Snow White

Walt Disney has taken over my daughter's brain. She's not even two, but she's already obsessed with the Disney cartoon versions of "Snow White," "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty," all of which have the same plot: The heroine is beautiful, but sad. Or in a coma. But wait! Here comes a handsome prince! He kisses her! She's happy! Everybody's happy! Even the woodland creatures are dancing! I have big problems with this. For one thing, if you see a squirrel dancing, you are looking at the final stages of rabies.

Freestyle at BMA While the holiday might be over, it's always a celebration on First Thursdays at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Today, visitors to the museum can enjoy live music, tours, hands-on activities, lectures and light fare as part of the First Thursday Freestyle event. Visitors can tour the Cone Wing and see the circus drawings and prints by Picasso, listen to the sounds of the Swingin' Swamis, sculpt acrobats and clowns out of wire and beads, attend lectures on the exhibit "Picasso: The Circus" and learn to juggle with Mandy Dalton.

WASHINGTON -- They say when you fall off a horse, you should get right up on it again. In one sense, Al Gore did that the other day by making a public appearance in Florida, the horse that threw him last November. The former vice president showed up in Orlando to make a nonpolitical speech for one of the first times off a college campus since losing the presidency. He confined himself largely to doing a self-deprecating stand-up comic routine, which is wise for anyone like himself who is known, unfairly, as unfunny.

PHOENIX - Two hours before the first pitch, thousands of kids, their parents in tow, are filling Jefferson Street outside Bank One Ballpark. But they're not going to see the Diamondbacks. Snow White is starring next door at America West Arena, and although she's 144 years old and has lost a couple of miles off her fastball, she's still giving baseball a run for its money this sunny Saturday. "There's no contest," says Gail Brown as she's tugged toward the arena by four youngsters. "We're talking `Snow White on Ice.' " The Diamondbacks have accomplished a lot in their first three seasons.

10th annual Chocolate Affair Chocolate lovers, prepare to be enraptured this evening at the sight of treats created by area restaurants and caterers - for a good cause. Sample sweets and savories from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, 1415 Key Highway, and help raise money for the Center for Poverty Solutions, a nonprofit charitable organization. Also at the 10th annual Chocolate Affair, celebrity judges will select the best food creations, and guests can bid on a variety of prizes.

Theatre on the Hill , a professional summer theater company in residence at Western Maryland College, has announced its 2000 season, which will include two family matinee favorites. The schedule for the company's 18th season offers "Forever Plaid," "The Mousetrap," "The Rink" and matinee performances of "Snow White" and "Stuart Little." "Forever Plaid," a musical for all ages, opens the season June 16. The Plaids, four young singers who were killed in an auto accident on the way to their first big gig, are brought back to life to fulfill their stage dreams.

This weekend, the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis ends its season with a program devoted to fairy tales. The performance will begin with "Fairy Tale Highlights" choreographed by artistic director Edward Stewart. Fairy tale characters will be featured from children's literature, including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," "Alice in Wonderland," "Puss 'N Boots and the White Cat" and "Tales of Beatrix Potter." BTA's 26-member company will perform with student dancers from Anne Arundel County and the Eastern Shore.

Editor's note: Two sisters help a grumpy dwarf who repays their kindness by sacrificing them to a bear. Luckily, the bear turns out to be an old friend.When the girls went into the woods to collect kindling, they came upon a clearing where a huge tree had fallen. They noticed a small creature jumping up and down on top of the trunk, and when they came closer, they saw it was a dwarf. The end of his long beard was stuck in a crack of the tree."Why are you just staring at me?" screamed the dwarf.

Down in South Houston, Texas, there are some indelible truths: Chicken fried steak is best cooked well-done, seafood better be fresh from the Gulf of Mexico and whoever is elected mayor will probably be impeached.This town scoffs at Congress' meager record of two impeached presidents in 131 years. South Houston's City Council has impeached and removed two mayors in the past five, the most recent in November. One of the mayors who served between those beleaguered administrations survived an impeachment attempt, and the other, battle-fatigued, quit.

Lee/Jackson birthdaysCelebrate the birthdays of two Civil War generals and honor the thousands of Confederate soldiers who served Saturday at the Lee/Jackson Monument downtown. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was born Jan. 21, 1824, and served as Confederate general during the Civil War along with the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, Robert E. Lee, born Jan. 19, 1807. In tribute, wreaths will be laid at the monument, a march of Confederate and Federal re-enactment troops will proceed through the street, and period music will create the mood.