Baltimore21201.Com - The Blog

Young Mr Oliver Likes Twitter

He's my office manager and he gets the social media business and online networking concept. And, he may just get a promotion to WOM Engineer at my business website, Baltimore's Copywriter.

His favorites: @petfoodindustry, @moderncat, and @enginecats.

Actually, Young Mr Oliver has a small, but growing, Baltimore Fan Base.

Ruby at Engine Performance on Baltimore's Historic Charles Street is one beautiful, fuzzy fan. And, we love Ruby and her little buddy, Frodo, also.

I've Never Done It for Money. But, Recognition is Nice!

That's right, while I've never blogged for bucks... a pat on the back sure feels nice. And you can help. 

Baltimore 21201 - The Vertical Neighborhood (this very blog) has been nominated for a Mobbie Award at the Baltimore Sun.

  

I'd like your vote. But, there will be no pleading, no begging, and no bribery.

If you like what you've been reading here for the past three years or so, vote. If you're new to this blog about Baltimore and Downtown Living - take a look around. There's some good stuff here.

And, if you really like what goes on here, tell your friends. Demand Threaten er, uh, Suggest that they vote, also. Today is day #1 of voting. Vote now.

Thanks!
Stephen Brockelman

Running of the Brides - End of an Era?

Filene's Basement filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy this morning. That puts their annual Running of the Brides at risk of going the way of so many other fine sideshows.

Makes the Reptile Boy, the Three-legged Man, and Snake Woman seem downright regular, doesn't it? 

You Love Frederick Law Olmsted? You'll Love This Tour.

Olmsted was America's First Landscape Architect. Olmsted believed that parks and landscapes were an essential part of every democratic society. He designed Central Park in New York City and the Capital grounds in Washington, DC... but, you already knew that, right?. He was also responsible for the Emerald Necklace in Boston. And, on and on and on.

Baltimore's Friends of Maryland's Olmsted Parks and Landscapes (FMOPL) has a walking tour coming up on May 17th, 2 - 4:30PM. Here's the information, read it and be there:

CARROLL PARK and MT. CLARE MANSION Sunday, May 17 - 2:00 - 4:30 PM
2:00-3:00 PM - Tour of the mansion led by volunteers of the museum
3:00-4:30 PM - Walk through the Park
Led by:

• Myra Brosius, park and environmental planner
• Bus Chambers,vice president, Friends of Carroll Park
• Gloria Pestridge, president, Friends of Carroll Park

Meet at 1:45 PM at the parking lot behind the Mansion off 1500 Washington Blvd. Accessibility: mansion includes stairs to second floor; park has gradual inclines on asphalt trails and roadways.

Part of the colonial plantation of Charles Carroll the Barrister, these grounds became a city park in 1890. The Olmsted Brothers Report Upon the Development of Public Grounds for Greater Baltimore, 1904 incorporated the park into the comprehensive city park system and later designed significant recreational facilities. Various organizations concerned about the conservation and restoration of the many-layered park are working with the City to implement the 2001 Carroll Park Master Plan.

If you don't already belong to FMOPL, visit their website and think about it. You may download a PDF membership form right here. Memberships start at just $25. I'll be posting more information about their upcoming walking tours here soon.

I'd close this post by writing, as I often do: We'll see you there. I can't say that this time. Jacob has broken a bone in each of his feet. So odd and so true. It's a long story. Want to know more? Ask me about the frozen ham!

Your Kid in the Pool with Michael Phelps

Yep, it can happen. And for a good cause, too.

Charity Buzz Auctions has announced a new auction to benefit Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP):

Now is your chance to have your son or daughter jump into the pool with the greatest swimmer of all time. Coming off his 8-gold medal winning performance in Beijing, Michael Phelps will go down in the record books with more gold medals than any athlete has ever amassed in a single competition.

This package will admit one (1) child into a swimming clinic to be hosted by Michael Phelps. Two (2) adult chaperones may accompany the child to this experience. In addition to spending time in the pool with Michael Phelps, this package also includes a photo with the swimming superstar and a hand-signed piece of memorabilia. Date to be determined, but will be held in the New York area the summer of 2009. Only 100 spots are available for this clinic. Duration will be an hour and a half.

Charity Buzz is my favorite charity auction website. Even if you're not interested in this specific lot, I encourage you to visit them and sign up for email updates. Bottom-line... even if you never, ever bid on one of their auctions, you'll find out who the good-guys are in the celebrity world. You'll discover who gives.

Actual Recordings: Voices from the Days of Slavery

There's a new free-for-everyone podcast series from the Library of Congress that you need to know about. One that you should let all of your friends know about. One that you should subcribe to. I hope it amazes you as much as it does me: "Voices from the Days of Slavery: Stories, Songs, and Memories"...

Sojouner Truth, Slave (and so much more)

From sometime long ago, by way of some now-forgotten research, I learned that there were actual sound recordings of the last living slaves in America. I'd forgotten about that until today.

Today I learned where those recordings are. I learned that they are being made available, in a sequence, for anyone who wants to listen, learn, download, and share them.

From the Library of Congress:

Oral histories and interviews with African Americans who endured the hardships of slavery. These recordings document the first-person accounts of several individuals whose life experiences spanned the period during and after slavery. The podcasts are drawn from several collections in the American Folklife Center Archives, one of the preeminent audio-visual repositories of national and international folklife, history and cultural expressions.

Pass this information along. These recordings will touch anyone who listens. The first of the series features Mr. Fountain Hughes, Slave. This initial audio release was recorded in Baltimore in the late 1940s. The transcript is free, also.

Keith Olbermann on CA's Prop 8

Invest just six minutes. Watch, think about, and share this powerful voice.

2009 - The Year of Poe, Poe... And More Poe in Baltimore

 

Just in from Nevermore2009.Com:

"January 19, 2009 marks the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and to commemorate this historic milestone, the city of Baltimore will host Nevermore 2009, a year-long celebration of the life and works of one of Baltimore's most famed residents. The year will be filled with a variety of events, including birthday celebrations, lectures, wine tastings, art exhibitions, theatrical performances, special tours and more."

OK, I'm already on board. The Poe schedule is amazing and begins with the launch in January '09. Here are just three highlights - the scope of this year-long project is facinating:

January 17 
7 p.m.
Westminster Hall
EDGAR ALLAN POE BICENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Come toast Poe’s 200th birthday while enjoying a rare exhibition of Poe artifacts along with a number of special performances. Only in Baltimore will you experience this world-famous event. The evening will include:

• An Edgar Allan Poe tributeby noted actor John Astin of “The Addams Family” fame. Mr. Astin will present a spellbinding hour of Poe’s most beloved works interspersed with comments and observations on Poe’s life.
• Theatrical performance of Hop Frog, Poe’s chilling tale of revenge,complete with special effects, life-size puppets and live actors. A feast for the eyes and the imagination.
• A musical tribute to Poeby soloist Paula McCabe from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Ms. McCabe sang at the funerals of beloved sportscaster Jim McKay and football legend Johnny Unitas.
• A sparkling apple cider toastto Poe conducted by Jeff Jerome from the Poe House and Museum and John Astin will conclude the evening’s event.
• This event is sponsored by the City of Baltimore

and

March 27
Time TBA
Westminster Hall and Catacombs
CASK OF AMONTILLADO WINE TASTING AMONG THE BONES
Sample the wines mentioned in Poe's stories while enjoying the ambience of the Westminster catacombs. Witness Montressor luring Fortunado to a gruesome death in a theatrical performance of The Cask of Amontillado. Enjoy characters from Poe's stories as they mingle among the living.

and

October 10 
Two services – noon and 4:30 p.m.
Westminster Hall
POE'S FUNERAL SERVICE
A horse-drawn funeral hearse will bring Poe's body from his home on Amity Street to the Westminster Hall for burial services. A drum and fife corps will lead the procession. The funeral service will include musical selections performed by a pianist, soloist, violinist and a choir. Guest speakers will include five people who knew Poe, "legacies" such as "Alfred Hitchcock," "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," "Charles Baudelaire" and "H. G. Wells" will present eulogies. Invited representatives from the literary, stage and movie industries will present their own eulogies for Poe. Tributes from ambassadors from many countries will also be read.

The full year schedule is amazing and will grow.

Check it out & let's find a great source for some fine Amontillado. Then, let's all meet up at Annabelle Lee Tavern... and lift a glass.

A Chilly November Night, Extraordinary Scotch, Fine Food; An Event!

The Wine Source in Baltimore has some pretty special wine tastings. They host some pretty special dinners that pair great wines and great food. But, I'm thinking that this event is a once-in-a-lifetime.

 

On Friday November 7th at 7PM, The Wine Source is presenting a Glenmorangie Scotch Dinner hosted by David Blackmore (A Senior Ambassador for Glenmorangie) at the Capital Grille on Pratt Street. Blackmore will be serving up many of the fine Glenmorangie Scotches and explaining their production. Each Scotch will be paired with a custom dinner course to highlight its best qualities.

When I say custom, I'm not kidding. Think of this third course, for example: Rare Tuna au Poivre with Wasabi Oil & Ginger Roe, accompained by Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (first matured in bourbon casks, then extra matured in the finest ruby port casks from the fine years of "quintas" of Portugal). Check out the full menu here.

Make early resevations, seating is very limited. $144. per person including tax and gratuity. See you there.

Take Note - Los Angeles Police Chief, WJ Bratton is Coming to Baltimore

Really he is. And October 23rd will be a great day for learning. Truly great. Chief William J Bratton, LAPD has been fighting crime for over 30 years. I'm looking forward to his take on fighting city crime.

Chief WJ Bratton is the best-of-the-best to address the issues involved in Policing Cities in the 21st Century. And, he will do that in Baltimore. As LAPD Chief Bratton has, in many ways, bigger issues than we have here in Baltimore. In many ways we, in Baltimore, have bigger and more selective issues than he has in Los Angeles. And all cities have individual & specific issues that no other city can address alone. Cities, large or small, need to adress crime in this ecomony more than ever before. Let's see what he has to say. Let's see if we can learn.

 

Bratton's presentaion, "Policing in the 21st Century" is presented by Johns Hopkins Universtiy, Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, WTMD 89.7, WYPR 88.1, and EverGreen House & Museum.

Let's all be there and listen and ask questions. It's a free event. Attendance is limited and pre-registration is required. Call 410-516-0341 or send an email to urbanlecture@jhu.edu. Also, there's free onsite parking.

Need more, take a look at the official LAPD website.

The Sun's Restaurant Critic, Elizabeth Large Had a "Cripes Day" Last Week. Yep, Me Too.

On HER blog a few days ago, EL mentioned - as an aside - that Baltimore's venerable Burke's Cafe had closed. I was horrified. When asked about the facts Large wrote, "Cripes..."

On MY blog a few days ago, I was praising an organization that I admire and a man that I've met. I posted a picture of Gregg Wilhelm that wasn't him at all. When I was notified by the real Gregg Wilhelm, I was horrified. I borrowed EL's word and thought, "Cripes..."

CRIPES is a great word. (I know others; they don't fit here.)

Elizabeth Large wrote that while she doesn't like to change a blog post once it's online, she did change her blog post to avoid any possible confusion about Burke's having closed. (Burke's is as open as it has been since 1934.)

I don't like to change a blog post once it's online either. However, I changed my blog post this afternoon for a similar reason. As the image-spider systems of Google and other search engines are not perfect and tend to find any tagged image on a page that references a name, I don't want to further misidentify the real Gregg Wilhelm.

Here he is, the Executive Director of the CityLit Project, Gregg Wilhelm:

 

Sorry for the confusion. And, please revisit my altered post below. And visit CityLit at the Baltimore Book Festival.

Viral Marketing At Its Best, I May Have a New Career, & Elect Stephen Brockelman

When it works, Viral Marketing works wonders. Sometimes in just hours. This latest effort by PalTalk is a perfect example of the best of show.

I don't belong to any video chat rooms like those that PalTalk is promoting, so the chances are slim to none that I would ever have known the company's name without this campaign. The keys to the success of this effort are:  1. Ease of use (fill in a name and email or embed it), 2. It's funny and current (and clean), 3. It has the WOW-factor, and 4. It takes the recipient or viewer directly to the website (everyone wonders: how'd they do that?)... Advertising and marketing are going through some astonishing changes. And, I'm enjoying the show.

Johnny Dollar. Harry Truman. And Fashion?

About a year ago I wrote a short entry about a super-clever blog called Bags in Trees. A year later the BiT blog is as fascinating as ever. It's Charm City through and through; it's most of America through and through.

Moments after I posted the BiT entry last July, I received a comment from Baltimore's one-and-only Johnny Dollar. Surely you know him. If you read Baltimore-type blogs you must. Just in case you don't, he's a smile maker on the Baltimore blog scene. He's a Tiki Torch kind of guy. He like pies. He likes strong cocktails in hollowed out fruit. He has a finicky electrical panel. And based on this post, he has great taste in vintage Presidential shirts...

That being said, I'm all over this one. I want it. Wait! I think it's in my closet. I'm off on the search. Thanks for all of the fun, JD. And, thanks for bringing back the word DANG.

Baltimore's Trash Talk: Bags in Trees

There are some clever blogs originating from Charm City. The best of the bunch has to be BAGS IN TREES.

"Bagsintrees.com is a website dedicated to showcasing the beauty of the omnipresent plastic accessories that adorn the trees of Baltimore, MD."

Yes, that's what their About Section says. Their images are oddly captivating and the clever copy is a pleasure to read. I'm hoping that Brian Sacawa, the editor, and Charissa Costa, managing editor, will decide to include videos sometime soon. Think of the wind howling, snow blowing and a plastic bag puffed up, full of air, holding tightly to a branch. It'll be better than what's on Comcast.