My top ten reasons that they should make one of those cool Moleskine City Notebooks for Baltimore and dang soon:
1 - Birth of the Star Spangled Banner.
2 - The Poe connection we share with other cities, but we have the most “literary” of football team names and his grave[s].
3 - Mencken.
4 - Frederick Douglass.
5 - Because Baltimore is becoming increasingly walkable, bikable and mass -transtable, a boon to travelers.
6 - To show travelers that there are cooler things than Harbor Place.
7 - Our museums and universities and historical sites like Fort McHenry, the Shot Tower, Walter’s, BMA, Hopkins, etc.
8 - We have so many really cool neighborhoods like Little Italy, Hampden, Greek Town, Federal Hill, etc. that travelers would LOVE.
9 - John Waters!
10 - David Hasselhoff was born here, and they could put a little red dealy on the cover of the book like that fancy talking car had in the dashboard on “Knight Rider”, complete with robotic sarcasm chip.
Chime in with your own here at the discussion on Flickr.
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February 7, 2007 at 7:13 am
Laundro
I have to say that Baltimore, while you say is becoming more so, is horrible in the mass transit department. Maybe this is compared to DC, but what is up with the Metro?! It’s horrible. Do you know if there are plans of expansion? I hate being car-dependant.
February 7, 2007 at 9:03 am
Johnny
We’re still not great in transit compared to places like DC, Boston and NYC, but it’s starting to get better since people have started to move back into the city. I haven’t heard anything about more Metro or Light Rail, though. I wish they could get more of that going on. I think I remember some delay in the Metro construction downtown from when I was a teenager, where they hit bedrock they couldn’t blast through or something ridiculous like that. But last time I took the LR to pick someone up at BWI, it was totally packed, which was a nice change from how empty it used to be. Now I even see rich city dwellers take it to Hunt Valley to visit some sprawl:)
I think we’re more of a bus town than train (which is too bad since I love me some trains). The new buses (and the cooler ones with bike racks) are pretty nice. If we could put in some of those rapid bus station tube dealies like they have in Brazil, they would be pretty awesome.
I think the main thing is getting rid of the stigma of riding the bus that Baltimore has. My mom always tells me how glad she was to get a car after a childhood of bus riding, but I’m glad to be free of my car and able to ride or walk or get around anyway I want to. Still, people look at me like I’m crazy for not owning a car in Baltimore, more so if I tell them how much money we lost selling it in 12/05. But it’s not easy yet like it is other places. When I moved away from Boston in 2003, the first thing I did was buy a car:)
February 7, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Laundro
Someday, my friend, someday!
February 8, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Ahniwa
Since you’re such a Baltimophile (looks way too much like “batmobile”), I thought I’d share this song with you, which you might not have heard. Norah Jones in a bluegrass band!? Damn straight.
If that’s not your thing, that’s cool too. It just seemed very apropos.
February 9, 2007 at 9:53 am
Johnny
Awesome! Thanks, comrade! I’ll check this out ASAP.
February 9, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Johnny
That song is great! Makes me think of walking around Downtown at night, with all the cool city lights around, purple for when our football team makes the playoffs:) Thanks again for uploading it!
February 10, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Ahniwa
No problem at all. Glad you enjoyed it. :)