
Canon EOS 30D & EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens
Canon EOS 30D & EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens
Museums enjoy their free for all
The gamble of free admissions at Baltimore's two largest art museums seems to be paying off. Admissions are soaring, and both the Baltimore Museum of Art and The Walters Art Museum report that they are attracting a more diverse crowd than ever before. Link & a link to Baltimore's "Free Fall" events calender.
Man seeks a home for black history
In a county that has museums for boats, rural art and duck decoys, John T. Lee Sr. says there is a noticeable omission in Harford's repertoire. Link
Hunters outfox sport's challenges
Upon the huntsman's command, the hounds sprinted out ahead, followed closely by riders galloping across a farm field on a clear, crisp morning. The entourage -- about 40 crossbred hounds leading 25 horsemen -- raced over rolling hills spread across four farms in Harford and Baltimore counties, a spectacle of action focused on pursuit of a single, diminutive yet tricky creature: a fox. Link
On Hallowed Ground, a Place of Painful Beauty
IT'S strange that a military graveyard should be so lovely, but lovely is the only way to describe the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, 26 miles northwest of Verdun. As exquisite as any French park or chateau grounds, the cemetery is a formal garden of perfectly clipped trees, immaculate lawns, fountains and roses and long white rows of grave markers. Given its beauty, it's also strange how empty the place is — and stranger still since this is the largest American military cemetery in Europe, the burial site of 14,246 United States service members who died in the war to end all wars. Link
Reconstructed slave cabin opens, adding realism to Mt. Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, Va. - The homes of the nation's first presidents receive as much care and attention as any historic sites in the nation. Special societies raise money to preserve and protect them. Researchers dote on the finest points of their architecture and family heritage.
But until recent years, there was little focus on a painful reality in the history of several of the founding fathers: George Washington, who led the colonial forces seeking freedom from the British; Thomas Jefferson, whose Declaration of Independence proclaimed the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and James Madison, who wrote the Constitution "in order to . . . secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," all owned slaves. Link
Quote of the day: "It used to be that people moved to where the jobs are," Plosila said. "Now they move to where they want to live and find a job there." Link
Walters
(Wired) SS Patrick Henry, the first Liberty ship, is launched at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard near Baltimore, Maryland.
Originally referred to as "emergency vessels," these cargo ships were among the first to be mass-produced. Numbers were critical as the Allies hustled to recover from the staggering losses wrought by German submarines during the Battle of the Atlantic.
(AP) Rising seas will ultimately swamp the first American settlement in Jamestown, Va., as well as the Florida launch pad that sent the first American into orbit, many climate scientists are predicting.
As they see it, it's just a matter of time. Link
Annapolis (Examiner) - Box turtles in the path of the looming Intercounty Connector are getting a second chance.
“What we’re doing is moving turtles out of the area prior to clearing for construction,” said Holly Shipley, the environmental compliance specialist for the ICC, a highway that will link Interstate 95 in Prince George’s County with Interstate 370 in Montgomery. “We’ve gotten transmitters to put on the turtles collected to start tracking them.” Continued
"As a boy, my father lived in Montgomery County, Maryland. Our family has been mixed up quite a bit in American history. My greatgrandfather's brother was Francis Scott Key who wrote The Star- Spangled Banner; I was named for him. My father's aunt was Mrs Suratt, who was hanged after the assassination of Lincoln because Booth had planned the deed in her house - you remember that three men and a woman were executed.
"As a youngster of nine, my father rowed spies across the river. When he was 12 he felt that life was finished for him. As soon as he could, he went west, as far away from the scenes of the civil war as possible." Continued.
Canon EOS ? (I can't remember, either a 20D or a 5D.)
After floundering around in the ludicrously tasteful ostentation of Hunt Valley, Maryland, we finally emerged in Boring. The Wiki says it was "An important stop on the Western Maryland Railroad, it is very small, consisting of about 40 houses, the Boring Methodist Church, Boring Volunteer Fire Company organized in 1907, and the Boring Post Office but still has a postal code: 21020. It is known for its unusual name, which wasn't named for the pace of life, but for postmaster David Boring."
Despite its name & its size, Boring rates three posts here at Falmanac. Stay tuned for the other two.
Canon EOS 30D & EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens
Now you know.
Photo of the "Monument Street Girls" from the Library of Congress
"Upgrades and expansion will bring minor or temporary increases in noise and air pollution, possible long-term degradation of wetlands and the potential loss of historic structures ranging from World War II to the earliest days of Harford County's settlement, the impact study said." - Baltimore Examiner
The oldest house in Harford County, "Maxwell's Conclusion" was built on Gunpowder Neck in the 18th century and burned down by the Army in the 20th.
Our descendants will despise us for having thrown away the best of our culture. - Alan Lomax
(Bel Air News & Views) ... A reader (Thank you!) emailed me last week wondering what had happened to the Bel Air Roller Rink on Conowingo Road.
In its place, next to the new 1st Mariner Bank branch, the curved roof line of the old landmark is still visible but the structure beneath is being shortened and divided into three different stores. Continued (with photos!)
(Baltimore Sun) A group of watermen who say the state is not doing enough to sustain the Chesapeake Bay's troubled oyster industry are launching a new advocacy group.
In July, Jimmy Kline, a Cecil County waterman, filed paperwork with the state to form the Maryland Oystermen Association, a nonprofit based in Rock Hall. Once the application process is complete, Kline said he expects about 100 watermen to join. Continued.