Good news for fans of David Fincher, Kevin Spacey, Netflix, and a 75 million economic impact on the state of Maryland. (Seriously, you have to be a fan of at least one of those things, right?)

Starting this spring, the acclaimed director Fincher (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network) will be filming a series for Netflix right here in the Baltimore region. (This isn't Fincher's first time filming in Baltimore, by the way: The Hopkins campus doubled as Harvard in The Social Network). Called House of Cards, the show, about political ambition and intrigue, is based on the BBC series of the same name. The first season is slated for 13 episodes.

Can I say that I'm . .geeked? First of all, I love me some Kevin Spacey and kind of wish he hadn't taken off so many years in his prime to go all high-brow and head up...

Back in September, The Sun announced that it would erect a "paywall" around it's website, requiring readers to pay for access after a certain number of views. The newspaper has yet to release data on how the move has affected hits on the site or revenues, but I've heard through the grapevine that results are mixed, with a significant number of people signing up for access to the site, with many more working around the paywall or going else where for their news. Like The New York Times, The Sun has deliberately made its paywall fairly porous, allowing users to access stories by clearing their browser's cookies or through other means. This means that readers can access individual stories for free if they really want them, but they're hoping that frequent or long-term readers will sign up to pay the relatively meager $2.99 per week for unlimited access without all the fuss.

One aspect of the paywall that I have...

UPDATED. At least, that’s what Washington Post media blogger Erik Wemple says about Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik. Ouch.

The two boys are evidently feuding about Zurawik’s comments about former first daughter Chelsea Clinton’s appearance as a correspondent on NBC, according to Media Bistro’s FishbowlDC.

When Zurawik appeared recently on CNN’s Reliable Source, he said, “Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, in his shameless hype for this journalistically bankrupt decision, said it’s as if Chelsea has been preparing all her life for this thing. Based on the first show we saw, if that’s true, it’s been a largely wasted life.”

He added, "And as mean as that might sound, I don’t take it back, really.”

Wemple, meanwhile, called him “childish and misanthropic” and said his take on Chelsea was “rehearsed.”

There’s more snide back and forth with Zurawik calling Wemple a “water carrier” for the Clintons on his...

In May, 2009, John Lewis and I wrote "Arts Under Attack," bemoaning the sorry state of the arts in town in the wake of the closing of the Baltimore Opera Company and looming cuts to the state arts budget.

Just two and a half years later, things are looking considerably better, especially for the once ailing theater community. The Station North Arts District has brought energy to the scene and the Single Carrot Theater has built a reputation as an avant-garde enterprise of considerable imagination and wit. While the departure of Creative Director Irene Lewis had been seen as a step backward for Centerstage, the hiring of highly respected UK playwright Kwame Kwei Armah to replace her has been seen as a bold, promising move. In addition, traveling productions now have two large halls to choose from, the Hippodrome and The Lyric Opera...