1,067 Words of Love

I’ve been hesitant—reluctant to a point of stubbornness, really—to include the bar scene to the Baltimore After Dark series. I wasn’t particularly interested in including the club scene either, which I’m seeing was a mistake as Baltimore’s scene is apparently different than anywhere else. (I had naïvely thought that every city’s clubs were just like these.)
Baltimore is full of bars—and it seems almost unfair to report about one bar over another when the fact is that every bar has specials, closes at the same time and has its own unique crowd. They have dance parties, karaoke, bingo and 80s prom. They have drink specials based upon the weather and a crowd of regulars.
Yet I feel it would be a disservice to pretend that I haven’t at least noticed the joys of After Dark Drinking in Baltimore, because while I’ve taken copious notes while informally polling students, co-workers, people in line at Dunkin Donuts at 8 a.m. and fellow transit riders my heart has stayed true…to the Ottobar.
I went to the Howard Street club last night to see Illinois-based pop band Spitalfield on their formal farewell tour. Yet the evening was far from formal. Joined by fellow Illinois bands The Forecast and The Graduate (a group of fellows who have formed their own Baltimore cheering section) I came full circle to my formative Ottobar years that had steadily led to this night. The bands milled through the crowds with their Baltimore-based friends, fans and crew. The only way of identifying a band member (aside from the laminate that hung from his or her denim pocket) was by the person’s outerwear: fans and locals had eschewed coats and taken chances to run from car to bar rather than risk a smelly coat for Wednesday’s morning commute while the Midwesterners and professional tourers had long learned the value of a winter coat and remained bundle in heavy wool pea coats through the evening.
I first saw Spitalfield when I was a freshman and beginning to explore the city on my own. Obligatory post-show dinner was held at Paper Moon down the street then and I was still adjusting to the idea that bands would swill their beer in the company of teenagers who had recently purchased a brand new hoodie. The Ottobar became my favorite music venue—and remains my favorite in Baltimore today—for its lackluster and homey values. Smoking is limited to the section near the bar and not the stage (whereas Fletcher’s had allowed it in the front, leaving a 17-year-old version of me covered in burns the night following a packed show), a small balcony to avoid the ensuing fray and a laid back vibe.
Paired with the camaraderie, I felt at home. And last night, I began to feel guilty that I hadn’t once mentioned on Baltimore After Dark’s blog that, oops, there are some clubs and bars in the city, too.
Ultimately I think The Village Voice’s Tom Breihan described the venue best in his ode to The Blood Brothers, a recently deceased band:

I went there a lot, often three or four shows a week. Shows in Baltimore are different from shows in New York. People in New York, for the most part, don't go off the way people in Baltimore do. Unless things have changed significantly since I moved away (entirely possible), nobody records Baltimore shows for posterity on digital cameras on notepads. Instead, they bug the fuck out. I've got a sort of greatest-hits reel of visceral Ottobar show-moments in my head: twenty drunk rednecks at a sparsely attended Tuesday-night Avail show taking turns jumping on each other's faces, the spontaneous moshpit that sprung into life the second M.O.P. started doing "Ante Up," Dillinger Four staging a contest to see who could most convincingly dance like a drunk homeless person (I won a T-shirt and a couple of CDs). But I can only remember two shows where the entire packed-in mass of humanity at the Ottobar became a flailing, indistinguishable tornado of limbs for the entire hour-plus the headlining band was onstage.

I like to say that nothing has changed. The limbs weren’t flailing last night, but the crowd—which only a few weeks ago had crossed its arms and nodded approvingly through Olympia’s set in a distinctive Washington, DC response—had abandoned its arms folded, face scowling façade for hands clapping, excessive cheering, booty shaking free-for-all. And can you blame us? Sometimes it’s nice to relive your youth through heart-on-your-sleeve “emo” and revel in cheap beer. (The Ottobar has a 2-for-1 special upstairs on Tuesday. The clock struck 9 when the bands and fans moseyed upstairs to enjoy half-priced bottles and rail drinks.)

When the show ended the love for milling amongst one another didn’t end. The vans were loaded and the bands drove to Friends in Fells Point. What is striking about this isn’t leaving one club/bar to go to another—that happens all the time. It’s that the bands wanted to go.
The Graduate’s guitarist Max Sauer turned 21 Sunday and has loyally waited until last night to celebrate in Fells Point. The group’s love for Baltimore abounds. The group's debut album's complimentary DVD, The Making of Anhedonia shows hanging out in Fells Point, eating at Five Guys and (of course) sharing a beer at Friends in the bar’s chapel. When the group played The Ottobar this summer a post-show visit to the group’s studio revealed a brief trip to Soundgarden when they had splurged and bought The Wire on DVD.
As tabs were paid and the last cigarettes were smoked, members of The Forecast began a war-like chant to convene in Fells Point. They were joined by members of Spitalfield and giggling Graduate fans (that would be a dig at myself).
I know that love for Baltimore is not rare (it just occasionally seems that way). M.I.A. was inspired by Baltimore while writing and recording her album Kala and is joined by two locals as openers for her tour. But seeing unabashed love—from sources I’ve come to expect it from, and sources I hadn’t—makes me swell with pride nonetheless. (Even though everyone reconvened upstairs until suddenly, oh no! It's 2 a.m. and time to leave.)
I’m glad the Ottobar has allowed for me to grow into my late teens and early twenties. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

They're Just That Into You, Baltimore

Baltimore is a happenin’ place for celebrities this month following a weekend on-location shoot for the upcoming film He’s Just Not That Into You. Former Saturday Night Live star Jimmy Fallon has been spotted in Fells Point’s Ale Mary’s while the cast—which includes Jennifer Connelly, Entourage’s Kevin Connolly, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson—have been spotted throughout the city as well. Actually, confirmed sightings are limited to Connelly, Johannson and Fallon with and without the company of fiance Juvonen.
The two had a late night dinner (see, relevance!) at Aldo’s in Little Italy. It’s not the branching out The Sun’s Dining@Large blog will have you believe, given that the filming is in the same tiny neighborhood, but it’s something. It’s better than getting into a chauffeured car and whisked to the Cheesecake Factory and Hooter’s, right? As a side note, I've never felt enamored with bread pudding as I do now looking at that photograph.
Yet these sightings are not just around the Harbor, where the tourists are milling between dolphin shows at the Aquarium. Nor just Mount Vernon and Little Italy, where the movie is to take place (most of the filming has been done in Los Angeles).
Besides, I would be remiss to criticize the convenience when rock band The Graduate frequents Fell’s Point hangouts Friends (their preferred place for Resurrection), B.O.P., Blue Moon Café and The Baltimore Tattoo Museum for body jewelry. If I’m beside myself in the way the group has assimilated into Fells Point after recording its debut album down the street in Salad Days Studio, then by all means, I’m going to welcome Hollywood too.
It’s interesting to see where the stars gravitate. If only Aniston was spotted at Faidley’s in Lexington Market, Connolly in a cozy dive bar on Harford Road and Johansson at Rocket to Venus. Or the whole cast at Paper Moon or even a 24 hour Ihop. Maybe that’s unfair too, since Johansson chose this weekend as her first time to taste scrapple. (It was in the hours of daylight but it’s so heartwarming it’s worth mentioning. And I don’t even like scrapple.)
Since He’s Just Not That Into You is the byproduct of HBO’s Sex in the City (the book was written by one of the show’s consulters after the episode—which travailed the theory—was met with great success), has launched a daytime television talk show and now a movie, we’ll hold our breath in Baltimore that at least Justin Long will spied at Rec Room, since one thing has been learned from Bradshaw and Company: it's never too late to party fabulously.

Door to Door

We can currently receive anything in our mailbox: groceries, DVDs, Christmas gifts, and text books.

But in a Washington Post article dated June 12, 1989, the prospect of videos at our doorstep was a new concept:
"...An enterprising Washington video store owner is heating up the battle by offering a new gimmick: delivery service. Door to Door Video claims to be the first video rental outfit in the District to offer delivery to homes and offices. The rental, at $5 a night, is about double the cost of renting from Erol's..."
The article goes on to publish statements from Door to Door's competitors, Blockbuster and Erol's, who say that the service will become unpopular as a result of its expense. Spokespeople surmise that consumers would rather drive to their stores than pay a little extra.
Yet the article fortells the future: "...Industry analysts argue that it is a convenience service that the public wants and has proven to be profitable in other parts of the country."
An internet search has yielded little information about Door to Door's fate. Though it may not continue, Netflix and DVDs-to-your-mailbox competitors are a popular service.

More importantly, the convenience may be "killing" the in-store competition. Hollywood Video is going under--stores across the country are rapidly closing, and the Towson stores began their liquidation sale in September, emptying its retail before the beginning of October. Its parent company, Movie Gallery filed for bankruptcy last month, but the chain had been suffering for more than a year, having been purchased out of desperation in 2005.
Blockbuster (which hopes to soon own Hollywood Video, according to my employee stock statement) has lost more than $35 million and closed 526 stores nationwide, despite offering a Netflix-like program, sending DVDs in the mail to customers and allowing the opportunity to return and rent in-store.

Local chains do not currently offer what Door-to-Door attempted to bring to DC's residents in 1989, but Video Americain currently offers the purchase of DVDs through its website. Perhaps it's only a matter of time...

So, if the convenience of mail-order renting seemed impossible 18 years ago, what's next? What

Because We All Need Study Snacks

Ah, the convenience of anything you want, at any time. Thanks to delivery bike service DC Snacks, late night necessities are now at your door, and not just around the corner at the local 711. …As long as you are in DC.

Frequently used by college students, the service operates seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays and weekdays and 4 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. DC Snacks delivers to neighborhoods Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Midtown, and Downtown.

Almost nothing is impossible. Need to make a cake? Cake mix and icing in a variety of flavors are available. As are sauces and spices, Advil, contraceptives, peanut butters, marshmallows, Nutella, candy, frozen food entrees, sushi, Red Bull, bottled water, Benadryl, Tums, Marlbaro Ultra Lights, baking soda, ping pong balls, and batteries. You could, in theory, grocery shop through DC Snacks; all that is unavailable are milk and eggs, and with the company's changing hours and frequent stock update, one might wonder how long until DC Snacks provides the necessities that we need for impending snow storm. From the obscure necessity to the basics, DC Snacks appears to have you covered.

Of course, DC Snacks raise questions, which are not only limited to its products and services, but its safety and necessity. On the one hand, it's convenient to have a delivery service that provides the little things that make life easy, but do we need a service to provide that? Or should we drive ourselves to the 24-hour Superfresh and get the milk, glue stick, and Dayquil ourselves?

What what does it mean for Baltimore and what does this mean for society? Well, it's another convenience; like 24-hour fitness centers, late night pharmacies, and 24-hour drive thrus, the "pedal service" offers the ability to stay indoors. If it's raining or snowing when you remember you need No. 2 pencils for tomorrow's exam, you won't have to brave the wild to collect the necessity. (This is of course, hypothetical; DC Snacks doesn't offer pencils, but as an off-handed suggestion, the future Baltimore services should!) As for Baltimore, it's a convenience we could surely benefit from, and consider me chagrined, one I would likely use.

More on the Baltimore Wiki

Hello, and welcome back to irrelevancy!
I've been giving the BaltimoreWiki Project more thought. When I posted about the DavisWiki and said that a BaltimoreWiki would be really cool, I hadn't meant that I should start one. That sort of thinking is kind of against everything I've ever done or stood for; I wanted to read articles about the bands I was listening to and the issues that had importance to me so I started my own magazine. I didn't think there were enough female fronted punk bands when I was 13, so I started my own, and I wanted more discussion about Baltimore's infuriating public transportation so I started to blog about that, too. (Though I haven't promoted it yet outside my circle of friends--all of which drive everywhere, but it's on my list of things to do!) What I'm saying, MCOM407 classmates, is that I have a tendency to take matters into my own hands.
Except I'm not entirely sure that I want to start the BaltimoreWiki because a project like this doesn't have an end point. Moreover, I hate to start projects and fail to finish them. There's something about the craft detritus strewn about my apartment that gives way to a nasty habit: an unfinished WikiProject would be the 53rd project I've started and not completed.
Not that it would go unfinished because I'm not interested in Baltimore. On the contrary, I'm having a hard time seeing myself in grad school in Chicago or Los Angeles because I love living here so much. I'd hate to leave my life here because I have so many strong emotions tied to this city. I worry about two big issues instead: first, that the project is not of interest to anyone else, and second, that I don't have the time to commit.
So I'd like to ask, formally, if anyone is interested in contributing to the project, should it start, and if anyone thinks it's a worthwhile project. I ask this in sincerity and hope that if you think it sounds unimportant, you'll chime in and let me know.
I wouldn't want for it to be redundant; other sites, such as the Charm City community on Live Journal, already exist.
I feel almost strange to spend this much time speaking about a Wikipedia-like project, given the websites reputation as unethical (and its connection to unethical doings by others) and its current battles with editing. Still, it's relevant in only that my previous post sparked a small debate, and I'd like to see where this goes...

Today's off-topic post is brought to you by a science lab cut short and a bag of grapes, which were consumed in the library, in secret. Thank you and have a nice day!

Not Quite the Same

Baltimore's Penn Station, in addition to stations in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Deleware, and Manhattan, now has wireless internet access (Wi-Fi). This isn’t quite the same as a 24-hour service, but is in the same vein in that it adds wireless mobility to travelers and inhabitants of Baltimore, in the same way that diners provide food, pharmacies provide diapers, milk, and aspirin at 3 a.m., and venues of various sorts provide entertainment.

I’m really excited by Penn Station’s access. Currently, there is no indication that the service includes a time limit; Pittsburgh added free Wi-Fi to its city so residents could access service “anywhere” but the Wi-Fi is only available in the city’s “better neighborhoods” and only for 30 minutes…which ruins the fun. It’s sort of as if the enforcers of that idea had never had an assignment due while on the move and suffered a technological malfunction.

That said, Wi-Fi in Penn Station—and these other stations, too!—is incredible, even if trains don't run 24 hours a day. There's also talk of having wireless access on the trains, which does extend to the wee hours. Some trains have some amenities on them now, but it's nice to think the two-hour Marc ride could avail the convenience of gmail and Blogger in addition to the power supply that fuels low batteries while operating Microsoft Office.

As Baltimore becomes more like The City That Never Sleeps, there’s no limit to turning in a breaking news story to your editor at 2 a.m. while waiting for the Amtrak to whisk you away to your next story…

24 Hour Wiki

While researching various story ideas for my multimedia package, I found DavisWiki, an open source page devoted entirely to Davis, California.

What I find especially interesting is its Open 24 Hours page, which includes the note, “It’s 3:30am [sic] where can you go, what can you do?” A footnote includes information that at 5 a.m., Fluffy Donuts will be open; the time seems arbitrary and the restaurants and services are not always open seven days a week. (24 Hour Fitness, for example, is open five days a week.)

The page includes other towns—Dixon, Woodland, West Sacramento—in the general of Davis to list, and other towns are often within the general content of the site’s 10,000+ pages. In this case, it means that Davis residents looking for an IHOP at 4 a.m. know to drive to Dixon for pancakes, Woodland for Taco Bell or Sonic, or Sacramento for Carl’s Jr. Conversely, neighboring towns know what Davis offers late at night as a result of the site’s very existence.

DavisWiki is part of Wiki Spot, “a non-profit organization that helps communities collaborate via wikis.” Much like Wikipedia, anyone can contribute and edit the information that is part of the webpage. DavisWiki is the first local wikispot, edited and maintained by Davis residents. Other local wikispots exist in Illinois, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Other projects are dedicated to common interests—Orwell, beer, home schooling—and projects.

As a concept, wikis provide a foundation to allow for up-to-date information. A study in 2005 found that despite scandals of misinformation, Wikipedia was more informative and reliable than Britannica, as a result of constant updates and many contributors. Scandals and inappropriate behavior may have tarnished the possibility for Wikipedia to be considered a truly reliable source, but its open-source software allows the possibility to aid communities.
I think the DavisWiki is truly great. As a large-scale project, it shows community action and involvement. But its 24 Hour page is what impresses me the most. Currently, the listings are the typical box stores open around-the-clock in every town, but it fosters encouragement to patronize the establishments while providing a service to the late-night community. Patrons benefit from the ease of knowing what is open at 3 a.m., while businesses are aided by customers. (Provided the page is updated.)

I’d like to see a BaltimoreWiki. I’d like to see the many taco trucks and street food listed with their cross streets and hours. I’d like to see reviews from various publications included and linked to the businesses. The DavisWiki could benefit from included post-midnight to sunrise hours instead of an arbitrary early morning hour (and the helpful, albeit distracting footnote).
If BaltimoreWiki existed, I’d love for it to foster community involvement and pride, something I worry the city lacks.

[UPDATE] The links weren't working, but I edited the HTML and hopefully they're functioning correctly. Thanks for letting me know, Philip! [/UPDATE]

The Baltimore Sun reported on August 9, 2007 that fitness centers and gyms were extending its hours throughout the city to allow late night, early morning, and in some cases 24-hour, workouts. Businesses saw an increase in late night activity as commuters did cardio at 3 a.m. after the late shift, or 5 a.m. before their workday started. Companies such as 24-Hour Fitness and Anytime Fitness are opening centers throughout the United States to offer Americans the opportunity to workout at any time of the day or night. (Anytime has locations in Clinton and Catonsville with three new centers opening soon in Frederick County in addition to its center in Brunswick. Bel Air, Hagerstown, La Plata, and Sykesville will also open centers this fall.)

But the 24-hour fitness trend is not limited to Baltimore. North Dakota, Wisconsin, and even Bulgaria are jumping into the late night/early morning cardio routines as patrons begin to see the myriad of benefits.

Anytime Fitness currently hosts one center in Halifax, Nova Scotia with intentions to open more gyms in Canada in the future. 24-Hour Fitness has centers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.