Bloglanta

Someone please explain this to me, please. No, really. Please.

If I’m reading the conversation right, Atlanta audiences (depending on the venue, perhaps?) are predictably obnoxious at shows that are meant for sitting and listening (like Garrison Keillor), but are remarkably polite for a Nine Inch Nails concert?

If Nine Inch Nails were to ever find themselves playing at Chastain, it would be a sign that they need to retire before their families force them into assisted living communities. Having said that, some of you out there may desire to have NIN play Chastain today, only to leave the unfortunate “corporate seat” souls trampled to death as their precious area becomes the bloodiest mosh pit ever.

Still, would that happen here, or would the audience sit in polite silence to witness a fine evening of death metal music with interpretive dance?

We here at Bloglanta know what’s really important to a community!  It’s the chance to Drink!  Sing! and chase those blasted sheep out of your head!!!
What mechanism does a city have to remedy this?  Irish Pubs! As Joe pointed out here, not everything labeled an Irish Pub is all that Irish, but there are several quality candidates.  We rated them on atmosphere, Irish music, food, & drink.  We also awarded bonus points where needed.   Thanks to Joe, Ted, Diane, Holly, Connie,& Andrew for helping out with this project!
Limerick Junction is the Champion of  all the Irish Pubs inside the Perimeter.  It’s a great value.  Food is very affordable and tasty.   They have Irish singing more nights a week than anyone else, it’s not pretentious and the crowd knows the words and when not to clap.   Drinks were good (they knew how to make an Irish nail right off the bat), and an actual Irish person works there!
(more…)

Next Year, Georgians have the opportunity to either rehire the current Governor or election a different one. 
The two most likely candidates are Democrats Mark Taylor, current Lt. Governor or Secretary of State Cathy Cox.  Recently Taylor’s campaign staff has said “Cathy Cox can’t raise the money to beat us. She can’t raise the money to beat Sonny Perdue.” and hence people ought to vote for Taylor.
Here’s the problem.  Polling finds that Cox would do better in a race against Mr. Perdue than Mr. Taylor.  A vigorous race is good!  An issue oriented race would be better, but I doubt anyone is confident enough to run that.  Still, if your argument is “Vote for me!  I ‘m better funded!”, one feels an almost irresistible urge to support the other girl! 
Currently, Ms. Cox lives ITP and hence experiences the joys and sorrows of an urban life style.  That bodes well if she gets elected.  I am open to being convinced by everyone, but right now, ITP voters should give Ms. Cox an opportunity to show them where she stands, how she’ll govern and where her priorities are.  At least she thinks she’s the best candidate not because of her fund raising power, but because of her mental power. 

MARTA Bus Stops are getting better.  MARTA’s stops used to be obelisks but now many stops have shelters.  Even better, many now have the complete schedules for all the buses that stop there.  While costly, this represents a significant upgrade in useability and pleasantness for riders.  According to MARTA, over 200 of these stops have been completed and another 400 are soon on the way! 
Want to see one of the new stops in finished form? Go to Lavista rd., just west of Briarcliff, just across from Nicola’s!

The Peace Corps, despite what they tell you, is not the ‘Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love”.  I think Tricia Benson may have that job.  Just the words ‘Pediatric Oncology’ should give anyone pause.  Now imagine that you’ve signed up to wrangle hundreds of kids who are fighting various cancers.  That’s what Trish does.  She is the number two person at Camp Sunshine, a camp for kids with cancer. 
She can do what I cannot.  She can keep her head and a straight face.  She doesn’t crack under the pressure and she makes sure that the kids have a great time.  She lets them be kids and stops them from getting into kid trouble and then can spring into action when they begin to suffer a bad reaction from their medications or worse. Not only does she do this at Camp Twin Lakes but also at Camp Sunshine intown facility (btw, you should volunteer just to get a look at the place.  Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud). 
She’s organized, tough, down to earth, and cheerful.  She makes it work.  This is harder than it sounds.  Yes, there are tons of people to help and Sally Hale (who started the place and helps put on its best face) does a great job of recruiting volunteers and resources, but my impression is that Tricia keeps the place going. 
<Personal>
Sometimes the kids die.  The cells are stronger than the mind.  I sometimes do programs for Camp Sunshine and recently I had fewer campers in one program than I expected.  The same day I found the memorial list which included campers who had previously participated.  I have no idea what to do with that.  None.  What makes Trish a hero is that she works through that and continues to be very good at what she does.  She’s figured out what to do with all that emotion and turn it into a better experience for the campers. 
</Personal>
Tricia Rocks because she keeps the programs going, the tea flowing, and helps the kids want to keep going and grow up.  She helps kids facing death want to beat the disease and grow up.  Is there anything else?

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have achieved yet another level of Urban Cred!  Atlanta now has Fatburger!!!  For those of you who don’t spend much left coast time, Fatburger, which is just across the street from the Lindbergh MARTA station is what Johnny Rockets tries to be.  It’s cheap tasty, hamburgers, rings, fries, and shakes, with a solid juke box to rock the house. 
Many East Coasters first learned of this treat through the Beasty Boys’ track “The New Style“.  Fatburger, however, blows White Castle & Krystal for that matter, way the heck out the door. 
Right now, it’s also serving as a transracial mecca.  Everyone is coming to get a taste and talking with each other.  The Gordy Family may even worry just a little!… And yes Sir, they do have sweet tea.

Last week witnessed an incredible amount of activity in Georgia’s Public Transit World.

MARTA held off a general fare increase for a year, added some fees for special event shuttles, and is going to incur some service reductions, even on the trains.  The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is developing an agenda to create a Regional Transportation Authority and is deciding how should run it.

GRTA is continuing to pursue bus and land purchases and to consider how to stave off pollution fines that are coming our way.

MARTOC, a committee of the State Legislature led by Rep. Jill Chambers, is doing a detailed examination of MARTA’s operations but has given up steeridge of legislation regarding MARTA.

Some of the Players:

• Michael Walls: MARTA’s Board Chair is trying to hold together a working transit system without enough money and under tough labor negotiating pressures.
• Transit Riders Union: Headed by Terrence Courtney, this labor based organization has rallied for state funding and to lessen the influence of those not paying the 1 cent sales tax.
• Citizens for Progressive Transit: A grassroots coalition of working professionals who want transit to actually respond to their riders needs.
• Governor Sonny Perdue: He has to continue to appeal to rural voters, which means taking a stance against the Metro region, but is supporting regional rail as long as it services his home town.
• Chairwoman Jill Chambers: Tough in her questions, but far more supportive of transit and MARTA than was expected.
• House Speaker Glenn Richardson: He is alleged to have said that more trains will roll in Georgia only over his dead body.
• Steve Stancil: Executive Director of GRTA has acknowledged MARTA’s importance as the backbone for metro transit needs, but many are skeptical of his support for rail.
• Julie B Hairston: AJC Reporter who covers transportation for the paper

In the transportation fight there is a lot up for grabs. The key question is: who is going to run the show?
(more…)

God bless Lois Reitzes, for she has an impossible job. 
She is the program director of WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station, and her job is to save us from ourselves.  How you ask?  By preserving one of the few classical music stations left.  There are fewer than 30 and they are falling by the wayside.  People in Atlanta too want more NPR news programming and more popular music.  They want stations such as WAMU or KCRW.   However, if  WABE goes all talk, there will be no FM classical music left inside the perimeter.  We’ll lose this music in our lives and we won’t get it back.  Talk of the Nation is important, but so it music from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra!  Mahler is important.  It’s important to foster young classical music talent and without WABE, a chief way of exposing people to the music is gone. 
Of course, there is room for improvement.  There’s a huge movement to create string quartet versions of popular music and current writers have taken stabs at writing serious music.  Attention should be paid and programmed on the local level.  A local version of a funny classical music show would also be warrented.  It could replace an hour of second cup or the 2 P.M. to 3 P.M. hour which currently has no identifyable theme.   Having themed hours would certainly help.  It would let audiences attach to a certain kind of music (sountracks, vocals, etc).  However, all of this should come in re-arranging the local programming that already exists.  The desire for the other programs provided is real.  Losing ‘Weekend Radio‘, ‘Thistle and Shamrock‘, or ‘Says You‘ won’t do.  It’s all in the creative arrangement of great music.
Of Course, the best solution would be for WABE to take over one of the AM stations that occassionally changes hands.  That way, all of the news/talk programming could go onto AM and the FM could be reserved for classical music and jazz (btw.  H. Johnson is the man.  He’s the best DJ in the entire ATL!).  It would take more money, which means that even a hint of radio donations being used to prop up the TV side would have to go away.  It would also likely take a huge grant.  Still it would be worth it.  In the mean time, we’ll still be griping and nitpicking at Ms. Reitzes, but really, we need to pledge and help her stay the course.

The Jazz Forum has reopened! Bigger than before and raring to go!

The club has moved to the Scottsdale end of Decatur, which means that people are going to be even less likely to find it on their own.

Jazz musicians will find their way there as it’s a relaxed place to play and the acoustics are decent.

Everyone needs this club to succeed. The jazz community desperately needs the venue. Musicians need another place where they’re the focus. The Scottsdale community needs a venue besides Your Dekalb Farmers market to put it back on Atlanta’s cultural map.

We need an affordable club that’s more laid back and has easy parking. The question is whether the club can do the kind of promotion to keep it making money.

Clubs such as the Jazz Forum need to join The Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts both as a way to make people aware of their existence and as a way to sell tickets to higher profile events. Good luck to Eric & crew. May they be on time and in full effect!

I just heard about metro Atlanta’s newest Irish pub, and it’s located in Downtown. Gibney’s Pub opened up in the Peachtree Center complex, ready to offer some respite to weary convention travellers. There’s one problem: there’s nothing Irish about the menu selections.

Would you like a taco salad? How about a hamburger? Do you want chips to go with your burger, or fries? A party of five, you have? How about a bucket of chili?

Shepard’s pie? Go somewhere else. Corned beef and cabbage? Not here. Maybe some real Irish food will do you some good. You won’t find it at Gibney’s. But you can get quesadillas and pizza at this fine establishment.

Somehow I feel embarrassed for my hometown that this is how we present ourselves to convention travellers, many of whom are far more culturally aware than this. Our great convention town hosts millions of travellers from around the world every year, yet we present them with an image of ourselves as ignorant hillbillies who think that we can set up a bar that serves Guiness and Harp, and call it an “Irish pub.”

At least you can play some billiards while you’re there:

Underneath all my laughing at this place, I’m really crying.