Adam Stab Lectures on the Baltimore Graffiti Scene @ Goucher Tonight

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One of the best things about living in a city like Baltimore is that you can give yourself a free education. We’re not talking about any “school-of-hard-knocks, streetwise bullshit.” No. Anyone in this town who loves learning for learning’s sake is lucky enough to be able to put together an actual curriculum and pursue just about any field of study as a hobby.

Not only does Baltimore have a wealth of resources dedicated Full Time to giving you a free education, like Book Thing, Baltimore Free School, and the Village Learning Place; we’ve also got one of the Nation’s best libraries, to say nothing of the other museums and cultural institutions in our backyard.

As if that weren’t enough, every Baltimorean has access to top-notch colleges and universities, which most people don’t realize are willing to teach you for free. We already tipped you off to Daniel Shea at MICA, and tonight we can’t stress enough that you should come up to Goucher to see Adam Stab.

Adam Stab tells the history of Baltimore graffiti and stylewriting at Goucher College tonight. 7 pm.

We shouldn’t have to tell you who Stab is. Like any successful writer, his reputation precedes him. He’s Baltimore’s version of the Easter Bunny… hops around all night and leaves beautiful, colorful things wherever he’s been. You’ve never actually seen him, but you’re glad whenever he leaves you something.

Speaking of free educations, there may be no better example than Stab himself. With very little traditional schooling and no college degree, Adam Stab has been able to do for two decades what many classically trained artists never do: Make a living making the art that he loves. Having moved quietly up the ladder from bus stop benches to studio work and even corporate commissions, Stab is uniquely qualified to explain not only the stylewriting sub-culture, but Baltimore’s place in it as well.

Listen closely Baltimore: Chances like this don’t come around often. Graffiti is still very much a product of the night and of the fringes, and the chance to have it explained point by point amounts to nothing less than cracking the new urban Da Vinci code. If you miss this tonight, it goes back underground.

Available at a bench, mailbox, road sign, or lamppost near you.

Street Art: A Lecture on the Baltimore Graffiti Scene will take place in the Pinkard Community Service Center in the Athanaeum of Goucher College. (number 2 on this PDF map). Tonight’s lecture is a part of the ongoing Baltimore City Forum series.

2010 Pennant Predictions

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1896 Baltimore Orioles, including Wee Willie Keeler of 'Baltimore Chop' fame.

So… let’s get this straight right now. This is not a baseball blog. This will never be a baseball blog. If you want to read a baseball blog, there are several fine selections in the column to your right.

This is a blog about ME! It’s a personal blog. But it would never do to post about the cabinets falling on my head, the girl(s) I have a crush on or my thoughts on traffic, neighbors, food, or any of the other minutiae I’m apt to post on my Twitter page, it’s about the things I do every night. It’s about the things you could be doing. It’s about You.

That said, We wouldn’t be called the Baltimore Chop if we didn’t at least like watching baseball. So in the months to come, you will see much mention made of the Orioles, if we happen to be watching that night.

This is no place for advanced sabermetric analyses. It’s not where you go to check who’s pitching or what the lineups are. Nope. The best you’ll get here is some snide, jaded editorializing mixed in with a little blind faith in Birdland and a pure and unwavering hatred of the Red Sox. You’ll also get helpful information like yesterday’s post on the best free parking spots near the Yard.

We’ve been so busy, we haven’t even properly kept up with the events of the spring. If you are looking for a quick and comprehensive primer on the 2010 roster, head on over to Weaver’s Tantrum, where they’ve done it better than anyone else this year.

So what’s the chop up to tonight? Watching baseball, of course. We’re probably heading down to our local bar, which is not a sports bar, but is pretty good about showing the O’s. We’re ready to see what Millwood brings to the table, although we’re bummed that we won’t get to see ZAUN on either bench. The Chop thinks ZAUN is a hell of a guy, and we like him almost as much as we like his absurd website.

And for the record, here are the Chop’s picks to go to the playoffs this year. They’re pretty boring picks, but you know what? the MLB is kind of fucked up, and last year’s cellar dwellers aren’t charging to the top any time soon. if these picks look familiar, they probably mostly are.

American League:

East: Yankees

Central: Twins

West: Angels

Wild Card: Red Sox

National League

East: Phillies

Central: Cardinals

West: Giants

Wild Card: Dodgers

Orioles @ Rays. 7:10 pm at Tropicana Field. TV: MASN.

Double Dagger, Sick Weapons Record Releases @ Hexagon Tonight

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You ain’t reading blogs today. You’re hiding pretty eggs from your nieces and nephews and drinking Madras’ and eating more chocolate than is good for you.

But once that’s all done, go to the Hexagon tonight.

Double Dagger, Sick Weapons, Hollywood play Hexagon tonight. 7 pm doors.

Tonight’s not just about some guy named Jebus. Tonight is going down as a milestone in the Baltimore music scene when Double Dagger drops the Masks EP on Thrill Jockey.

But wait… There’s More! Sick Weapons gives you a Birthday Gift courtesy of Reptilian.

But Wait… There’s More! HOLLYWOOD shows you Some Stunts by way of Some Records.

But Wait… There’s More! Dope Body shows you how you can get Your Dopest Body on sparkling crystal clear DVD.

This is maybe the most important Baltimore Show in 10 years. Come to it. Bring booze. Bring money for records. If you don’t you’re going to regret it for a long, long time.

The Sordid Adventures of Herr Chop Ein Der Bier Garten!

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If there’s one thing the Chop loves, its beer. And if there’s one thing the Chop loves more than beer, it’s beer in a garden! A garden of beer!

We saw our first proper beer garden at the tender age of five, as it was a cornerstone of the Chop’s annual Catholic School Carnival. Of course, as a wee young Chop, Coca-Cola was the order of the day, but nothing said summer better than the lights overhead and the pitchers on the tables… and fried dough.

The Chop is a great admirer of beer in gardens.

Since that time the Chop has planted himself in a beer garden whenever possible, at the Heritage Fair, the Polish Festival, Greek Festival, Ukrainian Festival, or even the Fells Point Fun Festival.

In our travels we’ve discovered authentic German beer gardens in Germany, as well as almost-authentic ones in England, South Africa, and even Japan.

So we were pleasantly surprised to receive an invite to a friend’s birthday party at Blob’s Park, which we didn’t even know was there, and which promises to satisfy our desire for beer in garden form. We’re gonna strap on our German boots, grab a cold Warsteiner, nosh some potato dumplings, and polka like there’s an old nun forcing us to.

Cause they used to do that, you know.

First Fridays @ the Walters Tonight

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Got a calendar Baltimore? You need one nowadays to keep track of all the First Fridays and Second Saturdays and Third Thursdays they’ve been throwing at us lately. Of course, if you have a calendar, you’ve probably noticed that it’s Spring. Like for real. So it’s the perfect time to check out the First Fridays event at the Walters tonight.

The Walters is open for First Fridays tonight. 5:30-8:30 pm.

They’re doing a whole near-east, silk road type theme for tonight, which (presumably) includes the Islamic Manuscripts Collection. They’re serving “Persian Punch” anyway, which is kind of funny since, you know, Muslims are forbidden to drink and all.

Seems to us this First Fridays was a whole big thing in Mount Vernon, before the long hard winter struck. But we might be thinking of something else, since like we said, we can’t keep track. We don’t know if 1stFri extends neighborhood wide tonight, but either way a fine spring Friday happy hour is the perfect time to amble around Mount Vernon. 1stFri or no, we predict that the streets will be humming, the weather will be glorious, and everyone will be festive.

It’s times like this where you really get the best of what Baltimore has to offer. If we haven’t said it before, we really love living here.

Once the sun goes down we might head up to the Ottobar for Fiery Furnaces. Or we might skip the hipster overload and sit out on the deck with a bottle of wine. Either way it’s a great start to the weekend.