Leslie Gray Streeter - The Baltimore Banner
This local author wants you to drown your creative doubts with a flood of joy. Here’s how.
Local author Amy L. Bernstein wants you to feed your starving creative soul by wrangling your doubt monster.
"Wrangling the Doubt Monster" author Amy L. Bernstein.
Lamar Jackson is 4-0 after his mom cussed him out. That’s A+ parenting.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said his mother cussed him out after a loss. It's complicated, but as a Black mother raised by a Black mother, I get it.
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 10:  Lamar Jackson of the Louisville Cardinals poses for a photo with his mother, Felicia Jones, after being named the 82nd Heisman Memorial Trophy Award winner during the 2016 Heisman Trophy Presentation at the Marriott Marquis on December 10, 2016 in New York City.
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and the eternal struggle of what we think we know
Blake Lively’s seemingly odd behavior on the “It Ends With Us” press tour was allegedly a calculated attempt to make her look bad, because people like making women look bad.
Blake Lively on the press tour for “It Ends With Us.”
2025 has the potential to be dark. Try to find the light.
In 2025, we’re holding space for the highs and lows, and hoping for the divine — or at least the occasional chuckle.
Princess Kate, fat cats and Raygun: Here are the topics that resonated with readers in 2024
I could not have predicted that the columns that resonated with people most this past year would be about such random topics, ranging from Australian breakdancers to the “Brats” documentary.
The response to a column on Raygun’s breakdancing performance at the Olympics was overwhelming.
The upsides of failing at a resolution (from someone who knows best)
I failed my self-imposed fashion challenge, set as last year’s New Year’s resolution. But I think that’s OK.
Leslie Streeter tried to do a “no-spend” year on clothing for 2024, but a few amazing pieces still ended up in her closet.
Why ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ is actually a holiday hellscape
Was Rudolph right to guide Santa's sleigh in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”? Or should he have told the Jolly Old Elf to stick it? An investigation.
Did the reindeers really love “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as they shouted out with glee?
When did choosing a middle school for my son become the most pivotal life decision?
Baltimore City Schools’ choice program is good for ensuring kids get a chance to go to schools outside their area. But it’s one more choice for parents to make.
Baltimore City's School Choice Fair provided plenty of brochures, tchotchkes and anxiety.
Lusting after murderers and alleged criminals is not new. Here’s why.
Luigi Mangione has been romanticized. Experts say there’s a reason for that.
Prince’s visual style is iconic. Meet the Maryland man who helped design it.
Steve Parke, a longtime Maryland resident who was Prince’s art director for 13 years, will “kiss” and tell at the Baltimore County Public Library about his new book and time with the late icon.
The original art for Prince’s “Graffiti Bridge” album cover from 1990.
Why Black parents are reconsidering homeschooling
A growing movement of Black parents are looking to homeschooling to take control over what and how their children learn.
‘Wicked’ reminds us that allyship is getting on the dang broom
At the end of the first half of “Wicked,” Elphaba asks her friend Galinda to join her on the broom and fly away to launch a movement. But Galinda can’t. That sounds a lot like real life.
In “Wicked,” Cynthia Erivo, left, plays outcast Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande as the popular Galinda.
Collecting nutcrackers that look like Black celebrities is my version of holiday joy
Since 2021, my happy place just happens to be among Christmas nutcrackers that resemble Black celebrities.
Columnist Leslie Streeter has been collecting Black nutcrackers since she moved back to Baltimore. She looks for ones that she thinks look like celebrities.
‘Hot Frosty’ and 4 other stupid TV shows I’m thankful for in an uncertain year
The wars and racism aren't going anywhere, so I’m thankful for the inconsequential stuff I can escape with, like “Hot Frosty” and “Dancing With the Stars.”
Absolutely nothing of real-life importance happens in “Hot Frosty,” starring Dustin Milligan, left, as a snowman with abs of steel and Lacey Chabert as a kind widow who takes him in.
He was a cybercrime journalist. Now he’s taking on the bad guys himself.
Former technology journalist Sean Gallagher wrote about cybercrime for years, until — at 55 — he decided to fight it himself.
Sean Gallagher works from his Hampden home as a cybercrime investigator.
I wasn’t ready to get my kid a phone, but this changing country means he needs one
Agonizing about the timing and reasoning for getting a cellphone for your child is pretty common. But recent events made that decision for me.
7 local goodies for stocking stuffers
Here's a list of locally available goodies to brighten up that lonely sock. Fabulous does come in small packages.
5 things we learned from Joan Vassos, Maryland’s ‘Golden Bachelorette’
The Golden Bachelorette found new, true love. Here are some lessons we learned from Rockville’s Joan Vassos.
Rockville resident Joan Vassos found love with Chock Chapple on the first-ever season of “The Golden Bachelorette” — and taught us a few things along the way.
Powerful women are supposed to apologize, be humble. Martha Stewart says nah.
Martha Stewart is not sorry. And you’re going to have to deal with it.
The unapologetic Martha Stewart attends the premiere of her Netflix documentary “Martha.”
Rewatching ‘Scandal’ and ‘The West Wing’ hits a lot different post-election
After this election, the optimism in "The West Wing," "Parks and Recreation" and "Scandal" seems naive. The craziness feels a lot more plausible.
The fictional Bartlet administration on "The West Wing" were a bit naive, a little too slick and not diverse enough. But for Leslie Gray Streeter, they're preferable to our current reality.
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