organic versus non organic

'Organic' May Not Mean Healthier
British Study Finds no Better Nutrient Value Than in Conventionally Produced Foods
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
July 30, 2009

Food that beckons from the organic aisles of grocery stores may not be any better for you than what lines the rest of supermarket shelves.
Share
Research shows that eating organic food isn't necessarily better for you.

According to a British review of studies done over the past 50 years, organic and conventionally produced foods have about the same nutrient content, suggesting that neither is better in terms of health benefits.

"We did not find any important differences in nutrient content between organically and conventionally produced foods," said study author Alan Dangour, a registered public health nutritionist with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Nonetheless, the researchers noted, organic foods continue to grow in popularity. In the United Kingdom, the market share for organic foods increased 22 percent from 2005 to 2007, they said.

Likewise, the market for organic foods in the United States has grown at about a 20 percent rate each year since 1990, reaching $13.8 billion in consumer sales in 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association. That represents 2.5 percent of total food sales in the country, the trade group noted.
Related
Fruit Pick Your Way to Paradise
No-Fat Meals and Other Diet Mistakes
Emeril's Organic Tomato, Spinach and Pinto Bean Salad a la Champion

"As a registered dietitian, it is good to see that a systematic review of the literature supports what has long been believed -- that the nutritional content of traditionally grown foods and organic foods are comparable," said Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis and past president of the American Dietetic Association. "This report provides confirmation for consumers that if they choose conventionally grown foods or organic foods they will be meeting their nutritional needs."

The review zeroed in on 162 studies that dealt with the nutrient content of foods. Only 55 were of what the researchers considered to be "satisfactory quality" -- a strong indicator that, overall, the science on the subject is not up to snuff.

They found no noted differences between conventional and organic crops with regard to vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc and copper content. Organic crops did have higher levels of phosphorus, and conventionally produced crops had higher levels of nitrogen.

No differences in nutrient content were indicated in the livestock studies, according to the review.

'Organic' May Not Mean Healthier
Food that beckons from the organic aisles of grocery stores may not be any better for you than what... Expand
Food that beckons from the organic aisles of grocery stores may not be any better for you than what lines the rest of supermarket shelves. According to a British review of studies done over the past 50 years, organic and conventionally produced foods have about the same nutrient content, suggesting that neither is better in terms of health benefits. Collapse


The Oregon-based Organic Center, which promotes organic food, conducted a similar review of the literature, said Charles Benbrook, chief scientist for the Center. That study yielded results similar to those in the British study, but it also found higher levels of healthy antioxidants and polyphenols in organic foods.

"Given that some of the most significant differences favoring organic foods were for key antioxidant nutrients that most Americans do not get enough of on most days, we concluded that the consumption of organic fruits and vegetables, in particular, offered significant health benefits, roughly equivalent to an additional serving of a moderately nutrient dense fruit or vegetable on an average day," Benbrook said.

Rarback indicated that the ability to get solid research on organic versus conventionally produced products is hampered by variations in the production process.

"There are so many variables," she said. "Where is something grown? Where is it shipped from? How long was it on the truck? There are going to be variables in terms of nutrition just from production methods."

More information

There's more on food and the nutrients in food at the United States Department of Agriculture.

SOURCES: Alan Dangour, registered public health nutritionist, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Connie Diekman, M.Ed, R.D., L.D., director, university nutrition, Washington University, St. Louis, and past president, American Dietetic Association; Sheah Rarback, R.D., director, nutrition, Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami; Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., chief scientist, The Organic Center, Enterprise, Oregon; September 2009 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Copyright 2009 HealthDayNews, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


another articles ...

Organics No Better Than Chemical/GMO/Sewage Sludge-Soaked "Food"?
digg Share this on Facebook Huffpost - stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThis RSS
Read More: Cancer, Chemicals, Conventional Food, Eco, Elephant Journal, Elephantjournal.Com, Environmental, Farm, Farmer's Market, Farmers, Farmers' Market, Foodie, Green, Michael Pollan, Organic, Organics, Toxic, Toxins, Waylon Lewis, Whole Foods, Green News

Retweet this story!
Get Breaking News Alerts
never spam

*
Share
*
Print
*
Comments

uk study organic food health


Call me biased (and I am)...but it would seem to be common sense that regular food, real food -- i.e. food not pruned in a lab, or coated with chemicals, or doused in sewage sludge -- as is so-called "conventional" food -- would be cleaner, stronger, healthier. After all, take the food out of conventional food and all you're left with is a pile of chemicals, toxins, pesticides (poisons), sewage.

Want some chemicals for breakfast, Billy?

But no. A "ground-breaking" UK study just found that...surprise!...chemical-grown GMO-lovin' food shipped 1500 miles to your plate is just as good as local, organic, as-God-intended-it chow.

Read about it here.


Here's Whole Foods Market's response, via Facebook.


whole foods facebook organic


Our thoughts on the study on nutrition in organics in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.


We are optimistic that improved support of organic nutrition research -- including the increase of organic research funding in the 2008 Farm Bill, and the work of organizations like The Organic Center -- will show that nutritional advantages are another reason that organic agriculture is better than conventional.
Our shoppers choose organic food for many reasons -- to avoid synthetic pesticide residue, because it is often fresher and better tasting, and because organic farmers grow in earth-friendly ways that support the environment. Nutritional quality is one of many potential variables related to the advantages of organic food, but for us, there are already plenty of well-documented reasons to choose organic.The authors of this study examine the abstracts of 50 years of nutritional studies, looking for differences in nutrition between organic and non-organic foods, and conclude that there aren't any major differences. They don't rule out the possibility that there could be nutritional advantages, but acknowledge that none has been demonstrated so far. This isn't a surprising finding, since until very recently, there has been very little governmental or non-profit support of academic nutrition research focused directly on organic agriculture. In general, most nutrition research has not differentiated between organic and conventional crops.





And here's Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg's response, on your friendly local Huff Post Green.




huff post green

As Stonyfield Farm President and CE-Yo, I believe that a new study dismissing the health benefits of organics does in fact mislead an increasingly savvy public by ignoring documented health and environmental benefits of organic.

The supreme irony is that this study is getting an enormous amount of media attention in part because of heightened consumer awareness of where our food comes from, thanks to the popularity of the documentary Food, Inc. and the discussion it's triggering across the country. Food, Inc. lays bare just how bankrupt and dangerous our current food system really is, and what we are allowed to know about it. The result is that consumers are looking more critically than ever at studies like this.

I agree with the Organic Center (TOC), a non-profit industry think tank, that the authors of the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) study used old data and flawed logic in reaching the conclusion that organic food is no healthier than conventional. TOC alleges that the UK study actually downplayed the positive findings which favored organic food and did not measure important nutrients such as antioxidants.

There are compelling studies that have shown organic foods higher in beneficial antioxidants, substances or nutrients in our foods known to slow or prevent heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. A 2007 Newcastle University (UK) study concluded organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40% more antioxidants than non-organic varieties; organic milk contained more than 60% more antioxidants and healthy fatty acids than conventional. A 2007 study by the University of California found organic tomatoes had elevated levels of up to 97% of two types of antioxidants.

Of greater concern to me is the fact the FSA ignores the environmental and related health benefits of an organic farming system that avoids the use of millions of pounds of toxic persistent pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer and other chemicals that leach into soil, water and air.

The man leading the FSA review actually stated the differences in nutrient content found between organic and conventionally produced food were "unlikely to be of any public health relevance." Tell that to the people who suffer a variety of health issues shown to be linked to pesticide use. Public health is exactly what's at stake here.

I believe studies like the FSA report need to look beyond the dinner plate and recognize that organic farming's avoidance of chemicals offers health benefits beyond nutrition...for the rest, go to Huff Post Green (you won't have to go far, I know).


And here's the Organic Trade Associations' rather weak-kneed response (to my mind). They accept many of the charges, and simply argue around them. Yes, organics are part of an ecosystem, and can't be measured on nutrients alone. But I'd like to see us argue on the points we've been attacked -- that organic food is in and of itself not measurably better than chemical-pesticide-sewage grown "conventional" food.


organic trade associationOrganic Trade Association: Organic products offer many benefits to consumers

Contact: Barbara Haumann
(413-376-1220; bhaumann@ota.com)

GREENFIELD, Mass. (July 31, 2009) -- In response to recent publicity concerning an article in-press for the next issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) reminds consumers that organic has a great story to tell.

"The broader question is about what is health and what is nutrition, and isn't it more than just nutrient density," said Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University, in reference to recent buzz about the article, "Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review." "Doesn't a food system that avoids the use of pesticides, synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics while building healthy soil and protecting natural resources promote health and nutrition? I certainly think so."

She added, "I'm surprised that investigators of this caliber would focus so narrowly on nutrient content. There is no reason to think that organic foods would have fewer nutrients than industrially produced foods, and there are many...for the rest, click here.

Here's one more:


daily greenI'm in London and today's tabloid Daily Express has a headline in type two inches high: "ORGANIC FOOD NO HEALTHIER." The article begins, "Eating organic food in the belief that it is good for your health is a waste of money, new research shows."

Really? This surprising statement is based on the conclusions of a lengthy report (pdf) just released from the British Food Standards Agency,Comparison of composition (nutrients and other substances) of organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs: a systematic review of the available literature. This report, done by excellent researchers at the prestigious London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, looked at the results of 162 studies comparing organic to conventionally grown foods for their content of nutrients and other substances. Although it found higher amounts of some nutrients in organic crops, it found higher amounts of others in conventional crops, and no difference in others. On this basis, the report concludes:

There is no good evidence that increased dietary intake, of the nutrients identified in this review to be present in larger amounts in organically than in conventionally produced crops and livestock products, would be of benefit to individuals consuming a normal varied diet, and it is therefore unlikely that these differences in nutrient content are relevant to consumer health.


In a statement accompanying release of the report, the Food Standards Agency says:

The Agency supports consumer choice and is neither pro nor anti organic food. We recognise that there are many reasons why people choose to eat organic, such as animal welfare or environmental concerns. The Agency will continue to give consumers accurate information about their food based on the best available scientific evidence.


Fine, but do animal welfare and environmental concerns not matter? The authors of the report summarize their findings in a paper in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The paper concludes:

On the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods.


Oh? I thought that's what organic foods were about -- production methods: no antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, irradiation, genetic modification, or sewage sludge. I thought better production methods were the precise point of organic foods.

Read more here, at The Daily Green.

Here's a new one just in, via my friend Steve Hoffman, an organic/natural products expert, at The Organic Center:


"organic center"Letter from the Director

The Organic Center Challenges New Study Results; Defends the Nutritional Superiority of Organic Foods

An advance copy of a study appeared yesterday that will be published in the September edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The published paper, "Nutritional Quality of Organic Foods: A Systematic Review," was written by a team led by Alan Dangour at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The study, commissioned by the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA), claims that there are no differences in nutritional quality between conventional and organic foods.

The Organic Center's chief scientist, Dr. Chuck Benbrook, has written a strong response questioning the methodology and challenging the findings of this study, and we wanted to let you know where you can access it, as you may be responding to media and other inquiries in this regard. Click here to see Dr. Benbrook's full response to this controversial study.



According to Dr. Benbrook, the U.K. research team reported finding statistically significant differences between organically and conventionally grown crops in only three of thirteen categories of nutrients. Significant differences cited by the team included nitrogen, which was higher in conventional crops, and phosphorus and titratable acids, both of which were higher in the organic crops. As most scientists regard elevated levels of nitrogen in food as a potential cancer-causing agent, this finding of higher nitrogen in conventional food favors organic crops, as do the other two differences.

Despite the fact that these three categories of nutrients favored organic foods, and none favored conventionally grown foods, the London-based team concluded that there are no nutritional differences between organically and conventionally grown crops.

However, a team of scientists convened by The Organic Center (TOC) carried out a similar, but more rigorous, review of the same literature. The TOC team analyzed published research just on plant-based foods. Results differ significantly from the more narrow FSA review and are reported in the study "New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods," which is freely accessible on the TOC website (http://www.organic-center.org/science.nutri.php?action=view&report_id=126).

The TOC findings are similar for some of the nutrients analyzed by the FSA team, but differ significantly for two critical classes of nutrients of great importance in promoting human health -- total polyphenols, and total antioxidant content. The FSA team did not include total antioxidant capacity among the nutrients studied, and it found no differences in the phenolic content in 80 comparisons across 13 studies.

For more information, visit http://www.organic-center.org/science.nutri.php?action=view&report_id=157.

Like

Perceraian

Akhir akhir ini banyak sekali perceraian yang terjadi dalam sebuah perkawinan atau sopannya kita sebut pernikahan. Makin banyaknya orang yang kita kenal sudah becerai atau anaknya si bapak b bercerai, tetangga kita yang dkt mesjid lah bercerai...dan jelas-jelas perceraian selebritis yang dijadikan konsumsi kita setiap harinya .Seakan akan yang terjadi adalah kita menikah untuk bercerai karena tingkat perceraian terhadap pernikahan itu sendiri. Bayangkan sekarang lebih banyak orang bercerai dari pada yang menggunakan telepon umum! :)) Hahaha ya mungkin selain Telepon umum jarang ditemui juga karena pihak telkom sudah merugi jika memasang telepon umum sekarang ini, dikarenakan hampir semua orang sudah mempunyai telepon jingjing eh telepon gengam. (laptop baru namanya komputer jingjing sama halnya dengan kantong keresek tas jingjing bedanya hanya di harganya dan belinya dimana... duh mulai melebar pembahasannya)

Ok!! balik lagi ke perceraian, klo kita tela’ah pernikahan. Mengapa kita menikah? Apakah dikarenakan paksaan usia, orang tua, pasangan, agama atau sekedar hobby semata ( ini ditujukan pada orang orang yang menikah lebih dari satu kali, tp ini dengan nada guyonan bukan sindiran :P). Nah itu dia! Kalau memang menikah itu merupakan suatu paksaan lalu mengapa menikah? Bukankah menikah itu adalah sesuatu yang dilaksanakan karena keihklasan, dilandasi oleh cinta, bertahtahkan kasihsayang, dirajut oleh kepedulian, dan perpedoman pada alquran dan hadist (bagi yang muslim). Di indonesia menurut pasal 1 Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan, yang berbunyi : “Tujuan perkawinan adalah juga untuk membentuk keluarga yang bahagia dan kekal berdasarkan Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa”. jadi tujuan pernikahan itu harus kekal dan bahagia. jadi jikalau rumah tangga kita tidak bahagia apakah boleh bercerai?

Konon pernikahan itu adalah cinta suci, cinta suci adalah cinta yang diikat oleh tali perkawinan. Ah masa sih? Lalu kenapa ada perceraian?

Rasulullah SAW, bersabda ;“Yang halal yang paling dibenci Allah adalah Perceraian”. (HR. Abu Daud dan dinyatakan Shoheh oleh Al-Hakim)

Perceraian adalah perbuatan yang dibenci tuhan namun tidaklah dosa hukumnya dikarenakan halal.Jd klo diuraikan dengan bahasa saya sendiri, kadang ada perbuatan yg dibenci namun yang sifatnya itu tdklah dosa. Seperti halnya merokok ada yang benci rokok dan asapnya namun hal itu tidak dilarang agama. Tapi bukan bearti tuhan membenci perokok ya... Lol

Bagi orang yang melakukan perceraian tanpa alasan, Rasulullah SAW bersabda ;

“Apakah yang menyebabkan salah seorang kamu mempermainkan hukum Allah, ia mengatakan : Aku sesungguhnya telah mentalak (istriku) dan sungguh aku telah merujuknya” (HR. An-Nasai dan Ibnu Majah).

karena dalam hukum indonesia perceraian ada golongan golongan dalam perceraian. Secara umum mengenai putusnya hubungan perkawinan Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan membagi sebab-sebab putusnya perkawinan ke dalam 3 (tiga) golongan, yaitu seperti yang tercantum dalam Pasal 38 yakni sebagai berikut :

a. karena kematian salah satu pihak;

b. perceraian; dan

c. atas putusan pengadilan.

Putusnya perkawinan karena perceraian dalam istilah ahli Fiqh disebut “talak” atau “furqah”. Arti dari talak ialah membuka ikatan, membatalkan perjanjian, sedangkan furqah artinya bercerai, yaitu lawan dari berkumpul. Kemudian kedua kata tersebut dipakai oleh ahli fiqh sebagai satu istilah, yang berarti perceraian antara suami istri.

Meskipun Islam tidak melarang perceraian, tetapi bukan berarti agama Islam menyukai terjadinya perceraian dalam suatu perkawinan. Dan perceraian-pun tidak boleh dilaksanakan setiap saat sebagaimana dikehendaki.

lalu jika anda yang sudah terlanjur bercerai apakah anda merasa dibenci oleh Allah? la tahzhan.... Jangan sedih! dapat dilihat lagi terhadap surat an-nisa “Jika keduanya bercerai, maka Allah akan memberi kecukupan kepada masing-masing dari limpahan karunia-Nya. Dan adalah Allah Maha Luas (karunia-Nya) lagi Maha Bijaksana.” (QS. 4:130).

Allah MAha Penyayang terhadap umatnya Dia akan tetap memberikan limpahan karunianya terhadap umatnya walaupun kita melakukan perbuatan yang dibencinya. THATS WHAT I CALLED UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!. cinta Allah tak bersyarat.

Jadi intinya apa sih?

HAhaha.... paling malas klo udah google sana sini menghubungkan dalil dalil yang ada dan saya harus membuat kesimpulan terhadap apa yang saya kaji. kalau saya boleh berpesan, kepada seluruh keluarga, kerabat, teman, sahabat dan semua yang membaca ini: sebelum menikah yakinlah apa yang kalian nikahi adalah cinta sejati kalian, cinta yang dimana apa yang haram jd halal, cuka jadi madu, duka jadi suka, karat jadi emas, debu jadi kayu, sakit jd sehat, letih jadi kuat, api jadi air, cinta dimana yang di berkati oleh Allah. cinta yang ga akan ada habisnya. cintailah dia segala kekurangannya terlebih kelebihannya. Insya Allah perceraian akan terhindari.

namun jikalau perceraian sudah terjadi, ini bukanlah sesuatu yg terhina atau ahkir dari dunia anda, masih ada harapan anda untuk memulai hidup baru anda masih ada harapan anda untuk menemukan pasangan hidup anda yang tidak ditemukan dengan mantan pasangan anda. jaminannya surat annisa 130 Tuhan akan tetap mengkaruniai anda seberapa berat dan derita yang anda sudah jalani. dan hadapi segala sesuatu dengan niat baik dan hal positif niscaya anda akan menjalani hidup yang lebih baik.

Yang berniat ingin bercerai atau dalam rangka perceraian, harap anda ingat Alasan- alasan anda untuk melakukan perceraian, apakah karena ini keegoisan semata? apakah ini hanya amarah semata? atau memang sudah pada batasnya seperti pasangan anda Gila (talaq mugoladoh), pasangan selingkuh, KDRT dan lain lain. ingat lah JANGAN bercerai jika tidak beralasan.

Penutup sekali lagi mudah2an tulisan ini bermanfaat bagi anda. mudah2an anda tetap setia pada pasangan anda dan dapat menghindari perceraian, namun jika memang itu sulit dihindari setidaknya kita sudah optimal berusaha.

*sekali lagi walau saya tau ini belum tentu ada yang baca comment dan saran dipersilahkan, cacian makian silahkan dipendam saja... WKKWKWKWWK

Kerja... You better WERK!

KERJA.

July 22, 2010 at 6:16pm

PublicFriendsFriends except AcquaintancesOnly MeCustomClose FriendsGfriendsSee all lists...trans budsLimited ProfileBaltimore Marriott Waterfrontsdn soka - smpn 14PT. TELEVISI TRANSFORMASI INDONESIAHershey, Pennsylvania AreaGS Washington DCPixl Motion Photography + VideographySMUN 10 BandungMAN 2 bandungEnhaii BandungSTP BandungSekolah Tinggi Pariwisata Bandung (ENHAII)New York Institute of PhotographyHarrisburg Area Community CollegeGOLDEN TULIPS NETHERLANDDreamerBaltimore Marriott WaterfrontSTPBSekolah Tinggi Pariwisata BandungtranstipiWashington, District of Columbia AreaFamilyAcquaintancesGo Back

Kadang saya suka berfikir apakah yang kita lakukan untuk hidup kita itu sudah cukup maksimal, atau kah kita hanya ada dalam paradigma diri kita bahwasanya diri kita selalu melakukan yang terbaik. terbaik bagi orang lain atau terbaik untuk kita?

alasan mengapa saya menulis hal ini adalah rasa penasaran yang ada dalam diri saya untuk membandingkan mengapa orang itu sukses dan saya tidak? apa yang membedakan dia dan saya?apakah dengan bekerja keras kita akan sukses?
lalu mengapa orang yang tiap hari kerja banting tulang sampai malam itu bisa sukses?

kalau kita ingin kaji dalam Al qur’an, Al-Qur’an menyebut kerja dengan berbagai terminologi. Al-Qur’an menyebutnya sebagai “amalun”, terdapat tidak kurang dari 260 musytaqqat (derivatnya), mencakup pekerjaan lahiriah dan batiniah. Disebut “fi’lun” dalam sekitar 99 derivatnya, dengan konotasi pada pekerjaan lahiriah. Disebut dengan kata “shun’un”, tidak kurang dari 17 derivat, dengan penekanan makna pada pekerjaan yang menghasilkan keluaran (output) yang bersifat fisik. Disebut juga dengan kata “taqdimun”, dalam 16 derivatnya, yang mempunyai penekanan makna pada investasi untuk kebahagiaan hari esok.

Pekerjaan yang dicintai Allah SWT adalah yang berkualitas. Untuk menjelaskannya, Al Qur’an mempergunakan empat istilah: “Amal Shalih”, tak kurang dari 77 kali; ‘amal yang “Ihsan”, lebih dari 20 kali; ‘amal yang “Itqan”, disebut 1 kali; dan ”al-Birr”, disebut 6 kali. Pengungkapannya kadang dengan bahasa perintah, kadang dengan bahasa anjuran. Pada sisi lain, dijelaskan juga pekerjaan yang buruk dengan akibatnya yang buruk pula dalam beberapa istilah yang bervariasi. Sebagai contoh, disebutnya sebagai perbuatan syaitan (al-Maidah: 90, al-Qashash:15), perbuatan yang sia-sia (Ali Imran: 22, al-Furqaan: 23), pekerjaan yang bercampur dengan keburukan (at-Taubah:102), pekerjaan kamuflase yang nampak baik, tetapi isinya buruk (an-Naml:4, Fusshilat: 25).

Al-Qur’an sebagai pedoman kerja kebaikan, kerja ibadah, kerja taqwa atau amal shalih, memandang kerja sebagai kodrat hidup. Al-Qur’an menegaskan bahwa hidup ini untuk ibadah (adz-Dzariat: 56). Maka, kerja dengan sendirinya adalah ibadah, dan ibadah hanya dapat direalisasikan dengan kerja dalam segala manifestasinya (al-Hajj: 77-78, al-Baqarah:177).
Jika kerja adalah ibadah dan status hukum ibadah pada dasarnya adalah wajib, maka status hukum bekerja pada dasarnya juga wajib. Kewajiban ini pada dasarnya bersifat individual, atau fardhu ‘ain, yang tidak bisa diwakilkan kepada orang lain. Hal ini berhubungan langsung dengan pertanggung jawaban amal yang juga bersifat individual, dimana individulah yang kelak akan mempertanggung jawabkan amal masing-masing. Untuk pekerjaan yang langsung memasuki wilayah kepentingan umum, kewajiban menunaikannya bersifat kolektif atau sosial, yang disebut dengan fardhu kifayah, sehingga lebih menjamin terealisasikannya kepentingan umum tersebut. Namun, posisi individu dalam konteks kewajiban sosial ini tetap sentral. Setiap orang wajib memberikan kontribusi dan partisipasinya sesuai kapasitas masing-masing, dan tidak ada toleransi hingga tercapai tingkat kecukupan (kifayah) dalam ukuran kepentingan umum.
Syarat pokok agar setiap aktivitas kita bernilai ibadah ada dua, yaitu sebagai berikut.
Pertama, Ikhlas, yakni mempunyai motivasi yang benar, yaitu untuk berbuat hal yang baik yang berguna bagi kehidupan dan dibenarkan oleh agama. Dengan proyeksi atau tujuan akhir meraih mardhatillah (al-Baqarah:207 dan 265).
Kedua, shawab (benar), yaitu sepenuhnya sesuai dengan tuntunan yang diajarkan oleh agama melalui Rasulullah saw untuk pekerjaan ubudiyah (ibadah khusus), dan tidak bertentangan dengan suatu ketentuan agama dalam hal muamalat (ibadah umum). Ketentuan ini sesuai dengan pesan Al-Qur’an (Ali Imran: 31, al-Hasyr:10).
Ketika kita memilih pekerjaan, maka haruslah didasarkan pada pertimbangan moral, apakah pekerjaan itu baik (amal shalih) atau tidak. Islam memuliakan setiap pekerjaan yang baik, tanpa mendiskriminasikannya, apakah itu pekerjaan otak atau otot, pekerjaan halus atau kasar, yang penting dapat dipertanggungjawabkan secara moral di hadapan Allah. Pekerjaan itu haruslah tidak bertentangan dengan agama, berguna secara fitrah kemanusiaan untuk dirinya, dan memberi dampak positif secara sosial dan kultural bagi masyarakatnya. Karena itu, tangga seleksi dan skala prioritas dimulai dengan pekerjaan yang manfaatnya bersifat primer, kemudian yang mempunyai manfaat pendukung, dan terakhir yang bernilai guna sebagai pelengkap.

loh? mengapa saya jadi mengkajinya Al qur’an? hahaha
tapi ga ada salahnya bukan? bukannya saya munafik atau mencoba untuk mengajari anda.
namun saya ingin menghubungkan masalah dunia dan akhirat.

“Segala puji bagi Allah yang telah menurunkan kepada hamba-Nya Al-Qur’an, dan Dia tidak membuat sesuatu yang tidak lurus di dalamnya. Sebagai bimbingan yang lurus, untuk memperingatkan (manusia) akan siksa yang pedih dari Allah dan memberi kabar gembira kepada orang-orang beriman, yang mengerjakan amal soleh, bahwa mereka akan mendapat balasan yang baik. Mereka (akan menikmati kehidupan sorga) kekal di dalamnya untuk selamanya”(al-Kahfi:1-3)
Al-Qur’an adalah pedoman bagi manusia yang ingin memilih jalan kebenaran daripada jalan kesesatan (al-Baqarah :185), pembimbing (guidance) untuk membina ketakwaan (al-Baqarah: 2). Namun, hidup yang taqwa bukan semata harapan atau angan-angan untuk meraih kebahagiaan, tetapi merupakan medan dan cara kerja yang sebaik-baiknya untuk merealisasikan kehidupan yang berjaya di dunia dan memperoleh balasan yang lebih baik lagi di akhirat (an-Nahl: 97).
Bekerja adalah kodrat hidup, baik kehidupan spiritual, intelektual, fisik biologis, maupun kehidupan individual dan sosial dalam berbagai bidang (al-Mulk: 2). Seseorang layak untuk mendapatkan predikat yang terpuji seperti potensial, aktif, dinamis, produktif atau profesional, semata-mata karena prestasi kerjanya. Karena itu, agar manusia benar-benar “hidup”, dalam kehidupan ini ia memerlukan ruh (spirit). Untuk ini, Al Qur’an diturunkan sebagai “ruhan min amrina”, yakni spirit hidup ciptaan Allah, sekaligus sebagai “nur” (cahaya) yang tak kunjung padam, agar aktivitas hidup manusia tidak tersesat (asy-Syura: 52).
itu hanya sebagian yang tersurat dalam Al Quran, namun apa yang yang menjadi sunah Rasul?
Rasulullah saw. melarang kita lemah dalam mencapai cita-cita, namun hendaknya kita optimis dalam usaha kita. Jiwa harus penuh kepercayaan kepada Allah agar apa yang kita cita-citakan tercapai disertai usaha yang benar-benar, tidak boleh malas-malasan dan berdiam diri tanpa usaha. Nabi saw. telah mengajarkan doa kepada kita antara lain, “Ya Allah, saya mohon perlindungan kepada-Mu dari lemah dan malas.” (H.R. Abu Dawud).

RASULULLAH saw. juga bersabda, “Orang mukmin yang kuat lebih baik dan lebih dicintai daripada orang mukmin yang lemah dan pada masing-masingnya ada kelebihan. Cobalah kamu kepada apa yang bermanfaaat bagimu, mohonkanlah pertolongan kepada Allah dan janganlah kamu katakan, ‘Seandainya saya berbuat begini, maka begini’. Tetapi katakanlah, ‘Allah telah menakdirkannya, apa-apa yang dikehendaki oleh Allah maka diperbuatnya’, karena sesungguhnya kata-kata ’seandainya’ adalah mempekerjakan setan”. (H.R. Muslim).

disini ditekankan bahwasanya sebagai manusia kita sebagai manusia beragama. bahwasanya kita bisa menjauhkan diri dar sifat lemah dan malas. terus terang saya masih sering mempunyai sifat -sifat itu sifat yang tidak bisa hindari, terkadang saya suka malas untuk pergi kerja. atau lemah dalam menerima suatu perkerjaan yang baru yang belum saya pernah lakukan. sesuatu hal yang sangat lumrah dan manusiawi sekali. namun itulah manusia yang lemah terhadap ancaman terhadap pikiran sendiri yang cendrung negatif.

Hampir semua manusia normal memiliki dasar untuk meraih cita-cita. Akan tetapi seberapa kuat keinginan itu akan bisa kita lihat dari kesehariannya. Banyak yg ingin kaya, ingin pintar atau ingin terkenal tetapi tidak mau kerja keras atau tidak berbuat apa-apa yg menuju ke arah cita-cita itu. Padahal hukum alam jelas mengatakan bahwa “any achievement has to be earned”. Segala pencapaian harus melalui proses yg dihasilkan dari apa yg kita kerjakan, bukan dari apa yg kita impikan atau katakan saja. tidak ada yang tidak mungkin dalam dunia ini selama kita percaya, berusaha dan berdoa.

ada cerita seorang security di sebuah pom bensin, dia bertemu Ustad A yang amat terkenal di kotanya. dia bertanya pad ustad “pak ustad mengapa hidup saya kok ga berubah rubah ya pak ?udah lima tahun saya masih saja saya jadi security disini?”
lalu ustadnya bertanya “ kerjanya giat?” dia menjawab “GIAT pak ustad, saya sering lembur malahan pak!” lalu ustad bertanya lagi “sholatnya rajin?”
dia menjawab sedikit minder “ klo sholat saya usahakan pak setidaknya sehari satu kali pak saya sholat”, lalu ustad pun langsung menjawab “NAh itu dia! masalahnya sholatnya kurang, coba kamu giatkan lagi sholatnya wajibnya, syukur syukur ditambah sholat sunatnya”
dia langsung mengerutkan dahinya “ emang ada pengaruhnya ya pak ustad?”
“jelas ada! silahkan buktikan sendiri”
enam bulan kemudian pak ustad tanpa sengaja dia datang ke tempat pom bensin lagi, pak ustad sudah tidak ingat akan cerita security tersebut.
tak lama kemudian seorang berdasi menupuk pundak ustad tersebut.
“ pak ustad, masih ingat saya?”
“ siapa ya” jawab pak ustad
“saya dulu sekitar 5 - 6 bulan yang lalu bertanya pada pak ustad masalah pekerjaan” sahutnya
“ ya ampun, sekarang sudah berdasi ya security disini?” pak ustad bercanda
“pak ustad bisa saja, saya mau ucapkan terima kasih atas saran nya pas ustad atas pertanyaan saya dulu. setelah pak ustad pergi saya tak lama ambil air wudhu. dan sampai sekarang saya ga pernah lepas sholat lima waktu saya, tp terkadang saya lupa sholat sunah nya hanya sholat dhuha saja yang saya belum terlewatkan. semenjak saya sering sholat, hidup saya terasa lebih teratur dan lebih berbeda. setiap hari saya tidak datang terlambat karena saya bangun setiap pagi untuk sholat shubuh. saya pun lebih banyak tersenyum dari pada mengeluh di kerjaan saya. lalu atasan saya pun ternyata melihat perubahan drastis pada diri saya lalu saya diangkat jadi supervisor 4 bulan yang lalu. tp semuanya tidak berhenti disitu ternyata ada lowongan di bagian keuangan,lalu saya mendaftar dan ternyata saya diterima 1 minggu yang lalu saya menjadi pegawai keuangan sekarang dan setifikat sarjana saya bisa terpakai pak ustad.”
“alhamdulilah” pa ustad menjawabnya dengan tersenyum.

HAHAHAHAHAHA... ternyata ga terasa saya udah mengetik hampir 4 halaman... ternyata asyik juga mengetik (boong bgt)
ya intinya dari cerita tersebut bisa disimpulkan masing masing udah pada gede kan udah pake celana sendiri LOL, jika tulisan saya ini bermanfaat bagi anda “Alhamdulillah” jd tidak pun tidak apa-apa, toh bagi saya pun hal ini masih sangat sulit saya jalani krn sifat malas dan lemah yang masih ada dalam diri saya. tp setidaknya saya bisa berbagi tulisan ini dr berbagai sumber dari google.com. dan suatu hari ada yang kasih mail hanif! thanks bgt ya notes lo itu gw udah jd millioner sekarang di indonesia, nih 1m buat kamu!!
AMIIINNNNN hahahhaa..

*comment dan saran dipersilahkan cacian makian silahkan dipendam saja... HAHAHAHA

I re-Born in Baltimore

September 14, 2008 at 10:39pm Baltimore (pronounced /bɒltɨmɔr/) is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland in the United States. Baltimore is located in central Maryland at the head of the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay, and is approximately 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Washington D.C.. Founded in 1729, Baltimore is a major U.S. seaport and is situated closer to major Midwestern markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast. Baltimore's Inner Harbor has always remained a major asset, once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center. Today the harbor is home to Harborplace and the National Aquarium in Baltimore and is a successful example of Baltimore's ambitious efforts at renewal. Following the fall of many of its largest manufacturing industries, Baltimore has shifted primarily to a service sector-oriented economy, with the largest employer no longer Bethlehem Steel but Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Despite some successful revitalization Baltimore is still posed with many big-city challenges such as concentrated poverty and crime, and inadequate public education. As of 2007, the population of Baltimore City was 637,455.[11] The Baltimore Metropolitan Area, which includes the city's surrounding suburbs, has approximately 2.6 million residents; the 20th largest in the country. Baltimore is also the largest city in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area of approximately 8.1 million residents. Because there is also a Baltimore County nearly surrounding (but not including) the city, it is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City when a clear distinction is desired. The city is named after Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords, the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. Baltimore himself took his title from a place named Baltimore in Ireland, which is an Anglicized form of the Irish language Baile an Tí Mhóir,[12] meaning "Town of the Big House" and referring to the O'Driscoll castle that still dominates the town. The Irish-language name for Baltimore is that of the O'Driscoll castle, Dún na Séad ("Fort of the Jewels"). History Battle Monument commemorates the Battle of Baltimore.The Maryland colonial General Assembly created the Port of Baltimore at Locust Point in 1706 for the tobacco trade. The Town of Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729, and is named after Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Cecilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert, who became the First Lord Baltimore of County Cork, Ireland in 1625.[13] The name "Baltimore" comes from the town of Baltimore, County Cork, and is an Anglicization of Irish words (Baile an Tí Mhóir) meaning "Town of the Big House". Baltimore grew swiftly in the 18th century as a granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean. The profit from sugar encouraged the cultivation of cane and the importation of food. Baltimore's shorter distance from the Caribbean, compared to other large port cities such as New York City and Boston, reduced transportation time and minimized the spoilage of flour.[citation needed] Baltimore played a key part in events leading to and including the American Revolution. City leaders such as Jonathan Plowman Jr. moved the city to join the resistance to British taxes and merchants signed agreements to not trade with Britain.[citation needed] After the war, the Town of Baltimore, nearby Jonestown, and an area known as Fells Point were incorporated as the City of Baltimore in 1797. The city remained a part of Baltimore County until 1851 when it was made an independent city.[citation needed] The city was the site of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. After burning Washington, D.C., the British attacked Baltimore on the night of September 13, 1814. United States forces from Fort McHenry successfully defended the city's harbor from the British. Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer, was held as a prisoner of war on a British ship near the fort, observed the bombardment. Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", a poem recounting the attack. Key's poem was set to a 1780 tune by British composer John Stafford Smith, and the Star-Spangled Banner became the official National Anthem of the United States in 1931. Sixth Regiment fighting its way through the city, 20 July, 1877Following the Battle of Baltimore, the city's population grew rapidly. The construction of the Federally-funded National Road (presently U.S. Route 40) and the private Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) made Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center by linking the city with major markets in the Midwest. A distinctive local culture started to take shape, and unique skyline developed peppered with churches and monuments. On visit to the city in 1827, President John Quincy Adams purportedly nicknamed it "Monument City"—a moniker that remained popular for well over a century.[citation needed] Maryland did not secede during the American Civil War, but remained a part of the United States. However, when Union soldiers marched through the city at the start of the war, Confederate sympathizers attacks the troops, which led to the Baltimore riot of 1861. Four soldiers and 12 civilians were killed during the riot, which caused Union troops to occupy Baltimore. Maryland came under direct federal administration — in part, to prevent the state from seceding — until the end of the war in April 1865. Following an economic depression known as the Panic of 1873, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company attempted to reduce its workers wages, leading to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. On July 20, Maryland Governor John Lee Carroll called up the 5th and 6th Regiments of the National Guard to end the strikes, which had disrupted train service at Cumberland in western Maryland. Citizens sympathetic to the railroad workers attacked the national guard troops as they marched from their armories in Baltimore to Camden Station. Soldiers from the 6th Regiment fired on the crowd, killing 10 and wounding 25. Rioters then damaged B&O trains and burned portions of the rail station. Order was restored in the city on July 21—22 when federal troops arrived to protect railroad property and end the strike.[14] Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, looking West from Pratt and Gay Streets.On February 7, 1904 the Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours and forced most of the city to rebuild. Two years later, on September 10, 1906, the Baltimore American newspaper reported that the city had risen from the ashes and "one of the great disasters of modern time had been converted into a blessing."[citation needed] The city grew in area by annexing new suburbs from the surrounding counties, the last being in 1918. A state constitutional amendment approved in 1948, requires a special vote of the citizens in any proposed annexation area, which effectively prevents the any future expansion of the city's boundaries.[15] The Baltimore riot of 1968 occurred following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Coinciding with riots in other cities, public order was not restored until April 12, 1968. The Baltimore riot cost the city of Baltimore an estimated $10 million (about $63 million in 2008). Maryland National Guard troops and 1,900 federal troops were ordered into the city. Lasting effects of the riot can be seen on the streets of North Avenue, Howard Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue where long stretches of the streets are remain barren.[16] During the 1970s, Baltimore's downtown area known as the Inner Harbor, had been neglected and was only occupied by a collection abandoned warehouses. Efforts to redevelop the downtown area started with the construction of the Baltimore Convention Center, which opened 1979. Harborplace, an urban retail and restaurant complex opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry in 1981. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles baseball team moved from Memorial Stadium to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, located downtown near the harbor. Six years later the Baltimore Ravens football team moved into M&T Bank Stadium next to Camden Yards.[citation needed] On January 17, 2007, Sheila Dixon became the first female Mayor of Baltimore.[17] Geography City plan of Baltimore (1852) by Lucas, Fielding Jr. of Baltimore.Baltimore is in north-central Maryland on the Patapsco River close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The city is also located on the fall line between the Piedmont Plateau and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which divides Baltimore into "lower city" and "upper city". The city's elevation ranges from sea level at the harbor to 480 feet (150 m) in the northwest corner near Pimlico.[18] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.1 square miles (238.5 km²), of which, 80.8 square miles (209.3 km²) of it is land and 11.3 square miles (29.2 km²) of it is water. The total area is 12.24 percent water. Climate Baltimore lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), according to the Köppen classification. July is typically the hottest month of the year, with an average high temperature of 91 °F (32 °C) and an average low of 73 °F (22 °C).[19] Summer is also a season of very high humidity in the Baltimore area, with afternoon thunderstorms occurring regularly. The record high for Baltimore is 108 °F (42 °C), set in 1985. January is the coldest month, with an average high of 44 °F (6 °C) and an average low of 29 °F (-1 °C).[19] However, winter warm fronts can bring periods of springlike weather, and Arctic fronts can drop nighttime low temperatures into the teens. The record low temperature for Baltimore is -7 °F (-22 °C), set in 1934. Baltimore rarely experiences temperatures below 10 °F (−12 °C) or above 100 °F (38 °C). Due to an urban heat island effect in the city proper and a moderating effect of the Chesapeake Bay, the outlying, inland, and higher elevation parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually several degrees cooler than the city proper and the coastal towns. As is typical in most East Coast cities, precipitation is generous, and very evenly spread throughout the year. Every month usually brings 3-4 inches of precipitation, averaging around 43 inches (1,100 mm) annually. Spring, summer, and fall bring frequent showers and thunderstorms, with an average of 105 sunny days a year. Winter often brings lighter rain showers of longer duration, and generally less sunshine and more clouds. Snowfall can occur occasionally in the winter, with the average annual snowfall around 21 inches (53 cm). Baltimore averages only 2-3 snow events per year[20] In the northern and western suburbs, the climate begins to transition to continental, and thus winter snowfall amounts are usually higher, with some towns annually receiving 24-36 inches (61-91 cm).[21] Freezing rain and sleet occurs a few times each winter in Baltimore, as warm air over rides cold air at the upper levels of the atmosphere. The cold air gets trapped against the mountains to the west and the result is freezing rain and or sleet. The city lies in between two peculiar physical features that protect it from extreme weather and account for the relatively tempered seasons. The Appalachian Mountains protect central Maryland from much of the harsh northern winds and accompanying lake effect weather that bring subfreezing temperatures and heavy snows to the Great Lakes region, and the Delmarva Peninsula protects Baltimore from many of the tropical storms that affect the immediate coast. The average date of first freeze in Baltimore is November 13, and the average last freeze is April 2.[22] Weather averages for Baltimore Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 79 (26) 84 (29) 97 (36) 98 (37) 100 (38) 105 (41) 107 (42) 105 (41) 102 (39) 97 (36) 87 (31) 85 (29) 107 (42) Average high °F (°C) 44 (7) 47 (8) 57 (14) 68 (20) 77 (25) 86 (30) 91 (33) 88 (31) 81 (27) 70 (21) 59 (15) 49 (9) 68 (20) Average low °F (°C) 29 (-2) 31 (-1) 39 (4) 48 (9) 58 (14) 68 (20) 73 (23) 71 (22) 64 (18) 52 (11) 42 (6) 33 (1) 51 (11) Record low °F (°C) -4 (-20) -7 (-22) 11 (-12) 15 (-9) 32 (0) 46 (8) 54 (12) 52 (11) 40 (4) 30 (-1) 12 (-11) -2 (-19) -7 (-22) Precipitation inches (mm) 3.5 (88.9) 3.1 (78.7) 4.1 (104.1) 3.1 (78.7) 4.2 (106.7) 3.3 (83.8) 4.0 (101.6) 4.1 (104.1) 4.1 (104.1) 3.2 (81.3) 3.5 (88.9) 3.7 (94) 43.9 (1,115.1) Source: The Weather Channel[23] September 2008 Architecture Baltimore is the home of the National Aquarium, one of the world's largest. Washington Monument, in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of BaltimoreBaltimore exhibits examples from each period of architecture over more than two centuries, and work from many famous architects such as Benjamin Latrobe, John Russell Pope, Mies Van Der Rohe and I.M. Pei. The city has architecturally important buildings in a variety of styles. The Baltimore Basilica (1806-1821) is a neoclassical design by Benjamin Latrobe, and also the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the United States. In 1813 Robert Cary Long, Sr. built for Rembrandt Peale the first substantial structure in the United States designed expressly as a museum. Restored, it is now the Municipal Museum of Baltimore, or popularly the “Peale Museum”. The McKim Free School founded and endowed by John McKim, although the building was erected by his son Isaac in 1822 after a design by William Howard and William Small. It reflects the popular interest in Greece when the nation was securing its independence, as well as a scholarly interest in recently published drawings of Athenian antiquities. The Phoenix Shot Tower (1828), at 215 feet (65.5 m) tall, was the tallest building in the United States until the time of the Civil war. It was constructed without the use of exterior scaffolding. The Sun Iron Building designed by R.C. Hatfield in 1851, was city’s first iron-front building and it was a model for a whole generation of downtown buildings. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, designed by Lt. Col. John S. Billings in 1876 was a considerable achievement for its day in functional arrangement and fire proofing. I.M.Pei's World Trade Center (1977) is the tallest equilateral pentagonal building in the world at 405 feet (123.4 m) tall. Future contributions to Baltimore's skyline include plans for a 717 foot (218.5 m) tall structure known as "10 Inner Harbor". The building was recently approved by Baltimore's design panel and will be completed around the year 2010. It will include luxury condominiums, a hotel, restaurants, and shopping centers. The Naing Corporation has approved a tower of 50-60 floors for the lot at 300 Pratt street, with the design currently being finalized. The Inner Harbor East area will see the addition of two new towers which have started construction: a 24-floor tower that will be the new world headquarters of Legg Mason, and a 44-floor Four Seasons Hotel complex. The streets of Baltimore are organized in a grid pattern. The streets are lined with tens of thousands of brick and Formstone faced rowhouses. Many consider the rowhouse the architectural form most closely associated to the city. Some rowhouses are dated as far back as the 1790s. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is considered by many to be the most beautiful baseball park in Major League Baseball, and has inspired many other cities to build their own versions of this Retro-Style Ballpark. Camden Yards along with the National Aquarium have helped revive the Inner Harbor from what once was an industrial district full of dilapidated warehouses, into a bustling commercial district full of bars, restaurants and retail establishments. Tallest buildings Main article: List of tallest buildings in Baltimore Downtown Baltimore from the northwest.Rank Building Height Floors Built 1 Legg Mason Building 529 feet (161 m) 40 1973 [24] 2 Bank of America Building 509 feet (155 m) 37 1924 [25] 3 William Donald Schaefer Building 493 feet (150 m) 37 1992 [26] 4 Commerce Place 454 feet (138 m) 31 1992 [27] 5 100 East Pratt Street 418 feet (127 m) 28 1992 [28] 6 Baltimore World Trade Center 405 feet (123 m) 32 1977 [29] 7 Tremont Plaza Hotel 395 feet (120 m) 37 1967 [30] 8 Charles Towers South Apartments 385 feet (117 m) 30 1969 [31] 9 Blaustein Building 360 feet (110 m) 30 1962 [32] 10 250 West Pratt Street 360 feet (110 m) 24 1986 [33] my apt is the 8th tallest buildingh in baltimore Neighborhoods Main article: List of Baltimore neighborhoods Belair-Edison Homeland Woodberry Stonewood Charles Village Carrollton Ridge Station North Fells PointBaltimore is officially divided into nine geographical regions: Northern, Northwestern, Northeastern, Western, Central, Eastern, Southern, Southwestern, and Southeastern, with each patrolled by a respective Baltimore Police Department district. However, it is not uncommon for locals to divide the city simply by East or West Baltimore, using Charles Street or I-83 as a dividing line, and/or into North and South using Baltimore Street as a dividing line. The Central region of the city includes the Downtown area which is the location of Baltimore's main commercial area. Home to Harborplace, The Camden Yards Sports Complex (Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium), the Convention Center, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the area also includes many nightclubs, bars and restaurants, shopping centers and various other attractions. It is also serves as the home to many of Baltimore's key business such as Legg Mason and Constellation Energy. In addition, the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus is housed in this area, with the long-associated University of Maryland Medical System adjacent to the school. The downtown core has mainly served as a commercial district with limited residential opportunities. However since 2002 the population in the downtown has doubled to 10,000 residents with a projection of 7,400 additional housing units coming available by 2012.[34] The Central region also includes the areas north of the downtown core stretching up to the edge of Druid Hill Park. Included in the more northern part of the Central region are the neighborhoods of Mount Vernon, Charles North, Reservoir Hill, Bolton Hill, Druid Heights, as well as several other neighborhoods. These neighborhoods include many residential options and are home to many of the city's cultural opportunities. Maryland Institute College of Art, the Peabody Institute of music, the Lyric Opera House, The Walters Art Museum, The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, as well as several galleries are all located in this region. The Northern region of the city lies directly north of the Central region and is bounded on the East by The Alameda and on the West by Pimlico Road is a suburban residential area home to many of the city's upper class residents in neighborhoods such as the Roland Park-Homewood-Guilford-Cedarcroft area. The Northern region is home to many of Baltimore's notable universities such as Loyola College, The Johns Hopkins University and College of Notre Dame of Maryland. The Southern Region of the city, a mixed industrial and residential area, consists of the area of the city below the Inner Harbor east of the B&O railroad tracks. It is a mixed socio-economic region consisting of working class ethnically mixed neighborhoods such as Locust Point; the recently gentrified Federal Hill and Canton areas, home to many working professionals, pubs and restaurants; and low-income residential areas such as Cherry Hill. The Eastern part of the city consists of the Northeastern, Eastern, and Southeastern regions of the city. Northeastern Baltimore is primarily a residential neighborhood home to Morgan State University bounded by the city line on its Northern and Eastern boundaries, Sinclair Lane, Erdman Avenue, and Pulaski Highway on its southern boundaries and The Alameda on its western boundaries. It has undergone demographic shifts over many years and remains a diverse but predominantly African American region of the city.[35][36][37] The Eastern region is the heart of what is considered "East Baltimore" and is home to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Located below Erdman Avenue and Sinclair Lane above Orleans Street, it is almost an exclusively African American area home to low-income residential neighborhoods, several of which constitute many of Baltimore's high crime areas. The Southeastern region of the city is located below Orleans Street bordering the Inner Harbor on its western boundary,the city line on its eastern boundaries and the Baltimore harbor on its southern boundaries is a mixed industrial and residential area. Home to many young professionals and working class people, it is an ethnically rich section of Baltimore home to many Polish Americans, Greek Americans, Italian Americans, African Americans and is also the center of the city's steadily growing Hispanic population. The Western part of the city consists of the Northwestern, Western, and Southwestern regions of Baltimore. The Northwestern region of the city bounded by the county line on its northern and western boundaries, Gwynns Falls Parkway on the south and Pimlico Road on the East is a predominantly residential area home to Pimlico Race Course, Sinai Hospital and several of Baltimore's Synagogues. Once the center of Baltimore's Jewish community, it has undergone white flight since the 1960s and has become an almost exclusively African American area. It is home to many suburban residential areas primarily located above Northern Parkway and several lower-income areas below Northern parkway. The Western region of the city located west of downtown is the heart of "West Baltimore" bounded by Gwynns Falls Parkway, Fremont Avenue, and Baltimore Street. Home to Coppin State University and Pennsylvania Avenue, it has been the center of Baltimore's African American culture for years home to many of the city's historical African American neighborhoods and landmarks. Once home to many middle to upper class African Americans, over the years, the more affluent African American residents have since left migrating to other sections of the city in addition to areas such as Randallstown and Owings Mills in Baltimore County and Columbia in Howard County. The area now constitutes a deprived socio-economic group of African American residents and like "East Baltimore", it is known for its high crime rates. Television series, such as The Wire, that concern themselves with Baltimore's crime problems have been based on events that took place in West Baltimore. The Southwestern region of the city is bounded by Baltimore County to the west, Baltimore Street to the north, and downtown and the B&O railroad to the east. A mixed industrial and residential area, it has gradually shifted from having a predominantly White to a predominantly African American majority. Adjacent communities The City of Baltimore is bordered by the following communities, all unincorporated census-designated places. All are in adjacent Baltimore County, except Brooklyn Park and Glen Burnie, which are in adjacent Anne Arundel County. In addition, the southern part of the city is bordered by another unincorporated part of northeastern Anne Arundel County. Arbutus Brooklyn Park Catonsville Dundalk Glen Burnie Lansdowne-Baltimore Highlands Lochearn Overlea Parkville Pikesville Rosedale Towson Woodlawn Culture The Washington MonumentHistorically a working-class port town, Baltimore has sometimes been dubbed a "city of neighborhoods," with over 300 identified districts[38] traditionally occupied by distinct ethnic groups. Most notable today are three downtown areas along the port: the Inner Harbor, frequented by tourists due to its hotels, shops, and museums; Fells Point, once a favorite entertainment spot for sailors but now refurbished and gentrified (and featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle); and Little Italy, located between the other two, where Baltimore's Italian-American community was based–and where current U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi grew up. Further inland, Mt. Vernon is the traditional center of cultural and artistic life of the city; it is home to a distinctive Washington Monument, set atop a hill in a 19th century urban square, that predates the more well-known monument in Washington, D.C. by several decades. Bromo Seltzer Tower, erected in 1911The traditional local accent has long been noted and celebrated as "Baltimorese" or "Bawlmorese." One thing outsiders quickly notice is that the locals refer to their city as "Bawlmer" or "Ballmer," dropping with the "t" for the most part. The dialect is similar to that of many Marylanders, Virginians and Pennsylvanians; it may reflect the region's roots in Cornwall and the English West Country, as many of the original settlers of the Chesapeake Bay area came from this area in colonial times (Traditionally, many Marylanders call their state "Merlin"--and likewise, many Pennsylvanians call their state "Pennsavania," dropping the "l"). However, Baltimore's local accent also reflects the rich mix of ethnic groups from Ireland, Germany, and southern and eastern Europe who immigrated to the city during the industrial era. More recently, local pronunciations of "Baldamore" or "Ballmore" have become common. As Baltimore's demographics have changed since World War Two, its cultural flavor and accents have evolved as well. Today, after decades of out-migration to suburbs beyond its corporate limits and significant in-migration of black Americans from Georgia and the Carolinas, Baltimore has become a majority black city with a significantly changed, but still regionally distinctive, dialect and culture. Recently, neighborhoods such as Federal Hill and Canton have undergone extensive gentrification and have proven to be popular places for young professionals and college students to reside. In addition, Latinos are making their mark, notably in Upper Fells Point. Much of Baltimore's black American culture has roots that long predate the 20th century "Great Migration" from the Deep South. Like Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C., Baltimore has been home to a successful black middle class and professional community for centuries. Before the Civil War, Baltimore had one of the largest concentrations of free black Americans among American cities. In the twentieth century, Baltimore-born Thurgood Marshall became the first black American justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Baltimore's culture has been famously celebrated in the films of Barry Levinson, who grew up in the city's Jewish neighborhoods. His movies Diner, Tin Men, Avalon, and Liberty Heights are inspired to varying degrees by his life in the city. Baltimore native John Waters parodies the city extensively in his films, including the 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos. His film Hairspray and its Broadway musical remake are also set in Baltimore. See List of films shot in Baltimore, Maryland Performing arts The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an internationally-renowned orchestra, founded in 1916 as a publicly-funded municipal organization. The current Music Director is Marin Alsop, a protégé of Leonard Bernstein. Center Stage is the premier theater company in the city and a regionally well-respected group. The Baltimore Opera is an important regional opera company, and The Baltimore Consort has been a leading early music ensemble for over twenty-five years. The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the restored Thomas W. Lamb-designed Hippodrome Theatre, has afforded Baltimore the opportunity to become a major regional player in the area of touring Broadway and other performing arts presentations. Baltimore also boasts a wide array of professional (non-touring) and community theater groups. Aside from Center Stage, resident troupes in the city include Everyman Theatre and Baltimore Theatre Festival. Community theaters in the city include Fells Point Community Theatre and the Arena Players, which is the nation's oldest continuously operating African American community theater.[39] [edit] Notable Persons See List of people from Baltimore [edit] Economy Once an industrial town, with an economic base focused on steel processing, shipping, auto manufacturing, and transportation, Baltimore now has a modern service economy. Although deindustrialization took its toll on the city, costing residents tens of thousands of low-skill, high-wage jobs, the city is a growing financial, business, and health service base for the southern Mid-Atlantic region. Greater Baltimore is home to six Fortune 1000 companies, Constellation Energy, Grace Chemicals (in Columbia), Black & Decker (in Towson), Legg Mason, T. Rowe Price, and McCormick & Company (in Hunt Valley). Other companies that call Baltimore home include, Brown Advisory, Alex Brown, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank (of Baltimore origin, and at the time of its acquisition, the oldest continuously-running investment bank in the United States), FTI Consulting, Vertis, Thomson Prometric, Performax, Sylvan Learning/Laureate Education, Under Armour, DAP, 180°, Old Mutual Financial Network, and Advertising.com. The city is also home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, which will serve as the center of a new biotechnology park. The park, one of two such projects currently under construction in the city, will provide room for medical/technology start-ups as well as industry giants to tap into the wealth of knowledge in Baltimore. Baltimore is widely regarded as one of the world's most important repositories of medical knowledge.[citation needed] Demographics Historical populations Census Pop. %± 1790 13,503 — 1800 26,514 96.4% 1810 46,555 75.6% 1820 62,738 34.8% 1830 80,620 28.5% 1840 102,313 26.9% 1850 169,054 65.2% 1860 212,418 25.7% 1870 267,354 25.9% 1880 332,313 24.3% 1890 434,439 30.7% 1900 508,957 17.2% 1910 558,485 9.7% 1920 733,826 31.4% 1930 804,874 9.7% 1940 859,100 6.7% 1950 949,708 10.5% 1960 939,024 −1.1% 1970 905,759 −3.5% 1980 786,775 −13.1% 1990 736,014 −6.5% 2000 636,251 −13.6% Est. 2007 637,455 0.2% After New York City, Baltimore was the second city in the United States to reach a population of 100,000, (followed by New Orleans, Philadelphia, Boston).[40] In the 1830, 1840, and 1850 censuses of the United States of America, Baltimore was the second-largest city in population, surpassed by Philadelphia in 1860. It was among the top 10 cities in population in the United States in every census up to the 1980 census, and after World War II had a population of nearly a million. The city and metropolitan area currently rank in the top 20 in terms of population. In the 1990s, the US Census reported that Baltimore ranked as one of the largest population losers alongside Detroit and Washington D.C., losing over 84,000 residents between 1990 and 2000.[41] As of 2006, the population was 637,455. The Baltimore–Towson metropolitan area, as of 2004, was estimated to have a population of 2.6 million.[42] The population density was 8,058.4 people per square mile (3,111.5/km²). There were 300,477 housing units at an average density of 3,718.6/sq mi (1,435.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.34% Black or African American, 31.63% White, 0.32% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. This census, however, does not accurately represent the city's Latino population, which, over the past few years, has been steadily increasing. This growth is mainly seen in the southeastern neighborhoods around Fells Point, Patterson Park, and Highlandtown, and in the city's Northwestern neighborhoods such as Fallstaff, as well as various neighborhoods of Northeastern Baltimore.[43] 6.2% of the population were of German ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 257,996 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.7% were married couples living together, 25.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 34.9% of all households are made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42, and the average family size was 3.16. In the city, the population age spreads were 24.8% for persons under the age of 18, 10.9% for ages 18 to 24, 29.9% for ages 25 to 44, 21.2% for ages 45 to 64, and 13.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $35,438. Males had a median income of $31,767 versus $26,832 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,978. About 18.8% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over. Crime See also: Baltimore Police Department According to crime statistics there were 276 homicides in Baltimore in 2006, the second-highest homicide rate per 100,000 of all U.S. cities of 250,000 or more population.[44] Though this is significantly lower than the record-high 353 homicides in 1993, the homicide rate in Baltimore is nearly seven times the national rate, six times the rate of New York City, and three times the rate of Los Angeles. In addition, other categories of crime in Baltimore have also been declining, although overall crime rates are still high compared to the national average. The rate of forcible rapes has fallen below the national average in recent years; however, Baltimore still has much higher-than-average rates of aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, and theft.[45] City officials have, however, come under scrutiny from Maryland legislators regarding the veracity of crime statistics reported by the Baltimore City Police Department.[46] In 2003, the FBI identified irregularities in the number of rapes reported, which was confirmed by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley. The number of homicides in 2005 appeared to exhibit discrepancies as well.[47] The former police commissioner stated upon interview that the administration suppressed corrections to its crime reports;[48] however, many of the charges made by the police commission now appear to be politically motivated.[49] Under the administration of Mayor Sheila Dixon and a new police commissioner, crime rates have been reduced, including a 40% fall in the number of murders as of April 2008.[50] Government Baltimore is an independent city — not part of any county. For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a "county"-level entity. The United States Census Bureau uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes. Baltimore has been a Democratic stronghold for over 150 years, with Democrats dominating every level of government. Mayor Baltimore City HallFor a full list of mayors who served the city, see List of Baltimore Mayors. On November 6, 2007, incumbent Democratic Mayor Sheila Dixon was elected Mayor. Dixon, as former City Council President, had assumed the office of Mayor on January 17, 2007 when former Mayor Martin O'Malley took office as the Governor of Maryland. Baltimore City Council Grassroots pressure for reform, voiced as Question P, restructured the city council in November 2002, against the will of the mayor, the council president, and the majority of the council. A coalition of union and community groups, organized by ACORN, backed the effort. The Baltimore City Council is now made up of 14 single member districts and one elected at-large council president. Stephanie Rawlings Blake is the council's president and Robert W. Curran is the Vice President. State Government See also: Baltimore City Delegation Prior to 1969, some considered Baltimore and its suburbs to be particularly underrepresented in the Maryland General Assembly, while rural areas were heavily overrepresented. Since Baker v. Carr in 1962, Baltimore and its suburbs account for a substantial majority of seats in the state legislature; this has caused some to argue that rural areas are now underrepresented. Baltimore's steady loss of population, however, has resulted in a loss of seats in the Maryland General Assembly. Since 1980, Baltimore has lost four senators from the 47-member Maryland State Senate and twelve delegates from the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates. Federal Government Three of the state's eight congressional districts include portions of Baltimore: the 2nd, represented by Dutch Ruppersberger; the 3rd, represented by John Sarbanes; and the 7th, represented by Elijah Cummings. All three are Democrats; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of Baltimore since 1931 and has not represented any of Baltimore since 2003. Both of Maryland's Senators, Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, are from Baltimore. Coincidentally, both represented the 3rd District before being elected to the Senate. Mikulski represented the 3rd from 1977 to 1987, and was succeeded by Cardin, who held the seat until his election and inauguration to the Senate in 2007. Transportation The Baltimore Light Rail provides service to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.The interstate highways serving Baltimore are I-70, I-83 (the Jones Falls Expressway), I-95 (the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), I-395, I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway), I-795 (the Northwest Expressway), I-895 (the Harbor Tunnel Thruway), and I-97. Several of the city's interstate highways, e.g. I-95, I-83, and I-70 are not directly connected to each other, and in the case of I-70 end just outside city limits at the Baltimore Beltway, because of freeway revolts in the City of Baltimore. These revolts were led Barbara Mikulski, now United States Senator, which resulted in the abandonment of the original plan. U.S. highways and state routes that run to and through downtown Baltimore include U.S. 1, U.S. Route 40 National Road, and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. There are two tunnels traversing the Baltimore harbor within the city limits: the four-bore Fort McHenry Tunnel (served by I-95) and the two-bore Harbor Tunnel (served by I-895). The Baltimore Beltway crosses south of Baltimore harbor over the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Baltimore is a top destination for Amtrak along the Northeast Corridor. Baltimore's Penn Station is one of the busiest in the country. In 2005, it ranked 8th in the United States with a total ridership of 910,523.[51] Just outside the city, Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station is another popular stop. Amtrak's Acela Express, Palmetto, Carolinian, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Vermonter, Crescent, and Regional trains are the scheduled passenger train services that stop in the city. Additionally, MARC commuter rail service connects the city's two main intercity rail stations, Camden Station and Penn Station, with Washington, D.C.'s Union Station as well as stops in between. Interior of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Baltimore's major commercial airportPublic transit in Baltimore is provided by the Maryland Transit Administration. The city has a comprehensive bus network, a small light rail network connecting Hunt Valley in the north to BWI airport and Cromwell in the south, and a subway line between Owings Mills and Johns Hopkins Hospital.[52] A proposed bus rapid transit or rail line, known as the Red Line, which would link the Social Security Administration to Fells Point and perhaps the Canton and Dundalk communities, is under study as of 2007; a proposal to extend Baltimore's existing subway line to Morgan State University, known as the Green Line, is in the planning stage.[53] Baltimore is served by Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, generally known as "BWI," which lies to the south in neighboring Anne Arundel County, and by Martin State Airport, a general aviation facility, to the north in Baltimore County. BWI and Martin State airports are operated by the Maryland Aviation Administration which is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation.[54] In terms of passengers, BWI airport is the top 26th airport in the United States.[55] Downtown Baltimore is connected to BWI airport by two major highways (I-95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway via Interstate 195), the Baltimore Light Rail, and Amtrak and MARC commuter rail service between Baltimore's Penn Station and BWI Rail Station. Martin State Airport is linked to downtown Baltimore by two major highways, I-95 and U.S. Route 40, and MARC commuter rail service between Baltimore's Penn Station and its nearby Martin State Airport MARC Train stop. Port of Baltimore Main article: Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore Baltimore harbor in 1849 with the prominent Washington monument in the background North of the cityThe port was founded 1706, preceding the founding of Baltimore. The Maryland colonial legislature made the area near Locust Point as the port of entry for the tobacco trade with England. Fells Point, the deepest point in the natural harbor, soon became the colony's main ship building center, later on becoming leader in the construction of clipper ships.[56] After the founding of Baltimore, mills were built behind the wharves. The California Gold Rush led to many orders for fast vessels; many overland pioneers also relied upon canned goods from Baltimore. After the civil war, a coffee ship was designed here for trade with Brazil. At the end of the nineteenth century, European ship lines had terminals for immigrants. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made the port a major transshipment point.[citation needed] Currently the port has major roll-on roll-off facilities, as well as bulk facilities, especially steel handling.[57] Water taxis also operate in the Inner Harbor. Governor Ehrlich participated in naming the port after Helen Delich Bentley during the 300th anniversary of the port.[58] In 2007, Duke Realty Corporation began a new development near the Port of Baltimore, named the Chesapeake Commerce Center. This new industrial park is located on the site of a former General Motors plant. The total project comprises 184 acres (0.74 km2) in eastern Baltimore City and the site will yield 2,800,000 square feet (260,000 m2) of warehouse/distribution and office space. Chesapeake Commerce Center has direct access to two major Interstate Highways (I-95 and I-895) and is located adjacent to two of the major Port of Baltimore Terminals. The Port of Baltimore is the furthest inland port in the U.S. with a 50-foot (15 m) dredge to accommodate the largest shipping vessels.[citation needed] Education [edit] Colleges and universities Baltimore is the home of numerous places of higher learning, both public and private. Among them are: Private Undergraduates walk across Keyser Quadrangle in Spring at the Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore Hebrew University (BHU) Baltimore International College (BIC) College of Notre Dame of Maryland The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Loyola College in Maryland (LC) Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Peabody Institute Sojourner-Douglass College [edit] Public Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) Coppin State University Morgan State University University of Baltimore (UB) University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB, formerly UMAB) As well as those located within the city, several are located in the suburbs that surround the city. Major ones include: Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville, Essex, and Dundalk (public) Anne Arundel Community College in Anne Arundel County (public) Goucher College, in Towson (private) Towson University, in Towson (public) University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), in Catonsville (public) Stevenson University, in Stevenson and Owings Mills (private)(formerly Villa Julie College (2008)) Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Pikesville (private) Baltimore City College, the third oldest public high school in the US, 2007 Primary and secondary schools The city's public schools are operated by the Baltimore City Public School System and include Baltimore City College, the third oldest public high school in the country, and Western High School, the oldest public all girls school in the nation. Baltimore City College and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute share the nation's second-oldest high school football rivalry. Baltimore City College, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and Western High School constitute the hardest admissions policies of any public high school in Maryland.[citation needed] Private schools These private schools are within the city: Archbishop Curley High School Baltimore Junior Academy The Bryn Mawr School Calvert Hall College High School Calvert School Cardinal Gibbons School School of the Cathedral of Mary our Queen Friends School of Baltimore Gilman School Institute of Notre Dame Mount Saint Joseph High School Roland Park Country School The Catholic High School of Baltimore Waldorf School of Baltimore Some private schools are located in the nearby suburbs: Al-Rahmah School Arlington Baptist High School Baltimore Lutheran School Boys' Latin School of Maryland Calvert Hall College High School Garrison Forest School Glenelg Country School Loyola Blakefield McDonogh School Oldfields School The Park School Ruxton Country Day school St. Paul's School St. Paul's School for Girls Parochial schools Archbishop Curley High School Bais Yaakov of Baltimore Beth Tfiloh Cardinal Gibbons School The Catholic High School of Baltimore St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland) Institute of Notre Dame Mercy High School Mount Saint Joseph High School Ner Israel Rabbinical College Seton Keough High School The Shoshana S. Cardin School Yeshivat Rambam Media Main article: Media in Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore's main newspaper is The Baltimore Sun. It was sold by its Baltimore owners in 1988 to the Times Mirror Company, which has since been bought by the Tribune Company. Baltimore is the 24th-largest television market and 21st-largest radio market in the country.[citation needed] Sports teams Oriole Park at Camden YardsMain article: Sports in Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore has a long and storied sporting history encompassing many teams from many different eras. Current teams include: the Baltimore Orioles, Major League Baseball since 1954; the Baltimore Ravens, National Football League since 1996; Baltimore Blast, National Indoor Soccer League since 1998; Crystal Palace Baltimore, USL Second Division since 2006; Baltimore Mariners, American Indoor Football Association since 2008; Baltimore Bay Lions, American Basketball Association since 2008; Baltimore Burn, National Women's Football Association since 2004; Baltimore Nighthawks, Independent Women's Football League since 2001; and the Charm City Roller Girls Women's Flat Track Derby Association since 2006. Area fans are known for their passion and reverence for historical sports figure who played in the city or were born there. Wild Bill Hagy is an example of a famous fan. Sister cities Baltimore has eleven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI): Alexandria, Egypt Ashkelon, Israel Cadiz, Spain Gbarnga, Liberia Genoa, Italy Kawasaki, Japan Luxor, Egypt Odessa, Ukraine Piraeus, Greece Rotterdam, Netherlands Xiamen, China

FYI: Daniel Edward

Daniel Edwards (lahir 1965, La Porte, Indiana) adalah seorang pematung Amerika yang potongan alamat selebriti dan pop culture dengan cara yang sering memicu kontroversi. Rilis dari patung patung biasanya memicu para pers untuk meliputnya.

Karya-karyanya meliputi patung kepala tanpa tubuh Ted Williams, patung berukuran hidup lahir Britney Spears memberikan sambil telanjang di tangan dan lutut di atas karpet kulit beruang, sebuah patung Senator Hillary Clinton bertelanjang dada atau 25 kaki patung Fidel Castro.

Edwards berjudul potongan "Monumen untuk Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston," menjelaskan bahwa hal itu dilambangkan keputusan Spears 'untuk menempatkan persalinan depan karirnya [1] Britney Spears benar-benar memiliki operasi caesar..

Dalam sebuah wawancara Associated Press, Edwards menegaskan bahwa ia menggabungkan cerita selebriti karena: "Kau dibombardir dengan cerita-cerita Dan ada benang yang angin kembali ke seni. Itu bukan hal yang buruk. Orang-orang tertarik pada seks., dan bekerja untuk seni juga."Edwards mengakui, bagaimanapun, bahwa ia "tidak akan berbaris dengan baik kehidupan-pro atau pendukung pro-choice".

 Sejumlah gambar yang ditampilkan di media adalah cetakan dari patung lebih daripada yang asli. Gips dapat dibedakan dengan bergabung di sekitar lengan dan tulang keringnya dan dengan warna pucat mereka

Patung seukuran Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton berjudul "Presiden Bust Hillary Rodham Clinton". Patung menggambarkan dirinya mengenakan gaun bermotif bunga rendah dipotong.

Pada tanggal 28 Agustus 2006, Edwards meluncurkan sebuah patung berjudul "Kotoran perunggu bayi Suri", konon menjadi kotoran pertama dari bayi Tom Cruise dan Katie Holmes. Patung itu akan dilelang di eBay, dan Edwards ditugaskan untuk menghasilkan replika plester edisi terbatas. Sumber tidak setuju pada apakah patung perunggu ini sebenarnya adalah replika dari kotoran Suri's:. beberapa melaporkan bahwa hal itu benar, sementara yang lain dilaporkan cerita sebagai HOAX saja

 Edwards berkata untuk patung ms.obama ini : "The goal is to create a look for Michelle Obama that eliminates excessive comparisons to Jackie Kennedy."

patung ini ukuran sebenarnya. Paris Hilton menggambarkan ahli waris orang mati dan telanjang dengan melebarkan kakinya. Dia mengenakan tiara dan mencengkeram ponsel.  anjing Chihuahua peliharaannya, Tinkerbell, juga mengenakan tiara, adalah fitur istirahat kaki depan pada payudaranya. Patung ini bertujuan untuk menghentikan perempuan muda dari minum dan mengemudi, kejahatan yang Hilton sebelumnya telah ditemukan bersalah dan kemudian dijatuhi hukuman penjara setelah melanggar masa percobaan. patung ini juga memiliki rongga perut terbuka dengan ukuran organ hidup dilepas dan kembar janin, yang pengunjung pameran dapat memegang jika mereka memakai sarung tangan khusus.

Publisitas sekitar pekerjaan ini bahkan mencoba menggabungkan unsur partisipatif Web 2.0-style, dengan sebuah kontes untuk pemirsa untuk mengirimkan karya tulis mereka sendiri tentang mengemudi dalam keadaan mabuk.

Karya seni itu diresmikan pada tanggal 11 Mei 2007 di Capla Kesting Fine Art di New York.

Pada tahun 2009, Edwards merilis "String of babies" yang menggambarkan Nadya Suleman (Octomom) sebagai gurita merangkul dunia hanya untuk kembar delapan nya.

Sebuah patung Pangeran Harry menggambarkan dia mati, dalam seragam militer, kepalanya berpijak pada Alkitab dengan liontin dari ibunya tergenggam di tangannya dan dengan berdiri burung oleh kakinya. Edwards menunjukkan bahwa patung itu menunjukkan bagaimana Pangeran Harry "harus telah meninggal hari mereka mengatakan bahwa dia tidak bisa berperang" (di Irak).

Pada tanggal 9 Agustus 2009, Edwards meluncurkan karya terbarunya, sebuah patung telanjang menyusui anak kembar Angelina Jolie, satu Afrika dan satu tidak. Ini akan ditampilkan di galeri Mainsite Seni Kontemporer di Norman, Oklahoma, lalu dipajang di London.

masih penasaran dengan karya-karyanya? kita tunggu saja patung selanjutnya.

sumber: google.com, wikipedia.com, nyctimes.com

Blank

theres nothing i can write.............*blank*
theres nothing i can talk...............*blank*
theres nothing i can remember......*blank*
theres nothing i can sue...............*blank*
theres nothing i can hear.............*blank*
theres nothing i can play.............*blank*
theres nothing i can speak...........*blank*
theres nothing i can do...............*blank*

gosh..goshh..gosh....

wah.. mygod...
udah 6 taun aja gt ga pernah check2 lagi ama blog ini.. anyone missing my blog ?? anyone?? anyone? *waiting* hahahahaha *awkward laugh ok FINE! im gonna make Vlog anyway! this is not fun!!!! BHHAAAYYYY!!