Community : Buzz

Newsweek/Kaplan has released their annual lists of the nation's top ranked schools. Several universities in the Baltimore area were cited in the "25 Best" categories. The US Naval Academy took the No. 9 spot in the "25 Most Desirable Schools" category. Johns Hopkins University came in at No. 18 in the "25 Most Desirable Urban Schools."

Here's an excerpt:

"At the United States Naval Academy, the government foots the tuition bill. That could be part of the reason why the public school holds the No. 9 spot on Newsweek's list of most desirable colleges and the No. 3 spot on its roundup of most desirable suburban schools. "Annapolis is said to be the sailing capital of the world," writes one student on CollegeProwler.com. "During the summer it lives up to its billing."

Read the entire article here.
Check out the full list of cateogories here.

Baltimore's no longer known as a hotbed for jazz musicians, but one couple is doing what they can to showcase local talent.

Here's an excerpt:

"Jazzway 6004 rests in a tiny enclave dotted with mansion-esque dwellings just past the Baltimore city limits. A renovation in 2005 trimmed the original six bedrooms to four and created a performance space that seats 65 and houses a 6-foot Baldwin grand piano and a sound system. Matheny-Katz recalls how the couple didn't initially intend to hold concerts, but their desire to showcase local talent moved them to open their home to the public. The first concert in June 2007 sold out. "People started calling us and asking, 'When is your next concert?'" says Matheny-Katz, a vocalist who was prepping for a Billie Holiday tribute show in mid-July."

Read the entire article here.

Move over Isaiah Mustafa, the Raven's Ray Lewis takes a fantastical turn as the latest pitchman for Old Spice.

Watch the video here:

New book from eight Loyola University students, including Cathleen Carris of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, uncovers Baltimore's jazz history.

Here's an excerpt:

"Much of the book centers on four iconic Baltimoreans. There's Eubie Blake, the ragtime composer whose 1921 "Shuffle Along" was the first African-American Broadway hit. There's Chick Webb, the diminutive drummer whose hot licks turned the Savoy Ballroom into Harlem's jitterbug central. There's Cab Calloway, the hi-de-ho man who ruled The Cotton Club. And there's Billie Holiday, who rose from the Baltimore slums to become the most memorable voice in jazz history.

But what Carris primarily ended up researching was a much more obscure � and intriguing � bit of local history."

Read the entire article here.

If you've been to the B&O American Brasserie at the Klimpton's Hotel Monaco, then you know how good the eating is there. You're in good company it seems, as Bon Appetit magazine has included one of the restaurant's flatbreads in it's September 2010 "Restaurant Issue."

Here's an excerpt:

" B&O's menu offers everything from juicy steaks to local seafood, but our money's on the brick-oven pizzas (or flatbreads, as they're called at the restaurant). Savor the arugula, asparagus, and fried egg version while taking in the scene at the restaurant's downstairs bar."

Check out the recipe here.

Baltimore-based The Kelly Bell Band continues to conquer audiences with its off-the-chart performances.

Here's a peek at what the band's been up to recently:

"The band plays at numerous colleges and festivals every year and performs "phat blues" music.

"We call it phat blues which basically gives us license to do whatever we want to do," said Kelly Bell, male vocalist and bandleader.

KBB's musical influences are diverse and include Muddy Waters, Black Sabbath, Nighthawk and Run-DMC.

"If you look at our iPods, the music we listen to is all over the place," said Freddie Loudon, KBB's bassist.

Originally, the band formed to travel with and open for famous musician Bo Diddley, but Kelly Bell is the one who brought everyone together.

Onstage, the band is full of energy and performs covers of Journey, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Clearance Clearwater Revival, Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five as well as several original pieces."

Read the entire article here.

Body-building is not so strange -- at least it isn't for someone in their 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s. But what about for a woman in her 70s?

Here's an exceprt:

"The world of sport has its own set of oddballs: those who strive to set a record and see their names in Guinness World Records (formerly known as The Guinness Book of World Records). Take Ernestine Shepherd as an example. The 74 year-old Baltimore grandmother is the world's oldest competitive bodybuilder. That's right: She's ripped and could kick your butt. She says she started lifting weights at age 56 because..."

Read the entire article here. See a picture of Ms. Shepherd here.

You're at the checkout counter at a local retailer and instead of pulling out a pile of greenbacks -- U.S. government issued $1s, $5s, $10s or $20s -- you hand the cashier a bunch of BNotes. That's the scenario two local entrepreneurs hope to see play out soon across Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt:

"Baltimore may soon have its own local currency, or scrip, if Jeff Dicken of the Baltimore Green Currency Association has his way. Next spring Dicken, with partner Michael Tew, is planning to launch the BNote, a form of money that can only be spent locally. The object, Dicken said, is to have the money stay in the local community and help the community grow economically.

"A bunch of us realized that there is a real need for economic options in Baltimore City," Dicken told the AFRO. "A local currency provides a way for residents to support their own community and their own local merchants. And it makes them think twice about where they spend their money, whether they want to support their neighbors, the local merchants, or whether they want to support national chains that may be taking the money and booking it as profit in Delaware or Texas."


Read the entire article here.

Cartoonist and writer, Tom Chalkley, provided the sketch and oversight as more than 40 artists volunteered to paint the mural at Greenmount and 33rd street in the Waverly Village of Baltimore. Watch the mural come to life in the video.

Here's an excerpt

"Over two steamy summer months, dozens of volunteer artists helped paint a design by cartoonist and writer Tom Chalkley. Chalkley is a long-time friend and cartoonist-in-residence at Welcome To Baltimore, Hon!

The 485-square-foot mural depicts a "slightly idealized" vision of Waverly Village. It features a parade, the farmers' market, a circle of friends playing music, a mother reading to her two children at the library, community activists, and the new Waverly playground."

Read the entire article and see the video here

Forget the corny camp songs, At Opera Summer Camp gives Baltimore tweens a broader playbook taken from opera's masters.

Here's an excerpt:

"On a bright summer morning in Baltimore, camp is in full swing. A few dozen youngsters run through their daily exercises � vocal exercises, that is. Forget the bug spray and sleeping bags. At Opera Camp, the kids need only bring talent and a desire to sing.

Five days a week, from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., camp is held inside a sprawling concert hall. The four-week session aims to introduce the texting generation to opera. Students receive instruction in music, acting, dance, lighting, set design, and makeup and wigs. Thanks to private donors, everything from field trips to lunch is free."

Listen to the entire report here.

Peter Allen, a screenwriter born and raised in Baltimore, hits the big time with his new film featuring some of Hollywood's and the rap world's top stars.

"Veteran filmmaker Peter Allen is living the life many screenwriters dream about: his movie, "Takers" seems destined to be a bona fide 2010 summer blockbuster.

The movie stars red-hot actors Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana, hip-hop superstar Tip "T.I." Harris and controversial crooner Chris Brown, and is about a group of slick bank robbers who go all out to pull off a $20 million heist. The movie is scheduled to be released nationwide Aug. 27.

Allen, one of the film's co-writers, says he wanted to present a different vision of high stakes criminals. "Why can't they be gentlemen, why can't they be slick, why can't they be smart like some of the guys I have read about and know about," Allen told the AFRO in a phone interview from Los Angeles."

Read the entire article here.

Paul Lebelle and Adam Burkowske, two friends from Baltimore, have hit the middle stages of a cross country bike tour for their Bike Free charity. The idea is to raise $125,000 to purchase bikes and helmets for the children of military personnel.

Here's an excerpt:

"The pair began their ride in Maryland on June 10 and plan to end it with several large fundraisers in mid-October in California. They have been riding about 300 miles a week while carrying 60 pounds of gear on each bike.

Burkowske said Bike Free has connected with Rotary Clubs along their route to help raise money for the cause and has paired with the USO for distribution of the bikes, which they hope to do in December.

Lebelle and Burkowske met five years ago while working in a Baltimore restaurant. Both had given up their vehicles and taken to bicycles, and both were looking for something that would give their life greater purpose.

Burkowske said he had always wanted to walk across the country, doing volunteer work along the way. He shared his dream with Lebelle."

Read the entire article here.

Michael Solomon, a member of the TWIGS (To Work in Gaining Skills) program at the Baltimore School for the Arts, has published a new book of tips all about the science of finding lost items.

Here's an excerpt:

"Lost your car keys in that Bermuda Triangle between your front door and the table in the hall? Can't find the plumber's number that you scribbled on a Post-It note by the phone before it vanished?

Well, then Michael Solomon - the author of How To Find Lost Objects and the world's only professor in a new, incredibly useful science he's dubbed 'findology' - is your man."

Read the entire article here.

For the second year, ForbesWoman has released its list of the 50 best cities for working moms. Baltimore rounded out the Top Five cities, behind Minneapolis-St. Paul, Washington, D.C., Boston, Mass., and Pittsburgh, Pa.

Here's an excerpt:

"To calculate our list we began with the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the U.S. while working under the notion that "best" means different things to different women. Safety, of course, is important, and great schools and healthcare also all play a part--but when it comes to quality of life for high-achieving women, there are other components to consider."

Read the entire article here.

It was an expensive lesson, but following his graduation from Yale University Roy Skeen, a history major, realized he didn't have a lot of skills that would land him a professional position. Farming in Baltimore, however, can be learned on the job. He's not alone. A growing number of young people are returning to the farm.

Here's an excerpt:

"Skeen moved back to his hometown, Baltimore and is now working the land on an urban farm. He finds the work hard, but satisfying, in an almost spiritual way.

"To me, the magic of seeing a cucumber on the vine, it was like a circle, and my psyche was connected. Here's something that was in front of me every day of my life and I never knew where it came from."

Skeen is not the only young person yearning for a simple, more spiritual life. The National Future Farmers of America � an organization kids join in junior high and high school � has seen its membership soar. It now boasts 520,000 members � the most in its long history."

Read the entire article here.