A Few Reasons to Leave the Couch This Weekend

It's going to be 75 and lovely, people! Put on your walkin' shoes!

Drink free beer tonight and tomorrow afternoon!

Get Found tonight at Atomic Books! The last Atomic-sponsored Found Magazine reading featured after-hours invisible double-dutch at Zissimo's. How could you miss the possibility of that happening again?

Find the G Spot tomorrow night and see the work of John Malloy (former Hampden resident and artist responsible for this season's marketing images for Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.) The Hymnen, The Oranges Band and Impossible Hair will be playing.

And if you just want to chill, try Lovelyarns first anniversary party Sunday!

It's your Hampden, people! Show it some love.

Does the Sun hate Hampden?

More "news" on the Flying Spaghetti Monster billboard on Falls Road can be found here.

The best thing about this article? Reporter Laura Vozzella writes, "No wonder we're still wrestling with mysteries of the universe; Hampden alone defies explanation."

She goes on: "For whatever reason, it's a place where you can post a wacky billboard and make barely a ripple."

I didn't realize that Hampden needed explaining.

Hampden! We're so wacky that we don't get crazy over creative billboards! We're a neighborhood that makes no sense!

Bacon Chocolate Update!

In thanks for voting Ma Petite Shoe the best shoe store in Baltimore (according to the City Paper,) the store is giving away free Vosges Bacon Chocolate Bars!

So stop in before supplies are gone! And check out the new shoe lines and chocolate offerings while you're at it--maybe you might want to actually buy something too!

Hawker vows that that bacon chocolate will not be the subject of weekly posts.

Reasons to leave your house this weekend are coming soon!

Oh, Frank Conaway: Do you REALLY represent the people of Hampden?

This just in:

News according to Del. Frank Conaway Jr. of District 40!

Your gay neighbors are "unconventional" and possibly leading us to--gasp--polygamy!

For God's sake, when are we going to realize that allowing adult couples of all kinds to live in conscious partnership is a GOOD thing for communities?

This from The Messenger:
(Try here if the above link is expired)

"Conaway said allowing civil marriage for gays and lesbians will open the floodgates to the state having to recognize other unconventional relationships, such as polygamy.

Conaway represents Hampden, Charles Village, Remington and Mt. Vernon. His father is Frank Conaway Sr., Baltimore City Clerk of Circuit Courts. In 2004, Conaway Sr. was named in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and by several gay and lesbian couples who wanted the right to marry.

Although the younger Conaway is opposed to civil marriage for same- sex couples, he also voted against the Dwyer bill to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

'I felt it wasn't my part to define that, and the judges should define that,' Conaway said."

His opposition to the Dwyer bill does not comfort me!

UPDATE: Contact Frank Conaway and let him know how you really feel about this issue:

ADDRESS:
House Office Building, Room 315
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401

PHONE:
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3189

EMAIL:
frank.conaway@house.state.md.us

Hampden Library Gets Beautified!

The Hampden Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Public Library on Falls Road just got spruced up, and it looks great!

The exterior landscaping project was organized by Friends of the Hampden Library and the Hampden Clean & Green Committee, with support from the Baltimore Garden Co.

Great pictures (including the collage from above) can be found here courtesy of Hampdenite Danielle!

Here's the thing: if everyone cared as much about how Hampden looked as the folks who busted it at the library over the last few days, all of Hampden would be beautiful! Hawker thanks everyone who helped out!

A Wise Voice is Raised

Go here for some wise thoughts about crime from The Shank.

I want to be clear: Hawker's not laying blame for crime in Baltimore. I don't think there is an easy fix. I think it's up to all of us to reduce crime in our communities, but I agree with The Shank that the first step would be a reallocation of resources on a national level.

Just something to think about before you think one person can solve this problem and you go laying blame at the doorstep of folks whose hands are tied.

Disturbing News Update

More about the body found over the weekend:

According to The Sun, the man died of blunt force trauma, and though the area where he was found (under the 41st Street bridge) is known as a hang-out for the homeless, police haven't yet determined whether the man found was homeless are not. Police are investigating this death as a homicide.

Here's the last two sentences from the article:

"He was the city's 225th homicide this year. For the same period last year, the city had 199 homicide victims."

If you got someone to love, please love 'em.

Baltimore Crime notes that another dead body was found in Hampden Saturday night. This one was found under 41st Street bridge overpass. No news yet on the body found in the Jones Falls on August 30th.

Hawker wonders what it will take before this city stands up and says enough.

Speed Bumps A-Comin'

From a tipster:

Lines have been painted for speed bumps on Elm between 34th and 36th. Mail trucks will soon be bouncin'.

It is possible that there will be actual speed bumps by the time Hampdenites get home from work today.

From the "Some People Have so Much Free Time, It's Sick" Department

So this is nuts.

Someone apparently has enough free time to spend it hacking the Wikipedia entries of Baltimore's professional theatres (of which Hampden's Baltimore Shakespeare Festival is one.) That problem seems to have been solved, but now there's someone who's created a FAKE My Space page for BSF.

Hawker says, "This is nuts!" A non-profit theatre company is not the enemy, and whatever your opinion about BSF & their work, they employ a large number of Baltimore-based theatre artists, they offer extenstive programs to Baltimore city school children and they're Hampden's professional theatre!

To "baltobard": The Internet lets you say whatever you want, FYI, and you don't even have to hack or steal someone else's name to do it! Look at me!

Promoted from Comments

It's true.

Ma Petite Shoe has Vosges Bacon Chocolate Bars.

They've been described to Hawker as being crunchy and freaking delicious.

If bacon chocolate isn't your thing, Ma Petite Shoe has also started carrying some awesome shoes that start at lower prices for budget minded gals. Just FYI.

Hawker Traffic Report

Hawker knows who is responsible for snarling traffic on Falls Road. (There's two huge yellow trucks, a phalanx of traffic cones and one hard-to-miss-because-its-in-constant-use jackhammer just south of 37th.)

Have pity on the household responsible for this. They haven't had hot water in a week, and BGE is currently replacing all of the pipework that leads from the main underground pipe all the way to their water heater.

So, just know that you're having a better day than that Hampden couple.

Hampden Scores Big in The City Paper's Best of Baltimore

Here are the Hampden highlights from The City Paper's Best of Baltimore that came out yesterday:

Full story & details HERE.

First off, City Paper picks Seton Hill as best neighborhood, but the readers pick Hampden! (The also pick Baltimore Crime as the best local blog, FYI. There's always next year, Hampdenites!)

Hampden dominates the reader's picks:
Best Local Women's Clothing Store: Doubledutch Boutique
Best Shoe Store: Ma Petite Shoe
Best Local Hardware Store: Falkenhan's Hardware
Best "Adult" Store: Sugar (Do the quotation marks mean that folks who shop at Sugar aren't really adults?)
Best Independent Bookstore: Atomic Books
Best Liquor Store: The Wine Source
Best Auto-Repair Shop: Brentwood Automotive
Best New Restaurant: Rocket to Venus
Best Wannabe Scenester Bar: Rocket to Venus (Wannabe? Please.)
Best Bar for Nonsmokers: Hon Bar (and Hawker says best bartenders!)
Best Karaoke: Frazier's on the Avenue
Best Jukebox: Rocket to Venus

. . . And the City Paper picks:

Best Development Project That Should Be Happening But Isn't: The Old Northern District Police Station
(City Paper says that long-rumored reopening of Mamie's in the Station isn't happening because of the delay.)

Best Pool We Wish Was Public: Assembly Apartments at Clipper Mill
(Well, duh.)

Best Spa: ReNew Organic Day Spa
(And Hawker's never been there! This must be fixed!)

Best Independent Bookstore: Atomic Books
(Hawker, like The City Paper, often finds things there she didn't know she wanted.)

Best Adult Store: Sugar
(What can Hawker say? Hampden embraces pleasure.)

Best Liquor Store: The Wine Source
(which almost didn't win because according to The City Paper, "enough with Hampden already." Nice.)

Best Place to Buy Vinyl: True Vine
(Rumor has it that a couple of Baltimore dj's and hip-hip stars dump their excess vinyl at True Vine. There are treasures to be found there!)

Best Hairstylist: Cliff Butler of Sprout

Best Champion of Local Food: Dogwood
(The dining room should reopen September 25th!)

Best New Restaurant: R2V
(No surprise.)

Best New Appetizer: Rocket to Venus's Brussels Sprouts
(Is there anybody that doesn't like the way they make 'em?)

Best Pie: Common Ground Café
(Feels like an upset--go Common Ground!)

Best Chicken Quesadillas: Golden West Café
(This just in: Hampden respects the quesadilla!)

There is so much Hampden all over that City Paper, Hawker may have missed something. Please advise!

Sometimes Hampden hurts.

To the man racing down Falls Road last night at 11:30 p.m. screaming unspeakable obscenities at the top of his lungs while pushing a crying baby in a stroller:

Stop it. You make me sick.

To the sheepish woman trailing behind him:

LEAVE HIM.

That is all.

Finally: HampdenFest! With Fewer Links and More Tiny Pictures!

HampdenFest! I have put off re-capping it, because I barely know where to begin. HampdenFest, I loves ya, and Hawker is slow this week partly because she was recovering.

If you see Benn Ray or Rachel Whang (and the easy way to do this is to go visit Atomic Books or Atomic Pop,) THANK them for HampdenFest. They might play it off like it was no big deal, but it was. They made it happen, people. Praise them.

A Hampdenite (and cast member in this fall's Baltimore Shakespeare Festival production of Antigone) put it succinctly: "HonFest feels like it's about showing off for visitors, but HampdenFest feels like a party for ourselves." Hey, I'm the first to admit that showing off for visitors occasionally is a good thing, but it's nice to just celebrate being our own freaky selves once a year.

For me, Hampdenfest started off with Secret Crush Society (accompanied by an adorable yawning, but enthusiastic tambourine girl.) Then, as part of the SCS number "Reach into the Dolphin" (based on a true story,) this creature appeared:
Children rocked. Dolphins were empowered.

Punks gazed in mock disbelief!

The music at HampdenFest is becoming legendary. So many freaking bands! Three stages! What's a Hawker to do? I caught some of Double Dagger (We may indeed be building a ghost town, my friends) and some of The Jennifers. Impossible Hair somehow (impossibly?) played HampdenFest and then the Charm City Roller Girls bout the very next day, and I think a member of The Oranges Band was playing somewhere in Baltimore city 24/7 from Friday, September 14 through midnight on Sunday, September 16.

I gotta say that the kids rockin' it at HampdenFest are really the best entertainment, however. There was kid dancing and basketball shooting (thanks to the Hampden Family Center) and face painting and crazy hair galore. Here's a shot of my favorite kids:


Then, there was Hampden Idol. Hampden Idol makes you believe in the power of music again.

This year's winner was Hampdenite Lisa Harbin! (She is the lead singer of Secret Crush Society, FYI.) How'd she become our Hampden Idol? The girl rocked 99 Luftballons! AND she brought the freaking balloons! AND magically: as she hit the last notes of her song and let the last balloon go to find its way into the sky, a kid jumped up on stage and tried to grab it, but he missed and the kid--and the whole audience--just stared as that last balloon floated away into its destiny. It was beautiful!



Even Spiderman loved it!


Other Hampden Idol highlights included a musical goodbye from soon to the departing Hampdenite Hannah who's off to Portland to take her talents to their city monthly:


Then, there was Scott. His rendition of "Love Hurts" made girls cry:


God! There was a heavy metal Jules Burn from the Charm City Roller Girls rockin' it. There was teacher & milkmaid hj singin' truth to power. There was Johnny Zebra from CCRG judgin' it! There was New Ben, and if somebody doesn't start dating him like right this minute, Hampden is not the neighborhood I think she is. People, I give you New Ben:


Hawker could go on and on!

Then, Hampden drank Brewer's Art out of Ressurection.

Then, HampdenFest floated away like that single red balloon.



Then, it seemed like it was time to go home.

Argh!

Hawker had some technical difficulties this morning, but rest assured, a full HampdenFest recap is on its way.

Let me preface said recap with this:

Friday night, as part of the Ottobar's 10th anniversary, in the parking lot behind the bar, I saw one of the owners of R2V (Buck) dressed in a white jumpsuit, riding a white minibike, jump over a cake (that featured cats playing an indie rock show on the stage of the Ottobar) made by Charm City Cakes, with mega-watt Roman candles lighting his way. Still, this was NOT the most amazing thing I saw this weekend.

That's how great HampdenFest was.

More to come.

HampdenFest

Ok, so it's HampdenFest this Saturday, September 15th, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It's going to be huge. 15,000 people are expected.

The festival takes place on The Avenue, between Chestnut and Falls Road. There are two stages and a slew of vendors and activities between them.

There's great music (one of the real highlights of this festival,) and as I've pointed out before, the website does a fantastic job of linking to band's websites and offering mp3's, so you can really plan your day. There is, of course, Hampden Idol.

There will be activities for kids, beer from Brewer's Art and art & crafts for sale from a variety of local/regional artists. Don't forget that stores and restaurants are open too, and it's a great day to go into that new store you've always wanted to visit.

There's something for everyone!

Hawker's gonna be there, snapping photos and taking names.

Don't miss it!

Random "News" Round-Up

1. Kolper's gets a review in the Sun. Whether Elizabeth Large is pro- and anti- old Fraizer's is still unclear.

2. NHBA: 5 Wacky Women in the Sun
Well, they're wacky.

3. Baltimore Snacker visits R2V, and Snacker likes it.
(Hawker likes Snacker, FYI.)
The comments are the goldmine, however. Brace yourself: Hampden suffers from a serious case of attitude! A waitress is complimented for not being a hipster! A new word is coined: Hampden + hipster = "Hampster!"

Snacker also posted a top ten list (of best posts from the last year.) On that list, Snacker included reviews of the mysterious Grill Art, Cafe Hon and Hon Fest.

4. Courtesy of The Shank, HampdenFest is big enough now to have inspired an alternative festival. Here are the details:
(The Shank has links to some of the band's MySpace pages.)

THE BUNNY HILLTOP FESTIVAL
Featuring: THE COURTESY LINE, REINVENTING THE SQUARE, THE REPTILE ALWAYS WINS, T-SHIRT! T-SHIRT!, JEAN LOUISE, THE BAD NAMES, MAGICK BULLET THEORY
3PM-9PM. 1332 Dellwood Ave. Hampden, Baltimore.
Free if you're in a bunny costume, 25 cents if not.

5. Marginal Foodie graphs The Wine Source.

6. We're Number 8! We're Number 8!

7. HampdenFest is this weekend, but if you wake up Sunday and think, "Damn. I didn't spend enough money," go here. Form, Double Dutch and Shine will be participating in this boutique sale in Timonium. There will deep discounts on all merchandise, and all proceeds benefit Junior League programs. The Junior League is, however, leaving its Hampden home for new digs near Belvedere Square.

8. Yesterday, a tourist came all the way from Tokyo to visit Atomic Books. Benn & Rachel report that this is not an uncommon occurrence.

9. Just the facts on the Northern District's new top cop.

10. HampdenFest is Saturday!

Today in Hampden Construction News

1. A van from Jensen's Plumbing Service has been parked outside the Falls Road site of the future El Rancho Grande for the last few days! The MySpace page only says "soon very soon."

2. The cement truck at the Hampden library on Tuesday got me excited. Maybe they were building a patio? Sidewalk improvements? However, I talked to some workmen, and they told me, "just drain improvements."

"Oh," I said, "I thought it might be something exciting."

"Depends what you think about drains," one of them answered.

That's pure Hampden philosophy. I love it.

3. Learning Inc (on 36th, just west of Falls) is under construction. (Pictured is a recent photo.) The school for troubled youth and adults is going through a full renovation of the former Hampden Trinity United Church building and the construction of a new adjoining building. Money has come from various sources as part of a $1 million capital campaign, but Learning Inc did recently receive a $50,000 grant from the Knott Foundation (a Catholic family foundation focused on strengthening Baltimore's communities.) The school is a last-chance stop for many troubled kids. This article from the City Paper a couple of years ago gives you a taste of the place.

More Hampden in the Air(Waves)

On WYPR's The Signal tomorrow, you can hear stories about both the Dogwood Deli and Restaurant and Sprout, Hampden's organic salon! The focus of the hour-long arts & ideas program is on local entrepreneurs who are building green businesses.

Tune in to 88.1 at 12 noon and 7 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) on WYPR.

You can listen to it after the fact and get more details here.

EDIT at 12:30 p.m.: Tomorrow is the new today

Start Your Day Hampden-Style

Keyboard Man tells me that he'll be on Fox 45 News this morning at roughly 8:20 a.m. There will be a LIVE Keyboard Man interview and a performance from Hampden Idol 2006 Winner, Tony!

If you miss it, you can see the real thing at Hampden Idol at 5pm at HampdenFest this Saturday. Keyboard Man wants you to party like it's 2099!

Hampdenites Take to the Air(waves)

Hampdenite, super-brain, and University of Maryland Baltimore County assistant professor of History & Foreign Policy Brad Simpson is on WYPR's The Marc Steiner Show right now. You can listen after the fact here.

If you can't wait to hear a Hampenite on a WYPR program, try listening to Atomic co-owner Benn Ray's story about jury duty (that was featured on last Friday's The Signal) here.

(Podcast mavens go here.)

Hawker offers One Last Plea for Participating in Your Democracy

Just back from voting at Robert Poole Middle School, and only 70 people have voted so far!

Keep in mind that in a Democratic city, the Democratic primary really matters more than the election.

Polls are open until 8 p.m.

Hawker's 9/11 Primary Endorsements

Like I said, yesterday, Hawker endorses voting!

So if you are eligible (and the thing about primaries is that you have to be registered for a particular party--the system does not favor independents,) get out there!

I just heard on WYPR that in the 13th district, only 45 people have voted so far: FORTY-FIVE PEOPLE. If you think your vote doesn't matter today, chew on that.

Hampden is split between the 7th & 14th district for City Council, FYI. Whoever wins in the 7th, the first thing I'm going to do is call them to complain about the uselessness of the city council website.

Swiped from The Shank is a great link to a story from Baltimore City Paper with a candidate questionnaire if you're still undecided.

The Shank's endorsements are here.

I'm on my way to the polls shortly.

The CCRG-Hampen Connection, Part 1 of a series

So the Charm City Roller Girls know how to party, and they love to party in Hampden! (Just ask Hampdenite Sister Midnight about the after-after-after party following the last bout. Heroes were made that night.) Frazier's is the after-after party venue of choice, and after Monday & Wednesday night practices, Charm City Roller Girls are regularly seen out and about at R2V, Frijoles and of course, The Frazie.

Pixie Rocket and Dirty Trixie were spotted on The Avenue for this past weekend's First Friday. They were very pro-Red Tree and the tapas-like spread of fancy olives and peppers. They were saddened to be so late to getting to Doubledutch that they missed the sushi, but here they are at Doubledutch, happy to be showing off their spoils. (Doubledutch was PACKED and rocking with a house dj. For some reason, I took a photo that makes it look like a ghost town.)

Roller girls also figured prominently in the Hampden Idol preliminaries at Hon Bar Friday night. Kiss n' Makeup employee and girl with some pipes Jules Burn rocked the hell out of "Angel Eyes." She is NEVER going to let you go. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!

First Friday Highlights, Part Un

The highlight of this past weekend's First Friday is easy to choose.

Two great Hampdenites were brought together by Johnny Cash. Friday night's Keyboard Man appearance at the Hon Bar featured a duet between Denise Whiting (owner of Hampden's Hon empire) and Benn Ray (co-owner of Hampden's Atomic empire.) They've fallen into a ring of fire, people!

Hawker's Open Letter to Tony Asa

So Hawker's not making endorsements, but I encourage one and all to get out and vote in this Tuesday's primary (if you happen to be eligible.) Hawker endorses voting.

Like most Hampdenites, I've been coming home at night to 3-4 voicemails on my home phone (Martin O'Malley can't stop calling me!) and 3-4 pieces of propaganda that have been shoved through my mail slot. This leads me to. . .

7th District Contender Tony Asa.

Dear Tony,

I don't know you. You may very well be a super nice guy, a fine dinner companion and a man with a plan. You're a party switcher, but people change. I'm not going to hold that against you per se.

Look, I've never met you in person, but the impression your paper trail is making is not good. Let me give a few examples:

1. The postcard you shoved through my mail slot a week or so ago is so riddled with grammatical errors that it hurt my brain. It also features maybe the most astounding campaign "promise" ever. Let me quote directly:

"CRIME PLAN will decrease repeat crimes, murder and break ins my plan will be detailed after election for obvious reasons."

Tony, any of the obvious reasons aren't ones that are going to earn you any votes.

2. Your ad in The Baltimore Messenger was also riddled with grammatical errors. Ok, nobody's perfect, but aren't writing skills important in your current day job as paralegal? Call me old-fashioned, but I'm pro-"the appropriate use of periods." I'm also a total sucker for writing that follows basic rules of grammar. I'm crazy like that. Plus, it may be helpful to know that a ton of voters in Hampden are teachers! Teachers get giddy from writing that makes grammatical sense.

3. Part of your plan for the city includes having "talent scouts" at community centers to counsel young people who show promise in such skills as acting and writing. Are you going to hook up these kids with book deals? Equity membership and a gig at Centerstage? I'm confused. How about getting kids ready for college and setting up support systems to help them get there? How about that for a plan? Is that nuts?

Tony, here are my two suggestions: 1) You hire some of these young people with writing skills to fine tune your campaign literature and 2) You tell us what your plan to decrease crime is--FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.

Sincerely,
Hawker

Rocket Fuel for your Sunday Night

Ohmygod. There is so much gossip to post from this weekend, I'm going to to have a plethora of posts over the next 12 hours or so, but just in case you're not ready for the weekend to be over and recapped:

Hawker has word that Geoffrey Danek (owner of Holy Frijoles and co-owner of Rocket to Venus ) had a rocking birthday party this weekend. See if he's recovered and at the Sunday night Rocket to Venus film screening tonight. R2V shows random films Sunday nights sometime around 9:30 p.m.

Oh, and the word is outdoor seating at R2V is coming! They ordered the chairs just a few days ago. Pray for a temperate fall.

People of Hampden: Leave your Homes!

Hawker is so freaking tired from this week that all she wants to do is take a nap and then go rock it in Hampden by making the rounds on a First Friday.

I'm gonna take pictures and do some interviews.

You better be there.

Random News Roundup

A non-comprehensive roundup of news you might have missed:

1. Sort of more on the suckiness of marriage

2. Hampden Charm School Cheerleaders featured in "Blog City," a feature in The Post subtitled "Washington through the lens of photobloggers." Hmm. . .

3. A City Paper feature on Baltimore Fashion Week featuring Pam Hanner, who's "straight out of Hampden!"

4. The pizza delivery holdup documented in the Baltimore Messenger's Crime Log

5. What the hell is this guy's problem? According the sheer number of single women in Hampden, this guy should be king. He MUST be hiding something.

Oh, and even though gossip about yourself is not cool, thanks to Benn Ray for giving the Hawker a shoutout in his Messenger column last week!

Can you smell that in the air?

HampdenFest is coming September 15th!

Hawker can't wait!

An updated band schedule is here, and you can listen to mp3's there of almost all of them. Also, if you live in Hampden and haven't experienced the community building force of Hampden Idol (and the healing powers of Keyboard Man and free Tab,) I suggest you do so.

Hawker has word that Hampden Idol judges this year will be Mary Alice Fallon Yeskey from the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes" and Charm City Roller Girls Referee Johnny Zebra.

Can't wait until the 15th? Check out the last round of Hampden Idol tryouts at The Hon Bar this Friday night from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.!

From the "hopefully factual" department:

A "fact" from a "source":

Ben Turner from the Food Network's Ace of Cakes is waiting tables at The Golden West.

UPDATE: I hoped right. It's true, and it's old news! Hooray for Hawker for bringing up the rearguard of Hampden gossip today!

Let's keep the Hampden business love goin' this morning.

How much do I love the Atomic Books? (and Pop/Book Company/Twang/TV?)Well, Hawker isn't the only one who was attracted to Hampden because of businesses like that. Benn and Rachel care passionately about Hampden, and their businesses here are the kinds of anchors that bring folks from all over the region to our hood.

And last night, Atomic Pop started hosting Burlesque University!

Finallly! An institution of higher learning in Hampden!

According to previous Burlesque 101's, "Graduation Glory" on Oct. 18 should be open to the public.

Today in Hampden Foodie News

The Wine Source is one of Hampden's gems, and it just gets better all the time. (Except: When--OH GOD!--is that rumored wine bar a-comin'?) Their regular free wine tastings are a hipster/college student/Roland Park lawyer mixing bowl. (You can also sample TWS favorites at Baltimore Shakespeare Festival opening nights, FYI.) TWS's continuing expansion into food is more than welcome, and now. . .

The Wine Source is now making fresh mozzarella! (Thanks to Hampden's favorite foodie for alerting me!) The cheese cave admits that it's still on a learning curve, but fresh-made cheese is an amazing addition to their already well-selected, mighty selection of cheeses for sale.

According to TWS employee I just spoke to, the mozzarella is generally only made on weekends and is ready by early afternoon, but it goes fast!

There also is word that there may be some changes in staffing at the cheese cave coming soon, but that TWS is committed to making the cheese and will resume it ASAP if there are staffing changes.

Get some while tomatoes and basil are still in season! Summer is fading fast, people!

This just in for those of you who are just breaking your weekend news fast

This will teach Hawker to not go spend Labor Day at the beach with no access to the Internet:

McNulty's yard sale never happened!

Here's the Burma Shave sign-style text messages I received Saturday afternoon from a tipster:

1. McNulty's yard sale is a lie!!!
2. I went down there. No sign of a yard sale. . .
3. I talked to a bldg employee who was trying to find out what was up.
4. Eventually learned that mcnulty didn't get home from 'shooting' until after 6 a.m.

So. . . he was sleeping? Sources indicate that the sale wasn't a hoax and that quite a few celebrity stalkers were wandering Clipper Mill Saturday morning without much to do.