Vain

On February 27, 2005 JOHN RANDALL; loving husband of Betty Shaull, died quietly at home at age, 89. He is survived by his wife, daughters Linda Masland and Deborah Shaull, grandchildren Shaun Callahan, Colin Vain-Callahan and Meredith Leary and five great grandchildren. Gifts in his memory may be sent to Harford Hospice, Tylor Ridge, IIA, 8003 Corporate Dr., Suite G, Baltimore, MD, 21236.

On February 2, 2005, EVELYN V. VAIN; beloved wife of the late Charles G. Vain; loving mother of Charles J. Vain and his wife Kathleen; cherished grandmother of 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren; dear sister of Rose Kehl and Gertrude Riter. Family and friends may call at the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME OF LANSDOWNE, 2719 Hammonds Ferry Road, on Monday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where a service will be held on Tuesday at the funeral hour of 11 A.M. Interment to immediately follow at Lakeview Memorial Park.

It's already mid-January, and Baltimore area students haven't had a single snow day. And yesterday's snowfall amounted to nothing more than a tease. One to 3 inches of snow fell in the region -- but not until after the first bell. Students could only look out the windows and wonder what a difference a few hours might have made. School systems remained open, but after-school and evening activities were postponed or canceled. "We're rooting for a blizzard here," said Jeff Amoros, a senior at Centennial High School in Ellicott City.

Talking to David Vain can be a bit like learning another language. Words and phrases like shim-sham and shuffle off to Buffalo slip into his conversation with regularity. The terms, more quaint than cutting-edge, are used to describe the kinds of moves Vain uses in a dance form that is both quaint and cutting-edge itself: tap. Tomorrow, the 30-year-old native of the Lansdowne-Arbutus area, graduate of Baltimore School for the Arts and tap-dance teacher and performer will be joining other area tap enthusiasts in a celebration of National Tap Dance Day. The day is being marked in Baltimore for the first time, with an event organized by a local arts-advocacy group, Dance Baltimore!

From the lighter side of the news. A matter of faith The Lord's name was taken in vain -- in several different ways -- during a recent City Council lunch meeting. While dining on grilled chicken breasts and Dots candy, the council erupted into a heated debate about whether it should stop asking ministers to conduct religious benedictions to begin its meetings. Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector suggested that some might be offended by the mention of specific religious figures, such as Jesus.

On February 11, 2003 GRACE M. VAIN (nee McIntyre) of Baltimore, MD. Beloved mother of Robin L. Vahle and Jay M. Scoggins, grandmother of Keith and Brian Vahle, Gina, Katie, Natalie and Cameron Scoggins, great grandmother of Alexis Vahle and Madison Reid. A Memorial service will be held at the Church of the Holy Comforter Chapel, 130 W. Seminary Avenue, Lutherville 21093 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 10 A.M. Inurnment to follow in the church garden. Contributions to the Alzheimer's Association, 1850 York Road, Timonium, 21093 or Church of the Holy Comforter Music Ministry.

His beloved NBA Lakers are wheezing, but Jack Nicholson is thriving. In basketball terms, the 65-year-old actor is in the fourth quarter of his career. Yet he seems to be handling it with the savvy of a veteran point guard: all the right moves to compensate for a lost step. Nicholson wisely resurrected his humility in his latest movie, About Schmidt, which opened Friday. It wasn't easy. Warren Schmidt, the title character, doesn't date beautiful women nearly four decades his junior. He doesn't flash self-conscious smirks.

Washington was a hot place to be over the weekend - important premieres by the National Symphony, a recital by nonpareil violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and Kiri Te Kanawa's Washington Opera debut in Samuel Barber's Gothic opera Vanessa. With a psychologically astute, if occasionally overripe, libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti and an unabashedly romantic and brilliantly orchestrated, if occasionally overheated, score, Vanessa makes for a compelling night of music and theater. On Saturday night at the Kennedy Center Opera House, Te Kanawa offered a compelling, incisive portrait of a grande dame wedded to the past who is unexpectedly awakened to feelings long dormant.

Two schools, both nicknamed Eagles, were pursuing their first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference title in boys basketball last night. But on the strength of its rebounding and intensity, Arlington Baptist set itself apart from Annapolis Area Christian School to win the conference final, 65-52, at Gilman. Jason Barkley scored 16 points and had six rebounds while Tim Booker had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the victors. Arlington Baptist (20-10), which lost last year's C Conference final to Friends, out-rebounded AACS 38-21.

JERUSALEM -- On color-coded tourist maps, the Old City is neatly divided into self-contained quarters. Each of its four communities -- Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian -- looks to be secure in its own exclusive enclave. The maps are wrong. The Old City, surrounded by 16th-century walls up to 9 feet thick, is a labyrinth of winding, narrow streets where mutually distrustful sects compete for influence and turf while safeguarding their rituals, some dating back thousands of years.