saddam's palaces

waste on so many levels, first in building them and then in tearing them up

really old stuff

they think it's 35,000 years old, the oldest art object yet discovered----

1010

life forms on the terrace at 1010 and a few lights at night

"archdick cheney"

i love wonkette --- and links like this one

the pool party is back

bad ideas

sellyourgoldteeth.com

the end of bling

critters

check out the caterpillars --- this little booger here can sting, and it hurts a lot worse than a bee or wasp

sad sights

i don't usually walk the east side of the street but this morning all the lights were right and i didn't cross the street until i got downtown --- so this may be the view every day in the crummy little green space between the freeway overpass and ralph mcgill

those are people

picket line on peachtree

the carpenter's union ran picket lines at the palomar when it was being finished---now they are picketing winter construction who are finishing the viewpoint space at sixth street--- don't know what's going in there

flowers

the buono-memorial cattleya is blooming again

equality for all redux

wonkette weighs in:

Why? Because, if you haven't noticed, gays make most of our culture. They write our teevee shows and Broadway musicals and even books, for those who can still read. They are the world's entertainers, designers and bloggers. And nothing threatens the creative spirit -- which God gave primarily to homosexuals -- more than the awful tedium of marriage.

papists

anti-catholic prejudice is almost a thing of the past, maybe --- witness sotomayer, the sixth catholic on the supreme court --- kennedy's catholicism was a big deal in 1960, but i just discovered that we have had a few catholics on the supreme court almost from the beginning --- the first was chief justice taney (1777-1864), sworn in in 1836 --- no holy rollers yet

prop 8

they upheld it but let the 18,000 gay married couples stay that way --- that will ensure some more court action and probably another referendum next year which the homophobes will lose this time

memorial day

Eulogy

It happens on a Monday, at 11:20 A.M.,
as tower guards eat sandwiches
and seagulls drift by on the Tigris River.
Prisoners tilt their heads to the west
though burlap sacks and duct tape blind them.
The sound reverberates down concertina coils
the way piano wire thrums when given slack.
And it happens like this, on a blue day of sun,
when Private Miller pulls the trigger
to take brass and fire into his mouth:
the sound lifts the birds up off the water,
a mongoose pauses under the orange trees,
and nothing can stop it now, no matter what
blur of motion surrounds him, no matter what voices
crackle over the radio in static confusion,
because if only for this moment the earth is stilled,
and Private Miller has found what low hush there is
down in the eucalyptus shade, there by the river.

PFC B. Miller
(1980-March 22, 2004)

unsettled but nice

rotting history

the next losing battle for the culture warriors

once again massachusetts leads the way, a bill to decriminalize the weed

wasting trees

one of the nicest things about campanile (1987) at peachtree and 14th is the grove of gingko trees that surround it on all sides----the golden yellow of their leaves in the fall against the pink granite and green glass of the building itself is really great----now some fool has decided to cut down all of the gingko on two sides of the building----if they're that dumb, they'll probably replace the light standards and plaza too---waste

additional feeding opportunities in midtown

the restaurant row on crescent avenue north of eleventh is getting a boost with at least three new places opening on the crescent side of 1010----ra, a sushi bar, is almostready at the corner of eleventh and crescent; noon, your source for expensive sandwiches, is already open; while at the corner of crescent and twelfth construction of the improbably named ri ra irish pub is almost done---

and dewberry is apparently never going to develop his block between tenth and eleventh and has leased the old jock's and jills, where a no-name 24-hour diner has opened---that should be interesting

real men

The demise of high-paying blue-collar jobs and the economic devestation it means for families and and communities is tragic. But the demise of that old-school working-class male mind-set is not something to be sad about.

couldn't agree more

equality for all

read frank rich in today's nyt:

And yet the changes aren’t coming as fast as many gay Americans would like, and as our Bill of Rights would demand. Especially in Washington. Despite Barack Obama’s pledges as a candidate and president, there is no discernible movement on repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy or the Defense of Marriage Act. Both seem more cruelly discriminatory by the day. . . . [T]he current stasis in Washington is a bit reminiscent of early 1963, when major triumphs in the black civil rights movement (Brown v. Board of Education, the Freedom Riders, the Montgomery bus boycott) had been followed by stalling, infighting and more violent setbacks. . . . As Wolfson reminds us in his book “Why Marriage Matters,” Dr. King addressed such dawdling in 1963. “For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait,’ ” King wrote. “It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ ”

we'll get there eventually----but obama needs to go ahead and push like he said he would

new construction

the newly renovated bath house and reconstructed swimming pool at piedmont park are about ready to open i think---complete with solar panels---

the new army

fighting in afghanistan in pink boxers and flip-flops
nineteen yrs old----hope he makes it home

the fat ass

he's been mocking pelosi for her botox and what not---ron reagan jr lets him have it:

Limbaugh hasn't had a natural erection since the Nixon Administration; think he's compensating for something? Now, I wouldn't pick on him for any of this stuff, not his blubbiness, not his man-boobs, not his inability to have a natural erection—none of that stuff—to me, off limits until! until! Mr. Limbaugh, you turn that sort of gun on somebody else—once you start doing that, you're fair game, fat boy. Absolutely, you jiggly pile of mess. You're just fair game, and you're going to get it, too.

purty funny

so much for change we can believe in

The Democratic-controlled Congress is moving to restore a Bush administration policy that allowed loaded guns in national parks.

ugh

critters

they're calling it the missing link

Darwinius masillae represents the most complete fossil primate ever found, including both skeleton, soft body outline and contents of the digestive tract.

let's hear it for genesis

i've been afraid that atlanner's losing whatever edge it's had over the last 30 or so years---the yahoo-dominated legislature's refusal to support marta or any kind of commuter rail automatically puts us a disadvantage to, e.g., dallas and charlotte, as do a succession of city leaders who really don't have much of a vision for the city --- the general antipathy toward intelligent land use and planning doesn't help, nor will this:

Saturday's Wall Street Journal reports that many of the past decade's "youth magnet" locations are losing their appeal as economic opportunities whither in cities like Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Las Vegas, and others which led the nation in attracting young college grads from 2005 to 2007.

that should be "wither," not "whither," dumass

serenbe

the last stop on the modern atlanta tour was serenbe, a new sustainable eco-village that is part of the newly and stupidly incorporated city of chattahoochee hills, which basically incorporated a lot of purty pasture land --- anyway serenbe has some interesting neo-historical buildings but the business districts especially had a little bit of a six-flags feel about them --- not everything was faux 1910--- the modern house we toured was outstanding, especially the fact that the entire rear wall of the main room folded completely away ---

peachtree road

dante's down the hatch is hanging on next door to the mansion, coincidentally preserving one of the last of the big houses on peachtree road from between the wars --- tower place, built in 1974, is lost in the forest of towers that has developed between old buckhead at roswell road and wiecua road

the shoe tour, con't.

robert and i finished up the modern atlanta home tour that cathi and i did most of yesterday---- on the whole, we found the shoes to be much more orderly today in buckhead than they had been in decatur yesterday ---

first stop was a condo on the 46th floor of The Mansion on Peachtree --- an amazing space--- 14' ceilings, spectacular views, clean lines everywhere, drawers that gently closed themselves and other such hidden details that i guess adds up to the several million the thing is thought to be worth---- the central space was similar to the image below (no photographs were allowed, probably because it is not yet completely finished) --- that was followed by a house on wieuca road, most memorable for the little square porthole windows along one wall of the dining room and a giant chicken-feather lamp shade hung over the dining room table that i thought was fairly disgusting

the shoe tour

had a fine survey of atlanta's casual footwear yesterday as cousin cathi and i did the modern atlanta home tour in the rain--- there was some bad architecture but there was some good design, too, like the first one, the rain-shine house, as it was called--- LEED certified, which is all great until you discover they tore down a 1920s house to do it--- there was more than one on the tour in that category--- i don't understand how anything can be called "green" that begins with tearing down a structure already built, especially one in decent shape--- cathi got tired of me saying "but it's a tear down"----

decline of the christianists

A new day dawned in Washington -- one where humility and a sort of quiet faith replaced the ego and fanaticism of yesteryear. Americans didn't just reject the politics of the religious right. They rejected the hubris and simplistic nature of strict religion. The "Faith in Flux" report declares: "About half … became unaffiliated, at least in part, because they think of religious people as hypocritical, judgmental or insincere. Large numbers also say they became unaffiliated because they think that religious organizations focus too much on rules and not enough on spirituality, or that religious leaders are too focused on money and power rather than truth and spirituality."

thank god----even dobson has surrendered --- as the christianists go, so go the islamists----people everywhere just get tired of that crap

the strip

a history of atlanner's little version of the haight---the strip project---thanx patti, et.al.

spring looking into summer

the oakleaf hydrangea are really fine right now

the most depressing places in america

detroit is #1, of course---watch the video of its abandoned bldgs----but our very own alpharetta made the list!!!

#8. Alpharetta, a suburb of Atlanta, is the bank-failure capital of the U.S. Three banks based in Alpharetta--NetBank, Integrity Bancshares and Alpha Bank & Trust--failed in just 13 months. That's more than any other single town in America.

via wonkette

wanda

if you haven't seen her at the white house correspondences dinner, you should:

retards

nearly every park has to contend with some version of these idiots---snowmobilers all over at yellowstone, vehicles running through the piping plover nests at hatteras---just try to uphold some reasonable controls on all of that and they start squealing like they've been deprived of their most-basic freedom, which is i guess the god-given right to fuk up the earth anyway they want to---salazar better not let this pass

What happens when a law-and-order wingnut encounters a law he doesn’t like? He breaks the law, while hollering about his “rights,” and then freaks out when there is a consequence for breaking said law. This is the dumb melodrama happening in southern Utah right now, where the very beautiful and unique Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was the backdrop for some fucktard OHV fatsos doing an illegal “protest ride” on their smoke-farting noisemakers through a wild river in a National Monument.

housing upgrades

this is really purty great----a history of housing in 2-1/2 minutes

subprime from beeple on Vimeo.

more idiots

i don't care if they did all go home, i'm still pissed at that worthless excuse for a legislature

Since this is Georgia, everything is about race. The Republican (AKA Neo-Confederate) dominated legislature didn't pass transportation funding or other critical legislation because the rural good ol' boys were playing racial politics, at least in part. They don't want to be perceived as doing something that would help all of those blacks, interloping white Yankees, gays and other minorities in Atlanta.

mother's day

they ate all my food and said it was good

ancestors

The entire human race outside Africa owes its existence to the survival of a single tribe of around 200 people who crossed the Red Sea 70,000 years ago, scientists have discovered.

lemon-glazed apricot crumb cake

for tomorrow, as i prepare for a rare visit by the biological family for brunch here ---- you can't even tell it's been licked by the dog, can you?

imagine

I find it truly stunning how many people can shrug off stuff like this, preferring instead a tiny, cramped cosmos just 6,000 years old, scheduled to end any-time-now in a scripted stage show. An ancient and immense and ongoing cosmos is so vastly more dramatic and worthy of a majestic Creator. Our brains, capable of exploring His universe, picking up His tools and doing His work, seem destined for much more than cowering in a corner, praying that some of our neighbors will go to hell.

note from the president

to the woman that lost her job with the army a few months ago because of the stupid dadt policy---it'll happen sooner rather than later, i think, at which time rush's head will explode

he's got a nice hand, don't you think?

idiots

dijon mustard is for pussies

then there were five

can't blame this one on those damned activist judges

Gov. John Baldacci of Maine on Wednesday signed a same-sex marriage bill passed by the State Legislature, saying he had reversed his position on such marriages after deciding it was a matter of equal protection under the state’s Constitution. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law,” the governor said in a news release from Augusta, Me., where he announced his decision to sign the bill in a news conference.

pretensions

so the first of the retail/office space at viewpoint looks on the verge of opening, but wouldn't you know it would be something fancy--- i guess we are just s'posed to know that "cucine d'italia" means "kitchens of itly," which explains the lone corinthian column standing awkwardly at the end of a sheetrock wall---- my hopes for the death of the midtown mile of pretension may be premature ---that said, it's some purty far-out kitchens for atlanner, and i'm probably gonna want one ---

wolfram alpha

whoa doggy----this sounds good:

The new system, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at Harvard University in the US last week, takes the first step towards what many consider to be the internet's Holy Grail – a global store of information that understands and responds to ordinary language in the same way a person does. . . . 'It will understand what you are talking about,' he said. 'We are just at the beginning. I think we've got a reasonable start on 90 per cent of the shelves in a typical reference library.' The engine, which will be free to use, works by drawing on the knowledge on the internet, as well as private databases. Dr Wolfram said he expected that about 1,000 people would be needed to keep its databases updated with the latest discoveries and information.

except that i just watched the matrix again last night, and . . . .

modern living

the first modernist house in the southeast to get the LEED platinum award---and it's in decatur!

scupture in the garden

henry moore in the garden, now through september

re-orienting the gardens

the botanical gardens new visitor center opened this weekend, along with its new "sage parking facility," which as those things go isn't a bad one, especially when they get vines growing all over it---the original park road remains open, with the visitor center set back into the hillside---instead of fencing off the park and wishing it weren't there, the garden is now feeling more like part of the park---

the first of the piedmont park conservancy's "north woods" expansion is getting under way, too, with a new entrance to the park from monroe drive leading to the first floor of the parking garage and the park---the old park drive entrance is permanently closed and the old parking lot will be dug up and reclaimed for landscaping---i thought their master plan was all pie in the sky, but now i'm thinking it might happen after all

pageants

isn't padding the titties akin to doping a race horse?

Friday morning a Miss California Pageant official confirmed previous reports that controversial contestant Carrie Prejean received free breast implants, organized and paid for by the pageant, weeks before the Miss USA competition.

this is the same person that proved her bimbotude with her remarks on "opposite marriage"---now the pageants are gonna have to develop breast standards

poor pigs

he's proposing retagging the virus as smithfield h1n1---regardless, not much could be worse than industrial meat production in a developing company, for the animals and the workers:

Smithfield is, of course, another American company that has quietly taken its operations outside national borders in order to escape the jurisdiction of US Environmental and Work Safety laws. Down there, they can pay off officials and operate a literal charnel house so filthy that it is apparently actually breeding lethal, mutant microorganisms. Beyond the reach of US law in La Gloria, Smithfield never has to clean up after themselves or pay a decent wage to anyone or provide health care for anyone made sick by their operation.

30 rockefeller center

december 1933

the viewshed

the last of the cranes has come down at the atlantic---46 stories and way too many unsold condos---watching buildings go up, including all but one of those at atlantic station, has been a feature of the viewshed since i moved here----no more for awhile

lincoln

in kentucky for a couple of days planning rehab of 1931 tavern at lincoln boyhood home---they just finished restoration of a 19th century log cabin that was hauled to the site in the 1930s----neither the cabin in which lincoln was born, about ten miles away at sinking spring, nor the cabin in which he grew up at knob creek survived the nineteenth century, except maybe for a few logs that were incorporated in the replica birth cabin that they was reconstructed in the 1890s---western kentucky was still a huge mess from the ice storm----it was sad to see virtually every tree broken up, some even uprooted by the weight of 3/4" of ice---huge piles of debris still along the freeway and parts of the park remaining closed because there hasn't been money to clean it all up, three months after it happened