Vantage Point

Just when Towson thought it had stuck its flag in the ground as a renewed member of the country's elite college lacrosse programs, it ran into a hellbent Ohio State team on the same mission Sunday. Playing in a blustery Ohio Stadium where the 2,800 on hand offered only a hint of the home-field enthusiasm the football Buckeyes enjoy in front of 105,000 in the fall, Ohio State nevertheless prevailed 16-6 in the first-round game of the NCAA lacrosse tournament. The No. 3-seed Buckeyes dominated the second and third quarters, blowing open a game that had been tied 2-2 at one point in the first, on the way to quarterfinal match with Cornell - an upset winner over Maryland - on Saturday at Byrd Stadium in College Park.

Just when Towson thought it had stuck its flag in the ground as a renewed member of the country's elite college lacrosse programs, it ran into a hellbent Ohio State team on the same mission Sunday. Playing in a blustery Ohio Stadium where the 2,800 on hand offered only a hint of the home-field enthusiasm the football Buckeyes enjoy in front of 105,000 in the fall, Ohio State nevertheless prevailed 16-6 in the first-round game of the NCAA lacrosse tournament. The No. 3-seed Buckeyes dominated the second and third quarters, blowing open a game that had been tied 2-2 at one point in the first, on the way to quarterfinal match with Cornell - an upset winner over Maryland - on Saturday at Byrd Stadium in College Park.

Witnessing the same event from different points of view is at least as old as Akira Kurosawa's 1950 Rashomon. But it's a concept that gets beaten into the ground in Vantage Point, an overly gimmicky and fatally repetitive terrorist thriller that quickly wears out its welcome. Think of it as Rashomon for the video age, as audiences get to watch the same political assassination from what seems like a hundred different vantage points (the actual number is closer to a half-dozen) around the Spanish piazza where the shooting takes place.

Let's price that trip to Denver, the one that would allow you to watch arguably the greatest middle linebacker of all time face arguably the greatest quarterback of all time in one final game. Ray Lewis, with all of his pre-play growling and gesticulating, will stand across from Peyton Manning, with all his pointing and audible calling, in the AFC Divisional Round at Denver's Mile High Stadium. According to NFL Ticket Exchange.com , there were almost 5,500 seats available to the game as of 8:45 this morning, ranging from $150 to $2,500 a piece.  There are seats available in every section of the stadium.

The Wilde Lake Village Board is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the 2008-2009 board. The appointee will hold the office through the remainder of the term. Applications are available at Slayton House in Wilde Lake Village Center. The applications deadline is Jan. 15. Information: 410-730-3987. Town Center The Town Center Community Association will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road. (The November edition of the community's newsletter, the Center Fold, listed the date incorrectly.

Historic Oakland will offer three free presentations as part of its Master Gardener Series. "Basics of Landscape Design" by Melanie McKibbin at 7 p.m. March 18. "Gardening in Small Spaces" by Dana Rogers and team at 7 p.m. March 25. "Posies in a Pot" by Pat Greenwald at 7 p.m. April 1. All events will be held at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road. Information and registration: 410-730-4744. Event features tea, jewelry show Town Center Community Association offers Sunday afternoon tea from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 16 at the ballroom of Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia.

POLICE LOG* Dorsey's Search: 10400 block of Columbia Road: A TV and stereo were stolen from a bin at Storage USA between Sept. 6 and Tuesday. Police said there were no signs of forced entry.* Harper's Choice: 5600 block of Gulf Stream Row: A 1987 Ford Country Squire station wagon with Maryland tags VFE495 was stolen Tuesday or Wednesday, police said.* Town Center: 11000 block of Little Patuxent Parkway: Someone stole a $300 stereo and several cassette tapes from a black Toyota MR2 Monday.

Volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) will present "Neighbor to Neighbor" workshops at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road. The workshops, which are designed to encourage communication within families and neighborhoods before a disaster occurs, are being held in conjunction with Howard County's Community Readiness Week activities. Those who participate will learn how to shelter in place without assistance from local government or emergency personnel, and how to prepare for a local or regional disaster or emergency.

The death of 15-year-old Tara Gladden and the discovery of her body a short distance from her Vantage Point home has heightened fears of crime among some Town Center residents and Columbia officials.Village officials are attempting to form a Neighborhood Watch Program to deter crime, and the Columbia Council is considering taking a more active role in public safety issues in light of the Atholton High School student's death and other recent crimes."There certainly is more concern about security measures.

One would imagine it is something of a bittersweet triumph for an actor to endure long enough to revisit a glory moment from his youth, albeit from the vantage point of an older character. Unlike many of his classically schooled contemporaries in England, it was never in the cards for Michael Caine to ascend from playing King Lear's Edgar, say, to Lear himself. But then how many veterans of the Royal Shakespeare Company can lay claim to having done two film versions of the super-hit stage thriller Sleuth?

You can always schlep down to the (now-fenced-in) Inner Harbor, but we asked savvy Baltimoreans about other venues for seeing the fireworks on New Year's Eve. Here are a few alternatives to downtown crowds. •Residents of Federal Hill have been known to make dinner reservations at any of the many hip restaurants in the neighborhood before heading near the parking lot of the Wine Market on Fort Ave. (Those at the 10 p.m. dinner seating at the Wine Market will have a great view as well.)

The biggest nightlife event this weekend isn't a crazy dance party or a concert by a hot new band - it's the Fourth of July fireworks display downtown. Since the annual holiday falls on a Saturday, bars, restaurants and clubs are going to be busy all day and night. And no part of town will be more flooded with revelers than the Inner Harbor. Restaurants there will fill up fast, traffic will be tied in a knot, and it could take as long as half an hour to hoof it across Harborplace. Though the Light and Pratt street pavilions offer front-row seats for the annual fireworks at 9:30 p.m., they're not the only harborside spots with great views.

The emotion and size of the crowd at Tuesday's presidential inaugural in Washington inspired and awed several prominent Howard County Democrats who attended. But getting there and back home presented more practical concerns. MARC commuter trains, Metro subway cars, private autos and a county car and police driver were the different modes used by four leaders to get to Washington's Union Station on Tuesday, the start of their individual and often very personal strolls to the swearing-in of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president.

The Hickory Ridge Community Association will hold a Holiday Craft Shop from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today at Hawthorn Center, 6175 Sunny Spring. Admission is free. Information: 410-730-7327. Traffic study Marty Wells of Wells and Associates will discuss the traffic study of General Growth Properties' General Plan for downtown Columbia at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Town Center Community Association's village board meeting. Meetings, which are open to the public, are held at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia.

The Wilde Lake Village Board is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the 2008-2009 board. The appointee will hold the office through the remainder of the term. Applications are available at Slayton House in Wilde Lake Village Center. The applications deadline is Jan. 15. Information: 410-730-3987. Town Center The Town Center Community Association will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road. (The November edition of the community's newsletter, the Center Fold, listed the date incorrectly.

The e-mail was short and to the point: Several members of my 1952-1954 class at Garrison Junior High in Northwest Baltimore - Class 215 - were organizing a reunion. The e-mail asked if I would be willing to come from California, where I live. The inducement was that our much-admired homeroom and English teacher, Milton "Manny" Velder, now 80, would be the honored guest. I had no doubt it would be wonderful to spend time with Mr. Velder again, as well as all these classmates, most of whom I hadn't seen in more than 50 years.

The Hickory Ridge Community Association will hold a Holiday Craft Shop from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today at Hawthorn Center, 6175 Sunny Spring. Admission is free. Information: 410-730-7327. Traffic study Marty Wells of Wells and Associates will discuss the traffic study of General Growth Properties' General Plan for downtown Columbia at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Town Center Community Association's village board meeting. Meetings, which are open to the public, are held at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia.

Two teen-agers from Baltimore were arrested and charged Friday in connection with two car thefts and three car theft attempts in Columbia's Town Center, police said.Ronnie Linwood Harris, 19, of the 1400 block of W. Lafayette St. in Baltimore, was charged with auto theft, theft, destruction of property and unauthorized use of a vehicle in the thefts and tampering with cars in the 5500 block of Sterrett Place and the 5500 block of Vantage Point Road between 4: 15 p.m. and 4: 45 p.m. Friday.

Historic Oakland will offer three free presentations as part of its Master Gardener Series. "Basics of Landscape Design" by Melanie McKibbin at 7 p.m. March 18. "Gardening in Small Spaces" by Dana Rogers and team at 7 p.m. March 25. "Posies in a Pot" by Pat Greenwald at 7 p.m. April 1. All events will be held at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road. Information and registration: 410-730-4744. Event features tea, jewelry show Town Center Community Association offers Sunday afternoon tea from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 16 at the ballroom of Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia.

Town Center Community Association offers Sunday afternoon tea from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 16 at the ballroom of Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia. Tea, scones, sandwiches and desserts will be served. Twins Silver Dream will present a jewelry show of sterling silver and gemstone jewelry. A sampling of their jewelry can be viewed at www.twinssilverdream.com. The cost is $20 per person, and reservations are required two business days in advance. Information and reservations: 410-730-4801 or 800-730-4802.