The Fantastic Mr. Wheatley dropped this gem in the comments section of Pecanne Log the other day.  Christa didn’t do anything with it, so I figure it’s fair game – Yoink!

Its a clip from the 1992 movie Freejack, showing a chase through a futuristic “Manhattan,” set in the distant year 2009.  2009 Manhattan looks a lot like early 90′s Downtown Atlanta:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T31U1hyow_U[/youtube]

While the script is the real star of that clip, among the Atlanta landmarks I can recognize:

I actually vaguely remember when this was being filmed in Atlanta.  I was 10 when it came out, so all I remember is folks going “that was shot here”.  For a long time I confused it with New Jack City, since I was too young to see either of them.  It’s a shame, because this looks like some grade A acting on display.

Being an famous blogger and leading opinion-maker in this town, I scored some free tickets to the Georgia Aquarium’s Planet Shark blogger day.  I was all ready to get up early and drag La Novia to get see some fish before all the crowds got there, and of course we slept in and dragged ass around the house for a while.  It was a great day to get out on the town, however, since it was just about the first day this whole year that the weather has cooperated.

We actually got to the big fish tank around 1, which meant I spent a few hours trying not to run over children every time I changed directions.  I’ve had the opportunity to be at the Aquarium as a guest during less crowded events, which makes going during prime hours feel insane. I really love the Aquarium because it can be very magical and meditative – these things are impossible in the middle of a weekend day.

The shark exhibit itself was decidedly, “meh,” unfortunately.  I don’t particularly get off on sharks – I find the whole Shark Week thing on TV to be quite bizarre and borderline fetish-esque.  Unless you just lurve sharks, I don’t recommend it.

To be honest, the best part of the day was after the Aquarium, when we got a late, late lunch at Flip Burger Boutique.  I’d heard great things – all of them accurate, I can now attest.  I went ahead and splurged on the $14 Korean BBQ Burger, which has wagyu beef and braised short rib.  I felt a bit silly paying that much for a burger, but honestly it might have been worth it.  I didn’t have the guts to try the foie gras milkshake, but the coffee and donut shake was fantastic.  La Novia thoroughly enjoyed the mushroom burger and a Nutella and Burnt Marshmellow shake.

I’ll be back once my wallet recovers, and I’m going to take on the foie gras milkshake.

I did a belated Valentine’s Day movie date with La Novia last night (classy, right?).  She got off work too late to go to Midtown, so we went over to Atlantic Station.

Now, La Novia and La Familia like going to see movies at Midtown because it is close by and relatively hassle-free.  Whenever I suggest going to Atlantic Station I get all sorts of flak about what a pain Atlantic Station is.  You’d think the parking deck was some sort of spiritual purgatory, and that even discussion of it was enough to flay mens’ souls.

I do think everyone ends up having a scene like this one the first time they go to Atlantic Station:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXJi7Vd0FPw[/youtube]

After that, though, the parking isn’t that bad.  You learn the system – is the learning curve that much different than learning where to park in the EAV for a show at the Earl?

Anyway, I LIKE going to Atlantic Station.  There, I said it.  I like the big movie theater experience, with the big seats, the gigantic theater, and lots of people.  That’s what I’m paying for – the experience.  At Midtown, I can’t lose myself in the experience as well.  Everything is too small.

And don’t get me started on folks who think that Atlantic Station is “ghetto”.  I go there probably once or twice a month, and I have NEVER felt uncomfortable or threatened in any way, shape, or form.  I have friends who have had uncomfortable situations there, but my experiences have been universally positive (or at least mundane).

And while I’m on a role, I think that as a development it does a lot of things right.  There are plenty of things it does wrong, I’m not going to argue against that, but as time goes by I think it comes into its own piece by piece.  La Madre just moved into new office space over there, and the views are fantastic.  Each new building fills things out a bit, makes it feel a little more ‘real’ – which was a problem when the retail component first opened.

Anyway, I’d really love to hear Y’ALLS take on Atlantic Station – am I the only person who thinks its alright?

Mural at Freeside Atlanta

I spent last Tuesday evening checking out Freeside Atlanta, a local hackerspace collective off Metropolitan Parkway, nee Stewart Avenue. I was aware of Freeside’s existence peripherally through some of El Hermano’s friends, but hadn’t paid enough attention to really understand what it’s all about. BTW, does anyone else have the experience where no one seems to know where Metropolitan Parkway is? I told El Padre I was headed over there, and he had no clue where I was going. “Stewart Avenue,” I said. His reaction was predictable, “At night?!” Which is why they changed the name, I guess.

Getting back to the point – what is a hackerspace? Well, I was all set to make a Johnny Lee Miller joke, but Creative Loafing beat me to it a while back. The term hacker is a bit of a misnomer for a public focused on computers. Nowadays, the term hacker encompasses a much broader range of activities.

Freeside, basically, is a DIY paradise. Want to know how to make a 3D printer? They’re working on making one out of a CNC router (a what??). How to make an aluminum foundry out of $50 in spare parts from Home Depot? Check. Sewing? Not only can you learn how, but they’ll show you how to take it apart.

The space itself is half lounge, half workspace. There are couches and a kitchen, along with a rather large recycling bin full of empty bottles. Various computer parts and monitors are stacked on shelves halfway up the warehouse walls, motors in various stages of assemblage litter the workroom. Motors seem to be a side obsession for Freeside members, in fact.

The space itself is a focal point for a community of DIY enthusiasts. Freeside, above all, is a community. It’s is a place to go and find folks who can help you with whatever project you are working on. They have regular classes for things like welding and circuit bending, while the First Friday Flash Talks are a series of five minute lectures on a wide ranging array of topics, from the stock market and card counting to making the perfect omelette.

Overall, Freeside is about sharing and expanding knowledge – it is the open source mentality taken off-line. They pay their rent with member dues, and try to get as much stuff donated as possible. I took a few minutes to chat with Madelynn, Duckie, and Raiford about Freeside.

If you can’t tell from the interview, the vibe at Freeside is remarkably relaxed and communal. Just as we were starting the interview, someone walked by playing Marco Polo. A local artists collective was there, as well, basically taking the Freeside approach to non-profit forming – basically, “we haven’t done this before, and you have, so we came here to learn.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5XKqUcPHF8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj-V3gg_NhQ[/youtube]

I also have to mention what seemed like a fantastic idea. At the next gathering, someone threw out the idea of “PowerPoint Karaoke”. It is like regular Karaoke, except you are giving a random PowerPoint presentation instead of singing a song. Brilliant! This in itself might be enough to get me to go back over there.

These are about Atlanta.

*ahem*

white flakes in my hair
falling gently from the sky
cigarette ashes

slow and steady race
like turtles crawling to sea
hello traffic jam

This one is about South Georgia, probably not amusing unless you’ve been there. Or have lived there.

springtime mating dance
soulmates for life meet an end
lovebugs on my car

And this one is about tonight.

long night at the Earl
drank many shots of strega
dude, where is my car?

Love y’all, I’m out!

If Pecanne Log isn’t already on your RSS feed, you are missing out.  Christa T always finds the best stuff… this time it is a slew of old local news bits.  The absolute best is this old WXIA theme song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyZ_avgPtmk[/youtube]

I don’t want to seem like I’m stealing all Christa’s best stuff – so go over there and check out the rest of the goodies, and enjoy her always hilarious commentary.

When I put up a post about Atlanta folks showing up in force at the Grammy’s, I totally forgot someone.  Sure, Jennifer Nettles showed up with Bon Jovi right after I wrote that post, but I’m actually talking Atlanta newest recording sensation, General Larry Platt.

I’m sad to say that I was actually watching American Idol with La Familia  when this guy first burst on the scene.  When I logged on to Facebook the next day, I had quite a few folks with updates like, “I know this guy, he’s like this all the time.”  Anyway, here he was on TV before the Grammy’s with his fist full of belts from Atlanta.  Seriously, you can’t make this shit up.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIyA1HMtNhA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

The Zac Brown Band

So I’m watching the Grammy’s with El Padre, and the Zac Brown Band comes on.  ”I want to say these guys are from Athens,” he says.  Really, I’m not watching the Grammy’s unless some chick comes out in something skimpy – I’m buried in spreadsheets (and loving every minute of it, sadly).

“Huh?  Who is this?  Zac what?”  Turns out they are from Atlanta.  Huh.  They played some pretty good country, which was way better than the crappy arrangement Stevie Nicks and Taylor Swift just performed.

Atlanta has gotten to a place where we regularly represent at the Grammy’s.  Usher is on right now, T-Pain was performing with Jamie Foxxxxxxxxxx, and Decatur’s Keri Hilson was nominated for Best New Artist.  I’m sure there are more Atlanta folks involved, but certainly it says something about our place in the music industry when I can’t even be bothered to try and count it all up, right?

I’m following up my last hard-hitting post with an equally weighty subject.  Dags.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seR3KQtkHIo[/youtube]

Well, Atlanta likes dags.  Specifically, Atlanta likes scary dags.  The AKC released the most popular dog list for the last year, and both German Shepherds and Boxers placed higher in Atlanta than in the rest of the country.

Dags.

I’m a bit surprised that German Shepherds are more popular in Atlanta than elsewhere, but not Boxers.  Man, just go walking through any gentrifying revitalizing intown neighborhood, and everyone and their mother has a boxer.  I mean, I think they are great dogs.  But it’s like everyone said, “Hey, I live in a gritty, up and coming area.  I need a dog that can scare the shit out of a burglar.  But let’s make sure he slobbers all over himself in a way that’s ironically cute – that’ll reaffirm my hipness.”

We used to be good at stuff

For all the flack we get as a city these days, Atlanta has done a few things right over the years.  Exhibit A was the Olympics.  With the exception of Eric Rudolph, the Games went off very well.  No public money went into the production of the Games (although we did spend $500 million on infrastructure), and the Games themselves made a cool $10 million profit.  Most importantly, from the city’s perspective, is that the legacy of the Games was largely as-planned.

Atlanta was left with a great stadium, dorms for GSU (now Georgia Tech), a lot of new housing downtown, a new mixed-income community to replace Techwood Homes, and Centennial Olympic Park.  You know, the park that has been the focal point for all that investment in the Aquarium, the new World of Coke, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, not to mention a renovation of CNN Center and new developments like the Embassy Suites, Allen Plaza, Museum Tower, and the Hilton Garden Hotel.

Consider Vancouver, and how awful it all could have gone:

The original cost estimate was $660 million in public money. It’s now at an admitted $6 billion and steadily climbing. An early economic impact statement was that the games could bring in $10 billion. Price Waterhouse Coopers just released their own study showing that the total economic impact will be more like $1 billion. In addition, the Olympic Village came in $100 million over budget and had to be bailed out by the city.

Yowza.  It’s not just Vancouver, though – China and Greece now have a bunch of empty venues and spent billions in public money for the games.  And of course NBC is losing about $250 million on the deal this year.  (It’s Conan’s revenge!)  Check out the whole summary of Olympic discontent at The Sporting Blog.  Any way you slice it, though, we have to be one of the best examples for how to use the Olympics to actually help the city.