Neighbor Jeff Burch, who lives on Pill Hill, is appearing in a production opening this coming Friday, July 23rd at CCBC in Essex.  The show is Curtains and it is a production at Cockpit in Court running through August 8th.  There is also a second production, Angel Street, running on the same dates.   More information about Cockpit in Court and box office information can be found at the CCBC Cockpit in Court website.

Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre Presents CURTAINS And ANGEL STREET 7/23-8/8 Mystery, mirth and mayhem abound for the second half of Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre’s 38th season featuring “Curtains, the Musical Mystery Whodunit” and “Angel Street” (Gaslight). “Curtains” is all about the Theatre with a capital “T.” When someone kills the supremely untalented leading lady during her curtain call on opening night, police inspector Lt. Frank Cioffi is summoned to take the case. While he is solving the murder, the cast is solving recasting the female lead — since the show must go on. The cast – after being locked inside the theatre during the investigation – continue to rehearse the show. Join us and unravel this musical mystery “whodunit.” Based on a book by Rupert Holmes with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, “Curtains” is directed by Tom Wyatt. The featured actors (pictured from the center seated) include: Becca Vourvoulas of Essex as Bambi Bernet, John Desmone of Stewartstown, PA as Christopher Belling, Holly Pasciullo of Catonsville as Georgia Hendricks. John Amato of Canton as Oscar Shapiro, Liz Boyer-Hunnicutt of Perry Hall as Carmen Bernstein, Ron Giddings of Arnold as Bobby Pepper, Amy Pierson of Baltimore City as Niki Harris, Jeffrey Burch of Mount Washington as Aaron Fox and Chuck Graham of Hamilton as Lt. Frank Cioffi. (Photo by Amy Jones Photography.) “Curtains” runs from July 23 through August 8 on the Mainstage in the B Building at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Boulevard. Tickets ($18 general admission, $16 for seniors (60+) and $12 for children 12 years and under) are available from the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS or online at www.ccbcmd.edu/arts. If you are of a certain age, you will remember Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotton in the psychological thriller “Gaslight.” “Angel Street” is the original play by PatRick Hamilton upon which the film is loosely based. The story centers on a husband (Jack) and wife (Bella) who live on Angel Street in 19th century London when gaslights illuminated homes. The play involves a murder in the past, current unexplained happenings in the home and a letter. Bella begins to doubt herself. Is she losing her mind? Or is her husband, Jack, a suavely sinister man trying to drive her into insanity? The appearance of a police inspector to solve the 15 year old murder adds to the drama. Christopher Millard of Towson as Jack Manningham and Beth Weber of Hamden as Bella star in this twisted tale directed by Todd Pearthree. (Photo by Amy Jones Photography.) Supporting actors in this ensemble cast are: Holly Gibbs of Baltimore as Nancy, Thomas Peters of Parkville as Inspector Rough, Alan Berlett of Perry Hall as the policeman and Carol Conley Evans of Owings Mills as Elizabeth. “Angel Street” runs July 30 through August 8 in the cabaret theatre on the second floor of the B Building at CCBC Essex. For tickets or information about Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre productions, contact the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS or go online to www.ccbcmd.edu/arts.

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2nd Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival – including Mount Washington Mara Neimanis

Support Mount Washington neighbors Mara Neimanis, Bryce Butler and In-Flight Theater as they present the 2nd Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival this weekend.  The events will take place in Graffiti Alley behind Load Of Fun (120 West North Avenue at Howard St) for three days, July 23rd, 24th and 25th.  This will be fun for the whole family in a unique venue.  Details are below and more information and tickets can be found online:

Photo: Mara Neimanis, festival organizer, and Tim Scofield rehearse their aerial clown piece for the 2nd Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival on Tim’s sculpture “Tower”

In-Flight Theater Presents:

The 2nd Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival

July 23rd & 24th at 8pm

July 25th at 1pm

Load Of fun 120 West North Ave at Howard

Let your imagination fly to a world where aerial artists soar and

swing surrounded by the swirl of vibrant graphics and colors, in

Baltimore’s only alleyway dedicated to the vibrant art of urban

graffiti!

The Baltimore Aerial Festival returns for it’s 2nd year

featuring aerial artists from Baltimore and DC for 3 days of cutting

edge, site specific aerial performances for the whole family!!

Performers Include:

Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey, Updraft, A Conspiracy Of

Movement, Emma Jaster & Mathew Pearson, Kristen Faber & Jessica

Buccaro, Arachne Aerial Arts, Eric Gorsuch, Kel Millionie, Meagan

Berg, Lucy Morris, Gwynne Flanagan & Kate Winston, and featuring In-

Flight Theater’s Tim Scofield & Mara Neimanis performing on aerial

sculpture created by Tim Scofield!

The show will run a hour and twenty minutes with performances

appropriate for all ages. Seating will be provided for those who need

it.

Fantastic mobile sculpture, daring and poetic performances of flight

amidst an urban landscape of wall-to-wall color, create a wondrous and

unique event not to be missed!

Graffiti Alley behind Load Of Fun

120 North Ave at Howard

Baltimore, MD

Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/115446 or at the door-cash

only.

For information: www.in-flighttheater.com or www.loadoffun.net or 410 800 8685

Dont miss this exciting event for the whole family…Let Your

Imagination Fly!!

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July 27th - Gluten Free Cooking Class

If you are gluten free or want to learn how to make gluten free items, this class is for you. Learn from our Healthy Eating Specialist, Kristen and Zeke, our wonderfully talented & creative Demo Specialist. Learn tips & recipes for gluten free cooking. Taste everything Zeke prepares. 7pm in café FREE

August 3rd – LOCAL Healthy Eating

Eating locally is healthy for you and healthy for the planet! Join us as we discuss the idea of local foods and sample tasty local produce. Local vendor stories will be shared and good fun will be had by all! 7 pm in the cafe FREE

August 10th – Healthy Dorm Cooking

Heading off to college or know someone who is? Join as we create quick & easy meals & snacks that use simple, healthy ingredients. Take home recipes and try the food! 7 pm in café FREE

August 11th – Book Club – The KIND Diet

Join the Mt. Washington Health Starts Here book club for a review of The KIND Diet by Alicia Silverstone and ongoing discussion of Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Furhman. Come with questions, insights and open ears. Snacks will be provided. Books available for purchase at Whole Foods Market Mt. Washington. 7 pm in cafe. FREE!

August 17th – Reading Food Labels

Learn tips on how to easily evaluate food labels for optimum health for you and your family. Lecture to be followed by store tour. Free pocket guide to take home! 7 pm café FREE

Wednesday, August 18th – Chilled Summer Soups Cooking Class

Soups aren’t just for warming you up; they can refresh and cool you down as well.  Join us in the café as we explore two classic summer soups; Gazpacho and Vichyssoise. Recipes and samples will be provided. 7:00pm Café FREE

August 24th – Kids quick & easy lunches

Back to School can be a hectic time of year. Simplify your morning routine with quick and easy kids lunch recipes. Try the food & Take home recipes! 7 pm in café FREE

August 31 – Grab & Go breakfasts

Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day, so make it count! Learn how to make a quick, healthy breakfast in minutes! Join us to sample dishes and take home free recipes. 7 pm in café FREE

For all classes, seating is limited. Please pre-register at Customer Service or call 410.532.6700

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Good Films, Good Company-series starts on Wed 7/14 with Bucket List

Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson (a funny and poignant film with 2 great actors. Bucket list-things to do before I die)

Location: Waldorf School of Baltimore

4801 Tamarind Rd. 21209

Time: 6:30 doors open.  Film 7pm, refreshments afterwards

Good films, good company.  From an ongoing group formed after a workshop offered by Beth Knox of Crossings (crossings.net) this film is the first in a series.  The workshop was on Caring for Our Own at Death in 2/08.  It so inspired some people that a group has been meeting monthly since then.  A number of others have come for meetings. The monthly meetings are open to anyone. We are graced to have elders in their 80’s and 90’s to share their perspective.  We invite anyone who loves the movies or wants to explore the general topic in this engaging way to come. It also provides food for thought for the first of Carl Jung’s “Seven Tasks of the second half of life: Come to terms with the reality of death.” No really folks, we have a great time and come away from every meeting uplifted…..Join us.

Donation $5 requested but not required.

no need to rsvp.  Come and bring interested friends.

contact Jennifer for more info.  Other dates tba.

Summer and the FIRE element Celebration:

WEDNESDAY JULY 21

IN THE MID SUMMER! 7-8:30pm

please rsvp

Come gather in a circle to reflect on summer and the fire element. Hear what is most important about the season and the fire element from Chinese medicine.  Bring a story, poem or tidbit to share.  We’ll discuss foods, habits, reflections of the season.

Watch the evening primroses open before our eyes….at dusk…..

Please join us:

Wednesday July 21

7pm-8:30pm

Please RSVP

Location: 2501 Manhattan Ave. 21215

no charge

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Alex Cooper Auctioneers to Auction More Than 400 Paintings from the Estate of Gladys Hack Goldstein

WHAT:

Alex Cooper Auctioneers of Towson, Md., will auction more than 400 pieces of art from the estate of noted Baltimore abstract expressionist painter Gladys Hack Goldstein on Sunday, July 11, beginning at 10 a.m. Goldstein, who passed away in March, was most  celebrated for her unusual portrayal of light in her paintings. Her career spanned more than six decades and included oils, acrylics, watercolors, drawings, collages, mixed media, and cast/handmade paper; as well as prints made from the Mexican technique mixographia. She was also famous for her CandyWrapper™ Collection, collages made from the foils of candy wrappers and other found objects.

Goldstein, who taught abstract art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the College of Notre Dame, has exhibited in museums and galleries such as the Baltimore Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, Galerie Philadelphie in Paris and the Richter Gallery in Germany.

WHEN:

Sunday, July 11, 2010 10 a.m.

Monday, July 12, 2010 10 a.m.

Monday, July 12, 2010 5 p.m.

WHERE:

Alex Cooper Auctioneers, Inc.

908 York Rd.

Towson, Md., 21204

INFORMATION:

For more information, visit Alex Cooper Auctioneers’ web site.

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I will try to do another post about this in the upcoming days to give it more attention, but I also want to mention an opportunity to do good while at the parade.  Springwell is going to be collecting items for the Maryland Food Drive starting on July 4th.  They will also take donations from the community on July 3rd if you would like to donate when you come for the post-parade fun.  See the flyer below for what they are collecting each week.  The drive continues throughout July, so please donation as often as you are able.  While we are out enjoying what will be a day of fun, let’s take the opportunity to be grateful that we are able to live in such a wonderful neighborhood and help make sure that the rest of our larger community is taken care of as well.

Photo: ragingtornado

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We made the observation that, aside from Little People, Big World (one of our rare reality show guilty pleasures), we had watched nothing on a cable/satellite channel; everything else was on network television. At the time, we were paying DirecTV about $90 each month for access to literally hundreds of channels. As it turned out, the only ones we actually watched were ones we could have been getting for free.

What pushed us over the edge was that we were also in the middle of a customer service battle royale with DirecTV over a botched upgrade to HD (I’ll spare you the details).

In any case, we decided to plan our exit strategy. We broke out the spreadsheets.

What started out as a plan to rid ourselves of one superfluous service quickly became a strategic overhaul of our household services. One thing led to another: we had a bundle discount with Verizon because we had our phone service through them, our DSL Internet service through them, and our television service through their partner, DirecTV. Canceling our DirecTV service would make us ineligible for the discount, in effect raising the rate for our telephone service.

So we decided to get rid of that too.

Canceling our Verizon landline service would impact two other services: our painfully slow 1.5 Mbps DSL Internet service and our ADT alarm monitoring service. When bundled with telephone service, Verizon was giving us DSL for $30per month, but without the landline, that price would shoot up to $45 — way too much for painfully slow Internet service. In addition, ADT requires a landline so that the alarm can contact the dispatch center. ADT was charging us $35 each month for monitoring service.

Here is a breakdown of what we were paying each month:

• DirecTV: $90 for HD television with DVR service for two TVs
• Verizon: $65 for telephone service with unlimited long distance, voicemail, call waiting, and caller ID
• Verizon: $30 for 1.5 Mbps DSL
• ADT: $35 for burglar, fire, and carbon monoxide monitoring

That’s $220 per month total.

We spent a long time researching alternatives for these services and finally came up with a plan that would be high in up-front costs but extremely beneficial in long-term savings.

First, we canceled the DirecTV service and traded $90 per month for the following investment:

• 2 TiVo HD DVRs with Lifetime Service (the TiVo boxes themselves are about $250 when on sale and Lifetime Service is $400 per box)
• 2 amplified antennas (we selected the Terk HDTVa antennas based on Amazon ratings) at about $40 each

TiVo literally invented the concept of television time-shifting, and with the newer models that include dual high-definition tuners, you can record two HD programs while watching a third. TiVo also allows you to stream and download content from the Internet, such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and YouTube.

TiVo has a number of recurring payment options for DVR service, depending on how long a period you prepay for (i.e., it’s most expensive to pay month-to-month, slightly less expensive per month if you prepay for a year, and even less if you prepay for three years). However, the whole point of the exercise was to eliminate monthly expenses, so we opted for TiVo’s Lifetime Service, which costs approximately the same as four years of service but you never need to pay again.

We selected that antenna after visiting AntennaWeb, a site that takes your street address and tells you what kind of antenna you need to buy and which direction you need to point it in order to receive the broadcasts from each local station. We’re lucky enough to live in an area where we can receive all local stations with a small indoor antenna pointed toward TV Hill.

In total, we spent $1380 on television equipment to save $90 per month — we would recoup our investment in fifteen months.

Next we decided to tackle the telephone landline service. Our only reservation about canceling this one was the risk of not having phone service when the Internet was down. However, we decided that since we both have cell phones, there would be backup options in the event of an emergency.

After reading extremely positive reviews on Amazon, we purchased Ooma – an intriguing device that promises to allow you to use your existing telephone handsets to make calls over the Internet for free. It plugs into your router and into your telephone and converts your legacy phone to VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). The Ooma model we bought costs about $200 and comes with Ooma Core, which serves as the base station, and one Ooma Scout, which allows you to plug one additional handset into the Ooma system and communicates with Ooma Core using your home’s existing internal telephone wiring. We already had a wireless phone system that has one base station and multiple handsets, so we plugged that into the Ooma Core.

We spent $200 on telephone equipment to save $780 per year — we would recoup our investment in just three months!

Next, we focused on our alarm service — essentially collateral damage from canceling our landline. I called ADT and explained the situation. I told them that just like millions of other households, we would no longer have a landline but would like to keep our alarm monitoring service with them. After being transfered around to various departments, I was told that they require a landline and that they had no monitoring-over-Internet option.

So again I turned to the Internet for help. I found that there are several companies that perform alarm monitoring over the Internet — all for much less per month than ADT was charging us. We selected a company called NextAlarm, which allows you to migrate your current alarm system to Internet monitoring by using a device that converts your alarm’s modem signals to packets that can be sent over the Internet. There is an upfront cost of $115 for the hardware that performs this magic, but after that, the savings are enormous (plus, they throw in three months of monitoring for free when you buy the hardware). Like TiVo, you save more per month by prepaying for more time. We opted for the annual option, which works out to less than $12 per month — less than half of what we were paying to ADT for essentially the same service. Installation was simple: unplug the main alarm panel from the phone line and plug it into the adapter; plug the adapter into your router and you’re in business.

We spent $115 on equipment and saved $276 per year, recouping our costs in less than six months.

Finally, as we were then so reliant on the Internet for many of our services, we traded our 1.5 Mbps Verizon DSL at an unbundled rate of $45 for a 16 Mbps Comcast cable modem. I decided to buy the cable modem to avoid a recurring rental fee from Comcast. After reading many reviews and perusing dozens of Internet forums dedicated to the subject, the consensus seemed to be that the Motorola Surfboard 5101 was extremely reliable and fairly inexpensive. I ordered one from Amazon for $55. I was pleased to discover that Comcast would only charge us $45 per month for Internet service — the same amount that Verizon was charging for service that is more than ten times faster.

In this case, the $55 equipment cost is not recouped, but it’s well worth the expense if you consider that the service we received for the same $45 per month is more than ten times better than our DSL service.

We put our plan into action.

The only piece that gave us much trouble was getting our Comcast cable modem service installed. At that time, we did not have cable coming into our house from the pole, and, because of the distance the wire would have to travel through the air across our yard, it turned out to be one of those things that takes dozens of phone calls and visits by a technician to accomplish.

Aside from that, the transition was pretty smooth. Our TiVo service is fantastic and the HD signal that comes in over the air looks much better than cable and satellite HD channels look (those services compress the HD signal to squeeze more channels into a limited amount of bandwidth). The reception is excellent, and we only have trouble if someone inadvertently moves the antenna.

Our Ooma service has been wonderful as well. We successfully ported our Verizon landline number to Ooma and have been basking in free phone service for years now. In the time that we have been using Ooma, we have only experienced two brief outages — not bad for free service.

NextAlarm has done a fine job with our alarm monitoring service. We have had one occasion when a family member accidentally set of the alarm, and the NextAlarm dispatch center responded appropriately. In addition, we can log onto their web site and see all of our system’s activity and its current status — useful for when we are on vacation and suddenly panic that we might not have set the alarm in our rush to get out the door.

Month 10 was our break-even month. We had spent about $1,700 in equipment plus a new recurring total of $57 per month (remember — we had been spending $220 per month before all this started). After month 10, the savings started. After two years, we had saved $2,243. After three years, $4,200. And we don’t miss a thing.

Except HBO.

Photo: redjar

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