ATL - 11/03/08 - Midtown

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

MOVIE NEWS - "Madgascar 2", "Soul Men", "Role Models" are this Friday's releases; no thanks, I'm saving myself for Daniel Craig and next week's "Quantum of Solace"...

...or checking-out the ongoing Latin American Film Festival at the High:

11/7 - High - "Burn the Bridges" - This gothic family drama centers on emotionally conflicted siblings awaiting the death of their terminally ill mother in their crumbling mansion.

11/8 - High - "Love Sickness" - "Three episodes tell the varying stories of love, whether new, lost or resistant, in this beautifully observed comedy."

ART NEWS - Fox Theater - “High School Musical 2”: — World premiere. Nov. 6-16. You'd better see it! High School seems like forever, but the show is only at the Fox for 11 days... -TOTS-

11/7, 8:00 - Ferst Center - Lily Tomlin. Her bit about the phone company from the mid-70's has never stopped being funny (or, sadly, true): "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company. " -snl-

11/7, 8:30 - The folks at "Cineprov" haven't stopped making fun of movies, and this week their improv target is "Lassie". Don't worry, Timmy, Lassie will be okay, because he/she/it (?) is helping Cineprov raise money for "German Shepard Rescue of Georgia".

LOCAL NEWS - I've been pretty bummed about Midtown's retail prospects this week, what with Thread House, The Globe, and Universal Gear all closing in October and Atlantic Station not really living up to my expectations. Then, I stumbled across an announcement for Midtown Market, located Fridays and Saturdays in the parking lot next to 805 Peachtree. Cross your fingers for a Bryant Park-type outdoor holiday market!

...and in the REALLY local department, I'm pretty psyched about the return of the progressive dinner party at Metropolis...4 courses, 4 homes, 16 neighbors, and goodness knows how much wine. It is really terrific to know your neighbors and sharing a glass of wine with them goes a long way towards mediating noise disputes.

I haven't/couldn't/wouldn't see "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" on Bravo (since I'm not on it, it can't be very real, can it?)...but I love this summary by Slate writer Troy Patterson: "One might almost forgive the good citizens of Atlanta if they reacted to Bravo's depiction of their city by reanimating William T. Sherman so that he could burn it down again." -slate-

U.S. NEWS - VOTE! Tomorrow we will have a new president (Florida notwithstanding).

Who do I want to win? America. Who should I vote for? It shouldn't matter.

If you volunteered before the election on behalf of your candidate to call, to knock on doors, to register folks to vote, then keep volunteering to make "Change" in "America First".

Regardless if your candidate wins or loses today, you can continue to make a difference every day by volunteering to find a puppy a home, or deliver meals to someone housebound, or cradle a baby with AIDS, or plant a tree, or paint a school, or lend a hand at a homeless shelter.

Once elected, the candidate's job isn't over. Your's shouldn't be either.

Ghandi said it pretty succinctly: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

-Trees Atl- -Humane Society- -Jerusalem House- -Project Open Hand-

FRENCH NEWS - Lemonde's lead story is about the U.S. presidential campaign being the most expensive in history, with over $1.55B in contributions. (If that sounds like a lot, think of it in Euros - it's only 1.22B of those.)

WEB NEWS - Some Atlanta stuff online -six degrees-

...the rest of the story...

ATL - 10/27/08 Tech & Zombies

Last weekend we celebrated both Georgia Tech's crazy Homecoming Parade and World Zombie Day 2008. Guys/girls who have Brains...meet zombies who crave brains.

Buzz...lawnmower...elvis...see-saw power...now that's a big wheel!
Ferris Bueller..."more frying pan!"...go fiji...treadmill power...cool piston-drive

mayhem...dead superheroes..dentistry of the damned..juggle this..bad skin day
need more fritos...does this pole make my butt look big?...walk...walk...walk
walk...walk...vortex of the dead...walk in l5p...can you give me a hand?
skateboard of the dead...in line at variety...1-eyed w/binoculars!...walk...home

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

MOVIE NEWS - 10/28, 9:30 PM - The Plaza / Flicks and Giggles - "Airplane"

10/28, 7:00 & 9:00 PM - International Animation Day @ the High Museum Hill Auditorium...FREE!

10/29, 7:00 PM - Goethe Zentrum - "Metropolis"

10/31, 8:00 PM - High Museum LAFF - "Play"

11/1, 8:00 PM - High Museum LAFF - "Young Blood"

ART NEWS - "Wicked" continues its Atlanta run at the Fox through November 1st. Sign-up at the box office 2 1/2 hours before each performance for the $25 ticket lottery.

...and if you still can't get a seat, you can meet "Wicked"'s author Gregory Maguire at Outwrite this Tuesday at 7:30. (Bring your broom; parking is limited.)

10/31, 8:00 PM - Like there's not enough happening on Halloween - Tonga Hiti and the Dames Aflame are back at Trader Vic's. Seriously - the best entertainment you will EVER get for $5.

LOCAL NEWS - This is the last week of Metropolis Bootcamp until April, 2009! Thanks for everyone's participation...I'd hate to think about how lazy I would have been all summer if I didn't have our neighbors' support for this...not to mention the greatest guy in the world! Thanks, Shawn!
10/28 - 6:45 PM
10/30 - 6:00 AM
11/01 - 8:00 AM

10/30, 8:00 PM - Metropolis Halloween Party!

10/31, 10:00 PM - 1113 Colquitt "Best of Youtube" Halloween Party

11/01 - Beer Laura's Saints & Sinners "All Saints Day Party"

11/02 - Obama March (& cook-out) -my.barackobama-

Progress announced on the 14th Bridge! -mna-

...but what's happening with the $3.9 BILLION Atlanta sewer upgrade? I can't find any recent progress reports, but here is a report of $9M paid out by the city to two Buckhead homeowners flooded out by the aging Atlanta sewer system... -ajc-

...and the Clean Water Atlanta site schedule shows the West CSO Tunnel that begins in Piedmont Park as being complete. -cleanwateratlanta- -district 6 pdf-

U.S. NEWS - 11/2 - Daylight Saving Time ends. Fall back! ...and that hour you gain? Don't get too excited; you'll lose it standing in line to vote on November 4th!

A former co-worker emailed me the "left" -most political cartoon below...to give everyone equal time, I replied with 3 subsequent, edited versions:
-thanks gary mccoy-

FRENCH NEWS - Lemonde reports on Syria's complaint against the U.S. for entering their air space to attack al-Qaida in Syria. Echoes of a little dispute back in 1986 when the French didn't want the U.S. to fly through their airspace on their way to retaliate against Libya following a bomb-attack on American soldiers in West Berlin. -nationalreview-

WEB NEWS - Our household does pretty well at reducing the amount of stuff we throw away (recycling, composting, donating), but this guy is the uber-green-dude. -365-

...the rest of the story...

ATL - 10/20/08 - L5P Halloween

Dia de los Muertos...FrankenWolfman?...Dia de los Raggety's
Tike on a bike...fuss on a bus...hiss from a KISS
HEY! I was gonna wear that...PINK!...Do these glasses make me look like Palin?
Live Cop / Dead Biker?...Shawn-o-Lantern...Good Cop / Bad Cop

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

MOVIE NEWS - "High School Musical 3", "Saw V", or "Fear(s) of the Dark"! I'm totally using the "I-have-nieces-so-that's-the-only-reason-I'm-going-to-see-HSM" excuse for seeing the lastest Disney teen musical. I'm using the "I-have-a-brain-and-want-to-keep-my-$10-and-my-lunch" excuse for NOT seeing "Saw V" (even though the roman number "V" makes the title look classy?)

"Fear(s) of the Dark" looks awesome, but I can't find it playing in Atlanta, yet...so, for my Halloween Fright Flicks, I might be attending our local Fright Flick fest:

10/22-26 - Atlanta Horror Fest flicks -AHF-

ART NEWS - 10/23 kd lang at Atlanta Symphony Hall -livenation-

10/24, 5:30 - Margaret Mitchell House Mixer with Zydefunk. Where the literary spirit of Margaret Mitchell lives on! -MM House-

LOCAL NEWS - 10/24-26 Oakland Cemetery - Halloween tours of the historic cemetery. Where Margaret Mitchell is dead every day! -oakland-

10/25 - Georgia Tech Homecoming ... there's a little football game against Virginia, but more importantly (you guessed it) there is a PARADE! Check out the "Ramblin' Reck Parade" starting at 8:00 AM on campus...see the crazy vehicles Tech students construct from scratch...and why completing your engineering degree is so important...and how you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!

10/26, 5:00 PM, Masquerade - World Zombie Day / Zombie Walk. Join the undead for a walk through Little 5 Points. Play the new sidewalk game "guess which is the deadbeat and which is the undead..." -AHF-

U.S. NEWS - John McCain wants to give us all options for Health Care. He wants to give individuals a $2500 tax credit to buy their own health insurance, so they have more choices and flexibility. What choices? I want health care that keeps me from being dead. That's about it! Do they have "choices" for health care in congress? How about giving us the same health care that Senators gave themselves. -john mccain-

FRENCH NEWS - Less airplane traffic, fewer automobile emissions, less construction - lemonde reports that a drop in the economy is a possible boost for the environment.

WEB NEWS - Can't afford to buy a costume? -ducktape-

...the rest of the story...