Atlanta isn’t really a winter town.  People don’t particularly get excited about winter here, and for good reason.  There isn’t really much special to do.  The best thing you can say about winter here is that it is fairly mild, and as a former Michigander I do appreciate that.  But without the snow, what makes winter special?  

Some of my ideas are sadistic, like hoping for snow or ice so I can watch everyone freak out and buy a week’s worth of water.  Others are masochistic, like the fact that I’ve been told the notoriously cold Nantahala River in North Carolina is warmer in the fall and winter because of the inversion effect.  I have no idea what this actually means scientifically or if it is true, but the disturbed part of my brain thinks that now might be a great time to go paddling.  

So what is there to actually do in the winter that you can’t in the summer?  Some things I am planning to enjoy:

• Make my annual trip to Lenox Mall - I manage to avoid Lenox Mall for most of the year.  I have gotten to the point where I only go during the Christmas season, and I have to admit that I enjoy going for the people watching as much as for the shopping.  Lenox is always good for people watching, but not as good as during the holiday season.
• A cup of tea at San Fransisco Coffee Roasting Company - I spent an hour in a plush leather chair chatting with a friend at my favorite local coffee shop.  Granted, I spend lots of time at SFCRC anyway, but the weather makes it feel more indulgent.  Having just finished finals, I am fine with that. 
• See A Christmas Carol at the Alliance - this is one of those “I have memories of doing this as a kid” things.  I’m going to try and get over there this year.  The AJC gives it a good review.  

One of my favorite local blogs, Pecanne Log, wrote a post yesterday about a great Atlanta mystery: Why are Downtown and Midtown so damn dead after dark and on weekends? I think everyone who lives in Atlanta is confounded by its inexplicable car culture, and the lack of a thriving and bustling city core.

For my part, I think the problem is three-fold: One part fear of crime, the poor, and crappy schools, one part irresponsible development that throws up more junk while neglecting the existing infrastructure, and one part geography: Most great American cities have grown up around a limiting geographical feature, usually a body of water, that hems it in and forces it upward rather than sprawling out. Pheonix, Dallas, and Atlanta are all limited by the room they have to spread their wings; NYC, Chicago, DC, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco. . . all are hemmed in and yet empowered by their geographical limitation.

What is the problem? What is the answer? I have no clue. Does anyone really think that Atlanta will be a great city in the vein of a New York or Seattle? I have my doubts.

Anything else you see as a great Atlanta Mystery?

Well, with the support of numerous folks, I finished the half on Thanksgiving. All in all, it was a great experience. Who woulda thought running thirteen miles could be so fun? Not me. Read more

To write some big diatribe against the NY Sun’s Bloomberg’s piece on Atlanta transplants from New York would miss the point.

Are there things about Atlanta that pale in comparison to NYC? Absolutely.

Are they fundamentally different than some of the things my Midwestern parents complained about in 1988, the first full year we lived in Marietta. Not really.

Are you really surprised that there’s “culture shock” at work here? Certainly not.

My take: so long as we can agree on moving Atlanta forward toward some uniqe vision (ie NOT NYC-South) then I’m OK with any “progress” the displaced are willing to help affect.

Other than that, I really don’t care how they did it in New York.  (Sorry for paraphrasing a bumper sticker).

I’m all for more water near downtown, but I think we’re too late (and too far south) for TVA assistance and the drought might but a cramp in our style.

This one’s being debated everywhere, but I got the meme from Lori, per usual.

Dear fellow Atlantan’s. I’ve missed you. Been on assignment out of town, state, country for far to long. Home soon.

While on said assignments, I’ve received updates from HQ on things going on in ATL. This one was too rich to pass up a post. Please see the following two headlines:

[Georgia] State lawmakers seek to move part of Georgia’s border one mile north into Tennessee.
Georgia wants to move the entire border northward by more than a mile along a line from just west of Lookout Mountain to near McCaysville, Ga. That appropriation (or land grab) of more than 50 square miles would transform longstanding relationships along one of America’s fuzziest stretches of border.

Chattanooga Sending Truck Load Of Water To Atlanta
The city of Chattanooga, facing a possible Georgia land grab as part of an effort to get access to the Tennessee River, is sending a truck load of bottled water to Atlanta.

The best way to settle this is to challenge any football team in Tennessee to play the Georgia Bulldogs. If we win, we get the whole river. If we lose, we give Tennessee, Stone Mountain. Let’s see ‘em move that.

This is where I am now. Help me explain this to them as I’m tired of the laughter. (Folks, I’m really tired of it)

WTF?

XO, Stevie.

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.

He was sentenced today for the murder of the hiker, Meredith Emerson. He will get life in prison with a possibility for parole.

I think it’s too good for him, and it’s unfortunate that we have to feed him or give him water. I think the fact that he admitted to killing her should have ruled out any possibility for parole.

Also, why was he wearing a bullet proof vest? Who gives a flying fuck if some other whack job takes him out? Not me.

I hurt for his family. For their sake, I hope he does rot in prison. And if by some chance a fellow inmate manages to accidentally decapitate him, i will be happy with that. It really makes me sad that he won’t be wiped off the face of the earth as soon as possible.

All that Capital-praying was such a rousing (raining?) success, there’s a party at my house tonight. Bring your bible, totem or diving rod: any which-way we can, we’re getting water!

I’m starting to imagine what the Dirty Dirty would be like if we step the water rationing up a notch and it starts to look a little like the scene in Mars Attacks? Batman 45? where the townspeople and news anchors stop using hygiene products and/or water for fear of being contaminated with some freaky toxic concoction…

Anyone know what the hell I’m talking about? Because I don’t…

Atlanta Water Shortage is an interesting new local blog. (Hmmm. . . Google Ads? Water shortage? Timely.) Anyway, it does have some interesting information on the drought and the water situation, so you might want to check it out.