Urban Discoveries Baltimore

Lately, it seems as everyone’s a nerd.  Maybe it’s just that after high school everyone worth knowing is up to their ears in geeky passion because living any other way is a little sad.  Beyond that, though, it seems that high school geek culture – the culture of D&D, Lord of the Rings and sweating [...]

If there’s one irrefutable good about the holidays, it’s the dessert.  Presents can disappoint, family can be a nuisance, and travel can be a pain.  Even the meal itself – at least in the weird pot-luck mish-mash of my family – is sometimes bad: dried out turkey, stale rolls, soft stuffing, plain and lumpy mashed [...]

One of the more shameful trends of the last, oh say, ten to fifteen years is the dumbfounding inability of anyone under the age of 35 to cook.  Not that people have stopped eating – not us, anyway – but more and more meals are had at restaurants, 7-Elevens, and vending machines.  Shame on us, [...]

So not today and not tomorrow, but the day after that, the day after Thanksgiving — Black Friday, if you will — is pretty much accepted as the biggest shopping day in America. We’re not sure why; the one year we ventured out into the storm, we scurried back as quickly as we could, [...]

I kind of like when people are pretentious about coffee. Or, sorry — I tend to use the word “pretentious” gratuitously — I like when people are knowledgeable about coffee, when they have preferences, when they buy vintage coffee grinders on eBay and then actually use them, when they complain that the grinder’s burr speed [...]

There are a few things I take for granted when blogging. One, that you’re reading this blog purposefully, not misguidedly searching for porn or encoded al-Qaida instructions (The rooster crows at dawn, my brothers). Two, that you have regular, and perhaps portable, internet access. But should this second assumption prove wrong and [...]

The list of things you should pay for on-line is shorter than you think. Included are fines, items not sold in the United States, and stuff you’re ashamed to be seen buying. Music is not among these. As convenient as it is simply to click, debit, and download, this maneuver misses the point of having [...]

Ever since our two species learned they could mooch off one another––the one for tenderness and the other for regular poop collection––humans and dogs have been fast allies. And in a city that’s never too busy to get lonely, there are worse ways to dally than in the company of a wagging tail. And Baltimore’s [...]

The Japanese are givers. That’s right, givers. They gave America sushi, samurai movies and ninja jokes. It’s because of them that our geeky teenage boys are able to move past comic books and onto anime. Where would the modern whaling industry be without the Japanese (and the Norwegians) propping it up [...]