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Music of the Harp

Tomorrow, February 1st, the Peabody Institute is presenting a very special installment of their Thursday Noon Recital Series:

Presented by the Harp Department in the Cohen-Davison Family Theatre at 12Noon. 17 E Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore. 410-659-8100

Marissa Knaub
Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Harp

Jacqueline Pollauf
Elias Parish-Alvars: Serenade

 

Katherine Loughrey
Andre Caplet: Divertissement a l’español

Jeongeun Kil
Felix Godefroid: Danse des sylphs

Mary-Margaret Buchanan
Carlos Salzedo: Scintillation

Gearing Up for the Big One

We're still waiting for a decent snowfall this winter.

Meantime, there have been a few really intense (but far too brief) show showers. This afternoon around 5PM...

And, last Thursday, the 25th...

The wait continues. We really do deserve one of Baltimore's famous snow days.

Barbaro

April 29, 2003 - January 29, 2007

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
- Horatio (V.II.370-371)

And, the Winner Is... Baltimore Gas & Electric

Yep, BGE.

From my point of view, BGE gets the award for the most wonderful redo of a commercial building's roof. (The award isn't as dubious as it may seem.)

Yes, my initial interest was in their cosmetic redo. There are some terribly sad and rough-looking roofs in City Center. Fact is, BGE's old roof was bordering on ratty... No, in fact, it WAS ratty.

Now, BGE's roof looks like it's perpetually covered with snow.

A real snow storm and some flurries showed me that the re-roofing process had other values - it wasn't just nice looking.

Snow on the old BGE building's roof melted faster than snow on any other roof within my view. A lot faster. When the new BGE roof was about half finished we had a good snow shower. The re-roofed areas kept the snow for well over a day and a half even with some fairly strong sunshine. The original roof lost all snow within just a few hours. Say, could this be conservation? It sure looks like it.

Now then, let's all follow the lead and insulate. (And, wish for a lot more snow this winter. I, for one, am looking for a repeat of last winter's February 12th event.)

Makin' Whoopi... NOT!

First, it was last October. Two days before her October 28th concert date at the Lyric Opera House a call came from the box office. Her show had been canceled. No reason given.

Today, same deal. No show. No reason.

(No wonder she has that cushion named after her.)

Goldberg says, "I don't have pet peeves. I have whole kennels of irritation."

Me too, Whoopi. Me too.

39 West Lexington. Progress.

According to the Baltimore Business Journal, Southern Management is spending about $30 Million to renovate and convert the old BG&E building on the corner of Liberty & Lexington Streets to apartment homes. Work on the inside has been going on for some months. Today brought an external view of progress.

Workers, on one of the coldest days so far this winter, were replacing window casements and laying in newly glazed windows completely true to the original.

David H. Hillman, CEO of Southern Management, told the BBJ that if he had known that the area to the west of the BG&E building -- known as the superblock -- was going to get so "screwed up" he probably wouldn't have started the conversion.

Well, we're glad he did and that it's going well. Most urban planners agree that density in a city center equates, in many ways, to safety and an overall feeling of security by its residents.

The website for 39 West Lexington is live and is taking reservations for a late spring or summer move-in.

If 39 West Lexington follows in the footsteps of Southern Management's property known as The Standard (and I suspect that it will) it'll be a fast sell-out. And, if the promised ground-floor retail space has a good mix it could become a destination just as the new SuperFresh on Charles Street has.

Chinese Food Delivery - 21201

When you're too tired to cook after a rough day... When you simply want a meal delivered... When you are looking for the perfect Hunan Beef or Pork Lo Mein or Chicken with Snow Peas...

Look for this menu:

Or call them.

Over the past year their food has been freshly cooked and extremely good. It's priced right. And, they deliver fast to our Vertical Neighborhood.

We've ordered once or twice from another Chinese delivery place downtown and -- well... don't ask. Suffice to say that we were up all night.

These folks are the real deal.

Whoa... That's Gross!

...And, it's supposed to be.

Coming next weekend. Opening January 27th at the Maryland Science Center. Grossology; The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body.

Among other things, according to MSC's website, we can learn from the following activities:

Walk through a giant nose to learn about air filtering, air heating, olfaction and mucus production.

Climb a human skin wall with warts, hairs, wounds and other objects that act as hand and foot holds. Discover more about features such as pimples, blisters, pores, bruises and scabs as they relate to the epidermis.

Visit the "Vomit Center" and learn the many reasons why humans vomit.

Stop by the "Toot Toot" exhibit to create different sounds that replicate the physics of gas.

Help a larger-than-life cartoon character release a giant burp by pumping soda from a three-foot can to make him drink and increase his stomach pressure.

Play "Gas Attack" pinball and collect points off bumpers dressed up as food items.

Crawl and slide through a 30-foot long 3-D model of the digestive system.

Watch an X-ray machine to see how food is digested.

Listen to various sounds the body makes, such a stomach gurgles, air movement in the lungs, heart beating and gulping in the throat by pressing buttons on a cartoon body.

Find out what causes runny noses, sneezes and allergies from Nigel Nose-it-All. Microscope stations also feature things that cause runny noses.

Learn how boogers are formed by launching dirt balls into a larger-than-life nose. Be careful though, it may sneeze and shoot back a slew of dirt balls!

Say, that's just the beginning! There's more... much more. It's a fantastic exhibit that kids will be talking about for years after the visit. And frankly, it's darn cool.

Saturday Night Sights

January 20th: It turns out that 21201 was an ideal location to see the beautiful, and bright, Crescent Moon and Venus just after dusk. Living on the 26th floor of the Park Charles, with a great panoramic view, didn't hurt either.

My thanks to Frank Roylance at the Baltimore Sun for alerting his readers to this photo opportunity.

The Moon and Venus were clear in the western sky just after sunset for a short while.

They were just a few degrees apart. The Moon was only lit 4 percent by the Sun (the bright crescent) and, if you look at the detail photo, nearly 96 percent by Earthshine: the Sun's light reflected onto the Moon by Earth.

Then the Moon and Venus followed the Sun and set in the west.

Sometimes ya just gotta look up.

A March Masquerade

Once in a great while an invitation arrives that simply cannot be ignored. The Historic Charles Street Association's First Annual Masquerade on Charles is certainly in that category.

At the Tremont Grand on March 3rd.

Food from the fine restaurants on Charles Street.

Open bar.

Silent and live auctions.

Dancing with the Mood Swings.

Valet parking.

A good portion of the ticket price supports HCSA initiatives in business, culture and entertainment on Charles Street.

And... I don't even have to show my face! OK, I'm game. And, I will report.