Baltimore21201.Com

Mo'Nique Coming Back to Baltimore - At Least for a Performance

I adore this woman. She can outrage an audience with her stand-up. She can charm the pants off of a conservertive -- and partially blue-haired audience -- as when she's on Martha Stewart TV. And, she can inspire all, as in the YouTube.com clip below.

December 1st Mo'Nique is appearing at the Meyerhoff in her hometown, Baltimore.

While her performances aren't for the kiddies, they are for everyone else. Get a ticket even if you have to sit in the nose-bleed section. Welcome this Charm City native back home.

Baltimore & The Women's Industrial Exchange & Sock Monkeys

This just in from Johns Hopkins and Baltimore Heritage:

"Because there is no such thing as having too many sock monkeys (and other great hand-crafted items), we are pleased to end the 2007 Behind the Scenes Tours calendar with a holiday visit to The Women’s Industrial Exchange."

Now this is a wonderful thing! And, because I want every word of this post perfect, I quote from JHU:

"Launched shortly after the Civil War by Mrs. G. Harmon Brown, The Women’s Industrial Exchange was founded for the purpose of endeavoring by sympathy and practical aid to encourage and help needy women to help themselves by procuring for them and establishing a sales room for the sale of Women’s Work.

"In 2007, the Exchange is still pursing this mission of helping small entrepreneurs, with over 250 consigners who make hand-crafted products especially for the non-profit organization.  The third oldest women’s exchange in the country, this one in Baltimore is the oldest in its original building.  The building at 333 North Charles was constructed in 1815 and had been used as a boarding house before the Exchange bought it in the late 1880s. The Tea Room, consignment shop, and upstairs apartments all date to this period. 

"The Exchange underwent extensive renovations in 2004 (incidentally, winning a Baltimore Heritage historic preservation award for the work). The renovations maintained the original materials (and charm), while modernizing the apartments and commercial kitchen. The guided tour will include spaces that many have visited, as well as spaces that most have not:  the Abell board room, an apartment upstairs, and the depths of the basement where the legendary tomato aspic and chicken salad were magically concocted.  Please join Kathy Sanders, author of The Business of Charity about the Exchange and a former board member, Sarah Moberg, executive director, and Jenny Hope, president of the board of directors, for a fantastic holiday tour of this cherished Baltimore landmark".

But wait, there's more! The tour concludes with wine and those extraordinary crepes that could only come from Sofi's.

Yep, crepes and Bacon do go together. Be there. Wednesday December 12th. 6 - 7 PM. 333 N Charles Street. RSVP by Email only - Space is limited. Hopkins@baltimoreheritage.org

Questions? Call 410-332-9992

Charles Plaza Attracting Nuts

Almonds, peanuts, macadamias. Brazilnuts, filberts, walnuts and pistichios. Pecans, chestnuts and seeds of all kinds. And my favorite, warm salted cashews -- extra large, please!

Bonnie Scible opened her Peanut Shoppe at 101 W Lexington some years ago and was forced to move to make way for Baltimore's promised Westside redevelopment. She reopened next to the Mechanic Theatre at 13 W Baltimore Street. Now that the Mechanic is headed for redevelopment Bonnie's moving once again. She's planning to reopen at 222 N Charles Street, in Charles Plaza, by the end of November.

The Peanut Shoppe will be located next door to Jim Amato's new Urban Cellars, also opening soon. Now, that's what I call a prime location. We all can pick up some great wine and cocktail fixins and go next door to grab wasabi coverd peanuts for our next cocktail party.

Welcome to Charles Center, Bonnie. Now, warm up those cashews -- extra large, please!

Bee Movie and Martinis - Now, THAT'S BeeMore

The COMING SOON signs are being taken down in Harbor East today. Landmark Theatres' newest project opens tomorrow. 7 screens, leather stadium seating, gourmet concessions, and - YES - a premium bar. What's not to love? Oh, I almost forgot to mention digital sound and digital projection.

Could anyone think of a better theatre company to open in Baltimore's hottest new area? I can't.

Landmark has only been around since 1974 and started out with just one screen: the historic  Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles. Landmark is still extremely small by exhibitor standards: 59 theatres in 23 markets.

However, whatever Landmark does it does exceedingly well. They not only open state-of-the-art movie venues, they also restore historic theatres across the country and fill them with the finest technology available. I've seen their work at the wonderful Inwood Theatre in Dallas, the Embarcadero in San Francisco and the Sunshine in New York City.

I'm guessing - just guessing, mind you - that one of the reasons all of their projects come together so perfectly, and so technologically aggressive, is due to one of Landmark's owners: Mark Cuban. If you don't know about him you really should check out the bio of a 49 year-old guy that began working in Dallas as a bartender and is now a Multi-Billionaire. (Yep... that's Billion with a B.)

 

Cuban (above) also owns the Dallas Mavericks. I'm betting that he would have some sage advice for our Orioles management. Let's hope someone asks him.

And, no I'm not comparing apples and oranges. I'm comparing bad management with good.