Exciting sports day for Atlanta yesterday.

First and, of course, most important, The Braves played a thriller and won! I almost had a heart-attack yelling at the TV. Game 5 tonight. Ambulances are on stand-by for me.

Football over the weekend had mixed results. Tech won (and upset Maryland), but UGA was upset by Tennessee. More people in Atlanta are probably upset by the UGA loss than are happy about the Tech win. But the Falcons lost also. Crud. Actually, I think that this will be a shot in the arm. Their offense has been lethargic over the last couple of weeks and Vick needs something to turn him back in to Michael Vick.

I may be going to the Braves game tonight – unfortunately though, Turner Field does not have WiFi.

Photography (C)Stephen Beville. All Rights Reserved.

As promised in my last post, here’s my report for Atlanta.Metblogs on Providence Canyon State Park.

All in all, this was a great trip. I recommend it. The drive is easy from Atlanta and when you get down to the I-185 section of the trip, you’ll notice how few people are actually out on the road – at least it was the case last Wednesday. It’s a great reverse of Atlanta traffic.

Enjoy and let me know what you think! | PHOTOS OF THE TRIP

Okay, this is only relevant if you’ve read my other thoughts on WiFi access, but I’m in Octane Coffee right now (yes, I’m always here) and I’m eavesdropping on another conversation and it appears to be people who work with The Bert Show, UPN’s Atlanta Tonight, and Atlanta Illustrated (I recommend this show for ATL info) and they are discussing promoting hotspots around the city.

I’m all in favor.

…A story about a serial killer with a North Georgia twist – (link)

Here’s the perfunctory quote from the news story:

“…Investigators from Mobile, Ala., have come to Douglas County to look into a possible connection between a man who was arrested in Alabama and two unsolved killings in Georgia.”

Not mentioned in the story is the fact that when the place he lived while in Georgia was being cleaned, several photos of unknown women were found. WXIA does mention this in this article – (link) – and they have some of the mystery photos as well as a mugshot of the homunculus in question – note the dude’s definite wall-eyed serial killer vibe in the photo with the ‘XIA article. Police are naturally now rather concerned with finding out who the hell these women are and if they are still alive. A lot of serial killers like to keep “trophies” – body parts, photos – of their victims to remind them of the fun they had killing them. Sweet bunch of guys, those serial killers.

While I’m pointing out serial maniacs – to my buds in the Highlands and Mid-Town – y’all just stay vigilant for that damned arsonist. Arsonists are sometimes serial killers in training, so we’re talking about a psycho worth catching. There’s a reward, as well.

Now, with Jiminy Cricket on the TV in the living room doing a takeoff on the stupid “Always Wear Sunscreen” rap Baz Luhrmann recorded a few years ago adding to the incredible daily absurdity of life, I bid you adieu.

Ok, how many times are you gonna hear that one? I’m sure this team mascot cheer will never be up there with “Go Dawgs” or “Go Yellow Jackets”, simply because there aren’t many Amherst College alums in Atlanta. (And I’m sure LJ’s massacre of the native americans might play a role as well.)

Nonetheless I have to give a shout-out to good’ole Lord Jeff since it’s almost that time of year again, for the Amherst vs. Williams football game.

The live telecast will be held at Derby Food and Spirits. Should you be attending the 119th football game telecast, please RSVP to Sam or Liz by November 2nd.

And, I’ve seen the alum stickers around Atlanta, so I know some of you guys exist in the south!

Positively the creepiest news story I’ve seen in years comes to us today from Columbus, Georgia, west of Atlanta, on the Alabama/Georgia state line. I found this link at Circe’s site, and Circe got it from pesky apostrophe.

I give you now the direct link to the newspaper article, and a snip from the same:

“…Stephanie said a black girl in a white dress started visiting her room when she was about 5 years old. The girl was friendly, but she told Stephanie a horrible story.

“She told me that somebody put her in the floor,” Stephanie said. “She said he had a mask on, and that he chopped her up. She didn’t know who the person was, because he had a mask on.”

Now, if that, or the story as a whole, don’t send some scuttling shivers up your spine and pop a goosepimple or three on your arm, there’s something wrong with you.

Linking you to a story from Columbus, Georgia might be stretching the ‘hyper-local’ charge that metroblogs are supposed to keep, but even if the tale takes place way over toward the ‘bammy line a story this chilling is still too close for me.

When I say, “Caving in Atlanta”, the first thing you think about is “Cave In, In Atlanta” aka “sink holes”! However, I am talking about “caving”, you know, Spelunking. Kick ass! In Atlanta there are only two options: Underground Atlanta and the Atlanta City Sewer System. Both are, well, NOT ON MY AGENDA.

This Wednesday (10-6-04), I’m going to check out Providence Canyon State Park, just south of Atlanta, near Columbus, Georgia.

I love to explore deep inside the Earth. I was going to be a Geologist but, decided I would rather play one on TV.

When you type in “caving Atlanta” in Google, you get a bunch of results. Near the top of the search results was Climax Caverns. Well, the first thing that came to mind was, “COOL, a new leather bar!” After intense research, (I clicked the link) I found that Climax Caverns did indeed exist and appears to have some very interesting formations. I may not make it down there on Wednesday’s trip but, I will put it on the agenda for another trip this year.

This pre-trip post is just to say that Georgia does have a lot of great outdoor life. You can go from the ocean to the mountain in just a half day drive, plus, there are several lakes that have lots to offer.

I will finish this post and report back with pictures from Providence Canyon in the next day or so! Plus, more Georgia travel stuff to come.

Atlanta…A large city, one who should really have a better form of public transportation. Since we don’t we are all forced to get into our cars and clog the highways and by-ways. Now with stricter emissions testing, and the ever present Clean-Air campaign (which is one in the same) you would think the EPA would be somewhat happy. According to the AJC that is an incorrect assumption.

With gas prices at an all time high (not taking inflation into account)the EPA is requiring Atlanta motorists to use reformulated gasoline. “Officials” who ever they are, say this will raise the already crippling price of gas another 4 to 8 cents per gallon. An appeal to a federal court in Atlanta has been filed against this, but if the new EPA regulation isn’t overturned it will go into affect January 1st of next year.

The tree-hugger in me says it’s is a good thing since Atlanta is a “severe” ozone non-attainment area, but the consumer in me is screaming. I recently have felt the pull to public transportation, but can’t seem to invest the time it would take. With the direction all of this is leading I personally will be looking into my options.

The article the AJC is running can be found here.
*Bugmenot

At some point I am going to put all my thoughts on Oakland Cemetery together. For now, a plug:

This weekend Batty’s Best Comics and Games, otherwise known as the place for metro boardgamers, is hosting Batty’s Best Game Fest at the Courtyard by Marriott near the LaVista Road I-285 exit. The entry fee is minimal, the rooms spacious, the people very nice (and up for teaching newbies), and the games (usually) discounted — which, if you know anything about board games, is a big plus, since many of them come from Europe and have had their prices raised by the strong euro.

I can’t be there, since I’m going out of town tomorrow, but it’s a good deal of fun, especially if you have kids in that 9- to 13-year-old age range. For more information call 770-938-1200.

Can someone please explain Zell Miller to me?

Seriously. I’m not a native Georgian, and I don’t pay as much attention as I should to regional politics. I only really noticed Miller when he made headlines during the Republican National Convention by challenging Chris Matthews to a duel. But as soon as he appeared on-screen, I noticed the capital “D” by his name and thought something was wrong with the picture. Wait, he’s a Democrat, trying to get Bush re-elected? And giving the keynote address at the Republican National Convention? What the…?

First off, how does a Democrat even get elected to the Senate in Georgia? Isn’t this a fiercely Republican state? I know that in 2000, Bush beat Gore by over 300,000 votes here. In fact, Bush only got more electoral votes in four other states, so Georgia was a key win for him. Was that just a fluke? Or was Zell a big “D” when he got elected, and he just switched mid-term? Maybe he was telling too many bad Democrat jokes, and he converted to keep the heat off. Sort of like the dentist in “Seinfeld” who converted to Judaism just so he could use Jewish humor. Zell wanted to be able to state “It’s okay, I can say that. I’m a Democrat, myself.”

What are the requirements to become a member of the Democratic party, anyway? Apparently believing in their causes and being a team player aren’t necessary for membership. Do you just have to send in enough boxtops to get your decoder ring or something? And what does it take to get kicked out? I thought it was harsh that my dad was booted out of the Catholic church many years back for getting a divorce. And he was still a loyal church-goer and all. How can Zell maintain his membership in good standing in the Democratic party when he’s doing everything in his power to keep them out of power? Maybe he just stays in their good graces the same way my pop got his Catholicism back (in a word, heavy tithing).

If membership in the Democratic party is so easy to come by, I’m surprised more Republican Senators don’t make the switch. Then, once they’re considered Democrats, they can say whatever they want about their new party. “Oh yeah, during initiation, they made us drink blood and mount goats. In the biblical sense.” But they have to be sure to find that balance between hating their party and being unable to leave. Sort of like abused wives. “They’re not so bad–they’re just under a lot of pressure at work lately. And they only get rough when they’ve been drinking. I can’t leave the Democrats, they need me! Things’re gonna change!”

Please, someone explain Zell Miller to me. Explain a man who speaks Republican, acts Republican, and does everything he can to keep the Democrats out of the White House…but still has that darned D by his name on TV. I’m not trying to bash him, I just want to understand…