Atlanta Metblogs » atl_alex

420 Fest

atl_alex — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:47:33 +0000

Today is April 20th also known as 420. To celebrate this fact Sweetwater Brewery is throwing the Second Annual 420 Fest at the Masquerade music park from 3-10. Dubconscious, Entropy and Deep Blue Sun will be playing. I have seen Dub and Entropy before and highly recommend both bands. The Sierra Club will also be there pouring beer and pushing pamphlets. So come on down, fire one up, grab a beer and listen to some tunes.

Calling all Techies

atl_alex — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 16:41:56 +0000

Tomorrow is Hands on Atlanta’s Technology Service Day. This is your chance to help nonprofits and schools using your IT knowledge. No, you don’t get paid - but you don’t get paid when your parents and friends ask you questions either. The event runs from 7:30 to 1:00 on Saturday, which is bad timing in my opinion considering it’s the morning after St. Patrick’s Day. There are 46 projects to choose from this year, about half of them still have openings. If you are too hung over tomorrow or don’t have any tech skills you could always donate as well. They are currently running a campaign called Give Us A Hand, for $50 or more you will get a personalized tile in the atrium of their new volunteer headquarters.

Twelve hundred and eighty tables

atl_alex — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 21:01:05 +0000

Last Friday fellow Metro Blogger Aradia and I stopped into Table 1280 before watching the Golden Dragon Acrobat Circus in awe (sorry, no…shock). Table 1280 is the restaurant at the newly expanded Woodruff Arts Center. We decided to eat there out of convenience so I wouldn’t have to park twice. I’m glad we did, the food was excellent. I started with the Baby Field Greens salad then moved on to the Bison with a side of Lobster Mashed Potatoes. I finished off with the Georgia Apple Galette. I usually don’t do dessert, but the food was so excellent I couldn’t pass it up. The crowd was mostly older with some kids here and there. As for decor it was very bright with lots of overhead lighting. They also had multi-colored fluorescent tubes on the wall in the dining room. I didn’t care for them but it was unique. The water glasses, condiment shakers and silverware were cool. I usually don’t pay much attention to details like that at restaurants, but the food was so good it made everything else interesting. The vibe was bustling with some bad techno playing in the background. The staff were very friendly and didn’t have a snobbish attitude, which I half expected. Our waiter was awesome - ask for Matt if you go, you won’t regret it. We won’t be heading back anytime soon though. It’s not that we didn’t have a good time but close to $200 after tip is a little out of my comfortable price range. So if you want to impress a date, are rich, or can write it off I recommend giving it a try.

Put the pellet gun down

atl_alex — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 22:00:56 +0000

AeroBalloon is a new attraction at Underground Atlanta. It’s basically a tethered hot air balloon that takes you up 350 feet in the air. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids under 10. Sounds kind of cheesy but cool enough to check out. Here are some “Fast Facts” from their website.

technology is borne from nonstop “round the world” ballooning http://www.challenger.iclnet.co.uk/

is an adventure balloon ride that rises up to 350 feet

flights last 10 minutes

is attached to a cable at all times and is never in free-flight

altitude is controlled via a specialized winch, located on the ground

fabric and technology are the same as a blimp you see daily flying over sporting events

is filled with 100% helium, an inert lighter-than-air gas

holds up to five adults at one time

passengers assume any and all risks

Who needs privacy anyway?

atl_alex — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 16:37:15 +0000

Everyone’s favorite Metro Atlanta based data aggregator ChoicePoint has sent notice to an additional 17,000 consumers that their personal information has been compromised. From the Atlanta Business Chronicle. For more information on ChoicePoint take a look at EPIC’s ChoicePoint page.

Kilowatt Ours

atl_alex — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 16:12:40 +0000

The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club is showing Kilowatt Ours on October 6th at Landmark Midtown Arts Cinema. This documentary explores America’s energy industry and provides solutions to save hundreds of dollars on your electrical bill each year. The suggested donation is $10 and you can buy tickets here.

On the subject of conservation, Georgia Power plans to offer Green Energy in the fall of 2006. As of this writing it will cost an additional $5.50 per 100-kilowatt-hour block. More information is located on their FAQ.

Update: There will be a discussion following the movie with the following people:

Jeff Barrie - Director
Michael Chang - Georgia Tech School of Atmospheric Sciences
Danny Orlando - US EPA Region IV Energy Star Program
Keith Freeman - Co-Owner, One World Renewable Energy Corporation

Also, the first 50 people through the door will receive a free compact florescent bulb.

Wide open apetures

atl_alex — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 17:34:18 +0000

The ACP (Atlanta Celebrates Photography) Opening Reception is tonight at MOCA GA Midtown. This is the seventh year of the festival and includes many lectures, exhibitions and events.

Checkout their website for additional details:

Atlanta Celebrates Photography

The Loaf also did a writeup this week:

Global imaging

If you like to take pictures you can participate in My Atlanta on October 9th in Piedmont Park. This year’s theme is Dance.

Frugal event hopping

atl_alex — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:44:05 +0000

Want to save some money? Check out AtlanTIX. They offer half price tickets to plays, concerts, special events and cultural attractions like The High, Zoo Atlanta, Stone Mountain, etc. How can you take advantage of this, you ask? Go to their site and sign up for their mailing list. Every weekday you’ll receive an email with the next day’s offers. Go to one of their two locations and pick up the tickets.

Want more? Ok, when going to see a show at The Variety Playhouse, Red Light Cafe, 5 Spot and some Fox shows, always buy your tickets from their Ticket Club. That way you circumvent Ticketmaster’s junk fees. Album 88 gives away tickets to concerts all the time (as I’m sure other radio stations do, too), as does Atlanta Music Guide. Creative Loafing has giveaways every week on their Fun & Free Stuff page. If you join Landmark’s FiLM Club you can win free movie passes and DVDs.

I’ve divulged all of my secrets, anyone have any others?

Update: Forgot to mention Clark Howard’s Travel e-Scapes newsletter.

Strutting in EAV

atl_alex — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 16:53:12 +0000

The 8th Annual East Atlanta Strut is this Saturday. I’ve been to this a couple of times and it keeps getting better every year. Here’s the lineup of activities this year:

* Live Music on two outdoor stages
* Parade
* Artist Market
* 5K Fun Run and Walk
* Children’s Activities
* Community Area
* Silent Auction
* Friends of East Atlanta Library Book Sale
* Event Sponsors
* East Atlanta Village restaurants and shops – All day
* Volunteer opportunities

Check out their website here: EAV Strut

(Image from last year’s Strut)

pARTy

atl_alex — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:24:36 +0000

Last Friday I went to GalleryZero’s Art Party that Paulie blogged about on the same day. My girlfriend and I showed up about thirty minutes before it was over. Finding where to go from the free parking deck was a bit of a challenge but getting back to the car was more of a problem (I can never take the same route; “There must be a faster way!”). The party was on vanilla boxed (gutted) floor of the Atlantic Center Plaza. The crowd was mostly preppie with a few artsy people thrown in. Right when we arrived, some drunk jackass in a green shirt stumbled out of the bathroom and knocked three paintings on the ground breaking the glass. He promptly located his friend and took off. The rest of the crowd seemed more civilized, albeit they were mostly clustered in little groups checking others out as they walked by.

Alas, the kegs were floating already but they still had wine. The Jazz band sounded ok but a little messy. Oh and the art (which is the reason I went) I was very impressed with most of the pieces there. While it was slanted heavily towards oil paintings, they did have a decent selection of photography, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and a couple of other media to choose from. One of my favorite pieces of the night was an almost life-sized painting of Brandon Lee as The Crow. If I had an extra $700, that would be in my living room right now. All in all it was a good time and I recommend checking out next year’s party.