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-