Dan Rodricks

Let me just say that, when it comes to the croissant, I have by now logged the requisite number of sampling hours to be a full-fledged expert. I have tasted croissants from numerous bakeries in the U.S. — those produced by Bonjour and Patisserie Poupon right here in Baltimore are excellent — as well as … Continue reading The humpback Croustille Croissant

Music Video: From the play, "Baltimore, You Have No Idea," first performed Dec. 2 and 3 in the city of its title, a new song by Mat Lane and Dan Rodricks. Listen via YouTube From the script: "The mayor, William Donald Schaefer, had quite a temper and he hated people who attacked his hometown. . … Continue reading Every city needs a song, so I’m told

On behalf of the cast and crew of “Baltimore, You Have No Idea,” I would like to offer a hearty thank-you to everyone who has said nice things about the play. The response has been kind of amazing, really, beyond anything I imagined. We had no idea the play would please so many of you. … Continue reading Baltimore, we had no idea. Thank you.

If I had the time, I could report and write countless stories in follow-up to the more than 6,400 columns I’ve produced for the Sunpapers of Baltimore, morning and evening, since January 1979. I could compose a series of epilogues, telling you how things turned out for that boy who was arrested at age 8 … Continue reading Epilogue: Story of the stolen purse five years later

My column in today's Baltimore Sun is a reminder of life before the Great Awareness — before Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” before the first Earth Day and the dawn of the modern environmental movement, before Americans questioned the motives of corporations, before we fully understood the damage that chemical compounds could do in the quest … Continue reading Spraying poison: Back in the day, it was OK

In 1954, the number of TV stations in the United States more than doubled, advertising revenue surpassed radio revenue for the first time, and Swanson introduced the TV dinner. NBC telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade for the first time in color. ABC broadcast the Army-McCarthy hearings live. And on CBS, the crusading Edward R. … Continue reading My Favorite Year: 40 years on, still my favorite movie

My weekend column is about the Catholic Church, the Maryland Attorney General’s report about clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and the latest meeting of the U.S. bishops. The first letter I received from a reader missed my point about the priesthood being the same – that essentially no fundamental change has occurred … Continue reading ‘They still think we’re all a bunch of superstitious peasants’

One of the delights in life is to be surprised by something that has become familiar or even old hat, or to discover something grand you missed the first few times around. Somewhere along the way, I am sure I heard the fourth and final movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I am sure it was … Continue reading Worth a listen: The fourth of Beethoven’s 5th

In my Sun column today, 11 people, including the Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, give their reasons for thanksgiving. Here are a couple more Thanksgiving reflections I picked up just after deadline: Anthony Santander, Orioles outfielder and slugger: “I'm thankful for the excellent season we had as a team. I think that it's a really good … Continue reading Extra thanks: From an Orioles outfielder

I am just going to wing this because I don’t have the recipe, but I know how to make it. It’s a great stuffing, a traditional New England recipe adopted by a Portuguese immigrant named Justina Gomes Rodrigues (the little lady in the photo, my paternal grandmother) and made to her Madeiran tastes. Ingredients:One pound … Continue reading How to make Portuguese stuffing for Thanksgiving