The Problem with Factory Farms

The Problem with Factory Farms

Eating Locally and Giveway - Check out this Neat Blog!

http://greatwallsofbaltimore.blogspot.com/2010/02/eating-locally-and-giveaway.html

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

Mardi Gras Celebration!

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Please come to Havre de Grace for

a True Blue Mardi Gras Parade.

Check info below:

2010 Mardi Gras Parade on Bourbon Street in Downtown Havre de Grace

Parade starts at 6:30 PM on the 600 block of Bourbon Street

And ends at the Laurrapin on N. Washington Street

Come join the festivities with our fourth annual Mardi Gras celebration

Featuring Live Music by Radio Caroline

Hurricane Drink Specials and Purple Haze Beer brewed in New Orleans

Creole and Cajun food specials will keep you jumpin'

Beads Beads Beads

Proceeds to benefit the Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps

and at http://www.laurrapin.com/

Regional Restaurant Weeks

Baltimore Dining Examiner has posted a wonderful guide to Restaurant Weeks for the MD, Delaware, PA, etc. area. Check out the info here!

Restaurant Week!

On Friday November 7th, 2008, I met up with two friends at Tapas Teatro. We started off the evening with red wine and sangria. Bread, oil, olives, and pickles were brought to the table. Some of our selection included: monkfish medallions wrapped in a prosciuitto topped on artichoke hearts drizzled with a spicy oil, marinara and bread, baked potatoes in a cream sauce, and Gulf Shrimp swimming in a garlic butter. Throughout the light bites we viewed pictures from my friend's fall wedding in October 2008. The wedding took place at The Belvedere in the Charles room. It was quite an exquisite affair; I was a part of the bridal party.

After light bites, we drove up to the Johns Hopkins Campus to the ROTC building off of San Martin Drive for ballroom dancing. The lesson started at 8 PM. We learned the tango, the waltz, the electric slide, and the Achy Breaky Heart line dance. As I picked up the waltz and tango (one goes T A N G O to keep count with the steps), some of my partners unveiled more complex steps. Of course our instructor named a few. I felt special as I was a part of these more complex moves, I could be led by the gentleman and share in the experience of dancing. One feels graceful and accomplished when truly dancing the dance.

Overall, I'd go again. Where else can you learn dancing for free every Friday at 8 PM and from an event that is 20 years and counting?

Panasonic Lumix

I've been tracking this for about 6-8 months now and the Four Thirds technology has finally been unveiled. The Four Thirds Technology halves the distance in the camera between the reflecting lens of the camera. Here is the Lumix featured on this blog.

and here are five more reasons why to buy the Panasonic Lumix.

I am foaming at the mouth!

Last Day for MARC Train Hearings!

Today is the last day for the MARC Train Hearing. If you are a commuter and care about your service. Here is the info for the last three meetings:

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Edgewood
Edgewood Recreation and Community Center
Multi-Purpose Room
1980 Brookside Drive
Edgewood, MD 21040
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Frederick
Winchester Hall
First Floor Hearing Room
12 East Church Street
Frederick, MD 21701
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Perryville
Perryville High School
Second Floor Media Center
1696 Perryville Road
Perryville, MD 21903
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

If you cannot come to the meeting, please submit comments.
More info is here.

The 412 Line in Harford County to be cut?

From the Baltimore Sun...

Transit riders fight bus cut
Customers willing to pay higher fares

By Mary Gail Hare
November 23, 2008

Hundreds of Harford County's mass transit riders say they are conserving energy and helping to preserve the environment without adding to congestion on Interstate 95. Riding the bus also saves them money on gas and parking in downtown Baltimore.

Now they are battling the Maryland Transit Administration's cost-savings proposals that would eliminate one of the four commuter bus lines from the county to Baltimore and cut back trips on others. A public hearing in Bel Air last week drew nearly 150 people. More than 40 of them argued that increased ridership alone is reason to keep the service.

More Here.

Thievery Corp. is coming to Baltimore -2/27

That is right! You heard it here first. Thievery Corporation is coming 2/27/2009 at the Rams Head Live at the Power Plant. Tickets are only 40 dollars.

Friday, February 27
Doors 8pm
$40
ALL AGES

Thievery Corporation make abstract, instrumental, mid-tempo dance music whose classification falls somewhere between trip-hop and acid jazz. Featuring the production skills of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation released several warmly received singles on their own Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) label (named after their own Washington, D.C. bar and nightclub).

Presented by Rams Head Promotions
and 24-7 Entertainment

Buy Tix Here.

Eating 6x a Day DEBUNKED

Read more here.

A snippet:

Meal frequency and energy balance.
Br J Nutr. 1997 Apr;77 Suppl 1:S57-70.
“More importantly, studies using whole-body calorimetry and doubly-labelled water to assess total 24 h energy expenditure find no difference between nibbling and gorging. Finally, with the exception of a single study, there is no evidence that weight loss on hypoenergetic regimens is altered by meal frequency. We conclude that any effects of meal pattern on the regulation of body weight are likely to be mediated through effects on the food intake side of the energy balance equation.”

Today! Founder of Peace Corps at UMBC 7 PM

Today we have a unique opportunity to hear from one of the Peace Corps founders, Bill Josephson, author of the Towering Task (the blueprint for the original Peace Corps) and lifelong friend of Sargent Shriver. Bill will be presenting his ideas for a 21st Century Peace Corps as we transition to new national leadership in this critical historical moment. Bill is also a leading expert on the Electoral College, so it will be highly interesting to learn his thoughts on the election just days after the vote. And we'll have dessert after!

Please come: Thursday November 13th at 7pm in UMBC's Library 7th Floor. Parking for the event will be marked upon entering campus, and Directions to UMBC can be found at www.umbc.edu A dessert reception will follow...

Lobster Dinner at Sotta Sopra

I was on localwinevents.com checking out Sotta Sopra's Aperitivo Happy Hour when I happened upon the restaurant's blog. This weekend, Sotta Sopra is having a Maine Lobster Fest only for $23! That is a very good deal.

The special is also featured at a food and wine blog.

If you are interested in Charles North,

then try to leave work early. There will be a community event at 4:30 PM on Thursday, November 13, 2008 for those interested in having input into the Charles North area. More info here.

I have just been informed that the presentation will begin after 5 PM, but its still good to get there early...

The Baltimore Womens Film Festival

This is the second year that the Baltimore Women/s Film Festival occurred from Oct. 23- 26, and I volunteered at the festival! 50% of all ticket sales went to the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center. During my shift, I got to see 'Who Does She Think She Is' about women and their pursuit of art. One of the heavy running themes was the woman's desire to pursue her art while balancing a family. Most of the women who tried to strike this balance ended up divorced. Very interesting now, isn't it?

Why does it seem like a woman has to make a decision between career and family?

Stopped this morning

Usually every morning, I greet and hug enthusiastically a newspaper distributor outside of my office building. A person stopped me and asked me why did I hug a complete stranger. I asked, why not? This greeting has become routine for me. I told the person about the older gentleman I made friends in the afternoon on my commute home. He's usually at the ticket office and I give a peck and greet him as if he were a long lost love. To start my day, I have a hug and in the evening, I have a peck. My day is a little bit better while exchanging pleasantries with new friends. Unfortunately, my older friend has not been at his ticket station. Some folks said he went back downtown, but I've been worried about him lately. I did catch him one day while leaving work. The ticket office man said that he had been 'away'.

To all others...

do you exchange pleasantries with others you see regularly to and fro from work?

Why?

Why not?

Woman

God created woman to tame man. -Voltaire, 1694-1778.

Weyerbacher Tasting Review

I love the Weyerbacher Pumpkin Spice Ale, which is fortunately served at Bel Air's Sean Bolan's...
Here is a review on a Weyerbacher tasting...

Commute Home

My commute home varies from day to day. Roughly I spend about four hours a day commuting on a car, train, and Metro. 12 hours of my day are committed to some form of work or transit...

On Monday, September 15, I stayed later at work to wrap up a couple loose ends and my boss traipsed back in from a meeting. We thought we lost the client and I stayed longer than usual to chat about the meeting. I thought with extremely good follow up, we could capture their attention again.

With time winding down, I had to run away around five pm. Unfortunately, I had to wait about 8 minutes for the Metro to arrive...

4:53 Rush out of office to catch Metro
5:00 Metro arrives
5:21 Metro arrives at Union
MARC train leaves at 5:21
I buy a small Chilean red wine
Get on 5:34 PM train to Baltimore/Penn
6:30/6:40 arrive at Penn
Ask lady for a spoon at coffee stand.
Thank goodness had dinner packed in bag.
Ate and waited for the 7:05 to Perryville.
7:30/40 Arrived in Edgewood.
7:47 Arrived at home.

At Home: Changed Fire alarm battery. Packed away lemon bars. Jogged up and down drive in dark for 20 minutes. Checked email and blogged.

10 PM Get read for bed.

This was a particularly unusual evening, as I had missed my original train home....

Atmosphere at Rams Head, Oct. 10

Friday, October 10th, I saw Atmosphere at the Rams Head Tavern! They were very good. Blueprint opened, with Abstract Dude to follow. Atmosphere had a head cold but performed really well. He even went on to do a half hour encore set wrapped up with a very good freestyle. The Exactly.net posted a music vid here.