John Lewis, who represents Georgia’s 5th Congressional District (and by extension a good number of us who blog here), is open to the impeachment of President George W. Bush.

“Its a very serious charge, but he violated the law,” said Lewis, a former civil rights leader. “The president should abide by the law. He deliberately, systematically violated the law. He is not King, he is president.”

If this makes you happy, sad, elated, enraged or indifferent, you should probably let Mr. Lewis know.

For those not keeping up with current U.S. news, the President has admitted to wire-tapping citizens without first obtaining search warrants through the FISA court (Reuters story).

Interesting times indeed. The President is claiming he has the authority to spy on anyone whom he believes may have connections to terrorism without the need for a warrant or any kind of judicial or congressional oversight whatsoever.

Did he miss this part Social Studies class about checks and balances?

Anyone else making a FOIA request to see if you’ve been spied upon?

[Via AccessNorthGa.com]

Want an original piece of art, but don’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars?

Art-o-mats, the original art vending machines, are refurbished cigarette machines that dispense small, original works of art by artists across the country and world. The machines are works of art themselves, featuring the good ole’ pull knobs and creative designs.

There are only 76 machines around the country, but Atlanta is lucky to have the only one in Georgia. It’s located in the Whole Foods on Briarcliff.

So what’s the big deal? It’s the THRILL of it! Insert your money (anywhere from $3-5), pull the knob, and not only do you get an original piece of art, but you never know what you’re going to get.

Trust me, it’s worth it.

ATLANTA – A select group of sports fans can now waive their cell phones in front of their team’s poster at Philips Arena and instantly download game notes, team logos or addictive sports video games. Story from Macon.com

Within a few weeks, these 250 season ticketholders of Atlanta’s pro hockey and basketball teams also will be able to skim their cells by wireless transmitters at concession stands to buy hot dogs and soft drinks.

[as an astute reader noted, it should be wave not waive in the headline. Perhaps Macon.com meant cell phone owners would be waiving their right to refused to buy a t-shirt]

That reminds me to turn my bluetooth OFF when I go to a game. I would go broke. I love technology and this actually rather cool. Perhaps I need to set up a new “tech” bank account.

I just noticed this link at the bottom of the AJC.com webpage today – AJC4Me.com. I don’t know how long it has been up, but it’s one of those drag and drop customizeable homepages (like live.com) that contains a lot of localized gadgets (there’s one for seeing sex offenders in your neighborhood) and news that you can add and customize and move around. The AJC columnists and features are on it. Plus it has several themes that you can skin the site easily with. At the very least, it’s fun to play with. Check it out.

Update – Also, by typing in the URL to any RSS feed on the internet in the search for content area, you can add that RSS feed to the site. For example, try adding http://atlanta.metblogs.com/index2.xml.

Okay, color me shocked. That’s shock-ed (with the Shakespearean emphasis on the ‘ed’). These are not the Hawks I’ve come to sort of ignore and be apathetic about. The Hawks (yes, the professional basketball team located here in Atlanta have won three out of their last four games! And last night was a doozy!

It was the Hawks’ third win in four games and their best offensive output of the season. It was also the unofficial coming-out party for the suddenly dynamic duo of Joe Johnson and Al Harrington.

The Hawks co-captains combined for 48 points and an astonishing 8-for-8 showing from beyond the 3-point line before halftime.

Johnson finished with a career-high 36 points, making all but one of his seven 3-pointers, to go along with five assists and four rebounds.

Harrington tied a season high with 35 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line as the Hawks improved to 5-17.

“It’s been fun,” Johnson said of the Hawks’ enlightening four-game stretch. “We have to keep this winning attitude, knowing what got us these three wins. We have to keep working hard, keep preparing and keep trusting in one another.”

I mean, we have a better record than Toronto now! We’re only half a game away from being out of the cellar in the division! Start blocking off the playoff dates now! Well, it may be a little too early for that, but after watching the game last night I might start believing.

Next year the Braves celebrate 40 years in Atlanta… Almost half of those resulted in Division titles (at least), and as a way of promoting this, the girl and I got this as part of the season ticket renewal.

click to enlarge

So, who can name everyone in the picture?

Brunch is such a blessing. Sleeping in late only to wake up to enjoy vast amounts of food and drink. It really is the perfect idea.

I recently headed east to Kirkwood’s Sun In My Belly. The cafe is located in a sleepy part of College Avenue. Upon entering, you encounter the take-out area where you can order cups of coffee or even whole meals to-go in a deli case replete with pecan tartlets and other desserts to make you drool while waiting.

And wait you will, since it seems that this little place stays busy on Sunday mornings. I stood there for a fair amount of time while someone (presumably the host?) ran back and forth calling names, seated parties, and took orders. My boyfriend finally alerted someone behind the counter that we’d like to be added to the list and we settled into the cozy waiting area to drink our pretty good cups of house coffee.

Once we were seated, we were immediately asked if we were ready to order (we weren’t – we never saw a menu during our wait). The server politely refilled our coffee and retreated while we perused our options. There are several brunch-y type things, most notably the omelet and quiche specials of the day. There are also a good array of sandwiches available as well. Our server never came back, though, so I grabbed some random server who seemed a bit perplexed as to why I was bothering her.

As for food, I settled for the quiche, which included pancetta, cheese, and scallions (mmm… pancetta….), while the boy opted for the scrambled egg panini. The quiche was delightful, with a perfectly crumbly crust and flavorful bits of pancetta and scallions. The scrambled egg panini was also delicious. I may be biased, however, since I love anything with bacon.

What was most interesting was my side, a beautiful array of fresh berries (options include fruit, hash potatoes, or grits with most breakfast items). The berries were fresh and delicious, a mix of strwberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. So heavenly, especially since it’s well past berry season. Suffice to say, this is a good option for brunch (if you’re not in a hurry).

(Sun In My Belly is also provides its delicious cafe to visitors at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.)

Driving in Midtown tonight made me so angry. Seriously, you can hardly believe how angry I was. It was a remarkable level of frustration. At one point, I actually caught fire and exploded. The blast turned nearby cars to ash and crumpled the drivers inside like cans still full of tomato paste. I’m lucky to be alive.

Also, anyone who says the layout of Georgia Tech makes any sense is a liar.

Can someone confirm or deny this?

The Hawks are on a winning streak …. 2 in a row?
In my dream — I vividly recall hearing Mike Bell from 790 the Zone tell me that the Hawks pulled off another upset in Cleveland last night. He told me that not only did they win, the Hawks never trailed in the game …not once.

Is it me …or did someone else hear the same thing? I will be back to check the comments — I need to go and check the temperature in hell…

Cisco Systems already has a deal to buy Scientific-Atlanta for $43 a share. So why would S-A’s stock trade north of that figure, as it did Tuesday? Story from the Atlanta Journal

Well, Microsoft wants to lead the universe in media… Hmm. Interesting.