Buzz

Three years of hard work by the Rodgers Forge community association finally pays off when it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ruth Gore, a resident of Rodgers Forge for 70 years, reflects on the community's past and present.

Here's an excerpt:

"Move over Stoneleigh. Rodgers Forge is now also on the National Register of Historic Places.

The community recently gained that designation from the National Park Service. The process took nearly three years, according to Janice Moore, president of the Rodgers Forge community association.

"When you get it, it's hard-earned and, in a way, prestigious," Moore said. "But we knew we had a unique community, and it was something that should be preserved.

"We're not just another row home community," she said.

The association represents the Forge's 1,777 row houses built by Baltimore developer James Keelty and his sons between 1931 and 1957."

Read the entire article here.

Haven't made it down to the National Aquarium for the Jellies exhibit? Here's an AMAZING photo set of jellies and nettles. Be sure to enlarge each photo to get the full "up close" effect.

Here's a sneak peek.



See the full catalog of photos here.

Our Bmore Twibe is in the think of holiday preparations...

Will you find coal in your stocking? A Christmas poll from @RasmussenPoll says, "77% say they're on Santa's "nice" list... 9% say naughty...http://tinyurl.com/RR0902"

If wishes only came true...@atomicbooks, "We're compiling an Atomic holiday guide. But here's a list of holiday books we'd recommend if only they existed: http://tinyurl.com/ylmcjpu"

Everyone can probably sympathize with @poofie who make this Christmas wish, "dear christmas lights, if you would please hang yourselves up on the front of the house before i got home, i would appreciate it. Patty"

@BCoExJimSmith offers this reminder about the true meaning of Christmas, "The REAL holiday spirit-- enjoy pixs of Habitat for Humanity in Halethorpe- http://tinyurl.com/bcohabit"

You be the judge...is it possible to be too green? @davetroy chronicles his jaunt for a Christmas tree, "Blog post w/photos of this afternoon's Christmas-tree-by-bike trip + 2009 reflections: http://bit.ly/4Qw5Hu"

@Chris_Ashworth says,  "Just bought our first Christmas tree. Put it up in our first house. Might have just officially become an adult. Not sure�1st tree! Only lights we had were from our wedding. Also...every time I look at the star I crack up. But 1st tree! http://yfrog.com/4icgadj"

@jdavidsburg, "Santa crawl!! (@ Ropewalk Tavern in Baltimore) http://4sq.com/8JLwAy"

@GusSent is on the right track, "My goal is to do all my Christmas shopping on my iPhone while sitting on the couch. #heightoflaziness"

And of course, the crew at @Charm_CityCakes shares this rather different holiday pursuit, "Duff and I are about to have Paranormal Investigators check out the bakery. I'm so excited and just a smidge spooked! �MA"

Just because it's almost Christmas and winter has taken a hold of the land is no reason not to keep abreast of the latest in green ideas...

@Urbanverse, "Bamboo tree house in Baltimore, a good neighbor. http://bit.ly/8432w9 #architecture"

@bmoreblackolive, "The Inn at The Black Olive - some wonderful construction pictures #greenbuilding #baltimore...http://bit.ly/58EJzV"

@baltcommfdn, "RT @BaltCitySchools: Students Participate in Cleaner, Greener Sustainability Challenge http://ow.ly/KBiH -- Good going!"

@MDGoesGreen, "Wonder what's the energy plan for Maryland. Read this: "2009 Maryland Energy Outlook": http://bit.ly/4F7QU4"

Then there's good news for MD's IT sector. @MCSA tweets that, "Gov O'Malley recognizes IT as 1 of 2 industries in MD that grew this past year:6.6%. IT means Job Growth! Say it over and over."

Here's a good question from @NatlAquarium. "How much water do you think the National Aquarium holds?"

Drumroll, please! And the answer is...@NatlAquarium, "While "oodles" definitely is a fitting answer, @HotMamaShida, @MrCorwin got it right! Our tanks hold about 2.2 millions gallons of water."

And still there's love for this great city of ours!

@baltomoco says, "Baltimore: always a destination of fun and surprises...http://tinyurl.com/yaf7nkm"

@Just_Ericka says, "Our town looks amazing at night. Inner Harbor and buildings all lit up, including Santa's place. I heart city life!"

@ahrycyk says, "Saw Main St. in Ellicott City for the first time ever - ADORED it and want to go back for an evening."

It's a consensus!  @kimberwom says, "ditto RT @BlueAgaveBalto We think so too :) RT @cathro: Baltimore, you're a wonderful town."

It's true what they say, one man's trash is another man's gold. For Gregory Glass, while most people would call rats a repulsive pest, he has made studying them in Baltimore his life's work.

Here's an excerpt.

"A trio of tiny rat statuettes stands sentinel in the center of Gregory Glass's desk. The shelves above are stuffed with rat necropsy records and block-by-block population analyses. Huge, humming freezers in the lab across the hall are chockfull of rodent odds and ends.

Now Glass, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, leads me out of his building and into the streets of Baltimore for a bit of impromptu fieldwork. He asks that I leave my jewelry and purse behind; after all these years of tramping the alleys in the rougher parts of town, the disease ecologist still gets nervous around sunset. Yet mostly he enjoys observing the "urban ecosystem," which, he says, is just as worthy of study as wilder areas, and maybe even more so: as savannas and rainforests shrink, cities grow, becoming a dominant habitat."

Read the entire article here.

Ed Snodgrass didn't give up the farm after losing money as a dairy farmer, instead the Street, Maryland farmer took on a partner and turned things around with an eco-friendly crop. Now his business is literally growing through the roof.

Here's an excerpt:

"It is a crisp fall day on Emory Knoll Farms as John Shepley stops at a raspberry bush, picks a few berries and pops them into his mouth on his walk to the greenhouses.

He's going to check on the recently assembled plastic covering that will protect the greenhouses in winter. Rows and rows of small sedums, delosperma and other green roof plants sit below, soaking up the sun in their newly insulated home.

These plants have been the sole focus and cash crop of the farm since 1998. Nearly a million of them are grown each year for green roofs around the country, says Shepley, a former electrical engineer who is now co-owner of the business."

Ever wondered what's at the end of the rainbow? Well, Towson University scientists may be the first people who could tell us if there's a pot of gold using their rainbow trap.

Here's an excerpt:

"Those Care Bears can step off, because now humans have control over rainbows too. Scientists have created a rainbow trap with a lens and a plate of glass, and could apply the technique to information storage in the not-so-distant future.

New Scientist notes that UK scientists at the University of Surrey proposed a rainbow trap in 2007, based on exotic metamaterials that could manipulate light. But a team at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland has managed the feat with a relatively simple setup.

One side of the lens received a 30-nanometer-thick coating of gold film, or about three times the thickness of a bacteria's cell wall. Researchers laid that gold-side of the lens down on a similarly gold-coated glass slide, so that just a thin layer of air existed between the curved lens and flat slide."

Read the entire article here.

Whether you're a long time pet owner or new to the scene, this blogger has come up with a pretty comprehensive list of Baltimore's pet shops.

Here's an excerpt:

"If you're on vacation in Baltimore, Maryland, let it be known that this town has an extensive collection of lovely pet stores. Baltimore is not too far from Washington DC, so you could even come to Baltimore up through a DC vacation.

Pretentious Pooch

This is a cat and dog lifestyle boutique. It is located in the Mt Vernon district in Baltimore, and has been open for a few years. It offers cat and dog treats, clothing, special collars and bath products. Dogs of all sorts are allowed to join you while you shop in the store. You can even enter your dog in their "Dog of the Month" competition..."

Read the full post here.

We've al driven past it at least once -- the 18 foot sculpture of Nipper, the RCA advertising icon, sitting atop the Maryland Historical Society building. Well, did you know another city sports the very same sculpture?

Here's an excerpt:

The cities sport the only remaining giant statues of the RCA Victor mascot that were placed atop RCA warehouses in the northeast in the 1950's.

Albany's (left) is the largest � 25 feet tall and weighing almost four tons. Its history was recounted this week by photographer Chuck Miller on his Times-Union blog. New York Nipper, erected in 1954, sits atop what is now Arnoff Moving and Storage in North Albany's early industrial warehouse district..."

Read the entire article here.

Park advocate, Chris Delaporte joins Adam Meister for a visit to two Baltimore parks, Islamic Way and Lafayette Square.

Here's an excerpt:

"BmoreSmart members Robert Wray and Adam Meister teamed up with Chris Delaporte, The Park Advocate, a Parks and People consultant and former Baltimore Recreation and Park Department Chief to provide the citizens of Baltimore with a tour of Baltimore City parks.

On November 22nd, 2009, Rob Adam and Chris visited parks throughout Baltimore including Lafayette Square and Islamic Way. The video tours provide an overview of the history of Baltimore parks as well as interviews with people living in the communities. All videos are available at YouTube.

Islamic Way is an excellent example of how a community can come together to establish a pleasant and safe park with a small budget. Some of the other tours point to problems that need to be addressed before these parks can become a safe and comfortable place for the surrounding communities to benefit from."

Both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra  and Baltimore-based children's group, Milkshake, have been recognized by the Grammy's this year with nominations. The BSO has been nominated for a Grammy award for it's recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass in the category of "Best Classical Album of the Year." Steven Epstein, who produced the album was also nominated in separate category.Meanwhile, Milkshake, has been nominated for a Grammy in the category, Best Musical Album for Children, for their album, "Great Day".

Here're two excerpts:

" "... a solid recording, delicate when it needs to be but also displaying biting social commentary with power and authority. This will undoubtedly become a classic recording in terms of anyone's Bernstein music library." - Interchanging Idioms

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers, conducted by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop, has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Classical Album of the Year." Released on the Naxos label on August 25, 2009, this two-disc set was only the fourth audio recording ever produced of Mass. It received a second nomination in the category of "Producer of the Year, Classical" for Steven Epstein, who produced the Mass album."

Read the entire article here.


""It's refreshingly unexpected," said lead singer Lisa Mathews. "It just feels good that our peers think we're worth at least a nomination."

Released in August, the album, "Great Day," is Milkshake's fourth, and is in great company, Mathews said. Other nominees in the same category include albums by Ziggy Marley, Jonathan Sprout and Buck Howdy.

"We were up against some heavyweights," Mathews said.

With "Great Day," Milkshake aimed to make an album that appealed to tweens and toddlers alike. "I Want It," one of the dozen songs on "Great Day," is about materialism."

Read the entire article here.

While most cities kick-off the holiday season with by lighting a tree, things are done a bit differently in Baltimore, of course. This Baltimore resident reflects on the uniquely Baltimore tradition of the Washington Monument lighting ceremony with photos and pride.

Here's an excerpt:

"I think most cities have some way of officially kicking off the holiday season. In DC it's lighting the National Christmas tree and opening the White House for Christmas. In New York it's lighting the big tree in Rockefeller Center. In Baltimore, we kick off our annual holiday festivities by lighting up our Washington Monument. Neither Noel nor I had ever been to the Monument Lighting ceremony�although we had certainly seen it on TV�so this year we decided to venture out of Southeast to attend the party!"

Read the entire article here.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland's Montgomery and Howard Counties are on the short list of the nation's riches counties. Montgomery County ranks 12th, while Howard County rounds out the top five richest counties.

Here's an excerpt:

"We took a look at the fifteen counties with the highest median household incomes -- all of which were above $89,000 -- to see where wealth may still be flourishing during the recession. Many of the communities achieved high median household incomes even in heavily-populated counties -- nearly two-thirds of the localities on this list have a quarter of a million people or more. And we noticed the emergence of some geographical patterns: among the fifteen most affluent communities, nearly half were located in Virginia and Maryland and were located in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area, and almost a third encircled the urban core of New York City. But there were still a few outliers...

Maryland's Howard County, located near Baltimore and Washington, D.C., had a median household income of $101,867. The Census Bureau reported that the county had a population of more than a quarter of a million in 2008."

Read the full article here.

This year the annual Santa crawl, featuring Baltimore area men dressed as Old Saint Nick, hit the road and headed down the Ocean hon to spread holiday cheer. The crawl, which sees the festively arrayed men go from one bar to another, raises money for charities in Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt:

"The annual Santa Crawl has been going on in Baltimore for the past seven to eight years and is always held on the first weekend of December. A group of men dressed in Santa suits hop from bar to bar, sing Christmas songs, hand out toys and treats to children who are out shopping with their parents and share holiday joy with other people.

Government contractor Doug Edmunds, one of the participants coming to Ocean City, said last year, they had more than a hundred in attendance.

"As this event became so popular, two years ago we started doing it as a fundraiser for a local charity," Edmunds said, adding that the Baltimore event is still happening as scheduled, but some of the Santas decided to try Ocean City as a new spot this year."

Read the entire article here.

The Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool, currently an adviser to the bishops of the Diocese of Maryland, was chosen for one of two assistant-bishop vacancies in the Diocese of Los Angeles, which includes San Bernardino County and part of Riverside County.

She is the first openly lesbian or gay bishop chosen since the 2003 election of V. Gene Robinson as bishop of the New Hampshire diocese led dozens of conservative parishes and four dioceses to vote to leave the Episcopal Church. It also provoked condemnation from some of the other churches in the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the 2.1-million-member Episcopal Church is a part."
 
Read full article here.


"The future of the worldwide Anglian Communion was in jeopardy last night after the Archbishop of Canterbury said that the election of a lesbian bishop in the United States raised "very serious questions".

Dr Rowan Williams added that the choice of Canon Mary Glasspool to be a suffragan bishop in Los Angeles had "important implications". The election of Canon Glasspool, who has lived with the same female partner since 1988, is the second appointment of an openly homosexual bishop in the US Episcopal Church. It confirmed fears among evangelicals in the Anglican Communion of more than 70 million people that crucial votes at last summer's General Convention of the Episcopal Church had in effect ended the moratorium on gay bishops.

Dr Williams said: "The election of Mary Glasspool by the Diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan bishop-elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion but for the Communion as a whole. The process of selection, however, is only part complete. The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications.

"The bishops of the Communion have collectively acknowledged that a period of gracious restraint in respect of actions which are contrary to the mind of the Communion is necessary if our bonds of mutual affection are to hold." "

Read the full article here.