Blog updates

Being hungry for the rest of your life [Dining@Large]

2009-07-10T12:46:15-07:00

I was interested in the story about the latest studies on the calorie restriction diet that appeared in today's paper because I wrote about the diet three years ago for the Taste section. (Which seems an odd place for it, now that I think about it.)

I talked to so many people who were so enthusiastic about the diet's benefits that I had the weird urge to try it, but the idea of being slightly hungry for the rest of my life was unappealing.

Equally unappealing was the descriptions I got of people thinking about food all the time. I'm obsessive enough about food without that.

I'm republishing my story below. When you read about some of these people's daily intakes of calories, just remember that a milkshake alone can have 1,500 calories.

The photo is of (at the time) 53-year-old Liza May in the story. ...

Thanks!!! Teddy no longer imitates coyote! [Unleashed]

2009-07-10T12:17:17-07:00

I just wanted to give a quick shout out of thanks to Elaine, David Z., Tina and everyone who offered suggestions to quiet Teddy's mournful night howl.

I moved the carrier into my bedroom last night and he was perfectly quiet -- except for some crunching on kibble.

Good boy!

And thanks everyone for your suggestions. Please keep them coming. Sharing and commenting and giving advice is what Unleashed is all about.

For more on Teddy, click here.

More updates coming soon!!

So long Smith, So long Hawken [Garden Variety]

2009-07-10T11:18:20-07:00

Smith & Hawken, the symbol of high-end gardening for more than 30 years, is going out of business.

Founded in Marin County, Calif., as a garden tool importer, it was purchased in 2004 by Scotts Miracle-Gro.

"With the economy and the markets the way they are, this is just something we needed to do for the overall business," said Scotts Miracle-Gro spokesman Su Lok from company headquarters in Ohio.

There are no more on-line sales, but some 56 retail outlets - there is one in Chevy Chase - will be open until they finish liquidation.

Its two founders told reporters they are relieved because the business had long since become detached from its original values.

While the original Smith & Hawken focused on high-end English gardening tools with a lifetime guarantee, the company branched into outdoor living products such as furniture, fire pits, lighting and garden decor.

"Scotts couldn't have been a worse corporate owner," said Paul Hawken. "Smith & Hawken had become just a ghost of itself."

Dave Smith, who lives in Mendocino County and owns Mulligan Books in Ukiah, said he had gone so far as to ask friends to boycott the company bearing his name.

"When Scotts bought it and Smith & Hawken was owned by the largest pesticide seller in the U.S., I suggested people boycott it," he said. "It had completely lost its roots."

Hawken, now head of engineering firm Pax Group, used the occasion of the closure to host a party Wednesday night.

"I couldn't be happier to see my name come down," he said

There is a lovely tribute to the company on Garden Rant. Check it out.

And the winner of the Name That Bar vol. 9 contest is ... [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-10T10:34:00-07:00

KAZ!

Man, I figured I was tossing you guys an easy homerun with this photo, but I didn't think somebody would get it right off the bat. (No more baseball metaphors, I promise.)

That lovely sign is indeed located at J. Patrick's Irish Pub (1731 Andre St.).

KAZ, e-mail me and we'll coordinate the prize pickup.

And as always, thanks for playing, everybody!

(Baltimore sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)

Tomato blight warning [Garden Variety]

2009-07-10T10:31:16-07:00

Photo courtesy of AVRDC/The World Vegetable Center

University of Maryland agriculture officials are asking vegetable gardeners in Maryland to be on the lookout for late blight, a serious fungal disease that afflicts tomatoes and potatoes.

The Plant Diagnostics Lab received a suspect sample from a Howard County garden in June and found it to be infected.

Despite the name, late blight can occur anytime plants are actively growing and is especially damaging during cool, wet weather, which we have had plenty of.

It first appears as dark, water-soaked spots on leaves. The leaves quickly shrivel and die. Dark brown spots also appear on plant stems. The disease can be slowed by hot, dry weather.

Infected tomatoes can have shiny, dark or olive-colored lesions that may cover large areas. The infection can produced a foul odor as well

This is the same blight that caused the famous potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, and can be particularly destructive in home gardens.

It is possible that the blight, appearing this early and with such a potential to spread, might effect the quantity and price of tomatoes this season. Usually, the blight hits plants late, after most of the fruit has been harvested.

Here are a few tips for dealing with the blight, courtesy of the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center.

Keep foliage dry. Avoid overhead watering. Avoid crowing plants.
Always purchase new need potatoes that are certified "disease-free."
Do not compost store-bought potatoes and don't store infected tubers.
Pull out and destroy all infected plants.
Keep developing tubers covered with soil.
Place infected plants or fruit in a sealed bag and dispose.
Protectant fungicides like chlorothalonii and fixed copper can help protect foliage if applied prior to infection.

Where to get matzoh ball soup now? [Dining@Large]

2009-07-10T10:09:12-07:00

I just now read the comments about the Suburban House fire story; somehow I missed them last night. I meant to post something on the fire last night -- I actually heard about it yesterday from someone my husband knows who's a restaurant junkie. He said, "Tell Elizabeth to blog about where Pikesville residents can get matzoh ball soup now."

Unfortunately, I don't know.

Cows eat free [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-10T10:06:05-07:00

Today is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. Wear a cow costume to any of the chain's restaurants and you get a free meal. What -- you don't have a cow costume? Chick-Fil-A has a kit you can download. This event reminds me of when my son was 2, and had an adorable Holstein Halloween costume. He was very fond of it even after Halloween had passed. One day, when we were going to see the "Curious George" movie, he decided he just had to wear it. To the theater. Two-year-olds aren't capable of embarrassment. Instead, he waved at everyone who pointed to or waved at him. After tucking his tail behind him, he gleefully munched on his popcorn and watched the movie. Costumed cows aren't always benign, of course -- they can be "mad," as in this photo of vegetarians protesting meat consumption in Britain. But the larger point is how great it is that when you're a kid, you can be anything. And become anything. (AP Photo/Louisa Buller, 1996.)

Beautiful weather + sweet dog = summer bliss [Unleashed]

2009-07-10T09:15:38-07:00

Sun photographer Kim Hairston shot this picture the other day to go with a piece about animals being freaked out by fireworks. But I wanted to post it because it's not often we get such a sweet dog shot AND an awesome cityscape shot combined. The adorable Wheaten Terrier, Bogart, belongs to Patti Neumann. She calls the 7-year-old, whose birthday is next week, "Chief of Security" for her company, CITYPEEK.com.

Your week in health [Picture of Health]

2009-07-10T09:11:51-07:00

As we celebrate the end of week two in blogdom -- thanks for reading all! -- we bring you some interesting health stories you might have missed.

This is a must read for anyone interested in the local food movement. This "Street farmer" brings organic produce to the inner city in a huge way. He's pragmatic, not preachy and even eats a doughnut every once and a while. And check out those worms!

In healthcare reform news, lots of updates: Hospitals agree to $155 million in cuts from government programs to cover the cost of reform. The Washington Post asks what are the limits to health care spending and who will make the tough choices about the cost limits? The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog breaks down reports about the many ways the reform effort may actually be stalling. Meanwhile, others say the entire reform question ignores illegal immigrants.

Stem cells to sperm? British researchers claim it's possible. No proof whether these swimmers can fertilize an egg, but, well perhaps?

Consumer Reports breaks down underpayments by insurance companies and how out-of-network costs can rack up.

Lots of unsettling news about obesity, from soaring rates nationally to a study on how financial and work stress can make us load on the pounds, to this strange tidbit: living with a significant other can, ahem, make you fat.

And with that, we wish you a great weekend!

President Obama gives CNN "exclusive" Africa access [Z on TV]

2009-07-10T09:10:29-07:00

I admit it, I get edgy every time I see an email from a network or cable news division that boasts of President Barack Obama granting "exclusive" access to an anchor, correspondent or the news division itself.

It signals that the Obama administration is up to one its oldest and most masterful games of selectively granting access to try and get flattering coverage. I wrote about it when NBC's bowing anchorman Brain Williams was allowed into the White House for a highly-rated two-night special, and in advance of ABC's "town hall" meeting on healthcare at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

And now, comes this email from CNN with the headline: "Anderson Cooper 360 with Exclusive Access to President Obama."

I've been wondering when Team Obama was going to try to work its game on CNN. Et tu, Anderson?

Obama books violate national security? [Read Street]

2009-07-10T08:46:54-07:00

You've got to love this story for its through-the-looking-glass quality. A super-secure federal prison ruled that two books written by President Obama contain information "potentially detrimental to national security" and rejected an inmate's request to read them.

According to the Associated Press, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali is serving a 30-year sentence at the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colo., for joining al-Qaida and plotting to assassinate then-President George W. Bush. Last year, Abu Ali asked to read Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope. But prison officials, citing guidance from the FBI, determined that passages in both books contain information that could damage national security.

In court documents related to his resentencing, prison officials flag specific pages — but not specific passages — deemed objectionable, the AP said. They include one page in Obama's 1995 book, Dreams from My Father, and 22 pages in his policy-oriented 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope.

I can picture the talk show headline already: Obama #1 on Terrorist Summer Reading List!

The world's largest restaurant and other amazing facts [Dining@Large]

2009-07-10T08:32:44-07:00

I can't figure out what got into guest poster Bucky today. I was expecting a good ole boy take on, say, summer grilling, and look at the fascinating facts he came up with. Here's Bucky. EL

Have you ever been in a restaurant that was so crowded that you couldn’t get your server’s attention to, say, get a refill on your Coke?

Think what it must be like at the Bawabet Dimashq during the peak dinner hour.

The Bawabet Dimashq (Arabic for “Damascus Gate”) is located in Damascus, Syria and is the world’s largest restaurant. It seats 6,014 diners and at peak times during the day over 1,800 people are working there. (I, myself, probably would have named it the Bawabet Bistro, just to make it sound more intimate, but I digress.) ...

Bombers grounded by a mutiny [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-10T08:16:11-07:00

This just in: Clipper City's new bomber series, the subject of an earlier Friday post, has a new name.

In keeping with the nautical, Heavy Seas theme, the series of brews in 22-ounce bottles is now called The Mutiny Fleet.

Name changing is part of American culture, especially among celebrities. Here are few examples that worked.

Cheryl Ladd - Cheryl Stoppelmoor

Ted Knight - Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka

Ben Kingsley - Krishna Banji

Groucho Marx - Julius Marx

Demi Moore (at left) - Demetria Gene Guynes ...

Meg Ryan - Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra

Winona Ryder - Winona Horowitz

Tina Turner - Annie Mae Bullock

Alica Keys- Alicia Augello Cook

What do we think of Clipper City's name change from bomber to mutiny?

Does it matter?

Will the new name, like the celebrity name change, seem natural over time?

Photo: Associated Press

Name That Bar, vol. 9 [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-10T08:11:00-07:00

Can you believe we're on the 9th installment of Name That Bar?

Actually, I think it might technically be the 8th. I dug back through the archives and realized we may have skipped number two or three. I'm not entirely sure. But it doesn't surprise me -- I've never been good at math ...

Freebie Friday [Read Street]

2009-07-10T08:09:08-07:00

Happy Friday, everybody! I hope you have fantastic weekends planned.

Let's get the happiness started a little early for rhapsodyinbooks, who's won Seen The Glory. Congratulations!

Right now, I'm reading Nick Douglas' Twitter Wit: Brilliance in 140 Characters or Less. With a foreward by a cofounder of Twitter, the book does a good job explaining the social networking site's impacts large and small. As a bonus, it's hilarious. I now want to friend everyone mentioned in it. A few gems:

Synopsis for Twilight: "And then, like, vampires," giromide
It seems no matter how ugly a place may be, it will have "Keep XYZ Beautiful" signs. New Jersey has them. Mordor probably does, too, jonathaneunice
Every time I turn a thousand pages to the back of Infinite Jest, I half expect the little footnote to read, simply, "Sorry," lianamaeby

The book comes out this fall, and while I've received this advanced version, it never hurts to sign up and suggest a few of your own favorite tweets at the book's Web site.

Next up: The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, by Ben Mezrich. Mezrich's last book, Bringing Down the House, was made into a movie, and it looks like this one is well on its way to the same treatment, with the screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin himself.

Let us know what you're reading, and it could be yours!

Hybrids go fast, too [B'More Green]

2009-07-10T07:55:47-07:00

Hybrids may be fuel-sippers, but they can go fast, too. Pictured above is the GZ09, a gas-electric speedster scheduled to race in the American Le Mans Series' Northeast Grand Prix in Lime Rock, CT next Saturday, July 18.

Developed by Corsa Motorsports out of Salt Lake City, it's the greenest of a new generation of race cars that are being developed to maximize fuel efficiency while still delivering plenty of get up and go. The American Le Mans Series racing circuit is promoting a "race within a race" for its cars, handing out points and a prize for the greenest as well as the fastest car on its tracks. I wrote a feature recently for The Baltimore Sun about the greening of motor sports, which you can read here.

This baby boasts an E10-fueled 4.0 liter V8 with an "on-board lithium-ion energy storage system," which heightens its fuel efficiency by capturing the energy generated whenever the car brakes. The dashboard, pictured here, is slightly more complicated than your standard street hybrid, but what did you expect?

If you want to see it up close before it races, it'll be on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday in Washington, D.C. outside the Department of Energy, at the intersection of L'Enfant Plaza and Independence Ave SW.

Summer TV trend: Plus-size characters, contestants [Z on TV]

2009-07-10T07:25:43-07:00

Call it the TV summer of plus-size love.

That's the lead on a trend story I just finished writing for the Sunday Sun in my "Z on TV" column. The piece reports and explores the arrival of new series featuring plus-size contestants and characters.

I am wondering if readers have seen Oxygen's Dance Your Ass Off, which debuted last week -- and if you did, what you think. Described as Biggest Loser meets So You Think You Can Dance, it combines a weight loss competition with dance contest. Marissa Jaret Winokur is an engaging host -- and I thought the pilot was promising.

How about the second season of Ruby, which started last week the Style channel? This documentary series follows a woman who lost 100 pounds last season. It did very well in Season 1.

Clipper City's Bombers have landed [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-10T05:52:23-07:00

The first of Clipper City's Heavy Seas bomber series has landed in local stores.

The Big DIPA or Double India Pale Ale appeared in 22-ounce "bomber" bottles. The Maryland distributor is Republic National. I found it in local liquor stores at $6 a bottle.

Clipper City's Hugh Sisson said the line began as pet project. Brewers made small batch experiments for folks who worked at the brewery. Now they are bottling these pet projects.

In addition to the DIPA, the brewery has plans to release a Heavy Seas Imperial Octoberfest, a Heavy Seas Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and Belgian triple to be named later, in the bomber bottles.

I tasted the Big DIPA Thursday. It is gorgeous, a rich copper body and creamy head. The brewers say they use 5 pounds of hops ber barrel, and the hops make themselves known both on the nose and the palate. It is a bit sweet, and its 10.5 % ABV stands up and says hello. This "bomber" does pack a wallop,too much firepower for me.

Why is this bottle size called a bomber? I heard it came from the B22 bombers of World War II.

Anybody else hear that?

Any other theories?

Any other opinions on this bomber?

BSO turns 'Psycho'-tic, performing Bernard Herrmann's vivid score live with Hitchcock's film [Clef Notes]

2009-07-10T05:26:09-07:00

The concept of performing live soundtracks to famous movies is one of the more entertaining and insightful ideas to come around in the orchestra business in recent years. For lovers of film scores, it means a rare chance to hear the music in a whole new light, not mixed in, but right out front, played in real time with what is being projected.

It would be easier, of course, to deliver such scores in a regular concert format, but this approach is much more fun. That was the case a couple years ago, when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented The Wizard of Oz, and it's the case this week with Psycho, which boasts one of Bernard Herrmann's most telling and economical scores. (In today's paper, I have an article about the Psycho project.)

Thursday night at Strathmore, the effect wasn't totally overwhelming, as I had hoped. Even with 40 strings on stage, the sound ...

didn't always come across with in-your-ear force. The famous shower scene, for example, with its brutal, high-pitched slashes from the in, could have used a few more volts.

Still, it was great to be able to savor so fully the inegnuity of Herrmann's score, with its almost minimalist writing, and his expert sense of how even just a couple of slowly rocking chords can intensify a scene. The ensemble played with considerable polish throughout, conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos, whose timing never erred as the wonderfully creepy action unfolded on a screen above the stage -- the prisitine print of the film was another distinct plus. The presentation repeats tonight at the Meyerhoff.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BSO

Big Boi, All Time Low, etc. [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-10T05:11:00-07:00

I'd like to take a moment and humbly steer your attention to two music stories I wrote this week. I talked to Big Boi of rap duo OutKast about his solo album (it still doesn't have a release date), and local pop rockers All Time Low about their new album (which was released on Tuesday). Both stories are, in my opinion, quite diggable.

Kids' menus at P. F. Chang's and elsewhere [Dining@Large]

2009-07-10T04:56:43-07:00

I got a press release from P. F. Chang's Chinese Bistro yesterday announcing that the chain has just introduced its first children's menu. It consists of Kid’s Chicken, Kid’s Lo Mein, Kid's Chicken Fried Rice and Baby Buddha’s Feast.

This surprised me. I mean, the one thing about taking children out to a Chinese restaurant is you don't need a kids' menu. You can always find something in your dishes to put on the child's plate, and it's a great way to introduce them to food they would never think of eating at home.

Of course, I realize it's more lucrative for the restaurant if even the toddlers are ordering their own separate dishes, but I wonder how many people will take advantage of it. ...

No trash pick up in Baltimore on Monday [B'More Green]

2009-07-10T04:04:57-07:00

I know a lot of people are worried about this new one-a-week trash-recycling system of Baltimore's. But they're going ahead with it, so let's all try and get our trash cans and recycling bins out on the right days.

The new One Plus One system starts next Tuesday, so there will NOT be regular trash pick up on Monday.

The city sent out postcards alerting residents of their new days for trash and recycling pick-up. If you didn't get a card and don't know your days, call 311 or go to cleanergreenerbaltimore.org and type your address into the map.

And in review, you need a trash can with a lid -- many readers have suggested chaining the lids to the can or to the fence to keep them from disappearing. The city says they will fine you if you don't have a can. You can have up to three 32-gallon cans. They are not planning on supplying them, however.

If there is a holiday during the week, the city will come on Saturday to get the trash so residents won't have to wait a whole other week for pick-up.

Recycling is unlimited. Residents can use any bin that is labelled for recycling, a paper bag, twine or the city's yellow bins. They do not plan to give these away, but if you want one, the city sells them at various locations around Baltimore, including the Herring Run Watershed Association on Belair Road, Eddies on Eager Street, Spoons on Cross Street and the Women's Industrial Exchange on Charles Street.

You'll need a check or cash -- the 18 gallon bin is $5 and the 25-gallon bin is $12. See a complete list of places to get the bins at cleanergreenerbaltimore.org.

City officials acknowledge this will be a big change for everyone. But they're hoping you'll do your part.

July to-do list for the garden [Garden Variety]

2009-07-10T04:04:53-07:00

We are heading into the hot part of the summer -- the time when you wish you had listened when they told you to plant natives.

It is the time of year when the best we can do is maintain - keep the gardens neat and watered in between thunderstorms.

P. Allen Smith of Garden Home is busier than most in the garden in July. Here is his list of chores.

If the weather turns dry, avoid fertilizing your plants. It will further stress your plants to put energy into new growth during periods of drought.
Raise the blade on your lawn mower. The tall grass will keep the roots cool and conserve moisture – a must during the hot, dry weather typical of July.
Order Colchicum autumnale bulbs for planting in August and September. Also known as autumn crocus, these petite pale pink to lavender blooms will appear in fall.
If you’ve been pinching back your garden mums to encourage a more compact shape, it’s time to stop and allow them to set flower buds.
Now is a good time to make rose cuttings. Choose stems that are just under the diameter of a pencil. Make your cut at an angle just above a leaf node. Be sure the cutting is at least 4 to 5 inches long and has a couple sets of leaves.
Tomato horn worms are large with green and white stripes and a red “horn” near the end. Hand picking is the best method of control. However, if you see one covered in tiny, upright eggs leave it be. These are cocoons of the braconid wasp, a predator of the tomato horn worm.
Some potted plants may need daily watering. Small pots, hanging baskets and window boxes in sunny locations may even need to be watered twice a day. If the top few inches of the soil are dry or the stems are wilting, it’s time to water.
It’s time to start planning for your fall vegetable garden. For plants grown from seed, make sure they have enough time to mature before the first autumn freeze. Check the back of the seed packet to find the number of days until harvest to determine when you should plant.
Keep those weeds pulled - especially those that spread by reseeding. If you can get rid of them before they go to seed you’ll have less work next year.
Morning glories don't like soil that's too rich. In fact, if it's too rich they will produce lots of vine and not many flowers, so be easy on the fertilizer.
As gourds begin to form use a nail to scratch a pattern into the shell. The pattern will expand as the gourd matures.
Provide a source of clean water to attract birds to your garden. Bird baths should be shallow with a rough surface for the birds to stand on. Place the bath at least 4 to 5 feet away from feeders to prevent droppings and seed debris from contaminating the water.
Use an old phone book as a flower press to preserve late summer blossoms. Choose flowers with flat or small centers so they will compress easily. Arrange the flowers on a piece of cardboard and hold them in place with a little clear tape. Label each one and write something about where it was growing, put it in the phone book and add a weight on top. Check after a couple of days. Once dried, the flowers can be glued onto cards to make pictures, or to embellish photos and letters.

Arthritis supplements shortchange pets, test finds [Unleashed]

2009-07-10T04:04:22-07:00

Arthritis supplements bought by millions of pet owners for their dogs, cats and horses sometimes skimp on the ingredients the makers claim can help aching paws and aging joints, and some contain high amounts of lead, an independent laboratory found.

Four of the six joint supplements for animals tested by ConsumerLab.com lacked the amounts of glucosamine or chondroitin promised on their labels or had other flaws, such as lead. Wider testing by a trade group of 87 brands found that one-quarter fell short, the Associated Press reports.

Over-the-counter dietary supplements for humans do not have to be proven safe or effective before they are sold, and pills for pets get even less scrutiny.

"There is and there always has been" a quality problem, although many companies do a good job, said Mark Blumenthal of the American Botanical Council, which tracks research on herbal products.

Even when these supplements contain what they claim, there is little evidence that they work, veterinary experts say. A large government study of people with arthritis found that glucosamine and chondroitin did no better than dummy pills in easing mild pain. Testing these supplements on pets is more difficult.

"You can't ask a dog or a cat to give you a subjective impression of how they're feeling after taking the product for several days. They can't say, 'On a scale of 1 to 5, I feel better or worse,'" Blumenthal said.

Giving supplements to an ailing pet can make its owner feel better, though. "The owner shelled out money for the pills and wants to believe they are helping," Blumenthal said.

Up to one-third of dogs and cats in the U.S. are given supplements, a government report estimates. Sales of pet supplements have roughly doubled since 2003, to nearly $1 billion a year in the United States, according to the Nutrition Business Journal. These supplements are sold over the Internet and at pet supply stores and some groceries.

Many pet owners believe they make a difference.

Nicole Albino, who lives in New York City, said her dog Chakka was constantly chewing and licking his knees until her veterinarian recommended glucosamine and chondroitin.

After taking the pills for a year, "he's definitely been licking his knees a lot less," she said. The dog resumed when she ran out of the stuff for a few weeks. "It just seems to help," Albino said.

ConsumerLab.com's most recent tests of human joint supplements, released this week along with the pet pill results, found that five out of 21 brands failed to meet quality standards, usually because of too little chondroitin. Four of the six pet supplements tested also failed. One contained only 17 percent of the promised chondroitin.

The National Animal Supplement Council, a trade group in suburban San Diego, found that 28 percent of the 87 brands it tested in April did not contain what was claimed, said council president, William Bookout. The group doesn't name names, but uses the results to help members improve quality control.

For people who do give pets joint supplements, experts suggest:

* Check with a vet beforehand to see if it is safe.

* Look for a seal of approval by an independent lab or organization.

* Keep a log of your pet's behavior, such as its ability to go up and down stairs, before and after supplement use so you can tell if it helps.

* Don't exceed recommended doses. Too much can cause loose stools and gas pains.

* Watch for shellfish allergies if using glucosamine derived from seafood.

* Avoid versions in salt form (NaCl, or sodium chloride on the label) if the animal has high blood pressure.

* Do not use glucosamine or chondroitin with blood thinners, such as heparin or aspirin, unless a vet advises it. Some breeds, such as Doberman pinschers, are predisposed to bleeding problems.

To read more of the story, click here.

Nicole Albino poses for a photograph with her pug Chakka on June 29 at her home in New York. Albino said Chakka was constantly chewing and licking his knees until her veterinarian recommended glucosamine and chondroitin. AP Photo/Tina Fineberg.

Dad jokes [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-10T03:48:16-07:00

If you're taking a family road trip this summer, you're going to need jokes for the car or the plane. Guest Dad Joe Burris has come up with a few: One day, my 12-year-old daughter Nyaniso came home with a library book that featured an array of clean jokes. That's great, I thought, since her tween world is full of songs, TV shows and movies that are anything but clean. She's an avid reader, and often I'm amazed at some of the material with vulgarity laced prose that's readily available to kids. Long live clean jokes, I said. In fact, she inspired me to make up a list of jokes with the names of 12 U.S. Presidents. I admit that a few are corny: 1. Nixon Knock, knock? Who's there? Nixon. Nixon who? Nixon Celtics are playing tonight. Celtics should win. (Knicks and Celtics are playing tonight. Celtics should win). 2. Eisenhower My friend asked, "How are you today?" I replied, "I have an itch in my Eisenhower you?" (I have an itch in my eyes. And how are you?") 3. Monroe "Hey, Monroe faster! We'll never reach the shore at this rate." (Hey man, row faster!) 4. Fillmore I Fillmore anxious about this exam than my last one. (I feel more anxious about this exam than my last one.) 5. Wilson Wilson is the spitting image of his mother. (Will's son is the spitting image of his mother). 6. Madison Whenever James gets Madison tries to calm him down. (Whenever James gets mad, his son tries to calm him down.) 7. Quincy Adams Hey Quincy Adams car? What do you think he paid for it? (Hey Quinn, see Adam's car?) 8. Lincoln The railroad museum had an amazing display of Lincoln pin couplers. (The railroad museum had an amazing display of link-and-pin couplers.) 9. Jackson, Harrison, Johnson See Wilson. 10. Truman It's Truman make mistakes, but to err is human. (It's true men make mistakes, but to err is human.) I have tried to make puns for the names of our recent three Commanders and Chief, but to no avail. Can you think of a play on words for Clinton, Bush or Obama?

Speaking of the garden [Garden Variety]

2009-07-10T03:02:12-07:00

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. -- Mahatma Gandhi

Doc + opera star = marriage [Picture of Health]

2009-07-10T03:02:08-07:00

After meeting Dr. Robert Montgomery the other day, he of the record-setting domino kidney transplant surgery completed last week at Johns Hopkins, I got to Googling. Apparently, finding a way to transplant kidneys into an eight-person chain of patients at four separate hospitals just wasn't enough to occupy the surgeon over the past three weeks.

Between the third day of these surgeries on June 22 and the last day of surgery on July 6, when the chain was finally completed, the 49-year-old Montgomery went out and got married. On June 29. To opera superstar Denyce Graves.

"An intimate thing, just the two of us," is what she told The Washington Post's Reliable Source column. Second wedding for both. ...

Reliable Source goes on to tell the tale of how the pair met on a flight from Dulles to Paris four years ago, how the small wedding was just the first of three ceremonies they are planning -- with one a blessing next month in a Masai village in Kenya and a big to-do at Washington's National Cathedral to follow in September.

The 45-year-old diva, in a good way, sounds like she is just wild about the bearded surgeon. "I am myself in awe and in great reverence for the way he lives his life," she told the column.

Photo/Matt Mendelsohn Photography via Washington Post

On the trail of the Wizard of Oz [Read Street]

2009-07-10T03:02:02-07:00

Fred Trust grew up in the former Soviet republic of Azerbajian, but was no stranger to the story of the Wizard of Oz. He was captivated by the tale, and after coming to the U.S., became a collector of Oz books. The Owings Mills resident loaned about 50 of his books to the Geppi Entertainment Museum for its Wizard of Oz exhibit, which also includes games, dolls and toys; it runs through January. We asked Fred to tell us about his passion. Here's his guest post:

The Wizard of the Emerald City is one of the favorite children's book titles in the former Soviet Union. However, very few people are aware of its real author and origin. The Russian writer Alexander Volkov translated L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and also changed the names of most characters, removed some elements of Baum's novel, and added some new ones. The story was a favorite of mine as well as of many other children growing up in the former Soviet republics.

When my own children were born and I was looking for good children's books to read to them, I decided to find out if by any chance The Wizard of the Emerald City was translated from Russian to English. To my surprise I discovered that the book was initiated and originally published in this country in 1899! Although at the time I obtained an inexpensive replica of the book to read to my kids, I set myself a goal to obtain the earlier copy of the Wizard of Oz.

Through my research I quickly learned that obtaining the first edition of Wonderful Wizard of Oz would be a challenge since this title was selling for over $10,000 at that time. Diving deeply into

the process of collecting books, particularly Oz books, I learned how complicated is the process of identifying Oz book series. My biggest problem was associated with ascertaining the Oz books' true publishing year because almost every Oz title only has one original copyright year! Over the years, I purchased many copies that were printed in 1950s and 1960s, thinking they were first editions and I got great deals, only to learn later about the true first edition copies. I also learned, among many other things, that later editions never had color illustrations because those were eliminated to reduce cost of printing. Through my research I also realized that the Wizard of Oz books in general are the most valuable children’s book series from the collector's standpoint. So I decided to take a plunge and began collecting Oz books. I now have over 500 books and built a website RareOzBooks.com which became a great educational tool for many people all over the country and which also enables me to both sell and buy RARE Oz books.

In 2009, there has been a resurgence of interest in the Wizard of Oz. For example: Andrew Lloyd Webber plans to produce the Wizard of Oz play on Broadway; two animated Wizard of Oz movies are in works; MGM and Sony Pictures announced a remake of The Wizard of Oz; and Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway has signed on to star in the Weinstein Company’s biography of famous singer and actress Judy Garland.

The Wizard of Oz story is so deeply imbedded in American culture that almost on a weekly basis I find some ties to it through the media. For example, in conjunction with death of Michael Jackson, it was indicated repeatedly that he played a Scarecrow in the movie "The Wiz" in 1978. The best-selling author Michael Connelly in his most recent book "The Scarecrow" uses various facts from the Oz series, such as Denslow Associates (William Denslow illustrated the Wizard of Oz title), Fred Stone (appeared in the first Broadway musical in 1902), references to a character Dorothy from Kansas, etc.

Currently, the Geppi Museum through its exhibit celebrates the 70th anniversary of 1939 Wizard of Oz movie and I was honored to lend a number of my books to that exhibit. All 40 famous Oz titles that can be seen on the display in this exhibit are around 100 years old, rare and very hard to find in this pristine condition. It should also be noted that L. Frank Baum wrote over 70 other books outside of Oz series and many of them can also be seen in the museum.

Fun on the computer at 2:48 a.m. [Dining@Large]

2009-07-10T00:48:48-07:00

Here I am, up when I shouldn't be, reading comments. And for the second night in a row someone has posted this very flattering comment:

I visited this blog first time and found it very interesting and informative.. Keep up the good work thanks..

And guess what? His name is Van Leasing and he kindly included his URL, which I didn't click on. Because I don't need any vans.

'Big Brother 11': What did you think of the premiere? [Reality Check]

2009-07-09T20:12:20-07:00

Oh, Big Brother. How I love/loathe thee. It's such summer trash, and yet, I can't turn away.

I'm not sure how I feel about this summer's theme, high school, which has the cast broken up into cliques (popular, athletic, brainy and offbeat). I am sure that I am not glad that insufferable Jesse from last season is back this year.

What did you think of the theme and the contestants thus far? Anybody watching the live feeds?

'So You Think You Can Dance': Who's in the Top 10? [Reality Check]

2009-07-09T20:06:44-07:00

Hmm, I might have been hard on Tabitha and Napoleon last night, but their group dance that opens tonight's So You Think You Can Dance -- to White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" -- is great.

After announcing that it is Nigel's 60th birthday, host Cat Deeley asks Nigel about the rumors of a Michael Jackson tribute special. Unfortunately, the music permissions didn't come through, so it's a no. (Though I can't help but think that they are going public with that to try to make someone change their mind!)

Then Cat points out that after this week, the judges don't have a say; viewer votes will determine who goes home.

Then the results begin. The first two couples to hit the stage are Annapolis' Caitlin Kinney and her partner Jason and Brandon and Janette. I can't help but think that this means that Caitlin and Jason are in danger because Brandon and Janette had that show-stopper at the end of last night's show. And .... that's a yes. Caitlin and Jason are in the bottom three, and Brandon and Janette are in the Top 10.

The next two couples called to the stage are Randi and Evan and Jeanine and Phillip. Randi and Evan are safe; Phillip and Jeanine have to get ready for their solos.

Last up are Melissa and Ade and Kayla and Kupono. Kayla and Kupono are safe -- and totally shocked. So that leaves Melissa and Ade joining the others in the bottom three couples.

While the bottom three couples get a change to ready for their solos, we get a preview of the fall season of SYTYCD.

Then, solo time. Caitlin goes cutesy but still showing of a lot of technique, and hopefully some personality too. Speaking of technique, Jason shows some off, too. Last week, they said that Jeanine's solo was the strongest, and she still is pretty strong. Phillip seems much less manic and more controlled than last week's solo. Melissa goes all sporty ballerina on us. Ade's solo is to a song called "Windowdipper" that samples Windows noises (which really freaks me out for a minute). Tyce told him to bring it, and bring it he did.

Mary doesn't want to go try to figure out who is going home.

Kelly Rowland performs, but I fast-forward through most of it. Sorry, Kelly, that's not why I'm here.

I'm here for the results, and here they are.

Nigel says everyone is a good dancer, but they need a Top 10 who are stars. They call Caitlin forward and tell her she is cut. Awww, she cries even before her highlight reel. For the guys, they call Phillip forward and tell him he is unique in what he does, but they've been somewhat disappointed with him in the other styles. He is out, but, Nigel says, "I have secured with the producers that you -- and Caitlin -- will be on the tour." Well, that is some consolation for our local dancer, at least.

What do you think of the results? I didn't envy the judges their duty tonight.

What do you think of this? [B'More Green]

2009-07-09T14:24:13-07:00

Last night, with the help of a high-pressure water sprayer, Domino’s and GreenGraffiti went on an overnight mission, "blasting" 220 Domino's Pizza logos onto sidewalks in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York City. GreenGraffiti cleans part of the sidewalk and leaves the ads behind. Domino’s is one of the first companies to launch this kind of ad campaign – even though it is technically environmentally-friendly, it could also prove to be a little controversial. (The company says that for each liter it uses for ads it invests in a water harvesting project that provides one liter of clean drinking water in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil.) In an effort to entice consumers, Domino’s is offering a $15 gift card to the first 250 people to email pr@dominos.com and submit a photo of them with a GreenGraffiti sidewalk Domino’s logo. Of course, this does not yet apply to us Baltimoreans, but it could at some point in the future. Would you be OK with Domino’s logos on Charm City sidewalks? Read more here. (Image courtesy of Domino's and Green Graffiti)

Concert review: Wilco at Wolf Trap last night [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-09T14:20:00-07:00

Baltimore Sun social networking guru Mary Hartney was at last night's Wilco show at Wolf Trap in Virginia. Here are her thoughts:

My favorite band (Wilco) at my favorite venue (Wolf Trap) on a gorgeous summer night: What could possibly go wrong?

Traffic and lawn seats, that's what.

We arrived at Wolf Trap about an hour before the show, which Conor Oberst opened, and the lawn was blanket-to-blanket packed. We wound up sitting on the farthest, highest hill, with no view of the stage.

But that's my problem, not yours, right? I can at least tell you how Wilco sounded. In a word: Incredible. ...

Richard reviews Piv's Pub, plus my Top Chef story [Dining@Large]

2009-07-09T12:59:26-07:00

As usual on Thursdays I like to link to Other Reviewer Richard's review. This time he went to Piv's Pub in Cockeysville.

While I'm linking, I might as well link to my Top Chef story. It was interesting to report, because I was only allowed to speak to one chef yesterday afternoon, Bryan Voltaggio. Someone from Bravo has to listen in to all media interviews -- I guess in case someone forgets him- or herself and says, "I won! I won!" ...

NEA Recovery grants benefit several Baltimore-area arts groups [Clef Notes]

2009-07-09T12:15:35-07:00

While politicians and bloviators in the various media debate whether the federal stimulus package has actually produced any results, a whole bunch of arts groups around the country can point to honest-to-goodness money awarded this week by the NEA.

The grants, totaling $50 million, are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are aimed specifically at helping organizations retain arts jobs that would otherwise be lost because of the economic downturn.

Here are some of the local recipients:

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: $50,000

Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra Association: $25,000

CenterStage: $50,000

Baltimore Museum of Art: $50,000

Museum for Contemporary Arts: $25,000

Baltimore Clayworks: $25,000

Fells Point Creative Alliance: $50,000

Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts: $250,000

Maryland State Arts Council: $318,600

Recycle your shoes at Holabird Sports, Comfort One [B'More Green]

2009-07-09T12:01:09-07:00

I did a post a little while back about donating your shoes for a good cause, instead of throwing them away. From the response, I thought it was worth letting everyone know that there's a drive going on now.

Holibird Sports, Comfort One Shoes and Finish Line are all participating in a Souls4Souls event to collect gently used shoes and donations. The shoes will go to victims of natural disasters and those living in extreme poverty.

The group estimates that some 1.5 billion unused shoes are just sitting in people's closets.

So, dig them out and get to Holabird at 9220 Pulaski Highway, or at the area Comfort One Shoes or Finish Line shops. Here's a list of all area places to drop off shoes.

No more private school [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-09T11:39:51-07:00

In tough economic times like this, parents look for anything they can trim from the budget without making their kids suffer. Once they've done that, there's a big-ticket item that looms large in some households: private school. Some families are making the hard decision to take kids out of the private schools they've been attending and sending them to public schools instead. The New York Times had a piece several months ago. Now we at the Sun are looking into the local angle. If you're in this situation and would be willing to talk with a reporter about your decision to switch schools, please e-mail Arin Gencer.

Update on Thing 3, the foster...he imitates coyote [Unleashed]

2009-07-09T11:37:03-07:00

So well into the week with the foster pup, who I've decided to call Teddy (short for Teddy Bean) ("bean" as in little black bean), he's not only enjoying his time out of the carrier, he's taken it upon himself to complain if he's in the carrier too long. Funny, coming from a puppy mill dog who, as I understand it, spent his entire life up to now in a wire cage that's certainly less pleasant that the blanket-lined pet carrier he's upset about. But, eh, I guess he's learning about creature comforts. That's good!

(In case you're just tuning in now, I'm taking care of a foster dog, a sweet, scared poodle that was rescued last week from a Pennsylvania puppy mill. Catch the first installment here. And other chapters here and here.)

Anyway, so Tuesday, after leaving him in the carrier all day when I went to work, as the shelter told me to do, and then putting him back in the carrier when I was ready for bed, at about 2:30 a.m. I was woken up by a howling, a mournful coyote noise that could only be coming from Teddy. Uh-oh. I went downstairs and let him out of the carrier, thinking he might be having a bathroom situation.

After a few minutes out, realizing it wasn't a bathroom thing, I escorted him back into the pet taxi and went back upstairs to bed. An hour later, the coyote return-eth. I go downstairs, turn on a lamp for him, hoping that would make it somehow better. He stops. But before I'd even made it back up the stairs, he resumed The Howl.

I grabbed a sheet and pillow and spent the rest of the night downstairs with him. He remained quiet as can be and Leo used me like a trampoline until the sun came up.

Aside from the appearance of that noise, he seems to be doing well. He's eating a lot. He's enjoying kibble now in addition to the wet food and slurping from the water bowl. He continues to decline regular dog treats, but will gobble up all the extra-sharp Cheddar I'll allow him. Go Teddy.

Photo of Teddy in his pet taxi. This is a quiet moment in there, but earlier, it was the scene of the howl. By Jill.

Book It [Read Street]

2009-07-09T11:26:12-07:00

Who doesn't enjoy a love story? OK, besides you. But I bet you love a good war story, right? Hmm. How about both? Local author Vincent Gisriel Jr. will be at Greetings & Readings Saturday to sign and discuss his book, Hearts Away, Bombs Away, based on his father's experiences in World War II and the correspondance between Gisriel Sr. and the woman who would become his wife.

Also Saturday, Elissa Brent Weissman, a past guest blogger here at Read Street, will be at Red Canoe to sign copies of her new book, The Trouble with Mark Hopper. If you enjoyed Standing for Socks, you won't want to miss this story of a young boy and his doppelganger. And Elissa is just an extremely sweet individual, so you should go introduce yourself and grab a few of Red Canoe's yummy snacks, while you're at it.

Minas Boutique hosts Second Sunday Poetry again this month, with Alan Barysh, Ron Williams, Suzanne X, Rabbi Liz Bolton, Julie Fisher, Miriam Botwinik and Marcus Colasurdo. Oh, and you, if you're in the mood for some open mic action. Your $3 donation and/or nonperishable food item will go toward Hearts Place Shelter.

Finally, on Tuesday, Marnie Colton begins her six-week course on poetry to be taught at Red Emma's Free School. The classes focus on contemporary poetry by young women.

As always, look for more events on our Read Street calendar, or let us know about any we haven't included!

Video: Monkee Micky Dolenz performs at the Dundalk Heritage Fair [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-09T11:00:00-07:00

Micky Dolenz of the Monkees was in the area recently for a show at the Dundalk Hertiage Fair. Ring Posts blogger Kevin Eck was right -- Mick's voice is still really strong. Check out this medly of tunes from the show, courtesy of Kevin's friend Chris ...

Food super powers [Dining@Large]

2009-07-09T09:53:30-07:00

Guest poster Owl Meat has come up with a new game for this week's excellent Funtastic Thursday. I would play but I'm still trying to get past the concept of Owlie watching Gilligan's Island. EL

There was an episode of Gilligan's Island where radioactive seeds washed up on the island. Each vegetable gave one of the castaways a cliché super-power. Gilligan ate spinach and had great strength. Maryanne ate carrots and had super vision. Mrs. Howell ate sugar beets and became a full-on hard-tweakin' crank-head.

Here's a new game. You pick the food and the superpower it would give you or wish it would. It can be any kind of food or beverage. It doesn't have to have any traditional association.

I'll go first: ...

Not so local produce [Garden Variety]

2009-07-09T09:27:18-07:00

I knew it.

My colleague Laura Vozzella has a story in The Sun detailing the facts behind the "local" produce grocery stories tout. Like it came from the Eastern Shore, or something.

I have suspected for a while that the produce wasn't very local. When it seems to jump ahead of what's available from the local farmers' markets, I have suspected it came instead from the Carolinas.

But South America? New Zealand?

This is another reason why county-sponsored farmers' markets are such a good idea. The food they sell must come from the county.

Or, in the case of the Annapolis downtown market on Sunday mornings, the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Kim Hairston

Big Kidz Sports Bar [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-09T09:27:00-07:00

You've already heard about Fumbles: The Sports Bar for Losers. Now, witness my latest wickedly awesome bar concept: Big Kidz Sports Bar.

It's like Dave and Busters. But not lame. Or, maybe, awesomely lame -- like, lame dipped in chocolate.

Basically this bar would take everything we enjoyed as kids (and possibly early teens*) and bring them into a bar setting.

I'm talking about a giant indoor dodgeball court. A swing set. Those springy things (pictured). Monkey bars. A big slide (wax paper costs $.50 a sheet). An Activity Zone. Possibly mini-golf. Possibly.

There would be a sandbox, complete with miniature John Deere tractors and an adult-sized, semi-mechanized digger (like this).

And then of course, standard games like corn hole, beer pong, shuffleboard and the like.

Solar energy classes offered for free [B'More Green]

2009-07-09T09:11:10-07:00

Thinking about installing solar panels on your house or business? Maryland Solar Solutions and bluehouse are offering a free seminar called "How to fire the electric company and produce my own clean energy needs -- and get the government to pay for up to half of it!"

They will talk about how the panels work, how much they cost and much in federal and state tax breaks you can get. Maryland Solar Solutions, in Reisterstown, sells panels and does energy audits. Bluehouse, in Towson, sells environmentally friendly housewares.

The classes will be held at bluehouse. They're located in the Shops at Kenilworth in Towson, 872 Kenilworth Dr. Colette Hayward, the owner of Maryland Solar Solutions will give the talks beginning this Saturday, July 11 from 3 p.m.-4 p.m. and Tuesday, July 14 from 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Additional seminars will be held 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 8; 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Aug. 11; 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 19; 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Sept. 21; 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 10; 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Oct. 12.

For going, you'll get info, light refreshments and a 10 percent discount on stuff at bluehouse.

RSVP at 443-218-2620 or mssicontact@marylandsolarsolutions.com with the date of the seminar you'd like to attend. You can also go to marylandsolarsolitions.com or bluehouselife.com for more info.

Baltimore Sun file photo of solar panels on a house in Columbia/Gene Sweeney Jr.

Babies on skates -- and investing [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-09T09:06:08-07:00

The search term "babies on skates" is tearing it up on Google Trends right now as a result of this might-be-amusing, might-seem-creepy ad:

I must say I found myself laughing at the computer-generated skater tots, just as I crack up at the E*trade commercials with this jaded "baby":

Why it's funny to me, I don't know. I'm in no hurry for babies to grow up; since mine are now 6 and 8, I'm already missing their infant selves.

Infants and medication errors [Picture of Health]

2009-07-09T09:05:21-07:00

Medication errors happen. They can and do occur at every step of the way from calculating dosages to prescribing, dispensing and giving drugs not only to adults but to children. Take one of the more famous cases: Actor Dennis Quaid's newborn twins who somehow survived being given a blood-thinner at 1,000 times the proper dose.

A study published this week in the journal Pediatrics looked at medication errors specifically involving heart drugs dispensed to children. What they found was, er, heart-stopping. They found that in a single year, half of the errors made were in children under the age of 1 and 90 percent of those were in children younger than six months. The littlest seem to be most vulnerable because health care providers may miscalculate and give them more medication than someone of their weight can handle or they may prescribe a drug not meant for someone so young. ...

Johns Hopkins researchers, who led the study of data from 2003-2004, pointed out that 96 percent of the 821 errors never caused harm, but 4 percent did. No one was killed. But in one instance, the patient's weight in pounds was mistaken for weight in kilograms, resulting in an overdose of three different heart drugs, which sent the child into cardiac arrest, researchers said.

One thing that's missing from the study: A calculation of how often medication errors actually occur. Previous studies have estimated that 1.5 million people a year (adults and children) may be impacted.

These heart drugs are used more often in children than you might think. Four in 1,000 U.S babies are born with congenital heart disease. According to the study, most of the harmful errors involved diuretics, used to treat heart failure and lower blood pressure by ridding the body of excess water, and drugs for lowering blood pressure. Not only are these medications used in those infants but they are being given more often to older children and teens with high blood pressure.

"Medication errors are inevitable," the study says, "given the human factor in patient care."

But how can these errors be reduced? Double- and triple-checking doses, labels and safety warnings can be a start. Hospitals are encouraged to put any mechanisms in place that will reduce the chance that mistakes will happen.

Varying adoption fees for dogs -- what's the deal? [Unleashed]

2009-07-09T08:57:03-07:00

With a dog suddenly in my life, one from a puppy mill whose job is breeding dogs to make $$$, I was curious to find out how much dogs go for. From reputable breeders. From various rescue organizations.

I know that shelters like BARCS and the MDSPCA have standard fees that apply to all dogs -- no matter what type. You'll pay the same about the adopt a scruffy mutt as you would a Labradoodle, should a Labradoodle happen to be at the shelter.

Anyway, I was kind of disturbed to see that some non-profit groups -- I won't name names -- ask for "minimum donations" to adopt dogs. And the "minimum donations" clearly depends on the type of dog. In other words, you'll pay more for a Labradoodle puppy than for an older Shih Tsu. It just seemed somehow wrong. Though these are rescue groups, and seemingly a good place to adopt a dog, by doing this aren't they perpetuating the idea that certain dogs are worth more -- and thereby giving places like puppy mills reasons to endure? Or maybe I'm off-base. Maybe they just want to get money for their cause where they know they can....

Curious about what you guys think. Please weigh in.....

**NOTE ADDED A BIT LATER AFTER PEOPLE STARTED COMMENTING: Hey, just want to be clear. It's not only paying more for a puppy than a senior dog. It's paying more for a Shih Tsu than a Pit bull. Or paying more for a Labradoodle than a Shih Tsu -- even if they're all the same age. -- Jill.

Photo of Labradoodle pup in an Amazon shipping box courtesy of Estoril's photostream on Flickr.

Author Larry Doyle on stage and screen [Read Street]

2009-07-09T08:09:51-07:00

Nouveau Baltimorean Larry Doyle will have his novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper, spread across the big screen when the movie adaptation opens nationwide Friday. Doyle, who moved to Baltimore four years ago, will also appear tonight in Baltimoored: Summer in the City, A Live Radio Show. Today in The Baltimore Sun, Michael Sragow profiled Doyle. An excerpt:

Larry Doyle's wife says he's funny only when he's talking to someone other than herself.

Luckily, he should be talking to hundreds of theatergoers at Center Stage Thursday for Stoop Storytelling, the popular stage series featuring Baltimoreans relating their own tales of Charm City.

Doyle, author of the Thurber Prize-winning novel I Love You, Beth Cooper [shown here accepting the award]... has also written the screenplay and served as an executive producer for the movie version of his novel, which opens nationwide Friday; the director is Chris Columbus, who made the first two Harry Potter pictures.

It should be a heady time even for a 50-year-old, formerly L.A.-based veteran who has won two Emmy awards and one Annie for his work on The Simpsons.

In fact, it should be a heady time even for a writer who has had two solo credits on produced original scripts, Duplex and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, in an era when solo writing credits are rare for potential franchises like Looney Tunes -- and original scripts tend to be regarded as anathema.

But over the phone from a hotel lobby in Tribeca (he planned to attend a "special screening" of Beth Cooper in New York Tuesday night), he remained refreshingly down-to-earth and dry. "That's Vincent D'Onofrio walking by," he interrupts himself to say, "looking ... kind of ... fat."

Beer Belly: It's the genes not just the beer [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-09T08:08:29-07:00

Drinking a lot of beer can lead to a weight gain, but it won't necessarily give you a beer belly. That is what research published recently in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found.

German and Swedish researchers looked at some 20,000 men and women, studying among other things, the relationship between the change in their beer consumption and the change in their waist circumference.

They concluded that heavy beer consumption leads to weight gain, but that not everybody who drank beer and gained weight, developed a beer belly.

Where that weigh showed up had more to do with the "natural variation in fat patterning." Our genetic makeup, I guess.

I read an abstract of this research, not the full article. It was written in technical language. Here, for example, is the phrasing of one of its beer belly conclusions. "This study does not support the common belief of a site-specific effect of beer on the abdomen, the beer belly."

This seems to contradict common sense. If you gain weight because you drink a lot of beer, where does the weight gain show up on your body?

In your feet?

There are, however, people who drink a lot of beer and never get fat. What, I wonder, is their secret?

Why do some of us spread out like Fat Albert, and others remain bean-pole thin?

Why does this happen. Any ideas?

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Michael Jackson reported to have been planning classical music recording [Clef Notes]

2009-07-09T07:44:31-07:00

UPDATE: Reached David Michael Frank after posting this. He described the material that Michael Jackson asked him to orchestrate as closer to "pretty film score music" than anything fully classical.

Here's an unexpected (at least to me) bit of news about the late, much-lamented Michael Jackson.

In a recent Guardian article, David Michael Frank, a Baltimore-born composer who studied at Peabody and has been based in California since the late 1970s, says that Jackson was interested in writing classical music and had started on some pieces. Frank, who has composed for several films and TV shows, was recently asked to help with the orchestration.

An intriguing story. Perhaps Jackson ...

felt the same sort of urge to spread his musical wings into the world of classical, or concert, music that has inspired Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Elvis Costello (to name a few) over the years.

Pop artists don't necessarily succeed in a different genre; classical artists aren't necessarily able to do pop, either. But it's always interesting to see someone try to switch gears, to achieve something substantive in a field where they don't usually roam.

A pity that Jackson's apparent dream could not be fulfilled. Maybe enough material will turn up in his estate to generate a recording of what he had in mind.

BALTIMORE SUN FILE PHOTO

Farm pollution help for Bay on chopping block [B'More Green]

2009-07-09T06:53:01-07:00

While the federal government is busily trying to shovel economic stimulus money out of Washington, it seems there's a countermove that could put a crimp in efforts to reduce farm-related pollution of the Chesapeake Bay.

Environmentalists say a Senate subcommittee cut $250 million from a federal farm conservation program that offers farmers technical and financial help to do a better job of keeping poultry and other farm animal manure from washing into nearby streams.

The spending cut was among a batch sought by the Obama administration. If the cut to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) stands, it could reduce payments to Maryland farmers by $2 million, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group. The neighboring bay states of Pennsylvania and Virginia, with even more farms, stand to lose more than $3 million each.

The cuts are potentially significant because until recently, at least, federal and state officials had relied on such financial incentives rather than regulations to get farmers to reduce polluted runoff from their fields and feedlots. The EQIP program pays up to 75 percent of the cost of some conservation improvements.

Congress last year authorized a major boost in farm conservation spending nationwide, with $188 million earmarked for bay states over the next five years in the 2008 farm bill and tens of millions more available to bay region farmers through national farm conservation programs like EQIP. Even with the increase, officials had said it would not be enough to pay for all the conservation improvements needed to curb nutrient pollution and sediment runoff from bay region farms.

Environmentalists fought the Bush administration to keep it from blocking the increase in farm conservation funds, only to find the Obama administration now also seeking to trim them.

"We understand the administration's goal is to cut the deficit, but programs that help drive private investment in public benefits – like cleaner water, cleaner air and improved habitat for wildlife – are a great deal for taxpayers,” Sara Hopper, director of agricultural policy for the Environmental Defense Fund said in a press release.

The Senate panel did refuse to go along with the rest of the $600 million in farm conservation spending cuts that had bene sought by the Obama administration. But a House appropriations panel has made a similar $270 million cut in EQIP funding, and the full House is expected to vote soon on a spending bill including that cut, according to EDF.

Richard Gere: Dog is his co-star [Unleashed]

2009-07-09T06:17:31-07:00

Richard Gere stars in a Hollywood remake of Japan's long-cherished story of Hachiko, a faithful dog that died at a train station waiting for its master. But "Hachi: A Dog's Story" is more about the dog than about Gere, the 59-year-old actor told The Associated Press Wednesday.

"On this movie, I was definitely second-class," he told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.

The story of Hachiko is a legend among Japanese, a pet-loving nation that honors self-sacrificing loyalty.

Hachiko, the story goes, always used to wait at Shibuya train station for its master, a professor at the University of Tokyo.

Even after the professor died, the dog waited every day at the station for a decade, until it died in 1935.

People were so moved they built a statue of Hachiko at the station, which remains a popular rendezvous spot for Japanese today.

The story of Hachiko was made into a 1987 Japanese movie. Gere's version transports that story to a station in Rhode Island.

The movie premiered in the U.S. at the Seattle International Film Festival in June, and opens in Japan in August.

Gere said the Japanese breed of dogs called Akita used in the movie are close to wild dogs and very difficult to train. In the beginning, Gere was instructed not to even look at the three dogs that played Hachi.

"They only do something because they want to. You can't really buy them with food," said Gere.

Gere said the new film evokes the artistry of silent movies.

Often, the crew would film the dog for 12 hours, and take just 10 minutes to shoot Gere's segments, he said.

"We were capturing something that was organic and real that was happening between me and the dogs," he said.

Actor Richard Gere attends the " Hachiko: A Dog's Story" Premiere at Marunouchi Piccadilly on July 8 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open on August 8 in Japan. Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images.

Where's Bo? Obamas meet Russian kitty [Unleashed]

2009-07-09T06:16:48-07:00

With Bo Obama at home back in the U.S.A., President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle are mixing it up with a cat during a visit to the presidential residence outside Moscow in Gorki on July 6. It's unclear if the kitty has a name. Great tail on that cat though! Russia's Dmitry Medvedev and Obama were meeting to discuss Afghanistan and cutting their nuclear arsenals. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images.

Michael Jackson fans use new, old media in tandem [Z on TV]

2009-07-09T06:07:55-07:00

While a number of readers of this blog have expressed their disappontment in learning that the TV audience for Micahel Jackson's memorial service Tuesday was smaller than that of the funeral of Princess Diane in 1997 and the burial of Ronald Reagan in 2004, I have been trying to stress that neither of those event had anywhere near the online audience watching live video streams.

When you add the more than 20 million people watching live TV coverage on computer and mobile screens Tuesday to the 31 million watching on TV screens, the Jackson memorial wins hands down. And I have received many comments and emails from folks who were in that online audience at work Tuesday.

That points to one of the other groundbreaking aspects of coverage of Jackson's death for the past 13 days -- the degree to which fans combined new and old media in getting their news and analysis about Jackson.

How and where did you watch Jackson coverage? And did it make a difference in your experience of the events?

The recipe for Romulan Ale, a la Landmark Theatres [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-09T05:30:00-07:00

One of the best parts about the fancy new(ish) Landmark Theatres Harbor East is its liquor license.

Not only can you order a drink (wine, beer, liquor) at the lobby bar, you can actually take the drink into the theater with you.

Yesterday, the paper had a great piece by John-John Williams IV about the bar's snazzy mixed drink menu, which is updated as the movies change. We're talking a drink for each of the four main characters of Sex and the City. We're talking James Bond martinis.

And, most importantly, we're talking Romulan Ale. Yes, the theater did make its own (legal) version of the highly illegal liquor featured on the Star Trek movie series. Set phasers to stun ...

What is Maryland fried chicken, anyway? [Dining@Large]

2009-07-09T05:08:04-07:00

I was doing a little housekeeping on the blog last evening when I came upon the following e-mail, which I had stuck in an unused entry form to write a post about in the future.

I'm a little late with it; Bill sent it last July. But his question is still relevant.

While I'm at it, I'm going to ask what makes fried chicken Maryland-style? You never hear other states getting credited for fried chicken -- except, of course, Kentucky, and that's just a fast food gimmick, isn't it? ...

Good bugs [Garden Variety]

2009-07-09T05:00:11-07:00

In my garden column for The Baltimore Sun this week, I write about my misadventures with ladybugs.

I tried -- not very successfully -- to introduce more than a thousand of the aphid-eating machines into my garden.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Anyway, ladybugs are not the only beneficial garden insects. And they are not the only ones you can actually purchase - on line.

Some others:

Green lacewings. The adult eats only pollen, but the larvae are known as "aphid lions" because of their voracious appetites, devouring more than 10,000 aphids in a day. They remain larvae for up to 21 days, just looking for food, which includes mealybugs, cottony cushion scale, spider mites, caterpillars, whitefly larvae and moth eggs.

Praying mantids. These guys eat beetles, caterpillars, grubs, aphids, grasshoppers and crickets. Since they don't fly, they stay right where they are released. Each egg case contains about 200 eggs.

Beneficial nematodes. These microscopic creatures destroy pests that live underground, such as Japanese beetles, cut works, wire worms, weevils, white grubs, fungus gnat larvae, flea larvae, termites -- more than 230 different bugs. They are harmless to people, pets and the environment.

Decollate snails: This wet spring has been heaven for slugs, and they have chewed my hosta into lace doilies. But this is a good snail that eats the common brown garden snail and its eggs.

For more information on good garden pests, visit the Orcon Web site, a site for organic treatments for pests.

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Amy Davis

Garden events: Carrie's Tips [Garden Variety]

2009-07-09T04:11:49-07:00

Saturday, Valley View Farms, Cockeysville, 10 a.m. Carrie Engel gives her gardening tips for July, including watering advice and tips on controlling insects and diseases.

More snakes than people in Beirut apartment [Unleashed]

2009-07-09T04:11:26-07:00

A couple that live in a closet-sized Beirut apartment has happily decorated it with 13 snakes -- that they allow to roam free.

According to this little story, Pierre Rizk and his wife Sapna have the pythons, including one named after former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a less-than 500 square foot apartment.

"I really admire her for her leadership," Rizk told a reporter. "She has so much intelligence, responsibility, and energy -- just like the energy of snakes."

Is that a compliment?

At top, Lebanese snake hobbyist Pierre Rizk poses with one of his pet snakes. In the other picture, below, the snake hobbiest and his wife, Sapa (which means "Snake" in English) watch television with two of their Indian Python snakes in their flat in Dekwaneh, which is east of Beirut on July 6. Rizk and his wife have no children but are happily living with 13 pet snakes. JOSEPH BARRAK/AFP/Getty Images.

Pa. man faces 230 charges in puppy mill abuse [Unleashed]

2009-07-09T03:42:16-07:00

The man authorities allege is responsible for the gross neglect and abuse discovered when officials raided his eastern Pennsylvania puppy mill a week ago has been fined more than $150,000 and is facing over 230 charges for allegedly violating the state's dog laws.

Eighteen of Derbe Eckhart's dogs from the Almost Heaven Kennel were sent to shelters in Baltimore, which Unleashed wrote about. My foster dog, Teddy, is another victim of the Emmaus mill.

According to the Associated Press, Eckhart has 15 days to appeal the $152,900 fine from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Department of Agriculture spokesman Chris Ryder says Eckhart failed to get rid of 216 dogs after he lost his kennel license. Ryder says Eckhart was also failed to get approval to transfer 17 dogs.

Almost Heaven was also raided in Oct. 2008. Animal welfare officials say hundreds of animals were living in filthy conditions. Eckhart faces animal cruelty charges from that raid.Two of the dogs rescued from the Almost Heaven Kennel, were sent to the Maryland SPCA in Baltimore where they were adopted last week. Sun Photo by Tasha Treadwell.

Family fun this weekend [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-09T03:40:35-07:00

If Fourth of July went by too quickly for you and yours, check out the free tour for kids at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Museum on Saturday. Here's more to do with the family from intern Kayla Cross: Thursday, July 9: Chesapeake Bay Critters: Learn more about the Chesapeake Bay’s animals with Richard Anderson, of the Snyder Foundation for Animals, at the Taneytown branch of the Carroll County Public Library. Get a chance to view preserved animals up close. This event is free, and starts at 1:30 p.m. It is open to ages 6 and up. Children must be registered to participate. Go to library.carr.org or call 410-386-4488. Duct Tape Flip-Flops: Break out the creative juices and make unique summer shoes at the Savage branch of the Howard County Library. Bring your own duct tape! This event is for ages 11-17 and they must be registered ahead of time. It is free and lasts from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Go to hclibrary.org or call 410-880-5975 to register. National Summer Learning Day: There are events taking place throughout Maryland this Thursday, in honor of National Summer Learning Day. Check summerlearning.org/summerlearningday for more information on local events. Friday, July 10: Disc Golf: Head out to Patapsco Valley State Park for a disc golf clinic, and learn more about the sport. Children, ages 9 and up, are welcome to come to the McKeldin area of the park and participate. Bring good walking shoes and water. This event is free and lasts from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. To sign up, call 410-984-7020. Caribbean Carnival Festival: Celebrate the Caribbean heritage in a festival this weekend, through July 12, in Druid Hill Park The festival will feature a colorful parade on Saturday, as well as Caribbean food and crafts throughout the weekend. General admission is $10, and children under 12 get in for free.The event will last from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, and noon to 9 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the weekend has more: Saturday, July 11: Fifteen Stars, Fifteen Stripes, Fifteen and Under Free!: The second Saturday of every month the Star Spangled Banner Flag House lets children, ages 15 and under, tour the museum for free. The museum is located at the site of Mary Pickersgill’s house, where the first American flag was made. The event lasts from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Teddy Bear Picnic: Kids can bring their teddy bears to this event at Port Discovery. The day will be full of activities, such as face painting and Moonbounce adventures. Tickets to the museum are required; $12.95 for ages 2 and up. The event lasts from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m and is recommended for ages 5 and under. Howard County Pow-Wow/American Indian Show & Festival: Honor the American Indian heritage in this two-day event at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship. The festival features American Indian dance, food and crafts. Tickets are $6-$8 and the event lasts from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Star-Gazing: Hercules’ Mighty Armpit Returns: Enjoy a star-filled night with the Westminster Astronomy Club at Soldiers Delight of Patapsco Valley State Park. This event is free, open to all ages and lasts from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. To sign up, call 410-549-3026. Sunday, July 12: Second Sundays at Leakin Park: Come out for fun for all ages at Leakin Park. Children can ride miniature trains from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and adults can go hiking at 1 p.m. or tour the grounds from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The events are free. Summer Fun Day: Step on up to the fun and games at Steppingstone Museum in Havre de Grace. Admission is $5 and includes lawn mower racing, face painting, frog jumping and more. The event lasts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Living history performers at a Flag House Museum festival, 2007. Colby Ware/Special to the Baltimore Sun.

Speaking of the garden [Garden Variety]

2009-07-09T03:09:21-07:00

Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperors. -- Mary Cantwell

Kindle price drops to $299 [Read Street]

2009-07-08T20:35:41-07:00

Good news for Nancy and the other Kindle-ites: Amazon cut the e-reader's price to $299 on Wednesday.

The new price is $60 below the pricetag the Kindle has had since its 2007 debut. Spokeswoman Cinthia Portugal said the price cut is not just a short-term promotion. "We've been able to increase the volume of Kindles we're manufacturing and decrease the cost of doing so," she said, according to the Associated Press.

Amazon has not disclosed Kindle sales figures, and the publishing industry has said e-books account for less than 1 percent of book sales, the AP said. But it is a fast-growing segment. Amazon's larger Kindle DX, which is geared toward textbooks and periodicals, still has its original price of $489.

I think the price cut will make the Kindle2 attractive to more consumers. But until the price drops much more significantly -- to $99.99 or lower -- I don't think it will become a mass market item. It will still appeal mainly to (a) travelers who hate lugging suitcases full of books; (b) time-starved parents; (c) heavy, heavy readers; (d) library-phobes; and (e) those who are all of the above. So, what price would attract you?

'So You Think Can Dance': Top 12 perform [Reality Check]

2009-07-08T20:14:12-07:00

This week on So You Think You Can Dance, the couples take on two dances per week for the first time. Well, two competition dances, since they always have to learn a group dance and they prep a solo, too.

The big question around here, though, is whether Annapolis dancer and Baltimore School for the Arts grad Caitlin Kinney will make the Top 10. Here's hoping!

The first couple is Melissa and Ade, doing disco with Doriana Sanchez. OK, first of all, those are some crazy sparkle-pants Ade's got on. Second, this is fast, and has so many spins that it's a wonder they stay on their feet. Um, well, they do until the very end, when their final move gives way somehow and Melissa stumbles. (Does Ade drop? Is her footing off? It's hard to tell.) But it's fun and energetic, for sure. Nigel Lythgoe says it was exciting and had some "tremendous stuff" in it. In the replay, it looks like both of their feet slipped, causing the fall, by the way. Mary Murphy, reference Doriana's line about praying to the disco gods: "Can I get an amen?" She adds that it was well-executed and that they were both "letting it go." Tyce DiOrio: "That was friggin' great! I mean, I want to say, I adore you, and no one would think that a ballet dancer could do that, so that's growth." He says that Ade embodied it well.

Kayla and Kupono take on a Mia Michaels contemporary routine that is about addiction. In a more revealing and emotional introductory segment than usual, Kupono discusses that he had a close friend who was almost destroyed by a drug addiction that had repercussions in his family, too, and that he almost doesn't want to portray the character of the addiction. "I just sucks having to be in it for that minute-thirty or just those two counts." Then he cries. It's pretty powerful, though there is a part toward the end where he is supposed to be guiding the addicted Kayla through some moves, and it seems like he just isn't exactly where he is supposed to be, which makes it look a little funky. Still, though, a nice piece. Nigel says it's a powerful piece for anyone who has dealt with addiction. He said that Kayla was superb as the addict and that Kupono was powerful in his role as well. Mary says Kupono stayed in character with intensity through the whole performance and that Kayla was flawless. "You guys are staying on the train; don't worry about it." Tyce says with Mia, you add a level to yourself and become an actor. He adds that Kupono could use a little more power in his body, but his acting was great. Kayla he just calls "a beast."

As a side note, can I just say, as someone with hardly any pigment, how refreshing it is to see that the stylists or whoever on this show let the pale girls be pale without feeling the need to fake-tan (or worse, real tan) them into orange oblivion? (*cough* Dancing With the Stars *cough)

Rockin' out for science [Picture of Health]

2009-07-08T15:46:15-07:00

See the guy on the far right? The one decked out in aviator shades rocking out next to Aerosmith’s Joe Perry? President Barack Obama just picked him to lead the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Francis S. Collins, who led the government’s successful effort to decode the human genome (he also happens to play the guitar) is among a handful of preeminent researchers featured in a slick six-page photo spread in the June issue of GQ. The photos are part of a larger ad campaign called “Rock Stars of Science” designed to celebrate scientists, highlight the importance of their research and draw attention to the funding needed to make their work possible.

Collins did his groundbreaking work while as director of the National Human Genome Institute in Bethesda. He’s featured with such other notables as Dr. Harold Varmus, the former director of NIH, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of cancer genes, and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

By featuring some of the nation’s renowned researchers alongside the likes of rockers Sheryl Crow and Seal, the hope is to make these science gurus more accessible and dare we say, cool, to the average American.

As Collins says in an interview on the Rock Stars of Science site, “I think it's a great idea to show that scientists are not all a bunch of oddball nerds.”

His fellow scientists couldn’t agree more.

“As hokey as this might be, it’s very important to portray scientists as something other than the white haired old man sitting in the lab,” said Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett, director of the University of Maryland’s Institute of Genome Sciences and a pioneering genetic researcher in her own right.

She shared a copy of the photo spread with me yesterday while I was in her office interviewing her about some of her latest work. (Stay tuned. I’ll be writing here soon about the work she did to map the genome of the deadly anthrax microbe).

Fraser-Liggett, however, noted the spread lacked some diversity. Being GQ, a men’s magazine, that was understandable, she reasoned. But a female colleague of hers wondered, could a women in science magazine spread be next? We'll see.

Photo courtesy of GQ

A close encounter of the odd kind [Dining@Large]

2009-07-08T15:07:41-07:00

I had a surprising thing happen today. When I went to the gym and held out my card to have the bar code scanned, the person behind the desk -- someone I had never seen before -- looked at my information on the computer screen and said, "Hi, EL. I'm Piano Rob." ...

DIY Dishwasher/Scouring Powder [B'More Green]

2009-07-08T14:55:11-07:00

If commercial dish detergents that contain phosphates do indeed end up being banned, it may be worth making your own natural cleaning product, especially considering that current eco-friendly brands like EcoVer and Seventh Generation are so costly. I pulled the following recipe for natural dishwasher/scouring powder from The New Homemaker. The ingredients are simple and pretty affordable – according to the author you’ll end up saving around 14 cents a load (when compared to a brand like Cascade). On the subject of whether or this detergent cleans as well as commercial brands, opinions are varied. Though the recipe recommends using citrus essential oils, some folks swear by tea tree and peppermint oils. Either way, this may require a little experimentation but it seems worth a try. In a plastic container with a firmly fitting lid, mix: 1 cup borax (20-Mule-Team Borax, available in any supermarket) 1 cup baking soda 1/4 cup salt 1/4 cup citric acid (available in brewing stores among other places--if you haven't tracked it down yet but must try this formula, use two packets of Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon, or you'll dye your dishwasher! and ONLY unsweetened Kool-Aid!) 30 drops citrus essential oil--lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, or a mixture Put all of it in the container, shake it up.

John reviews Tidewater Grille in Havre de Grace [Dining@Large]

2009-07-08T14:24:30-07:00

Our Shallow Thought guru and guest poster John Lindner continues his series of tavern reviews. One of these days he's going to order rare duck breast on a bed of frisee, and I'm going to have a heart attack. Here's John. EL

Among the things the Tidewater Grille in Havre de Grace gets right is its view.

You can sit outside under an expansive umbrella, marvel at the trains clattering along a delicate bridge high above the Susquehanna, wonder what creature just thrashed the surface of the water, pretend to count ducks and geese in their shoreline promenade as you surreptitiously people watch; and you can gauge the state of civilization based on how many times the hostess fails to hold open the patio door for the patrons she is ushering to table.*

Michael Jackson memorial TV: Reagan, Diana bigger [Z on TV]

2009-07-08T13:33:26-07:00

An combined audience of 31.1 million viewers on 18 networks watched the memorial service for Michael Jackson on TV Tuesday.

That was 2 million fewer than the TV audience for the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, and 4 million fewer than the number who tuned in for President Ronald Reagan's burial in 2004, according to Nielsen.

While the smaller size of the Jackson TV audience might seem surprising, consider that the memorial service did record and near-record numbers in online viewing. MSNBC.com set a record with 19 million video streams, while CNN had its second highest total ever with 19.5 million live and on-demand video streams.

90-second review: The Demon's Lexicon [Read Street]

2009-07-08T11:43:53-07:00

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Synopsis: Set in modern-day England, the story begins with 16-year-old Nick Ryves and his brother, Alan. Their family's been torn apart by the demons they run from, but now two teens are are asking them to fight back to save one who's been marked for possession.

Review: Nick is quite the head case, and you can't really blame him: After all, his day-to-day life running from magicians and demons would drive anyone a little crazy.

The intense loyalty of his brother, whose love he guards jealously from any woman who stumbles into their lives (including his own mother), is just about the only bright spot in their fugitive existance. That, and the huge honking sword he carries at all times.

The characters and their world are portrayed consistently and realistically, which is always the most important aspect in the fantasy genre, and sometimes overlooked by less saavy writers. And the great big whooper of a family secret in the plot ensures that it's not just all magic, all the time.

I'm looking forward to the next installment in this new series, and many more books from first-time author Brennan.

If you liked: Holly Black (Tithe), Garth Nix (Shade's Children, Keys to the Kingdom series) or Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series) you'll enjoy this. Nick's character provides a likewise strong voice, but there's plenty of development to be had.

You should avoid this if: The supernatural just doesn't do it for you. While there is some violence, it never gets too graphic, and the young love angle is kept at a minimum, so if you're looking for a hot sex scene, move on.

Owner: Iguana Cantina will reopen as upscale rum bar [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-08T11:29:00-07:00

Iguana Cantina isn't going away -- it's just getting a facelift, according to owner Tim Bennett.

Bennett, who closed the large club at 124 Market Place this week, said he plans to turn it into an upscale rum bar in the next three to four months.

Tentatively called Mojito's Rum Bar, the 10,000-square foot building would be split into two spaces, which would give it a more intimate feel. Right now, a crowd smaller than 500 people makes the place look empty, Bennett said.

Five years ago, when Bennett opened Iguana Cantina in the space formerly occupied by the Culture Club, crowds flocked to the spot. But business has died off in the past four to six months, Bennett said. ...

Three Maryland contestants on Top Chef [Dining@Large]

2009-07-08T10:30:24-07:00

If you remember, in an earlier post I wrote about the rumor that Jesse Sandlin, executive chef of Abacrombie, would be a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef. The chefs competing in Season Six, which starts August 26, have just been announced; and indeed she is one of the 17.

What I hadn't heard was that a Maryland restaurant has a second contestant, Bryan Voltaggio of Volt in Frederick. His brother Michael, originally from Frederick and last chef de cuisine at Jose Andres's Bazaar in Los Angeles, is the third Marylander on the show.

Iguana Cantina is closed [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-08T10:20:00-07:00

Iguana Cantina, the giant club at 124 Market Place, is closed, according to security coordinator Dave Adams.

Adams said the party zone will be shut down for the next couple months to reorganize and reconcept the place.

"It's been five years and a good run," Adams told Sun reporter Justin Fenton.

Adams said the closing was not violence-related.

(Baltimore Sun archive photo of patrons standing outside Iguana Cantina)

New 'Top Chef' cast includes several Marylanders [Reality Check]

2009-07-08T10:09:49-07:00

Bravo just announced the cast of the next season of Top Chef, and how about that -- it includes several Marylanders.

One is Jesse Sandlin, the chef at Abacrombie, who Elizabeth Large had already speculated might be in the cast.

There's also brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, both from Frederick. Bryan is the chef and owner of Volt on Market Street in Frederick. Michael lives in L.A. now and is the Chef de Cuisine at Bazaar by Jose Andres.

I'll get some more details as soon as I can, but in the meantime, here's the full cast list for Top Chef: Las Vegas, which premieres on Aug. 26:

JHU Press' Kathleen Keane gets honor [Read Street]

2009-07-08T09:22:59-07:00

Congratulations to Kathleen Keane, who recently began a one-year term as president of the Association of American University Presses, a group with 134 member presses.

"I am honored to accept this position, and I am proud of the AAUP's on-going efforts to advance scholarly publishing and serve the very accomplished and collegial community of member presses," Keane, director of the Johns Hopkins University Press, said in a statement.

Keane joined the Hopkins press in 2002 as director of finance and operations. In 2004, she became director of the organization, which is America's oldest university press, and its staff of 140. According to the Hopkins press, it publishes 200 new titles annually, manages the publication of 70 scholarly periodicals, runs an online collection of 450 scholarly journals and handles customer services operation for 16 presses.

Task force to try to prevent another Phoenix [Unleashed]

2009-07-08T09:12:02-07:00

In the wake of a spate of highly publicized cases of gruesome animal cruelty, Baltimore has created a task force to curb such crimes.

Mayor Sheila Dixon announced on Tuesday the creation of the Anti-Animal Abuse Task Force, a group including representatives from city offices, the police, the states attorney’s office, animal welfare organizations and city residents.

Over the course of a year, the task force will assess the effectiveness of Baltimore’s cruelty laws and brainstorm ways to raise awareness of animal abuse. They’ll also consider ways city agencies and animal advocates can better coordinate their efforts.

The task force will issue recommendations to the mayor.

“The protection and safety of animals in this city is an important concern,” Dixon said. “It’s imperative we treat this issue with the upmost importance.”

The first meeting will be at 6 p.m. July 15 at City Hall — though it won’t be open to the public. Task force chairwoman Caroline Griffin, an attorney who’s on the board of Baltimore’s Humane Society, said the public will, however, be welcome at some future meetings.

Meanwhile, Dixon is asking anyone who sees suspected animal abuse to call 311.

In May, someone doused a pit bull puppy with gasoline and set her on fire in Southwest Baltimore. The dog, who came to be known as Phoenix, was soon euthanized because of her extensive injuries and people raised more than $26,000 to find out who did it. Teenage twins were eventually charged as juveniles in the case.

In June, two cats were found within two weeks in the same Northwest Baltimore neighborhood, burned, beaten and tied to a school fence.

Christine Muldowney, a social worker from Lauraville is one of two citizens joining the effort. She says she’s seen for years the grim evidence of abused dogs and cats.

“I’ve seen the bodies,” she said, adding that she hopes this will be a way to pull something positive from the death of Phoenix.

“We just keep receiving case after case and not a lot is getting done,” says Jennifer Mead-Brause, executive director of Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, Inc., where Phoenix was first treated.

One thing Mead-Brause plans to start immediately is tracking abuse cases in the city. Now, no one has any idea how many animals are hurt or criminally neglected in a given year.

Animal control brings them to her shelter by the truckload, daily, and her staff tries to heal them for adoption.

Meanwhile Bob Anderson loses track of the animals once they leave his truck. He said he didn’t even know there was an arrest in the Phoenix case until he read it in the paper.

“Pulling people together like this can make a difference,” Mead-Brause said of the task force. “Change will get done.”

Mayor Sheila Dixon announces the creation of the Anti-Animal Abuse Task Force Tuesday at City Hall. JED KIRSCHBAUM/ BALTIMORE SUN PHOTO.

Unlike diamonds, kidneys don't last forever [Picture of Health]

2009-07-08T09:00:43-07:00

With all of the talk about kidney transplants in recent days, one thing has been left unsaid: Many kidney transplants don't last forever.

About 50 percent of kidney transplants from live donors are still working at 20 years, which means many people will need repeat transplants. With more transplants being done than ever before, and being done so successfully, the number of repeat transplants has been on the rise in recent years.

I wrote this story last year. In talking with some pediatric nephrologists (kidney docs), they mentioned something I never knew, that kidney transplants, especially in younger people, are a wonderful long-term fix but not necessarily a permanent one. And that's not always because patients may reject a new kidney or get some other severe illness.

"We can't get the grafts to last forever," Dr. Alicia M. Neu, a pediatric nephrologist at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, told me at the time. "We've kind of hit a wall. People live with one kidney all the time. They donate one, and they're fine. ...

"Why is it that we transplant, and it's not fine?"

The most interesting factoid (one of the best I have come across since I started covering medicine): When patients need a new kidney, surgeons typically don't remove the malfunctioning ones. They stay where they are and just shrivel up. One women quoted in the story had 6 kidneys, several of them implanted in her pelvic region. There is a limit: Doctors had told her there wouldn't be room for anymore if this last kidney stopped working.

Photo courtesy of ABC

Words of wisdom from a Zen master, part three [Dining@Large]

2009-07-08T08:27:25-07:00

Over breakfast my husband said out of the blue, "Your next Top 10 falls on Bastille Day."

Since I'm never sure he even reads my blog, that was startling. It's also a bit awkward because I've already announced I was doing Tex-Mex restaurants. It would be one thing if I were listing, say, summer treats; but a specific cuisine seems like a slap in the face of francophiles. ...

Baltimore Concert Opera's public audition to feature nearly three dozen singers [Clef Notes]

2009-07-08T07:56:49-07:00

Baltimore Concert Opera, the recently formed ensemble that performs un-staged works at the Engineers Club, announced last month that it would hold public auditions under the title "So You Think You Can Sing Opera."

The auditions will have an Idol-like component, in that audience reaction "will potentially [play] a part in future casting decisions." The somewhat cheeky (others might say somewhat cheesy) project generated more eager singers than ...

the company can handle.

In the end, 34 were chosen to participate in this Baltimore's-got-talent effort, which will be held over the course of two evenings next week (July 13 and 14). For $10, you can get in on the fun of hearing the auditions and making your opinions felt. Sounds like a good occasion to dig out an applause-meter (remember those?).

CNN, MSNBC, Hulu: Big online audiences for Jackson [Z on TV]

2009-07-08T07:54:48-07:00

Based on preliminary figures, it is clear that large audiences watched the Michael Jackson memorial service online Tuesday. But it looks as though the overall audience might wind up being smaller than the one for President Barack Obama's inauguration.

CNN.com, one of the largest sites, reported 9.7 million live video streams from midnight Monday to 5 p.m. Tuesday. More cmplete figures will be available later today. Hulu has not yet released its metrics, but said its live video stream traffic was second only to the one it had for Obama's inauguration.

MSNBC.com, meanwhile told the Hollywood Reporter, that its total of 3 million live video streams set a record -- 50 percent higher than its traffic for the inauguration.

Michael Jackson, the morning after: Too much TV? [Z on TV]

2009-07-08T07:03:06-07:00

Twelve days is a long time for near non-stop TV coverage of any one event. In terms of funerals, it is unprecedented in American television.

So, I am wondering on this morning after a day of Michael Jackson memorial coverage, how viewers are feeling.

Historically on such TV orgies, the mood has been akin to a hangover: It was too much, and we are never going there again.

But I don't feel that way. On Sunday, I argued on CNN's Reliable Sources media show that the TV coverage was not excessive. Maybe it wasn't war or taxes, but Jackson mattered in a profound way to many people, and part of our job is to understand, if not respond, to that. I still feel that way today.

Task force to be born in wake of Phoenix [Unleashed]

2009-07-08T06:45:01-07:00

In the wake of Phoenix, a puppy doused with gasoline and set on fire, and two cats tortured to death, Baltimore City seems prepared to take a step to fight animal cruelty.

Mayor Sheila Dixon, together with the ASPCA, have a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning to talk about the formation of a anti-animal cruelty task force.

I plan to attend and will have more details for you here and on The Baltimore Sun's news pages.

Anyone have any ideas what this task force should try to take on and who should serve on it?

The mark of death for new bars and clubs [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-08T06:41:00-07:00

When a new bar or club opens in this city, the worst way they can advertise themselves is with this catchphrase:

"We're bringing Miami/D.C./New York/L.A. to Baltimore!"

I don't know about you, but when I go out to a bar or club, the last thing I think is, 'Gee, this place could use a little Miami.' ...

Ah, the small dogs of Hollywood... [Unleashed]

2009-07-08T06:19:58-07:00

From left: Stars Keana Texeira, Cassie Scerbo and Ashley Rickards arrives with their dogs for the grand opening of Artist Knox Luxury Grooming Pet Salon on June 27 in Hollywood. Something about this screams "accessory."

Actress Kam Heskin, left arrives with her dog for the grand opening party for the Artist Knox Luxury Grooming Pet Salon in Hollywood, California. (She's apparently the only actress in Hollywood who doesn't use her dog as arm candy, like a bracelet or maybe a furry purse.) Actress Kaycee Stroh, right, poses with her dog.

All photos by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images.

Free books online from Hachette publishing [Read Street]

2009-07-08T06:04:31-07:00

To generate buzz about its books and authors, Hachette Book Group has begun to post the complete contents of selected books on its website. FOR FREE!

The selection of the OpenAccess program isn't huge right now, but it does include several books that have garnered impressive reviews, including Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith and The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent. There's also Gossip Girl.

A number of publishers have similar programs to promote new authors or a new series -- or to simply to spread the word about interesting books. It's not a bad strategy. Folks who read online are still a minority, but their recommendations can drive sales of printed books. So the publisher and readers can benefit.

Call me a caveman, but I'm not big on reading e-books and still like the feel of paper (did cavemen have books?). I guess I could print out these freebies, but that would be cruel to Mother Earth. So this offer may be lost on me, but hey, enjoy!

Taking beer rather than wine to a dinner party [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-08T05:32:54-07:00

Recently my wife and I got invited to the home of one of her Hopkins colleagues for dinner. Rather toting the usual bottle of wine, I instead took two 750-milliliter bottles of beer.

The beers I carried were two from Dogfish Head, Squall IPA and Sah'tea.

Shortly after we got in door, the host popped the lids and poured the five of us some small servings of beer.

The Squall IPA was hit. Unfiltered and bottle conditioned it went well with a lime-infused guacamole. It was pungent yet smooth, and hid its 9 percent ABV. The tasting notes describe it as a brew to enjoyed at a sunset bonfire on the beach. It was pretty good company in a Mount Washington kitchen as well.

The Sah' tea was a bolder beer and received less of a welcome. This beer, the tasting notes said, was an update of a ninth-century Finnish brew. The wort was caramelized by dropping hot suana rocks in it. A German Weizen yeast was used. Juniper berries from Finland andblack tea and spices were added for flavor. It was quite a brewing adventure as the above video shows.

The brew's tea flavor and the lingering aftertaste were not well received by my fellow diners. Too harsh, one said.

Nonetheless the beer tasting prelude to dinner was a happy experience. As we sipped, we shared stories of our favorite beers. One fellow, a university administrator, said a friend was "educating" him by bringing him various Belgian beers to sample Friday nights after work.

I had been reluctant to tote beer rather than wine to this gathering. But I think I will do it again.

Anyone else carry beer to the host and hostess?

What was the reaction?

The Sah' tea might have been a little far out, perhaps I should have stuck to more straight-forward beers. But these folks were world travelers and appreciated sampling something different, even if they didn't love it.

What are some good beers to present a host and hostess?

Texting at the table [Dining@Large]

2009-07-08T05:32:26-07:00

Last night as Gailor and I were walking through a restaurant to our table, we passed a couple texting, each on his and her own phone. It looked very odd.

I don't mind people texting at other tables in restaurants -- in fact, I much prefer it to their talking on a cell phone -- but I wouldn't want anyone to be doing it at the same table where I'm eating. ...

Dogs ponder: Does size matter? [Unleashed]

2009-07-08T05:17:12-07:00

A chihuahua named Maggie, that's the itty bitty one on the right, and an Irish wolfhound named Merlin, the mega-dog to the left, took part in a dog show in the northern German city of Hamburg on June 28. It looks as if Merlin might consider Maggie a dog treat. Merlin's nose is the size of Maggie's whole head. ROLAND MAGUNIA/AFP/Getty Images.

Keepings teens safe from HIV [Picture of Health]

2009-07-08T05:01:24-07:00

When it comes to HIV/AIDS the mantra has always been: get tested.

But some doctors warn that not all tests are created equal. Sometimes a negative test can give a false sense of security to both doctors and patients, particularly for risk-taking teenagers, said Dr. Allison Agwu, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Rapid HIV tests are designed to pick up antibodies to the virus, not the virus itself. It can take weeks or months for someone to produce antibodies. So a rapid test can come up negative the first time, but positive some weeks or months later. False negatives often happen during the earliest and most contagious stages of the infection.

And with teens, those crucial months matter.

“The test is only as good as when you get the test,” said Agwu. “I can’t tell you the number of times I spoke to a patient, and they say, ‘Well I’m negative. And they go on to doing whatever risky behaviors they’ve been doing.”

Of the 53,000 new HIV infections diagnosed each year in the United States, 14 percent of those occurred in 13 to 25-year-olds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And the CDC reported last week that nearly half of all HIV positive teens don’t know they have the virus.

Agwu thinks doctors need to look further, probe deeper about their patients’ risk behaviors and consider a test that detects the virus’ genetic markers rather than relying on antibodies to the virus.

But testing is only part of the broader issue of getting teens to be aware of the dangers of HIV, said Agwu. Doctors and parents need to do a better job talking frankly to teens about sex and the risk for HIV, particularly in a city like Baltimore with higher than average rates of the disease, she said.

There's no doubt that it's touchy territory for parents. Today, an AIDS daignosis is no longer a death sentence and teens are often desensitized to the dangers or think it will never happen to them, Agwu said. There's no easy way to combat this, Agwu admits. But engaging teens in a constant frank conversation about the disease is a start.

Garden disease of the week: blossom-end rot [Garden Variety]

2009-07-08T04:14:30-07:00

First the rain.

Now the diseases.

It was a cool, wet spring here in the Mid-Atlantic. And, for the most part, the plants have loved it.

But so have the bugs and the diseases. I am going to try to tackle a few of them in the days ahead.

First up, blossom-end rot. The scourge of tomato-lovers.

Take a look at the underside of your little green tomatoes. Is there a dark spot that is getting bigger each day, until it consumes half of the tomato?

That's blossom-end rot, and it is the result of too much rain and a sudden growth spurt. Or both.

My tomatoes are in containers on the deck. I am pretty sure the heavy rains not only caused the tomatoes to grow very fast, but it also essentially washed the calcium out of the soil.

It isn't contagious. It doesn't move from plant to plant. It has to do with the soil conditions under each plant. It is likely to stop appearing later in the growing season.

But it is unsightly and wasteful.

One answer is a foliar spray designed to return calcium to the plant. Spray the leaves or the fruit every week or so, but not more often. It won't hurt you if consumed.

The other answer is to take eggshells, crush them and sprinkle them around the plant. I got that advice from James at Bowens Farm Market in Annapolis. That, too, will increase the calcium in the plant.

Me? I'm doing both.

Photo courtesy of Purdue University

Owner reunited with lost kitty -- after 6 years [Unleashed]

2009-07-08T04:01:15-07:00

Even though they're using it as an advertisement for a service, this is a really touching story of a long lost kitty -- and I mean REALLY long lost -- being reunited with his person.

When her cat, Dopey disappeared six years ago, Donna Lane-Mills gave up hope her beloved family cat would ever be found. But thanks to AKC Companion Animal Recovery, the kitty's back.

Because of a microchip, he was found at a shelter 20 miles from Lane-Mills' home in Sacramento, Calif.

Dopey had somehow found his way to another town 40 miles away and was adopted by an elderly woman. When she recently passed away, the cat was brought to the local shelter, where personnel there decided to scan the now 9-year-old cat, because due to his age, he would most likely be euthanized.

“When I checked my voicemail at work I received the most unexpected message,” Lane-Mills said, in a release prepared by the Kennel Club. “They let me know that Dopey had been turned in to a shelter. I had to listen to the message twice. I thought there is no way, Dopey’s been missing for six years.”

But hearing the description of the orange tabby cat with droopy eyes and long legs, Lane-Mills was convinced it was him. Dopey was born at Lane-Mills’ home in 2000, one of 7 in the litter, and was named by her children.

“He was a favorite of my youngest daughter who was just 6 years old at the time of his disappearance,” Lane-Mills recalled. “She was crying herself to sleep at night saying, ‘I miss my Dopey.’ We thought he had been hit by a car.” After his disappearance the family posted fliers around their rural neighborhood and spent weeks calling vets and shelters.

Dopey has become something of a poster boy for microchip services.

Lane-Mills said Dopey was happy to see her at the shelter, “purring like crazy." The family reunion also included other pets, that according to Lane-Mills seemed to remember Dopey -- “Spencer” the 17-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix and “Inni” their 15-year-old cat.

“He’s still the same sweet kitty we remembered,” Lane-Mills said. “He’s just a little bit more mature.”

Photo of the lucky Dopey courtesy of American Kennel Club.

Green, but not so clean [B'More Green]

2009-07-08T03:43:15-07:00

Phosphate-free dishwasher detergents may help restore the Chesapeake Bay, but there could be a price to pay -- dirtier dishes.

Maryland is one of 14 states that are banning sales of dishwasher detergents containing phosphates next July, and Congress is considering extending the ban nationwide. State lawmakers are yanking phosphate dishwasher detergents from store shelves to protect the environment -- the phosphorus in standard detergents spurs growths of algae, which can suck the oxygen out of water that fish need to survive. And the bay is choking on an overdose of nutrients, including phosphorus.

But some consumers have complained that the new phosphate-free detergents don't get their dishes as clean as the old standbys. In Spokane, Washington, where phosphate products were banned last year, some housewives becames so upset with their dirty dishes that they began driving across the state line to Idaho to buy the outlawed dirt-fighting blends.

Now comes Consumer Reports to say the greener dishwasher detergents generally don't work as well as the phosphate soaps. "In our tough tests, five of seven phosphate-free dishwasher detergents left lots of baked-on food," the magazine reports in its August issue. The rankings are available only to subscribers, but you can read the magazine's general comments on dishwasher detergents, with mentions of some individual products, here.

(I've found the same thing, though admittedly without the rigorous testing. I spied Palmolive Eco in my supermarket several weeks ago and decided to give it a try. We found bits of dry cereal still clinging to the bowls when the dishwasher finished its work - an inconvenience that seemed to end when we switched back to a phosphate gel.)

Not all phosphate-free detergents flunked Consumer Reports' tests. Method Smarty Dish tablets did pretty well, for instance, though not with cleaning pots. The key may be the enzymes used in lieu of phosphates, the editors suggest.

But your options in buying phosphate-free detergents right now are still pretty limited. That's the reason, says Brian Sansoni of the Soap and Detergent Association, that the industry lobbied Maryland lawmakers a year ago to delay their phosphate ban by six months, from Jan. 1 to July 1 of next year. The major detergent manufacturers said they needed more time to develop and market greener products.

What to do for now, then, if you care about the environment but can't stand spots or grit on your dishes when you take them out of the dishwasher?

"It's most certainly a quandary for people," acknowledges Celia Kuperszmid-Lehrman, deputy home editor for Consumer Reports. She suggests taking greater care in loading the dishwasher - making sure dishes are not stacked on top of each other or too close together.

She also recommends using rinse agents if the dishwasher is equipped to dispense them; many folks like me skip them because they seem an unnecessary expense, but Kuperszmid-Lehrman says they actually do help keep food from sticking to dishes.

Tempting as it may be, she cautions, don't pre-wash bowls and plates before putting them in the dishwasher. "That wastes an enormous amount of water," she said, thousands of gallons a year.

The same advice applies for those who wonder if it wouldn't be greener just to scrub plates and silverware by hand in the sink. A dishwasher uses five to 10 gallons of water - maybe 15 if it's an older model - to clean a load, Kuperszmid-Lehrman points out. But the standard kitchen faucet spits out 2.5 gallons a minute, so you'd use more water washing dishes by hand if you left the faucet run as little as five or six minutes.

"Dishwashers are quite an efficient use of resources,'' she said. Meanwhile, detergent manufacturers are still working on developing green dish cleaners, so maybe they'll find more suitable substitutes for the scum-fighting power of phosphates.

Has anyone else discovered this dirty little secret about green dishwasher detergents? Or is it much ado about nothing? Are a few gritty dishes a small price to pay for cleaner water?

Speaking of the Garden [Garden Variety]

2009-07-08T03:12:18-07:00

Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you. -- Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Pork over greens [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-08T02:59:47-07:00

For the second installment of our Dinner Together mini-series on super-easy family grilling, we're departing from usual practice and using a bottled marinade. Sometimes you just gotta go there.

In this case, we used half the bottle of marinade as a marinade, and the half that hadn't touched uncooked pork became a sort of salad dressing.

The kids were not interested in the greens, but they liked the pork. (The marinade sounds spicy, but by the time it had cooked with the pork, it was mild enough for them.)

Here's how you make it:

Grilled Pork Over Greens
Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2-2 pounds pork tenderloin
1/2 bottle of KC Masterpiece Spiced Caribbean Jerk Marinade
3-4 cups arugula, stemmed and roughly chopped

Place pork in a baking pan and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a charcoal grill for indirect cooking, heaping the coals on one side of the grill.
Place pork on the cool side of the grill, brushing with a bit of the marinade. Cover the grill, leaving vents open, and cook until pork reaches 165 degrees on a meat thermometer. Remove from grill, cover with foil, and rest meat about 10 minutes. Discard any marinade that was in the pan with the pork.
Slice pork into medallions and serve over arugula. If you like, use the rest of the bottle of marinade (the part which has not touched uncooked pork) as a sauce for the salad on the side.

Per serving (based on 6 servings, not including sauce on side): 230 calories, 25 grams protein, 11 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 3 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 75 milligrams cholesterol, 352 milligrams sodium. Analysis by registered dietitian Jodie Shield.

(Photo by me)

Next week's Top 10: Tex-Mex [Dining@Large]

2009-07-07T14:54:06-07:00

Over a year ago I promised I'd do a Top 10 list of the best Tex-Mex. I started to, and then it turned into restaurants that were authentically Mexican.

Suggestions are welcome, and also some thoughts on what makes a great Tex-Mex restaurant. Is it the beer list? We're not looking for subtlety here, right?

Is there one dish on a menu that tells you this is Tex-Mex and not purely Mexican?

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer)

One kidney saves eight lives [Picture of Health]

2009-07-07T14:29:42-07:00

It all started with a Virginia man who offered his kidney to a woman from his parish who needed one. They had never met but Thomas F. Koontz thought the donation would be a good way to give back to God, whom he credited with saving his teenage daughter's brain cancer. The woman from church ended up finding a different donor. So Koontz called Johns Hopkins. He offered his kidney to anyone who might needed it,

His completely selfless act started a chain of events that would allow not just one person to get a desperately needed kidney, but eight people who needed new organs to keep them alive.

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital this morning held a press conference to announce that they -- along with doctors from hospitals in Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Detroit -- had performed a record feat. They completed an eight-way, multi-hospital, domino kidney transplant. This swap required seven pairs of people -- each made up of one person in need of a kidney and one willing to donate, but whose blood or tissue type was incompatible with the intended recipient. A computer program was fed all of the potential donor pairs and devised a complicated exchange that took place over the course of three weeks and involved several kidneys being flown around the country. At the end of the line was someone who didn't have a live donor offering a kidney, a woman who received her kidney at Hopkins last night. She was the ultimate recipient of Koontz's largesse.

"At the end of the chain, that kidney still goes to someone in great need," said Dr. Robert Montgomery, the Hopkins doc who led the transplant team. "But along the way, you're able to accomplish two, three, four, eight transplants. ...

"These are all ways of trying to optimize the number of people who are able to receive life-saving transplants."

Hopkins has been doing this for years and the number of kidneys transplanted each time seems to keep rising. At first, it may seem like a publicity stunt, an effort to outdo themselves just for the sake of it. But that is not what goes on here. The more people involved, the more people who benefit from a single kidney donation.

Montgomery says he hopes this will go a long way to address the biggest limitation in the number of kidney transplants that can be done: There aren't enough kidneys to go around.

"A transplant surgeon can maybe do 2,000 surgeries in a lifetime," he said. "The work that we're doing here will be responsible for thousands and thousands of transplants.

"What could be better?"

Baltimore Sun photo of Dr. Robert Montgomery

Michael Jackson memorial service at the Pratt [Read Street]

2009-07-07T14:08:26-07:00

The Baltimore Sun's Mary McCauley, a regular contributor on Read Street, stopped by the Enoch Pratt library, where folks could watch the Michael Jackson memorial service on a large screen. Her report: There were about 50 people at the Pratt, watching a video projected onto a large screen. Initially, there were only about 20 chairs, but as the crowd grew, workers put out more. A few people apparently were attending the funeral on their lunch break, and snacked from styrofoam containers. Others chatted with their neighbors and formed new friendships.

"I came to the Pratt because I wanted to be surrounded by llike-minded people who really care about Michael Jackson," said Tiffany McDonald, 36, of Baltimore, who attended the event with her 12-year-old daughter, Nyah. "His music expressed his compassion and love for people."

Members of the crowd swayed in time to such songs as "I'll Be There" and to a musical tribute called "I Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" written for the occasion by Stevie Wonder. Spectators wiped away tears -- and not just the women.

Regina Penton, 50, from Baltimore, was on the phone with her sister when she heard the news of of Jackson's death. "I dropped the phone," she recalled. "I couldn't believe it. My sister was like, 'Girl, are you O.K.? Are you O.K.?' I cried. I couldn't sleep."

So she made it a priority to come to the Pratt to watch the funeral. "Michael Jackson brought a lot of people together," she said.

Baltimore Sun staff photo by Tasha Treadwell

DIY cat litter [B'More Green]

2009-07-07T13:29:33-07:00

On the subject of pet waste being toxic for the environment, not only is it necessary to consider how diligently you clean up after your dogs and cats, but also how often they may be coming into contact with toxic substances. For example, did you know that clumping clay litter contains carcinogenic silica dust that can clog your cat’s lungs? Plus, the sodium bentonite that acts as a clumping agent is poisonous, as cats ingest it each time they groom themselves. One solution: newspaper litter. In about 45 minutes, you can make your own 2-3 week supply using little more than newspaper, warm water, and baking soda. Here is the full tutorial. And, to read more about what other environmental toxins may be affecting your fur baby, visit Pets for the Environment – a great site that contains helpful information for how to create a healthy environment for pets and people. (Photo by me)

Tickets for Renee Fleming's Dec. 17 recital at the Lyric Opera House on sale July 15 [Clef Notes]

2009-07-07T13:26:14-07:00

Tickets for Renee Fleming's Dec. 17 recital at the Lyric Opera House will go on sale July 15.

The golden-toned, glamorous soprano will be accompanied by pianist Gerald M. Moore in what is being described as "a recital of operatic arias."

More detailed programming is expected by September.

The Lyric's management and the newly formed Lyric Opera Foundation will use proceeds from the Fleming concert "to support The Lyric in presenting grand opera and to provide educational activities throughout the state,” as well as community outreach projects, according to a press release that quotes Ed Brody, chairman of the Lyric's board of trustees.

Tickets for the recital are priced from ...

$30 to $125.

They'll be available at the Lyric box office starting at 10 a.m. July 15, and by phone at 410-900-1150 and 410-547-7328, as well as ticketmaster.

PHOTO BY ANDREW ECCLES COURTESY OF DECCA

At least the Blue Hill Tavern has one good server [Dining@Large]

2009-07-07T13:11:28-07:00

OK, this may be the strangest e-mail of all the 10,000 that I'm reading today. (I get a little behind when I go on vacation; and Outlook won't let me send out any e-mails until I get under the mailbox size limit.) I'm taking out the names of the server and the restaurant to protect the innocent, namely me so I won't get sued. EL

My name is [deleted], and you have referred to me in two of your articles now - from [deleted]. First off, I would like to thank you for commending my service. It is not too often we, as servers, recieive compliments - particularly of that magnitude - in this industry. Without your comments i am not sure i would have been hired at the new restaurant that i am currently working at: Blue Hill Tavern in Brewers Hill. I left [deleted] because the head cook and the owner assaulted me on the way into work one morning, leaving me with a concussion. The best part of the story is that it was about a Cobb salad two nights previous - such a triviality. Well, anyway, i mainly wanted to thank you for your recognition, as it helped me get my current job. You have a strangely powerful - if not prophetic at times! - voice in the world of Baltimore dining, and it is an honor to have been included. On another note, i encourage you to check out Blue Hill Tavern - it is absolutely beautiful, and the food is phenomenal.

The Lost Symbol covers released [Read Street]

2009-07-07T12:52:38-07:00

Conspiracy theorists, ready, set, go! Publishers in the United States and Great Britain today released the covers for Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, which goes on sale Sept. 15. The U.S. version (on left) shows the Capitol surrounded by mystical symbols and a red seal that features a double-headed eagle, the number 33 and the a Latin phrase meaning "order from chaos." It looks genuinely creepy, but no less so than the dollar bill's Great Seal, an eyeball hovering over a pyramid. Brown decoders have noted the similarities to emblems of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which has a headquarters in Washington.

The U.K. version (on right) seems more straightforward. The Capitol is more prominent, presumably to emphasize to folks in the Mother Country that Washington is the mystery's setting. It also features a key with a square and compass, an age-old symbol of architecture and Freemasonry.

You can keep following the mystery on The Lost Symbol's Twitter page, where puzzles are regularly posted. Or you can get creative, deciphering this intriguing map of Washington, which has the square and compass image superimposed to link key buildings. Or take Read Street's Dan Brown quiz. (Answers here.)

The Lego lunch meeting [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-07T12:23:38-07:00

Our family got back last night from a holiday weekend road trip, and today we're easing back into the weekday routine. My son was happy to go back to camp, but for a surprising reason.

"We might have our Lego lunch meeting," he said.

Silly me, I asked what happens at the Lego lunch meeting. It sounded very serious.

"We have lunch and we talk about Legos," he said.

How do you know if you're going to have a Lego lunch meeting, I asked?

"My friend tells me if we're going to have one," my son replied.

I told him that I hoped it was productive. He nodded solemnly.

(Photo by Baltimore Sun photographer Doug Kapustin)

Recap: Michael Jackson dance party at Bourbon Street [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-07T11:56:00-07:00

Last week, Bourbon Street hosted a Michael Jackson tribute dance party.

When general manager Sam Chaney sent me a recap of the night, he didn't think I would publish it. He just wanted me to know how the night went. But I think Chaney's account of the night is well-written and worth reading. Check it out:

At first, I was worried that the night wouldn't be what I had hoped for. The staff had fun with it and wore gloves, hats, mirrored sun glasses, sequenced pants & socks.

But the vibe was off for the first half of the night.

Not many customers wore the glove, my dancers weren't there and we didn't play a lot of Michael (I had never met most of the dancers and didn't know what they planned to dance to so I didn't want to replay music) ...

Fishy fertilizing [Garden Variety]

2009-07-07T11:11:48-07:00

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Maryann James posts on vegetable gardening every Tuesday.

Months ago, when I first started buying pots, soil and seeds for my balcony garden, I also picked up fertilizers. I bought a box of your run-of-the-mill Miracle Grow and a bottle of fish emulsion, which had been a recommended fertilizer by my particular seed seller, Renee's Garden.

As I brought my purchase up to the counter, the friendly clerk gave me a warning: "Be careful with fish emulsion. You don't want to burn your seedlings."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but it scared me away from all fertilizers for months, until, in June, I finally decided to give my plants a bit of a perk. Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening recommends using a sprayer for your plants, but I used my own bootleg version: My watering can. I mixed up the appropriate proportions, plopped it in, and watered all my plants. Even those that didn't need a nitrogen boost. (Fish emulsion's prime benefit.)

I'm still feeling my way with all this gardening stuff. I'm still not on the level of Rodale's, which goes so far as to suggest mix-and-match fertilizer combinations and print an exhaustive list of organic fertilizers. One thing I have learned? Fish emulsion is stinky. "Don't use fish emulsion indoors, though, because of its strong odor," the Organic Gardening guide advises. "Save it for your outdoor containers and garden plants." I agree.

I'm considering using the Miracle Grow from now on, as it is a more general fertilizer, but I'm fearful of using non-organics on my edibles. Any suggestions?

(Photo by hilari @ flickr)

Save the bay, clean up after Fido! [B'More Green]

2009-07-07T10:51:56-07:00

When looking for culprits to blame for the Chesapeake Bay's foul shape, it's tempting to point fingers at smelly sewage treatment plants, or at farmers whose flocks or herds of animals produce highly visible, not to mention odoriferous, mounds of manure.

But before pointing fingers, maybe we should look a little closer to home. Household pets, particularly the legions of dogs taken for walks every day, collectively are a significant source of water pollution, experts say, and even a threat to human health.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued a report today highlighting the ways in which pollution and bacteria put humans at risk when they swim in the bay or its tributaries, when they eat locally caught fish or when they drink water from wells. I wrote a story about it for The Baltimore Sun.

The report cites the usual suspects for much of the pollution that is linked to disease-causing bacteria, harmful algal blooms and toxic substances in the water. It points to farm animal waste, for instance, as a likely source of nitrates getting into ground water and people's wells on the Eastern Shore and in southeastern Pennsylvania.

But it's another story in urban and suburban areas. According to a state study, pet waste is the leading source of bacteria found in a stretch of the Severn River where a few years earlier a Crownsville man acquired a life-threatening bacterial infection after swimming with a mild scrape on his leg.

The 2008 state study estimated that 69 percent of the bacteria found in the water came from pets, with wildlife contributing about 24 percent, livestock and humans just three percent each. And the report noted that about 41 percent of the dog owners in the area admitted they do not pick up after their pets most of the time.

So, fellow dog owners, ask yourselves, how diligently do you clean up after your four-footed companions? Do you scoop the poop? Put it in the trash, bury it or even flush it down your own toilet? That's what expert say you ought to be dong with it.

Mind you, I'm not perfect. We have two dogs at my house, and we do pick up after them when we go for walks. We take at least a couple plastic grocery bags along, and the bagged business winds up in a trash can along our route, or occasionally back at home - which state officials say is okay.

(As an aside, this is one argument for not banning plastic bags from supermarkets - though I imagine some enterprising soul could market disposable doggie-doo mitts.)

But we aren't doing the right thing routinely with our dogs' droppings in our own yard. Usually, we simply remove the offending deposit from footpaths and redeposit it along the back fence, away from the house. But state officails say it really shouldn't be left in the open, even in a wooded area. The next rain will break it up and carry at least some of the bacteria and excess nutrients into the nearest storm drain, and ultimately the local stream.

So I guess I'll bring along a bag or a shovel when I make the backyard sweeps from now on. Let me know if you have any better ideas. We'll be doing the bay, and our neighbors, a big favor by doing something with that doo-doo. If we want clean water, we have to take responsibility for what we can do.

For more on pet waste's impact on the bay, go here.

AP photo

Michael Jackson memorial: What a day of TV mourning [Z on TV]

2009-07-07T10:30:09-07:00

TV coverage of the Michael Jackson’s death had it all Tuesday: helicopter freeway shots of the funeral procession, an army of breathless anchors to ratchet up anticipation and, last but not least, the singer’s gold-plated, flower-draped casket on view for a massive worldwide audience.

Yet through all the media build-up, anticipation and pomp, the actual memorial service remained extraordinarily moving and elegant.

Talk about a day of TV worthy of the king of pop spectaculars. Maybe the difference lies mainly in all the new media that have arrived in the last 30 years, but Elvis Presley went out like a peasant in 1977 compared to Jackson's TV sendoff Tuesday.

The TV coverage started early on the network morning shows, and it was as wild and uneven as Jackson's remarkable life and career.

Wow. Nobody guessed the mystery bar. [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-07T10:17:00-07:00

Ha! Alexander D. Mitchell IV and I finally stumped ya.

Despite multiple clues and several days of guessing time, nobody could figure out the identity of the mystery bar in the latest Name That Bar contest.

So, you wanna know what it was? ...

Bay advocates point finger at Fido [Unleashed]

2009-07-07T10:04:57-07:00

My colleagues over at the Sun's green blog, B'More Green, just posted something dog owners will no doubt find troubling. Advocates for the Chesapeake Bay say our pets, specifically dogs, are bigtime polluters.

Tim Wheeler writes:

... According to a state study, pet waste is the leading source of bacteria found in a stretch of the Severn River where a few years earlier a Crownsville man acquired a life-threatening bacterial infection after swimming with a mild scrape on his leg.

From the beer blogs: Drinking songs [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-07T09:58:02-07:00

As I cruised the blogosphere this week looking for inspiration for this post, I found a list of the Top 25 Country Drinking Songs. It was great fun, although wide open to debate as to whether they're the best out there. I soon discovered that lists of favorite or best drinking songs exist for almost every musical genre.

Another discovery involved the mere definition of a drinking song. Is it a song about drinking or is it a song to be belted out while drinking? Or does it matter? The following lists include both.

There's no shortage of drinking songs in country music and winnowing down to a list of any manageable size is a chore and opens the door to endless debate. The country music list I chose came from AOL Music's blog, The Boot. Most of the songs are contemporary country, which ignores many of the great classic songs including my all-time favorite, Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass." What I like about this list, though, is that each entry offers "Cheers-worthy lines" from the song. What I wasn't crazy about is that each of the 25 songs is a post unto itself, meaning you have to click through page after page to digest the entire list. Good for traffic, I suppose. Yahoo Music's blog, The Y! Radish, offers a list of the best hip-hop drinking songs, complete with clips of each of the 12 songs. Be forewarned that these do not make for safe family-friendly listening. Included among these picks is Snoop Dog's "Gin and Juice II." Personally, I prefer the original "G&J," particularly a version done by the Austin, Texas band The Gourds, which could just as easily be part of the country song list. This next list falls into the category of songs not about drinking but good to shout while you're drinking. The Rock and Roll View blog offers its list of Best Beer-Drinking Songs for Hell Raisers. The list is heavy with heavy metal bands like Metallica, Kiss, Motley Crue, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. Listen to it loud and make sure you stretch out your neck before doing those violent head bobs. Any list of drinking-song lists must include Irish drinking songs (remember, this is Sullivan writing today). The old sots on the old sod when not putting glass to lips were putting pen to paper. Blogger Marc Gunn, who describes himself as a Celtic American musician and podcaster, doesn't try to put a limit on the number of Irish drinking songs, but instead links out to many other sources where readers can find treasure troves of the songs. Included in Gunn's list is a link to a group of his own recordings, and also the strangest thing I found, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. I guess if you're drinking and singing, anything will do. Do you have favorites of your own? Let us know in the comments. I'm going to leave you today with my aforementioned favorite, which was excluded from the country list, Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass."

More news on Baltimore Beer Week [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-07T09:57:15-07:00

I am on the committee planning Baltimore Beer Week, Oct. 8 to 18. Here are the latest developments.

Ten days of celebration will begin with a VIP opening tap event on the Constellation in the Inner Harbor on Oct. 8. Specific information and a limited number of tickets will soon be available on the Baltimore Beer Week Web site.

After the initial cask has been tapped on the ship, beer will flow at a number of beer dinners and tastings held throughout the Baltimore area, according to Joe Gold, the week's chief organizer. A detailed list will appear on the site, he said.

In other developments:

* Clipper City Brewing Co. will serve as the flagship sponsor of Baltimore Beer Week, and Flying Dog Brewing Co. has become a gold sponsor of the week.

*Sponsorships, starting at $50, are available for anyone interested in being a part of the inaugural Baltimore Beer Week event, Gold said. (Contact info@baltimorebeerweek.com for more information.)

* The Brewers Association of Maryland Oktoberfest will take place during Baltimore Beer Week on Oct. 10 at the Timonium Fairgrounds. Details here.

* The Chesapeake Real Ale Festival put on by the Society for Preservation of Beers from the Wood will take place during Baltimore Beer Week on Oct. 17 at the Pratt Street Ale House. Details here.

*An embellished Baltimore Beer Week Web site is scheduled to go live next week. To get on the e-mail list and to receive Facebook and Twitter updates, visit the beer week's Web site.

Logo courtesy Baltimore Beer Week

How her garden grows [Garden Variety]

2009-07-07T09:54:58-07:00

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Maryann James posts on vegetable gardening every Tuesday.

A Garden Variety reader, Deborah in Annapolis, caught wind of the Veggie Challenge and decided to share one of her garden successes, a head of lettuce she said was "almost too pretty to eat."

(Don't worry -- she did eat it; after taking this photo, it went straight to the salad bowl.)

"Don't ask what kind of lettuce it is," she wrote. "It was in a summer lettuce mix." After some preliminary research, I would guess salad bowl, but I could be wrong. (Any more educated guesses?)

Anyone else have some lovely veggie garden photos and/or stories they're willing to share? I'll share some of my own later today.

Michelle in Moscow [Garden Variety]

2009-07-07T09:51:49-07:00

And you thought it was all about her clothes.

First Lady Michelle Obama arrived on Moscow Monday on her second international trip and the chatter is all about - her vegetable garden.

Robin Givhan of The Washington Post, traveling with the Obamas, said the magazine "cover stories and street chatter have focused on her White House Kitchen garden rather than her clothes, her Ivy League pedigree or her interest in promoting public service."

The coverage includes familiar photos of Mrs. Obama wearing a windbreaker, her hair pulled back, on her hands and knees planting the vegetable garden with her elementary school children helpers.

Givhan reports that the headline on the cover of one magazine read: "The Queen of the Fields: Michelle Obama and her husband can overturn our understanding of America."

The interest of Muscovites, writes Givhan, seems to be more on how she raises her children and runs the White Household. Tending a garden, something many Russian women also do, strikes a chord.

For more on this topic, check out Givhan's story in The Post.

Big Poppa's replaces Horsefeathers Pub near Patterson Park [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-07T07:40:00-07:00

A new spot named Big Poppa's Bar & Grill has replaced the old dive Horsefeathers Pub at 40 N. Streeper St. near Patterson Park.

While the new owners, Shannon Lanier and Rico Amero (pictured), are following a familiar blueprint, the renovation process is surprisingly transparent.

Lanier and Amero, who are leasing the building, have uploaded floor plans and a detailed business plan to the bar's Web site. Check 'em out. You don't see behind-the-scenes stuff like this too often.

Their reasoning seems to be two-fold. First, they want investors. Second, they want the community to know what they're about.

"It's probably not the normal mode of business," Lanier said. "It gives everyone the idea that we're not just some corporation coming in."

Even though the wave of renovations and development in Patterson Park seems to have abated, they think they are enough young professionals to keep this place afloat.

Lanier and Amero have a six-month plan for the space. Already, renovations are underway ...

Watch Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Pratt [Read Street]

2009-07-07T07:39:38-07:00

Michael Jackson isn't the first name that comes to mind when I think about great books (though Read Street has noted his interest in Batman and other classic heroes from the comics).

But Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library exists to be more than a repository of great books. So Tuesday at 1 p.m., fans of the King of Pop can watch TV coverage of his memorial service on a 10-foot by 10-foot screen in the main hall of the Pratt's central branch, at 400 Cathedral Street. The most recent event broadcast in the hall was President Obama's inauguration.

“The Pratt Library has always shown history making events on television screens on display at the Central Library Main Hall,” Carla D. Hayden, who heads the Pratt, said in a statement. “From man landing on the moon to the inauguration of President Obama, the Pratt has simulcast news making events.”

AP photo of Jackson in a May 6 rehearsal for planned 2009 concert tour

The worst books at your library [Read Street]

2009-07-07T07:39:09-07:00

While I'm hesitant to kick libraries when they're down, I couldn't pass up the chance to share the Awful Libary Books blog.

Created by two Michigan librarians, Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner, the site chronicles the absolute worst books discovered on library shelves. We're talking The New York Times' 1985 guide to the return of Haley's Comet, a Star Power manual, outlining how to use obsolete computer programs I've never even heard of, and a 1962 book about what man will do when we reach the moon someday.

As Kelly and Hibner point out, these books aren't bad per se, they're just horribly outdated and could now actually be harmful for anyone trying to find information they can actually use.

Anyone here want to use a medical tome about AIDS that's about 20 years out of date? I didn't think so.

The best part is, they're always looking for more material. So the next time you find a book that makes you giggle, roll your eyes or even head for the trash can, snap a picture and send it to Awful Library Books where we can all "enjoy" it.

Michael Jackson memorial: TV day starts with strain [Z on TV]

2009-07-07T06:45:25-07:00

From the Harlem Gospel Choir singing "We Are the World" in Times Square outside the ABC News studio, to CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker at Forest Lawn Cemetery quoting unnamed "sources" as to whether or not Michael Jackson was buried Monday night, the networks got up early Tuesday to kick off their national day of TV mourning.

Outside of weather and news at the "top of the hour," as the anchors says, the morning shows were jammed packed with Jackson coverage even if it was only 4 a.m. in Los Angeles when Today, Good Morning America and The Early Show hit the airwaves.

Morning shows can be embarrassing on regular days, but when it comes to big events for which they don't have any kind of particular news access or exclusives, they can be downright pathetic. Count Harry Smith, co-host of the CBS Early Show, in that category for fawning over Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart like she was Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein combined because Jackson invited her to some of his concerts and to dinner in his hotel suite and, in at least one case, gave her a "gift," according to Hart.

Sarah Palin: Still in need of a remedial civics class [Z on TV]

2009-07-07T06:00:08-07:00

If you want a quick break from Michael Jackson coverage before the memorial service begins, check out this interview with Sarah Palin by ABC News correspondent Kate Snow.

It was just posted this morning, and it features Snow asking Palin about the ethics investigations that the Alaska governor has been citing as among the reasons for her abrupt resignation.

What would Palin do if she were president of the United States and there were ethics investigations, Snow asked. The answer is priceless.

Seeking Obsessed Harry Potter Fans From Maryland [Read Street]

2009-07-07T05:37:27-07:00

The title of this blog entry says it all. I'm seeking the most obsessed Harry Potter fans imaginable for a story I'm writing for Sunday's paper. I'm particularly interested in those who demonstrate extreme behavior.

Is there anyone out there who re-reads all seven Harry Potter books each year? Any otherwise sane adults who named their firstborn son, "Albus"? Anyone who has actually trying to invent a "Marauder's Map" or a flying broomstick?

(Don't laugh -- according to an article in Science magazine, researchers at Duke and Berkeley have actually come up with something they're calling a cloak of invisibility.)

The catch -- you knew there would be a catch -- is that you have to live in Maryland, and you have to be willing to have your real name printed in The Sun.

If you, umm, "qualify," please e-mail your name, e-mail address and a daytime phone number to: mary.mccauley@baltsun.com

Thanks. I think.

Can long trips be bad for your health? [Picture of Health]

2009-07-07T05:01:24-07:00

Long-distance travel may increase the risk of potentially deadly blood clots, a new study published today suggests, and the longer the trip, the greater risk of danger.

The relationship between venous thromboembolism -- clots that form in the veins, typically the leg, and can be deadly if they move to the lungs -- and travel has long been suggested. But previous studies have yielded contradictory findings. The study, published in this week's issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, looks back at previous data and finds that travel by any means is associated with a three-fold higher risk of these blood clots. And when limited to air travel, that relationship was even stronger: For every two additional hours on a plane was associated with a 26 percent increase in risk for blood clots.

Still, don't panic. These clots are still relatively uncommon. ...

Doctors aren't sure why the clots form more often during travel, but they suspect it has something to do with the fact that passengers spend so much time sitting still. They recommend moving around and staying hydrated to help stave off the clots.

And pay attention to symptoms: Leg pain, swelling, redness, and warmth in the affected limb. Of course these can be a sign of all sorts of things, but if you see a doctor for these symptoms soon after traveling, don't forget to tell your doctor you have been on a long trip. A college friend, otherwise healthy and in her mid-thirties, was complaining of pain in her leg after a many-hour flight from Mexico to New York over the holidays last year. Her pain even brought her to the doctor's office a few days later. He didn't ask her if she had been on a plane. The next day she died from a pulmonary embolism.

Thoughts on ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz's Dundalk show [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-07T05:00:00-07:00

Kevin Eck (of Ring Posts fame) was at the Dundalk Heritage Fair Sunday for Monkee Mick Dolenz's show. Here's what Kevin thought of it:

I'm sure there are a lot of people who consider The Monkees to be a guilty pleasure, but I’m not one of them.

Despite plenty of ribbing from friends and co-workers over the years, I have never felt guilty about being a fan of the 1960s made-for-TV band.

So what if The Monkees did not write the lyrics or play the instruments on their early hits? The undeniable fact is that The Monkees have an extensive catalog of great pop songs that have stood the test of time.

That's why I was so excited to see my favorite Monkee, Mick Dolenz (pictured), play Sunday night at the Dundalk Heritage Fair.

Dolenz is now 64, so I didn’t know what to expect, but he and his band performed with verve and put on a fun show.

Remarkably, Dolenz’s voice didn’t sound much different than it did during The Monkees' heyday more than 40 years ago. ...

'SYTYCD': Talking with Annapolis dancer Caitlin Kinney [Reality Check]

2009-07-07T04:00:54-07:00

Mary Carole McCauley got a chance to catch up with Annapolis dancer Caitlin Kinney yesterday. The 21-year-old is in the Top 12 on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, which airs on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Here's Mary:

After portraying an alien attempting to impregnate her human prey, Caitlin Kinney fully expected to be in danger of elimination last week on Fox’s hit reality show So You Think You Can Dance.

Before Thursday night’s results show was broadcast, the lithe, 21-year-old from Annapolis rehearsed the "dance for your life" solo required of competitors who receive the fewest viewer votes.

"Honestly, I didn’t think there was any way Jason and I weren’t going to be in the bottom three," she says, referring to her partner, Jason Glover. "We’ve been hanging on by our teeth. When I found out we were safe, I was just flabbergasted."

Kinney, who studied at Baltimore School for the Arts and trained as a classical ballerina, wrapped up an intense day of practicing by chatting about the ups and downs of the competition thus far, and her future plans.

Q: None of the dance styles you’ve assigned so far play to your strengths. Has that been hard?

A: It has been frustrating. I’d love to have a chance to dance something more lyrical. Of course, we don’t choose what dance styles we’ve been given, or what we wear. I’ll be honest, I was a little jealous when Melissa [Sandvig] got to dance a pas de deux in toe shoes last week. At the same time, the harder you work, the greater your rewards. I’d rather get a style that plays to our strengths later in the competition.

Speaking of the Garden [Garden Variety]

2009-07-07T03:12:27-07:00

A garden without a fence is like a dog without a tail. -- Moroccan Proverb

A 149th birthday salute to Gustav Mahler [Clef Notes]

2009-07-07T03:12:22-07:00

I won't go on and on again about Mahler, a topic I fear I return to much too often. Suffice it to say that, on this, the 149th anniversary of his birth (July 7, 1860), I have to have some of his music.

At some point today, in the privacy of my home, I'll dig out and play through portions of the piano transcriptions I've been fortunate to find of several of his symphonies (his spirit may be offended by my mistakes at the keyboard, but he'll surely adore my rubato). In this public forum, I'll share ...

one of my favorite Mahler movements, the beguiling Andante from his Symphony No. 6, which you'll have to watch/listen in two segments. That minor inconvenience will surely be worth it as you savor this glowing live performance by the Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Taking Time for No. 2 [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-07T03:12:14-07:00

This Tween Tuesday, Liz Atwood writes about how the house changes when one tween is away...

My older son is at overnight camp and that means his 8-year-old younger brother is an only child this week. On Sunday, I took him to the pool and we left when he asked to go. I treated him to dinner at the restaurant he chose and he watched the TV program he wanted to watch before going to bed. The afternoon was unmarred by whining, bickering, name-calling or tattle-telling.

I've heard stories of the abrupt shift in family dynamics when one child goes off to college and parents suddenly discover the younger sibling who has been sitting quietly at the dinner table. While my younger son and I do occasionally do things without my older son, I look at this week as the chance to get to know my younger son a little better outside his big brother's shadow.

Of course, having a parent's undivided attention can be both a good thing and a bad thing. This week, he will be the only one I'll nag to do summer reading and math workbooks. And while he might think it's great he doesn't have to share the TV this week, he was so desperate to have someone to play video games with the other night that he tried teaching his 72-year-old grandmother how to work the Xbox controls.

It's going to be an interesting week. Have you had occasion to discover a younger child when big brother or sister was away? Were there surprises in how the family dynamics changed?

Calling all tennis fans [Read Street]

2009-07-06T11:13:47-07:00

Want to speak your mind about the latest "best Wimbledon final ever" and get a chance to win Strokes of Genius by L. Jon Wertheim while you're at it?

Stop by Second Opinion and tell me what you think of Federer and the state of tennis today.

And no, you don't have to agree with me in order to win.

Michael Jackson coverage could set record Tuesday [Z on TV]

2009-07-06T10:38:46-07:00

At 12 days and counting, the length of coverage has already run longer than anyone’s idea of a state funeral. Tuesday, the degree of saturation of TV coverage on the death of Michael Jackson reaches the boiling point.

All of the major networks and cable news channels will be offering live coverage of the Jackson memorial service starting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Staples center in Los Angeles.

NBC had looked as if it would skip live coverage and go only with a one-hour prime-time special Tuesday night. But network executives changed their plans Sunday, and announced that NBC will join ABC and CBS in covering the memorial service live with their top anchors. Both Today show co-host Meredith Vieira and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams will be at the Staples Center Tuesday.

Vieira will serve as co-host of Tuesday’s Today show, while Williams anchors the memorial service. ABC has Charles Gibson penciled in at the anchor desk live from the Staples Center for its full court press Tuesday afternoon.

Resurrecting Merriweather Post Pavilion [Midnight Sun]

2009-07-06T10:15:00-07:00

I had a piece in yesterday's paper about the remarkable turnaround at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

This is an amphitheater that was on its last legs a few years ago.

Since then, promoter Seth Hurwitz has led a remarkable comeback, topped by the Virgin Mobile FreeFest, which Merriweather hosts Aug. 30.

Check out the piece.

Besides the bit about the turnaround, it has some interesting history about the venue ...

'Real World: D.C.' drama already [Reality Check]

2009-07-06T09:39:17-07:00

The kids have moved in, and filming has started on The Real World: D.C., and, not surprisingly since they are situated right in Dupont Circle, it's feeling a little crowded around there.

The Anti-Real World D.C. blog is chronicling the experience of living just feet away from the production. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun. (The lights are on all the time. The security staff is reportedly jerky and pushing the limits, yelling at people who are walking by on public property. Tour buses are already starting to drive by.)

For others in the area, the blog also keeps track of which bars and other establishments are not letting the cast and crew in, and which are.

Living that close to a reality-show production (especially one that is trying to keep everything so off the record) can't be fun, but reading about it will probably be far more entertaining than the actual show.

Update: Here's what happened when a local news reporter tried to interview an onlooker about the show. (That's a RW cameraman who keeps bodily getting in the way. Classy!):

Reading rack: "Street Farmer" in NYT Mag [B'More Green]

2009-07-06T09:26:26-07:00

There was a great feature in The New York Times magazine Sunday on Will Allen and his Growing Power group trying to bring good food to the inner city through urban farming.

An interesting example of the group's ingenuity -- raising tilapia and perch in tanks and recycling the wastewater through watercress beds. Worm ranching, too, to help revitalize nutrient-poor urban soil. You can read the piece here, and find out more about Growing Power here.

Michael Sheppard's piano recital celebrates the art of fantasy and transcription [Clef Notes]

2009-07-06T09:24:40-07:00

Michael Sheppard does not, apparently, think small. His piano recital Sunday afternoon at An die Musik (a preview of one he will perform soon in Singapore) was jammed with challenging repertoire. That he not only made it through unscathed, but also managed to keep everything interesting, says a lot about the Peabody-trained pianist.

He has done a lot of admirable work in the area over the years, especially with the Monument Piano Trio, and his educational pedigree -- his teachers included two keyboard poets, Leon Fleisher and Ann Schein -- invariably seems to shine through in Sheppard's playing. So it was here.

The big-ticket items were two opera-inspired showpieces by piano virtuosos from different eras, Sigismund Thalberg and Earl Wild. Thalberg doesn't get much attention these days, although he once was mentioned in the same breath as Liszt. His Grand Fantasy on Themes from Donizetti's 'Don Pasquale' is great fun, with lots of delectable filigree and finger-busting pyrotechnics surrounding the melodies, sometimes at the expense of ...

those tunes (Thalberg treats the lilting Come' e gentil in rather blustery fashion, for some reason). Although Sheppard could have added more rhythmic and tonal nuance in places, he had the music singing engagingly and, other than a slightly cloudy coda, he met the virtuosic demands impressively.

Wild's overly generous Fantasy on Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess' is quite the tour de force, the sort of thing only a great pianist could write. It also manages to conjure up something of the flavor of Gershwin's own electric playing. Sheppard seemed thoroughly comfortable with both the bravura demands and the stylistic idiom; the music was given an expressive surge.

The recitalist also showed off his own skills in the transcription department, performing highly effective arrangements of three songs by Samuel Barber. Time was when pianists routinely arranged vocal or orchestral pieces for themselves. Sheppard's clearly got the knack for it.

I enjoyed, too, one of his original compositions, Invitation to Travel, which sounds like a potential soundtrack just waiting for the right moody indie film to come along. The initial theme (it seems to hint at the intergalactic tune from Close Encounters of the Third Kind) is put through imaginative paces in a tonal, pop-flavored, directly communicative style. The performance, of course, was authoritative.

The long program also had room for a crisply articulated Haydn Sonata and two Barcarolles -- the well-known one by Chopin (the playing need just a little more eloquence) and a recent, very moody and slightly over-extended one by Peter Klatzow (delivered with abundant sensitivity).

PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN COLBERG COURTESY OF MONUMENT PIANO TRIO

Calling all Facebook MDs [Picture of Health]

2009-07-06T09:07:02-07:00

My friend Rebecca posted something about her toe Friday night on her Facebook page. Rebecca wrote that she thought "it's broken; my husband thinks it's just bruised. Either way, my toe hurts."

What struck me about this was the response that came from her friend Tracy less than an hour later: "Post pix and let your FB MDs decide."

I loved this reply. Health topics that were once taboo (OK, maybe not broken toes) are now open for discussion -- on Facebook, no less. As a medical reporter, I've had more than one man start a conversation with me about his prostate exam and PSA numbers. But more often, in talking to friends, we discuss ours ailments or our kids' maladies and try to make armchair diagnoses. A lot of them figure our combined knowledge could be (nearly) as good as any docs. I wouldn't go that far, but that doesn't mean I don't engage in a little informal doctoring of my own.

Do you and your friends "play doctor," trying to diagnose one another? Do you use Facebook to do it? Twitter?

Photo/Getty Images

Are we crabby about the "theft" of Natty [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-06T07:56:16-07:00

Apparently, the new nickname of Natural Lite, the InBev light beer, is Natty Light.

Stuart Elliot asks in his column in The New York Times today if fans of Natty Boh are upset that this nickname is very similar to that of Baltimore's once favorite beer.

In other words, can you call a beer Natty if you don't go "down the ocean."

Is this an affront to our local argot?

Is this another example of corporate marketers twisting local loyalties?

Or is it just one thin beer using the clever name of another thin beer to gain market edge.?

Whose your Natty?

Photo: Capital News Service

The strange summer of flu [Picture of Health]

2009-07-06T06:39:21-07:00

"If you've seen one influenza season, you've seen one influenza season," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has told me more than once. It's an attempt at some medical humor, I guess, but there may be plenty of truth in his quip.

Researchers and public health officials have been trying to pin down this H1N1 virus since it hit the U.S. in April. They don't know if it will stay mild (it has sickened an estimated 1 million in the U.S. but killed 170 at last count). They thought it would go away over the summer since flu usually does, but in many places, more people keep coming down with it. The official number of new confirmed cases in Maryland, for example, has risen every week since the first case was confirmed here in May (and, officials say, those numbers are likely much higher since most people who get sick don't visit the doctor and most people who go to the doctor aren't getting tested for flu). Experts predict the virus could come back worse for flu season this fall and winter, like the Spanish Influenza of 1918 did. That remains to be seen, of course. ...

The truth is, since this is a new strain of the flu, health officials haven't a clue how it will behave. They want us to be wary of the swine flu, but not afraid. They want us to be comforted by the fact that the symptoms are mild, but concerned enough to avoid catching it if at all possible. They want us not to cry out that a vaccine is needed unless they are able to mass-produce one in time for the coming flu season. Then they will want us to line up and get immunized.

Said Dr. David Blythe, the state's epidemiologist: "It's hard to know what to expect when you have a new flu virus."

Photo courtesy of CDC

Handmade in Maine [B'More Green]

2009-07-06T06:16:50-07:00

I visited Damariscotta, Maine, this weekend. It's a small coastal town where the green living culture is alive and well. Around here, folks seem to believe firmly in supporting local agriculture and local artists. It seems that everyone has a wonderful awareness of what the earth has to offer them. The shops are difficult to resist as they are full of organic treats, local art, recycled and handmade goods. After the local 4th of July parade on Saturday, I went browsing down the main street and happened upon Milo in Maine, a company based in Portland that produces handmade shirts for men, women, kids and babies. I couldn't resist purchasing one of their silver jellyfish tees, which is printed on the softest organic cotton I've ever worn. And, to accompany my new T-shirt, I splurged on a Sea Bag tote made from recyled sails. Each one is designed and inspired from a sail and has hand-spliced rope handles. They are also machine washable and incredibly durable. I guess I just wanted to brag a little about my weekend and also share my excitement over discovering such a lively and prolific craft culture here in Maine. If you have a chance this summer or maybe even in the fall, take a breather from Baltimore and make your way up to Damariscotta. I promise that you'll love it. Photo courtesy of Milo in Maine

Napping at day care, but not at home [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-06T03:58:20-07:00

PineappleBabble asked: "Why does my infant always nap so well at daycare and so poorly on the weekends?! Srsly - there must be a medical reason."

Kim West, the "Sleep Lady" of Severna Park, had some suggestions:

"That is not an unusual comment! I find the answer is often twofold: First your baby is happy to see you and prefers spending time with you over napping. Pick connection time (touching, playing, nurturing) over errands and house cleaning -- do those things during nap time. Ask your daycare provider what time your baby naps, how long, and most importantly how they put him/her to sleep or back to sleep if she awakens from a short nap. If the daycare nap schedule is consistent and at reasonable times then aim for the same times at home. Include a soothing pre-nap ritual. Important side note - make sure your baby knows how to put him/herself to sleep independently at bedtime, which will help with naps."

(Photo courtesy of chimothy27's Flickr stream via Creative Commons)

Castleton Festival on Lorin Maazel's Virginia estate opens with compelling 'Turn of the Screw' [Clef Notes]

2009-07-06T03:32:04-07:00

Castleton Farms, the 550-acre Virginia estate of celebrated conductor Lorin Maazel, is sort of like Michael Jackson’s Neverland, without the tackiness. In addition to the stately manor house, the well-manicured grounds include an intimate theater, a pool house, lakes (one of them where a group of ostriches and at least one swan hang out), and a zoo that boasts a camel, a zebra, a “zonkey,” pigs, goats and llamas. It’s all very cool, classy, and very welcoming.

The opening weekend of the 2009 Castleton Festival included an open house on the Fourth of July, when the public was invited to roam about freely (you wouldn’t believe the snazzy portable toilets that were brought in for the visitors); take tours of the house where Maazel and his wife, actress Dietlinde Turban-Maazel, live part of the year; and attend a production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, the first of the festival's four Britten stage pieces this summer (only the opera had an admission price).

The festival is a project of the Castleton Foundation, which the Maazels established in 1997 to ...

mentor young artists. Up-and-coming singers, instrumentalists and conductors -- something like 200 in all -- are gaining valuable training and experience, while folks living in the area or willing to make the drive (it took 2 hours and 15 minutes each way on Saturday from north Baltimore) get to enjoy the artistic results. The festival will include orchestral concerts later on, featuring members of the New York Philharmonic, where Maazel just finished up his tenure as music director with an unusually broad-paced, ultimately enriching performance of Mahler’s Eighth.

A few years ago, Maazel led The Turn of the Screw, his first performance of a Britten stage work, as part of the summer mentoring program. That staging, unveiled in the Theater House at Castleton, was subsequently presented at the Kennedy Center. The new production would be deserving of exposure elsewhere as well.

Saturday afternoon’s performance boasted a uniformly dynamic cast, superb playing by students from London’s Royal College of Music, taut and involving direction by William Kerley, and typically masterful conducting by Maazel. Nicholas Vaughan’s stark, yet evocative, sets and costumes were a significant asset. Same for Rie Ono’s lighting (the way she illuminated the fateful, sealed letter in the second act was especially fine).

Attending an opera in this warm, wood-filled theater, which seats only 130 on six rows on the main floor and a small balcony, automatically means an extra level of involvement in the music and drama. On Saturday, there was very little distance separating opera-goers from the performers, who often moved onto a lip of the stage that extended beyond the cozy orchestra pit, and, in the case of the two ghosts in the work, sometimes appeared right alongside unsuspecting patrons. This in-your-face element was ideal for such a tense, fast-moving piece as The Turn of the Screw.

Charlotte Dobbs was a persuasive Governess, her growing fear and concern registering with telling force. She revealed a silvery soprano and considerable expressive nuance (her fast vibrato seemed doubly appropriate, given the plot). Steven Ebel made a particularly strong impression as Quint, and not just for the way he managed to sing so vividly while practically hanging by a thread over the balcony in his first scene. Throughout, the tenor produced a honeyed tone and negotiated even the most florid lines with admirable smoothness. He conveyed the curious attractiveness and hideous insinuations of the spectral character in compelling fashion.

For the most part, 13-year-old Harry Risoleo, as Miles, offered confident, effective work, musically and dramatically. Kirby Anne Hall’s colorful singing added to her knowing portrayal of Flora. Rachel Calloway, as Mrs. Grose, sounded a bit strident at full-throttle (in this very small house, a little vocal power goes a long way), but hers was a vibrant, insightful effort. Greta Ball sang sturdily and affectingly as Miss Jessel. Brian Porter made the most of the Prologue’s brief lines, delivered with great clarity and subtlety. A potent performance all around.

The festival continues with productions of The Rape of Lucretia July 10 -12, and Albert Herring July 17-19 (Maazel conducts the first night of each). Remaining performances of Britten’s arrangement of John Gay’s The Beggars’ Opera are July 12, 16 and 18. Orchestral concerts, led by Maazel, will be held July 11 and 19.

PHOTOS OF 'THE TURN OF THE SCREW' BY NICHOLAS VAUGHAN, COURTESY OF CASTLETON FESTIVAL; PHOTOS OF CASTLETON FARMS BY YOUR HUMBLE BLOGGER

Speaking of the Garden [Garden Variety]

2009-07-06T03:12:01-07:00

Love of flowers and vegetables is not enough to make a good gardener. He must also hate weeds. -- Eugene P. Bertin

Rev. Al Sharpton recklessly attacks media on Jackson [Z on TV]

2009-07-05T22:00:01-07:00

So, now the Rev. Al Sharpton is a media critic. Well, let me tell you something. He is a very reckless one -- making racially-charged allegations without having his facts straight.

Sunday, standing in the pulpit of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, Sharpton called coverage of Michael Jackson's death "disgraceful."

"I am here because of the disgraceful and the despicable way some elements of the media have tried to destroy the legacy and image of Michael Jackson," he told the congregation, charging the media with using different standards for black and white performers.

"You have had other entertainers that have had issues in their life," he said. "But you [the media] did not degrade and denigrate them... Show the same respect for Michael and Michael's family that you showed Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley."

From what planet was Sharpton following Presley's death if he thinks tawdry aspects of Presley's life weren't reported? There was no shortage of reporting about the details of how and where Presley's body was found, the cocktail of drugs to which he was addicted and the weirdness in general of Presley's life at Graceland. And in 1977, we didn't have the vast landscape of Web and cable outlets that we do today.

Proposal for an Opera Theatre of Saint Louis-type of company in Baltimore [Clef Notes]

2009-07-05T11:48:35-07:00

After writing about Baltimore's operatic future in early May, I received a thought-provoking, extraordinarily detailed analysis from a couple of opera lovers in Annapolis, Jan and Ellen Richter. My column in the July 5 Sun refers to the ideas the Richters raised for building here something along the lines of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. It's pretty easy to get caught up in their enthusiasm, and I can already envision such a company blossoming here, either downtown in an intimate place like Centerstage, or in Towson at Goucher College (an environment not unlike the campus where OTSL performs.)

I thought it would be of interest to anyone following the Baltimore scene to have access to more of the Richters' comments, which they gave me permission to present here. There's a lot of stuff here, but I think you'll find it well worth reading. Feel free to post your reactions, or your own visions of Baltimore's operatic future.

... We believe that the next step in this discussion is to examine the financial and artistic prospects of a Baltimore Opera Company (BOC) follow-on company, and also to broaden the discussion to ask what kind of opera could succeed in Baltimore. We would like to lay out here some personal thoughts on these topics.

We believe that current trends indicate that any BOC follow-on will only succeed, if at all, at a lower artistic and financial level. Baltimore is a mid-sized metropolitan area (20th largest in the U.S.) that has shown the proven ability to devote up to $6 million per year to the former BOC. The BOC at the end of its life was in a three way competition for the grand opera audience in Baltimore along with the Metropolitan Opera High-Definition broadcasts and the nearby Washington National Opera (WNO).

While the Met broadcasts are not live opera, the casts are hard to equal and the price is very appealing ...

The WNO is located less than 40 miles from Baltimore’s Washington Monument, and the productions are major league. The cost is, however, generally higher than for the old BOC. According to Guidestar (Form 990), the budget for 7 productions at WNO is about $35 million. Thus, on a very rough basis, the old BOC had $1.5 million available for each of 4 productions, while WNO has about $5 million available for each of 7 productions.

Given the break in operatic activity, it is not likely that the Baltimore opera community will support a new company at anywhere near $6 million in the first season of operations. That old BOC budget will probably not be achieved again for at least 5 to 10 years, as the new company proves that its productions are “must see” events. Meanwhile, the Met keeps expanding the number of broadcasts and WNO seems to be expanding a budget that is already far greater than Baltimore can hope to raise. These trends figured in the demise of the former BOC and will slow the growth of a new “grand” company, since it will compete with the Met and WNO. Once money flows to the Met broadcasts and WNO, it may never return to a new grand company.

The result is that a BOC follow-on company will, with near certainty, have to ...

operate for some time, and possibly for the long run, at a much lower financial and artistic level than the old BOC ... Baltimore had the resources to compete in grand opera in 1950 at the BOC founding, but it no longer has the population or money to compete with Washington and the other great, grand operas of America ...

When BOC was founded, Baltimore was competitive in resources for funding grand opera. Today, the metro area no longer has the resources typical of those cities which support great, grand opera companies ...

The BOC budget was 4th to 8th largest among American opera companies in the early 1950s. So the reality is that the Baltimore metropolitan area population rank has fallen from 12th in 1950 to 20th now, and the BOC budget rank shortly after its founding was 4th to 8th largest but fell to 24th largest near the end of its life. By way of comparison, the 12th largest metro area now is Phoenix with 4,281,899 (1.6 times larger than Baltimore). The 8th largest opera company budget is Houston with $22,094,055 (3.6 times larger than BOC’s budget). The 4th largest opera company budget is Chicago with $56,714,466 (9.3 times larger than BOC’s budget). Baltimore is no longer in the population and budget class to compete in grand opera as successfully as the BOC did early in its life.

Given the financial and population resources of Baltimore, what kind of opera can succeed here? The goal should be to create a nationally important 21st century opera company ...

Surveying other companies in a similar budget class ... reveals that it is possible to have internationally important opera on a roughly $6 - $8 million annual budget. The two companies that jump out are Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) and Glimmerglass Opera. Two other significant companies that operate on even lower budgets (ca. $2 - $3 million) are Chicago Opera Theatre and Des Moines Metro Opera. These are all small- stage companies performing in intimate houses (fewer than 1,000 seats) and featuring young, emerging American singers.

The most direct comparison is to OTSL, the principal opera company of St. Louis. Since moving to Annapolis from St. Louis in 1999, we have continually observed the similarity between the cities of St. Louis and Baltimore. They are comparable in population and wealth, and we think, have a similar psychology. St. Louis stands in the shadow of Chicago as Baltimore does of Washington. In 1975, Baltimore had a nationally significant opera company and St. Louis had none. In 2009, Baltimore has no professional opera company with even a $250,000 budget. St. Louis has an adventuresome, small-stage opera company with a ca. $8 million annual budget that attracts audiences and critics internationally and is among America’s fiscally strongest opera companies ...

We think that circumstances in Baltimore are encouraging for the creation of a small-stage opera company based on young American singers that could live within the old BOC budget and do nationally and possibly internationally important work. The issue for Baltimore is great versus grand. Many prominent participants in the opera business attend OTSL and by their presence and critiques make clear that it is a great opera that any city could be proud of. A revived grand opera in Baltimore, given likely resources and trends will almost certainly not be able to aspire to greatness or even national notice.

The key is that St. Louis does not compete directly with the largest budget companies in the U.S. (Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco) in repertoire, singers, or performance style. With its intimate theater of 987 seats, OTSL is ideal for young voices and lets the drama almost leap off the stage ... The small house has enabled OTSL to originate 21 world and 22 US premieres in 34 seasons ...

In contrast, the old BOC and various proposed large-stage follow-on companies need to generally do relatively conservative “top 40” operas to fill the 2,500 seat Lyric theater. There are a limited number of singers who have the required large voices for the Lyric and few of the best will be affordable for any revived Baltimore grand company. The only company that will be able to financially succeed in Baltimore producing grand opera will in all probability be a pale artistic shadow of the old BOC.

So a company utilizing the current abundance of accomplished young American singers based in a suitable 500 - 1,200 seat theater and performing a mix of popular favorites and new and unusual works could thrive here and serve the local opera audience well. This could be a summer festival (St. Louis and Glimmerglass) or a regular season company (Chicago Opera Theater). Ideas could be drawn from all of these companies to create a unique Baltimore institution that looks forward to the future of opera. This type of company could make a real impression on an initial $2 - $3 million budget and would have an excellent chance of growing to the $6 million class.

In short, we believe that Baltimore will be much better off with a small-stage opera company that aspires to be great but not grand and has a real chance of high achievement, as opposed to a large-stage company that will with near certainly be always constrained by the size and resources of the city to be grand, but not great.

Finding an appropriate theater in Baltimore is clearly a challenge in creating new small-stage company. First, let’s look at the fine, but less than ideal, St. Louis theater. It has 987 seats all on one level (no balconies), and the acoustics are optimized for spoken voice. It was built about 1965 to house what became the Repertory Theater of St. Louis, which still occupies it between September and April. This is where the May-June season originated—because the theater was available. The pit was enlarged for the first season to about 35 players and has since been expanded to 55. The pit opening is small and part of the orchestra sound is swallowed up. Fortunately, the excellent St. Louis Symphony is the pit orchestra and overcomes the circumstances. There is a thrust stage with no curtain. The theater, located in suburban St. Louis, is owned by Webster University, which uses it for some academic activities during the winter months in addition to usage by the Repertory Theater. Nevertheless, great opera has found a home here for 34 seasons.

The Glimmerglass Opera house is our favorite in this size class. It has balconies for very short viewing distances, a larger pit and good acoustics (to our ears). This is another adventuresome opera company that operates on roughly the same budget as the old BOC and attracts national and international attention.

We are not so familiar with the resources of Baltimore as to be able to suggest an appropriate theater, and finding a suitable venue will likely be a challenge. We both thought that the larger house at Center Stage might have possibilities for a summer opera. It reminds us of the OTSL theater. The auditorium at Goucher College struck us as having the same general “feel” and park-like setting as at OTSL. Perhaps a college or junior college theater could be used for a summer opera. Someone with imagination and a solid knowledge of stage and orchestra requirements needs to scour the area for possibilities.

In full disclosure, please note: While Jan is currently a board member of Opera Vivente and Ellen has been, the purpose of these musings is to advocate adventuresome, small stage opera for Baltimore, not any specific company. We have also been subscribers and supporters of OTSL since 1978 and are currently members of the OTSL National Patrons Council. We are also looking forward to our 7th Glimmerglass season.

We would love to see the excitement and originality that characterizes OTSL and Glimmerglass appearing regularly on a stage in Baltimore. We further believe that such a company could relatively quickly (less than 10 years) become one of the crown jewels of the Baltimore cultural scene.

Sincerely yours,

Jan Paul Richter

Ellen von Seggern Richter

PHOTOS BY KEN HOWARD OF OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS GROUNDS AND THEATER, COURTESY OF OTSL

Celebrating the Fourth of July with the incomparable voice of Leontyne Price [Clef Notes]

2009-07-04T05:00:18-07:00

Happy Fourth of July.

For a fabulous blast of vocal patriotism, you can't beat this a cappella performance of "God Bless America" by indelible soprano Leontyne Price, from a concert appearance in 2001. She has always been one of my favorite artists -- a singer with an extraordinarily rich tone and deep expressive power, a woman of ...

great dignity and integrity. I didn't get to hear her in operas before her retirement, but in several concerts that I'll never forget -- not to mention her thrilling a cappella ''America the Beautiful" last fall in Washington, when she was honored at the NEA Opera Awards. At 81, she still sounded supreme. Here she is, filmed in her 70s, delivering Irving Berlin's stirring anthem. Hearing Miss Price her gives me all the fireworks I need for this day.

No holiday for TV channels chasing Sarah Palin news [Z on TV]

2009-07-03T15:42:13-07:00

You can tell a lot about a news operation by how it responds to a breaking news story on a holiday or weekend when the A-Team is away.

I first wrote that in November about cable coverage of the Mumbai attacks and the sorry performance by MSNBC, which mainly stuck to its canned lineup of prison documentaries while CNN and Fox scrambled to cover the story live.

Well, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin dropped a political bombshell late Friday afternoon in announcing that she would resign only two and a half years into her term, and it was fascinating to watch the 24/7 channels already in holiday mode chase the story.

MSNBC responded this time. Even though the program guide had a prison documentary slated for the 4 p.m. hour, MSNBC had Alex Witt at the anchor desk and such analysts as A.M. Stoddard, of The Hill, dissecting Palin's resignation.

From Judy Garland, a musical start to the Fourth of July weekend [Clef Notes]

2009-07-03T08:27:34-07:00

The other day, I posted about the 40th anniversary of Judy Garland's death. I still have her on my mind, so I thought I'd turn to her for something musical to start the Fourth of July weekend.

Here she is from her CBS TV show (a show that should have gone much longer, but was thwarted by corporate idiots who didn't appreciate what they had), coming out of her tramp-outfit routine to sing "America the Beautiful."

Visually, the transition may look odd at first, but ...

I think there's something rather touching about it, a way of affirming the American spirit in the face of adversity. And it sure seems all the more relevant now that so many people in this country have so many troubles again.

When you hear Judy sing this song, our unofficial second national anthem, it's easy to believe all will soon be good and strong again.

Turning watermelons into energy? [B'More Green]

2009-07-03T06:38:23-07:00

As we enter the peak watermelon-eating season, it turns out someone has figured out a new use for all the juicy red fruit that doesn't get slurped down over the Independence Day holiday weekend - fuel to run your car!

According to Inside Science News Service, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service in Lane, Okla., have been processing watermelons to extract their lycopene and citrulline, two substances believed to boost heart health. A chemist there, Wayne Fish, figured out that the juice left over after that extraction was rich in sugars that could be fermented into ethanol. He estimated that a 20-pound melon would yield about seven-tenths of a pound of ethanol.

If you think that's an awful waste for a tasty food, consider this - an awful lot of watermelons never make it to those cookouts. Though farmers harvested 4 billion pounds of melons in 2007, the news service reports, they left 800 million pounds in the fields with external blemishes or deformities that made them hard to sell.

Science Center to add green roof open to public [B'More Green]

2009-07-03T04:03:30-07:00

The Maryland Science Center plans to begin reinforcing its southside of the building Monday in anticipation of building a green roof that eventually will be open to for public viewing.

Details aren't totally worked out, but the center is working with Tecta America Corp. on planning and construction. The roof will be adjacent to the museum's observatory and will take up more than 4,000 square feet of roof space.

When the roof is done, the Science Center will join a bunch of others in the area with green roofs, including the Baltimore Hilton Convention Center Hotel and Sinai Hospital, which opened a whole eco-friendly expansion yesterday.

Green roofs, while a bit costly to install because of their weight, pay off in energy efficiency down the road, supporters say. They also help the roof last longer, provide a sound barrier and cut down on stormwater runoff.

And aren't they nice to look at?

Baltimore Sun file photo of the Maryland Science Center

Big weekend for canned beers [Kasper on Tap]

2009-07-03T04:03:25-07:00

There are going to be a lot of get-togethers at the swimming pool this weekend and during the rest of the summer. Pool parties call for canned beer.

Bottles and any other glass containers are banned at most pools and other spots where folks run around in their bare feet.

It used to be that the selection of canned beers was pretty dismal. But now with the Oskar Blues lineup of canned beers from Colorado in this market , you can have your canned beer and quality, too.

My favorite is their Dale's Pale Ale at 6.5 percent ABV. Their other canned beers, Gordon at 8.7 percent, the Old Chub at 8% and Ten Fidy at 10 percent, are too a bit much for me when I am wearing a swimming suit and am reminded of my ever-expanding middle.

From time to time, I have seen Pilsner Urquell in cans as well.

Guinness and other stouts come in cans, but they don't strike me as pool beers.

Stephen Beaumont named his top 5 canned beers on Epicurious. They are Fuller's London Pride, Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Gordon and New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale. Of that group, only the pils strikes me as beer to drink in your swimming suit. Drinking a Fat Tire would encourage too many unpleasant references to the waist line.

What is your favorite canned beer?

What is your strategy for carting beverages into a glass-free setting?

I pour wine, for my wife, into empty club soda bottles, and cart them to the pool.

Photo: Getty Images

Your week in health [Picture of Health]

2009-07-03T04:03:25-07:00

If you're anything like me, you had a super hectic week leading to this holiday weekend. Now that we've made it -- whew -- here are some great health and medicine stories you might have missed.

Fascinating read from Sunday about how the grant system for cancer research awards small projects unlikely to make huge strides in finding a cure.

On the healthcare debate front, here's a great piece that looks at the big ticket issue: costs. So what happens to costs when you expand health care? Do they really go down? Or do they go up?

Two anti-smoking drugs will carry the Food and Drug Administration's most serious warnings after reports of people exerpiencing mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts.

A big picture look at the FDA's new powers to regulate tobacco.

Here are a couple of the many takes on the medical details behind Michael Jackson's death and whether Steve Jobs should talk publically about his pancreatic cancer.

And here's one for all the nurses out there who are tired of stereotypes about their profession -- I know my Mom is reading, so it goes out to her too. ;)

Have a great weekend!

Father's Day Friday: Don't let mom stand in for you [Charm City Moms]

2009-07-03T03:31:53-07:00

Joe Burris is here on Father's Day Friday:

Recently my 3-year-old daughter Onalenna’s day school announced its pre-Father’s Day celebration for all the students' dads. Accompanying the announcement was the message that dads who couldn’t attend should get their wives to stand in.

I didn’t bother to ask my wife if she and other mothers got a similar message on Mother’s Day. And I don’t know if the school’s intention was to embarrass dads into coming (I get the feeling that most of us would have come anyway), but the turnout was great. In a room with about a dozen children, of different ages, races, backgrounds and professions, all but two kids’ fathers showed up.

I think that it was not only great for us to be there for our children, but we all delighted in seeing so many of us present. Even in an age where dads are more available for involvement with their children inside and outside the home, they’re often difficult to come by at such events -- even those where they are celebrated.

I must say, however, that the visit came with a bit of trepidation. During the Mother's Day event, the kids presented moms with handmade flower plots and grew plants inside _ but someone forgot to tell them that they would have to forever part with their creations. My wife says as the mothers departed, the kids reached for the gifts, and the room was filled with shouts of “Mine! Mine!”

We dads were more fortunate. We were presented with handmade greeting cards and travel mugs with their drawings and were allowed to keep them when we departed. We all got big kisses and hugs and goodbye waves that made me feel as if we had done something magnificent, just by being there.

I’m already looking forward to next year.

'So You Think You Can Dance': Top 14 cut to 12 [Reality Check]

2009-07-02T20:00:13-07:00

My favorite part of the So You Think You Can Dance results show is almost always the group dance.

Tonight's number -- a Broadway routine to "Brand New Day" from The Wiz choreographed by Tyce DiOrio -- is no exception. So good, so fun, and amazing costumes. (I am, however, as usual, distracted by some of the manic camerawork that makes it tough to actually see the dancers' movements.)

Host Cat Deeley gets right to the results: Karla and Vitolio and Evan and Randi are called to the stage. The quick step still might be the kiss-of-death dance, as it turns out the Karla and Vitolio are in the bottom three couples.

After the break, three more judges are on the stage. Janette and Brandon find out they are safe. Kayla and Kupono are in the bottom three couples, and Melissa and Ade are safe. Mia Michaels says she is shocked about Kayla and Kupono because she thinks they were the best performance of the night. Kayla actually cries because she's so overcome.

That leaves two couples: Caitlin and Jason and Jeanine and Phillip. (Members of Caitlin's family, including her mom and her aunt, are there dressed similarly to her crazy costume from last night, with a sign that says "Aliens for Caitlin.") Caitlin and Jason are safe (and shocked), and Phillip and Jeanine are in the bottom three.

The evening's professional dance performance is an amazing ballet by dancers Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey from Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

Then, solos: Karla looks remarkably comfortable and strong on stage tonight. Vitolio dances to "Here Comes Goodbye," which seems like a bad choice of song. His solo is a little disjointed and off the cuff. Kayla gives an energetic and emotional but more controlled performance than her last time in the bottom three, when she was accused (unfairly, I think) of cramming too much into the solo. Kupono exudes a lot of emotion in his solo, joy and hope and just wanting to be there, I think. Jeanine finally gets to dance her style on this stage, and she is so good. Last is Phillip, who gets to show off what he does best, his crazily unique popping and locking and limb-wrenching.

Kelly Clarkson comes out to sing "I Do Not Hook Up" while the judges deliberate. She sounds great, and she looks better than when she was on Idol last season, but she still needs her stylist to work a little bit harder on her behalf.

The judges are back with the results, women first. Nigel tells Jeanine that she had the strongest solo of the evening and is safe. He tells Kayla that she is a favorite of the judges and the choreographers, but they found her solo to be very "static" and not dancing from the heart. They say that Karla is a very good dancer, but she hasn't quite shown the star quality they saw in her at first, so she is out. So Oxon Hill, Md., dancer Karla Garcia is going home. She says she will remember all her friends and dancing her contemporary routine.

They are unanimous with the guys, too. They tell Phillip he is unique and superb, but they thought he overworked his solo. Still, they are keeping him. Nigel says Vitolio has great presence and presents himself well, but he doesn't deliver. Kupono is told that his solo was weak and didn't show much passion, but they hope to see more from him in the future. So Vitolio is out as well.

Guess the quick step really is the kiss of death! Yikes.