Super Bowl Specials: Second-Best Places to Root for the Ravens 
Chesapeake Country watering holes are catering to the spirits and stomachs of football fans - including some Redskins fans gone aflight - with the 35th Super Bowl scheduled to kick off Sunday, January 28 at 6:18pm.
Winning, wings and wetting whistles weigh in heaviest on the priority scale. Bay Weekly has scoured the area in search of the best deals in town. Sorry to say, the home field, PSI NET Stadium, is only open to suite holders for the game. Still, there's plenty of fun - even some bargains - to be had in Chesapeake Country.
At Surfside 7 Waterfront Restaurant & Dock Bar in Edgewater, the Super Bowl party is a $25 extravaganza. On Super Bowl Sunday, $25 gets you in the door and fills your feed bag with a giant half-time buffet. Wet your whistle at the open bar (domestic bottles, drafts and rails) with all other drinks just $1. Watch the Ravens fly away with the trophy on one of 11 TVs, including two big screens. Win prizes and giveaways. More info? 410/956-8075.
Good ol' Happy Harbor in Deale is celebrating Super Bowl Sunday with a $10.95 all-you-can-eat buffet, including New York pork BBQ ribs, Baltimore steamed shrimp, Giants' baked beans, Ravin' Ravens' cole slaw and Brian Billick's hushpuppies. Fifty-cent Budweiser and Bud Light drafts wash down the grub, served from 5pm till half-time. Reservations suggested. More info? 410/867-0949.
Down the street, Calypso Bay tops the charts with 14 TVs, including one huge screen. Come early to get a spot next to the free 25-foot-long mega-buffet. Wash it all down with 16-ounce keep-the-cup drafts for $3 with $2 refills. More info? 410/867-9787.
Annapolis Cinema Grill will be taken over by some 60 football fans for a private party in one theater, while the other will be showing movies. The lucky ducks wise enough to rent out the theater to view the game of the year dine on an array of appetizers, sandwiches and chili and will enjoy a full bar. More info? 410/266-5191.
Lagoons in Chesapeake Beach spotlights Purple People Eaters, $1 Ravens' touchdown shooters. $1 drafts during the game and a free half-time buffet of heavy hors d'oeuvres. More info? 410/257-7091.
Lured by a free buffet during the game and five TVs to watch it on, Stetsons Clubhouse is expecting a mix of Ravens and Giants fans to make an "interesting atmosphere." With drink specials on all day, "local customers" get free taxi service home. More info? 410/286-8016.
At the new Neptune's Seafood Pub in North Beach, swallow some free wings at half-time and pay happy hour prices on all drinks during the game. All day Budweiser drafts and burritos are $1. More info? 410/257-7899.
The Brick House in Shady Side is getting ready early with a pre-Super Bowl bash on Saturday night. At 10pm, Big Bill & That's Cool hit the stage to gear up for the game. Saunter in on Sunday for happy hour food and drink prices during the game. More info? 410/867-3400.
Surfside South Restaurant in Herrington Harbour South Marina looks to the "Coors Light girls to warm things up." A free half-time buffet will see you through the game. More info? 410/257-0095.
Eastport Clipper is hosting a drawing for a trip for two to Amsterdam to see Joe Jackson in concert. Food and drink specials all day. More info? 410/280-6400.
The Traders Super Bowl Party entails a whole lot of money. If you're there on Super Bowl Sunday, you have a one-in-20 chance to receive a share of $15,000. Traders was randomly picked by Anheiser Busch as one of 20 Washington-area establishments in the running. Official rules are posted in the restaurant. Meanwhile, you've every chance to enjoy door prizes and touchdown shooters plus 20-ounce drafts during the game for $1.25. More info? 301/812-1600.
"You provide the party. We'll provide the food." Sounds like Super Bowl at Olde South Catering. Choose among nine platters of which the wings and barbecue are popular favorites. More info? 410/222-3333.
At Hollywood, Tanners Sip Lattés at the Cyberbar
photo by Jennifer A. Dawicki
Alexander Westmoreland offers KISS, kitsch and cutting-edge technology at Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar.
Speed makes convenience. And like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, spreading Internet access and coffee together could be a convenience that sticks.
In Annapolis, you can savor a first bite of that convenience at the Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar.
Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar gives Annapolis its first of a breed already numbering some 6,000 across the world. That's public Internet access points - verified cyber cafés - including six in Washington, D.C., and at least 10 in the Big Apple. (You can find the list at www.cybercaptive.com.)
Now locals as well as any of Annapolis' two million annual visitors can muscle their way through the Internet in Hollywood Cyber Bar's small Arnold Schwarzenegger room. Signing on to one of the two Compaq Pentium 3 Deskpros costs $8 per 30 minutes and 27 cents per minute after that.
Both computers are equipped with direct subscriber loop (dsl) Internet connections. "That's the connection that makes the difference," says Bruce Wahl of the Chesapeake Computer Group. "It is all about how quick you can move information from the server to your computer."
Adds Donna L. Cole, vice president of Ab-Tech, the company that equipped the cyber cafe with its computers and the software: "Signing on with a dsl connection is like driving a Ferrari. Access to the Internet is very quick, accessible and user friendly."
So? Swift, easy Internet access, is accessible, these days, in many homes. It's for sale at Kinko's on one of nine Internet-accessible computers and free at your local library. So what's special about Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar?
The answer's all in the name.
Coffee is a second speedy convenience. Literally. With your dsl connection here, you can get a dose of coffee and pick up a baked good from Sugarbakers of Catonsville or a "hand-made" candy at the coffee bar.
Looking to beat the pasty-white computer nerd stereotype? Take a stroll down the Hollywood lanes and boulevards from cyber room and coffee bar, and you'll find state-of-the-art private tanning rooms. Carrying out the Hollywood theme, such stars as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe grace the doors to each of eight tanning rooms. Three different kinds of beds produce three different effects. Prices range from $9 to $38 for a 20-minute tanning session.
Coffee, computers and tanning?
"I have always been enchanted with tanning salons," says Alexander Westmoreland, co-owner of Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar as well as Alexander's of Annapolis Salon and Day Spa. "Then a trip to Europe showed me the need for Internet access to keep in touch with my friends and family."
Thus came the combination of coffee, computers and tanning to 2303-A Forest Drive in Festival at Riva.
"This concept is becoming a mainstay in cities for travelers' use. And now it is available here," says Jeffrey McMullen, co-owner and business manager of Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar and Alexander's of Annapolis.
Hollywood Tanning Cyber Coffee Bar celebrates its grand opening Sunday, March 5 from 5 to 7pm. Invited are Marilyn Monroe, Diana Ross, Cher, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton and Tina Turner. More info? Call 410/573-5002 or check it out on the web at www.hollywoodtanningcafe.com.
Get Masked for Mardi Gras
For years, adventuresome revelers have made the southward pilgrimage to New Orleans to party amid the pomp and fanfare of Mardi Gras. Now Annapolis, tired of having been left in a lurch during the downtime between oysters and sailing season, is trying to strike up some winter life (and foot traffic) of its own with the second annual Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Mardi Gras celebration to run February 16-27.
Though the festivities are weeks away, creative minds of all ages are needed now to lend artistic ambiance to the goings on by way of the Mardi Gras Mask-Off mask-making contest.
"So far we've only gotten a couple of entries in," says Mask-Off organizer Celeste Hartman, who's hoping for around 100 masks to brighten Annapolis Harbour Center storefronts in time for judging.
There are no requirements except that each mask be handcrafted. Competition is open to both pros and inspired amateurs and every creation gets equal play, set before the public for display and judging in various Annapolis Harbour Center stores.
Prizes are big. The top three winners in the three age categories - five to 11, 12 to 17 and adult - walk away with $100, $150 and $250 gift certificates or merchandise from several Harbour Center shops, including Tower Records, Zany Brainy, Barnes & Noble, David Alexander spa and many more.
"We're hoping to make this an annual thing," says Hartman. "We're excited about it and hope a lot of people will join in."
Submit your work no later than February 12 in time for judging by Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts board members February 15. Awards to be bestowed 11am February 16 at Barnes & Noble. Your art stays on display until February 27, after which it's returned to you.
Pick up registration forms at Maryland Hall, area schools, Barnes & Noble and the Annapolis Visitors Center or call 410/266-5931.
Maryland Hunts a Duck - Stamp
photo courtesy of DNR
A pair of old squaw ducks flying past the Thomas Point Lighthouse over choppy waters of the Chesapeake Bay won four-time Duck Stamp winner David T. Turnbaugh, of Towson, first place in 2000.
 A bone-chilling drizzle falls steadily on the gray water as a small boat makes its way to a tiny hideout. For Rick Blackwell of Fairhaven, the last day of duck season brought perfect weather.
Blackwell hunts puddle ducks: black ducks, mallards, teals and widgeons. They're called "puddle" because that's where you find them, dabbling or tipping their tails in the air as they search for food beneath the surface.
Other hunters prefer Bay ducks - like canvasbacks, redheads and scoters - that dive for their food, disappearing under the water.
Whether they hunt puddle or Bay ducks, hunters have the same rewards. Communion with - and in many ways contribution to - nature; continuity with a family tradition and national heritage; and, finally, a good meal.
The weather's right this time of year for another kind of hunt.
In this one, Maryland wildlife artists are hunting Bay and puddles for the right bird - in the right aspect - to bag this year's Maryland Duck Stamp prize.
For three decades, Chesapeake Country's John 'Bud' Taylor of Mayo - conservationist, wildlife artist and author - has been one of the hunters. In 1974, Taylor's painting of a pair of mallards introduced the program and became Maryland's first duck stamp. Since then, the new stamp design has been chosen through a competition. Taylor won in 1979 with a pair of wood ducks. Taylor has also taken the top prize in Florida and South Carolina, with a merganser and a widgeon.
"When you're doing this duck stamp, you're looking at it differently than an ordinary picture. I think the judges are impressed by color and the amount of detail. So I bring the bird up very close and make it cover most of the surface of the painting," says Taylor.
He'll enter at least once this year, with a hooded merganser.
In this hunt, all waterfowl common to our Atlantic flyway are fair game. That's a list of 26 birds, minus the winning birds from the last three years: old squaw; wood duck and pintail.
Rewards in this hunt are potentially big for the winning artist - and even bigger for all who value Chesapeake Country's environment and ecology.
The $6 stamp - which is a required purchase for Blackwell and all Maryland waterfowl hunters - has raised three million dollars since our state program began in 1974 as a conservation campaign following the lead of the successful Federal Duck Stamp Program.
Maryland puts those stamp dollars back into waterfowl, to create and improve migration and wintering habitats. Recent projects include 400 acres of feeding grounds for Canada geese on the Eastern Shore and a 45-acre duck lake at Assateague Island.
For the artist, the rewards are prestige and - because prints of the working stamps are collectors' items - proceeds from the sale of limited-edition prints.
But the competition is heavy in the Maryland Duck Stamp Contest, co-sponsored by Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Typical are some 50 entries from about 30 artists, who are limited to three each. The panel of a half dozen judges includes artists and wildlife specialists.
To join the competition, you have until March 7 - if you're a Maryland resident who has not won the contest for the past three years. Entries can be either black and white or color; they must have horizontal orientation and be seven inches high by 10 inches wide.
The winner is judged and recognized at the Patuxent Wildlife Art Show March 31 at Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel.
Get full details from Chuck Porcari at DNR: 410/260-8001 or on the web at www.dnr.state.md.us./wildlife/duckstamp.
Paul Goetzke Welcomed Home
A lifetime of family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and adversaries flowed into Marion Hall, on the campus of St. Mary's High School, January 13. They ate and drank, listened to music, talked to old friends and made new acquaintances. They all came to support one of their own. They came to welcome Paul Goetzke home.
Goetzke, the city attorney of Annapolis, was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident on the Potomac River last August.
With ticket sales drawing over 1,000 people plus silent and live auctions, over $100,000 was raised. The donations will help the Goetzke family pay for an in-home elevator, wheelchair accessible van, on-going care and other needs.
"The whole thing was beautiful," said brother and one of the event's organizers, Matt Goetzke, about Saturday's fund-raiser. "Everything was so smooth. Everybody had a great time. Paul stayed almost to the end. He couldn't leave; he didn't want to leave."
As well as brother Matt, organizing the event were sister Maura Goetzke Walden plus Sarah Arthur, Chuck Bell, Rex Caldwell, Fran Czajka, Anne Kaiser, Steve Klose, John Lamon, Randy Landis, Mark Lechowicz, Wilson Phipps, Richard Riley, David Schmeil and Andree Tulliver Waesche.
Goetzke, born and raised in the Annapolis area, hopes to return to his job at Annapolis City Hall by the end of the month.
Another benefit, a summer golf tournament, is in the early planning stages. Meanwhile, donations can still be made to the Annapolis Jaycees Foundation, Inc. at P.O. Box 2105 Annapolis, MD 21401.
Way Downstream ...
In Howard County, a developer made critics happy after they told him his proposed retirement community looked like a trailer park. Rather than building 21 bungalows on seven acres, the Brantly Development Group agreed to put up eight buildings with several units each that more closely match the architecture of homes in nearby Rockburn Park, the Baltimore Sun reported
In South Africa, it was a "man bites dog" story with a twist. Lucas Sibanda, 57, was on his way home when a python descended on him and applied its deadly sleeper hold. But rather than being eaten, Sibanda did some chewing of his own, sinking his teeth into the fat snake just below the head. The surprised reptile released him which, for the reptile, was a mistake: Sibanda killed it and skinned it ...
In Florida, Donald Trump showed last week that he has a soft spot beneath his fat wallet for endangered species. After a golfer named Cyril Wagner clubbed a black swan at the International Golf Club, Trump banned him from all of his properties worldwide. The golfer claimed he acted in self-defense, but Trump said he didn't care ...
Our Creature Feature comes from New Mexico, where the owner of a tattoo shop is in trouble with the law for her stuffed animals. It seems that someone did not appreciate Anna Sachs' two anatomically correct teddy bears that she displayed in her window to advertising piercing options available to customers.
She is fighting the citation she received and a potential $1,000 fine by arguing that the state's obscenity law does not apply to animals. "A dog walks around and we don't have underwear on him," she told the Albuquerque Journal.
Copyright 2001
Bay Weekly
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