ATL 6/23/08 - Oregon Coast

Mike wonders "when is high tide?"

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

MOVIE NEWS - Wed - Flicks on Fifth is "The Bourne Ultimatum". We went last week - arrived 8:15 ish w/ full-sized, folding chairs & sat near Moe's (facing the screen erected at the 5th St. bridge).

Thurs - Screen on the Asphalt is "Footloose". "6 Degrees of Separation" is how far I'd like to be from Centennial Park.

Fri - The release of Pixar's "Wall-E". It looks cute...but how am I not supposed to think of "Short Circuit"?

Last Saturday of the month - Plaza Theater has "Silver Scream Spook Show". Can't really vouch for it...except the poster is cool and indie film theaters rock...there...I vouched.

ART NEWS -Fox Theater - “Oklahoma!”: A new production with the original choreography of Agnes De Mille. (June 24-29). -TOTS-

Sat - Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus sings Kanter and Ebb at the Woodruff Arts Center. They had it coming... -agmc-

Sat - Wig-out at Kyle's on Colquitt (for those in the know...)

LOCAL NEWS -Water - Atlanta water & sewer rates are going up. Citizens have been making noise about a proposed rise in property taxes, but that only amounts (on a $200,000 home) to about $24 per year. The City Council approved water increase will average $24 PER MONTH! -ajc-

Piedmont Park - Last week, the PPC received permission from the Georgia EPA to drill for water in the park. They wasted no time - we saw the drilling rig at work last Saturday.

Smog - Pollution levels in ATL were high enough for the news to warn people not to exercise on heavily traveled roads; car emissions can cause health problems. Let me get this right...the cars pollute, so people should stop running? Why not...oh...I dunno...STOP POLLUTING!

Bootcamp - Saturday, June 28th - No Bootcamp or Peachtree run this weekend; instead, we are doing the Pride Run (8:00 AM, Ansley Mall). The official Pride celebration in Atlanta has been moved from this weekend's anniversary of the gay rebellion against societal oppression to the 4th of July weekend (anniversary of another little rebellion), but the Run is still this Saturday!

(And speaking of Pride, I've heard that following the parade on July 6th, many folks are going to ignore the city's relocation of the festival to a parking lot and head to Piedmont Park ... in many ways it is the heart and soul of the gay community in Atlanta.)

U.S. NEWS -America lost a great comedian; George Carlin. So what advice did he have pertaining to today's gas prices?

"Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers." ~George Carlin

And in what I find to be the ultimate irony, Texans - who have long protested the porous US/Mexico border that allows Mexicans to come to the U.S. seeking economic opportunity - are now going to Mexico...seeking cheaper gas. It seems the Mexican government subsidizes gas to make it more affordable for the average citizen...and Texans are crossing the border to buy it...meaning that the Mexican government nows subsidizes Texans. -npr-

FRENCH NEWS -Two news stories about the U.S. - a photo essay on Iowa under water and a report on the thousands of firefighters struggling against wildfires in California. My cousin is one of them! -lemonde-

WEB NEWS -A great entertainment concept that I wish would make its way to ATL - LivingRoomTheater - a place to listen to live music, eat, drink, and watch movies (in couches!)