image via woody1778a at Flickr

Little can be said here about the recent loss in Haiti. You’ve hopefully found a way to offer some gesture or small contribution to people there. Maybe you’re one of the brave and qualified few who’ve traveled there to help in person, though why you’d be reading this blog eludes explanation. If you still feel, like I do, basically sad and impotent in response to what you’ve seen in the news, then I can recommend a site you may find somewhat useful. My godfather has worked with this group and others in Haiti for years. They are practical and very efficient: www.foodforthepoor.org.

Of course, the ubiquity of Haiti on television, radio, and the internet can, like any well-documented disaster, distract from ongoing pain close to home. While Baltimore’s thankfully not suffered any natural devastation lately, it is a city not wanting for poverty. If the various solstitial celebrations have left you overstuffed with plenty, consider hauling a load of your underused goods to one of the following:

1. The Salvation Army isn’t just about Santa guilt-tripping you into dropping your change in a big, red bucket, it’s also happy to come pick up your donations. For the Baltimore branch, call (410) 525-0530. There are four locations inside the city.
2. Goodwill also has numerous locations in Baltimore, and it’s worth knowing a little more about their model. Goodwill collects, repairs, sells, and distributes various goods with the goal not simply of giving things away, but rather of creating and sustaining jobs for those with disabilities and other obstacles to regular employment. Their slogan: “Not a charity, but a chance.”
3. Finally, if you’re a stubborn localtruist, then you may prefer to donate to the Baltimore Free Storein West Baltimore (1413 W. Baltimore St.). This is exactly what it sounds like, and the guys behind it are still doing good work for the city, but due to an in-process move, they’re not currently accepting donations. You can, however, e-mail them (bmorefree@gmail.com) to find out how you can help.

What will you give away this week?

image via bitchplz on Flickr

Rachel’s in the Holy Land, and Danny’s still in Kansas, so it falls to me belatedly to address our predicament. It’s a long story, and like most long stories it is dull and involves money. In lieu, then, of a thorough account of UDL’s past year, I’ll just say this: Urban Discoveries Blog exists and will continue to exist, albeit with some changes. We’re still going to write about Baltimore news, events, and perhaps even gossip. This is because we love all of these things and want you to love them just as much. We won’t, however, be spending quite as much time addressing Baltimore real estate.
This is not because we don’t love it. We just think it’s time we both explored some different opportunities. We wish Baltimore real estate nothing but happiness and personal fulfillment. Really. But the most important person here is you. We’re still going to make time for you. We’re going to be at all those games and plays and graduations. We just might be sitting in a different row than Baltimore real estate and her new cardiologist boyfriend who works out. We’re glad they’re both able to make such mature decisions about their lives now.
Back to you. Thank you for reading. We appreciate your curious eyes whether or not you ever leave a comment, but if you do plan on continuing to read this new, slightly… let’s say cozier Urban Discoveries Blog, then this is a meaningful time to let us know. We’ll keep writing if you keep reading. Thanks again.

Photo via jayunsplanet at Flickr.com

The good news is you already know how to celebrate New Year’s Eve––by drinking champagne which you get to call champagne because you live in America, by making jokes about kissing someone at midnight while you search desperately for someone to kiss at midnight, and by claiming the role of the earnest keeper of resolutions adrift in a world of cynics while you drink champagne to forget last year’s neglected resolutions. The other news is Baltimore will still be here on New Year’s Day, humoring your headachey daydreams and wiping away your swiss-cheese memories of the night before.
The Maryland Science Center in the Inner Harbor (601 Light St.) welcomes all circadian traditionalists and their underage companions to join in the Midnight Noon countdown. From 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, local kids and parental science-lovers will observe the changing of the calendar with face-painting, puppets, and the puerile rhythms of the children’s band Milkshake. Admission is free to members. Pricing for non-members varies . I have nothing sarcastic to say about this event.
The city presents its free New Year’s Eve Spectacular at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater (at Pratt and Light Streets) starting at 7:00 pm with soothing a cappella hits from Part Harmony and continuing at 9:00 pm with the generically ambiguous sounds of Blues Therapy. At the precise start of 2010, the sky above the crowded, icy harbor will explode in a terrifying display of recreational firepower. Still-Mayor Sheila Dixon will host the countdown to the New Year, which will be marked not by a dropping ball but rather by cannon loaded with confetti.
For a simultaneously extravagant and martial evening, cough up $75 for admission to the deck of the U.S.S Constellation in the Inner Harbor (Pier 1, 301 E. Pratt St.). In addition to a clear view of the fireworks, your pricey ticket will get you champagne (see above), fancy food, noisemakers, special tours, and so forth. 10:00 pm to 1:00 am. Acquire a ticket here .
Where might we find you next year?

Photo by flickr user cizauskas

There are numberless reasons people have parties––birth, boredom, graduation, loneliness, marriage, and despair all come to mind. But every party is at bottom a way of setting something apart, whether that be a group of friends or an otherwise forgettable night. Regardless of the occasion, there are a few things that make the hosting of parties everywhere easier. In Baltimore, they work like this:

1. Booze. If you are hosting a dry party, then congratulations! Skip straight to #2. For all non-oxymoronic events, I prefer to use the Wine Source in Hampden (3601 Elm Avenue). In addition to anything that comes in a bottle, kegs filled with just about any beer you can think of also are available there, though you’ll need to place your order a few days in advance. Those of you who’ve waited till the hour before the party to arrange for a keg, try Harford Beverage Company in Parkville (7732 Harford Road) or Wells Discount Liquor in Lake Evesham (6310 York Road). Both have a selection that should distinguish your place from the frat house down the street.

2. Head. There are plenty of other slang terms I could use, but what matters is that if you’re throwing a real world-ender, then you may want to spare the house facilities. Ditto the creek running through your backyard. This is never an exciting phone call to make, but you’ll be glad later that you didn’t go with God: Gotügo. Yes, the name induces cringing, but these guys are pros. Plus they’re local (7355 Green Acres Drive, Glen Burnie).

3. Clean-up. Luckily we live in a city with weekly trash and (single-stream) recycling pick-ups, so unless your celebration left an aftermath of over four cans worth of debris, then you’re job is easy. Just don’t put your trash out before trash day, because the rats are on a very strict diet. And if you find you’ve got some bulky waste, like say a wicker chair somebody tried to stand on while delivering a toast, then call 311 and tell them what you’ve got. The city will actually collect the big stuff at no charge, but only if you ask nicely.

Artscape
July 17–19
Mount Royal Avenue and Cathedral Street / Charles Street
Largest free arts festival in the country. 150-plus artists, fashion designers, and craftspeople. Opera, acrobats, dancers, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Bring the kids.
410-752-8632

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Plays the Magical Music of Disney
July 16–17
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral Street
410-783-8100

Convergence ’09
July 7–August 29
Maryland Art Place, 8 Market Place # 100
Work of recent MFA graduates from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Towson University, The University of Maryland–Baltimore County, and The University of Maryland–College Park.
July 10 gallery talk with featured artists. Reception to follow at Power Plant Live! Gallery.
410-963-8565

Cricket Fourth of July
July 4
Baltimore Inner Harbor
Day-long entertainment. Music by a capella group Reverb and the Navy’s Electric Brigade. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Good viewing locations include Federal Hill, Fell’s Point, Canton, and Rash Field.
1-877-BALTIMORE

Flicks from the Hill
Thursday evenings from July 2 through August 13
American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway
Free outdoor screenings.
410-244-1900

The Glorious Fourth: An Old Fashioned Fourth of July
July 4
Fort McHenry National Monument, 2400 E. Fort Avenue
Fife and drum music, period dancing and games, a musket salute, and a cannon firing. Reading of the Declaration of Independence at 3:00 p.m. $7. Under 16, free.
410-962-4290

Summer Concerts on the Water
Pier Six Pavilion, 731 Eastern Avenue

July 12: ROCK ROYALTY: The Ultimate British Classic Rock Festival featuring The Zombies, The Yardbirds, and the Spencer Davis Group

July 14: Joe Cocker with Dave Mason

July 18: The BSO Performs Queen

July 19: Reggae on the Harbor “Three Generations of Ska” with Toots and the Maytals, Reel Big Fish, The English Beat, Super Villains, and more

July 23: Hippiefest 2009

July 24: Randy Travis with Caitlin and Will

July 26: Blind Boys of Alabama & Ladysmith Black Mambazo with special guests Ollabelle

July 27: mtvU Sunblock Music Festival featuring Boys Like Girls & Gym Class Heroes with special guests The Academy Is, The Veronicas, and Never Shout Never

410-783-4189

Summer Live! Concert Series
Harborplace and The Gallery, 200 E Pratt St

July 11: Old Man Brown: Rock, blues, soul, and funk

July 18: Big Daddy Stallings: Blues

July 25: The Motorettes: Female-fronted motown

410-332-4480

• Midnight Sun, the Baltimore Sun nightlife blog, let us guest a few posts.  Here’s Matthew on the working drink, Danny on some of Baltimore’s best cocktails, and Matthew on porch drinking etiquette.
• We also did a profile of Miller’s Court, a new mixed-use development in South Charles Village, for Baltimore Grows.

See, there’s this website I found that’s so intuitively named as to provoke a brief shudder of anticlimactic obviousness upon encountering it, but it’s really, really useful. Go to www.baltimore.org/deals-and-discounts. There, I said it.

That’s kind of all I’ve got, but since we’re still here and no cops have shown up yet, I’ll give you a little tour. Scroll down past the eerily deer-like stare of ambiguously disgraced Mayor Sheila Dixon, past the Amtrak promotion, all the way down to the coupons section. And there you have it. A list of stuff––shows, museums, restaurants, retail––for which you can click on and print out a pdf coupon. That’s it. The coupons tend to expire by December of 2009, but otherwise it’s a gimme.

Because I’m at heart a Platonist and thus shy away from chaos in all its Walmart-stampeding forms, I’ll clutch at a little theme and give you a taste of the cut-out-able delights you’ll find just in the restaurants section:

• Ten percent off your purchase at Minato Japanese Restaurant in Mt. Vernon (1013 N. Charles Street)
• Free appetizer with purchase of an entrée at La Scala Ristorante in Little Italy (1012 Eastern Avenue)
• Fifteen percent off your purchase at Lebanese Taverna in Harbor East (719 S. President Street)
• Free dessert with purchase of an entrée at Tabrizi’s in Riverside (500 Harborview Drive)

All right, that’s enough for today. Now like my grandfather used to say as he walked his five sons into the Sunday all-you-can-eat buffet back home, “Punish ‘em, boys.” And when you’ve cleaned your plate, answer this question: where have you found cut-rate gourmet eats?

Got lots of money (or like to pretend you do)?

405 Warren Avenue — Federal Hill; valued at $1,014,820

This spacious four-bedroom, four bath Federal Hill townhouse is perfectly placed, right across the street from Federal Hill Park… which means you get a wonderful view of the water. And film buffs might be interested to know that the stately facade was featured in the Al Pacino movie And Justice for All. The home was owned by an eccentric animal lover who died last year; it’s being auctioned off on-site on March 31, with proceeds going to the Richmond SPCA. The list price is the home’s tax assessment value.

Open house:  Sunday, March 29, 1 – 3 p.m.

1419 Park Avenue — Bolton Hill; listed at $560,000

This nicely-maintained 1880 townhouse has all the room you’ll ever need — five bedrooms and five bathrooms, a partly-finished basement,  two-car garage, two rear balconies, two kitchens (!) and butler’s pantry… and a recently-reduced price. (It was originally listed at $595,000.) It’s all about the details with this one:  crown moldings, built-in bookcases, and eight fireplace mantles.

Open house:  Sunday, March 29, 1 – 3 p.m.

1020 W. 38th Street, Hampden; listed at $289,000

This sunny end-unit townhouse fits three bedrooms and 2.5 baths into its spacious 2,800 square feet… and that’s not even including the two-car park in the rear. Built in 1880, the house was recently renovated, but much of its charm comes from original features left intact, like a built-in butler’s pantry and beautiful wood staircases and floors.

Open house Sunday, March 29, 1 – 3 p.m.

More sadness: despite valiant fundraising efforts, the Senator Theatre has shut its doors and the Rotunda may be next. But there’s hope: the fight to preserve the space in one way or another is still ongoing. Astrogirl has got all the details.

Mobtown Shank wants your tips for its Baltimore Insider’s Directory. This week’s question: What one local restaurant is a must for out-of-town visitors?

Apartment Therapy takes a look at local designer Inna Alesina’s creative use of recycled materials.

The Baltimore Sun adds a new blog: Garden Variety, with a focus on — you guessed it — “the Mid-Atlantic gardener.”

Another new and noteworthy blog: Beardymore tracks the most impressive facial hair in Charm City.

Midnight Sun lets us know the best places in the city to watch the NCAA tournament. Too bad our bracket isn’t doing so well this year.