Oct. 6-Oct. 15

 The circus used to be the most innocuous, thought-free kinds of entertainment. Lions, tigers, bears, trapeze artists, jugglers, you know the show. But in recent years, animal rights groups have given a lot of heat to the circuses - especially the biggie, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that's up at the TD Banknorth Garden. We'd like to offer a definitive, informative position on it all - because we like being know-it-alls - but we can't: We're swayed by arguments on both sides, just like we're carnivores who hate the fact that animals are killed so that we may dine. This is just one of life's many contradictions people live with. We can say this: We vacation in Sarasota, Fla. a lot and have seen the apprentice circus people perform at a high school tent and enjoyed the acrobatics very much. And we've seen "The Greatest Show on Earth" too, while we checked our cognitive dissonance at the door and hoped the elephants were being treated well. You can meet the animals (ask them!) and performers an hour before with your ticket as your pass. Tickets are: $24.50-$13,50  Showtimes vary and there are from one-to-three a day.

Causeway St., 617-931-2000 ringling.com