Connect the Sea Dots

Some friends have been bringing to my attention the environmental impact we humans are having on our various bodies of water. This growing awareness came to a critical point on Monday night because the conversation revealed some truly daunting and scary facts I had never considered before.

A girlfriend and I had just wrapped up dinner in Canton at the Speakeasy. Dinner was very good by the way and we engaged in a conversation with a gentleman who works at Majestic Motors. We started off the conversation good-naturedly about his 14 year old son and I voiced my interest in the Green IT industry. He then shared some information that I will be sharing below:

The Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Blog

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

From the Institute For Figuring on the Garbage Patch

Ocean Conservancy Picking up Trash

Mindfully.org

Carbon Dioxide as a Solution?

Fighting Acidification

The Come Up by AZ

I got inspired while driving home Friday night listening to Strictly Hip Hop on WEAA at Morgan State University. I heard AZ mentioned and found the vid above while surfing.

I grew up listening to hip hop. At night I'd dangle over my bed and stare into space listening to 92Q as the radio station played the late night house. I am not talking about techno house. This is a different house unique to this area and one can still hear it on the weekends only on Baltimore stations. In middle school we had primarily RnB, Hip Hop and Rap dances complete with the dance trains. I'd love to watch In Living Color, especially the dance and music segments. One thing I love about the net is that I can explore and grow my knowledge of this music form. And I especially love the blogs that post tracks on occasion...

Baltimore Restaurant Week

Via Adventures in Baltimore Restaurants, I learned that Baltimore Restaurant Week is coming to Baltimore from July 26th to August 3rd!

Baltimore Restaurant Week occurs twice a year, once in July and and once in January as a way to encourage dining out at local establishments. For a reasonable price, you can try out a new restaurant. Its always best to reserve as early as you can and call the restaurant to confirm the menu.

The participation list of restaurants is already posted on the website. And below is my wish list. I'll make final cuts as menus are posted.

Georges on Mt. Vernon Square
VIN
The Black Olive
The Brass Elephant
Brasserie Tatin
Kali's Court Restaurant
Roy's Hawaiian Fusion
The Wine Market

Free MP3 of the Day

CNET.com has a Free MP3 of the day feature. Check it out!

Less Than Jake, Debbie Harry, among others are listed as giving some freebies. Its also a great way to check out new genres or experiment with new artists. Be prepared to spend some time on the site.

Battle of the MP3 Players

Read about the Battle here.

Appears that the Apple iPod has a worthy opponent...



Archos 605 WiFi VS. Apple iPod Touch

Free Music

I came across a list on Free Downloadable Music while searching through some blogs on Tumblr.

The Golden West

Rest assured, I always have an interesting time any time I decide to go to the Golden West Cafe nestled on the Avenue in Hampden. I first visited Golden West back in 2002 when it was at its original location on the fringes of the Avenue (closer to Breathe Books and Ma Petit Shoe). I had brunch there and was thoroughly impressed. In 2007/08, I've since returned to the Golden West in its much larger and noticeable location closer to Falls Road. Upon first entering, there are all sorts of knick knacks adorning the walls and shelves, and in the bathroom, record covers wallpaper the wall and personal messages are etched into the bathroom walls and doors.

Occasionally one will find a bartender who only 'fills in' and serves beer. Sometimes an odd server will check his Gmail Account on the left side of the bar. The perfect margarita is served on Tuesdays nights by a co-owner of The True Vine. On the night of the perfect margarita (which was 2 bucks, btw), I knocked over a couple figurines behind a wall across from the bar. I am reasonably sure that no one will notice for the next five to ten years. A knitter sat too enjoying her beer.

Last Friday I found myself staring into a wall that had three to five versions of the Last Supper. And if I peered up above me to the right, there were tins, boxes, paintings that had 'Golden West' somewhere on the item. I enjoyed a seasonal dish of white bean hummus with quite a spicy kick on top of shredded carrots and romaine. I was able to save half for lunch the next day. A ghost taste of garlic remained in my mouth for the next day despite brushing. I am always leery of a restaurant that prints up a page of rules in the first page of its menu, but somehow I find myself returning again and again.

Country

The breeze hastens patches of honeysuckle to my nose.
Bass and baritone of frog, bullfrog, and toad arise.
Thunder rumbles away the lightning.






The half moon is no more a sliver.

Blue Moon Cafe

On a scorching Saturday morning, we visited Blue Moon Cafe in Fells Pt. Normally, The A/C was not on inside, but the door was open to the street and an occasional breeze wafted through. Two cats roamed the floor winding their way through chairs and tangling themselves in human legs. Swimming in humidity, we approached the restaurant and waited for our table. We got there at 8:30 AM and only found a 10 minute wait. The wait usually jumps higher after 9 AM. Parking is free until 10 AM in Fells.

After we were seated, we got great strong coffee and water. The water was always refilled without any requests for more. Our order rounded out to being the Blue Moon which came with French Toast, choice of meat and 2 eggs, the Mexican egg scramble with a huge biscuit, fruit instead of home fries, and the vegetarian omelet with cheese, one pancake, and home fries.

Overall the meal was delish and the service reasonably good. I definitely would like to go back again!

Here is the info on Blue Moon Cafe:

Blue Moon Cafe
1621 Aliceanna St
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 522-3940

Baltimore Breakfast

I just absolutely love breakfast. It is one of the best times of day to eat and to eat splendidly of meat, bread, eggs and potatoes. Here is my list:

Tried and True:

Ashland Cafe
10810 York Rd
Cockeysville, MD 21030
410-666-3838

• Can play keno
• Great homemade biscuits and corned beef hash
• Great omelettes
• Cheap food most 9 bucks and under.
• Train on tracks that goes around ceiling
• Fast service

Morning Edition Cafe
153 N Patterson Park Ave
Baltimore, MD 21231-1667
Phone: (410) 732-5133

• Quirky homestyle setting
• Food takes long to come out
• Good omelettes
• 10 page menu
• Good prices
• Quiet

Pete's Grill
3130 Greenmount Ave
Baltimore, MD 21218
410-467-7698

• Cheap Great breakfast
• Fantastic homefries
• Great Grits-homeade
• RAPA Scrapple
• Half Hour wait, sit at bar/barstools only, no tables

Places I'd like to try:

Blue Moon Cafe
1621 Aliceanna St
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 522-3940

• Eclectic
• Good food
• Hour wait
• Get there before 8 AM
  

Happy Day Diner
8302 Pulaski Highway
Baltimore, MD 21237
http://www.happydaydiner.com/

• Cream Chipped Beef Omelette
• Omelette's 6-8 bucks
• Quintessential 50s Diner

Shirley's Cafe
513 W Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore, MD 21210
(410) 889-5272
http://www.missshirleys.com

• Long wait
• Gourmet Breakfast
• Breakfast prices 10-17 bucks

Orange Aviators

Someone I know from Europe has recently read some books by Hunter S. Thompson. So I have been tasked with the search and location of 'orange aviators.' Google orange aviators and Hunter S. Thompson and you'll know why.

True Americana extends beyond drug hazes and psychedelic partying, however here are some of my results in my glorious search for one small ingredient to the American pie.








Orange Aviators from Bluefly.com









A strange result from 'orange aviators'







Aviator Shooting Glasses









The Winning Result?