Ansel Adams A
stylish, black-and-white, spiral-bound notebook, the Ansel Adams calendar
combines legendary landscape photography with extensive space for organizing
the new year. ($16.95 @ area bookstores. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.)The End is Near!
It's Time to Choose Your 1999 Calendar
by Mark Burns
The clock is ticking, counting down to the moment when we enter into the last year of the millennium (okay, so 1999 is technically second to the last, but that's not as dramatic).
To some, we're that much closer to falling victim to the chaos brought by the Y2K bug. Still others might assert that our day of reckoning is nigh. But these are merely hypotheticals. There's only one thing we all know for sure.
Next year at least, we're all going to need new calendars.
There's a countless many calendars out there to choose from, often narrowing their focus to very special tastes indeed: say, 12 months of long-haired dachshunds.
So, as a public service for readers mired in the muck of indecision, here are a few candidates to replace your soon-to-be defunct calendars. We've mixed local coverage with a few more worldly choices for an eclectic range to deck walls or desk.
Ansel Adams A
stylish, black-and-white, spiral-bound notebook, the Ansel Adams calendar
combines legendary landscape photography with extensive space for organizing
the new year. ($16.95 @ area bookstores. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.)
Atlantic Coast Lighthouses Focusing on points south of the Mason Dixon Line, this wall calendar gives Solomons a month in the spotlight. August features a beautiful shot of the Drum Point Lighthouse now restored at the Calvert Marine Museum. ($12.99 @ area bookstores. Browntrout Publishers, San Francisco.)1
Nauti-Benders Boater's Calendar A handy guide for these parts, this fully illustrated, page-a-day desk calendar features daily tips on skippering boats for weekend watermen. Flip through now as preparation for next year's boating season. ($10.99 @ area bookstores. Penchant Publishing: 800/235-7221.)
Calvert County, Maryland
Scenes from Calvert County's past have been collected, restored and tinted
by local pros, granting a peek at county landmarks from the Chesapeake Beach
boardwalk to the Drum Point Lighthouse. The preface features a brief history
and county map. Each month's photo includes background information on the
subject. Calvert's many events are listed throughout. ($14.95 @ Medart Galleries
& other Calvert County shops. D.S. Mohler & Sons Professional Photography,
Prince Frederick.)
Familiar Scenes 1999 Drawings of a dozen South County landmarks
fill calendar pages as local artists conjure black-and-white images of such
places as Harvey's Barbershop/Galesville Jail and the South County Library.
Proceeds from the sale of this sixth annual wall calendar are split in benefit
of the two community groups that publish it, Galesville Heritage Society
and Shady Side Rural Heritage Society. ($7.50 @ many local stores or + shipping:
410/867-4486.)
Greenpeace Each month of this wall calendar features extraordinary photographs of animals and landscapes. Along with the photos are factoids on each subject's role in the ecosystem, what threatens it and what Greenpeace is doing about it. This calendar has goals, too: to show off nature's beauty and assert Greenpeace's convictions. All royalties go to Greenpeace. ($9.95 @ area bookstores. Workman Publishing, New York.)
Hank Caruso's
Aerocatures Calendar Hank Caruso, of St. Mary's County, is the artist
and publisher of this whimsical, award-winning wall calendar. Mixing his
training in art and aviation engineering, he captures the character of a
variety of aircraft ranging from helicopters to the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
Also included are a few planes with connections to the base at Pax River.
Brief histories and descriptions accompany each caricature. (Fore-feathers
Enterprises, California, MD 20619: 301/863-9939.)
The Healthy Cook's Kitchen Dust off your wok and clean your crock pot in preparation for an interactive calendar from the American Institute for Cancer Research. The wall calendar is perfect for the kitchen, with 12 healthy cooking tips to carry you through the new year. Benefits the institute. ($5 by phone order. American Institute for Cancer Research, Washington, DC: 800/843-8114 x716.)
Maryland 1999 Scenes of Maryland fill this sharp and glossy photographic
wall calendar, the subjects spanning the state from Western Maryland to
Ocean City. Simple in composition but full of good pictures, it gives a
sharp pictorial of our lovely state. For when you want to venture into cosmopolitan
climes, it also includes a Metro map of DC on the back. Also available:
DC and Virginia. (Photri Inc., Falls Church, VA: 703/931-8600.)
Mid-Atlantic Lighthouse Calendar Lighthouses from New York to Virginia fill the pages of this wall calendar, including three from Maryland - Thomas Point Light, Calvert County's Cove Point Light and Hooper Strait Light, now at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. All are original pastel-on-sandpaper artworks created by Marsha York. Each lighthouse's history is reviewed in brief. ($12.95 @ area bookstores. Kanin Press, Portsmouth.)
Midshipmen Football
Great for the Annapolitan football nut, this wall calendar sports action
football photos and several shots of classic coaches and players throughout
the U.S. Naval Academy's proud history. It also schedules of this and next
season's Navy games. Proceeds from the calendar benefit the Academy and
its football program. ($11.95 @ area bookstores. Pure Image, Seattle.)
Skyscrapers Taken from the book of the same name, 12 of the world's
most famous skyscrapers lend their length to this distinctively long wall
calendar. A preface highlights the evolution of construction leading to
skyscrapers. Each month introduces its own skyscraper with a short history.
Included are Kuala Lumpur's 
Petronas
Towers, New York's Chrysler Building, San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid
and Hong Kong's Bank of China. ($10.95 @ area bookstores. Workman Publishing,
New York.)
Tidelog - Chesapeake Tidewater A little black book every Bay boater
should have, this specialized datebook calendar gives the daily detailed
charts of the tidal flow you find compressed each week in New Bay Times.
User-friendly day-to-day diagrams are complemented by current and tide tables
for Baltimore, Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. ($12.95
+ shipping. Pacific Publishers, Bolinas, CA: 888/tidelog.)
U.S. Air Force Engagement Calendar This flighty calendar has no cartoons but still appeases the guy with his head in the clouds. The U.S. Air Force Calendar boasts crisp shots of cool planes, ranging from classic F-15s to the B-2 Stealth Bomber. ($9.95. Photri Inc., Falls Church, VA: 703/931-8600.)
Wallace & Gromit Fans of the Academy Award-winning animated
clay duo can delight in a colorful and cartoony wall calendar featuring
scenes from the animated shorts "The Wrong Trousers," "Grand
Day Out" and "A Close Shave." ($11.95 @ area bookstores.
Portal Publications, Novato, CA.)
Wild & Scenic Maryland Maryland might not have the widest expanse of wilds, but our state has its share of beautiful scenery from the Appalachians to coastal wetlands. From cascading waterfalls to sunlit beaches, Maryland shows its appeal in this attractive 12-month wall calendar. ($10.99 @ area bookstores. Browntrout Publishers, San Francisco.)
Many more are out there, including pictorials of streamlined trains at night and just about anything else you might dream up. Some are stylish and many irresistibly kitschy. But those are for you to find; we've already got ours.
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VolumeVI Number 50
December 17-23, 1998
New Bay Times