New Beginnings

Yesterday’s eerily foggy and rainy weather gave way to abundant sunshine this morning, and the Baltimore Block was there to greet the day in fashion.  Done up in our finest new clothes, we cleared the cobwebs off our lonely bicycles and made our way to the Abbey Burger Bistro for some early morning footie.  The Bistro, which is home to both the Charm City Gooners and [...]

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Happy Birthday to Country, Love, Baltimore

It’s 4th of July weekend. America, our America, land of Stars and Stripes tees, anemic hot dogs in buns, pudgy dogs in red collars, porky men in too-tight shorts, yellow-haired children clutching glowing light sabers, whistling Chinese fireworks in the sky, and cold beer.
Top 10 ways you can tell you’re in Baltimore on Independence Day [...]

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Red Line Debate at Enoch Pratt

If like us you missed out on celebrating Drop the Pump Day last week, you still have a chance to speak up for petrol-free transit options in Baltimore.
Get thee to the Pratt library on Cathedral street next Wednesday, July 8. From 5:30-7pm in Wheeler Auditorium, Baltimore City, MTA, and Central Maryland Transportation Alliance (CMTA) are [...]

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101 Secrets of Baltimore

Not especially known for its adventurous spirit, Baltimore magazine’s “Secrets of the City” issue raised a few eyebrows. The whimsically illustrated June issue boasted 101 Things to Eat, See & Do Before YOU Die!”
Aside from the title’s morbid undertone–especially for those of us who actually live in Baltimore City (the magazine’s advertising heavily targets suburbanites)–the [...]

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Mr. Yogato: Frozen treats obsession rears its head again

Maybe it was the blistering weather of summer 2008 that made us cuckoo for all things smooth and frozen: Tangy Sweet fro-yo, Pitango gelato (now enjoyed in DC), Rita’s ice, and the perennial Wendy’s Frosty. The nonstop monsoon-like rain we’ve been getting in Baltimore had put my craving on ice (so to speak). But with [...]

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On Deck at the Weekend

Celebrate… And Have a Good Time. No, really, take a hint from Kool and the Gang, and enjoy this weekend. It’s for all the ladies and gents taking a breather from the back-to-back nuptials of wedding season.
DON’T get tipsy before noon, wear spike heels in grass, smear cake on your face, or freaky dance with [...]

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At the Lewis, More East Side Stories

Everyone’s talking about East Enders. Not the Brit soap set in a pub, although I’ll chat you up about that one, but Charm City’s revitalizing/reactivating/rehabbing and rehousing, the so-called Middle East. City Paper reviews a new photography exhibit at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (East Side Stories), a [...]

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What is it about Baltimore?

What is it about this frustrating, oddly endearing city that creates innovative music, painting and performance art–on and off the stage? The drama captivates, and it never ends.
In a recent column in the Baltimore Sun by Ron Smith, we learn that a local business located in Mount Vernon for 30 years recently fled the city [...]

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Harbor Development Moves South

Sheila “Gift Card” Dixon wants to put her name on something besides a subpoena. The Baltimore Sun reports today that she has proposed to use a “decrepit railroad bridge” loitering oddly below highway I-95 to establish a revitalized waterfront in SoBo.
Per the Sun, “The proposed trail would cross the Middle Branch using the bridge between [...]

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Life As Barmaid, Barista, or Bard

We on the block spend our days building computer models to predict health policy decisions or pitching newspaper editors in South Asian countries (tonight I’ll call a guy in Delhi at 1am, when they get in to office). On the one hand, it’s decent work. On the other, we’re hunched over for hours growing pale [...]

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