Entertainment : Buzz

Tina Fey's "30 Rock" is known for featuring A-list celebrities, quirky characters, and absurd humor. 

And now, it's also known for taking a stab at Baltimore.

In an episode this month, Mary Steenburgen is walking along a New York City sidewalk with son-in-law Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. She tells him that she contributes to the "Baltimore Philharmonic," a non-existent orchestra. 

"Of course lately it's just a Boombox and a guy in a crab suit," Steenburgen's Diana Jessup says. "He gets shot out of a cannon at Ravens' games. The city may not be thriving."

Getting airtime on a national, primetime comedy show is no small feat for Charm City. And at least one local blogger, who goes by the name Baltimore Boy, could not be more pleased.

"I don’t mind a dig at my beloved hometown when it’s both a low-blow AND clever," he writes. You can read the rest of his analysis here. 

Even Baltimore's real classical music group, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, enjoyed the attention. Check out their Facebook page. 

It is really just Diddy now? P Diddy? Sean Puffy Combs? Sean Diddy Combs?

For Baltimore rapper Los, it's ka-ching!

Diddy's Bad Boy Records has signed up Baltimore rapper Los, writes MTV News in its RapFix blog. 

"We're trying to put that young, youthful energy out in the air and do it the only way that Bad Boy can do it," Diddy tells MTV. 

Esquire contributor John Mariani has featured Baltimore in a new section of his website that highlights good day-trip destinations.

He focuses on restaurants in Mount Vernon, Harbor East and Little Italy, including Tio Pepe, Charleston, Aldo's Italian Restaurant and Chazz: A Bronx Original. 

"A good deal of the charm of the surrounding neighborhoods are its townhouses, built along British lines, with their identifying marble stoops, and there is a thriving Little Italy, adjacent to the Inner Harbor," Mariani writes. 

You can read the rest of his description of Charm City here. 

A Baltimore County sports shop will be the subject of a new reality TV show, according to the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawick.

ABC will follow the owners of Robbie's First Base in Timonium in 12, half-hour episodes. You can read more about the planned TV show in Zurawick's blog.

Folks in D.C. like to thumb their noses at Baltimore.

Well now the red-headed stepchild is getting some love -- well sort of -- by the folks at Slate. They wrote a piece called "DC: The Anti-Berlin," that noted that artists can live more cheaply in Baltimore compared with D.C.

The story stated that while Washington is thriving in many ways it is has one of the most expensive housing markets while not winning any points on crime.

Meanwhile, our pals at Baltimore Fishbowl jumped on the Slate story and did some number crunching to find out that Baltimore artists earn more than their D.C. counterparts. You can read it here.

For decades, Edgar Allen Poe fans would gather at his grave on the eve of the late writer's birthday to spot a mysterious man. Known as the Toaster, he would leave roses and a half-full bottle of cognac.

Well that tradition appears to have come to an end, according to the Wall Street Journal and other news sources. For three years now, the Toaster has not appeared.

You can read more about the end of the tradition in the Journal story.

While concert sales are slowing down nationally, two Baltimore venues sold more tickets last year compared with 2010, the Baltimore Sun writes.

Rams Head Live saw success with pop singer Sara Bareilles and punk band Rise Against, while First Mariner's U2, Kanye West/Jay-Z and Sade shows propelled ticket sales at First Mariner Arena, the Sun's Erick Maza writes.

"In addition, Rams Head Live and Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis both made a recent list of the top 30 clubs in the country, and the nearly 50-year-old 1st Mariner was named top-selling arena of its size by Billboard Magazine," the Sun writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

If you're an art lover, you are probably used to getting the occasional stern warning from security guards when you step a little too close to the Monet.

Well, at the Walters Art Museum's new exhibit, you can get as close as you want to the art. You can even touch it.

The Huffington Post previews the exhibit, which runs January 21 - April 15, 2012.

"The Walters Art Museum is merging the tactile pleasures of art with the neuroscience of how our brains respond to tactile stimuli," the Huffington Post writes. "The museum is teaming up with the Johns Hopkins University Brain Science Institute to invite viewers to touch works of art and meditate on why this physical contact is so appealing."

You can read the rest of the story here.

First Mariner has remained true to its name.

Billboard magazine has named it the top-grossing arena of its size. It grossed nearly $16 million this year, making it No. 1 among arenas that seat between 10,000 and 15,000 people, writes the Baltimore Sun. It's the second year in a row that First Mariner has been first.

Recent acts at the arena include Sade, Kanye West and Jay-Z. You can read the rest of the story here.

U.S. News & World Report has included three Baltimore hotels in its annual list of Best Hotels in the USA. The honored properties include the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Baltimore Marriott Waterfront and the InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore.

You can read reviews of the hotels here.

Rapper Common is starring in a new movie that is set in Baltimore.

"LUV" is one of the 110 feature-length films that will screen at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 19-29.

It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who learns the truth about his uncle on the streets of Baltimore, the Wall Street Journal writes. You can see a complete list of films here.

Oriole Park: It's not just for baseball anymore.

Planned renovations to the Baltimore Orioles' home will make Oriole Park at Camden Yards a year-round destination, stadium officials told the Baltimore Sun. A picnic area behind the center field will be turned into a park where visitors can stroll, even when there isn't a game playing.

The plan also includes more concessions and a rooftop viewing area, according to the Sun article.

Aerial artist Mara Neimanis will perform her new solo show at the Creative Alliance next year.

"Naomi's Flight" tells the story of the artist's personal experience caring for her elderly parents. "This one-hour aerial performance combines text and choreography on three steel suspended apparatus sculpted by Baltimore sculptor, Tim Scofield," writes Broadway World.

You can learn more about the Feb. 2 performance here.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's most recent performance at Carnegie Hall tells the story of French heroine Joan of Arc and gets a nice review in the New York Times.

The newspaper writes that BSO Music Director Marin Alsop led a "tightly wrought performance" of "Jeanne d'Arc au Bucher," or Joan of Arc at the Stake, by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger.

Musicians from the Peabody Children’s Chorus, the Morgan State University Choir, the Peabody-Hopkins Chorus and the Concert Artists of Baltimore also took the stage. You can read the whole review here.

Getting tired of your usual Thanksgiving repertoire? Well it's too late to turn back the clock, but there's always next year.

And here to help is Sergio Vitale, co-owner of Aldo's Italian Restaurant and pizza place Chazz: A Bronx Original. The Wall Street Journal recently featured his brussel sprouts' recipe, made with sriracha and pancetta, among other ingredients.

Actor-turned-restaurant partner Chazz Palminteri, co-owner of the Harbor East pizza joint, shares the recipe with the Journal's readers.