You may have noticed that a couple of Jake’s locations have changed to Murial and Sebastian’s. Don’t worry, it’s the same good ice cream, I had some today.

Two of Jake’s Ice Cream’s Three locations have changed their name and are under new ownership. The locations at Clairmont and North Decatur and Piedmont and 10th Streets are now Muriel and Sebastian’s Ice Cream and Yum Comforts. The new name comes from owner, Robin Chism’s beloved dogs.* Chism was one of Jake’s first customers at the North Highland parlor that closed last May. He visited the store weekly for the Ice Cream and the homemade sandwiches. He loved the store so much he opened his own on North Decatur Road near Emory last year. The store, located in the original Atlanta Baskin and Robbins location has been a hit for Chism. He has enjoyed it so much that he has also purchased the ever-popular Midtown location in September.
After a 6 month run, Chism has decided to make a go of it on his own. He began his mission to create a new company that maintains the quality and eclectic feel they started with. In late November the Midtown store got a facelift and a brand new state of the art ice cream kitchen. Muriel and Sebastian’s is excited about the opportunity to serve the same great homemade ice cream that Atlanta has come to love but to create new flavors. The new ice cream kitchen will allow Muriel and Sebastian’s greater freedom in creating specialty and custom flavors. In addition, the ice cream is made in small batches to insure that each bucket is consistent and is served at its freshest. “The new company will represent Honesty, Integrity, Creativity, Willingness and Openness”, Chism says. He and his staff at the two stores are excited about the opportunity for a fresh start.

The American Lung Association’s (ALA) “State of the Air 2006” was released yesterday and it’s not good reading for something we already knew, Atlanta’s air is bad, bad, bad…

The ALA lists the 25 U.S. metropolitan areas most polluted by year-round particle pollution (soot). Again, ties are listed with the same number:

1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Bakersfield, Calif.
3. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
4. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
6. Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.
7. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
8. Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, Ohio
9. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Ga.-Ala.
11. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
12. Weirton-Steubenville, W.Va.-Ohio
13. York-Hanover-Gettysburg, Pa.
13. St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill.
13. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
16. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa.
16. Lancaster, Pa.
18. Merced, Calif.
18. Canton-Massillon, Ohio
20. Charleston, W.Va.
21. Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va.
22. Reading, Pa.
22. Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va.
24. Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, Ind.
25. Louisville-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.

Pollen and smog, a killer combination…

I honestly don’t have a better title than that.

But since I heard yesterday morning that Jimmy Baron is the most recent DJ to leave the station, I thought I’d pay homage to other dearly-departed jockeys from the once interesting station. I’m not saying it’s horrid now, because I remember the Power 99 days, but the whole alternative thing is kinda passe, right?

In any event, here are the more recent casualties:

First, (Steve) Barnes left. Then he came back to Dave FM. God, how I wish he had stayed gone.

Then, (Fred) Toucher left. I’ll miss Toucher. His bit imitating JB (Tuh-chay!) was priceless. The entire reason I listened to him on the radio. I liked the Don Miller thing he did at first if only because I like non-sequiturs.

Now Jimmy Baron, probably the most polarizing of all three former 99x morning show hosts is out as well. [Press Release via 99X Watch].

At least we still have Leslie and Axel (and Steve Craig!).

Is anyone out there still a 99x fan? I’ve certainly come back into the fold now that the neverending Korn/Limp Bizkit crap.

But I know this isn’t the end of the station, just this chapter. Or is it? It seems like the new ownership is forcing some changes, which seem associated with cutting salary, but I’m no expert.

I still remember and miss Sean Demery, Yvonne Monet (who’s good friends with my brother) and Will Pendarvis.

Yes, I should really listen to Album 88 or get Sirius satellite radio, but I’m a homer.

What does everyone think? Is worsening radio in Atlanta an inevitability? Are things getting worse or better? Do you still listen to FM instead of XM?

Additionally, there’s a good discussion on Access Atlanta concerning Jimmy and the future of 99x. You should also check out 99x Watch and the Toucher, Jimmy, and Leslie Morning Show Fansite.

The space on the corner of N. Highland and Ponce formerly occupied by Market One is finally seeing activity again after being vacant for what my non-linear mind thinks is about a year. Yesterday temporary plywood walls were put up to block the upcoming construction from the street, covering my favorite mural and marking, yet again, how easily we can lose the Mom & Pop shops we love and take for granted if we don’t make intelligent buying decisions to protect them (and ourselves).

I wish I could welcome Storehouse to the neighborhood, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

In a conversation with friends, we were thinking fondly of places that used to be in Atlanta that are no longer.
The number one missed place was definitely Tortilla’s, which closed up shop in 2003. I mentioned the Omni Coliseum, but nobody I was with was in Atlanta to remember the Omni.

Anyway, it led to some thinking – what other places out there used to be there but no longer are? Here are the rules – you can’t say a house – it has to be a publicly accessible building (so, like the Swan House would apply were it demolished, but not that house down the street that got turned in to a McMansion).

I haven’t posted in a while due to recovering from ACL reconstruction surgery, but I have noticed this while I’ve been watching TVs that don’t have cable – TBS shows a lot of sitcoms that everybody has seen every episode of. And then some sitcoms that nobody really wants to watch (can we all say Yes, Dear?).

Just sayin’…

For much of my life, I knew trolls to be little hairy dudes that hung out under bridges, and stopped people from crossing. But in Age of the Internet, everyone knows about the new trolls that have emerged–the lurking creatures that live for the cheap thrill of commenting negatively on anything and everything.
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During the four years I’ve lived in Atlanta, I’ve searched high and low for a real vintage store–a place where I could find some truly unique pieces to wear around town and for when I performed with my band. I went to Psycho Sisters and all the thrift stores. I traveled within a 50-mile radius around the city and never found any place that had precisely what I was seeking….And then it happened.
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Helicopters. Sirens. If car alarms are the crickets of the urban world, are these the soothing sounds of the surf, of action on our shores?

I dunno, but I know I heard a whole lot of sirens and helicopter chatter tonight. On the road, there’s cop cars paired off, lights sparkling, as police partners waggle their fingers at some shirtless dude. Helicopters circle like fat electric bumble bees. (Those bees get crazy big down here, by the way.) Cycling siren sounds make it sound like a chase is on somewhere, down the hill, where the skyline is.

This is what I expect with the first nights of nice weather, in any city, though. People, cooped up since Thanksgiving, kick off their shoes and go running through the sprinklers to make it feel like spring. Except, instead of sprinklers, it’s whatever nonsense we run through as we get older.

For those of you looking to shed the calories from tomorrow’s Free Cone Day and help out a worthy cause, consider running in this weekend’s Sprint for Cancer @ Atlantic Station 5k/10k. I’ll be recovering from the birthday party of a certain 3-year-old who lives in the bedroom down the hall from me, but the rest of you are more than welcome to get up early on a Sunday and run/walk. Or if you’re lazy but want to be outside, you could just hit the post race celebration.