B'MORE & MORE

"The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country and we haven't seen them since" - Gore Vidal It feels like any time I see someone remotely intelligent talk about the current state of the country - i.e., "the Trump era" - they usually act like the world is falling apart. The general mood in the media and among liberal-leaning people is that we're on the verge of fascism, democracy is dying and America is going to hell in a handbasket. I was watching Bill Maher's show recently (no, I don't agree with him on everything but at least his show tries to be even-handed); both he and guests like Michael Moore have been increasingly "somber," arguing that Trump is likely to stay in office forever and the country will basically be destroyed if more liberals don't get into government. I liked "The Handmaid's Tale," but people now seem to think it's a real cautionary tale for the Trump era, not just a

I got a request to write about how job-hunting is super-hard. Most anyone over the age of, say, 25 is aware of how difficult it is to get a job. Before my current job, I spent seven years writing/reporting for The Aegis (part of Baltimore Sun Media Group). How long did I spend looking for a new job? Let's just say: A. Long. Time. Looking for jobs definitely amounts to at least a part-time - maybe full-time - job of its own, if you do it right. You should be revising your cover letter (at least a little bit) to match the needs of each employer, which requires research. Job-hunting also costs money , especially if you get interviews: You need appropriate clothes; you need to pay for tolls or transit or parking; you may need to get lunch or food while you're traveling around; you may need to take days or time off of work to get to the interviews. I also spent some money to attend job-counseling classes (which were very helpful, in terms of reworking my resume/cover letter a

I went with my mom to Lancaster, Pa., for the weekend. It was very nice! View from the 15th floor (out of 19) We stayed in a hotel directly downtown in Lancaster City. It was expensive, but... that's what we did. So we were "in the heart of the action." My mom and I accidentally dressed exactly the same. She thought this was great; I did not but went along with it. The Central Market is really great. It was pretty packed when we were there, but it's a major attraction and it's really nice to walk around the little alleys outside of it as well. The sign says "Est. 1730 - and still fresh!" - haha! Downtown Lancaster is very nice! There are a bunch of coffee shops and stores and little tucked-away places. It felt pretty "millenial."  One thing that's weird about Lancaster is almost everyone is extremely friendly. My mom compared it to Disney World, where they say, "Have a magical day."

"Past = prologue" - Shakespeare  (National Memorial for Peace and Justice) You may have heard of the new lynching museum in Montgomery, Ala. Maryland actually had plenty of lynchings of its own, and contributed to the memorial. The museum features a jar collection from soil around the U.S. where lynchings were done.  (National Memorial for Peace and Justice) Earlier this year, a group in Baltimore County collected soil toward the project . It's a powerful reminder that injustice happened everywhere - and informs race relations today. #AmericanHistory

This photo is actually of something in DC. The city has a bunch of old, obsolete police/fire call boxes that were once used for emergencies. They have since been turned into art pieces . To me, this shows you should keep old things but revitalize them. And you should do it with style . #NotASermonJustAThought

 I am almost done wallpapering my dining room!! - so I thought I'd share.   Here is what the room looked like before (yes, with mysterious big pink spots). Most of the wallpapers around today are super-contemporary-looking, but I was looking for something traditional, like  toile . I also wanted horses on it. 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 The print I got is called  Elway Hall . It was designed by Barry Dixon , who has a big farm in Virginia. The print is named after his house.                            Elway Hall (Photo: Matthew Benson/Traditional Home) and "Elway Hall"       Doing the wallpaper was pretty tricky, but I liked it after a while; it was kind of relaxing. Some advice if you want to try wallpaper yourself: DO YOUR RESEARCH, because wallpaper is expensive . Get all the measurements right, and make a plumb line. (I messed up measurements at first, because I'

"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" - Mark Twain, maybe                                                                     On Northern Parkway                                                           Three years ago this week, a wave of violence swept through Baltimore City. The riots (or "uprising" or "civil unrest" - choose your semantics) are now one of the main things people nationwide associate with Baltimore. In Arlington, Va., recently, I told a lady selling crafts I was from Baltimore; she asked me how things are there since the riots. A lot of the focus on the riots is confirmation bias. It's easy to believe the worst about Baltimore because it's been crime-ridden for so long. So why have faith at all? For one thing, I'm an eternal optimist; being negative is boring. Here's why I think Baltimore will be fine in the long run: --It's part of the Northeast megalopolis . Any developments in Phil