more buildings

viewpoint, which i can't see from my balcony, is all but done, but construction continues on the hotel palomar on west peachtree at sixth---it's got less than a quarter of its 20 stories out of the ground but already i can see that, when viewed from the 13th floor, the ancient sycamore in the front yard of the academy of medicine across the street will stand out nicely against the hotel facade---at atlantic station, the 46-story atlantic has maybe a third of itself out of the ground---across 17th street the 25-story bb&t building, which will kill a good part of my view of kennesaw mountain, is maybe a third of the way up--- 1010 on peachtree at 12th is close to being topped out, if it hasn't been already---as they have been pouring the upper floors, the lower floors are getting glassed and finished, with the balcony railings starting up this week----out of view across peachtree is the gigantic hole that will be a hotel and more residences and further down 12th street, the nearly complete luxe condos, which is marketing itself as "parkside," even though it's a half block up 12th street and a row of buildings between it and piedmont avenue----oh, and the w hotel is getting close to being finished with their revamp of the old sheraton----the hotels will do great, unless the city's convention business doesn't collapse because of the tornado---but that's got to be at least another 2000 condos on the market within a three or four-block radius of metropolis----

real architecture

bb brought this back form minneapolis, the guthrie theater by jean nouvel, 2006----that's a nearly 200' cantilevered bridge to the edge of the mississippi river on the left---
unfortunately they couldn't see their way clear to do anything but demolish the old 1963 theater----

trees

the oak has come back for another year on peachtree street----most of our trees have come back, too, but several didn't survive the watering ban---

civil war at fox "news"

Fox News' very own anchors are speaking out — and walking off — over what they perceive to be "Obama-bashing" on their network.

This morning on "Fox and Friends," Brian Kilmeade walked off the set after a dispute with his co-hosts Gretchen Carlson (she who celebrates deadly floods) and Steve Doocy over Obama's comment that his grandmother is a "typical white person." Kilmeade argued that the remark needed to be taken in context and eventually got so fed up with his co-hosts that he walked off set.

Later, "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace came on the show and railed against "Fox and Friends" for what he called "Obama-bashing."

barack obama-sistible

oh, those crazy white boys---it's right up there with the island tribute----

storm rolling in

robert shot this excellent video of a thunderstorm rolling across the city back in september----

dog

this dog somehow found itself abandoned in cherokee county and, as the first image indicates, was a mighty sad dog----he has since been to the beauty parlor and doesn't look quite so sad, although you know how cockers can be----around 5 years old and seems to be good with people, other dogs, and cats---somebody will give him a good home, i'm sure, if he doesn't decide to move to midtown---

family

i guess we're not the only ones:

We finally reached a truce.

Following myriad pleas, cajoles and threats, my family finally agreed to not use certain epithets in my presence. After long arguments and subtle persuasions both sides realized the gulf of understanding was too deep to bridge and instead chose that very southern solution - polite silence.

preachers

some fairly amazing comments from huckabee, of all people, although there were occasions during his campaign when you just had to like him for his honesty, even if you didnt like what he was saying----here , talking about obama's preacher:

We've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names; being told you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie; you have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant; you can't sit out there with everyone else, there's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office; here's where you sit on the bus .. . And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder, and resentment, and you have to just say, "I probably would, too. I probably would, too. And in fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.- Mike Huckabee. YouTube here.

there goes the neighborhood . . .

Here's one that'll confuse the Daily Mail - gays are good for house prices.Shihe Fu estimates that a rise of one percentage point in the proportion of same-sex couples living in an area raises median house prices by 9 per cent even 10 years later, controlling for some obvious other things.This suggests that gays improve
neighbourhoods; they don't just choose to live in nicer places.This could be because gays higher disposable incomes (they don't have kids) attracts better shops and restaurants. Or it could be that gays' better aesthetic appreciation enables them to spot attractive but under-priced areas, and to care more about urban regeneration.

fox bugs

While grappling with MSNBC and CNN for viewers, Fox News has also been battling a smaller, more insidious enemy closer to home: bed bugs in its Midtown Manhattan newsroom.

"a more perfect union"

this will go down, especially if he wins, as one of the greatest speeches this country has ever heard---no one has ever spoken more honestly and forthrightly about race in america---

wolfie

A rare portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been unearthed which gives a true picture of the famous composer's looks at the height of his fame.

storm reports

a link to some atlanta storm blogging----

and a link to the cnn aerial video----

the governor's tornado

march 24, 1975----at least until yesterday, it was the worst tornado ever to hit the city----8-1/2-mile path through the finger-bowl district in northwest Atlanta----tore columns and roof off the governor's mansion----i always thought it was a shame that it didn't knock the whole thing down---killed three people---i've seen estimates of damage from $59 to $89 million----

more

f2 tornado, 200 yds wide, six-mile path from just south of mosley park on the west, through vine city, across the dome, congress center, centennial park, and fairlie-poplar----knocked over some of the big magnolias at hurt park----contrary to the over-wrought local news reports, i would not classify downtown as "devastated," although the bag mill and even the roof of the congress center might qualify for that term---

downtown

nothing downtown compares to the damage at the old fulton bag mill, but a whole lot of expensive glass got busted---east of spring, it was all north of marietta, but all of the tall buildings except for 191 peachtree had broken glass----even some broken at the top of suntrust plaza, but otherwise it was all south of harris----worst was the omni hotel, cnn center and the equitable building, but all the damage to the roof of the congress center doesn't show---hurt building had nothing broken, but candler building and rhodes-haverty lost several----a chimney or something collapsed on the back of the tabernacle and it lost most of its roofing----they had pretty much cleaned up the streets by this morning, but a lot of basketball fans trying to figure out what to do---

holy crap

just a big blow in midtown, but downtown and east . . . .heavy damage at the fulton bag mill, looks like roof off and even part of a wall down----and house damage in cabbagetown and east atlanta---

A tornado swept through downtown Atlanta tonight, disrupting a college basketball game and damaging the building that houses CNN. Authorities said there were numerous injuries and widespread damage, with roofs ripped off and trees torn down. full story

St George the Terror Slayer

this guy is such a fool----

I have just returned from November, 2008, shortly after Barack HUSSEIN Obama has been declared President For Life of Los United Caliphates of Aztlan … IN SPANGLISH!!! Mick Jagger and David Bowie (the #3 and #3 figures in al-Qaeda, respectively) take to the streets in celebration, along with many other terrorists, all of whom rank above #2, and below #4, in al-Qaeda’s org chart. Those who cannot bear to see a great nation reduced to dusky foreign barbarism should avert their eyes and think upon St. George the Terror-Slayer strutting on his aircraft carrier. Everyone else … just avert your ears.

g'evening

hate getting up in the dark since the time changed----but a long late-winter evening ain't bad----margaret's maples are looking very attractive and the tree tops the other way are getting that way, too-----paid the last vet bill on hershey today, which is, coincidentally, the month anniversary of his death----

el presidente

There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done … This is it: Only nut cases want to be president.

Kurt Vonnegut

well, that's certainly something to think about----

bach

he only sat for one portrait, but now they've recreated his face, using a scan of his skull along with historical documentation.

more obamamania

this is great!

Mighty Sparrow: Barack the Magnificent
by svarten

h/t the donald "capt. d" taylor-farmer

obama's open letter to gay americans

we may all get there sooner than i thought----

As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.

politics

Before long, a woman will come along who is equipped to use her gender as a joint of strength. A woman who taps naturally into all the positive feelings people have towards the powerful and influential women in their lives. Voters will defend this woman when she's attacked as if their own sister were under assault. And they will bend to her will to avoid disappointing her, out of an almost holy respect, as they do for their mothers. Such a woman will come along, but it appears her name will not be Hillary Clinton. Except in a case of monumental coincidence.

You may lament the superficiality of a politics that elevates personality and carriage to a par with policy. But as well to rue inconvenient realities like the need for sleep or ear wax build-up. These things aren't going away either.

books

Reading brings to mind wisdom, the exchange of ideas and quiet contemplation. It does not bring to mind people who need help putting their pants on. These books change all of that----five books that can actually make you stupider

she's gonna lose texas, too

Dallas County broke the '06 total vote yesterday [in early voting], with over 57,000 early votes (not counting the mail ballots). We've looked at about 55,000 of those, and as best we can tell, virtually half have no '02, '04 or '06 primary history. Less than 3,000 have previous R primary history over the same period.

flowers

orchids at the botanical garden are spectacular---

hillary

robert opined that he sorta hoped she would win---i asked him why and he replied, "because she's a bi*ch" ???????? "and bi*ches get things done"----i hadn't thought of that angle---

(i just discovered that blogger doesn't like "bi*ch" when it's spelled right)

more lost and found

An ancient stone plaza unearthed in Peru dates back more than five millennia and is the oldest known urban settlement in the Americas, according to experts here.

archeologists had previously believed that caral, also in peru, had the oldest structure---one of the articles also noted that caral was one of six places in the world -- along with Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India and Mesoamerica -- where humans started living in cities about 5,000 years ago.

they all got the same directive from god, i guess----

lost and found

created in prussia in the first decade of the 18th century and given by the german kaiser to the russian tsar in 1716, the amber room was considered by some "the eighth wonder of the world"----for sixty years, it has been the focus of one of the greatest art mystery of all time since it disappeared after being looted by the nazis during world war ii----an entire room finished with amber panels ----well, they think they've found it, 60 feet underground. . . . .although there are some doubters as to whether it's really been found----we've been through this before, but maybe this time it's real.

obamamania

his margin over ms. clinton in the last ten:

Louisiana: +21
Nebraska: +36
Washington: +37
Maine: +19
Virgin Islands: +82
DC: +51
Maryland: +23
Virginia: +29
Wisconsin: +17
Hawaii: +52

and 1,100,000 democratic voters vs. 395,000 republican voters in wisconsin!

won't be long now . . .

the early jonquils are blooming, and robert noted that some trees are at least thinking about spring, like the american elm down on cypress, which somehow didn't die when they graded away the hill behind it for a parking lot----

welcome to the jungle

Fundamentally, “Gotcha Capitalism” is a story about the death of the price tag, about the constant bait-and-switch tactics that layer on fees and surcharges long after we’re in a position to bargain over them. It’s about rampant false advertising, about the explosion of small print and asterisks and about the seeming disappearance of federal authorities working to keep our marketplaces fair. It’s about a threat to our economic system, which was designed to reward good companies with innovative products, low prices and smart employees, but now benefits cheating companies who hire the best liars and create the most misleading ads and confusing fine print. . . . The glorification of the individual as the ultimate center of the universe brings with it a concurrent lack of shame or guilt. If you are all that matters–if you are everything there is–then you feel no remorse about anything you do. We’ve seen this abhorrent behavior made manifest in the every action of our so-called “leader” for the past eight years, but even Bush is just a symptom of the larger trend. And as a commenter on Sudden Debt notes, that lack of shame has spread from corporations down to individuals, who no longer care about the consequences of defaulting on loans or their mortgages:

e. coli

beyond oil

well, don't we all want one of these----

Morgan Motor Co., the tiny British automaker so old-fashioned it still uses wood frames, is stepping well into the future with LifeCar, a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid it says will prove "a zero-emission vehicle can be fun to drive."

valentine's day

a friend found this postcard, c. 1907, at scott's last weekend----poor cupid looks like he's been run over or something, which is par for the course for most of us, if you get to thinking about it----

valentine's day itself has taken some hits: the hindus are beating up on valentine lovers---the saudis banned red roses----and, of course, the catholics tossed st. valentine off their calendar of saints entirely---

the kitten

who is actually no longer much of a kitten, and who is definitely not as big as a dog, nor quite as warm, although i might be wrong about that---he's been needy, but feline need is nothing like canine need, so i can mostly satisfy his wishes-----

hour of lead

After great pain, a formal feeling comes
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs
The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
And Yesterday, or Centuries before?

The Feet, mechanical, go round
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought
A Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone

This is the Hour of Lead
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons recollect the Snow
First-Chill-then Stupor-then the letting go

that would be emily dickinson

doggone

hershey sinclair deuteron
28 july 1999 - 11 february 2008



before he got to be totally miserable all the time, the way sinclair got before i finally let go of him, i sent hershey on his way this morning----i had him for a year longer than i thought i would when he was diagnosed in october 2006, which may or may not make it easier---one of his last acts was to beg for a treat----just like a dog---now i have a little cedar box of ashes and a whole lot of great memories of a really fine dog----

obamamania

57% in louisiana and landslides everywhere else:

69% in nebraska

68% in washington state

90% in virgin islands

and everywhere more than twice as many democrats voted as did republicans---

plus the republicans turned out in droves for huckabee and were still voting for romney even though he dropped out three days ago!----so much for mccain---for what more could one ask?

roy and k.d.

watching the repuglicans implode

at the conservative political action committee today in d.c., where romney finally threw in the towel:

The Romney faithful were equally apoplectic. McCain's name was booed loudly when it was mentioned, even though CPAC officials had pleaded for cordiality.

It is like now I have to choose between the left and the radical left," said Jeffrey Goldberg, a Michigan Republican and Romney supporter. "John McCain's appearance here will be like David Duke going before the NAACP."

ah, sweet schedenfreude---

kitty kitty kitty

you think this can not possibly end well . . . . .

main street

looking purty----

obama

yesterday

indians

ANAWAQUA'S TOMB.—Opposite the village of Campbellton [in present south Fulton County] on the western bank of the Chattahoochee, in a tuft of trees, on one of those mounds so common in Georgia, rest the remains of Anawaqua, an Indian Princess, the former proprietor of the soil. It is situated in a meadow, in a bend of the Chattahoochee, and near the foot of a considerable hill. Ancient fortification are traced all around the plain, extending from the river to the hill.

From Historical Collections of
Georgia Compiled by the Rev. George White, M.A.

native-american mounds were found all over when the white people got here---most were small, not the huge ceremonial mounds at etowah and ocmulgee---there were two or three at standing peachtree, with the remains of one or two on the west side of the river still recognized in the 1930s---"anawaqua's tomb" was leveled for agriculture----

Nacoochee Indian Mound was the center of the ancient Cherokee town of Gauxule, visited by DeSoto in 1540 in his search for gold, according to legend. On this ceremonial mound, 190 feet long, 150 feet wide and 20 feet high, stood the town House where a sacred fire burned unceasingly. Ceremonial dances were performed in and around the Town House. Residents of the town lived on the flat land surrounding the mound. The findings of Heye Foundation archaeologists who explored the mound in 1915 indicate the advanced cultural development of the builders.

they don't mention the fact that some asshole built a gazebo on top of it in the late 19th century---

queers

here's their bibliography used to promote the gay agenda amongst the children of america---movees, too---

sewells

the adam thoroughgood house is a national historic landmark in virginia beach---dating to the mid-17th century, but heavily restored in the 1950s, it is one of the oldest houses in the country----when thoroughgood died in 1641, my 9th-g-grandpa henry sewell (c. 1610-1644) apparently appraised the estate:

Upon the death of Adam Thorowgood in 1641, Thomas Willoughby sent two agents to the widow's plantation in the Lynnhaven area to make necessary appraisals of the estate. Captain Willoughby and Henry Sewell were overseers of the Thorowgood estate, and it was years before the feisty widow allowed the estate to be settled.

henry sewell (born about 1610 in england) came to virginia sometime before 1632, settling and giving his name to sewell's point, four thousand+ acres at hampton roads, now the site of the norfolk navy base, the largest such base in the world---his son, also named henry, was one of the early settlers of anne arundel county, maryland----in the late 1730s, henry the first's great-grandson samuel (1715-1791) migrated to rowan county, north carolina---he was the common ancestor that makes me and jody and ms. kidd cousins---another generation moved to franklin county, georgia, in the 1780s, and after a couple more generations on to meriwether county---my grandma's grandma was one of those sewells---

worst. president. ever.

although he forgot to mention his real legacy (besides iraq): how many more rich white people we have now than we had then----

old atlanner

this was the oldest building in atlanta when this postcard was made, sometime before 1917 when the building was torn down----it was built by the W&A Railroad in around 1837 for the engineers and surveyors as they laid out the railroad---stood near courtland and wall----

Shoulda-been President Gore

I think that gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women, to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage, and I don’t understand why it is considered by some people to be a
threat to heterosexual marriage to allow it by gays and lesbians. Shouldn’t we be promoting that kind of faithfulness and loyalty to one’s partner regardless of sexual orientation?

-----Al Gore

obama, this morning, at ebenezer

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

snow

saturday, noon--dexter is enthralled

everglades

couldn't have been a better time for the everglades--no bugs at all--saw royal palm, which was the first part to be preserved, by the florida woman's clubs in the 1920s--
it was late, watched the birds getting settled into their roosts for the night--piles of alligators, but it was in the 60s so they weren't moving much

sunday

triskaidekaphobia

Triskaidekaphobia also may be related to Norse mythology, which tells how the god Odin invited eleven of his closest friends to a dinner party at his home in Valhalla, only to have his party crashed by Loki, the god of evil and turmoil, thus giving a total of 13 people. The legend further relates how Balder, one of the most beloved gods, tried to throw Loki out of the party, resulting in a scuffle and ultimately Balder's death with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.

obamamania

Barack Obama’s surge to frontrunner status in the Democratic presidential sweepstakes has touched a nerve with young voters in the Chicago area: They’re
registering to vote in record numbers.

rock and roll

all aboard

it will mean an extra three or four hundred dollars on my property taxes, but in the long run, the peachtree streetcar would make peachtree a whole lot of fun (unless you're honking down the road in some big-ass suv)---plus it would do a lot toward ensuring that my place maintained or even increased its value more than a lot---i'm all for it----

obamarama

don't tell me there's no difference between the parties:

After more than a year of campaigning in the most wide-open primaries in decades, it’s finally time for voters to pick a president. On the Democratic side, the three hopefuls with a viable shot at the nomination have all signed on to almost every item on the so-called “gay agenda.” That includes workplace rights and hate crime protection for gay and transgender Americans, repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and opposition to a constitutional amendment banning gays from marrying.

partisan bickering

h/t digby:

obamarama

listen to him, if you haven't already---

abu dhabi on the moskva

the world's largest building with over 10,000,000 square feet----crystal island it's called----a little more dramatic than crystal city across the potomac from d.c., although crystal city was sort of the first of the big mess that has grown up in arlington and alexandria and forever changed many of our capital's best vistas----same in moscow: there will be a great view of the city, but the building itself will dominate the skyline, for better or for worse---st. basil's will seem kind of dinky and quaint by comparison----

criminals

There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency .

imagine

As a result, he said, serious religious commitment in Britain is viewed as “a kind of hobby, like keeping parakeets or breeding corgis — definitely something that should not have a place at the table of public conversation.”