Riddle me this, Batman – why the ‘ell are hair salons in Atlanta closed on Sunday and Monday?

It’s bad enough these businesses are closed Sunday when a bijillion ‘Mercins are out running errands and have the day off but that one I get on account of …blue laws? But really, Sunday and Monday? What about Tuesday and Wednesday? Or Monday and Tuesday? Or even just Sunday but half staff every other Monday?

I don’t understand why not only are my options for dining out grossly limited on Monday but now my already horrible hair has to suffer along with my tummy?

It’s just not right.

I missed this one but, I’m writing about it anyway because this irks me. Nature generally loses when things like this come up.

Georgia SB 256 – effectively grants owners of roadside signs, along our major highways in Georgia, the right to basically clear cut all the trees that obscure their signs from motorist. (News article here)

While I will admit that, on occasion, when I drive outside the metro area on a “road trip” somewhere, it’s nice to know what the next exit has as far as food, petrol, lodging, etc., but, I’d honestly rather see something besides sign after sign after sign.

Companies have to advertise to get customers and roadside signs, I’m sure in some ways, are effective but, after living in Metro Atlanta and the northern half of Georgia for so long, I’m getting irked over the extraordinary level of clear cutting for “500 home subdivisions”, “commercial developments” and now, roadside signs. I’m sure this has something to do with powerful media companies wanting to cut costs and avoid ordinance issues due to height restrictions.

I just can’t find the sympathy for them this Monday morning for some reason.

Fiddlin’ John Carson was an old-time country musician born in Fannin County, Georgia and buried in East Atlanta’s Sylvester Cemetery. There is a “musical event” today marking his birthday, and it coincides with the Sylvester Cemetery tours taking place today as part of the Phoenix Flies tours.

2:30 PM
Held at the gravesite of Fiddlin’ John on the Clifton Road edge of Sylvester cemetery.

Even if you can’t make the musical event, take a gander at this guy’s life: Farmer, Railroad Worker, Horse Jockey, and Moonshiner, in addition to the fiddle playing. He was there for the advent of radio, including playing on Atlanta’s fledgling WSB radio back in 1922. Pretty interesting guy.

Phoenix Flies Tours:
http://www.phoenixflies.org/

Sylvester Cemetery:
http://www.sylvestercemetery.org/

Via Larry Felton Johnson

Our own Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin will be on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher live at 11pm tonight.

I’m an HBO subscriber and my in-laws love Bill Maher’s show – I get the highlights via DVR every time we visit – but I’m no regular viewer.

It looks like they have a post-show web exclusive called “Overtime” that non-subscribers can potentially view. Otherwise, I may post a recap, update this post or add a comment later on.

Enjoy the great weather this weekend!

[Via TV Squad]

Yeah yeah I know it’s Atlanta Metblogs, but I read it in the AJC so it’s like hearing from your cousins plumbers brother about Ferris passing out at the 31 Flavors at Peachtree Battle last night, so it mostly counts mmkay? It’s Atlanta-lite. Vicinity-ish.

So I’m minding my own business over brunch at Manuel’s which PS is one of the best kept secrets in the Hot Hot in the event you didn’t read my Yelp! write up about it and The Boyfriend is reading the paper and he slips me the travel section to distract me from effing with his coffee by dropping things in it. There in that pretty dirty grey print that didn’t rub off on my fingers was something called the Southeast Calendar. Well well. What have we here?

We have these two bits I scribbled an asterisk next to:

Macon
May 4-6
Macon Gardens, Mansions and Moonlight 2007
www.hayhouse.org

Warwick (there’s a Warwick ,GA?)
April 14
The 10th Annual Grits Festival
www.gritsfest.com

If only they were combined and there was a ghost walk and some swimming with turtles, I could go and die happy and then be flash frozen at one of those cryopreserving places and woken up in 20 years to do it all over again…

most of you have seen the pole sings all over town now. you’ve read me post about it over and over. well the ing georgia marathon is finally upon us. last night, my training partner and i were running our final run and we ran next to one of the guys who designed the course.

he told us the race has been two years in the making as they planned it to showcase some of atlanta’s most amazing sights. and they have. it’s an awesome course and going to be an awesome race.

we need you though. if you have never run a marathon, just trust me, that one of the best things any runner can experience is complete strangers cheering him or her on for mile after mile. and great crowd support is one of the things that will keep people traveling here, year in, year out and help us build a marathon like new york’s or chicago’s.

so please consider coming on out. the race starts at seven am on sunday and goes through downtown, sweet auburn, inman park, candler park, decatur, emory hills, druid hills, virginia-highland, midtown, sono and finished in downtown again. there is a full map on this page so you can stake out a spot.

seriously. i know there are a few of you out there who have no desire to cheer on yours-truly, but there are 14,999 other runners you can’t have anything against.

I was looking for information on an early 20th century hurricane that hit the coast of Georgia, and while I didn’t find that, I did find this great website: GenDisasters documents “Events that Touched Our Ancestors Lives.” For instance, on March 22, 1910, there was a fire at Atlanta’s Simon’s Store on Whitehall. You can search the site by state. A search of disasters in Georgia turned up fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, train wrecks, explosions, and boating accidents.

Get your rubberneck on without clogging up the connector and 285!

Graphic: Atlanta Film Festival

YES! It’s that time again. The Atlanta Film Festival is April 19-28 this year and if you want to support Atlanta’s Independent Film Makers (please do) and see some excellent Indie films – this is your chance.

All the information you need is on this web site – AtlantaFilmFestival.com

Last year was great and this year will be even better. Come out and support Independent Film in our home city and take the time to enjoy some cutting edge cinema.

Silly post title for March blogging or only slightly behind-the-times rumination on pop culture (vis-a-vis television)? I retort after you get snide.

My middle brother and parents live in Newnan, GA – Newnan Country Club to be exact – and they were privy to the filming of one of the newer shows of the replacement season, October Road, last year.

This show isn’t like Vanished, it’s not set in Atlanta, it’s the semi-rural South parading as semi-rural New England.

Portions were filmed at Agnes Scott, Oakland Cemetery and other Atlanta-area locales.

We TiVo’d one episode, but haven’t watched yet, but I wanted to mention it to the blogosphere.

Has anyone seen it? Is it worth watching (once or regularly)? How does Newnan hold up as New England?