SPECIAL
The Year in News: “There’s a myth that emanates around some floors in Annapolis,” Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley told The Boston Globe in a March article about the city’s school-budget crisis, “that because we are a poor jurisdiction, we are a stupid jurisdiction. | Top Ten by Van Smith
The Year in Quotes: 1
“The First Amendment doesn’t say you have to be good.” — street-performance advocate Stephen Baird on a suggested City Council bill to require street performers to have licenses (Feb. | Top Ten
The Year in Sports: Suffice it to say that 2004 will not go down as a banner year in the annals of Baltimore sports. | Top Ten by Gabriel Wardell
The Year in Film: Cheer up: 2004 was a good year—at least for film. | Top Ten
The Year in Television: The “moral values” referendum surprised and rebuked lefties in Hollywood and elsewhere. | Top Ten
The Year in Music: Run down the list of recent heavyweights that released albums in 2004 which have moved units but lost that elusive hook that keeps these artists interesting, fun to write and talk about, and secure on our playlist: U2, Gwen Stefani, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Britney Spears, Good Charlotte, Nirvana, Ja Rule, Jessica Simpson, the Hives, R. | Top Ten
The Year in Local Music: Only one local music story really percolated around Baltimore newsrooms this year: Paula Campbell. | Top Ten by Bret McCabe
The Year in Art: Sure, 2004 was the year of Baltimore’s very own public art controversy, in the guise of Jonathan Borofsky’s giant, glowing hermaphroditic “Male/Female,” but Mobtown’s myriad museums, commercial galleries, and private spaces made their own noise, hosting national touring exhibits and showcasing local talent.
It was a year of change and innovation for local art venues. | Top Ten
The Year in Books: Yeah, publishers keep telling us that the book business these days really belongs to nonfiction, that people don’t read novels anymore, but this year was ridiculous. | Top Ten
The Year on Stage: The vamping post-op transsexual of our No. | Top Ten
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NEWS
Medical Emergency: Tort Reformers Gear Up To Bring Medical Malpractice Legislation To The Forefront Of The General Assembly’s Next Session | Mobtown Beat by Edward Ericson Jr.
A Tale of Two Soldiers: Veterans Affairs Expects One-Third Of Iraq War Veterans Will Seek Treatment For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder—But Former Soldiers Need To Act Fast To Get Va Treatment | Mobtown Beat by Christina Royster-Hemby
Murder Ink | The Mail | Q+A
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COLUMNS
Judgment Day: This, remember, is the administration that spoke of rolling out this war like an advertising agency rolling out a new product line. | Political Animal by Brian Morton
The Real Twilight Zone: The culture adapts, it doesn’t enter a “Twilight Zone” because a born-again president was re-elected. | Right Field by Russ Smith
The Price of Friendship: They say confession is good for the soul, but it’s usually better for the soul of the one doing the confessing than the one having to listen to it. | Think Mink by Mink Stole
[MORE]
COMICS
Sheet Comics: by The Hussey Bros.
Lulu Eightball: by Emily Flake
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ARTS
Manic Expression: Baltimorean David Brewster Brings Uneven Zeal to His Bleak Scenes | Art by J. Bowers
Panto-Loons: FPCT’s Bawdy Take On Cinderella Gives New Meaning To “Mother Goose” | Stage by John Barry
A Dickens of a Carol: By Kimberley Lynne | Stage by Anna Ditkoff
Stage Stuck: On North Avenue, the Parkway Theatre—and the Neighborhood around it—Finds Itself Caught Between Competing Visions for the Future | The Arts by John Barry
Operation Babylonian Freedom: A Tale Of Power, Arrogance, And Destruction From Iraq—But One You’ll Actually Want To Read | Books by Scott Carlson
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FILM
Spanglish
| Review by
Eric Hatch
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
| Review by
Geoffrey Himes
Phantom of the Opera
| Review by
Bret McCabe
A Very Long Engagement
| Review by
Ian Grey
LSQ
| Review by
Bret McCabe
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