Comments on: M.I.A. Reappears Amid Charm City Grime

By: vivo

vivo — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 18:10:16 +0000

well i think it’s mostly hispanic.

http://www.upperfellspoint.org/

Upper Fells Point Selected as Best Neighborhood in the City Paper

“It’s no Federal Hill or Hampden or Charles Village, this East Baltimore neighborhood. Indeed, it’s nothing like its immediate neighbor to the south, Fells Point, nor is it anything like its adjacent sister Canton. It’s got but one eclectic tavern within its bounds (Henninger’s Tavern, that is), and its main business thoroughfare, Broadway between Eastern Avenue and Lombard Street, lacks the kitschy storefronts and boutique shopping that draw people to other areas of the city. But that’s why we love Upper Fells Point: It’s got a hardscrabble exterior, a booming Latino community, a dash of the old-school Baltimore that’s being edged out in most of the city’s up-and-coming environments. You don’t come here, necessarily, to shop, nor do you come here to hang out (though we must say, it is kind of nice to sit on the park benches along the median strip on Broadway and watch the world go by) and stroll. Chances are, if you’re hanging out here, you live here. Or you want to live here because you don’t need sushi or a gourmet grocery or a strip of trendy bars to make you fall in love with your neighborhood. All you need is what Upper Fells Point has got- -a diverse population, a bunch of good taquerias at which you can get your good, cheap food fix, some mom-and-pop corner stores, and some solid neighbors who keep an eye out for trouble on their streets after dark. That’s what Upper Fells Point is about.”

By: formerbalmorian

formerbalmorian — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 04:42:50 +0000

“upper fells pt is hispanic.” well THAT’s new. No significant hispanic population in balimor 30 years ago. Some Castro-fled Cubans and some Puerto Ricans from New York were about it from that quarter. Aside from Divine sitting pretty in her antique shop, the area bordering Fells Point was also notorious for some early 70s kid porn, “The Boys of Baltimore.” Guess they wanted it to be a little classy, so it was not “boys of balimor.” One of my friends was a mythology buff and always claimed Baltimore was named for Baal, a 4000 year old deity who spread himself pretty thin throughout the area now know as the middle east. I think this namesake still has a sinister hold on Charm City, and Ghostbusters will eventually be called in to deal with the matter. New York can’t begin to compare.

By: vivo

vivo — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 20:30:01 +0000

Anand #28,

did u mean cafe hon for a true baltimore experience?

http://www.cafehon.com/

By: Yeti

Yeti — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:45:35 +0000

I LOWE! Baltimore sounds like it might by my kind of city. I need a certain amount of grittiness and underdog-ness to really enjoy myself.

residency, if you don't mind me asking?

No way. Neither residency, law school, or MBA. Or yengineering

By: turbanhead

turbanhead — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 18:13:00 +0000

Didn’t MIA jump the shark about 6 months ago?

By: vivo

vivo — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:13:38 +0000

isn't upper park heights mainly jewish? upper fells pt is hispanic. decent carriben population. nigetrians?
russian jews i think.

By: SP

SP — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:54:30 +0000

Bawlmer has its quirky charms and they will entertain you for about a year. It’s a cross between decaying-industrial-town (with a shrinking population in the last 20 years and lots of boarded up houses to testify to that), earnest efforts at tourist-yuppie revival with several outdoor “festivals” that consist of overpriced beer, the same street food and single yuppies on the prowl (cf. Federal Hill), grim inner-city life with the highest car theft rate in America, a few Ann Tyler-esque neighbourhoods right out of the 60s like Hampden, and leafy suburban neighbourhoods with overpriced farmers markets. The food is a saving grace, there’s some good desi grocery stores, a couple of good desi restaurants, a fabulous Afghan restaurant, and the best crabcakes in the world for $7 at Faidley’s in Lexington Market.

By: Asha's dad

Asha's dad — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:47:57 +0000

Ignore the two posts I left my computer and someone was trying to post the link to the Indian Thriller on YouTube.

By: Asha's dad

Asha's dad — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:45:05 +0000

This has nothing to do with Baltimore but it rocks. The beat sounds a lot like a Devo song.

By: Kumar Pallana

Kumar Pallana — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:01:14 +0000

There is actually a direct Desi connection to the Wire, though only a brief one. When Kima and McNulty are tracking the guy buying mobile phones at various convience store in the third season, they stop at store run by punjabis, one of them speaks a clear line of punjabi dialogue and another makes a very Indian joke about making many phone calls, many “ring-dings.”