MTA HORROR!

I assume that everyone reading this blog has taken a ride on the MTA at least ONCE. I can admit to the fact that I was confined to Marc Troy and Anthony (inside joke Baltimoreans!) up until 17 years of age when I got my driver's liscence and first car. I was riding high after that: no running after busses who leave you because they are running late, no running late for appointments because the bus can't be found, no sitting next to wierdos who talk your ear off or have a foul smel (you catch my drift).

My reaction after a guy challenges my space on the #3 Inner Harbor. Waaayyy too close for comfort!

Then my ride ended when I got hired by the City of Baltimore and started working Downtown. It was back to the bus for me (I mean, really, would YOU park in Downtown Baltimore?!) Back to broken windows and no air conditioning on 90 degree days, back to half hour waits for busses that are supposed to run every ten minutes.

Do you have an MTA horror story? Share them hear, I'd love to hear them. I have a few of my own, starting with one illustrated by the first picture :long exaggerated SIGH:. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Events in Baltimore!

*Don't worry weekday workers, your long weekend if right around the corner! :)

If you celebrate Memorial Day and are looking for something to get into, here are a few events going on around or near Baltimore City this weekend (Thanks, Baltimore Sun):

Annapolis Memorial Day Parade
Annapolis, MD
May 31, 2010 @ 10 a.m.

The parade honors 300 years of veterans service to our country and community. Starts from Amos Garrett Boulevard and continues down West Street, around Church Circle, and up Main Street, ending at Susan C. Campell Park at City Dock.


Memorial Day Ceremony
Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens
Baltmiore, MD
May 31, 2010 @ 10 a.m.

This ceremony will honor Maryland soldiers and marines who were killed while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan since May 2009.

A day to remember the brave men and women who lie within the Circle of
Immortals and those who have defended our freedom. -Dulaney Valley Memorial
Website

Memorial Day Ceremony
Loudon Park National Cemetery
Baltimore, MD
May 31, 2010 @ 10:45 a.m.

Hosted by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, this event includes military salutes and decoration of graves.

National Memorial Day Parade
Washington D.C.
May 31, 2010 @ 2:00 p.m.

This parade kicks off at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, and proceeds west down Constitution, ending at 17th Street. If you aren't able to make it out to D.C., you can also catch this parade at 2 p.m. on the Military Cahnnel (call your local cable provider for listings).

Honoring Our Heroes From Across the Generations-National
Memorial Day Parade Website

Click the event names to go to their websites for more details! Happy Early Memorial Day!

On the Edge: Baltimore City Fire and Police Retirement

The people who protect and serve your city are running scared.

Due to Baltimore City's $121 million budget crisis causing drastic changes in the city's infrastructure, fire and police officers have been sitting on the edge since the beginnning of this year. The reason why: those changes could possibly result in layoffs and a reduction of their retirement benefits.

Imagine this: you decide to to become a police officer at the tender age of 21. Some of the benefits you plan to enjoy include: steady pay increases, moving up in the ranks, and stacking your pension in order to retire at 41 with at least a $100,000 lump sum payment. All of this will allow you to move to Florida and spend your days on the sandy beach with your family.

Then, someone changes their mind and decides to make you work harder and longer in the present only to gain half of that pension in the future.

Baltimore City's Fire and Police Retirement System is currently one of the most generous contributory retirement plans that exists. Fire and Police staff, at any age, can retire with 20 years of service, or at the age of 50 with 10 years of service.

There is also a seperate account, called the DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan), that allows Fire and Police to contribute earnings which gain interest for a term of three years of their service. Fire and Police can sit back and watch this account grow with thousands of dollars until they are ready to retire.

On July 1st, this all might be taken away.

What are Baltimore City Police Officers saying about it?

"Oh, it's about to get real ugly!" says one officer.

Coming Up: What will happen on July 1st and what citizens think about a shortage of officers in the city...

Art of Conversation, Guest Guitarist

The Art of Conversation is a poetry event that occurs at The Yabba Pot on Saturday nights at 8 p.m. Hosted by E the Poet Emcee, the event begins with an open mic followed by a featured artist for the evening, and ends with an open mic (open mic includes music, poetry, dance, and other art forms). The Yabba Pot serves hot, fresh vegan food to tickle your taste buds, and the artists that attend this event serve up some inspirational and sometimes controversial poetry that is open for discussion and debate.

Check out a clip from one of the musicians that attended the night I decided to drop in:

North Avenue Art

It reads: However Far The Stream Flows It Never Forgets Its Source.

Monroe and Fayette: Art of Harmony Series, Part 1

Oh the beautiful art that we find on the sides of convenience stores and houses:

Public Art: Ramsay and Monroe Streets

Art Beyond Baltimore

Agnes Welch at James Mosher Little League Parade, Part 2

Here is more of the parade! In the first clip, Baltimore City Councilwoman Agnes Welch greets the community in a cute black convertible.





In this last clip you can see the rest of the wonderful marching bands that grace the city with it's talent during the parades.

50th Annual James Mosher Little League Parade (Part 1)

Happy Cinco de Mayo! For the holiday, I thought that I would leave you all with video of some festivities going on in the Baltimore community. The video features my niece, Mayor Sheila Dixon and Commissioner Bealefeld (who I would have recognized better if I spent more time watching the news rather than blogging :). Both show love to the crowd that has come together to support our youth.

Disclaimer: Please excuse my loud cheering (mark 3:37) as I show love for the little league myself!





The James Mosher Little League Opening Day Parade is celebrated every year in honor of James Mosher Elementary School's baseball season. According to their website:

"Founded in 1960 by the James Mosher Associates, a 501(c)(3) organization, James Mosher Baseball is believed to be the oldest continuously operating African-American youth baseball league in the country."

The organization serves boys and girls ages 4 through 15 throughout Baltimore and has an active roster of over 45 adult volunteers who dedicate their time to making sure that the league serves it's purpose to the community. The overwhelming crowd that accompanied the parade shows the level of commitment that the community has to the youth, schools, and the arts.

Check out Mayor Dixon's passionate speech to the community and how she addresses James Mosher's Opening Day on Bmorenews.com

Super Soaker Whip Wash: Part 2

Here is part two of my interview- including more of my conversation with Ty and another employee of two months, Black. The conversation reminded me of the types that occur in barbershops. These guys talked about everything from Michael Jackson to the movie Green Mile. Ty and Black also give us some information about upcoming construction to be done at the property.






SIDEBAR: The railroad featured in the video is just one of many that Baltimore is known for. The Western Maryland main line isn't as historically known as the B&O railroad, but it contributed significantly the transportation of coal and freight early in the 20th century. The WM line also operated with a schedule that included 19 routes in and out of Baltimore, which made it made its passenger trains a preference amongst commuters.

Super Soaker Whip Wash: Scrubin', Washin', and Talkin'!

I get a great laugh out of reading the tall "Super Soaker Whip Wash" sign on Fulton Avenue when I pass it. So I knew that I had to stroll in and get my whip washed to see if there were more laughs awaiting me on this large, vacant-looking lot.



I wasn't disappointed. I began talking to Ty, 22, who has been an employee there for about a month now. I never thought of this location as a functioning business because of how deserted it looked, but I was pleased with the reasonable prices and polite employees that I met upon my arrival. However, in the following interview I learned that the sign I'd become so amused by did not represent the business after all!



When Ty suggests for visitors to check out the car wash when they come to Baltimore (at the :57 mark), he calls the business "Peachtree". I personally like the name Whip Wash better, but with these great prices, they can call this business Pimp My Ride for all I care!

Blogging for Spoken Word: iWrite

My good friend and colleague iWrite is a spoken word artist and blogger like myself. DC/Baltimore's spoken word and underground poetry scene is beginning to surface, and she's giving you the information you want to know about it.

Her blog diVERSEcity gives you the scoop on what's going on in mainstream poetry today, including clips from the new hot HBO series "Brave New Voices", interviews with up and coming artists such as Under_Score and the Twitter Poet, and she even includes some pieces of her own work.

Her second most recent post explores the misconception of the female image and glorifies the beauty in woman with a bigger waistline and more bodacious booty. If you love Georgia Me (Def Poetry Jam) like I do, you'll love you some iWrite.

Amanda Fair: 5 questions on PXDC

Miss Amanda Fair not only dances, she performs spoken word. To me she is the epitome of a Renaissance Woman. If she isn't lighting up a microphone at you local poetry venue, you can find her practicing with Poetic Xpressions Dance Company at the Experimental Concepts Dance Studio on Falls Road. You can find my interview with her below.

What is PXDC? When was it founded?

PXDC stands for Poetic Xpressions Dance Company. The company was founded in 2008.

What inspired you to create PXDC?

I've been dancing and writing poetry since i was seven years old and i've always had to choose between the two. Both art forms require a lot of work and attention and were always extremely hard to balance. I got tired with choosing between the two and then one day it hit me, a way that i could could combine both of them. I dance Monday though Sunday from 9am-9pm non stop. My "breaks" are spent driving from one location to another while trying to have lunch in my car. So it's easy to say that I'm hooked and I absolutely love my job.I barely make it out to perform in poetry shows or at open mics anymore lately but i am still writing. So it's still a bit of a struggle.I wanted to see both worlds combine. And that's another reason why i started the company. Very rarely do we as artists go out and really check out and get into the other art forms that exist. We usually stay in our tight little circles. You know what I mean, the dancers go to the dance shows, poets check our the poetry slams and events, actors check out the plays etc. It's just nice to see all different kinds of artists come together or come out and support.

How does poetry and dance connect in PXDC?

Basically I become interested first in a poet's work, I invite some of them to come and rehearse with the company, and the end result is pure art unfolding right before your eyes. The audience really gets to witness something special and real take place, the dancers get to work with some of Baltimore's best spoken word artists, and the poet's get to see their work take on a second life through dance. It's such an awesome feeling for the poet's to witness that
as well. As poet's we paint the pictures with our words, but to actually see the piece form physically is nice as well. Not all of our dances include poetry by the way.

What has been the best experience that you have had while working with PXDC?

Just being able to give this opportunity to artists in this area.(the dancers) I feel really good about that each day.

What type of impact do you want PXDC to have on the community?

Well I definitely want it to be there to be some sort of an Awakening. (small plug for our June shows- PXDC:The Awakening, June 27th and 28th) You learn how to just slide those shame-less plugs right on in there. But really i do want us to wake up a bit and take a look around and explore certain issues or subjects that may be a bit hard to face. We do have some very light and fun technical pieces in our rep. but i really do want to touch on the hard stuff as well. The Wakening when speaking of our June Concerts just simply means our beginning as a company for our first full length show. But that other awakening that i am speaking of can mean a lot of other things.Audience members will be able to see what I mean when they come check us out. I also want PXDC to bring out even more of an audience for dance in the state of Maryland and beyond.I want people to be both entertained and inspired as we continue to share the gift of poetry and dance. I want us to just dance for the love of dance and I also want us to touch on some very heavy and important topics that need to brought to the attention of the community in an "in your face" sort of way, so that we can at least start the necessary dicussions.

What plans do you have for the future of PXDC?

Wow, I have so many things planned for the company i couldn't even begin to know where to start. .You don't want me to get into that too much because I'm full of ideas and I'll keep going like the Energizer Bunny. I'll just say that we are going to do some amazing and exciting things, work with some great poet's, spoken word artists, and other guest choreographers and continue to create our own shows and perform at as many venues and for as many people as we can. We will have a second company in the future as well as go back to offering open community dance classes. Let's just say we have our hands full with plenty so definitely stay tuned. We won't disappoint! Thanks Janae.

To find out about PXDC's upcoming events AND to read the full length interview, please visit the website.

Baltimore City's Yo Trakz Part 2

Here is more footage of my experience with YoTrakz. This first clip includes an interview with another hot artist named Teck and more commentary from Hot Spitta on what mobile recording is all about.





This clip introduces Derin who stumbled upon the scene while recording was in process. I was very impressed with the level of involvement YoTrakz has with community such as this one-allowing him to take a chance at the mic even if it's with poetry written on paper. Former gang member Derin now writes as inspiration for Baltimore's troubled society. Here he reads his poem "Niggaz on a Mission".



In this last clip I got a chance to speak with L.J., the master mind behind the technological aspect of the company (also a Towson graduate) . L.J. expresses why he thinks there is a need for a "YoTrakz" and what he plans to do with the company. He also manages the Yo Trakz blog in order to keep fans up to date on new events with the group. So if you didn't get enough of the hip hop vibe from my video, you will find way more interesting content on his site.


The DVD that Hot Spitta previews at the end is the Mobin 2008 DVD which is free for download on the blog site. YoTrakz also produces DVD's showing live "mobin" and freestyling sessions from all over Baltimore. The DVD features artists such as Hot Spitta and Park Height's own Shaka Pitts. If you're a hip hop lover, make sure you get a copy...I did!

Baltimore Up for Debate

Do you think that Baltimore is the Greatest City in America? What makes it great? What makes this line fake?

Photo credit for all photos: Janae Griffin

I'd like to hear from you. In the meantime, here are some pictures that I took around Druid Hill Park and Fulton Avenue. I think these may help illustrate the point here.

YoTrakz Preview

While I was taking a jog around Druid Hill Park on a cold but sunny morning, I stumbled upon a group of guys rapping to a beat. After realizing that I was trying to kill myself by running around that huge park, I decided to stop and interview them.

YoTrakz is a mobile recording studio (literally, the audio equipment is on a Jeep) that captures live hip hop artists from the streets of Baltimore. And these talented men happened to be laying tracks outside in my neighborhood on what I felt to be a VERY cold morning. Talk about commitment! Check out this clip of Hip Hop artist Hot Spitta giving us an introduction on what YoTrakz is about. Or you could check out their blog to learn more and to hear more hot music.

The Future of Lafayette , Part 2 of Day's Interview

Here Day discusses some of the best features of the Lafayette neighborhood such as James Mosher Elementary School. He also tells us what changes we can expect to see in the area as time progresses.

Lafayette's Godfather , Part 1

I live on the Westside of Baltimore City-closer to the Catonsville or Edmondson Village community for those of you who may not know. On any day of the week you can find community leaders like Ronald Day walking around. Day, 62, has been around since I first moved into the Lafayette neighborhood (that was 13 years ago). He's never hesitant to take a stroll with you down Bentalou Street or hold a conversation outside of the drug store on Edmondson Avenue.

As a veteran of this Baltimore area, he has seen it all and heard it all.
Check out part one of my interview with him.

The New Mondawmin Mall

I have been going to Mondawmin Mall since I was a kid. Living in the West Baltimore area makes this place one of the hot spots to go to. Although it's not the fanciest of malls, it has a couple of restaurants and enough urban retail stores to entertain the crowd young adults that populate its halls on the weekdays. The mall recently received renovations to give it a new (and way more attractive) look, which I believe has to do with attracting a more diverse group of customers than the ones stated before. Check out their website to see an inside view of the new Mondawmin.