Sarah

Last December, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declared the end of the war in Iraq. Whether there will be an end to repercussions from that war remains to be seen. One such repercussion involves a wounded photojournalist named Sarah and her reporter boyfriend James in "Time Stands Still," a 2010 play by Donald Margulies that opens Everyman Theatre 's season this week. "America has been at war for 10 years," says Everyman artistic director Vincent Lancisi. "We're going to see a lot more plays like this.

Here's our vote for the third week in August as the most annoying week of the year. It's when the lull between spring and fall television programming really takes its toll -- our DVR is only 10 percent full (22 episodes of "Repo Games" and five episodes of "My Cat from Hell"). That, combined with overwhelming complaints from teachers that have to go back to work after a relaxing summer, is enough to reach a boiling point. News flash: Most of us work full-time all year and still get paid less than you do. Here's hoping tonight's episode of "The Bachelor Pad" makes us feel better during the year's most annoying week.

Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has made another foray into Maryland politics, endorsing GOP candidate Dan Bongino in what she calls his "uphill battle" for the Senate, his campaign announced Monday. In 2010, the former Alaska governor backed Republican Brian Murphy in his unsuccessful GOP primary bid against former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Bongino, a retired Secret Service agent, is challenging first-term Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. "Dan has seen what politicians have done to our country, and he's decided, 'If I'm not part of the solution, I'm part of the problem,'" Palin said in a statement released by the Bongino campaign.

It's hard to focus on tonight's "Bachelor Pad" while we are eagerly awaiting ABC to confirm Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte as the next Bachelor. And this isn't a pipe dream like our " Make Chris Harrison the Next Bachelor " Facebook group. A few days ago, Lochte let slip to Matt Lauer on"Today" that he wanted to be the next Bachelor and appear on "Dancing with the Stars. "  Is he a good candidate? Well, he's single and famous. Without the gold medals, he's just like Bachelor Brad without the southern accent.

Considering that the title character is no longer among the living in "Following Sarah," she spends a good deal of time on stage at Fells Point Corner Theatre. Playwright Rich Espey has set himself a tricky challenge with this Baltimore Playwrights Festival entry about a deceased high school girl who lingers in the thoughts of her classmates and perhaps lingers in a supernatural way, too. Espey, who is a veteran presence in this annual showcase for local playwrights, has a firm command of character and dialogue.

With this season of "The Bachelorette," almost over, we break down some of the show's highs and lows. Best pirate beard: Ryan ("Fluff Head") Chris: It took weeks to cultivate and then hours of pre-date pruning to perfect. Jack Sparrow has nothing on Ryan's perfectly coiffed facial fur. However, do any women find this look attractive? Best hairless chest: Sean ("Biceps") Sarah: The majority of bachelors this season sported bare chests.

This season seems shorter than usual, which we suppose can be attributed to Emily's quick dismissal of any dude that remotely dislikes children. We probably wouldn't be friends with her -- we dislike most children we meet. This week Emily joins the final three bachelors, Jef with one f, Arie ("Speed Racer") and Sean ("Biceps"), in Curacao. Private island date Sarah: Finally the producers take control of date planning. Emily and Sean take a helicopter ride to a private island, snorkel and then enjoy a dinner on the beach with hundreds of couch pillows.

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. " --Sarah Palin, Aug. 7, 2009 The death panels are back. Sarah Palin's vision of a dystopian society in which the elderly and infirm would be required to justify their continued existence before a jury of federal functionaries has been widely ridiculed since she first posted it on Facebook three years ago. It was designated "Lie of the Year" by Politifact, the nonpartisan fact-checking website, something that would have mortified and humiliated anyone who was capable of those feelings.

It wasn't until my husband held our son Aaron for the first time that I realized I'd been holding my breath - for months. In August, Judah had hugged me, 20-something-weeks' pregnant, and our 3-year-old goodbye before leaving for a tour in Afghanistan. Nearly five months later, he'd watched via Skype from the district center in Musa Qal'eh as Aaron was born, four days past his Christmas Day due date - at 1:58 p.m. by my watch, 2328 by Judah's. Since that day, I'd been staring at the baby, who wears my husband's face in miniature, and marveling at their similarities - the long eyelashes, the expression in sleep, the chin, the smirk - but refusing to fully acknowledge the fear that I'd never see those two versions of the same face together.