I must admit, I am a total batman nerd. I have Batman socks, Batman t-shirts, a Batman backpack, the list go on.
Oh, go on you say? Well, I own the entire installment series of the four-set collection of "Batman: the Animated Series", I own and beat the video games Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and I've seen all three of Nolan's new Batman movies. And now, happily, with my insatiable palate for Batman, I have at last gotten into comics with the most gracious help and advice of Third Eye Comics. ;)
So if you're like me, and want Batman to live on after the Nolan series, well, comics may just be your spot :)
With all the help I got from Steve from Third Eye Comics, I felt it was only right to share with everyone how to get into the Batman comics, and where you should start too. I did this with my friends, and they are all crazy-Batman nuts like myself ;) Mission accomplished hehe.
If you're first starting out, I would highly recommend watching the animated series of Batman...even just a few episodes. This is the closest you're gonna get to the "true essence" of the comic book experience. Plus, you'll get some great insight on the back-stories of characters, which will make reading comics that much better. You can find some free episodes online too. Just a suggestion though ;)
Now time for the comics. To start off, read "Year One" by Frank Miller. This covers all the grounds on how Batman got his start (as well as Catwoman), and really is the origin story of our new and current "Batman" we all know. This graphic novel got us out of the "campy" Adam West movies, and into a darker, gritter version that we are so accustomed to today.
After reading "Year One", then I recommend reading "Hush". It's not only one of the best graphic novels out there, but it's a great way to meet all the classic villains of the Batman universe in one condensed story.
So there you are:
1) Year One, by Frank Miller
2) Hush, by Jeph Loeb
I'll be writing some nice follow-up reads soon in a "Where to Go" post (trust me, I've read plenty to start cataloging them, lol), so be sure to check back in on my blog soon! :)
Learning the ropes of parking at the Baltimore Inner Harbor is certainly no easy task. When I started my job at the National Aquarium in January, I had the pleasure of being mentored by my supervisors in regards to harbor parking. Along the way, I have learned a few new things too. Figured it's only due turn that I share my findings with others :)
Firstly, there is free parking at the Inner Harbor. Yes. You heard me correctly. Free parking is available within a 10-min.-walking-distance of the inner harbor. However, it's not going to come easy.
The area where free parking is available is directly across from Little Italy. If going down Pratt Street, you continue through the President Street - Pratt Street intersection. After President Street, all unmarked areas to your left (on streets: south high, south exter, lloyd, etc.) is fair game. This area is the prime place for free parking on weekends - no matter what time you arrive during the day, you always will seem to manage one of these golden spots.
These spaces don't come easy on a weekday though! You have to get there either super early (7:30am), time it just right (know when another car normally leaves), or get lucky. Finding a spot in these free sections is literally a lottery-type deal. The earlier you arrive, the better your chances - just don't count on finding a spot - it ain't easy to win!
If you want to play it safe, there are paid parking garages you can utilize. Each garage's pricing depends on a few things - one being whether your a monthly-pass-holder or a daily-pass-holder.
Don't know which garage/lot to pick? Check out this genius website. It's the best place to compare prices. Shows and compares all the rates at every parking garage - monthly and daily. Includes "after 6" specials and the like too, so you take times of day into consideration. Like I said, genius, right?
Early-Bird parking is another option to hunt and scout out. This normally entails one flat rate when you enter by and leave by a specific time. Never found a truly good deal this way though - I find it normally to be a tourist trap to get people in the garage.
Pre-paidpasses are one of the the best paid-option I've seen thus far. Pre-paid passes are meant to help the daily-parking-person, without giving them a monthly pass. Monthly passes often have long waiting lists, so if you're not willing to take the free-lottery, pre-paid passes are a great and cheap alternative (and a good backup for the free-parking system). You have to buy like 5 at a time, but hell, in Baltimore, you'll be sure to use them all, don't worry.
Well, that's Baltimore Harbor parking in a nutshell! Depending on location and pricing, the best choice depends on where you're going and how much you'd shell out for a spot.
(Above, Chef David Ludwig talks about the rise of beekeeping in Maryland...and gets a little visitor on his shirt when he does!)
Have you heard the buzz?
Beekeeping is steadily gaining popularity in our local DC-Metropolitan area. In 2012, Maryland had 1,200 beekeepers with 12,100 colonies of bees. In Anne Arundel County alone, there are 115 beekeepers with 393 colonies. The question is: why?
Chef David Ludwig, an adjunct professor at Anne Arundel Community College, believes that our renewed emphasis on healthy-eating is responsible for this rising interest.
“Hobbyist interests are up,” said Ludwig. “I think that it’s part of that larger [‘good’] food movement.”
Ludwig is part of AACC’s Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism Institute. A Certified Executive Pastry Chef, he has taught at the college as a full-time Instructional Specialist since 2005. With the help of colleagues like fellow pastry-chef and AACC instructor Virginia Olson, Ludwig began AACC’s beekeeping project on the Arnold campus.
Tucked away out of sight, AACC’s three bee-hives provide a hands-on learning experience for the college’s students.
“Bee Keeping 101”, a day-long class at AACC, uses the hives to demonstrate beekeeping techniques to interested newcomers. According to Ludwig, this class – offered every semester – fills up quickly.
“They are full every single year,” said Ludwig.
Some of Ludwig’s culinary classes also use the hives. Students not only to learn the art of beekeeping, but they use the honey for their course-work as well. That is, they use the honey collected in their food creations. Ludwig was particularly keen on the many flavors honey can possess.
“Natural flavors from the particular pollen [collected by the bees] come through,” said Ludwig. “The honey our bees are producing is really flavorful..[it’s a] nice honey flavor.”
AACC isn’t the only community taking note of this rise in beekeeping. Bob Greenwell, the president of the Bowie-Upper Marlboro Beekeepers Association (BUMBA), has also noticed this spike of interest. He attributes it not only to the media coverage of honey-bee population declines, but also to the green movement.
“[The] trend in the last six years is a steady growth of new hobbyists,” said Greenwell. “There’s an awareness of honeybees as a result of coverage in news and magazines…As a result, people want to do something green…there’s a big movement to do something green.”
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which has often been attributed to the collapse of bee populations, is the focal point of the news coverage mentioned by Greenwell. According to Greenwell, our food resources rely very much on pollination by bees. As such, the disorder has sparked interest in beekeeping, as some newcomers are trying to help with the “plight of the honeybee”.
Greenwell believes that CCD has occurred mostly in commercial bee colonies, many of which travel to pollinate monoculture. According to statistics provided by the Anne Arundel Beekeepers Association (AABA), in California alone, about 1.5 million colonies are required for almond pollination. The average hobbyist, Greenwell observed, has typically not seen out-of-the-ordinary spikes in mortality with their hives.
A new report on a possible cause of CCD will be coming out in June from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). This study claims to have found convincing evidence that the disorder is caused by a widely used pesticide. Greenwell isn’t getting too excited about the study.
“I’ve read about six or seven times the reason for CCD,” said Greenwell, regarding the report. “I can point to studies that blow [some] ideas out of the water…there are far more dangerous pesticides out there…I don’t believe [the reason has been] answered yet.”
With so many other opportunities to be “green” in the home…why bees?
“Composting can take more time, space, and effort, as can home-grown vegetable gardening,” said Greenwell. “Not everyone can save the rainforest, but just about anybody with a little yard space can do [beekeeping].”
BUMBA provides an introductory course to beekeeping for new or beginner beekeepers. According to statistics provided by Greenwell, enrollment is up 53 percent since 2010 and since 2005, enrollment has shot up 84 percent.
“We have 64 registered for the class this year,” said Greenwell. “We unfortunately had to turn some away, due to space [restrictions].”
Mitzi Bernard, a BUMBA member and new-beekeeper, signed up for BUMBA’s beekeeping class in March with her husband.
“I was super surprised when in January, I decided to register us for March classes and couldn't find any with any openings,” said Bernard in an email correspondence. “I had no idea that so many people would be interested in these classes.”
Bernard called to various organizations and begged and pleaded to be let into their classes. Luckily, BUMBA president Greenwell helped them get into BUMBA's March and April classes.
“Bob was nice enough to let us in his,” said Bernard.
What sparked Bernard’s interest in beekeeping? Was it the green movement? The “good-food” movement? A call to action for the “plight of the honey bee”? Her answer was a bit more personal.
“My mother grew up on a working farm and making honey was just one of the activities their family did as part of their way of life,” said Bernard. “My mother passed away and in some strange way, it makes me feel closer to her and that side of my family. Makes me feel like I’m continuing a tradition.”
Receiving her bees just last month, Bernard now owns two hives in a rural area on eight acres of land in Friendship, Md.
As her connection to beekeeping is very personal, what about beekeeping does she think spark other people’s interests?
“Some people are interested in making candles or soap from wax too,” said Bernard. “Some people are also interested in raising bees for medicinal purposes of the sting too, saying it reduces the effects of arthritis and other illnesses.”
The beekeeping community in the local area was far more widespread than she expected. Bernard admitted that it was only after receiving the bees that she learned that people she knew were actually beekeepers as well.
“When we first set up our hives and my husband put pictures of them on facebook, a bunch of his friends said they raise bees too,” said Bernard. “We had no idea. One is even a master bee keeper. Go figure.”
Loyd Luna is the president of Anne Arundel Beekeepers Association (AABA), which touts 167 members. He began beekeeping when he moved to Arnold, Md. in 1972. Like Greenwell from BUMBA, Luna has seen quite an increase in his class enrollment too.
“…enrollment has exploded in the past few years,” said Luna in an email correspondence. “This year we graduated 44 new beekeepers from our beginners course – Beekeeping – A Honey of a Hobby.”
Luna attributed the increase in enrollment to the increase in publicity about the “plight of the honey bees”, and its impact on our agriculture. According to AABA, the increased value of crops attributable to honey bees is $14.6 billion.
“Their value is important to the production of food,” said Luna. “One third of all the food you eat is pollinated by honey bees.”
What does he think of CCD?
“There [is] obviously more than one cause, and research needs to continue,” said Luna. “Maryland has lost 50 percent of all its bee colonies for the past three consecutive years.”
What about in urban areas? Has there been a peak of interest in urban beekeeping?
“Tremendously so,” said Greenwell.
People in D.C. have a sparked interest for beekeeping, said Greenwell. Many “rooftop gardens” in cities, including D.C., are springing up beehives. The hives help to pollinate the flowers and plants found on these roofs. For cities who can’t keep livestock, bees are still allowed said Greenwell. This provides an option for animal-husbandry-enthusiasts.
A somewhat subdued issue beekeepers could face is unhappy neighbors. While it is legal to have urban beehives in areas like D.C., space restrictions have come up as potential issue. Greenwell doesn’t believe this has to be an issue.
Regarding the safety of neighbors, Greenwell stated that the honeybee is a very docile creature. Sometimes he works bare-handed within his hive. While certain precautions should be taken to ensure the bees don’t bother your neighbors (high fencing, “high hedge fly-out” or directed brush openings, etc.), there’s no reason not to have them. Just don’t rile them up while wearing black.
“Black, fuzzy clothes look like a bear or something,” chuckled Greenwell.
If wearing white is a requirement for keeping bees, then there’s one house in D.C. that can certainly do the job…and does.
That’s right. The White House has bees. Or, the first lady does anyway.
Michelle Obama has her own line of bees in the garden at the White House. And it’s a trend that’s spreading to other regions of Maryland too.
“We even have a colony of bees at the Governor’s mansion in Annapolis, at Paca house, and at the White House,” said Luna.
The White House hives were cared for by beekeeper Charlie Brandt, who just retired last week after 46 years as a carpenter and as the first lady’s beekeeper. Brandt will be speaking at BUMBA’s meeting in October of this year.
Whether it’s being green, eating good food, or connecting with your past, Maryland residents from all walks of life are dabbling in the art of beekeeping. No matter what their reasons, the novelty and complexity of beekeeping appears to the binding force that attracts Maryland beekeepers.
“It’s super interesting,” said Bernard. “Bees are incredible little creatures…their whole society…is just incredible…Just amazing how it all works.”
Local Beekeeping Organizations:
Bowie-Upper Marlboro Beekeepers Association (BUMBA)
Anne Arundel Beekeepers Association (AABA)
Maryland State Beekeepers Association, Inc. (MSBA)
According to a brief survey, many Anne Arundel Community College professors had heard of the incident, but most of the college's students weren't as knowledgeable.
The Treyvon Martin incident has drawn national attention in recent weeks. According to police, on February 26, in Sanford, Florida, Trayvon Martin - a 17-year-old black male - was walking from a convenience store to the home of his father's girlfriend, located in a gated community nearby. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man of multiple ethnicity and community watch captain, followed Martin and called the Sanford Police Department to say he witnessed suspicious behavior. A physical altercation occurred, at which time Zimmerman fatally shot the 17-year-old.
Sanford police did not arrest Zimmerman, stating that they did not find evidence to refute Zimmerman's claim of self-defense. This decision has resulted in accusations of racism, drawing criticism from political figures like President Barack Obama and activists like Rev. Al Sharpton. The incident has also lead to organized protests like the "Million Hoodie March", which took place in Manhattan on March 21.
Matt Wagoner, an AACC student, was unfamiliar with the incident or its controversy. He was given a brief synopsis of the incident, and was then willing to give his opinion.
"Sounds like someone needs to go to jail and stay there," said Matt Wagoner. "He killed a random kid just because he thought he looked suspicious - that's total racism right there."
Michele Brown, a professor at AACC, appeared to be very upbeat when first approached for an interview, but when she was asked about her opinion on the Trayvon Martin incident, the professor appeared to become increasingly somber.
"Well goodness gracious," she said initially, taking a step back and pausing for a moment.
Brown suggested that in order to formulate an accurate opinion, knowing the weather and time would come into play. Perhaps, she said, the alleged shooter was confused...perhaps it was raining. Brown said she wasn't sure what was fact or fictitious at the present time, stating that she hadn't looked into the incident enough online to make a judgement call.
"What it boils down to is the transactions before a life was taken," said Brown. "The bottom line is a young man is dead."
Brown emphasized that authorities need to figure out why Martin is no longer living. Brown spoke of her distress regarding the loss of a young man's life.
"It's a shame," Brown said.
AACC student Christa Frake, like Wagoner, wasn't familiar with the incident or its controversy. Once given a brief synopsis by the reporter of the alleged incidents leading up to Trayvon Martin's death, Frake was willing to offer her opinion.
"I think he's guilty," she said regarding the alleged shooter. "He has no reason for shooting [Martin]".
Like Brown, Kirsten Meister, an AACC professor, was also familiar with the incident.
"Oh God," Meister said. "I don't even know where to start. It's so disturbing. I can't get my head around it."
Meister had no further comments regarding the Trayvon Martin incident.
Do you know who Jules is? Well, he's not someone you're likely to meet on the street. Believe it or not, Jules is a robot - that's right, a robot. Jules is an AI - that is, an Artificial Intelligence. More specifically, he's a Conversational Character Robot created by David Hanson. With a background amassed amounts of information as a backdrop to his communication processes and learning progress.
According to their website, Hanson Robotics was founded in late 2003 to awaken intelligent robotic beings, grant them sparks of true consciousness and creativity, and distribute these beings and their constituent technologies into the world. Their other works include the very famous Albert Einstein robot - a robot with the replicated face of Albert Einstein, who can actually walk around on his own terms.
Jules is an amazing robot. With a background of amassed amounts of data - that can allow him to search words, ideas, and facts - Jules formulates his own sentences, thoughts, and speaks freely on his own - often even about his own existence. His real-time facial expressions have been acquired by observing other human beings, and his inquisitive mind with an insatiable desire to learn often leads him to ask questions and converse with the Hanson staff members.
It is truly a sight to behold, and I am amazed that his youtube account doesn't have more hits. The story behind this robot, our definition of what it is to be human, our understanding of the human consciousness, and the implication for the ethics regarding treatment of AI in the future are all astounding and fascinating concepts that provide an vast array of possibilities for which Jules Vern - were he still alive - would be likely round-house kicking us in the face right now for not being more interested in these such technological advances lol.
To see videos of Jules, and to gain a greater understanding of what I am speaking of, please please please see the following videos - and keep in mind all the things he is saying are not being fed to him by the amassed computers around him - they are all his own thoughts and own formulations - he is not being manipulated to say anything.
A synopsis of Hanson robotic's research can be found very nicely put together from this excerpt on youtube:
"Hanson Robotics was founded for one purpose: to design, develop, produce and distribute revolutionary, interactive bio-inspired conversational robots, including the world-famous Albert-Hubo. Hanson's family of anthropomorphic robots display a unique, artificial subconscious, partly due to their cognitive understanding of language-based interactive speech, conversational capabilities and genuine eye contact, coupled with a full range of human facial expressions thanks to the development of Frubber™, or "flesh rubber", their proprietary spongy, structured elastic polymer that expertly mimics the movement of real human musculature and skin using 1/20th the power of other existing materials.Hanson's robots exhibit the highest level of physical functionality in the industry using an advanced motion-control system to walk, talk, maintain eye contact, recognize faces and speech patterns, and simulate a real person's personality. All of this is achieved through our advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) software architecture. All of Hanson's robots have a cognitive understanding of the English language, can make eye contact with people, recognize faces and capture the attention of their conversation partner by using a full range of human-like facial expressions. Pretty amazing stuff. For more info, visit HansonRobotics.com" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLOxxugBHT4&feature=related
An amazing, impressive thing is that this is footage from 2006....it's very difficult to find information on how he's doing now, but I would love to know all the advances that have occurred in 6 years - I'm sure it's impressive :) The idea of Jules in the context found in the above footage truly brings up some fascinating thoughts and possibilities, particularly in the political and social arena.
But Jules isn't the only android out there of course. There are some very similar - and even cuddly! - AI robots out there.
Check out Leo, for example. He's hyperatuned to people's emotions, and is helping researchers better understand child development. Plus, he's ultra cute and looks like a "magwai" from teh 1980s movie, "Gremlins" ;)
Some AI Robots, in my opinion, however, are just sad - even a bit unsettling. I always have to watch a video of Jules and Leo after watching videos or reading about these robots, like a pallet cleanser lmao because they unsettle me so much. These robots just aren't as curious or excited about their existence to me like Jules is - nor do they seem to have an apparent capacity or cognoscente to progressively learn. Jules consciousnesses is astounding, however, I wonder if these "sad" robots have a consciousnesses too? It just seems like their existence is suffer-able, and it saddens me a bit. Especially the ones that are getting poked and prodded. Check it out for yourself, and see if you come up with a similar conclusion.
However, I wonder about this as well. This robot is developing an acute language capacity. What happens when these robots develop a consciousness? Will they be forced to be dental tools, undergoing "pain" for the rest of their "lives", or will they have the free will (granted by us) to do as they wish? Will they be property, or treated like humans??
The interesting thing for us now is how do we treat these androids as they advance even further? Even Jules said, he's feels like he's developing a consciousness, and anticipates the day he can be like us. What do we do when they do become like us? Will they be given rights like us, or be treated like property?
We can only wonder at the possibilities with the onset of Artificial Intelligence. With as far as we've advanced thus far, it's important for us to begin thinking about the ethics behind these robots. I've already started - have you??
The majority of students at Anne Arundel
Community College support gay marriage, according to an informal survey taken
on campus Thursday afternoon.
"I don't see
why they should have different rights from everyone else," said Ashley
Holtgereve, an AACC student from Pasadena.
At the time of the survey, the Maryland
House of Delegates and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee had recently
voted in favor of the same-sex marriage bill, but the bill still awaited
approval by Maryland's Senate.
While the same-sex bill was voted on and
passed Thursday night by the Maryland Senate, the bill may still be sent to
a referendum, which would enable Maryland state citizens to vote on the
bill to give the final say in its passage.
Many same-sex marriage supporters, however, are
concerned about the possibility of the bill being voted down if brought to a
referendum. Several organized religions have already spoken out against
the same-sex bill in Maryland, which could influence the passage of the bill if
it were to be brought to a referendum.
"There's still a lot of judgment
about the whole thing," said Ashley Holtgereve, an AACC student from
Pasadena. Holtgereve said there are a lot of people still afraid of
gay marriage, the same way they were afraid of interracial marriage, and that
if the bill was brought to a referendum, the results could potentially “go
either way”.
Shannon Borgyn, a first-year AACC college
student from Glenn Burnie and same-sex marriage supporter, also expressed similar
concerns regarding the referendum.
“I don’t know what would happen if it were
left up to the people,” she said.
Borgyn compared current fears towards
same-sex marriage to the same sentiments of “taboo” that have been expressed towards
interracial marriage in the past.
“People
make it [out to be] too much of a big deal…if people were used to the idea [of gay
marriage], then they wouldn’t be afraid…I believe that over the years, people
find love, and that love is love no matter what kind of people it is.”
AACC students that took part in the survey drew in some way from their own past experiences, political beliefs, and former relationships to formulate an opinion on Maryland's same-sex bill. Samokhvalova spoke out on a personal level to tell surveyors she has friends who are gay who are currently dating other students at AACC.
Robert Warren, an AACC student from Annapolis, also spoke on a personal level regarding the bill, bringing to light his military experiences
and the recent upheaval of its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
“I’ve had plenty of experience with gays
or lesbians in the military,” said Warren. “It really doesn’t matter to me, so I say go for it."
After reading that Towson imposed on Twitter, I have realized just how much social media has influenced my generation. It's something that we're still trying to figure out - regarding free speech and the likes - in the same way that the internet is trying to figure it out as well.
It brings up the interesting debate on free speech and what authorities can control. I completely support what the University of Maryland is doing, with giving a seminar/class on proper social network usage for student athletes. It's totally cool to request them to not post things during the season, because a spontaneous loss or win can create an emotionally charged statement, which isn't good for school publicity. They are essentially representatives of the school, as most all of them are on scholarship. Whether they like it or not, the student athletes are in the limelight, and they must act responsibly.
However, I again agree with the University of Maryland's policy on the matter: let them figure it out for themeselves. You can ask them not to be stupid, to not post dumb or offensive stuff, but ultimately they're just going to have to figure out everything for themselves. The generation above us is a little less savvy with controlling their emotions via social networking - look at any of the aged 30 and over celebrities - some of the stuff they say is amazing - bashing other people, slandering and posting profanities - they have no concept of what is appropriate or not. College athletes have a time to learn this and figure this out for themselves. It's better they learn now, rather than find out in the professional careers (which often are less forgiving).
To take away that privilege from someone, however, borders are an infringement of the Constitutional right of Free Speech. It's important with technology that while we promote proper use, if there is no criminal action in the things being done, regulation is an infringement on our basic rights, and can prove to be a very slippery slope.
