Village Green/Town²

  Welcome to staring at a blank page Monday.  How was your weekend? High points for me: Watching the world discover on Bluesky that County Executive Calvin Ball is a real human being and not just a game created by cartoonist Bill Watterson. That was delightful. Last night’s half-time show. Reading picture books online courtesy of the Howard County Library, especially this one. Highly recommend.  Water Can Be  by Laura Purdue Salas, Illustrations by Violeta Dabija  I've been so inundated with adverts for Super Bowl related products and events, followed by Valentine’s Day products and events that I am tempted to write a post about local things you can do to NOT celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.  Enough already. This event sounds fun if you’re not allergic. Ever the grammatical nitpicker, I can’t help but point out that cats do not wish to be painted. Image from the Pottery Stop social media  Daniels in Elkridge is again hosting their anti-Valentine’...

  I wouldn’t call it a protest.  You couldn’t exactly characterize it as gang activity.  Loitering, maybe? You may think you want to shop at Ross Dress for Less in the Columbia Crossing shopping center. The Canada geese have other ideas.  Move along, human. We live here now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that portion of the parking lot filled to capacity. Perhaps we should retrofit it as a bird sanctuary? All that pavement can’t be good for their feet.  ***** The good folks at Comics to Astonish were the victims of the kind of astonishment that nobody wants yesterday. Somehow they still managed to get it all cleaned up, open for business, and even host their usual Friday night gaming group. I’m not a gamer, but I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for this place ever since they posted a lost and found for this sweet little guy in 2021. If you’re into comics or gaming cards (is that proper terminology?) now would be a very good time to visit Comics to Astonish :...

  There’s a new online community which is non competitive, non judgemental, doesn’t ask for money or a ton of personal information. Would you be interested?  I’m not sure I would have been aware of it at all had I not seen Alie Ward (Oligies) post about it on Bluesky. This is your sign to come make a little art every day with us! Doodl is a human-only drawing community built around daily prompts and shared ritual. No Al art. No pressure. Just creativity, together! Join the beta. Hmm… I’ve doodling all my life. (And now I know why .) Yet I’ve always felt terrible at art and struggled in traditional art classes.  During the beginning of the pandemic lockdowns I started keeping an art journal in spite of all that. I had a lot of negative baggage about any kind of visual art and I just decided to put it all to the side and “do art” purely because I wanted to. Not because I was talented or skilled. Because it felt good and made me happy. I’m still doing it. After all this time...

  Normally I'm not in favor of straight news articles being headed by questions. If an answer is unknown then you simply state the facts. I’ve made up a few examples: Committee members weigh choices in upcoming equipment purchase Outcome of design contest questioned by community group Ongoing disagreement at city hall delays construction project When I see a straight news article titled with a question I am inclined to think I am reading a gossip column or an opinion piece. I suspect that, if the reporter had done more research, they might have come up with the answer to the question instead of asking the reader. I mean - - for heaven’s sake - - don’t ask me . I’m here to find out. A question feels more like clickbait. In commentary pieces, a question-title works. I use them on the blog from time to time. (Today, for instance.) To be clear, there’s no law that says you can’t use a question. It’s a time-honored journalistic convention, not a crime. However…in the case of this piece...

  I’m about to step into one of those cultural phenomena that I’m probably unqualified to hold forth on. But, after my amazing debacle in 2024 where I completely failed to miss the meaning of Savage Mills - Bridgerton-themed invitation, I am going to tread more carefully on this one.  I present to you an upcoming event at Elliot’s Craft Kitchen which is billed as a “Girl Dinner.” Image from Elliot’s Craft Kitchen social media Here are the details from the event page: Live Music with Jimi Haha of Jimmies Chicken Shack and an amazing  GIRL DINNER Event by Elliott's Craft Kitchen 8330 Benson Dr, Columbia, MD, United States, Maryland 21045 What to expect: We have an incredible event coming up on Saturday February 7. We have Jimi HaHa from Jimmies Chicken Shack performing live. Don't miss this event which is being paired with an amazing GIRL DINNER! Well, alrighty then. Since we’re using ALL CAPS, what is a GIRL DINNER? This article on Wikihow traces the term to TikTok user ...

I honestly didn’t realize how pointed yesterday’s post had turned out until I saw one reader describe it as “spicy.”  Although I don’t want change anything (in light of that assessment) I do want to reassure folks that I think it’s perfectly fine to feel frustration, to ask questions about things don’t make sense, and to vent or complain when you are simply on your last nerve. That’s completely normal.  There are plenty of times that  I have questioned issues pertaining to the school system. Schools are not an unquestionable monolithic institution. But they are also not able to: … be magically prepared at all times for challenges that haven’t ever happened before and for which no immediate solutions exist …(from yesterday’s post) By all means question things which you believe ought to be within the school system’s ability to do. Or ask questions purely because you don’t understand. That’s not what set me off yesterday. My apologies if that was not clear. Speaking of que...