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Pieces of April, Saturday Edition

Good news: I’m home for 24 hours. Bad news: our AC is broken. Good news: our AC people are coming between four and eight pm today. The bad news: I didn’t get the best sleep of my life last night. It’s a clip show today, folks. Today is Spring Fest in Old Ellicott City. At Clarksville Commons they are celebrating Earth Day. The Howard County Genealogical Society is hosting a free Help Desk Event. You can contribute to the Period Product Drive initiative hosted by the Howard County Women’s Giving Circle and Young Women's Giving Circle. The PTA Council of Howard County is holding a Candidate Forum featuring Board of Education and County Council candidates. Don’t forget you can bring your sketchbook down to the Lakefront for Scribble! from 11 am - 1 pm. This looks like a fun Trivia Night event at Tribos Peri Peri with delicious food and a Pakistani theme: Oh, and one more thing. It turns out that Stripology is not what I thought it was. Oops. FYI: The folks at Mer...

F ³: The Ick

I watched a video of comedian Josh Johnson yesterday in which he describes a phenomenon called “the ick.” It’s somewhere in here . From Merriam Webster: Ick, usually the ick, refers to a sudden feeling of disgust or repulsion that causes a permanent reversal in feeling toward a romantic (or potential romantic) partner. Ick is also used (often without the, as in “a list of icks”) for the cause of the disgust or repulsion itself. It is sometimes used more broadly for a feeling of disgust or repulsion outside of the context of romantic relationships. Johnson describes an experience where he’s pretty sure that his own behavior gave a potential girlfriend that “ick” sensation. He does it in a way that is both self-deprecating and hilarious. By using himself as the awkward one, he has you laughing and rooting for him at the same time. I had never heard the term “the ick” before yesterday. I thought a little bit about whether “the ick” is the same thing as a “red flag”. Are ...

Getting Crafty?

Two local events that may speak to your crafty side. This Saturday, from 9 am - 2 pm in Columbia, an art & craft supply Yard Sale. I found this on Columbia Patch , by the way. If you are trying to keep your expenditures to a minimum, take a look at this upcoming event at the library’s Central Branch: Got a craft stash that needs a refresh? Join us for our Craft Supply Swap! (Sunday, April 26th) Bring gently used supplies to share, or just stop by to browse and discover something new-to-you. No donation required, just a love of making! Come swap, save, and get inspired for your next project. Register here: https://bit.ly/4sN0n28 Do you like to make art? Show up this Saturday at the Lakefront, because Scribblin outside is back! PACK SOMETHING COMFY TO SIT ON, ART SUPPLIES, & COME SCRIBBLE WITH US! ALL ART STYLES & SKILL LEVELS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME. 11 - 1PM APRIL 18 COLUMBIA LAKEFRONT Do you lean towards art appreciation? Stop by Savage Mill to see the works of st...

The Pee Path

The playground is at Lake Elkhorn. Have you been there? Our youngest grew up playing there. Image from Maryland Kid Adventures The problem? You can’t see it. It’s public restrooms - - there aren’t any. Well, there are restrooms way on the other side of the park, far from the playground. And they aren’t reliably open to the public. A poster on the Columbia Reddit ( Lake Elkhorn Restrooms ) notes that people are relieving themselves in the woods behind the Pavilion. They note: What hasn't been great, is that no one has a solution to having accessible restrooms (even a Port-a-Potty) at Lake Elkhorn. In a related thread in Columbia Reddit, here is a photograph entitled “Desire Path.” Image from Reddit thread, Columbia Reddit One response jokingly called it a “Pee Path.” If you aren’t familiar with the area, this shows the straight shot from the playground, across Cradlerock, to the McDonald’s at the Owen Brown Village Center. When there are no public restrooms it’s your c...

Monday Quickie: Creating the Handbook

In a rare occurrence, I learned something worth knowing in an article in the Baltimore Sun. River Hill High student’s handbook for immigrant students gains regional attention , Kiersten Hacker The student is high school junior Roselyn Bi. With input from the Howard County Public School System student success team and about 10 to 20 young people at a multilingual fair, Bi drafted a guide designed to help ease immigrant students’ transition into American schools. She has also established a nonprofit called Tulip’s Promise. Tulip's Promise supports immigrant and refugee youth through educational resources and creative programs in collaboration with school districts, refugee resettlement agencies, and community partnerships. The website lists their national and international partners. I’m curious about their local partners. Do they work collaboratively with Luminus, for example? I’m interested to learn more. Have a great Monday. I’m looking forward to spending...

Way Too Much Fun

I’ve been known to indulge myself with “what if?” posts over the years. What if I could own the Columbia Flier Building and live there? What if I could redo it along the lines of the HGTV show “Extreme Homes” or “You Live in What?”? What if the Wilde Lake Village Center could be turned into a History of Columbia theme park? What if the Lakefront could be transformed into a kid’s birthday party paradise? What if the students in Howard County schools could begin each day by writing a thank you note? This is why I absolutely have to hand it to Jeremy Dommu of The Merriweather Post for taking that concept and running with it. Buc-ee’s is Heading North , The Merriweather Post Dommu takes the what if… Is Maryland's I-95 corridor its next exit? Does Howard County have the land? Does it want the beaver ? …and gives it the full Merriweather Post treatment. It’s delightfully speculative yet still backed up by the kind of well-laid out assessment of the available facts for which...