January 12, 2016
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Meditations in a Medieval Winter (Ode to a Good Man)
“This is where I’ve known people since I was a child. This is an enormous asset. I can’t imagine living without this asset, of being friends with people I went to the first grade with. And we’ve stayed in … Continue reading
February 23, 2014
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on City Paper Is Dead. Long Live City Paper
I was going to write an extended obituary for City Paper, Baltimore’s alternative weekly, following its sale to frenemy Baltimore Sun this week, but Gawker editor and former CP staff writer Tom Scocca (who’ve we’ve mentioned here before) beat me … Continue reading
September 17, 2013
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on First Fridays
The shucker stacked the opened oysters on top of a bed of cracked ice, piled up on a folding table set up on the corner of Elm Street and the Avenue. He served three different types —Choptanks and Delaware Bays, … Continue reading
April 1, 2013
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Hampden: A History Behind the Quirkiness
July 5, 2012
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Neighborhood Brunch
Sundays are apparently quiet affairs at the Food Market. In the evenings, the new Hampden restaurant’s amenities include valet parking, late night tapas, craft beer, and, on weekend nights, a 45 minute waiting list. Walking by the glass windows … Continue reading
April 26, 2012
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Scenes In A Baltimore Music Exhibition: Big Freedia at The Golden West
I didn’t know white people could dance like this. This is not a pejorative. I was genuinely proud of our collective efforts.
July 20, 2011
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on John Waters: Role Model
“I hate to think about it – what will happen when Johnny Mathis and I die? Who will guard my humble tawdry belongings? – John Waters, “Role Models” I, too, wonder how Baltimore will react when one of its favorite … Continue reading
November 18, 2010
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Red Cyclops Manifesto
Charm City. The Land of Pleasant Living. The Greatest City in America. A place that asks us to believe. Lies. All lies.
April 26, 2010
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on In Praise Of: Urban Credentials
There’s an interesting on-going discussion following Sunday’s ‘Treme’ episode about the perennial debate of tourism/nativism of American cities. What constitutes regional credentials? In Dennis Lehane’s “Gone, Baby, Gone”, Boston private dic Patrick Kenzie asks a purposely flippant question to Boston … Continue reading
January 20, 2010
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Baltimore Nights: The Hampden Evening Magic
Years from now, people will talk about Hampden, the neighborhood where I grew up and have now returned to, the way they talk about New York’s East Village or Silver Lake in L.A., or Austin, Texas or Ashville, North Carolina … Continue reading