r & r: day 1

did my parents' taxes in the a.m., then me and dog went to arabia mountain and walked 5+ miles up and down the mountain --- the little red diamorpha smallii is really great right now --- an amazing amount of water coming out of the rock, especially on the south side of the mountain --- the north end was really beat up from mining a hundred years ago --- it's not even fun to walk across, and we wouldn't have, but i kinda lost the trail, which isn't really marked beyond the south summit

energy nirvana

Scientists today claimed one of the milestones in the drive for sustainable energy — development of the first practical artificial leaf. Speaking here at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, they described an advanced solar cell the size of a poker card that mimics the process, called photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert sunlight and water into energy.

does this house look like hitler?

pejoratives

a friend asked about the origins of the term "white trash" --- they go back a ways

The term white trash first came into common use in the 1830s as a pejorative used by house slaves against poor whites. In 1833 Fanny Kemble, an English actress visiting Georgia, noted in her journal: "The slaves themselves entertain the very highest contempt for white servants, whom they designate as 'poor white trash'".[4][5]

In 1854, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the chapter "Poor White Trash" in her book A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe tells the reader that slavery not only produces "degraded, miserable slaves", but also poor whites who are even more degraded and miserable. The plantation system forced those whites to struggle for subsistence. Beyond economic factors, Stowe traces this class to the shortage of schools and churches in their community, and says that both blacks and whites in the area look down on these "poor white trash".[6]

By 1855 the term had passed into common usage by upper class whites, and was common usage among all Southerners, regardless of race, throughout the rest of the 19th century.[7]

end times for america

This is going to get repetitive, we’re afraid, but every aspect of the “financial crisis” in the United States is due to corporations not paying taxes and the very richest .01% individuals not paying taxes. That’s it, that’s the whole thing — your crumbling schools, your sinkhole highways, your abandoned state parks, the laid-off city maintenance worker who leaps to his death in Costa Mesa after half the town’s workforce is replaced by hourly contractors and the mayor hires a $12,000-a-month P.R. manager, everything. General Electric, America’s largest corporation and the second-biggest company on Earth, simply does not pay any taxes at all.

republicans are assholes --- and don't miss herbert's farewell to the times --- 

When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely.

"praise the lard"?

The study, conducted by researchers at Northwestern University, found that young adults who frequently attended religious activities were far more likely to become obese than those who didn’t.

if you're from the south and baptist, you're gonna be a lard ass, i guess

the stench of spring is in the air

even the invasives are nice

looking for dexter

first robin i've seen on the 13th floor

phalenopsis sunshine

dog napping

dog was tuckered out for the ride back home

desoto falls

a much easier walk than blood mountain

neel's gap

neel's gap in the blue ridge was where my grandpa used to take my ma and the family in the 30s --- the old ccc-built inn and restaurant is still there although now it is the walasi-yi interpretive center, basically a glorified visitor center for this section of the appalachian trail --- something about the place reminded me of little five points, what with the shoes in the trees and all

traveling guinness

the dog is an excellent hiking companion, indefatigable --- he hesitated a minute when he had to skip on rocks across a creek, but then went right on, usually leading the way

hunting for bears

that's dog taking in the scenery at flat rock gap, where a peach tree was blooming! we crawled a little way up the side of blood mountain, which was our destination, but fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, i left our water in the car and we gave out half way up the mountain, which is really quite tragic when you think about it --- very very quiet up there, which is one reason to go --- the parking lot was nearly full today, i can't imagine what it would be like in june ---

that's a view of blood mountain from flat rock gap --- the mountain was considered a sacred place by the cherokee and in the late seventeenth century they fought an epic battle with the creek just to the northwest at slaughter gap --- after that, the creek withdrew to the southeast side of the chattahoochee

parking for day trips is at point a on the map with a nice hike with a creek on the left for about half the distance --- that trail intersects the appalachian trail at flat rock gap (point b) which continues up and across blood mountain --- we quit at point c and went back down the appalachian trail to neel's gap (point d) and then down the road to the car --- a nice long walk ---

great cinema

r.i.p.

she was one of our first public friends in hollywood, when every body was still terrified of all things gay ---

fashionable empowerment

I honestly believe that if an individual is brave [and/or apathetic] enough, they can survive with a wardrobe of maybe four outfits.

i try ---

where to draw the line

sometimes you just have to say, no, i shan't continue this conversation ---

878 peachtree

878 Peachtree was built in 1952 for the usda, which now has the building across from mine with all the noisy-ass equipment on the roof -- a major exterior rehabilitation is nearing completion -- the new dark windows are ok, but the openings tend to look like black holes now -- the top photo was taken in 1964 -- i wonder how much of the old krystal is still there -- the basic form is there or something

commerce building

the commerce building (1960), the lower half of which is a parking garage, is now the latest addition to the ga state university campus --- they're winding up a major exterior renovation and i'm wondering if they will turn the parking garage into offices, which is what they did with their very first building, kell hall --- a co-worker reminded me of the great screen on the broad street side ----

midtown greening

more fourth ward park pics

this is absolutely the most glamorous retention pond that has ever been created ---great use of rock all over --- there are two threads of river rock all along the granite walls, marking the water level with a 100 year flood and with a 500 year flood --- for some reason, the conservancy wants to call it a "detention" pond

historic fourth ward park

what a fabulous addition to the many amenities of northeast atlanner! the multiple levels allow for an intensity of use that might not otherwise be possible --- when it's complete, it will stretch from north avenue to ralph mcgill, willoughby way, and the beltline

enjoying the last day of winter

poplar and cherry

busted, cont'd.

busted

a new downtown hotel

courtyard marriott opens in the carnegie building

 green leaves on the trashy-ass ash trees on peachtree, a phrase that practically rolls off the tongue ---

instructions for now: combine one blood orange, a half a lime, and vodka to taste (maybe a splash of sparkling water if you're trying to monitor your sugar intake or something), sit back, and begin the weekend ---

racism

Looting is more likely to occur when groups of people feel they have been abandoned or trapped and anarchy results, or simply when people are afraid of starving or dying of exposure.  After Katrina, we had the first situation, along with a bit of the second. After the Haiti earthquake, we had both in full force.

andrew sullivan has posted a lot about this --- apparently his first post about there being no looting in japan and there not even being a word for it was simply not true, and he admits it ---- which of course will make no difference to ignorant racists who continue to believe that looting is all about "the blacks" ---

a new park

i will have to drag the dog over there this weekend --- it may be a giant retention pond once in a while, but mostly it will be a really great park --- same with the north woods expansion at piedmont park, much of which is built but ehy have yet to get around to opening it ---

cultural differences

they don't even have a word for it ---

commemorating the rebellion

if one wants to commemorate the civil war, read eric foner's the fiery trial: abraham lincoln and american slavery ---that's the narrative that really matters, not the ins and outs of the military campaigns

disaster porn

a mind-boggling mess, never mind nuclear melt-down

the ides of march

crawford long's flowers are a nice counterpoint to a generally gloomy day ---

blogiversary

five years today --- the view has changed: i can't see anything but the far western flank of kennesaw mountain anymore, which is a net loss considering the building that blocked its view, and the tallest, most obnoxious of the radio towers is gone, a major plus no matter how you figure it --- there were something like a dozen construction cranes across midtown when i moved here; now there are none, which is fine with me, except for the few bullshit lots left undeveloped, creating their own little dead zones ---

wisconsin, cont'd.

they're not going away --- 100,000 yesterday

cherry, crabapple, and what not

sunday afternoon to the park

very fine, punctuated by a big black dog attacking guinness at the dog park for no apparent reason (much the way guinness sometimes attacks for no apparent reason) --- no blood was drawn and the dog's human was apologetic

a fine saturday

a really fine productive day, topped off with a walk in the park ---