Carnival of Maryland #33

Welcome to the 33rd edition of The Carnival of Maryland.

This biweekly collection has no theme, unlike most carnivals; what it features is bloggers from around the state. There'll be something here to catch your fancy. I'll be posting them in the categories set up by the carnival owner, but that means I have to start out with a couple that don't quite fit neatly into only one category. So, first post:

uumom talks about a Multicultural wonder & anti-immigration at Race Matters. An excerpt: "Last week I spent a few days in a local hospital. It was a wonder of multiculturalism. The doctors, nurses, and staff who were from many places: Jamaica, Cameroon, India, and others. There were male nurses and female doctors. The biggest man who was African American with scars on his face and perceived to be violent by some patients seemed like a sweet gentleman to me. He also was not from Prince George's - he's from the eastern shore and came here because he had been treated well at this hospital before. If we can end stereotypes in institutions, we can end them in our communities, our county, our state, our nation, and the world."

And then one from That's What I Think!, called Small Cars in the US and Other Beefs. An excerpt: "In my opinion, it's time we really take a look at our habits and began to better respect the environment. We are such a wasteful country, so out of touch, disconnected and empty, at times. That's my view from where I stand. I know not everyone would share it. But it seems every city, every burb, except for a few remaining locally historical buildings, is the same -- same strip malls, same Cheesecake Factory, a Starbucks (although this is one of my favorites) and McDonalds on every corner. Our culture is clearly about money for just about any service you can buy, and even customer service is a dying art. I'm not saying other countries don't work to make money just the same, but there seems to be an added dimension outside of making a living in many other developed societies, a sense of togetherness and solidarity, of being rooted to their lands."

This next post is cross-category as well, but easier to pin down into two, Crime and National Politics:

Rachel asks Loathsome--definitely, but a Federal offense? at Tinkerty Tonk. An excerpt: "Internet asshole Lori Drew has been indicted by a federal grand jury for fraudulently opening a MySpace account and "for accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress."... Lori Drew is a despicable individual; every time I hear about this case, I am newly infuriated by her behavior. But I just cannot agree with this indictment."

Now, on to the categorized:
Sports:

Maryland Orioles Fan talks about the rivalry that does not exist at Orioles post. An excerpt: "Well, the non-existent rivalry between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles kicks off tonight at the Yard. What can we say -- right now, no one cares that the team formerly known as the Expos are playing the recently-down-on-their luck Orioles. The reason is simple -- aside from the few people 40 and over who were around to see the Senators and the Orioles face off (and the Senators were bad), there's no real history between the two franchises."

On the lighter, snarkier side, Attila has a post called Ball Four at Pillage Idiot . He says, "Good news for the Orioles: Governor O'Malley has signed a bill declaring that walking is the official state exercise of Maryland."

Arts and Music

Clark Bjorke presents Early Zappa: Frank on the Steve Allen Show at Clark's Picks, saying, "Baltimore native, Frank Zappa, makes an appearance on the Steve Allen Show in 1963. Zappa enlists Allen and the house band in playing a concerto for two bicycles."

Pinenut discusses the book Moss Graffiti and Other Assaults at Pines Above Snow. An excerpt: "Last trip to the library, I stepped out of my nature-book box and picked up something from the art shelf. Linear-thinker that I am often ashamed to be, I read the cover note, Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out into the World, and thought that it was a book about graphic design and possibly advertising. I hoped it might help me learn how to promote various community events my family always seems entangled in (mostly donut, plant, baked goods, & jumble sales for group fundraisers). I should have noticed the folksy cover art, duct-tape-reminiscent spine, and unofficial subtitle to better understand this quirky, wonderful book: The Guerilla Art Kit: For Fun, Non-Profit, and World Domination.”

Local Events

Michael Swartz presents Courageous Christopher 5K at monoblogue, saying, "I wanted to share this with more people considering all the bad news you see in the blogosphere. Here was a town helping someone in need."

Human Interest

Ray discusses A Plague of Pollen at Randomonium. An excerpt: "This Spring is turning out to be the worst Spring of all time. Sure the weather has been nice and it seems as if the drought we have been suffering through the past few years is finally over. On the flip side of the sunny nice weather and ample amount of rain is an ever increasing pollen count. Savanah suffers from allergies. Thank goodness she isn’t allergic to peanuts and milk and shellfish and all of those other things that some kids are allergic to nowadays and compared to those kids whose allergies require a total overhaul of a family’s lifestyle she is allergic to relatively little. Grass and trees seem to be the extent of it so far. The problem with those, however, is that the moment you leave the house you are exposed. It isn’t often that you see shellfish dropping from trees or milk raining down from the skies so those are a bit easier to avoid, with the necessary precautions taken, than trees, which have the unfortunate habit of growing all over the place outside. Grass is even worse and seems to cover 90% of most lawns. It is everywhere!"

Donna tells us about a local custom in I wish there were a double standard at Chestertown. An excerpt: "I was out on the town with a friend/recent transplant the other day, when she approached the door of a local business and gave it a good yank. Ah, the telltale sign of a newcomer. The door of course was locked. So she pressed her face to the glass to look in, and sure enough, people were in there and the lights were on. So she pulled on the other half of the double door–viola, it opened. That was a ritual I often repeated when I relocated here, to the town where it’s typical that half of the double doors are unlocked. I don’t know why that local custom is the local custom."

At Mad Anthony is a rumination called In the corner, choosing my religion..... An excerpt: "Dubner's book brought on a bunch of emotions, because religion is something I've found myself struggling with for the last 10 years or so. My parents are very Catholic, heavily involved in the church, and accepting of all of the church's teachings. I went to Catholic school my entire life. I chose to go to a Catholic college, and I think I was on some level hoping that it would make me more religious, but it didn't. I envy my parents for their deep faith, their certainty that there is a world after this one and that they are on the right path to it. I'm not always so sure."

Exploretheshore shares some Sweet Memories of Yesterday at the Shores of Delmarva. An excerpt: "Sometimes in life our memories may be redeemed quite unexpectedly. One day when I was very young, I went on a journey with my grandfather in his old truck to Gumboro, Delaware to a sorghum molasses milling operation, though I didn't know what it was at the time. I don't recall that the trip was ever discussed afterwards, but it left a lasting impression on a young mind. Over the years I have often had flashbacks of what I saw so many years ago whenever I would ride by where I "thought" the mill might have been, though I didn't quite know."

Public Policy

Leslie Carbone presents Naked X-Rays at BWI at Leslie Carbone. An excerpt: "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff last month unveiled a new screening system being tested at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The $2.1 million pilot program at BWI, called Checkpoint Evolution, features "whole body imaging" machines that give Security Screeners an eyeful including passengers' moles, scars, sores, nipples, and genitalia. Passengers who object to giving Security Screeners a peep show can request a groping instead. "

National Politics

Jeremy Bruno has a mediation on north and south, urban and rural, called Oh, Marietta at The Voltage Gate. An excerpt: "I've been down here for a little over two months now and I'm still baffled by this area sometimes. To and from work I see a massive diversity of young professionals in and out of the city. ... Still, I encountered much more racism and backward thinking in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and not just in the rural areas...I would expect to see something similar right smack in the middle of Fell's Point in Baltimore or at some dive in Norristown."

Michael Swartz offers A better stimulus (part 1) at monoblogue, saying, "This is the first of a three-part series I did this week on the economic stimulus plan and ways I think the economy would be better served."

Local Events:

I'll share these: the rain from last week and a look at the aftermath of all of it, They'll be surprised pretty soon.

And finally, in Nature:

Swamp Thing goes In the Pines, In the Pines at River Mud. An excerpt: "I celebrated my last planned turkey hunt of the spring by taking some photos of a common but interesting habitat out here in the mid-atlantic - marginally wet oak-pine forest! And of course, I also celebrated the hunt by NOT harvesting a turkey........again. Oh well!" There are some very nice photos here.

So, that does it for this edition. I hope you enjoyed something you found here. And if you're a resident (present or past) of the Land of Pleasant Living, why not join in the next edition of the Carnival of Maryland, which will be held over at Baltimore History Examiner on June 1? You can use this carnival submission form. And if you're not, I hope you'll check it out for reading. And if you want to browse past editions, or see the schdule of future hosts, both can found on our blog carnival index page.