Soul

The temptation to talk about Allen Stone's look - the long, straggly blond hair, his trademark Seattle Supersonics jersey and those chunky reading glasses a great-grandmother might consider out of style - completely disappears once he opens his mouth. That's because a voice like Stone's warm tenor sounds like a product of a forgotten, pre-Auto-Tune era. Stone, who is currently opening for Jack's Mannequin but will perform his own headlining set at the 8x10 on Sunday, is one of the most promising and surprising soul singers in years.

Megan's sun-bronzed stomach and bikini bottom versus Dante's “The Inferno.” Guess which one Don Draper is locked in on at the opening of Sunday night's “Mad Men” on AMC. If you guessed the midsection of the divine Mrs. Draper, you would be wrong, because Season 6 of this even more divine drama opens with the return of the guy I think of as Existential Don. That's the dangerous and lost Don Draper - the guy who haunts late-night bars...

Thanks for Susan Reimer 's commentary on the shootings at Perry Hall High School ("Failing Bobby," Aug. 30). This young man seemingly didn't have a "normal" home life. To read about other students throwing food at him or ridiculing him makes me hope that those that made fun of him are not only praying for his alleged victim but also for themselves to be better friends to everyone. Anyone who ever bullied Bobby had a hand in his shattered soul. D. Taylor, Baltimore

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Matusz's roller-coaster season had landed him in Triple-A Norfolk last August, and he was walking along the city's harbor in the shadows of majestic naval battleships with his father, Mike. Days earlier, the Orioles left-hander was told that the organization was moving to the bullpen. He initially saw it as another demotion, and two relief appearances in, the results were unspectacular. He called home to Arizona and asked his father to visit him in Virginia.

On May 15, 2006, MARIE (nee Eckert); beloved wife of the late Louis J. Soul; devoted mother of William Soul and his wife Marie and Louis F. Soul, Sr. and his wife Carolyn. Also survived by five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Funeral Services will be held at the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex, 300 Mace Avenue, on Friday 11 A.M. Interment Garden of Faith Memorial Garden. Visiting hours, Thursday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M.

Growing up in Harlem in the late '80s and early '90s, Shemekia Copeland heard hip-hop up and down the block. Her friends were digging Kool Moe Dee and LL Cool J. But the latest sounds in urban music didn't really move the future blues belter. "I remember wanting to go inside and play my Koko Taylor records," says Copeland. "I feel like I was born in the wrong time." One listen to any of her four solid albums on Alligator Records, and you wonder whether the artist has lived here before.

Chicago. -- In San Francisco recently, ex-governor Jerry Brown was trying to explain why his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement is different from Ross Perot's opposition to it. Mr. Perot thinks NAFTA will make Americans lose jobs. Mr. Brown thinks it will make America lose its soul.We need to put our own house in order, he argues. American jobs have already gone south of the border, not because of stated trade policies, but because we do not insist on equitable labor policies here.

Man alone is either a God or a demon.-- Robert BurtonI WONDER if there is a deep affinity between each of us and some particular landscape.Some discover it early on. Others search in vain their entire lives. We all would do well to find out, as soon as possible, what kind of landscape is ours. And if we should be lucky enough, we must be equally adept at discovering when the contours of the landscape begin to shift, for that change is usually indicative of a larger metamorphosis within.I have begun this evening to think of the relationship of geography to the soul, as I sit on a wind-swept porch at the beginning of the summer season.

There's much more than just Bibles at the Cokesbury Christian Bookstore in Maple Lawn. While customers can certainly pick up Christian study aids, cards, jewelry with inspirational sayings and plenty of commentaries and devotionals, the bookstore also carries an eclectic assortment of volumes on global and social issues. On its shelves one can find a copy of “The Indispensable Guide to End-of-Life Care” by Sharyl Peterson, get some help from “Revolutionary Parenting” by George Barna or energize playtime with “101 Great Games for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers” by Jolene L. Roehlkepartain.

Standing on a foundation of history, literature and religion, psychotherapist Thomas Moore celebrates the ordinary in life. In his book, "Care for the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life," Mr. Moore advocates simple pleasures and spiritual well-being, not self-improvement programs.At a program sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Imagination, Mr. Moore will lecture at 8 tonight at St. David's Church, 4700 Roland Ave., and conduct a workshop tomorrow (( on "Care of the Soul" from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow at the church.

Mission accomplished for the Blast earlier this week in Chicago. The team successfully dodged the nasty weather with barely a glitch, opened the Major Indoor Soccer League semifinal round with an impressive win against the Soul on Tuesday and was safely back home on Wednesday. It was a tidy turnaround that has the home team one win away from the championship series. The Blast will try to lock up that spot at 7:35 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Chicago in the second game at 1st Mariner Arena . If the Soul wins to tie the series, a 15-minute mini game would immediate follow to determine which team advances.

Led by three goals apiece from veteran Adauto Neto and rookie Lucas Roque, the Blast earned a 22-13 victory in Game 1 of the Major Indoor Soccer League semifinals Tuesday night against the host Chicago Soul. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena . If the Soul wins, a 15-minute mini-game will immediately follow to determine which team advances to the championship against the Milwaukee Wave or Missouri Comets. The Soul jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Blast fought back to take a 6-4 lead by the first-quarter break and never looked back.

Blast (21-5) at Chicago Soul (11-15) What: MISL semifinals Game 1 When: Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. Site: Odeum Sports & Expo Center in Villa Park, Ill. Video: mislnation.com Outlook: Baltimore won its last six games in the regular season to claim first place and the top seed in the Major Indoor Soccer League playoffs. In the semifinals, the Blast plays the fourth-seeded Soul, which has proven to be a formidable opponent. The two teams will play a home-and-home series - the second game is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena . If the teams split the two games, a 15-minute mini game will immediately follow the second game to determine which team advances to the championship series.

So now the can has been kicked to the end of the road where the piper lives and must be paid. Will it be by cutting deep into the sacred cow of the military or by loosening the strands of the social safety net? With our financial cupboard almost bare, do we continue to pretend to be the big man on campus of the world by wildly spreading (borrowed) money around like a drunken sailor to buy new, and maintain old, favor and friends? Why? Can we afford to continue to rush in, mostly all by ourselves, everywhere and every time sand gets kicked up by a world bully?

The Chicago Soul broke an 8-8 tie late in the fourth quarter and upset the visiting Blast, 13-8, on Friday night. Carlos Farias scored a 3-point goal at 12:49 to put Chicago up, then Matt Stewart put the game away at 14:51. Pat Healey had tied the score at 8 at 7:28 of the quarter. The Blast's only lead came when Adauto Neto, playing in his 100th game for the team, put Baltimore up 2-0 in the second quarter. The Blast (12-3) will play today at 5 p.m. at Milwaukee (10-2) in a showdown for first place.

If the Bellevederes isn't Baltimore's best soul/R&B band - and it just might be - it's certainly the biggest. There are 10 people in all, including a horn section and a hype man known as Velvet Johnson (aka Justin Metzger). Technically, they're a cover band - but unless you're a music nerd, you'd probably never know it. Members of the Bellevederes spend hours digging up obscure songs from the '60s and '70s to play at their shows. They're a live band through and through; they've recorded an album, but aren't sure if it makes sense to release it. Two women - Kelly Butcher and Denny Finnerin - share the lead vocals on songs traditionally sung by men. Occasionally, they don't update the lyrics to reflect that, which makes for some head-turning moments at their shows.

On August 26, 2003, JOSEPH J., dear brother of Elizabeth (Alice) Krizek and her husband, Adolph, Mary Anna Klausmeyer and her late husband, Walter, Anna MaryFitzpatrick and her husband, William, and the late Edward and James Soul. Also survived by 16 nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the Schimunek Funeral Home of Bel Air, Inc., 610 W MacPhail Road, on Friday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Ignatius Church, Hickory on Saturday at 9 A.M. Interment private.

Op-ed contributor Mickey Fenzel recently wrote about "the malady of America's soul" and whether we have the will to heal it ("The malady of America's soul," Dec. 18). The tragedy in Newtown should challenge us all to begin a conversation has long been needed. My first thought on reading his commentary was of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's most famous quote: "Some are guilty, all of us are responsible. " The culture of the United States has changed in the last several decades.

With a 9-0 mark going into Friday's game on the road against the Chicago Soul, the Blast will be looking for a piece of history with an opportunity to tie the franchise mark for best start to a season. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. The 1993-94 Spirit opened its season at 10-0, the best in the 33 years of professional indoor soccer in Baltimore. The Blast, which is 3-0 on the road and 3 1/2 games in front of second-place Milwaukee (4-2) in the Major Indoor Soccer League, has two home wins against the last-place Soul.