The Coolest Kids in Town: a blog about Baltimore, DC, and the misadventures of two-city life.

Far be it from a Baltimorean to turn down a party. There's just something about the opportunity to dance, drink, and startle our eardrums that gets a Marylander's blood running, and Texas is no exception. That's why she and Coda are pioneering a new feature for your blog viewing pleasure: Baltimore Buzz (a.k.a. So What'd You Do Last Night? ) First up on So What'd You Do Last Night: the immensely enjoyable Ottobar 2010 Pretty in Pink Prom: a night of 80's-themed festivities, including an on-point DJ, a dressed-to-impress crowd, and a rack of hilarious decorations. In true modern girl fashion, Tex went with a fellow Baltimore blogger, one of the writers of Two Dilettantes . Although I couldn't dream of outdressing that fashionable fox, I did my best (pics below). We also drank delish drinks (although we passed on the spiked punch - hits too close to hipster for my tastes), saw an amazing Michael Jackson impersonator, and just generally had a good time with th

Well kids, Preakness is over, so as far as I'm concerned summer has officially begun, solstice be damned. And to me, as with all proper Baltimore girls, summer means only one thing: bonding with the Birds down at the Yard ( not Birdland, here at TCKiT Birdland will never be accepted). So, we're really only a month into the season at this point, and maybe the O's exponentially slow start put you off a bit. Maybe more than a bit. In fact, maybe you're just now aware that baseball season's started. Let Orioles Hangout help you get back in the swing of things. A multi-facated site, Orioles Hangout covers the O's, their farm system, fantasy baseball, and more. Use it to find out the odds of Reimold getting bumped back up to the majors, the projected length of Roberts 's stay on the DL, or just the score from tonight's game. If, however, you want something with a little more detail and many fewer pictures, check out Oriole Post . A blog dedicated, primarily

As Baltimore poet Ogden Nash once wrote, 'The [Kentucky] Derby is a race of aristocratic sleekness, for horses of birth to prove their worth to run in the Preakness.' Here at TCKiT we couldn't agree more, and definitely hold the second leg of the Triple Crown in highest regard (in spite of the Maryland Jockey Club's consistent efforts to screw the whole thing up), so Tex and I are gonna give you a crash course in Preakness before we head out to Pimlico to enjoy the newly reinstated alcohol policy. First thing you need to know is post time. The running of the 135th Preakness Stakes begins at exactly 6.18pm on NBC, don't forget to look for us in the infield. Next we're gonna point you in the direction of ESPN's (slightly dated) rundown of the Preakness and what you need to know if you plan to be in attendance. Lastly, we'll throw in an entertaining, though perhaps not so flattering, post about last year's infield BYOB-ban from With Leather , a sp

Yesterday Tex and I hooked you guys up with some credible, on-the-ground news sources, and today we're gonna continue in that vein by pointing you in the direction of some of our favorite young bloggers and Baltimore social commentators. First up is Bohs and O's . Written primarily by a group of guys we probably all danced with at one middle school mixer or another, Bohs and O's is an entertaining assemblage of opinions that touch on just about every aspect of (young) life in Baltimore. Admittedly, there are some days when it's a little Bro-heavy , but on the whole it's more or less delightful (and it's also the original home of our TCKiT favorites survey). Insane Baltimore is written by another Baltimore-based blogger with a biting sense of humor. Updated whenever inspiration strikes (which we here at TCKiT find highly relatable), Insane Baltimore is full of entertaining observations about that special kind of crazy that's just accepted here in Charm Cit

Baltimore is home to a surprisingly rich literary tradition : from the riots in the summer of 1812 centered around our 1st Amendment right to a free press (which also earned us the loving moniker Mobtown), to newspaperman and all around critic H.L. Mencken , the people of Baltimore have always loved expressing themselves. The golden age of journalism might be past, but Baltimore is home to plenty of verbose bloggers who can tell you all about the ins and outs of our city; um, you know, other than us. Welcome to Baltimore, Hon! is a self-described virtual scrapbook of Baltimore curated by Charm City natives and featuring everything from local news to photo contests. Baltimore Skyline is a similarly structured blog - giving a more personal voice to the local news, be it wonderful, awful, or just plain strange. For a more direct link to all things Baltimore and newsy check out Inside Charm City . Inside Charm City posts, verbatim, breaking news, press releases, interviews, and the like

Maryland is home to so many wonderful things: Tex & Coda, the Naval Academy, those lovable O's, and of course, blue crab. No matter what lies biologists and the Discovery Channel tell you, the blue crab really is the only one worth knowing, or eating. In that light, allow us to direct you to The Crab Guy , a blogger who, as his name implies, writes all about those delectable crustaceans native to the Chesapeake and how best to prepare them . He even has detailed instructions on how to pick crabs so you'll look like a native even if you're not. If however, you're one of those people (and Coda is not) who prefers crab cakes to picking your own, then check out The Crab Cake Guy and find out how to make them right. By the way, making them right will not include a fryer. Ever. If you'd like to take a more scientific approach to learning about crabs and the Bay head on over to Bay Daily , a blog about environmental issues relating to the Chesapeake and her water

And for Tex and Coda, that's Baltimore. So we've decided to dedicate Preakness week to our beloved Charm City: all week we'll be pushing our favorite Baltimore sites and blogs, drinking heavily in anticipation of Saturday, and just generally enticing those of you who aren't fortunate enough to live here to come join the party. And, because we're so delightful we could probably talk you into just about anything, we're gonna prepare you for your inevitable visit by starting things off with a survey of our Bmore favorites (hoisted right off one of our favorite Baltimore blogs - to be named later - and edited to our exacting standards) as well as a quick link to an article in The Sun explaining the unique Mid-Atlantic culture to all you confused northerners and southerners out there. TCKiT favorites: Favorite Dive Bar? ◦ Tex: Windsor Inn ◦ Coda: John Steven Favorite Weekend Bar? ◦ Tex: Waterfront Hotel ◦ Coda: Max's Favorite Weekday

We make a lot of jokes here at TCKiT, about hipsters and sweaters and drinks made with MD 20/20 , but today let's do something different. In fact, let's do something nice . 1. First up are the TED talks , and if you don't know them, then you should. The most brilliant, innovative, interesting, coolest people ever to live in our modern world get on stage with just a microphone, a powerpoint and 5 - 15 minutes to rock your world. Among the better-known honorees: Bill Clinton , Isabelle Allende , Bill Gates , Frank Gehry, Robert Ballard, Richard Branson, Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, Dave Eggers, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking...get the idea? 2. Second to these are the videos at Stock Exchange of Visions . These are to the TED talks as the iPad is to a laptop - short, sweet, stylish, and to the point (if lacking in details). Great minds get on video and talk for 30 seconds or so about their view for the planet - some times bewildering, sometime

Gather 'round the fire (air conditioner), kids, it's story time. Today we'll be tracing the trajectory of a relationship, and not one of those happily-ever-after relationships, either. Save that for the NY Girl of Your Dreams . No, no, this is the story of all those other relationships, the ones that crash and burn. So, as with all stories, we begin at the beginning: Awful First Dates . Remember that trauma-rama section of Seventeen ? The one with all those horror stories from every day life that you totally loved reading because trauma is really funny when it's happening to other people? Well, that's pretty much the gist of Awful First Dates. People write brief summaries of their terrible romantic mishaps and then you can vote on just how terrible (or not) it really was. If, however, the first date isn't the worst thing ever, maybe you'll take the next step and settle into a relationship. Possibly with someone who's not really hot enough for you, like t