Buzz

A Baltimore-based graphic designer who came to Baltimore from Paris bids farewell to her Bmore, reflecting on what made her stay here so wonderful and how Charm City compares to the City of Lights.

An excerpt from the blog post reads:

Dear Baltimore,

Thank you for 5 amazing years! You've taught me more than you'll ever know and introduced me to friends I'll keep for a life-time. Sometimes you get a bad rap, but that's ok. I like it that you're my little secret sometimes. Ironically, it was moving here from Paris that helped me appreciate you most.

Baltimore, like Paris, is a small "big city" - it doesn't take you forever to get from one end to the other (ahem, however you could take a queue from Paris when it comes to public transportation - for 3 years I rode the bus, and now I must thank you for lowering my standards and making public transportation easy as pie anywhere else I may go).

I learned to love distinct neighborhoods with their own personality and flair while living in Europe, and you've got that too. Besides, there really should be more Hampdens in the world. Along those lines you have great farmer's markets which are full of color and support local businesses at the same time.

Read the entire blog post here.

MetropolisMag.com monthly contributor Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson suggests that Baltimore art students would do well to leave campus and seek out the myriad sources of inspiration in the city.

An excerpt from the blog reads:

For as long as I can remember, designers and educators in Baltimore have invoked the name of the Rural Studio. They looked south to Hale County and wondered how to adapt Mockbee's full-immersion program for design students in an urban setting like Baltimore. The conversations were, pardon the pun, purely academic. In spite of a high number of colleges and universities in the region�with several programs in architecture, planning, and landscape design�curricula rarely called for students to venture beyond the quadrangle (save for the requisite study-abroad programs).

There were barriers in getting students off the campus, most of them perceived and not wholly accurate. The belief was that it wasn't safe "out there" and using the real world as a classroom was hazardous. I remember chatting with one frustrated professor at Johns Hopkins about this a few years back. He was politely told he should not encourage students to take public transportation for a class project lest "something should happen."

This insular stance resulted in a real deficit of academic and applied research on urban issues in this city. Other schools of architecture have successfully developed urban lab models, creating reciprocal relationships with city government and community groups. Schools like Carnegie Mellon and its Urban Studio. If it could happen in Pittsburgh, then why not here?

Read the entire article here.

An Italian blogger writes about visiting her mother's family during a recent visit to the States and checking out the museums and other cultural resources in the city.

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We had a great time at the National Aquarium. And a good laugh remembering the last time we went there, when Danny was 3. He threw a major tantrum at the entrance, after we had paid for our tickets, of course, and repeatedly screamed, "I don't like fish!!!" Things went a bit better this time...

I was amazed at the incredible variety of marine life they have on exhibit. There is a special exhibit on jellyfish on now, called Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance. Apparently, there are too many jellyfish floating around, and judging from their map, a lot of them are in the Mediterranean Sea around Italy. We'll have to keep our eyes open when we get back home.

A new discovery for us was the American Visionary Art Museum near Federal Hill (where the national anthem was written, just in case you didn't know!). This museum showcases works of art by self-taught, "outsider" artists. The works of each artist are accompanied by a short biography, which I often found as interesting as the work itself. I'm a biography buff, admittedly, but each of these people seems to have an amazing life story and an amazing path to the discovery of their artistic talents.

Read the entire posting here.

Labor Day will bring a feast for antique lovers in the Baltimore area as a major convention kicks off. Presentations will include lectures by local experts, such as: "Eureka! The Archimedes Palimpsest" with the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the Walters Art Museum; "American Beauty: Treasuring and Collecting Folk Art in America;" "Dining in Style with Georg Jensen Silver;" "18th & 19th Century Decorative Arts Treasures: Telling the Whole Story;" and "Meissen: 300 Years of Exceptional Porcelain."

An excerpt from the blog posting reads:

Dealers attending The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show will be offering a huge variety of first-class antiques for sale ranging in prices from under $100 to upwards of $1 million.  And with over 200,000 individual pieces, ranging from antiquities to 20th century pieces, there's something for ever antique lover.

The show hosts 60 rare book dealers, 60 silver specialists, more than 30 Asian art dealers, ceramics on sale from over 70 exhibitors and hundreds of other dealers covering virtually every period and style of antiques. 

Read the entire posting here.

Renting continues to be a better idea than buying in Seattle, according to reporting done by Time Magazine. A Seattle-based writer looks at what Baltimore shares with just 20 other U.S. cities.

An excerpt from the article reads:

In their latest issue TIME Magazine declares that in many cities, price-to-rent ratios indicate that buying a home has become a better deal than renting for the first time in years� but not yet in Seattle: Is Owning a Home Better Than Renting?

"A year ago, it was a better deal to rent," says Andres Carbacho-Burgos, an economist at Economy.com "Now you have a significant number of areas, especially those hit the hardest by the correction, where, when you compare prices to rents, you'd be led to believe it's a good time to buy."

A significant number � but not everywhere. At TIME's request, Economy.com ran the numbers for 54 metro areas and compared their current price-to-rent ratios to what their ratios have been over the past 15 years. The result: in 21 cities, renting still looks to be the better bargain. Among the renter-friendly outposts are Baltimore; Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.; Salt Lake City; San Antonio; Trenton, N.J.; Philadelphia; Honolulu; Seattle; and Portland, Ore."

Of course, this is the same publication that published the now-infamous Home $weet Home issue at the height of the bubble in 2005, so it's probably a good idea to take their advice with a large grain of salt.

Read the entire article here.

Eighteen-year-old rapper Rye Rye, who's rising to fame with the help of artist M.I.A (of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame), is about to join other well-known Baltimore musicians, singers and rappers, taking her flow onto the national -- dare we say global -- stage. But she's staying true to her East Baltimore identity.

An excerpt from the article reads:

On a hot summer afternoon, Ryeisha "Rye Rye" Berrain � wearing turquoise-and-black leggings, gold hoop earrings, fake lashes � walks along her East Baltimore neighborhood, holding a bag of Cheetos and a blue drink.

She passes the store where kids buy candy and sodas; the public housing units where her sister Elisa, 12, hangs out; the steps where the guys used to chill at night � until they got shot up.

"Before I started touring, I really used to hang on the corner all night until 3 in the morning," Rye Rye, now 18, says.
That was before the shy dancer became an underground dance darling and the prot�g� of Grammy-winning indie-rap artist M.I.A. Now Rye Rye is on a path to become Baltimore's ambassador of club music � a frantic blend of hip-hop and house.

Read the entire article here.

A Baltimore book-lover and a moderator at the city's book festival this year declares that it drives her "crazy" that D.C. and Baltimore host their book festivals on the same weekend each year. She provides a "pro" and "con" list for each of the events to help readers make a choice between the two.

An excerpt from the blog posting reads:

Baltimore Book Festival

Pros

- it is a three day event (Sept. 25-27)
- it is not a "big crowd" event - people are definitely attending but not in overwhelming numbers
- chances for author interaction are very good - crowds are not large and authors usually hang around to chat afterward
- Baltimore has lots of historical sightseeing and museums
- if it rains, you're walking on cobblestones not mud
- parking is moderately priced and very close to the Festival
- my panel, The Book Club Toolkit, is on 9/26 @ noon
- a book blogger get-together is being planned for Friday evening (9/25) - we'll go to the YA panels and then who knows what we'll do! (Leave a comment if you'd like to be included.)

Baltimore Book Festival - Cons

- public transportation is not as extensive as in DC
- many participating authors are not very well known
- it is a much smaller scaled event than the DC one

What? You say I'm little biased toward the Baltimore event? REALLY?! I didn't think so ... :)

Read the entire posting here.

Just one lone tweet caught our eye this week:

@brodybond tweet about the proposed slots gaming complex in Baltimore had us LOL, "Slots parlors in B-more is a horrible idea. Slots players are not who Baltimore should be attracting. We needs craps parlors."

A bacon aficionado alerts Baltimoreans to a festival combining beer, bacon, and music. What could be better? And yes � there is a blog devoted to bacon.

An excerpt from the post reads:

If you 1.) love bacon and 2.) live in Baltimore - or within a reasonable driving distance, then here's an event you should check out.

On Saturday, September 19th from Noon to 4 pm, you can sample over a dozen types of bacon, drink a dozen kinds of beer, and enjoy some live music at the Heavy Seas Bacon and Beer Festival - Pyrates, Pigs and Pints.

Tickets are $40 and include all-you-can-taste beer and bacon.

Read the entire blog post here:

New York-based Ellen Datlow, winner of nine World Fantasy Awards, announces that she will be a eulogist when "Baltimore gives Edgar Allen Poe the funeral he should have had" on Oct. 11th. Her post gives links to information on the event (http://www.poebicentennial.com/events.html).

An excerpt from the post reads:

The following people are confirmed as speakers at Poe's Funeral:

The Reverend Rufus Griswold (literary acquaintance)
Sarah Helen Whitman (former fianc�e)
George Lippard (devoted friend from Philadelphia)
George Rex Graham (editor, Burton's Gentlemen's Magazine)
Nathanial Parker Willis (loyal friend)
Dr. John Moran (Poe physician at the time of his death)
J.T.L. Preston (childhood friend, Virginia Military College)
Charles Bauldelaire (French writer and Poe admirer)
Narrator from The Tell Tale Heart

Read the entire blog post here:

Two popular blogs are teaming up to create a guide by Baltimoreans for Baltimoreans. Each week they'll ask a question to discern everything from where to buy the best music to where the best neighborhoods are. They want to hear from you.

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The Shank is partnering with our friends at Smile Hon to put together a Baltimore Insider's Directory. If we use your answers/submissions, you'll get a free copy when we're done. Just make sure you post your name & email if you want credit and the comp copy.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be asking these types of questions and compiling the results. Please tell your friends to answer too. The more reseponses we get, the better the guide will be.

Read the entire blog post here:

The Maryland Daily Record has reported that Lenny's Delicatessen will not immediately close to make room for museum but will stay in place as long as it can.

An excerpt from the article reads:

Wednesday's reports that Lenny's Delicatessen would leave its spot on East Lombard Street in three years after the sale of its space to the Jewish Museum of Maryland are only partially true.

Owner Alan Smith said Thursday that the deli, on Baltimore's famed Corned Beef Row, has signed a five-year lease with the museum, and the business will look for a new spot on the block when the time comes to move.

"Our immediate plans are we just renovated and we're going to stay there as long as we can," Smith said of the updated dining room, complete with black-and-white photos reflecting the history of that part of Lombard Street.

A year after announcing plans to expand onto the Lenny's lot, the museum said it finalized the deal Wednesday. Lenny's has at least three more years at its Lombard Street location, after which the museum can give the deli a year's notice to find a new home. The deli can leave at any time as long as it is moving and not just closing, Smith said.

Read the entire article here.

To maintain morale during the tough economy, Monitor staff comb the nation's classifieds each week to find cool work for job hunters. A favorite animal-lover destination made the list this week. (So did a freelance wig maker gig in Arizona, operating a chocolate fountain in Florida, and styling dolls' hair in Massachusetts.)

An excerpt from the blog reads:

2. Marine mammal aide:

Employer: Baltimore National Aquarium
Wages/salary: $10 an hour
Details: Prepare daily animal diets and dispense vitamins; degree in biology or zoology required; scuba certification preferred. (For more information click here.)
Location: Baltimore (pop. 651,154, median family income $35,438) was the site of the first American umbrella factory in 1828.

Read the entire article here:

A critical mass of government sector jobs is keeping Maryland's unemployment rate low vis-�-vis the rest of the nation, and that has helped buoy the housing market. But there are chinks in the armor, as this article, derived from House Predictor research, explains.

An excerpt from the article reads:

Maryland housing sales are rising as a direct result of having one of the best employment rates in the nation. The federal government is hiring workers and government related jobs are growing as a result of the Obama administration, energizing home sales right outside of Washington D.C. Maryland is banking on government assistance in more ways than most other states.

The deflationary cycle in housing prices is showing signs of easing up in Maryland as home sales improve. But the declining values of homes have a long way to go before reaching stabilization as a result of the financial crisis. The days of fast money are over as new mortgage standards replace loose lending practices.

Read the entire article here.

For the first year, Baltimore's summer concert season has placed it on the list of the 20 Most Rockin' Cities, compiled annually by StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace. StubHub compiled its list of the markets where fans have been "the most active this summer grabbing tickets to their favorite shows" based on total market sales via StubHub for concert events only, occurring between May 15th and Sept. 15th.

An excerpt from the article reads:

Washington D.C. took the biggest leap on this year's chart, landing in the top 10 at #6, up from #18 in 2008. The live concert ticket market in the area was bolstered by performances by Bruce Springsteen in late May, Billy Joel/Elton John at Nationals Park and Paul McCartney at FedEx Field in the last month. In addition, sales from the Nissan Pavilion in nearby Bristow, Va. were more appropriately attributed to the Washington D.C. metro area after formerly being included with Richmond, Va. returns.

Newcomers to this year's chart include Milwaukee, Toronto (Canada), Baltimore and Pittsburgh. With the exception of Toronto, each newcomer to the top 20 hosted the popular jam band Phish for at least one night, one of the biggest sellers of the summer nationwide.

Read the entire article here: