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	<title>What Weekly Magazine</title>
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	<link>http://whatweekly.com</link>
	<description>Baltimore&#039;s Good News</description>
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		<title>My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/my-last-days-meet-zach-sobiech/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-last-days-meet-zach-sobiech</link>
		<comments>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/my-last-days-meet-zach-sobiech/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 19:53:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Justin Allen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wellness]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatweekly.com/?p=38449</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Zach Sobiech is a 17 year old who recently lost his life to osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. With only months to live, Zach turned to music to say goodbye. Zach&#8217;s song, &#8216;Clouds&#8217; is available on iTunes and other online music stores and that proceeds benefit the Zach Sobiech Research Fund of Children&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9NjKgV65fpo" height="392" width="696" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<div id="watch-description-text">
<p id="eow-description">Zach Sobiech is a 17 year old who recently lost his life to osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. With only months to live, Zach turned to music to say goodbye.</p>
<p>Zach&#8217;s song, &#8216;Clouds&#8217; is available on iTunes and other online music stores and that proceeds benefit the Zach Sobiech Research Fund of Children&#8217;s Cancer Research Fund <a title="http://www.childrenscancer.org/zach" href="http://www.childrenscancer.org/zach" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.childrenscancer.org/zach</a></p>
<p>Zach Sobiech passed away May 20, 2013. Our hearts and prayers are with his family and friends. We are forever touched by his story. Thank you for sharing your life and music with us, Zach. You are dearly missed and loved.</p>
<p>SoulPancake presents, in collaboration with AFG Productions:<br />
Director/Producer: Justin Baldoni<br />
Producer: Ahmed Kolacek<br />
Producer: Sam Baldoni<br />
Associate Producer: Fouad Elgohari<br />
Editor: Olly Riley-Smith<br />
Special Thanks to Dirty Robber<br />
DP: Kieran Murphy<br />
Cam Op: Sam Rosenthal<br />
Grip/Gaffer: Erik Christensen<br />
Sound Recordist: Jordon Justice<br />
Composer: Jamey Heath<br />
Colorist: Kurt Nishimura<br />
Mixed by: Jamey Heath<br />
VFX: Abdullah Nabil<br />
Cam Op: Kraig Adams<br />
Cam Op/DIT: Emerson Boergadine</p>
<p>Songs:<br />
Flowers in her hair &#8211; The Lumineers<br />
Clouds &#8211; A Firm Handshake</p>
<p>For My Grace &#8211; Original song from Zach Sobiech<br />
Sandcastles &#8211; A Firm Handshake</p>
<p>Special Thanks to:<br />
Nissan North America, Inc.<br />
Northcott Hospitality<br />
Carlson Hotels/Country Inn &amp; Suites<br />
Minnesota Vikings<br />
Houlihan&#8217;s<br />
Daily Grind<br />
Foundation Content<br />
Ken Nutley<br />
BMI<br />
Kobalt Music<br />
DualTone<br />
Hot Head Productions</p>
</div>
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		<title>Our First Preakness</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/our-first-preakness/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=our-first-preakness</link>
		<comments>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/our-first-preakness/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 19:03:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Justin Allen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[slider]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatweekly.com/?p=38411</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I never imagined myself being interested in horse racing beyond the odd Seabiscuit-esque, tear-jerking biopic though I’m happy to report that our first trip to Preakness was one of the best times I’d had in recent memory. Maybe it was the fact that Brooke and I won more than we lost or that we picked [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-38444" alt="138-preakness-what-weekly.1" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/138-preakness-what-weekly.11.jpg" width="696" height="696" /></p>
<p>I never imagined myself being interested in horse racing beyond the odd Seabiscuit-esque, tear-jerking biopic though I’m happy to report that our first trip to <a href="http://www.preakness.com/">Preakness</a> was one of the best times I’d had in recent memory. Maybe it was the fact that Brooke and I won more than we lost or that we picked Oxbow to win the Preakness stakes. Maybe it was striking the right balance between libation and adrenaline while placing exotic bets &#8211; hitting the trifecta while my girl picked the winner on our first try. What’s undeniable is that last Saturday was a magical day over in Park Heights and I can’t wait to go and do it again.</p>
<p>In the past, tales of hordes of people dragging copious amounts of alcohol into the infield, only to bake helplessly in the sun for hours on end until their mental capacity decayed precipitously kept me away from the track on Preakness day. I had visions of any semblance of civilization evaporating in direct inverse proportion to the rising average blood alcohol level amongst attendees. Thankfully, the organizers of the event had the good sense to curtail the unfettered debauchery in the infield by banning outside beverages. I’m happy to announce to others who may have avoided Preakness for similar reasons that not only was Preakness wholly civilized, it was a phenomenal time. I might even go so far as to say the experience made me an instant fan of horse racing and an emerging advocate of Pimlico. The truth is that Preakness is one the greatest days of the year to be a Marylander.</p>
<p><img alt="138-preakness-what-weekly.2" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/138-preakness-what-weekly.2.jpg" width="696" height="696" /></p>
<p>I can understand that wherever gambling and the welfare of animals are concerned, there are ethical questions that need to be addressed. I am also aware of some of the missteps that racing industry has taken in the past. That being said, I’m certain that smart people can find solutions to whatever issues arise and preserving this tradition is important enough to work through any problems. What&#8217;s important is that there are many positive things to embrace. Here’s a few:</p>
<p>- The Preakness is an 138 year old tradition that brings the attention of the entire world to Baltimore<br />
- Pimlico is a historic 143 year old Baltimore institution that has the power to bring people together<br />
- Horse racing makes slot machines feel like gambling for three year olds and I can’t even believe that folks would bother crossing state lines to go into alpha-state in front of machines designed to take your money when there’s horse racing, an undeniably superior mode of gambling, right here in Maryland</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="138-preakness-what-weekly.3" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/138-preakness-what-weekly.3.jpg" width="696" height="928" /></p>
<p>;</p>
<p><strong>All of this leaves me with these questions and maybe you can help answer them:</strong></p>
<p>What’s being done to restore Pimlico to it’s rightful place as a lynchpin in our city’s culture and how can we help?</p>
<p>How can we better activate Pimlico for events besides horse racing?</p>
<p>How can we do a better job of marketing Pimlico to new generations who will support this great Maryland tradition into the future?</p>
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		<title>Challenging a Culture of Low Expectations</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/challenging-a-culture-of-low-expectations/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=challenging-a-culture-of-low-expectations</link>
		<comments>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/challenging-a-culture-of-low-expectations/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 18:45:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Makenna Hardy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Social Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatweekly.com/?p=38398</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The reality of life is that it’s not all cupcakes and rainbows. Even if it were, cupcakes aren’t good for you and rainbows mean there’s rain.

The reality of life is that, along with the potential for diabetes and monsoons, there are people that are tryi]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Publisher&#8217;s Note: We are proud to announce that our sister company, <a href="http://whatworksstudio.com/" target="_blank">What Works Studio</a>, was hired to develop the logo and website for the <a href="http://warnockfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Warnock Family Foundation</a>. (The website was developed in collaboration with <a href="http://www.make-things.com/" target="_blank">Make Things Studio</a>.) </em></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-38435" alt="GiveCorps - Child First Authority" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/GiveCorps-Child-First-Authority.jpg" width="696" height="464" /></p>
<p>The reality of life is that it’s not all cupcakes and rainbows. Even if it were, cupcakes aren’t good for you and rainbows mean there’s rain.</p>
<p>The reality of life is that, along with the potential for diabetes and monsoons, there are people that are trying to survive and barely scraping by, there are children with neither homes or suitable parents. A few blocks away from you and your cupcake is a disengaged community of people emotionally detached from the world around them resulting in crime and ultimately a culture of low expectations.</p>
<p>You can complain about all of this. You can shake your head in disbelief and you can tell yourself the world is a horrible place. All of this will get you nowhere. At the end of the day you are faced with more crime and an empty cupcake wrapper.</p>
<p>If you truly want change, you need to get to the root cause of the problem. You need to ask yourself why. What motivates people to give in to this culture of low expectations? Was there a virus going around infecting people and making them more prone to crime? As you continue to ask questions, you start to develop an understanding and the answers begin to reveal themselves. This is when change happens.</p>
<p>David Warnock, founder of The Warnock Family Foundation, has done exactly that. David, along with founding executive director Olga Maltseva, ask these tough questions, get to the root and make the necessary changes to move forward.</p>
<p>David did not grow up here. He is from Michigan. I ask him if he was hesitant to move here because Baltimore has “kind of a bad reputation.” I quickly realize that I may be contributing to the problem more than I know.</p>
<p>“That sort of gets at why I started this foundation in the first place &#8211; you said it has kind of a bad reputation. People lead with ‘it has a bad reputation,’ and it does have a bad reputation, but the reality is that we have two of the greatest hospital systems in the world, University of Maryland and Hopkins, right here in our city. In terms of Nobel Prize winners per capita I think we are in the top ten&#8230;It’s amazing &#8211; the talent we have in this city. And the Foundation, to some extent, is all about trying to change that culture of low expectations.”</p>
<p>“One of the biggest problems with a culture of low expectations is that people feel disconnected. They don’t have a place to go to ask the simplest questions like how to buy a car or open a bank account,” says David. He is currently addressing this problem by serving as chair of board of directors at <a href="http://www.cfuf.org/">The Center for Urban Families</a>. The Center for Urban Families was founded in 1999 by Joseph T. Jones Jr. and has since become one of the nations top responsible fatherhood programs helping fathers emotionally and financially support their families. The program’s importance was affirmed on May 17 when <a href="http://warnockfoundation.org/2013/05/president-obama-visits-the-center-for-urban-families/" target="_blank">President Obama paid a visit to CFUF</a> during a tour of Baltimore.</p>
<p>CFUF maintains that one of the key components to responsible fatherhood is the ability to get a job. How can you provide for a family if you don’t have the basic skills to get a job? You may understand why you aren’t getting by, but once you understand that your basic skills aren’t up to par, that information has the power to change you.</p>
<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-38403" alt="CFUF - STRIVE - teachers with white board" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CFUF-STRIVE-teachers-with-white-board.jpg" width="696" height="464" /></p>
<p>Upon entering The Center for Urban Families men are given a basic test of skills. If basic skills aren’t what they need to be, it’s hard to get ahead. Here men can come in with a 2nd grade reading level and ‘get tuned up’ to and 8th or 9th grade reading level. Once their basic skills improve, their range of job opportunities improve. Once their job opportunities improve, the more likely it is that they will be able to provide for their families and, in turn, a sense of optimism and stability can be restored.</p>
<p>The CFUF also looks at the problems these families face and advocates for change in our policies. For instance, you may ask yourself, why would a young man with kids and a family who went to jail for a non violent crime like selling drugs continue to sell drugs after his release? It was actually found that our Child Support System is the root cause of this chain of events.</p>
<p>As this young man sits in jail, the child support debt begins to collect. Once he gets out he can get a real job to support his family, but the state is going to garnish 65% of that money. If he is even able to make ten dollars an hour he has to live on $3.50 an hour. Additionally, he can’t have a driver’s license and the state seizes his bank assets. How will he survive?</p>
<p>By doing the very thing that got him to jail in the first place.</p>
<p>Thus, The Child Support Incentive Program, the brainchild of the staff of CFUF, allows for past-owed debt to be eliminated to parents that have made two consecutive years of child support payments. Child support is treated like bad mortgage debt. By reducing its value and writing it off, these men finally have a chance to get ahead. Here, David talks in more detail about the issue at Ignite Baltimore:</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3rxDqzdI6BU?rel=0" height="392" width="696" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>David’s work at CFUF helped him to realize another problem in a culture of low expectations &#8211; the future generation. So how exactly do you challenge the culture of low expectations within a cohort of middle school and high school kids? How do you help them see a bigger, brighter future? You make them excited about learning. You make it mean something to them. If you are David, you might even create a school with a henhouse, tilapia farm, and a greenhouse in West Baltimore.</p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-38404 alignnone" alt="GSA - Energy Exchange - Boy with fruit" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/GSA-Energy-Exchange-Boy-with-fruit.jpg" width="343" height="457" /><img class="size-full wp-image-38405 alignnone" style="margin-left: 5px;" alt="GSA - Farm - Dirt hands" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/GSA-Farm-Dirt-hands.jpg" width="343" height="457" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.greenstreetacademy.org/">Green Street Academy</a>, the creation of David and Lawrence M. Rivitz, is a public middle and high school that addresses the need for better schooling in Baltimore. By incorporating project-based learning into everyday subjects such as language arts and science, kids can work to address real-life needs like solving hunger in Baltimore. By connecting the school to the green economy through giving students 21st Century skills and workplace experience, the school ensures success in every student. “It’s viral when kids talk, they start believing in themselves. It’s not just the athletes that succeed,” explains David.</p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-38407 alignnone" alt="gjw" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/gjw.jpg" width="696" height="463" /></p>
<p>David’s work at CFUF has also inspired him to be involved as strategic advisor at <a href="http://green-jobworks.com/">Green JobWorks</a>, a construction staffing company that connects men and women in workforce development programs with jobs at environmental firms. Green JobWorks has employed hundreds of men in green jobs such as asbestos and abatement. Green JobWorks places an emphasis on safety measures and as a result won the Association of Builders and Contractors award for missing zero days of work due to workplace injuries.</p>
<p>Not only does Green JobWorks serve to put men and women to work, but they do it while benefiting their employees. Workers get paid time off, paid certification and clients are encouraged to permanently hire employees.</p>
<p>The Warnock Foundation is also invested in restructuring philanthropy. Personally, I like to give but when I don’t know where my money is going, I am hesitant to do so. <a href="https://givecorps.com/en/baltimore">GiveCorps</a> addresses this dilemma by creating an online platform where people can donate to specific causes.</p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-38408 alignnone" alt="GiveCorps - Change Party - Change Jar" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/GiveCorps-Change-Party-Change-Jar.jpg" width="696" height="522" /></p>
<p>Instead of donating to general programs, I can donate to causes within the programs, which makes it more meaningful to me. At this very moment I can donate towards planting oysters in the bay, helping Baltimore City girls play lacrosse, or educating city residents how to keep trash out of our waterways.</p>
<p>GiveCorps’ motto is that “you don’t have to be rich to be a Philanthropist.” It’s hard to find the money to give to charity when you are just starting out and I like the idea that I can donate $5 or $500. If supporting a worthy cause isn’t enough to motivate you, you get discounts from local merchants as a reward.</p>
<p>So at the end of the day, we might have a bad reputation, but if we all work together, if we find the reasons for this, we can reverse this culture of low expectations and change will happen. There are great things happening in our city every day.</p>
<p>Go ahead eat your cupcake, I know I will, and enjoy the rainbows life has to offer. When you’re done, check out the <a href="http://warnockfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Warnock Family Foundation website</a>. You will see a platform for people that are challenging a culture of low expectations and transforming our community into just the opposite.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>All photos courtesy of Warnock Family Foundation. </em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Maryland Art Place &#8211; Call For Artists &#8211; Two Exhibits</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/38360/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=38360</link>
		<comments>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/38360/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 16:55:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>What Weekly</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Call for Artists]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatweekly.com/?p=38360</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Call For Entry: Regional Juried Exhibition &#160; Maryland Art Place (MAP) is seeking artists working in a diverse range of media for a Regional Juried Exhibition, opening September 19, 2013. The exhibition is intended to explore the contemporary, cultural climate of Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Submissions will initially be vetted by MAP’s Program Advisory Committee and juried by Kristen Hileman, the [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><center><a href="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/map.logo_.bw_.lh2_.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-22122 aligncenter" alt="map.logo.bw.lh2" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/map.logo_.bw_.lh2_.jpg" width="250" height="76" /></a></center></p>
<h2></h2>
<h2><strong>Call For Entry: Regional Juried Exhibition</strong></h2>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Maryland Art Place (MAP)</strong> is seeking artists working in a diverse range of media for a Regional Juried Exhibition, opening September 19, 2013. The exhibition is intended to explore the contemporary, cultural climate of Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Submissions will initially be vetted by MAP’s <strong>Program Advisory Committee</strong> and juried by <strong>Kristen Hileman,</strong> the Curator of Contemporary Art and Department Head at the Baltimore Museum of Art.</p>
<p>More information and <a href="http://mdartplace.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4b364aeafc863f2d00dfe8bac&amp;id=481008359d&amp;e=c024a8de76" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">submission details</span></a> on MAP&#8217;s website. <em>(Please scroll down to 2013 Regional Juried Exhibition within Maportunities page.)</em><br />
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">SUBMISSION DEADLINE</span>:</strong> <strong>Friday, July 5, 2013 by 5pm</strong></p>
<p>&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..</p>
<h2><strong>Request For Proposals:IMPACT 2013</strong></h2>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>SITE: </strong>The Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore</p>
<p><strong>MAP </strong>is now accepting applications for it’s 2<sup>nd</sup> IMPACT project of 2013. IMPACT is a new, public art program developed to extend Maryland Art Place’s programming to broader audiences. Each IMPACT project is unique and developed based on the partnering site.</p>
<p>This summer MAP is partnering with the<strong> Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore (JCC)</strong>. The JCC is offering their courtyard for an artist or team of artists to create an original outdoor installation. (see image)</p>
<p>The JCC promotes and strengthens Jewish life and values through communal programs and activities for individuals and families.</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">PROPOSAL DEADLINE:</span> </strong><strong>Saturday, June 15, 2013 by 5pm.</strong></p>
<p>For more information about the JCC, <a href="http://mdartplace.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4b364aeafc863f2d00dfe8bac&amp;id=b176ba45c4&amp;e=c024a8de76" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">submission guidelines</span></a> (pdf.) and calls for entries please visit the MAP <a href="http://mdartplace.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4b364aeafc863f2d00dfe8bac&amp;id=d2c446b204&amp;e=c024a8de76" target="_blank">website</a><strong>.</strong></p>
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		<title>Fiction: Occupy Baltimore by CL Bledsoe</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/fiction-occupy-baltimore-by-cl-bledsoe/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=fiction-occupy-baltimore-by-cl-bledsoe</link>
		<comments>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/23/fiction-occupy-baltimore-by-cl-bledsoe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 16:51:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Timmy Reed</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[What Lit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baltimore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CL Bledsoe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Occupy Baltimore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Occupy Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Timmy Reed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What Weekly]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[              They made their way out of the parking deck into the frigid air. Henry dawdled at the rear behind the other half-dozen or so of his coworkers so he could watch some of the women in the group as their legs moved in their skirts.             “I never used to pay for parking,” Kevin, one [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><a style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" href="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/18535_1368099565332_8270619_n.jpg"> </a></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            They made their way out of the parking deck into the frigid air. Henry dawdled at the rear behind the other half-dozen or so of his coworkers so he could watch some of the women in the group as their legs moved in their skirts.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “I never used to pay for parking,” Kevin, one of the other members of the group, said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “The way I figure it,” Henry said, “I’m old enough, now, that I don’t mind paying for </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">convenience.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Besides, we don’t want to be late,” one of the women said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “God forbid we’re late to the keynote speaker. They might not let us in the conference! We might have to spend the day at Miss Shirley’s!” Henry said, mock-seriously. “Or maybe go do something worthwhile,” he added.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            No one responded. Henry sighed as they all trudged along the street. His eyes moved from one of his female coworkers to the other. Soon, he grew bored and glanced along the streets as they passed. They were near the inner harbor. The air was choppy and frigid; he smelled snow. They’d gotten a couple inches the previous weekend. He could see his breath. There were a few other people walking briskly beside the heavily trafficked road. He heard a murmur from one of his coworkers and glanced to the front. Ahead, past the next streetlight, he saw several tents huddled in a bit of green.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “What’s that?” he asked, but the light changed, and no one answered as they all rushed to cross.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            There were hand-lettered signs with political slogans in a pile near the tents. Through the thin nylon of some of the tents, they could see people moving. Some tents were sporty, professional-looking; others were ramshackle assemblages of wood and tarpaulin. There was a booth with a sign that read “Information” and others that offered goods and jewelry. One claimed to be a lending library. A couple people stood aimlessly in the makeshift community; they looked as though they’d just woken up. Henry was surprised that one of them was an older man with a thick, graying beard. Another was a young African American. There were a couple women.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “I didn’t expect to see so many of them,” Mary, one of the older women in the group, said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “It’s a shame, because the movement is doomed,” Kevin said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “At least they’re doing something,” one of the younger women said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            They continued chattering as they walked, but Henry quickly tuned them out. He kept glancing over his shoulder as the protestors woke and began to assemble. And then his group turned a corner and the tent-city was gone.</span></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">*          *          *</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            They barely made the keynote speaker, but it didn’t matter, because he gave the same talk they’d seen on the video back at the office. After that, they broke into separate groups to attend the various workshops their manager had signed them up for. Henry sat in the back of his group for both of the ones before lunch, his eyes shifting from the back of one head to the next, his thoughts going back to the tent city.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            They gathered for lunch at a bar a little down and across the street. Henry’s coworkers talked about their workshops, complaints about work.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “You know it snowed last weekend,” Henry said, apropos of nothing.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Yeah?” Kevin said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “So those Occupy guys; they were out there in the snow.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Everyone was quiet; several wore bemused expressions.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Yeah?” Kevin repeated.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry shrugged. “Just must’ve been cold.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Kevin caught the eye of one of the younger women and both laughed.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Well then maybe they should go home,” Kevin said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry turned back to stare out the window.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            After lunch, they headed back to the convention center to start their next round of workshops. Henry begged out and went to the restroom. He walked in, but didn’t need to go. Instead, he stood in front of the sink, washing his hands until the other occupants finished and left. He took his time drying his hands, and when he emerged, the hallway was empty. He wandered into the open area and found one or two people sitting and typing on laptops or checking messages on their phones. None of them even looked up. He didn’t see anyone he recognized from the office. Ahead of him, the walls were glass. He could see the sidewalk and the street with traffic lurching past. He strolled over to the stairs and then down and to the doors they’d entered that morning.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Outside, a breeze had picked up. As he stepped onto the sidewalk, he had to quickly abandon the ambling pace his distracted mind preferred and join the rush of pedestrian traffic. Without intending to, he soon found himself back at the tent city.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The protestors were awake, now. Henry didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. Some of them manned the booths he’d seen before. A few stood talking to passersby, not aggressively at all. He heard laughter from one pair. Several were carrying signs and circling the perimeter of the camp, but they weren’t chanting, and they didn’t seem as angry as he’d expected. He left the sidewalk and went up to the nearest booth, which is the one that promised “Information.” It was occupied by an older lady who could’ve easily been a history teacher. She watched him and didn’t speak.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Cold,” Henry said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Yes it is,” the woman said, still watching him.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “I saw a cop at the light over there.” He pointed.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The woman nodded. “That’s officer Dillis.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry looked at the woman. “I thought cops were attacking you guys and trying to drive you     </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">out.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            She smiled. “They haven’t done that here.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            He nodded slowly. “How long have you been here?”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The woman looked off to the side while she considered. “Oh, about three months, give or take.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Really? I just heard about you guys the other day.” She started to reply, but he cut her off. “Don’t you have a job or a family?”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “I was laid off.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            He nodded. “Sorry,” he mustered.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “That’s why I’m here.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Huh.” His face settled into a sneer.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The woman said, simply, “I just want a better world for my grandkids.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Right,” Henry said. “Thanks,” he added and made his way over to the “Lending Library.” The older man with the thick, gray beard Henry had seen earlier greeted him. “You got a copy of the Communist Manifesto?” Henry asked with a smile.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The man shook his head. “Doubt it.” He motioned towards a couple boxes full of books. “Mostly mysteries and best-sellers. You’re welcome to look, though.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry nodded at the man and moved on. He looked around and noticed the young African American from earlier was watching him. The man nodded at Henry. Henry wandered over to a table where a couple of young hippi-types were selling jewelry, but the man kept staring at him. Finally, he went over.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Here to join up?” the man said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “This looks more like a flea market than a protest,” Henry said, trying to smile</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Folks’ve got to eat.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry studied the man. “I guess.” He looked around. The protestors he could see were all dressed conservatively, if not shabbily.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Skipping work?” the man said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry turned to him with a grin. “That obvious?”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The man nodded. “Yeah.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “What about you?”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Unemployed.” He didn’t smile.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “So why are you guys here?” Henry said. It felt like a faux pas, but he didn’t know what else to say.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Why do you think we’re here?” the man countered.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry cocked his head to the side. “Honestly?”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Yes, please be honest.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry looked around again. “Nothing better to do. Maybe you’re trying to get a handout from the government or get famous or something.” He caught the man’s eye and hurriedly corrected himself. “Listen, I get it. I’d quit my job and hang out if I could.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “I was laid off,” the man said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry nodded. “Right. No, I get that. If I got laid off, I mean…who wants to find another job, right? When you can hang out on unemployment.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Color rose in the man’s cheeks. “I put in seventy-three applications after I was laid off. I went door-to-door. Everyone here did. We’re not ‘hanging out.’ And my unemployment ran out months ago.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Henry raised his hands. “Right, no, sorry. I didn’t mean—“</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The man cut him off. “I have a wife and daughter at home, and all of our savings go to diapers and formula. And they’re just about gone.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Yeah, yeah. It’s hard, man. It’s hard.” Henry backed away. </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            The man took a step after him but then let him go. Henry hurried back past the booths and back into the flow of pedestrians. He let them carry him back to the conference center.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            He arrived just in time to join the last workshop. He tried to focus, and actually took notes for some of it. Afterwards, he rejoined his coworkers as they left to return to their cars. Henry felt his heart race as they passed the tent-city. He looked for the black man, but didn’t see him.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “What exactly do they want to accomplish?” Kevin asked no one in particular.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Something different,” Henry said. “Change.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “Change?” Kevin scoffed. “Let’s just sit back and watch how well that goes.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            “I think that’s the point,” Henry said, carefully. “I think they’re tired of sitting back and watching.”</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">            Kevin didn’t respond. No one else spoke as they made their way back to their cars.</span></span></p>
<p><a href="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/18535_1368099565332_8270619_n.jpg"><img alt="18535_1368099565332_8270619_n" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/18535_1368099565332_8270619_n.jpg" width="200" height="288" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></p>
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		<title>Hungry Children in Our Own Backyard: Bill Shore</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/21/hungry-children-in-our-own-backyard-bill-shore/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=hungry-children-in-our-own-backyard-bill-shore</link>
		<comments>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/21/hungry-children-in-our-own-backyard-bill-shore/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 12:57:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>What Weekly</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[TEDx MidAtlantic 2012]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatweekly.com/?p=28534</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[TEDx MidAtlantic 2012 Bill Shore is the founder and chief executive officer of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit that is working to end childhood hunger in America. Shore founded Share Our Strength in 1984 with his sister Debbie and a $2,000 cash advance on a credit card. Since then, Share Our Strength has raised [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1><a href="http://tedxmidatlantic.com/">TEDx MidAtlantic 2012</a></h1>
<p><iframe width="696" height="392" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oJnGMw6FyEQ?list=SPsRNoUx8w3rN4l7h9HzGwXlDuUKWqb-eS" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Bill Shore is the founder and chief executive officer of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit that is working to end childhood hunger in America. Shore founded Share Our Strength in 1984 with his sister Debbie and a $2,000 cash advance on a credit card. Since then, Share Our Strength has raised and invested more than $315 million in the fight against hunger, and has won the support of national leaders in many fields ranging from governors, including Maryland&#8217;s Martin O&#8217;Malley, to Oscar winning actor Jeff Bridges.</p>
<p>In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)</p>
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		<title>Is Time a Milk Bowl?</title>
		<link>http://whatweekly.com/2013/05/16/is-time-a-milk-bowl/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=is-time-a-milk-bowl</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2013 04:21:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Benjamin Andrew</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Art Criticism]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatweekly.com/?p=38278</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Benjamin Andrew remembers a performance on April 19, 2013, at Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower in Baltimore. &#160; A school of oysters shuffled over my head. Fifteen stories above ground, I was surrounded by an array of gears and metal rods that stood silhouetted against twenty-four foot clock faces. The crackle of a circuit breaker interrupted [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h4><b>Benjamin Andrew remembers a performance on April 19, 2013, at Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower in Baltimore.</b></h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b></b><span style="font-size: small;">A school of oysters shuffled over my head. Fifteen stories above ground, I was surrounded by an array of gears and metal rods that stood silhouetted against twenty-four foot clock faces. The crackle of a circuit breaker interrupted the sonorous music echoing around the room as I watched the audience members’ eyes rise to the spinning image of an orange projected high up on the wall. At a one-night-only event at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower (BSAT), a combination of improvisatory music and video projection created an otherworldly space in the Tower’s clock chamber. The rain outside was coming down hard.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Time is a Milk Bowl</em> resulted from a collaboration between visual artist Zoe Friedman and Baltimore music group Peals. Friedman’s past work has involved intricate cut-paper objects and Mandela-like composites of natural forms. The ethereal romance in her work is also a focus of Baltimore music duo Peals&#8211;William Cashion and Bruce Willen&#8211;who create atmospheric instrumental music with a variety of instruments. At <em>Milk Bowl</em>, Cashion and Willen controlled an array of effects pedals, alongside instruments like a toy piano and tambourine. Towards the end of a year-long studio residency at the BSAT, Friedman invited Peals to collaborate in the building’s most iconic space, the interior of the hundred-year-old tower’s clock chamber.</span></p>
<div id="attachment_38285" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 706px"><a href="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zoe-Friedman-Time-is-a-Milk-Bowl-2013-1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-38285" alt="All images and video courtesy of Zoe Friedman, 2013" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zoe-Friedman-Time-is-a-Milk-Bowl-2013-1.jpg" width="696" height="464" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">All images and video courtesy of Zoe Friedman, 2013</span></p></div>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">With a brief reign as </span><span style="font-size: small;">Baltimore’s tallest building from 1911 to 1923, the Bromo-Seltzer clock tower adorned the manufacturing center for Bromo-Seltzer antacids. Its four clock faces radiated above downtown Baltimore, illuminated by a series of mercury-vapor lamps. The tower was once topped with a fifty-one foot rotating Bromo-Seltzer bottle whose twenty ton glowing blue shape could been seen for twenty miles. According to the BSAT website, it was removed in 1963 due to structural concerns.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The clocktower shone a new light this April, as the fleeting performance of <em>Milk Bowl</em> pointed toward the possibility of more interdisciplinary and site-specific arts programming in Baltimore. Occurring towards the end of Friedman’s year long residency at the BSAT, <em>Milk Bowl</em> felt like a love letter to a place.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">All attendees at the performances on April 19 (one early evening, one late night) signed a waiver at the ground floor entrance assuming responsibility for any injuries sustained in the lofty clock chamber. A cramped antique elevator and a flight of near vertical stairs heightened the drama of the nighttime climb up to the tower. Fifteen stories up, the slow moving clockwork didn’t seem particularly dangerous, but then again, given the weather, a dramatic lightening strike didn’t seem entirely out of the question.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The performance lasted about half an hour with Peals keeping the audience adrift in a sea of sustained guitar textures and ambient synthesizers. The clock chamber was inky black, and people crowded together along the narrow walkway beside one of the stone walls. Above the heads of the audience, nestled between the tower’s four clock faces, a medley of videos created by Friedman played from seven projectors mounted throughout the room on narrow beams and metal staircases.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zoe-Friedman-Time-is-a-Milk-Bowl-2013-2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-38286" alt="Zoe Friedman, Time is a Milk Bowl, 2013, 2" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zoe-Friedman-Time-is-a-Milk-Bowl-2013-2.jpg" width="696" height="522" /></a>Each of the videos in <em>Time is a Milk Bowl</em> alternated between graphic animated patterns and intimate actions performed with natural objects like oranges and oyster shells. Glimpsed through the patchwork of clock machinery, oranges spun like globes as they shed their rinds and oyster shells wobbled across tables. Friedman gave life to the objects in her videos by animating a series of still photographs, giving a stuttering wobble to the mundane actions and impossible feats.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Anonymous hands occasionally manipulated these objects, often stirring a bowl of milk and ink. The white and black liquids swirling around the bowl were the most prominent vignette in the videos, creating Rorschach spirals that echoed the circular shapes of the enormous clock faces. Views of the bowl echoed the circular shapes of the enormous clock faces, and other videos of rotating moons and oranges that eventually revealed themselves to be full of pearls. Everywhere, it seemed, were circles.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Compared to the abstract bombast of most concert projections, Friedman’s animations were startlingly representational, even hinting at a narrative as the anonymous hands went through their strange rituals. These scenes and movements had a determined care about them that mirrored the handcrafted nature of the stop motion animation. Even when the hands were not in frame, their presence was still felt through the stuttering movement of the oranges, oysters, and other natural forms.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zoe-Friedman-Time-is-a-Milk-Bowl-2013-3.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-38287" alt="Zoe Friedman, Time is a Milk Bowl, 2013, 3" src="http://whatweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zoe-Friedman-Time-is-a-Milk-Bowl-2013-3.jpg" width="696" height="634" /></a>Peals underpinned these videos with continuous droning and carefully selected aural textures, until the show’s finale, when recognizable melodies finally peaked out from under the waves of ambient sound. Cashion and Willen sat in the center of the room, surrounded by clockwork and moving images, their minimal tones letting the audience focus their eyes on the optical feast of projected images and clockwork.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">A surprising highlight of the performance was the periodic sparking of a large circuit breaker, or some such machinery. I was later told that these sparks had something to do with the elevator&#8211;which makes me wonder if all elevators have boxes of sparking electricity somewhere above them. The flashes of electrical current from this refrigerator-sized device punctuated the traditional instruments’ tones with audible crackling and served as a reminder that we were visitors inside a machine.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The music’s twinkling toy pianos and reverb-soaked guitars were familiar sounds that didn’t do much more than establish a mood, but it seemed that Peals and Friedman were both trying to conjure a transcendent atmosphere amid the building&#8217;s aged mechanics. The revolving milk bowls and moons of Friedman’s videos directed my attention to the Tower’s clock faces, focusing on the notion of time while Peals’ music suspended me in a wordless limbo. As ink dripped into the titular milk bowl, the performance’s swirling audio/visual menagerie posed a question: Could this transcendent atmosphere overcome the architectural confines of the clock chamber? Can something as impenetrable as time be suspended by a creative act? The minutes ticked away as the music whorled on.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">I wondered if it was really possible for a contemporary audience to be transported into this kind of mystic headspace. The dancing objects in Friedman’s videos were animated by an otherworldly energy, but one that felt familiar, replete with the beautiful angelic music expected to accompany the sublime. Despite these traditional strategies, idyllic theatrics brought a sense of life into a space often seen and understood only from the outside.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The clock chamber was actually one of the more magical elements of the night. It’s astoundingly complex machinery served as a reminder of hidden mechanisms supporting the ordinary world, just as Friedman’s videos revealed an enchantment behind mundane objects. <em>Milk Bowl</em> drew attention to the aged beauty of the clock chamber, proving that the material could be just as transcendent as ethereal.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The BSAT clock chamber is a fantastic venue for installations and performances. I hope the Baltimore art community can continue to use similar sites to explore its relationship to the city’s architectural and industrial history. <em>Milk Bowl</em> represented a unique crossing of artistic fields, and Friedman’s art benefited from its separation from a gallery context just as much as Peals’ music did from taking a supporting role in an interdisciplinary event. Whether or not Friedman and Peals continue to collaborate, I hope Baltimore’s historic buildings can play host to similar events in the future.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&#8212;-</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Benjamin Andrew is graduating this month with an MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at Maryland Institute College of Art. His thesis project, <i>The </i><i>Chronoecology Corps</i>, addresses ecological crisis through participation, humor, and journalistic research. Art Criticism in <em>What Weekly</em> is made possible with the generous support of the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Awards, <a href="http://www.bakerartistawards.org/">www.BakerArtistAwards.org</a>. Marcus Civin edits these art criticism articles for <em>What Weekly</em>. For more information, please contact <a href="mailto:marcus@whatweekly.com">marcus@whatweekly.com</a>.</span></strong></p>
<p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/66185696?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=f2de05" height="392" width="696" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/66185696">footage 07</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6535510">Zoe Friedman</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/65776936?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=f2de05" height="522" width="696" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/65776936">Belle Air</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6535510">Zoe Friedman</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
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