his informative, well researched and compelling article on University of Maryland Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski ("Freeman Hrabowski's UMBC legacy grows as he celebrates 20 years as president," Sept. 1). Clearly. this is a man who exudes awareness of what life is about, and your article encompasses his rich and varied contributions. Carl I. Thistel, Baltimore

To understand what Fred Lazarus accomplished during his 35 years as president of the Maryland Institute College of Art , one need only look at the gleaming concrete-and-glass structure housing the school's Brown Center for new media. The rakishly angled building rising above the school's Mount Royal Avenue campus symbolizes the future of both art and higher education in America as surely as the stately neoclassical building across the street from it reflects its past. Mr. Lazarus, who announced this week that he will step down as president in 2014, had the genius to see that future and the skill to build it in Baltimore.

Sunday marks the 56th anniversary of the death of H.L. Mencken, the influential writer, journalist, satirist and social critic known as the "Sage of Baltimore," who died at the age of 75 in 1956. In a new video (above) , The Sun's Frederick Rasmussen talks about Mencken's life and work, discussing the Scopes Trial, bathtub hoax, Mencken's first beer after the repeal of Prohibition, his coverage of presidential nominating conventions and more. Rasmussen opens the video as follows: Henry Louis Mencken was born and raised in Baltimore, grew up in Union Square, and of course went on to become a celebrated American journalist.

Kudos to reporter Childs Walker for his informative, well researched and compelling article on University of Maryland Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski ("Freeman Hrabowski's UMBC legacy grows as he celebrates 20 years as president," Sept. 1). Clearly. this is a man who exudes awareness of what life is about, and your article encompasses his rich and varied contributions. Carl I. Thistel, Baltimore

Rockville-based Sage Software Inc. said yesterday it has signed an agreement to merge with Index Technology Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., in a deal valued between $50 million and $55 million.Both Sage and Index design computer-aided software engineering -- or CASE tools -- which automate the software development process so that it does not have to be written out by hand.Analysts praised the pending merger yesterday, saying the CASE tool market is overcrowded by manufacturers because the niche has not grown as fast as makers anticipated.

A Mass of Christian burial for the Rev. Carleton M. Sage, S.S., who taught at Catholic University, at St. Mary's Seminary and in Guatemala, will be offered at 11 a.m. today at Our Lady Queen of the Angels Chapel, at what is now the Charlestown Retirement Community at 715 Maiden Choice Lane.Father Sage, who was 86 and lived at St. Charles Villa, the retirement home of the Sulpicians, died Friday at St. Agnes Hospital after an illness of several months.He retired in 1978 after teaching in seminaries and helping in parishes in Guatemala since 1965, when he completed studies in Spanish at the University of Arizona and in Mexico.

Rockville-based Sage Software Inc. said yesterday that it has completed its previously announced plan to merge with Index Technology Corp. of Cambridge, Mass.The merger, valued at between $50 million and $55 million, results in the creation of a new company -- Intersolv Inc. -- that is expected to post sales of $70 million for the fiscal year that ends next month. It will be headquartered in Rockville.Kevin J. Burns, former chief executive officer of Sage, will serve as chairman and chief executive of the new company.

Maggie Spence, a fatherless 13-year-old in the English village of Winslough, needed some advice. She'd begun having sex with her boyfriend, Nick, 15, something she knew was wrong, but felt unable to stop because she enjoyed it so much."

JODY CUTLER sat amid a jumble of boxes, tables and chairs while workers peppered her with questions and vendors asked directions. It was 11 days before the opening of Great Sage, a vegetarian restaurant in Clarksville. "I liken it to doing a production," said the former drama instructor. "You spend your whole rehearsal period thinking, `This is never going to happen.' And you work around the clock and it comes out, and it's marvelous." Together with business partners Jeff Kaufman and his wife, Holly Kaufman, Cutler and a newly hired staff opened Great Sage on June 22. The restaurant is the third collaborative business endeavor for Cutler, 36, and Jeff Kaufman, 35. The first was Roots Market, which opened in 2000; the second was Nest, a gift shop that opened in 2003.

AS A 15-YEAR resident of this relaxed and affectionate old city, I am continually bemused by the thriving cultism inspired by H.L. Mencken in Baltimore. In this 40th anniversary year of his death, a standing-room-only throng gathered last Saturday at a local book emporium for yet another veneration of the Sage of Baltimore.Sagacious or not, Mencken was a resolute practitioner and defender of heresy, so I trust that he would salute my blasphemy in assaulting -- well, the Sage himself.First a concession: Mencken's ''The American Language'' merits due recognition as a magisterial work of scholarship.

Matthew and Joan Lallo never intended to open a restaurant in Baltimore. But considering the interesting menu and top-notch service at their Mount Washington spot, the Blue Sage Cafe & Wine Bar, Baltimore is lucky that they did. Blue Sage opened in June in the space formerly occupied by the short-lived restaurant, The Falls. Matthew, a former freelance food critic for The Baltimore Sun, and his wife, Joan, were regular lunch customers at The Falls. They were such big fans of the restaurant - and its location - that after it closed in September 2011, Matt Lallo tracked down the building's landlord and signed a lease.

Sage Karam, driving the Andretti Autosport Honda, streaked to the checkered flag Sunday morning, beating Jack Hawksworth in his Team Pelfrey Mazda by 10.170 seconds on the streets of Baltimore.  It was quite an effort as teams coped with the ever-changing street course conditions surrounding the light-rail tracks on Pratt St. This was Karam's third victory of the season and his second on a street circuit. The win moved him back to second in the points championship, behind Hawksworth, who won the Mazda race Saturday.

A really good summer cocktail is a balanced equation. It should taste like the season itself: clean, simple, light. It should also look the part: bright, fresh, uncomplicated. It's tough to find a drink that embodies these traits without overdoing the typical sweet-and-syrupy mix. Enter Townhouse Kitchen and Bar's stylishly simple Sage Coach. The Sage Coach reflects the vibe of this newly opened Harbor East upscale-but-casual space. "It's really easy to drink and yet goes with the experience we're trying to give our customers - something of fine quality without the stuffy, fine-dining feel," said general manager Tina Lavelle.

Blue Sage Cafe and Wine Bar opened on June 1 in Mount Washington in the Kelly Avenue space that was formerly The Falls (and before that Freida's Kitchen and, for years, the Mt. Washington Food Market). I've been hearing about Blue Sage - and read about it on a few other blogs -- but I kept not picking up the phone to check it out. So, I was happy to hear from Ricky Johnson, the bar and front-of-house manager at Blue Sage, who filled me in on the background and early days of Blue Sage.

Locked in a metal filing cabinet in The Sun 's library is a sheaf of manila folders packed with typed pages, copies of paste-up sheets and loops of pink, punched tapes - artifacts of H. L. Mencken's coverage of what he dubbed "the Scopes monkey trial. " Mencken was in poor health by the time The Sun 's offices moved to this brick building on Calvert Street. But more than a half-century after his death, his presence remains strongly felt here. His face, waggish and clutching a cigar between his lips, gazes down on those who pass through The Sun 's lobby.

Alaric's gone crazy, but I almost went crazy out of boredom from tonight's "Vampire Diaries" episode.   The only promising moment was when it appeared Damon was going to have a threesome with Sage, a vampire from his past that returns this episode, and Rebekah. But it didn't happen. Damon just hooked up with Rebekah and Sage came in after to read her mind.   Sage was trying to help Damon figure out what Rebekah was up to and they were successful. She learned Rebekah was trying to find out about a white oak tree that once existed in Mystic Falls.

It wasn't a very good week for the Prophet, as he picked three winners in six games, but only two of them covered -- thus, a 2-4 mark forthe sage.The Annapolis boys basketball team defeated Broadneck in the big Class 4A Region IV showdown, but not by 10 points as predicted. The Fighting Panthers won, 43-36, so that gives the Prophet a loss despite his taking the right team.Throw that in with the Northeast boys, the snakebitten Chesapeakeboys and an upset victory by the Southern girls, and you've got the Prophet's bad showing.

It was a "duh" moment. I was staring at an herb garden, trying to figure out which plant, if any, was sage. This was stuff I should know. A car mechanic is supposed to be able to distinguish between a carburetor and a fuel injector. A copy editor is supposed to be able to spot gerunds. And a food guy is supposed to be able to name that herb. Usually I employ a time-honored system to find herbs. I go to the produce section of a grocery store, I pick up packages of herbs and I read the labels.

Sunday marks the 56th anniversary of the death of H.L. Mencken, the influential writer, journalist, satirist and social critic known as the "Sage of Baltimore," who died at the age of 75 in 1956. In a new video (above) , The Sun's Frederick Rasmussen talks about Mencken's life and work, discussing the Scopes Trial, bathtub hoax, Mencken's first beer after the repeal of Prohibition, his coverage of presidential nominating conventions and more. Rasmussen opens the video as follows: Henry Louis Mencken was born and raised in Baltimore, grew up in Union Square, and of course went on to become a celebrated American journalist.

Girl Talk has gone legit. Gregg Gillis — the Pittsburgh DJ's real name — is still raiding the catalogs of music's biggest stars as shamelessly as a Somali pirate, but a new album of his can now crash servers within 24 hours of being posted online. He's playing bigger venues than ever before, and selling them out faster than some of the people he samples. And the city of Pittsburgh even designated Dec. 7 "Gregg Gillis Day. " His shows have also changed, and when he performs at Rams Head Live on Monday, fans will see a less intimate and more domesticated — even professional — performance.