ATL 4/14/08 - Beach & Bootcamp

S. starts Bootcamp on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays! See you at 6:00 AM!

(NOTE: Because of this week's freeze-factor, this Tuesday's Bootcamp will be relocated - abs and stretching in the Club M fitness center!)

Kids and the beach
Beach Activites - finding shells...family time...throwing rocks
Different qualities of light at dusk

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/U.S./FRENCH NEWS

MOVIE NEWS - The continuation of the Atlanta Film Festival...here's what looks good to me...anyone wanna?

Monday, 4/14, 7:05 PM - "Roman de Gare"

Tuesday, 4/15, 7:00 PM - "Rapid i Movement"

Tuesday, 4/15, 9:20 PM - "Saturno Contro"
-OR-
Tuesday, 4/15, 9:25 PM - "This Beautiful City"
-OR-
Tuesday, 4/15, 9:40 PM - "Comedy Shorts"

Wednesday, 4/16, 9:40 PM - "European Shorts"

Saturday, 4/19, NOON - "Priceless"
Saturday, 4/19, 2:45 PM - "Dance of the Dead" (I love zombie movies, but I think they really missed out not calling this "Prom of the Dead".)

(NOTE: How did I pick these? For me, choosing movies at Film Festivals is like picking wine...you just have to decide on slightly random criteria for your selections and stay within that framework. For wine, it's Loire Valley whites, California Zins, and Oregon Pinots. For movie subjects, it's French, gay, or shorts - A.D.H.D. gay man who once lived in France!)

ART NEWS -This Friday is a busy one - Joel's Birthday/Spring Cocktails at Ecco, High Friday Jazz, and Dames Aflame at the Laughing Skull Lounge for B.'s B.Day!

LOCAL NEWS -Earth Share "Party in the Park" for Earth Day. (No, not that park...the one in Atlantic Station. We can't gather on Piedmont's precious lawn, even to celebrate the frickin' planet! And in ATL STA, at $50 admission, I think it's a little pricey; apparently, they are trying to pay for the entire earth...)

NATIONAL NEWS -We went away for a week to the beach and came back to news that not much has changed; planes are still being grounded and Britney still should be.

FRENCH NEWS - The french like Marimekko and H&M...and they are both coming to Atlanta this spring!

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ATL 4/7/08 - Atlanta Film Festival

Checkerboard Tornado Damage
MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/U.S./FRENCH/WEB NEWS

This'll be a short post...we're on our way to the beach!

MOVIE NEWS - We are off on the family beach vaca, but don't you miss the Atlanta Film Festival going on at Landmark April 10-19. I caught "La Vie En Rose" and "Blood Car" at last year's festival.

LOCAL NEWS -It's starting to get warm! Get out there and plant your first warm weather crops! We'll be planting tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers when we get back.

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ATL 3/31/08 - Piedmont Park Dawn

Piedmont Park & Midtown at 7:45 AM

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/NATIONAL/FRENCH/WEB NEWS

MOVIE NEWS - This Friday is "Nim's Island", "Leatherheads", and "The Ruins". Jody Foster meets "Jewel of the Nile", George does sports, and Kudzu gone very, very wrong.

ART NEWS -Don't miss out on the Dogwood Parking Deck Festival starting this Friday. Seriously... how far exactly is it to the nearest actual dogwood tree from Lenox Square?

LOCAL NEWS -It's Ma's Birthday April 1st...no foolin'! "Happy Bday" to the best mom, ever!

...and thanks to all the merry-makers that supported S.'s YMCA summer camp fundraiser...you are sending 26+ kids to camp this summer. You are the best!

City Hall East sale to developer Emory Morsberger has been delayed 10 months until June 2009, citing relocating 911 center and building a storm water retention pond as reasons. Delaying the construction of new condos that would then further saturate the current market probably sounds good to this guy, too.

NATIONAL NEWS -The Biggest 'Ho:

HEATHER MILLS - Her divorce settlement after 4 years of marriage to Paul McCartney works out to something like $34,000 per day.

'THAT' CALL GIRL - At $1000/hr, the daily rate for Spitzer's "Kristen" only comes out to $24,000.

FRENCH NEWS -If it ain't broke...then, by all means, mess with it -tour eiffel-

WEB NEWS -Earth Hour in Midtown.

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ATL 3/24/08 - Georgia Wildflowers

My new coaster...after someone stole my credit card number online.
Wildflowers in "The Pocket in Pigeon Mountain"
The waterfall at the end of the canyon...gorgeous
Three tiny flowers...S., Ma, and Pa...one tiny fern

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/U.S./FRENCH/WEB NEWS

MOVIE NEWS - It looks like we'll have to wait until April 15th for S.'s first BOOTCAMP...until then, the release of "Run Fatboy Run" in theaters this Friday might be just the thing to get you pumped for it! (Starring Simon Pegg...of the peerlessly funny "Shaun of the Dead"...if you haven't seen that...seriously...call us to schedule a screening!)

ART NEWS -Avenue Q at the Fox, 3/25-30 - This 2004 Tony winner pokes fun at societal taboos in the guise of an R-rated Sesame Street.

LOCAL NEWS - One of the more interesting, recent, Atlanta-oriented publications; "Peachtree Creek". Ever wonder about all those downhills and uphills while riding along Atlanta streets? (Especially on bike!) Well, often, you are riding into and out of old watersheds and creekbeds. This book chronicling the story of the watershed buried under Atlanta is especially poignant during our current water crisis. -ajc- -the book-

THE COOLEST BIKE SHOP EVER - Outback Bikes - While out riding last Sunday, I got a flat. For $12, they fixed me up with a new tube AND took the time to show me how to change it, to prevent getting a flat next time, and to adjust my brakes. If you can't get to SOPO for your biking needs, then definitely use Outback Bikes!

NATIONAL NEWS -Gas is going up, the Midwest is going under, and Iraq is going on...and on...and on...

FRENCH NEWS -The Belgian President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, stated that China will change because of the Olympic Games.

WEB NEWS -This is the first video game since "Crazy Climber" that I've wanted...it's seriously simple and cool. -Crayon Physics Delux-

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ATL 3/17/08 - Blue Spring

Spring!The 'hood - Viewpoint and Spire

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/U.S./FRENCH/WEB NEWS

MOVIE NEWS - "Planet B-Boy", "Drillbit Taylor", and "Tyler Perry's Meet the Brown's". Blech. International Break Dancing (like air guitar, with backflips), rehash of "My Bodyguard", and another funny black family movie.

Try "Black Orpheus" at the High, instead this Friday @ 8 p.m. "French director Marcel Camus’s re-invention of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in Carnival-intoxicated Rio, is scored to the seductive strains of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa’s bossa nova. Here, Orpheus, a streetcar driver, meets a naïve country girl, Eurydice, who has run off to the city to escape a jealous suitor who wants to kill her. An undisputed classic, Black Orpheus won both the 1959 Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Palm Award and the Oscar for Best Foreign Film"

ART NEWS - High - Friday Jazz!!

LOCAL NEWS -The end of March is the unofficial beginning of the wildflower season in Georgia; we are going to check-out "The Pocket of Pigeon Mountain".

W Hotel, Midtown - Long anticipated opening...they are now accepting reservations on or after March 25th...yippee!

"Southern comfort and hospitality meet modern luxury and sleek chic. Play and work at the W Atlanta Midtown, where you’ll lounge in our lavish Living Room, make a pit stop at Bliss spa or host a meeting in Altitude, a private room atop the city."

(Oh, yeah, and there was a tornado...)

NATIONAL NEWS - Only 6 more days and some hours and minutes...until Lent is Over!

(Oh, yeah, there was a tornado in Atlanta.)

FRENCH NEWS - Il etait un grand tornade a Atlanta.

WEB NEWS - Econic Design; I love these visions of the future of Atlanta (without tornados) -1- -2-

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ATL 3/10/08

1...2...3 shots you're out! (or why Vitamin (Jim) Beam makes a poor nightcap...
You can't spell wedding w/o YMCA..."No thanks"...All the sibs
Daylight Saving Time Sunset

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/NATIONAL/FRENCH

We made it to the stepsister's wedding in B'ham with S.'s family. Here are some of the highlights:

GROOMSMAN: "Who are you?"
ME: "I'm the bride's step-domestic-partner-in-law. Or out-law, rather."
GROOMSMAN: "Okay...huh?"

S (on seeing a woman enter the reception hall wearing a patchwork rabbit fur jacket): "Who's the lady in the pound puppy coat?"

BRIDE (on being asked to "repeat after me: I, C_____, do take this man to be my lawfully wedded wife, til death us do part."): "Wait...what now?"

GROOM (while opening all the wedding gifts): "This is great! I want to get married all the time."
ME: "As of tonight, you are married 'all the time'."

MOVIE NEWS - "Doomsday" comes out Friday; looks like "Mad Max" and his "Twelve Monkeys" trying to "Escape from New York" "28 Days Later". I think I'll skip this retread and rewatch the originals. -trailer-

ART NEWS - The Roller Girls are now "performing" at the Yaarab Temple on Ponce...huh?...oh, well...cool! -here-

Cool place to hang out - Apache Cafe on 3rd St - Why aren't I -here- more often?

LOCAL NEWS - Sign-up for the Peachtree Road Race...even though this year's finish line is at the Civic Center...and even though I think the City Council is working with developers to promote/improve the appeal of SoNo at the expense of Midtown, now that Midtown is "done". Get the Sunday paper on Saturday and get that application in the mail!

Shamrock & Roll in ATL STA on Sunday, March 16. -sign up-

The brightest, most positive and green vision I've ever seen for Atlanta; a city design contest winner for the year 2108 from EDAW.

New highrise at 17th and Peachtree? -ajc-

How do you cut your prison sentence short? Well, if you are the former mayor of Atlanta, you first plead that your sentence should be short because you've never had an abuse problem (other than abusing public funds). Then, when that doesn't work, once in the Big House, you enroll in the substance abuse program! Don't put me in there, I never abused drugs. Let me out of here, I abuse drugs! -nyt-

NATIONAL NEWS -Clinton/Obama Presidential ticket? Gas at $4.00 per gallon? Pharmaceuticals in metro drinking water? America "Idol"-izing a gay stripper? Recession? Inflation? Lisa Marie Presley...just another unwed, pregnant mother?

FRENCH NEWS -Inflation* is a big topic in the news, with reports citing increases in the prices of basic foods, which in France include butter, camembert, and yogurt. I'm not sure what the inflation rate has been in the U.S.; how much has the price of a bag of Cheetos gone up? -lemonde-

*(Inflation - The percent change in the CPI).

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ATL 3/03/08

Sunset from Metropolis / My kind of (old) billboard - The trees win!M&M get married in Forsythe Park!
My little brother...from 1967 to 1981 (ish)

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/U.S./FRENCH/WEB NEWS

MOVIE NEWS - This Friday, we have 3 new flicks in wide release:

"10,000 BC" - If you were wondering how accurate a history lesson from the folks who "brought you 'The Day After Tomorrow" might be, check out this geek-analysis at sciencenerds.

"National Lampoon's College Road Trip" - I guess "College Vacation" was too redundant?

"The Bank Job" - Looks a bit like Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks", only with hunky Jason Statham in the lead.

March 8 - Cineprov does "Buffy"... live. "The evening will consist of Cineprov! presenting and mocking the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie at 8 pm followed immediately by a staged presentation of the classic Buffy episode Once More With Feeling, which will feature cast members of Cineprov! and members of Relapse Theatre."

ART NEWS -Boozer Doodle at Vortex, Tuesday, March 4th, $10, 8:00 PM - Lucky Yates is the MC, you are the Artist, the tater tots are free. Being sketchy has never been this fun.

March 6-8 - The Atlanta Symphony does Tchaikovsky.

LOCAL NEWS - Saturday, March 8th - Take a guided tour of Public Art landmarks on bike! Celebrate the urban environment and learn about cultural icons of Atlanta. All skill levels welcome. Bring your helmet. Tours will depart from Sopo at 2 pm and end at Eyedrum at 4 pm.

465-C Flat Shoals Ave

NATIONAL NEWS - Oil prices are over $100 per barrel. Of course, that is factoring in the weak dollar; it's still just 2 Euros a barrel on the European market.


FRENCH NEWS -Today's le Monde reports on University of California researchers finding a way to make cigarettes "less toxic". So now, after an evening in a bar, your clothes won't smell like cancer...as much.

WEB NEWS -Bro and I found this strangely interesting - Garfield without Garfield.

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