ATL 1/14/08

It's Prom Season, April, 1982 - In movie theaters, we are subjected to "Cat People" with Natasha Kinski (hired for the job based on her stellar performance...in a poster...with a snake), "Diner" starring everybody (who was somebody...at the time...including Kevin Bacon, his 2nd movie after "Friday the 13th" and a great start for "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon"), and "Penitentiary II", with a pre-Ghostbusters Ernie Hudson.**

On the radio, we listened to J. Geils' "Centerfold", Human League's "Don't You Want Me", and Toto's "Rosanna". For the first and last time, as a senior in high school, I know backward and forward every single song on Billboard's top 20 list.

** (Don't you laugh about Ernie! This movie, plus several episodes of "Busom Buddies" and "A-Team", is how he worked up to getting a starring role in "Ghostbusters", 1 ...and 2... and the videogame, plus "Miss Congeniality", 1... and 2. No, seriously, this guy must have the world record for playing authority figures, his movie roles including "Det.", "Sgt.", "Det. Sgt." and"Senior Deputy", "Warden" and "Officer", as well as "Major", "Colonel", "Senator" and "Professor")

MOVIE/ART/LOCAL/TV NEWS

MOVIE NEWS - "Cloverfield" comes out this Friday - the hush-hush marketing campaign is incredible and so limited in what it shows that I'm thinking the movie will either be incredibly dumb or incredibly exciting. It's directed by J.J. Abrams, so either way, it'll be like Alias - either really good, like Season 1, or really bad, like seasons 2-x.

"27 Dresses" also hits this theaters - don't say anything bad about her movie, or Katherine Heigl'll sic T.R. Knight on you.

ART NEWS - Friday is Jazz Night at the High, 5-10 PM

Saturday is Dolly Parton's Bday...all day long (not just from 9 to 5).

Actor's Express, "Octopus" - "The world premiere of Atlanta playwright Steve Yockey's post-modern love story about sex, risk, jealousy and isolation in the waning age of AIDS. Always one to dabble in elements of magic realism and fantasy, Yockey will introduce a mysterious telegram delivery boy and a ravenous sea monster." January 14 - February 23rd

LOCAL NEWS -Tuesday is my 5th Anniversary at Metropolis!

Don't get me wrong; I love living in the city, but there is something terribly, terribly wrong with our local government. I prepared the diatribe below about the delayed sewer construction and its increasing costs, but that was before the city of Atlanta CANCELED CULTURE!

No more events in Piedmont Park because of the drought? I understand that grass if very important, but parks are people, not fescue. The events in Piedmont Park - The Dogwood Festival, PRIDE, Peachtree Road Race, Screen on the Green - they are part of the solution working towards making intown living great! So don't give up! Don't cancel everything! Give the hardworking, private groups that organize these events some guidelines to follow so we can have both GRASS and LIFE in our parks.

What makes the better headline for our city?

"Atlanta stands up to the challenges of the drought" or "Atlanta cancels events and crosses its fingers"?

WRITE YOUR CITY COUNCIL PERSON, NOW! For Metropolis/District 2, it's Kwanzaa Hall.

(By the way; where does the Piedmont Park Conservancy stand on this? Officially, they say it will be tough on them and their membership drive. But practically? As the official stewards of the park, have they gone on record as fighting for these events? Have they said they are working with the city on a "hardscape"-only solution for hosting these events?

No...but if they do nothing...and allow these events to continue to be canceled...then their originally stated goal - part of the 1995 Master Plan - of reducing the number of people and events in the park will be met.

And if you do nothing, you will have helped.)

SALES TAX AND SEWERS - What's up with our $3.9 billion dollar poop chute? We are currently paying a 1% sales tax that goes towards paying that little bill; if the city council doesn't vote to continue that tax, then our water bills will have to go up by as much at 48%.

I'm all for increasing the cost of water; it is more in the spirit of conservation. Of course, if water costs more , people might be forced to conserve more to keep their bills at about the same level. Then there won't be an increase in the income for the city. -ajc-

MAYOR FRANKLIN TAKING CREDIT - Mayor Shirley had a press conference last week to declare that Atlanta needs to be greener and cleaner. (NEWS?!?) In true politician fashion, she didn't want the speech to be all bad news, so she touted the fact that sewer overflows [into the Chattahoochee] were down last year, from 1000 in 2000 to only 300 in 2007. As reported the previous week, the new sewer overflow system is behind schedule and not yet complete, so reduced overflows are not because of something the city did; the number was lower because sewer overflows are caused by rain, which we didn't have in 2007. -ajc-

NATIONAL NEWS - What the hell does Al Sharpton want from this Tiger Woods thing? Who is stoking the fires of hate, here? I agree that Kelly Tilghman misspoke on the Golf Channel when she used the "L" word (no, not calling Tiger Woods a "lesbian", but I feel like I'm supposed to be afraid to use the actual word meaning "to intervene in the continuing earthly existence of an african-american through cruel, unwarranted, vigilante justice, an elliptical rope, and a tree branch). But fire her? Make it so she can never work again? What good does that do? What does Al want (other than to continue to receive $)? If he wants to increase understanding and compassion in the world, do so by pointing out injustice and taking steps to correct it; send her to diversity training, don't fire her.

Jesus was a teacher, not Donald Trump.

TV NEWS -Everything old is new, again. American Gladiator is back on NBC.