photo courtesy of tanakawho

ah yes, the general assembly is in town again and that means that it is once again time for metro atlanta’s famously libertarian republicans to once again pay homage to the fact that the rest of the state is dominated by republicans who still aren’t sure about that dinosaur thing.

the ajc has it’s obligatory article this morning about how as always there will be no bill to allow sunday sales of beer and wine passed in this session.

you can read all the obligatory quotes in the article. they haven’t change since i last posted about this so i won’t even bother cutting and pasting.

i really am waiting for someone to make the argument that this forces drunks and college students to learn valuable planning skills as a way of defending an outdated and silly restriction.

if you want to tell your representative what you think you can head on over tovotesundaysales.org votesundaysales.com(no web site working right now, but we’ll keep trying), but be under no illusion that it’ll do any good.

don’t forget that this state voted for a presidential candidate whose primary qualification as far as i can tell was that he loved jesus more than the other guy.

(in full disclosure the author of this post does not drink alcohol and attends church regularly – he just happens to think that this whole thing is plain stupid.)

One of Atlanta’s great troublemaker DJs has himself a new regular gig at Eastside Lounge, revitalizing your Saturday nights in East Atlanta. DJ Achilles, like the captain of a Soviet ballistic-missile submarine, will be firing off New Wave, Electro and Rock attacks to heat up your cold wars. PBR and Jaeger specials provide the West German vibe, while the Eastside Lounge provides the iron curtain. Come, comrades, and dance.

Doors at nine. Free parking. $5 cover.

today was the first commute with techwood closed in midtown. i am curious to hear from our midtown commuters whether it was apocalypse now or business as usual out on the streets of midtown.

the ajc says it “wasn’t that bad,” but i would rather hear from you.

What with the plume of gray smoke this morning and the closing of Techwood Drive, I’m hoping everyone made it in to work, school and the flow of life A-OK this morning.

For my part commuting was noticeably similar. No big deal, in fact.

If you’ve got a horror story or a good picture of the smoke from your vantage point on the fire (like this woman) please share either.

Well helloooo mah babies. Do you know what time it is?

No? Don’t fret. I’ll tell ya.

It’s time for everyones favorite: the “Georgia Rides To The Capitol” event!

Okay, not yet, but the website has been updated with 2008 event information, and registration is now open as well. Registration is free and also entitles the first 2,000 participants to a free light lunch at the event.

Mmmmm. Free light lunch. Sounds delicious.

During the third annual “Georgia Rides to the Capitol” event, cyclists will embark on rides to the Capitol in order to raise support for improved conditions for cycling, including the development of regional systems of bicycling and pedestrian networks.

The event will be Tuesday, March 11, 2008, during the state legislative session. Estimated time of arrival at the Capitol is 11:40 a.m. Your starting time will depend on which city or auxiliary location you choose to start at or which route you choose to join along the way.

For more info, please see: http://www.GeorgiaRidesToTheCapitol.org

Right on, ride on.

Last week my wife and I had a discussion about the nigh-ubiquitous South Carolina flag/sticker that we see everywhere during our commute (Smyrna to Midtown). We see about a million variations of the crescent moon and palmetto tree on everything from bumper stickers to license plates to magnets attached to cars.

Here’s a visual for the uninitiated:

Which got me thinking about the various stickers (mostly the ovoid EAV ones), license plates (mostly Va-Hi) and other stuff (some KWD ephemera) that I see in my travels around town and during my commute. I really love that intown neighborhood pride is so high.

While the SC example is my starting point, I’m more interested in what Atlanta-specific lovemarks you guys see, own or display. EAV and Va-Hi stick out in my mind, but I have friends in Kirkwood so the KWD stuff is also prevalent in my mind.

My ultra-local neighborhood, Smyrna (not Vinings) sells “Townie” stickers in the EAV mold. I always think of scruffy, unshaven kids reading the Flagpole in Athens when I hear “Townie” but maybe that’s just me.

What do you see? What do you own?

Leave a comment or a link to a picture or two.

In the water wars, that is. The New York Times reports that Georgia has lost the federal court case in which they were petitioning to take more water from Lake Lanier. Florida and Alabama claim that this action would siphon water from downstream Alabama and Florida.

On the one hand, as an Atlanta resident, I do worry about where our water will be coming from a year from now if the drought continues. On the other hand, I think that this serves Atlanta right for not planning better for water usage in the metro area. Our unbridled, unplanned building has gone on for too long, and this just highlights the problem.

Since today is BOTH Super Tuesday AND Fat Tuesday (thx, Amber) I thought that I should solicit photos of folks voting, wearing their “I’m a Georgia Voter” sticker or wearing beads and purple, gold & green.

Obviously cell phone use is permitted at polling places, but I’m sure most of the folks who read this blog are armed with cameras or could snap pics outside the school/church/government building where they voted.

Here’s me:

Feel free to link to your own Primary Election Day or Fat Tuesday pics in the comments.

Stay safe out there.

here is my quick voting report. i got to my polling place on delaware ave in ormewood park about 10 after seven and there was already a line of about 50 people. the line only grew as the morning wore on. i think based on my unscientific observation that turnout is going to be pretty big on the democratic side in this primary.

i happen to live in a very heavily democratic precinct. so democratic in fact that the woman accidentally programmed my “smart card” for the democratic ballot before looking down at my voter card and seeing i wanted to vote republican. i chuckled and said, “not many of us around here are there?” she laughed and said “no. it’s almost autopilot hitting that button.”

voting was smooth. it looked like all the machines were working and people seemed content with the process.

there was a guy outside doing ‘exit polling’ and i got excited because i have never been interviewed for an exit poll. but he wasn’t really doing the kind of exit polling you see on the news, he was actually with some organization looking for people who had problems voting.

i looked at his tally sheet and i was the only person he had talked to all morning who had voted in the republican primary. that’s actually pretty incredible now that i think about it.

anyway, that’s my experience. how ’bout the rest of you, long lines at the polls? problems with machines? let us know.

Just a quick note, for those of you who don’t check these sorts of details first thing Candlemas morning: Lilburn’s resident weather-predicting groundhog, General Beauregard Lee, Esq., has predicted an early spring. He an Punxsutawney Phil don’t agree, again, this year. The North will get weeks and weeks of winter, yet. We will not.

This is a for-sure thing. The man’s a damn general (and, I think, a lawyer), after all!