Baltimore Skyline

(*courtesy flickr member fitzy441) There is truly nothing in Baltimore like it; a last remnant of a bygone era. There once was a time when movie going was more in line with seeing live performance. The exteriors were brazen, the advertisements were glitzy and bright, the interiors were fashionable, and the seats were deep and cushy. Men wore hats, and women dress. The term Saturday Matinee didn’t just mean an early showing, but a full afternoon where one could spend a few cents and be lost for hours in Hollywood magic. That is something rarely seen today, but there is still one place in Baltimore where one can get just a small taste of it, but might not too if things go as they may. When the Senator Theatre opened on October 5th 1939 it wasn’t really unique. There were thousands of small movie houses across the country that looked similar. Its Art Deco design was fashionable, its neon signs typical, and its interior glamour expected of a movie theatre. People took the Senator for gr...

I was excited yesterday because Weather.com was forecasting 2-4 inches of snow today, but then I got all bummed out because they changed the forecast to 60% chance of snow but accumulations less than an inch. So you can understand my joy when I awoke this morning to see the beginnings of a nice blanket of the white stuff out my window. It looks like that's about it for the snow. Don't expect it to be around too long, we're supposed to get a wintry mix/rain tomorrow, so it will all be slush and ice before you know it If you're around town today and you see anything interesting let us know, or you take some good pictures send them on over! bmoreskyline@gmail.com

The slashing of costs to the Maryland budget is going to hurt transportation projects even more so than they already are. MDOT released its final version of its 2009-2014 capital budget and the cuts are now closer to $2.1 billion. There is an article in The Sun that brings up two major points: "The cuts, most of them actually deferrals of planned projects into future years, affect virtually every phase of transportation spending in Maryland." "The Maryland Transit Administration will have to defer planned improvements to its bus, light rail, MARC and subway systems." This is what happens when the State relies on Gas Tax revenue to support most transportation projects. If you want revenue to go to dedicated projects the State should really consider a referendum to increase the sales tax to do directly to transportation projects. How much can they really expect from the soon-to-be express toll lanes on I-95? In related news, the Maryland school systems are losing $69...

(*courtesy The Baltimore Sun) Eagles Lost, Ravens Lost, all in all a horrible day for football. That leaves Pittsburgh and Arizona going to the Super Bowl in Tampa. Pittsburgh - the mortal enemies of the Ravens, and probably the only thing that could be considered a redeeming quality for the Steel City, aka Shittsburgh, aka the city Pennsylvaniansare ashamed to admit is apart of their commonwealth, aka cut your hair Polamalu! So you have a lot of bridges whoopty-freakin-do. (Pirates don't even get me started). And you injured Willis McGahee....you bastards! Arizona - the team that usually comes up in the category of "worst excuses for a team in the NFL", aka the team that has only had 2 winning seasons in the last 32, aka the team whose fans can all be considered "bandwagons" after this season (even Arizona fans know they weren't Arizona fans before this year). Kudos to the Ravens for this season. Who would've thunk it that a team that was 5-11 last...

(*courtesy of The Baltimore Sun ) MTA posted this press release on their website about the Obama Event tomorrow, letting people know that taking transit will be the best way to get to War Memorial Plaza since a lot of streets will be shut down starting at 4am. http://www.mtamaryland.com/news/press/index.cfm?id=503&year=2009&month=1 All of the JFX will be shut from North Ave to Fayette Street, and from Orleans to Lombard between President and Light will be closed. The Orleans Street Viaduct will be shut 2pm-9pm. Parking will be affected along Charles and St. Paul between downtown and Penn Station, so move your cars (to where? who the hell knows)! As for Mass Transit. All of the parking lots will be open as usual, and all of the stations with the exception of Shot Tower/Market Place on the Metro will be open. Don't try to drive, you have been warned!

( The New York Times ) When Barack Obama makes his whistle-stop train ride from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. many people will be able to watch him speak along the way. A program is expected at 1pm on Saturday in Wilmington, and then here in town, Obama will be speaking at the War Memorial Plaza at 4:15pm (or later, we all know Amtrak). What about Philadelphia you ask? Well there won't be anything. No grand send off, no speechifying, no...anything...except if you were a "super supporter" of the Obama Campaign. The Philadelphia Daily News reported that the send off at 30th Street Station will be limited to about 250 people and most will be inconvenienced because of " interruptions or delays because of the hoopla". No stop at Independence Hall, or the Liberty Bell, or the steps of the Art Museum? If this is supposed to be a grand send off, where is the grand? where is the send off? The inauguration committee has been touting this as a retracing of Lincoln'...

This has been circulating around Baltimore since right after Christmas. My coworker forwarded it to me the other day, and I got to admit it's GENIUS ! Not being a huge Ravens fan, I'm still psyched about their performance this year and look forward to Sunday. Any idea who wrote this? Without further ado here is T'was the Night Before Festivus 'Twas the night before Festivus , when all through Charm City Ravens fans were stirring and even felt giddy. The jerseys were hung by the chimney with flare, In hopes that Joe Flacco soon would be there. The fans were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of the playoffs danced in their heads. And when we awoke and December 28 was the date, We just settled down for a winter's tailgate, When out in the end zone there arose such a clatter, The opponent looked over to see what was the matter. In a huddle of players that looked like a flash, The Ravens looked ready for a hard-hitting clash. The season had boiled down to o...

I'll admit, I'm still a Loyola Greyhound fan, although I still haven't figured out 1.) why they compete in the MAAC (all the other schools are NY/NJ/CT based) and 2.) why there are Division 1. In any case they are what they are, and have to deal with it as best we can. But after 2 consecutive years of winning seasons, after a long stretch of mediocrity, it looks as if the 'Hounds are going to finish below .500 this year. What does Coach Jimmy Patsos have to say about it? They're a young team. Most of their veteran starters are gone, and the team is back to square one with a lot of younger players. Loyola only has 1 senior and 1 junior starter, and the rest of the team is made up of sophomores and freshmen. Understandably they wouldn't do so well this season. Yet they still play high profile games to gain National exposure, which is the only good way to gain support and prospectives. If you don't put yourself out there, you won't get anything. Two year...

(* flickr Michael 323) The news this weekend has been dominated by two major stories, one great for the city of Baltimore, one not so much. On the positive, the Ravens beat the Titans and have a date next week with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. On the negative, Sheila Dixon was indicted in a State investigation the lasted the past 3 years. The charges include theft, perjury, and misappropriation of funds. Now, which charges will be brought to court, and what this means in the long run is still in the air. For now, though, what does this mean? Dixon is a popular mayor. She is a dedicated official who has started many initiatives - cleaner greener, fit baltimore , increased police patrols, funding for affordable housing , funding for cleaner streets, repaving, and updating streetscapes , and helped pass the smoking ban. She's helped to strengthen neighborhoods, and build community support for the Red Line. Dixon insists on continuing her job 100% in spite of the accusations, and why...

(* courtesy of The Baltimore Sun) Switching gears here for just a moment, I don't want to comment on new construction, or proposals, or transit, or sports, but rather what is going on in this city!?!? Nine days into 2009 and there already more homicides than days...twelve. When will people learn that you cannot go shooting people in the streets in Baltimore? Unfortunately...never. What solves the problem? We put more police on the streets, we add cameras in crime spots, we put out adds, we plead, we pray, but the results are the same. A quote in The Baltimore Sun today, in reference to the most recent shooting, put it in perspective: "The biggest joke is those ... cameras," said one resident, pointing to a blinking blue light police camera on the corner. He would not give his name. "They need to put cops on the streets instead of cameras," he said. "Things are getting worse by the day." Just hoping this will all get better...thoughts? Oh yeah and B...

Welcome to a new year! A blank slate on which to put down all the hopes and dreams of the next 12 months. There are a lot of things on the board in Baltimore for this year, but I'll start off with something relevant, because I just got a notice in the mail about it....Baltimore CarShare. Finally getting serious about this, the Parking Authority sent out brochures to people who signed up for information about the initiative. There's a lot of talk about how it works, how to sign up, who can use the program (generally anyone over 18 with a valid ID, and relatively clean driving record), and the advantages. Unfortunately there isn't any clear timeline of implementation. I posted a while back that the hope is for January and February to be a testing phase and then the program going live to all people in March. I was just hoping there would have been more info on the brochure. Don't keep us in the dark! If you got one, get excited! This is definitely a start.