Urban Discoveries Baltimore

Yet another Friday the thirteenth is upon us, Baltimore, and still your luck is yours to make, unless you’re still hungover from the double-impact of last winter’s Irish twin thirteens. Whether you’re superstitious or not, rouse yourself from the warm dent you’ve formed in the couch and take a chance on something unusual this week. If you try everything below, then you’re basically guaranteed that something will have been meaningful in retrospect, if only when described sarcastically at a party. We’ll see.

1.    Mike Riley, co-founder of the Hexagon in Station North (1825 N. Charles Street) and avowed subject of a ban by public television, will be presenting new paintings tonight at the gallery he helped to found. Expect to look at things that broadly resemble graffiti. No matter what your efforts, you’re not going to look quite wry enough. What do you want? Free art, free admission, (free to) cheap refreshments. Come between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Be taken  care of.

2.    The Baltimore Writers’ Conference will be held at the Towson University Union (8000 York Road) Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you’re a writer, a would-be writer, or even a mere blogger, then show up freshly rumpled at 8:30 a.m. to register. Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down and The Best Game Ever, will give the keynote address at 9:00 a.m. sharp, which in writer time means 9:17 and 43 seconds. Registration will run you $95 ($50 if you’re a student) and includes breakfast, lunch, and a closing reception. There will be sessions throughout the day on the usual categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, drinking, and quick critiques. Bring your latest poem and plenty of Kleenex. Be advised: in a move apparently calculated to drive writers away, Towson U. has recently approved a campus-wide smoking ban. Fools.

3.    Rise & Fall, an art exhibit traveling the country commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall, twenty years ago. In Baltimore, the collection of international images and German/Turkish electronica will have a one-night stand Tuesday at Shorty’s Martini Bar and Lounge in Canton (3301 Foster Avenue). The German Embassy and Kodak are footing the bill, so show up and get dazzled, educationally.

Where do you plan to push your luck this week?

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