3/25/09 - Spring

	MOVIE - Monsters vs. Aliens -trailer- ART - Roller Girls -arg- LOCAL - ING, HOT & Liquor
	U.S. - Victory Garden -nyt- FRANCE - “La Princesse de Clèves” -link- WEB - Now you're cooking (w/o) gas -solar-

MOVIE NEWS - Monsters vs. Aliens -trailer- Looks cute, but, unfortunately, when it comes to spending money in this economy, it feels more like a choice of "Movie vs. Dinner".

(If that's not your style, consider this movie alternative: Donors to Shawn's YMCA Kid's Camp-aign will be entered into a drawing for our FAVORITE Metropolis event on Sunday, March 29th, at 12:00 PM - Mimosas, Massages, and "Mean Girls"!)

Enlighten Up - A skeptic's journey into the world of yoga ... you know ... me!

(Come experience yoga for yourself! All donors to Shawn's YMCA Kid's Camp-aign are invited to a complimentary beginner/intermediate OUTDOOR yoga session at Metropolis this Sunday, March 29th, at 2:00 PM!)

ART NEWS - Roller Girls -arg- Okay, it's not really "art", but it's "culture"...sorta...like couches on the front porch...and truck tire planters. It's $12 to get in, BYO-PBR, and then get your cheer on. How can you NOT love the team named "Sake Tuyas"? Or the bomber named "Merchant of Menace"? Besides, it's in the YAARAB Temple and it's probably the only chance you'll ever get to see...THE SLIDE!

LOCAL NEWS -

ING MARATHON - The ING, Atlanta's spring Marathon, is this Sunday! Both the full and half-marathons start in Olympic Centennial Park at 7:05 AM. -course pdf-

(Need inspiration to cheer? All donors to Shawn's YMCA Kid's Camp-aign are invited to bagels and coffee behind Metropolis at 8th and Juniper Sunday, March 29th, at 8:00 AM to cheer the runners! The intersection of 10th and Juniper is Mile 10 of the Half and Mile 23 of the Full. Go B!)

DRINK MORE LIQUOR - Guv'nor Sunshine won't let you vote on Sunday retail alcohol sales (cuz that big ole ham hock of a man knows what's best for us?), but you can still drink in restaurants! The following hotspot hopefuls are having their liquor license requests reviewed by the MNA this month:

- Ri Ra, The Irish Pub and Restaurant, 1080 Peachtree Street, New Business (In the 1010 Peachtree building....but "1010" is just the name of the building..."1080" is the address...because it's not already confusing enough that it's on one of the 33 "peachtree" streets in Atlanta!)

- Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Hotel Palomar, SAP for outdoor amplified music (YIPPEE! New outdoor spot on West Peachtree.... because the W is so 5 minutes ago).

- Waterhaven, 75 5th Street, New Business, Old Location (Could be the old "Globe" location? Sigh...I miss the Globe...hopefully this new place will be open in time for "Flicks on Fifth" in June)

- Midtown Mediterranean Diner, 112 10th Street, New Business, Old Location (The former "Jocks and Jills"?)

- Prickly Pear Taquena, 950 West Peachtree Street, New Business, Old Location (Something in Plaza Midtown?)

HIGHLY OFFICIOUS TRIPE - The Georgia DOT is soliciting input on their proposal to use federal money to convert existing HOV lanes into HOT lanes - High Occupancy Toll lanes.

"...lanes in the Atlanta region will allow qualified carpools to ride in the HOV lanes for free while other vehicles would enter for a fee."

At first I knee-jerked against it - HOV lanes are for cars with 2+ people in them, rewarding commuters who double up in one car and promoting fewer cars. HOT lanes are for cars with...what? ...overpaid DOT officials in them? Rewarding commuters who have lots of money? Promoting materialism?

But, I just it's really a High Occupancy AND a Toll Lane...so it promotes both? The environment and the Wealthy? I guess that way it appeals to both Democrats and Republicans. -HOT-

U.S. NEWS - VICTORY GARDEN - The Obamas are putting in a vegetable garden at the White House, the first one since Eleanor Roosevelt. The article boasts that the garden only cost $200 in seeds, but didn't mention the price of labor to put it in; perhaps the 1st family did it themselves? That's how Michelle Obama got those toned arms everyone's talking about...she's a hoer! -nyt-

GET A CHAIR -nyt- If gardening seems like way too much work, here's an entire article in the New York Times about sitting. More specifically, about the the meticulous ways some LMNOP** Americans celebrate their fandom...by constructing their own Star Trek command chair. That got me to thinking...why stop there? Why just Captain Kirk's chair? Why not other famous TV and Movie chairs?

I offer up some of the chairs below as being just as good for decorating your home...or Dungeons and Dragons corner of your mom's basement.



FRANCE NEWS - I am reading “La Princesse de Clèves” -link- Not really; that 17th century french classic is a bit over my head, but, it seems Sarkozy has publicly condemned the novel, so his constituents are embracing en masse in a protest! Live le livre!

WEB NEWS - Now you're cooking (w/o) gas -solar- We are always noting that our south-facing balcony heats up like an oven in the summer sun. Well, put it to use!

** "loser male nerds obsessing pubescently"

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01/06/09 - Night & Morn

	MOVIE - Nothing new - See "Slumdog"! ART - King-sized @ Variety Playhouse LOCAL - Recycle your Xmas tree
	U.S. - Simulate war, stimulate recruiting -nyt- FRANCE - Sarkozy in the Middle East -lemonde- WEB - National Geographic Photo winners

The pics are both the same Midtown skyline view - one Friday evening and one the next morning.

MOVIE NEWS - Nothing new - See "Slumdog"! Upon going to Tara, we were torn between seeing the assassinated gay guy pic, the nasty nun pic, or the itinerant Indian kid pic. He's not just milking the down-trodden ghetto kid material; no doubt, "Slumdog Millionaire" is terrific!

ART NEWS - King-sized @ Variety Playhouse. It's no secret this is my favorite local live show...we are taking our moms to see his Elvis Birthday show this Saturday! (It is written...just this week we saw a license plate reading "ATLVIS".)

LOCAL NEWS - Recycle your Xmas tree (Now more than ever, with the drought, our city needs the mulch!)

U.S. NEWS - Simulate war, stimulate recruiting -nyt-. They say video games promote violent behavior in kids, so why not use them as tools during the recrument/evaluation process to hand-pick our next generation of warriors? Don't ask, don't tell - I love "Rock Band".

FRANCE NEWS - Sarkozy in the Middle East -lemonde- . France does much to try and make up for their treatment (deportation) of jews during WWII; balancing apologetic policies towards jews with apologetic policies towards former colonial Arab states puts France in a position to evaluate this conflict relatively even-handedly."Well, we've kinda screwed 'em both over...no where to go but up!"

WEB NEWS - National Geographic Photo winners Pretty...and thought-provoking.

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12/30/08 - NYE

	WEB - Jeff on "Daily Candy" ART - Dr. Frapple -Dad's- LOCAL - Urban renewal works in ATL -ajc-
	U.S. - Skaters clean foreclosed pools -nyt- FRANCE - Sub-zero temps kill homeless in Paris MOVIE - Nothing new -landmark-

MOVIE NEWS - Nothing new out in theaters this week; the studios blew their wads for the Christmas holiday. Well fell for it and saw both "Bolt" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", which we both thought felt a lot like "Forrest Gump" (and lo and behold, Eric Roth wrote both!) -landmark-

ART NEWS - Dr. Frapple at Dad's Garage - Improv is fun, Improv is spontaneous, Improv always makes me laugh and sometimes makes me think "hey, I could do that!" Anything that makes you feel more creative is good! -Dad's-

LOCAL NEWS - Urban renewal works in Atlanta. They tore down the Techwood Project between downtown and North Avenue and replaced them with mixed income housing, a school, a YMCA, and hope. (One of those old project buildings served as a Georgia Tech dorm...a nice dorm to have assigned to you when the first thing they teach you in freshman orientation is "don't cross North Avenue by yourself!") -ajc-

U.S. NEWS - Skaters clean foreclosed pools; a terrific example of symbiosis (or is it parasitism? I always get those mixed up?); foreclosed houses have abandoned pools with mosquito breeding scum at their bottoms, skaters want neglected concrete surfaces on which to skate. Skaters clean-out the pools and voila! Mosquito-free backyard skate parks (illegal, but everyone's better off!) -nyt-

FRANCE NEWS - Sub-zero temps kill homeless in Paris. Very sad.

WEB NEWS - My photography is featured on Daily Candy! Take a look, guess the location in each photo, and win ... you guessed it ... 4 of my photo gift cards! Thanks everyone for all you support in the past! (and future?!?) "Daily Candy"

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ATL 5/11/08 - Midtown

Midtown, Stone Mt River of wildflowers

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

MOVIE NEWS - This Friday, "Prince Caspian" comes out...the movie, not the character...sigh...

ART NEWS -Riverdance is at the Fox May 13-18.

Tuesday, May 13th, is Movie Night in Metropolis at Club M. Grill out beforehand and then settle in to enjoy Will Smith in "I Am Legend" (and so can you...)

Friday, May 16th, is Jazz Night at the High, followed by...

...the Metropolis 80's Party! "By the Power of Greyskull!" "I love it when a plan comes together." "That's Incredible!" "Party on!" "Isn't that special?"

This Saturday, May 17th, Trader Vic's presents Swashbuckler Soiree with live entertainment by the Tongo Hiti band with Monkey Zuma and the Dames A'Flame Dancers.

Sunday, Outwrite Books welcomes Augusten Burroughs to the Alliance Stage to read from his new book. Tragic, funny, real. Go to the bookstore to get a free ticket to Sunday's event.

LOCAL NEWS -Midtown recycles electronics every third Saturday -link-

I am Bootcamp (and so can you!) - Going strong into week 4!

NATIONAL NEWS -Irvine Robbins the ice cream man died at age 90. Living long on 31 flavors...now that's good advice!

75 college students arrested in a drug raid. Really? Only 75?

Country-wide gas pricing -nyt-

NYT reports that people believe more expensive wines taste better. Do I believe that? Of course! NYT print edition costs more than any other daily publication!

FRENCH NEWS -As of 9:00 AM Monday, the top three stories on Le Monde are China, Burma, and Beirut. On CNN, the leads are China, Myanmar, and Gas Prices

WEB NEWS - This place in the cyberworld is a little ... off. -asofterworld-

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Midtown Condo

I was challenged to shoot a condo building a few blocks from my own in Midtown. It was a less than ideal day to shoot (too cloudy and dark), but I did like these two shots that really get to the heart of this development - multiple towers made of glass.

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Thanksgiving in Midtown

I will never hesitate saying "yes" when my neighbor asks me to check in on her cat Oliver...this is the sunset from her living room. I can think of worse things than sitting on someone's sofa, flipping through her magazines while her cat is purring in my lap, eating her ice cream and watching her DVD's.

Thanksgiving was terrific...drinking, home projects, eating, and getting ready for Christmas...and drinking.

Turkey dinner at my brother's mother-in-law's house was very nice and packed with funny, family moments; Nephew B walked up to one of the cousin-in-laws, who has a bit of a tummy, and asked "where did you get that belly?"

Awww, the innocence of autism.

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Atlanta - Piedmont Park Fall

Beautiful leaves and one big bird...

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Midtown - Sunrise

I love living up in the air...these sunrise pics were taken fresh this morning...from our condo, 150 feet up...looking west towards the old Sears building in the hazy distance. This first picture was taken about 7:35; the 2nd, about 10 minutes later. Same camera, same exposure. I guess the difference is for the 2nd photo, the sun was high enough to tint the trees with the red light filtering through the clouds, washing away the pre-dawn blues...literally.

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B&W Prints - Metropolis & Fox

A possible, little commission job! I'm halfway through shooting these two buildings - a Midtown condo and an Atlanta icon - to get 4 unique, black and white shots of each. I plan on taking a few more to give the client more choices.

Any votes?

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Welcome to Midtown

A very good friend had her baby girl 2 weeks ago. She has the same middle name as me; that of my great uncle. She has the same first name as my grandmother; my great uncle's sister. She was born on the same date as my grandfather. She's a little ahead of herself - trying to reincarnate me. My consolation for being "preincarnated" is that only I get to call her by her initials - E.D.

Every once in a while, if I work very hard, I can just barely convince myself that it can possibly be good to wake up at 6:30 AM on a Sunday.

This weekend, it turned out to be a very good thing to get up before everyone else and see the moon - setting over Midtown Atlanta at sunrise- and Spire - surreally painted in spectacular dawn colors.

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