In 1752 Richard Pococke observed a wake in County Down: "I saw a number of women in an adjacent cabin, and my curiosity led me to go in, it was a wake over the body of an old man, who was stretched on the floor and covered with a sheet. About 3 feet above the corpse was a board covered with a white cloth, on which they place candles; and the women sit round the corpse, they are entertained with a spirit of Barley, call'd Whiskey, with Tobacco and sometimes with bread, cake, &c, and frequently drink to excess with such instances of mortality before their eyes, and this they look on as an act of Devotion."indeed
30 November 2012
funeralizing ma
yesterday was phase one: getting her remains re-situated --- today was phase two: "visitation," where a whole bunch of people come in and out and mill about --- this little ritual is a vestigial remnant of the old irish wake, that might go on for days and involve lots of alcohol ---- from wikipedia:
29 November 2012
say glory
1923, Oak District, northwestern Clayton County, Georgia, on the back steps of the house her parents built in 1915 on the site of the house her great-grandparents built in the 1840s --- the house was demolished for construction of the fifth runway at hartsfield-jackson airport in december 2001
1939, valedictorian of her graduating class at Russell High School, East Point, Georgia
1940, iris (right) with a friend on their lunch hour on broad street in downtown atlanta
wedding day, 27 november 1941, in Senoia, Georgia, for some unknown reason
1958, with mike and grandma hart, probably daytona beach
thanksgiving, 22 november 2012
ma died in her sleep in her own bed in the early morning of 29 november 2012 ---
may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
1939, valedictorian of her graduating class at Russell High School, East Point, Georgia
1940, iris (right) with a friend on their lunch hour on broad street in downtown atlanta
wedding day, 27 november 1941, in Senoia, Georgia, for some unknown reason
1958, with mike and grandma hart, probably daytona beach
thanksgiving, 22 november 2012
may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
28 November 2012
s. broad
i'm not sure if this is an official "living wall," but it rocks --- specially like that the history book is upside down
27 November 2012
rear window
an interview with them that was quoted in creative loafing was my intro to the sewell twins, sidney and thurmond, who now style themselves "the atl twins" --- presented along with the interview was a pic of them in their condo, with my building in the background --- obviously they were in spire and it was easy to see where --- inseparable, they work (or something) downtown, where i've seen them occasionally --- and see them around midtown in their white range rover ---
for some reason, i was surprised when they stuck up not one, but two xmas trees! robert wondered if they were decorated with thongs and marital aids --- they leave the one on in the front room all night

24 November 2012
park fall
for the first time in months, i don't have to go to fayetteville on saturday or sunday this weekend!!! so guinness and i have enjoyed our saturday morning inspecting the park and one of the last green markets of the season
23 November 2012
westview
one of the more eccentric monuments in the cemetery --- they made a pedestal for a celtic cross or something and then changed their minds
next to oak hill in piedmont park, westview is one of the best places in the city to catch the sky ---
dog likes it because it's one of the few places i feel comfortable letting him off his leash
dog likes it because it's one of the few places i feel comfortable letting him off his leash

22 November 2012
21 November 2012
18 November 2012
17 November 2012
an excellent plant
this morning the sweet aroma of this orchid fills the house --- only in the mornings, which is probably good since it might be easy to overdose if it were constant
15 November 2012
atlanner burning!
on this day in history, the yankees burnt up atlanner and left on their march to the sea ---- wheee! good times in georgia!
the atlanta burning scene in "gone with the wind" shown here was the first scene filmed --- they rigged the sets from demille's 1927 version of "king of kings" and rko's 1933 version of "king kong" with gas lines so they could control the burn, and destroyed the sets on 10 december 1938 to clear the site for construction of the tara set for "gone with the wind"
the atlanta burning scene in "gone with the wind" shown here was the first scene filmed --- they rigged the sets from demille's 1927 version of "king of kings" and rko's 1933 version of "king kong" with gas lines so they could control the burn, and destroyed the sets on 10 december 1938 to clear the site for construction of the tara set for "gone with the wind"