Village Green/Town²

  You go in a store and see that the product that you want to buy is locked up. What do you do? I won’t buy it at that store. I’ll buy it in a store where they don’t treat customers like criminals. Maybe I will buy a different brand that isn’t locked up if that will work for me. Some folks will leave the store and purchase the desired item online.  Locking up merchandise is meant to reduce theft but it also reduces sales. It introduces an atmosphere of ill will with customers. It says we don’t mind inconveniencing you and making you feel like you are worthy of being under suspicion in our store. One of the most effective ways to reduce theft is to hire, train, and pay enough human employeees both to  help customers and to reduce environments that make it easy to steal. But paying workers costs money. Reducing labor costs is one of the first things that big companies do these days. Putting barriers between what you are offering and the people who actually want it is counte...

  Yesterday I learned that poor reading comprehension is a serious problem in a community that prides itself on being well educated. I am not talking about folks who barely made it out of highschool, either.  Banning books means banning books.  Suggesting that a public institution that claims to be safe for everyone shouldn’t throw parties that elevate the work of someone who does actual harm both to young people and adults is not book banning. I am just gobsmacked at how many people tried to argue this point.  I don’t expect that everything I write will meet with complete agreement. But I do object strongly when the response is to fully misrepresent what I am saying. ***** It’s Saturday. Support your local markets.  Howard County Restaurant and Craft Beverage Weeks are underway . Make sure to try something delightfully “mid” if the spirit moves you.  The Visit Howard County website has updated their events calendar. Check it out and see what you think....

  One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right.  Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events?  Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....

 “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 ...