Village Green/Town²

 “Make art. Make art.” These words concluded the acceptance speech given by musician and composer Glen Hansard at the 2008 Oscars ceremony. Hansard and collaborator Markéta Irglová won in the category of Best Song for “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once. As the news of Hansard’s accidental and untimely death spread yesterday, so did those words. Make art. Mark art. It was both an exhortation and a plea.  In 2026 it challenges the falsehoods of tech bros who tell us that AI will democratize the creative process. It does nothing of the sort. The AI model is based on the theft of the creative work of others. Those who fall victim to the lies will find they have lost the opportunity to experience true creativity: their own, inborn gifts. AI does not give. It steals.  Last night I sat outside and read a wonderful illustrated treatise/comic  by Alexandra Gallant-Lee. In many ways it is a love letter to the creative process and to our basic, essential humanity. It is ...

  Ten years ago I shared a guest post from an Oakland Mills mom:  Stand Up for All , Lisa Spangler Zovko, July 28, 2016 This morning I’ve been sitting with the words of this piece and with the photo she shared along with her words. I don't care if you don't want to hear this. You can block me. But this has to be said. In this photo is my son Ryan and all of his closest friends from high school. Awesome right?? They are all wonderful young men that will do great things. Here's the rub. Austin's mother and I don't have to worry the same as Kian's mom or John's mom or Jay's mom or Khaaliq's mom, or Adam's mom. We don't have to worry that someone might think something about them because of the color of their skin. That's called white privilege. That's why #blacklivesmatter. These boys are all like sons to me and I pray everyday that they don't come upon the wrong person with a gun. We must stand up for all. Every micro-aggression that...

  Wait, what? I did a double take when these photos from the Youth Climate Institute account caught my eye on Instagram. You may recall that the Youth Climate Institute is an initiative of the Howard County Conservancy .  The post I came across relates recent activities related to grant support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. We're so grateful to @chesapeakebaytrust for awarding The Youth Climate Institute a Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities grant to support four Baltimore chapters in the 2025-2026 school year! Thanks to this generous funding, we were able to provide stipends and action project funding to @sparrowspoinths, @watershedpcs, @official_baltimorepoly, and Academy for College and Career Exploration. Together, these four chapters: - Raised an additional $2,000 in grant funding - Installed 16 raised beds - Installed 42 native plants - Collected 45 large bags of litter across several clean-up events throughout Baltimore (estimated 1,000 bs) - Positively impacted ...

  What does it mean to be “mid”?  Well, you’re in luck. The website for the Today show did an entire article about it in 2024.  What does the slang word ‘mid’ really mean?” , Elise Solé, Today According to Bark.us, a company that decodes teen slang, "mid" is "a term used to describe something that is average, not particularly special, 'middle of the road.'" Why do I have “mid” on the brain? It’s not a word I’ve used in daily conversation, although I did know what it meant. It turned up on a HoCoLocal foodie group yesterday in a way that had all the charm of getting slapped in the face with a wet fish. To paraphrase: This group isn’t giving enough attention to fine dining establishments, especially this new one. The kind of places it focuses on are what I think are cheap eats and thus the group is nothing but… “Mid.” This particular group has its ups and downs. The biggest complaints are generally of the “I had a bad experience” and quite frankly some of thos...

  Cars, Cats, & Coffee - - Will the perky alliteration never end? From Luna Cat Collective : Image from Luna Cat Collective social media  A recent  reel from the Instagram of Luna Cat Collective in the Normandy Shopping Center jogged my memory about something and I started digging through old posts. But first, info about the event: lunacatcollective:  Play with cats, enjoy some coffee, appreciate some rides Cars, Cats, Coffee this Sunday, July 26th 12-2pm Discounted Cat Time For Drivers & Bikers Meet at Luna Cat Collective, Park in the JS Taekwondo Lot 8480 Baltimore National Pike, Ste 311, Ellicott City, MD 21043   Hmm…think, think, think.  Isn’t this a Car Meet? Didn’t there used to be a Car Meet in this exact location? Aha! Found it!  Ellicott City Petition  , August 27, 2022 Someone named Vincent Harris had organized regular events called Cars & Boba at the Normandy Shopping Center but for some reason they were asked to leave....

  Pride in July? Yes, you can have Pride in July. You can celebrate Pride any time you want.  Howard County supports two major Pride celebrations - - EC Pride in June, and Howard County Pride in October at Merrriweather Park at Symphony Woods. Pride is a refusal to be erased, harassed, and criminalized. Pride celebrates the truth of the human experience in sexual expression and gender diversity.  The way things are these days it’s almost ridiculous to take a day off from supporting and celebrating our LGBTQIA family, friends, and neighbors. Snagged from a from a friend taking the Metro in July… DC Metro Pride Train From Columbia Association, an announcement for tonight’s Lakefront Live: Pride in July is back at the CA Lakefront on Saturday, July 25! Join us for an unforgettable celebration of love, togetherness and community. Come out for: A high-energy dance floor hosted by SADBrunch Dazzling drag performances featuring the fabulous Cake Pop! and local drag royalty burs...