there is a fascinating article in espn magazine about why many black atlantans are standing behind michael vick.

vick has been roundly condemned both here on this site and in most of the general media and even from progressive-leaning publications like creative loafing. any defense of vick has been pretty much roundly condemned (an example here courtesy of the atlmalcontent.)

interviewing a broad range of black leaders in atlanta from juanita and kwame abernathy to frank ski to joseph lowery, the espn article traces the history of black/white relations in atlanta and attempts to frame the controversy over vick in that context.

an example -

The Vick montage continues on the television. More experts. More people screaming for his head. More gory details of the death of the dogs, death by electrocution and by bodyslam. Before Vick first came to Atlanta, she hadn’t cared enough to watch football. There was something about finally having an African-American quarterback in town that excited her. Maybe Juanita felt like it was a small realization of the work she, Ralph and their friends had done.

“I come home from church,” she says, “and I sit in my stadium in the middle of my bed and play ball. Or I will come up here and sit in my easy chair and play ball. So nobody can criticize Michael Vick.”

There is a connection there. Vick was a symbol for Black Atlanta, and now he’s gone. That troubles many in the community. Not everyone, but many, especially those who have felt racism in their own lives and find themselves attuned to it. Yes, he’s created many of his own problems, but the lens for viewing his problems was created many years ago. And so the question arises: Are people like Juanita Abernathy stuck in the past or are they the only ones seeing the situation with eyes wide open?

it’s a fascinating piece and i highly recommend reading it. while it certainly didn’t change my opinion of vick, it did give me a better appreciation for why some have stood behind him

h/t to deborah a for suggesting via suggest a story.

Concerned about the seemingly rapid rise in crimes in Atlanta this year? There has been a spate of crimes in my neighborhood, including the kidnapping I wrote about here. Creative Loafing’s John Suggs wrote a recent article about Franklin as absentee Mayor. The Loaf’s Andisheh Nouraee wrote about the crime wave here.

I think it will be interesting to see if anyone asks the hard questions at this forum, and even more interesting to see if Franklin and Pennington give any straight answers.

WHAT:
Public Safety Forum with Mayor Franklin and Chief Pennington

WHERE:
Georgia Power Building
241 Ralph McGill Boulevard
Atlanta, GA 30308

WHEN:
Saturday, August 11, 2007
8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

it’s official. at 12:43 temperatures at hartsfield airport hit 103 degrees, breaking the previous record of 101 set in 1980 (11 alive here.)

yours truly would have gotten a screen-shot of the record breaking temp on weather.com but i was once again too busy out being an idiot running in it.

how about all of you? surviving the heat?

based on my experience at lunch not too many of you are out running.

not to long ago i publlished this post entitled “why do crazy people always have cats?” in which i opined:

i really wonder if anyone has ever done a study about this. every time i read one of these stories it’s always someone with a zillion cats. never dogs, always cats (or in this case a 20:1 ratio.)

today i offer my mea culpa by way of this story in the ajc, which details in part:

Gwinnett authorities have cited a Duluth woman for animal abuse and unsanitary conditions after removing 19 Saluki dogs from her home.

Sue Jones surrendered the canines Tuesday to Gwinnett County Animal Control after the agency began investigating complaints from neighbors about barking and foul odors coming from the home at 3869 Vicky Court, according to Cpl. Illana Spellman, a Gwinnett police spokeswoman.

Jones had already taken 10 other dogs to a kennel in South Carolina, Spellman said Wednesday. She apparently had kept all 29 dogs crated inside her home.

apparently crazy people have salukis too.

Well, from a purely numerical standpoint, Barry Bonds is the major league record holder, but myself (and most other Atlantans and baseball fans in general) would say that Hank Aaron is still (and, potentially, will always be) the home run king.

Maybe I’m splitting hairs and getting caught up in syntax and nuance, but in an era of alleged steroid use by Bonds and others and the reprehensible neglect and potential animal cruelty of our own Michael Vick, it’s refreshing that someone like Hank Aaron, who lives and works here in Atlanta, has only grown in stature over the years. Sure, he’s still not getting his full due, but maybe Bonds usurping his record will only make folks appreciate Aaron that much more.

So, love or hate Bonds, we all now have to deal with this number. Personally, I vote for an asterisk or at the very least a reconsideration of his elbow armor.

Either way, I’m a little bit sad this morning. Maybe the San Francisco Metbloggers can grace us with their thoughts here or on their blog, but I doubt it’ll change many minds.

My final words: Hank Aaron*

*Home Run King

UPDATE: The DC Metblog has some ire for Bonds, who hit his home run off a Nationals pitcher.

August 13th is less than a week away, and I think I might be dreading it as much now as I did in high school. The traffic gets thicker during already soupy (cream based, not broth) hours…the line at my first light will increase from ten cars deep to over sixty and push me around a corner from which I won’t even be able to *see* said light. So I’ll be getting up even earlier, and I’ll be even grumpier. So you have that to look forward to in addition to your own commute time upping it’s suck factor.

Whee!

On the brighter side and for those not so slow traffic times, a friend shot me an article from a Florida paper about an Ohio family who has given up on the likes of a “SLOW DOWN” sign and opted instead for cardboard cut outs on their sidewalks of toddlers. It’s brilliant…if only I’d thought of it first. Of course I’ll be the first to drag one through the park with me, dress it up and take it to dinner in order to take advantage of kids menu’s (and prices!), but I doubt that’ll make the paper.

Offered without comment, though my Weimaraner hopes to have a review penned by the weekend.

Stay tuned.

my coworkers and i just got done running three miles outside our office in sleepy alpharetta and i have to say that it is damn hot out there.

and yes we are crazy.

temps peaked at 99 degrees yesterday, 1 degree shy of the record.

we’re forecasted to hit 98 today and today’s record is 101. i think it’s do-able. life rocks in an urban heat island.

are the rest of you surviving the heat?

we southerners tend to get pretty touchy whenever someone from up north presents an inaccurate or degrading stereotype of the south.

that’s why i found this quote in an ajc article about a potential development project in dekalb county a bit ironic:

“Mr. Garvin is a very smooth New York talker,” said Paul Jennings, a former state legislator. “Think what it’ll be like 10 years from now if Sembler builds what it wants to build. It’ll be like the Bronx.”

hmmmmm. interesting.