ATL 12/10/07 - Xanadu

Christmas in Hawaii, 1980. We had just lost mom's parents that year, so we went to Hawaii with her sister for a fresh start on the holidays. My hair is so styling that you can barely see my eyes, but I've ditched the eyeglasses upon starting my Junior year in High School. I also seem to be at least 75% leg. (Next week - Junior/Senior Prom, 1981).
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge - Manhattan Bridge / The towers / The view midway
Eco/Green windows at Barney's - Xmas icons from recycled materials
Rockefeller Center Rink / Tree / Friends
Bryant Park - The weather gave everyone a runny nose / Tree / Kid's tables
Grand Central
NYC tree stand / Our entire room (really!) at Night Hotel / "Did we like the New Museum?"
Cheyenne Jackson - mega-super-rollerskate-a-licious star of Xanadu - hearts us!

MOVIE/ART/NYC/LOCAL/NATIONAL/WEB NEWS


MOVIE NEWS - "I Am Legend" & "The Kite Runner" are opening this week. In the battle of the tag lines, it's "The last man on earth is not alone" vs. "There is a way to be good again."

I have read both books.

(According to Imdb, this is Will Smith's 3rd movie beginning with "I", after "I, Robot" and "Independence Day". Eight of his other films have "I" in them. "Ali" is his only movie ending in "I". There are two "I"s in Will Smith.)

There are no "I"s in Jeffrey Keesee.

ART NEWS -There is an advanced screening of "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" at the High tonight. Buzz is that it's the front-runner forBest Foreign Film Oscar.

NYC NEWS - What they wanted us to know about NYC - We met 2 types of New Yorkers; the ones who pleaded 'Don't vote for Rudy' and those who implored 'Don't vote for Hillary'.

What they wanted to know about ATL - 'What's the drought like?'

Celebrity Sighting - We sat right behind Miss Angela Landsbury at "Xanadu". T first recognized her, passing the word onto S, then to me, and on to D. As D. started typing into his cellphone to activate the camera feature, he said "OMG, what should we do?" S. sensibly replied, "Nothing. We are going to leave her in peace and she's going to enjoy a nice evening of live theater with her husband." Good answer.

Headlines - Air travel is an issue; the story headlined 'U.S to limit air traffic at JFK' in Tuesday's paper accompanied a 2nd story on a near collision there on Sunday.

Local celebrities - Friends nicknamed a certain national morning news program's weatherman 'Sam Trampoline'.

Overheard - Diner - Yes, I know I'm a control freak & yes I've been called a dictater. 'Me, too, except for the tater part.'

Overheard 2 - Bartender - I'm starting to lose my patience. 'So's Kervorkian.'

Toilets 1 - An article in New Yorker announced the imminent arrival of new pay public toilets. The were contracted out along with new bus shelters and newsstands - the newsstands are in place, but the commodes were late arriving, as it seems the Italians were still tweeking them.

Toilets 2 - At least one company has turned the lack of public accommodation into an advertising opportunity. Who better than Charmin to sponsor free public restrooms in Times Square?

Eco-shopping in NYC - Environmentally friendly canvas shopping tote from Barney's - $295.00. Pigment dyed canvas shoes from Daffy's - $23.99. (Didn't get a lot of shopping done at B's...)

3 day tour of NYC - Toured B'lyn Hts, walked the bridge, saw the 5th Ave windows, "Xanadu" w/ Cheyenne Jackson, show tunes at a piano bar, "The Ritz" w/ Rosie Perez (& Ryan Idol), Italian food with 'Mama' & a former 'Cat', skating in Bryant Park, shopping lower B'way, fabulous party, Lips, and more piano bar. Whew!

LOCAL NEWS -Cool photos of Downtown Decatur.

MARTA stopped running the closest thing we have to a "trolley", the Tourist Loop Bus. What distinguished that bus from any other MARTA bus you'd see on the street? Not a damn thing. It didn't have a distinctive look (like San Francisco's open-sided cable car), it didn't have an easy way to identify its destinations (like the big, graphic map on the side of each Parisian autobus), and it didn't seem readily available (running only every 30 minutes).

Hopefully the proposed Atlanta Streetcar could overcome those obstacles. MARTA claims they just didn't have the demand for the dedicated route, but I have to wonder - which came first, the rider or the bus?

NATIONAL NEWS -Mudslides in Oregon, ice storms across the entire Midwest, heat wave in the south...by all means, Mr. President, let's send a non-cabinet member delegate to the enviro-talks in Bali...

FRENCH NEWS -The french used to dominate the cultural world...under Sarkozy they are trying to play a little "catch-up". Many French believe the country and its culture have been in decline since — pick a date: 1940 and the humiliating German occupation; 1954, the start of the divisive Algerian conflict; or 1968, the revolutionary year...former French cultural attaché Frédéric Martel marvels at how the U.S. can produce so much "high" culture of lofty quality with hardly any government support..

WEB NEWS -I can't help thinking I should be looking for a job like this guy is - "One Week Job". Week #31 is the Georgia Aquarium!

Go vote for your favorite Christmas photo! Atlanta Insider.

...and view your favorite local volunteer group in action (starring my sweetie!)