With last year's dedication of a Frank Zappa statue on Frank Zappa Way in Highlandtown—presided over by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake—Baltimore's claim to Frank Zappa is solid. (If there's any remaining doubt, Rafael Alvarez's 2009 piece, Charm City Freakout, which chronicled Zappa's links to Baltimore will resolve them).

And so, we get to revel in our native son's posthumous achievements: Last week, Rolling Stone named Zappa number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time. The lauditory listing includes a tribute from Phish's Trey Anastasio, who says he was inspired by Zappa's experimental axe work. "Every boundary that was possible on the guitar was examined by him in ways...

The news that the Inner Harbor's New Year's Eve fireworks could be canceled due to money woes certainly put a damper on the city's pre-holiday mood this week. But it seems that all hope is not lost. In the wake of media coverage warning of the annual celebration's demise, donations have started to roll in.  

I just got off the phone with Tracy Baskerville at The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the city organization responsible for producing the New Year's spectacle, who said some sizable pledges have come in over the last 24 hours that have made organizers more optimistic that they will be able to cover the minimum $75,000 costs involved in staging the celebration, which annually attracts about 100,000 revelers.  

"By yesterday we had a little over $39,000 and then law firm, Kramon & Graham, pledged up to $25,000 but they won't know for sure what they can offer until next week," Baskerville said. [Ed note: After this blog was published, a representative from Kramon & Graham e-mailed stating that no commitment had yet been forged with Office of Promotion and the Arts.]

Baskerville also said word around the office is that Willard Hackerman of construction behemoth Whiting-Turner...

Gerry "not THAT guy" Sandusky gave an interview with Esquire magazine about how the Ravens reacted to his ongoing "that's Gerry with a G" ordeal. Some Ravens responded with sympathy, others, well . . .not so much:

John Harbaugh, he looked at me and said, "Man, this must be just awful for you." They're playing the Steelers in this game and he's worried about me and my name.

Joe Flacco was funny last week. He came up to me and said something along the lines of, "That's a tough break, Gerry. Tough break." And he patted me on the back.

Ed Reed just looked at me after the game and said, "Yep, Gerry Sandusky. That's a rough one."

We here at Baltimore magazine are perennial optimists. So, reflecting on the cloud that is our Ravens' painful loss to the previously hapless Seattle Seahawks last night, we found some silver linings...

1. Seattle is a dreary place where it always rains. Our Ravens gave a lot of Seattleites a happy Monday for once. 

2. After only 5 carries for 27 yards, Ray Rice should be well rested for next week's game against the Bengals.

3. Paired with the glowing 60 Minutes story about UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski right after the game, it showed that Baltimore has its priorities in order: We care about education, not a silly football game.

4. At least it wasn't the Steelers. (It wasn't even in the AFC—so it won't count as a...