dex

dexter has developed this thing for plastic bags----he's in the process of destroying a bag of bags that i had bagged up to recycle---i woke up this morning to find them in my bedroom and, just now, he shows up by my chair fighting with it----it's pretty funny watching him grab it in his mouth and move it from room to room----i think he needs a dog---

misc.

there was a fine view down peachtree this morning----1010 is topped out, i think----won't be long till you won't be able to see it like this----

poor craiggie house---was home to atlanta chapter of d.a.r., the second oldest chapter in the country---- massachussetts had given them the building that that state built for the 1895 cotton states exposition at piedmont park---it was a replica of longfellow's house in cambridge, but they never could afford to get it moved and it was finally knocked down around 1912---they built this chapter house on donated land in 1914, but a lot of corners were cut and/or the contractor ripped them off, and the builidng had serious structural issues by the 1990s---one wall was on the verge of collapse, but they got it rebuilt---now the building is all boarded up and looks really sad--

w hotel

the sheraton has been reborn as the w, all black and monolithic---at night, the big cube that is the porte cochere is lit with this strange flourescent glow providing all the light---wonderful green wall adjacent to porte cochere---

spring

the cherry trees along piedmont avenue are spectacular----i caught them before the rain, at their peak----with the holly that's blooming, the stench of spring fills the air----

storm damage

it is really kinda amazing the amount of broken glass downtown---more than was at first apparent----and both the flatiron building and the carnegie building lost parts of their decorative metal cornices, which will be hard to replace----peachtree street and several other streets are still closed and there's scaffolding up all over the place----there's so much glass and debris in the grass at centennial park, that they are having to dig it all up and replace the sod----

cuba and the gays

A lot of homosexual couples asked me to not risk delaying getting the law passed by insisting on the word marriage. In Cuba marriage is not as important as the family and at least this way we can guarantee the personal and inheritance rights of homosexuals and transsexuals. I've seen changes in my father since I was a child. I saw him as macho and homophobic. But as I have grown and changed as a person, so I have seen him change...In the early years of the revolution much of the world was homophobic. It was the same here in Cuba and led to acts which I consider unjust. What I see now is that both Cuban society and the government have realised that these were mistakes. There is also the desire to take initiatives which would prevent such things happening again.

mariela castro, raul castro's daughter

there may be hope for cuba and human rights after all

sound from 1860

For more than a century, since he captured the spoken words “Mary had a little lamb” on a sheet of tinfoil, Thomas Edison has been considered the father of recorded sound. But researchers say they have unearthed a recording of the human voice, made by a little-known Frenchman, that predates Edison’s invention of the phonograph by nearly two decades.

war rugs

i don't think "persian" rugs will ever be the same again-----

These variations of the “weaponscape: field of armaments” category first appeared on the internet about three years ago, and they can be seen in the markets of Kabul, Herat, and Mashhad. They arrived on the scene at about the same time as tanks began to be replaced by Corollas as borders and decorative infills. What struck us about these designs was the range of non-war motifs (the bus border, limousines, Corollas, luxury cruisers) alongside cruise missiles (?) and vestigial tanks.

obsolete

A fond farewell to 209 once-common things that are either obsolete or well on the way

and if, like me, you chuckle through that, assured that you know what's going on, check out what kids think has gone useless in their lifetimes:

I used to use Instant Messenger,but now I mostly use Facebook to communicate with people. I use e-mail for, like, reaching my coaches or uncles -- older people. Otherwise it's either my cellphone or Facebook.

bush's legacy

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Four U.S. soldiers died in a roadside bombing in Iraq on Sunday, military officials reported, bringing the American toll in the 5-year-old war to the grim milestone of 4,000 deaths.

city or suburb

bc is torn between living in a 1950s subdivision in clarkston or somewhere more close in, perhaps even an urban condominium, and he wonders why live in town? thirty years ago, as much as anything, i did it to be somewhere other gay guys would be----that’s still a good reason for me to be here, but not as critical as it was then, even if i were younger---since then, i’ve slowly realized a lot of other reasons to live in an urban environment----

part of it is just the feeling of being part of the hive, connected to the rest of mankind----doesn’t mean you are all up in everybody’s business, in fact the opposite is true---it’s a feeling that’s really been intensified living where I do now---I feel, see, and am a part of the rhythms of the city as soon as I open my eyes in the morning---when i lived on sinclair avenue I liked hearing henry going about his business, smelling his bacon frying every morning, hearing him muttering back at his mother under his breath----if the house caught fire, or some other emergency, he would be there to call or whatever---otherwise, and this is critical, he mostly left us alone---anyway i feel the same way here---right down to smelling the neighbors' bacon frying sometimes---howdies in the hall, small talk in the elevator, all that is kinda nice---and there was even more of it when dog was around---

i like living here because i can walk everywhere (i really hate driving)---besides walking to and from work (not always, but a lot) and having piedmont park, the high, and the botanical garden close at hand, all of my consumer needs are easily met: besides a gazillion restaurants, publix, cvs, office depot, barnes & noble, outwrite are all within four blocks, and atlantic station, which has dillards, target, and ikea, and ponce square, which has home depot and whole foods, are under two miles----lenox square is two stops away on marta, and even edgewood is martable, although changing trains at five points makes it a time-consuming strip---i can walk to my doctor---heck i walked down to the hospital to get my stent put in---so even if i do have to drive, it usually ain’t far---in just over 8 years, i’ve put 41,000 miles on my car---

i like the diversity of people, wherever i go---last night robert and i were at little azio, and there was quite an array of people, from dykes with a child to ma and pa come down to visit daughter and boyfriend in the big city--- two or three generations of a hispanic family out for some occasion--- college dewds getting it to go-- couples in all combinations of race, gender and sexual orientation, ---on and on ---the publix is like that, too, with a heavy dose of techies thrown in---and all of that goes for metropolis, too---gay, straight, interracial, mutli-ethnic, young and old, just in my elevator, i have heard, in addition to english (american, british, and australian), spanish, french, japanese, portuguese, hindi (i think) and german (or dutch, i can't tell them apart unless i hear a lot of it)---

a house and yard are great things, but so is not having to keep one painted and maintained ---and not having to worry about it when you go out of town---

the glass house part has only intensified my whole experience of the city----it ain’t new yawk, but it does what any good city does: it automatically draws me out, and makes it difficult (though not entirely impossible) to withdraw from the world and just concentrate on being depressed---however, not everyone has that experience of the city ---on the occasion of her first visit to the 13^th floor, cv noted that living here would probably just make her horny all the time---there are a lot of reasons to love a city---

the end of mcmansions?

In a ruling that could help bolster the enforcement of zoning ordinances that cap house size, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld the authority of local communities to restrict overbuilding. Although the case is one of a handful around the nation to take up the issue so far, interest in smart growth and sustainability is increasingly focusing regulators’ attention on house size—and this could ultimately accrue to the benefit of architects.

tornado fatality?

Workers found a body Saturday while clearing rubble from a building damaged more than a week ago when a tornado slammed into downtown Atlanta, police said.

"We may have the first tornado victim in the city of Atlanta, but we won't know for sure until the medical examiner" returns with results, Officer James Polite said.

The man had no identification, but he was wearing a wedding band, he said.

The front of the damaged building had been a store, and the rear had been rented out to a local church. Workers using a Bobcat to scoop up bricks and debris saw a hand sticking out of the rubble and called police, Polite said.

Investigators brought in two cadaver dogs to search the rubble east of downtown, but no other bodies were found.

The tornado ripped through the city's downtown and through historic neighborhoods March 14, knocking out hundreds of windows, scattering debris across the city's core and sending trees crashing into homes. At least 27 people were injured in the storm.

Another tornado that hit northwest Georgia on March 15 killed two Polk County residents.

tornado map

somebody put together this map of the tornado's path----the little jogs across downtown may be deceptive since the true path was probably more of a steady arc from beginning to end---


View Larger Map

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