Why I Love This Town

BPD were arresting a gentleman for- honestly- what the fuck ever because it's Baltimore. The interesting thing is that while they were cuffing the suspect a random dude attacks one of the arresting officers. The funny thing is that exact freaking thing happened in the very first episode of The Wire. I tell you, this town.

Oldy But Goody

Once upon a time the radio was something actually worth listening to. Back in those bountiful days Baltimore's 98 Rock actually rocked. They also had a sense of humor and did much to fan the flames of Dundalk-Essex rivalry. In that spirit, I give you the classic Devil Went Down to Dundalk.

Under Siege

Otakon is in town for the weekend. Staff rolled out the setup yesterday and today the hordes arrive. Here's the rub, otaku aren't the geekiest out there, but as a whole they're pretty grody.

Look, I'm just going to say it: There are a lot of geeks out there for whom the flak with regards to personal hygiene and social skills is not undeserved. In addition there is a particular brand of geek-girl who, by simply being very likely the only (but possibly one of very few) girl(s) that will speak to/associate with geek boys has essentially attained queen-b status. 90% of otaku fall into those two categories (oddly enough, yaoi fangirls not so much).

So, that's thing the first. Thing the second would be convention behavior for certain geek groups. Which, look, there's just something that happens when a lot of geeks come together and it's rarely pretty. Sure, I want to go to Comic-Con (I also want to go to E3), but it pretty much stops there. Those are conventions where the pull (in my book) is worth the horror show that is geeks en mass. I'm not saying they're all huge neck-beards. Most of them are quite average looking (cos-play aside).

At any rate expect photos over the weekend.

Good Morning, Baltimore!

A Hopkins researcher was robbed and stabbed to death walking home from Penn Station. Baltimore (or at least the part that's not, you know, killing people) is outraged that the murderous scum isn't just murdering other murderous scum.

The year so far.

(I'll post an image later. This comp is giving me grief about it.)

Can't Stop The Serenity

Charity screening of Serenity in Baltimore.

ZOMG, Baltimore, WTF

Seriously.

So over the weekend a Baltimore City police officer shot some dude 6 times (fired his gun 13 times) outside of a bar because- wait for it- the dude grabbed the ass of the officer's female companion. Needless to say, the dude is dead.

Additional fun facts:
1.) Baltimore City police are required to carry their fire arms at all times when within city limits. On or off duty.

2.) Our culprit has been in trouble before for shooting people while under the influence.

3.) McNulty! (end of video totally not work safe.)

I don't have anything to say about this because seriously, what.the.fuck. Though in closing, I would like to remind those of you playing along at home that The Wire was not just a show.

More Truth In Advertising

So the following monstrosity greets weary travelers as they exit Baltimore's Penn Station:

Right. Just take a look at that sucker.

This isn't exactly new. It's been up since June of 2004. Not exactly to rave reviews. In fact, I don't really think I can say I know a single person who doesn't hate it.

But you know what? It has it's...value merit worth purpose it serves a (dubious) function well. Namely: Truth in Advertising.

This is Penn Station:

Not a bad looking piece of architecture there, right? Classic. Elegant, even. Now, just think about the fact that this piece of shit:

was plopped down in front of that gorgeous building.

The inside of the station has the same classic feel as the outside, so when people leave the station to be confronted by that...thing, they tend to have certain reactions.
1. What the shit?
2. You can't tell me someone thought that was a good idea.
3. I hope you horse-whipped the bastards.
4. How long until it's gone?
These sentiments also happen to be very common when confronting Baltimore as a whole.

Furthermore, the glaring horror of that "statue" (and the process by which it came to be) right next to Penn Station (and, ironically, mere blocks from Maryland Institute College of the Arts) is sort of a Baltimore in miniature, where no matter how nice of a neighborhood one may find oneself in, it is almost a certainty that one is no more than 3 blocks from The Wire.

So, bravo, hideous eyesore joke of a public art piece and your horribly humiliating location (also visible from a major highway). And bravo to you, cabal of tasteless bastards, who got it there.

People Want To Hold Signs In The Rain Today

First we have a group of students protesting the closing of their school by the Archdiocese. Enrollment dropped by 500 students, so...probably not gonna win that one. Still, they win best sign for "Archbishop aborts Cardinal Gibbons". It's nice to see kids love their school.

On the opposite end of the spectrum (and a few blocks away) we have a small gathering of (presumably) local hippies celebrating(?) "existence day". By holding up signs by the end of the park. Okay, let's take a second here, because this is the kind of shit that makes people hate hippies. Making a spectacle out of something sacred is so incredibly gross. It's like pretending to speak in tongues to appear pious or holy, or holding an orgy in the middle of the street because sex is just about growing closer. Or maybe I'm just sick of people's spiritual talk-talk. Don't say it, just fucking be it.

Opening Day

So I sucked up my injuries and braved the crowd to today's game. There was the usual guarded hope, if a bit more pessimism than previous several seasons.
The game was good. Seriously good.

But what most people will remember is that the O's would have won if not for Michael Gonzalez, who was literally booed off of the field. I've never seen a Baltimore crowd go after one of our own like that.

If today's game is any indicator this is going to be a bumpy season for both players and fans tired of having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Blizzard.

So the snow had started coming down before I left for work. I will spend 1.5 hours on the clock today. I will then head to Best Buy (or Game Stop- both are loathed) and pick up Modern Warfare 2 or Bayonetta. Then off to the market to snag some frozen pizzas and the booze mart for some...well- booze. It's shaping up to be a long and glorious weekend filled to the brim with achievements. I'll see you on Xbox Live- totally before you see me.

"Good Morning Baltimore...."

In a Sheraton downtown- I mean right fucking downtown in the heart of the goddamn tourist district- a man was shot with a goddamn tech 9. I mean, Jesus fucking sonofabitching Christ, Baltimore.

This city fucking...just.

Every time I think I might not hate this city as much as I think I do Baltimore shows me that yes, yes I do hate it every last bit as much as think I do.

Frankly, when the worthless fucking shit stain gang members kill each other in their worthless fucking shit stain neighborhood I could give a rat's ass. Personally, I'm more than happy to let them kill each other off in their self created Mogadishu. I just wish they'd fucking stay there.

On Charities

Let's start with some local flavor:

This weekend (12/05/09) Midtown Yacht Club will be celebrating the repeal of Prohibition with a Toys for Tots toy collection/fundraiser. Period dress is encouraged. As an added bonus it will be held in the area (formerly?) known as the Spy Bar. Party starts at 9.

Also some idealistic young locals are trying to open a free "store". Good luck to them on that. (Their web site is having some issues at the moment so here's an alternate link.)

Now onto the international scene:

My new favorite charity ever? A Chilean prostitute is auctioning off 27 hours of adult fun times to help out her country's disabled children.

Rescue Ink

What's up Body-more? I did my good deed for the day. I paid $100 for the bellow tattoo. $50 went to the Baltimore Humane Society. $50 went to Rescue Ink. The good people of Baltimore Tattoo Museum volunteered their space, time, and artists.

So get out there and help save some pets!

Oh, For Pete's Sake

Disclosure: I do not do drugs.

That said,this bullshit is why the war on drugs is a scam. Look, so long as people want to escape their everyday lives people will get high on something. Hell, they're choking themselves unconscious and eating mushrooms that grow in cow shit to do it. This is not a behavior pattern that you can legislate or prosecute away, Attorney General Douglas Gansler. Selective criminalization is for all intents and purposes (excluding green pocket lining) arbitrary.

Pay attention. There were 22 shootings in Baltimore between June 14th and June 20th. What gives? Violent criminals too difficult to catch so the new plan is to create easier targets by criminalizing more teenagers and twenty somethings to justify next year's budget increases? Disgraceful.

Hitchcock And The Symphony

Tonight the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will be screening Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and providing the soundtrack live. There are cooler things in life. But not many. I'll be jetting over to catch it immediately after work.

Taking A Break From...Well...Just About Everything.

So I've been enjoying the weather. It's been unusually pleasant here in Charm City this summer; typically by this time we're swimming in humidity with temperatures regularly in the 80's and 90's hoping that the drought will end, but this year's been mild and drought free- okay, maybe a little too much rain for my tastes, but you can't win them all.

I took some much needed time off from work, went to a few more ball games, made some (modest) progress on the novel, and pretty much ignored politics. I may be going on a legitimate (read: traveling) vacation in August which will (if it happens) produce another long-ish silence here. However, regular (albeit light) blogging will recommence from here on out. Still no blogging on Sundays or Mondays this summer- unless it's by cell phone which, dude, pain in the rear on my phone, but there will be blog(ging).

There will be no politics until I catch up on what I've missed (so think maybe sometime next week). There will be general interest blogging.

Sorry for not giving you folks a heads up, but burnout exploded in my face all of a sudden. (Seriously, this post is kinda wtf, right? Totally time for time off.) I'll try not to let it happen again.

Largest Movie Screen In U.S. Stops Advertising With Local News Paper

Baltimore is home to Bengies Drive In, which boasts the largest movie screen in the U.S. Bengies has been a Charm City staple since 1956 and continues to draw a capacity crowd. Hilariously, they no longer advertise with the Baltimore Sun because the B.S. is...well...bullshit.

Body-More, Murderland.... Still Not Number One

So thanks due to an accounting error or something the city I reside in is in fact not actually the most violent city in America because that honor goes to Detroit.

The difference of 33 killings is just enough to push Detroit's homicide rate past Baltimore's to reclaim the No. 1 ranking among cities with a population of 500,000 or more people. Baltimore's rate is 36.9 killings per 100,000 people; Detroit's is now 37.4 per 100,000.

It's okay, Bleed-more! There's always next this year. Now where's my goddamn bread and circuses?

Federal Witness Placed In Cell With "People" He Was Testifying Against

And that's only the beginning of the funny.

So, this gang member, Van Sneed, is supposed to testify against three other gang members who were charged with drug conspiracy....and killing witness tampering. These four worthless wastes of life are then locked in a cell together and a fight ensues. Oh, and Sneed's greatest claim to fame? His appearance in the Stop Snitching video.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the collateral damage, I'd say let the scum wipe each other out.

Hat tip, Steve

25 Years Ago

March 29th looms and Baltimore remembers and mourns one of the greatest travesties in the city's long history. No, the Ravens really don't count. And Yes. Johnny Unitas was is and will always be The Great One. Screw you, Indianapolis and there's a special place in the ninth circle of Hell for Bob Isray, that traitorous thieving bastard.