dogging it

 that's guinness meeting his twin, who clearly got the legs guinness is missing

taking down the tower

working on sunday to make up for the rain delays i guess

finally, it really feels like fall

abg

 the garden has been open until 10 on thursdays since may --- tonight was the last one until next spring --- it was surprisingly crowded, but the conservatories were relatively quiet

can't have nothing nice

wesley chapel is no more --- if ever there were a landmark, that was it --- built in the 1890s right at the point of the intersection of the eponymous road with snapfinger road in south dekalb --- if they put a mini-mart there, . . . .

thank andrew for this depressing piece of news and for the image
and

the natives

"In Georgia, a state wracked by drought and educational miseries, local newspapers are involved in a holy pursuit: arguing about hunting. Haw haw, can you believe that reporter next town over don't like hunting? Haw haw."

 this is a place in which i do not belong

thnx, andrew

"time makes ancient good uncouth'

"I have been part of this debate for years, but things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me. I do not debate any longer with members of the "Flat Earth Society" either. I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy by casting demons out of the epileptic person; I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection. I do not converse with people who think that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as punishment for the sin of being the birthplace of Ellen DeGeneres or that the terrorists hit the United Sates on 9/11 because we tolerated homosexual people, abortions, feminism or the American Civil Liberties Union. I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church's participation in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day.


Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize, but do public penance for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people. Life moves on.

As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago: "New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth." I am ready now to claim the victory. I will from now on assume it and live into it.


I am unwilling to argue about it or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer. The day for that mentality has simply gone forever. This is my manifesto and my creed. I proclaim it today. I invite others to join me in this public declaration. I believe that such a public outpouring will help cleanse both the church and this nation of its own distorting past. It will restore integrity and honor to both church and state. It will signal that a new day has dawned and we are ready not just to embrace it, but also to rejoice in it and to celebrate it," - Bishop John Shelby Spong.

changing aliases

the banksters uncovered their new signs on juniper last night --- the signs on all sides of their atlantic station building were on last night too ---

moon water

they've found way more water on the moon than they ever expected

the vanishing tower

another view

the american way

the oldest galaxy

"This is the oldest object we've found yet in space. It's a galaxy whose light traveled more than 13 billion light-years before it was visible to Hubble. And it's only 600 million years younger than the universe itself."

the p'tree plaza

all the scaffolding is finally down

promoting the neighborhood

midtown alliance apparently has a new ad campaign, since all these little banners have gone up along p'tree --- i feel like it needs mocking but i'm not quite sure why ---

the stoopid, redux

change we can believe in

after last year's embarrassment with the state's lame grant application, this is gratifying --- all the money won't keep going to cars and roads ---

The message from LaHood couldn’t have been clearer. The City of Atlanta has a vision that coincides with the vision that exists in Washington, D.C. But the same can’t be said for the state. As a result, Georgia continues to be turned down when applying for federal grants for roads and tollways as other states that have embraced transit and rail have received millions from the U.S. Department of Transportation. That point really hit home because the Atlanta Streetcar won the largest grant of any that were awarded Wednesday in this round of TIGER funds. In all, about 75 communities ended up receiving a total of nearly $600 million.

the imperial hotel in foreclosure

this is sad:

Progressive Redevelopment Inc., which renovated the Imperial Hotel into 120 single-room occupancy residences for the poor [in 1995], can no longer pay the bills on the property.

but, hey, the rich have their tax cuts and we don't have socialized medicine so it's a wash, right?

teh stoopid

this is someone who brags about being an authority on constitutional law --- she won't win, but she proves once again the depths of ignorance in much of the tea party movement ---

the changing viewshed

no more wachovia at atlantic station --- it's now wells fargo --- my neighbor, who works there, said it was to be the largest wells fargo sign in the universe or the country or something --- i was hoping for a little stagecoach and horses on top of the building --- whatever, it's a little more color in the viewshed

fall light

little five points halloween parade

as usual, robert got the motion

little five points halloween parade

 i didn't get a photo of the perv in his trench coat flashing his way up the street --- the red body paint and the quick exposure left you wondering if you had really seen what you had seen

liar's poker

here's graphic proof of the huge and unprecedented increase in govt. spending as a percent of gdp --- i mean just look at that red line

atlanner streetcar!!!

it's a start

pee-cans

i had the excellent chore of giving a tour of hyde farm this afternoon --- a truly wonderful day

pride redux

project q captured the essence of gay pride in this image ---

dog, admiring the view

gay vs. straight

some data for your prejudices


thnx andrew

the new visions

opening halloween, although there was a "soft" opening last friday with some sort of pride event --- some people in the neighborhood are totally pissed this is happening, I'm sure, having fought it tooth and nail for over two years --- i remain convinced that the opposition would not have been nearly so vociferous had the owner/developers and most of the expected clientele been caucasoid in appearance --- but i'm just a cynical, white, native of this town, so what do i know?

piedmont park north

several wetland areas, like the one in the foreground of this video, are being re-established along poor clear creek, which remains buried from here south --- like a similar but larger project at the creek's headwaters in the old fourth ward, these wetlands are part of the city's larger sewer overhaul, which included managing storm water

columbus day

read this excellent account of the origins of columbus day and why it remains an important holiday --- it's not what you think ---

Columbus Day was first proclaimed a national holiday by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892, 400 years after Columbus’s first voyage. The idea, lost on present-day critics of the holiday, was that this would be a national holiday that would be special for recognizing both Native Americans, who were here before Columbus, and the many immigrants–including Italians–who were just then coming to this country in astounding numbers. It was to be a national holiday that was not about the Founding Fathers or the Civil War, but about the rest of American history.

i especially like this observation:

One characteristic of holidays is that unless they are observed widely, which is to say by almost everyone, many of us wouldn’t take them. There are so many incremental reasons for not taking time off (to make some extra money, to impress the boss, or because we’re our own bosses and can’t stop ourselves) that a lot of us would willingly do without a day’s vacation that would have been good both for us and for society at large if we had taken it. That is why there are legal holidays.

the preachers of pride

there was a trio of them yesterday on tenth street with their stupid signs, and today there were more signs plus some preacher with a loudspeaker who harangued  the crowd with his bullshit when he wasn't getting drowned out by the roar of the sinners --- finally an inspired group dressed all in white stopped silently in front of them and just stood there, backs turned while the rest of the parade went by --- the guy with the wheeled cross failed to show up this year

snapshots of proud people

atlanta pride #40

pride at the park

robert shot this video --- at least today there was more african american participation than usual, which is good

bow wow wow

the new dog park

guinness didn't quite know what to do once we got there --- he's been around me too long