The Strut!!

eastatlantastrut.com

I'm volunteering for the parade and then working at Midway!! Come see me!!

Soooo busy....

Well, I should be sleeping, but wanted to drop a quick note before an already overdue bedtime.

Unfortunately, this lateness is not from a night of bar-hopping, catching a show at Icehouse, or anything decadant and fun. Rather, I spent most of the day with ABZ and his lovely lovely mama cleaning out and cleaning up his place, then off to the restaurant, then back to the house, then finally home and a shower, and now just catching up on all my correspondence before bed.

I've been working with Metamorphose a lot, and I am so excited at all the projects underway! I love seeing editors at work-it's reminds me of my school days with RCTV, only you know...they are better than I am at it.

Anyone have tips to keep hair from shedding? I'm tired of having to unclog my drain every two weeks and no matter how many times I comb it, it never seems to stop falling out. Now, I have a lot of hair, so I'm not worried about balding, but really, enough is enough.

Well, this post was a little less about Atlanta and more on me than usual (!!), but give me a few more days and I promise I'll be back on track with the news.

Until then,


ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I don't know Jack....

Really I don't.

My grandfather went to China when I was a child, and he really tried to sink their culture and politics into me, but all I got as A) Beijing Hotel had really fancy stationery that still said Peiking Hotel, and B) No matter what race you are, if you're born in China, you have no chance of rhythm.

Later in college, I had this great teacher. I felt kind of bad because I first met her in advertising, and honestly, she had her doctorate in anthropology and was very into human relations and history, and was not good at teaching a class on how to manipulate people into buying crap. Then I took her for a class on the history and culture of China, and whoa! I learned so much from her. This woman traveled the Silk Road, she visited China many times, and she could put the most egotisical scholar to shame with a smile and historical fact.

Which is why I can't give a criticism on China. Yeah, I think it's messed up factory workers had two months of unpaid vacation for Beijing's attempt to quell air pollution, and yes, spending 4 billion dollars to make a good showing at the Olympics when so many citizens starve is messed up, but what have I done? I haven't signed a petition for Free Tibet or Commie-Free China or For God's Sake Can We Go To Cuba Since China Is Also Commie and Does No One See The Lameness in This petitions.

Like my friend Steve Francois said, All those who boycott China better give up their McDonalds, Adidas and Nikes pretty quick. Hell, I don't partake in any of those and the opening and closing ceremonies consisted of me going "OOOOHHHHH, pretty!!!!!!!"

I think what any athlete does is great. Yeah yeah yeah, go USA but honestly I can't do a fourth of what these athletes do, and o see the US place at all is totally me living vicariously, especiallty when it comes to volleyball.

And China did great! Can you imagine being London and having to one-up floating acrobats, flashing human percussion and mulitple acrobats? I'd hate to even try.

And I hate trying to enjoy it without politics every ticking at my skull.

Only One Week...

Till the new Gossip Girl! I know everyone is on the edge of their seats as I am!!

CW shows aside, though, I hope everyone has been keeping up with the doings in Atlanta. The Icehouse has opened, and from what I've seen, has had a full house every night and bands almost every night. With an eclectic menu and entertainment lineups as I've seen, Murphy and crew should be in clover for quite a bit.

My workplace, The Midway Pub, has been having a lot of promotional fun lately. If you were wondering who I am there, the girl downing a Pacifico after eating half a jalepneo might be a clue; but keep in mind there were many girls eating many hot peppers and forced to down beers. Check out their Myspace for further promos. We do have a cornhole (beanbag for those not familiar with the vernacular) tournament this Thursday, so get your drink and tossing arm on then!

Two other of my favorite hangouts, The Glenwood (in EAV) and El Tesoro (in Decatur) got favorable reviews in Atlanta's Dining Out magazine. Tesoro has a great Spanish wine selection and a dessert that is touted as the Mexican version of creme brulee, and believe me it deserves all accolades.

The boys from Mastodon are off their tour, back in town and celebrating. However, I say, it's not a party unless you have a price to pay. Sometimes it's a bad hangover, and sometimes, it's taking one shot too many. We'll see what happens, but in the meantime Mastodon are welcome back home with muchas smooches and it's sad we only have one week before they go back out on the road.

Congrats to Jonathan from Midway on his nuptials. His fiance livesin Sardinia, and he and friends got to celebrate his wedding there! No hatred there, but maybe a slight touch of envy mixed in with the well-wishes.

Local filmmaker J is on her way back from Utah this week. J has finished the finishing touches on her documentary, Hoot in the Hole, which was shown in the raw about a year ago at the Earl. J will be working on another documentary as well as about a million other projects--you can't keep this girl still!

No links this week, as some can be found in the last post and, well, I'm feeling a bit lazy. This weekend was crazy and I have some more work to do in the am (not restaurant, but indie-which can be way harder), so you'll have to wait for my next post to get all the links and dirty details. And you will.

Till then, later days for you my friends. Be safe, always have a sober buddy, and never do anything I wouldn't do...unless it sounds really fun.

In the words of my beloved narrator,

"you know you love me,

xoxo"

Village Tuesday Affairs

Well, last night was a very busy one here in the EAV! Midway has started a Team Trivia night on Tuesdays starting at 8, and last night was my first time working this. Despite this only being about three weeks going, there are already regular teams! I joined in after work for some fun and even managed to get some right!

Next was the soft opening night for the East Atlanta Icehouse. Pretty decent set-up, with a small restaurant and then a separate entrance for the music venue. 3rd Alley was playing there, along with Josh Fischel. Excellent music, very reminiscent of the Long Beach Dub sounds of the 90s.
The place is still beer and wine for the moment, but it won't be too long before they have their full liquor license, and the current selection is pretty swell. Then again, as long as I can have Guiness I'm happy.

After hanging out for a few songs, it was time for me to head to another music spot, Cenci, to listen to the wonderful beats of Eric_ZBD, AlBeatz and Barry Bonds. This was a very packed spot but I did manage to get a seat in front of the excellent bartender Zach, who is always a joy to see. Alas, no Guinness, but I made do with some Red Stripe and Jager.

A very quick stop lastly to an after-party, but the night was catching up with me, so it was time to go.

As for tonight, I think I've done quite enough to last me a week; so the two of us cooked a nice meal of pasta and pesto chicken with smoked mozerella and sauteed garlic and scallions. Add a quick salad and it's absolutely divine. The rest of the night has been devoted to laundry and the Olympics, and now we're watching the Golden Compass to finish out the night.

Ain't no party like an Atlanta party...

Cause an Atlanta party don't stop!



Well, yours truly has been hard at work this month. Besides my usual ale-slinging job, I've been working with Metamorphose Films getting various internet-related things up. I am mostly doing Myspaces and working on bios, and will link when I actually get my job done.



This month wasn't all work, though. ABZ, Trig, The Gambler and I took a day trip to Stone Mountain for a hike, a picnic, some drinks and of course, the laser show. Video of the last part of the laser and photos of ABZ and my trip to the top are on my Myspace currently. This park went from a former granite mill to a state park, and boasts the biggest bas-relief in the country--consisting of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.



Other fun events include a kick-ass show at The Masquerade this past Friday. Seeing DJs Rel1, Casper and the Autobots for FREE is awesome; most of the time you shell out some money for this kind of talent. Local also-amazing dj Eric ZBD was one of the sponsors, and he and the lovely Whitney were great hosts, having guests and performers over for an after-hours that ad the classic cocktail mixture of fun, talented and eclectic people to make a truly wonderful time. Eric plays Cenci Tuesdays; please be sure to check him out. In addition, this Friday's show at the Masquerade has him playing with Reid Speed--that show is sure to be packed, to get there early.

Also, my girl CK had her birthday party at her fabulous Grant Park house last night. Boasting one of the nicest wood porches I've ever seen, complete with mulit-lit jacuzzi, these women are wonderful hostesses, providing food, booze and an inflatable, dual slip and slide that was almost as tall as I am (which, while small, is still impressive, slip and slide wise). I did get bit by some evil ants, but all in all, a small price to pay.

Apologies to the hilarious and talented Casper: I could not readily locate your site online, but as soon as my tired brain takes some time to LOOK, I will totally do it.

Good wishes to my brother on his new home, and my sister for her new project. I will be an aunt this March; how Auntie Mame do you think I can get?

I work every day at the Midway this week; be sure to drop by and see me!

Everything else is yesterday's mashed potatoes...

It's been a couple of Rosalind Russell filled nights for me, since taping The Women, His Girl Friday, Auntie Mame, Gypsy, The Trouble with Angels and Mrs. Pollifax: Spy. Actually, I taped the first two quite some time ago, but refuse to erase them from my DVR.

ABZ says, "There's a LOT of yelling in old movies, how can you stand it?" I haven't really researched it myself, but I'm sure part of it is due to sound quality and another to projecting as if on stage. I will say, there is a definite difference in tone between 1939's The Women and 1971's Mrs. Pollifax.

One of the things I simply adore about TCM (besides all the free movie nights they sponsor here in Atlanta) is that they have all these themes around their movies. For example, they have Summer Under the Stars, which is very fancy-sounding, but what they do is pick an actor, then a group of movies they feel showcases the actors throughout his or her career, and will run them through with introductions, guest actors introducing the film, similar films by other actors, etc. Also they'll add in documentaries or taped appearances the actor (usually deceased by now) has made.

My only complaint with the Gregory Peck showcase is: No To Kill a Mockingbird? It just seems that Atticus Finch is how so many people see Peck. I know I do.

In fact, that film hasn't been shown in a while. I'll have to see what it going on with that. I think they should show it every summer.

Oh also, Robert Osbourne is a fantastic host, both before and after the film on television and before and after the film at the summer outdoor festivals.

And, since I like a bunch of links, here's some more material you may enjoy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Classic_Movies

Wikipedia entry on the U.S. TCM (It's international, baby!) with lots of trivia

http://www.tcm.com/index.jsp

The official TCM page

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Rosalind+Russell

Amazon list for Rosalind Russell. May I suggest her autobiography, Life is a Banquet, which is listed further down the page? She herself said her life was too boring to write about in comparison to other actresses: No addictions, no scandals, no multiple divorces--which makes it all the more enjoyable to read. Not that I don't like scandalous literature, mind, but it is nice to read about someone who enjoyed their work and didn't have all the gossip and exposes other women in her field seem to go through.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Mrs.+Pollifax

The top book is what Mrs. Pollifax: Spy was based on. This is a very enjoyable series about a widow who joins the CIA. My grandmother had the Readers' Digest condensed version of these and I enjoyed them so much, I'd check out the fuller versions from the library (enjoyable, but unfortunately without the illustrations the RD has.

http://www.amazon.com/Auntie-Mame-Irreverent-Patrick-Dennis/dp/0767908198/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217494062&sr=8-8

Auntie Mame: An Irrevrent Escapade is more hilarious than the film, if you can imagine. Check out other books by Patrick Dennis. While Mame was his bread and butter, he penned quite a few satirical books. May I recommend Little Me? Truly a blueprint for the Paris Hiltons of today.

Silver Scream

Tonight Anna, Amanda and I went to the Plaza Theatre to see the once-a-month Silver Scream Spook Show. If you have never been to one of these, well, you are missing out my friend.

It's a very fun time; kind of a "ghouls, girls and gags" event with a cheesy old time movie at the end. The skits deal with the main characters Professor Morte, his assistant Retch, Professor Morte's lovely spokesmodel Pandora, her young protege Persephone, and a gang of male and female dancers from Blast-Off Burlesque. Their show is always interrupted by Dr. Wetham, who continuously fights a losing battle to get the Show shut down.

The skits usually have some reference to the movie: tonight, the film was "It Came from Beneath the Sea," and there were tentacles all over the stage at one point, dragging away Dr. Wertham.

After that, they then auctioned off some memorbilia, and it was time to settle down and watch the film.

"It Came from Beneath the Sea," is most notable for its' six-tentacled octopus, created by special-effects creator Ray Harryhausen (The budget only allowed for six, but you really wouldn't notice them missing). The plot is pretty standard; creature from the depths of the sea attacking through some radiation thing, blah blah blah. Like a lot of scripts written on the quick, there are a lot of lines that are (probably) unintentionally funny, and lots of things going boom.

Below are some links to the Silver Scream, Blast-Off Burlesque, and the Plaza theatre. Next month is "The Creeping Demon." You can bet I'll be in line for that.

http://www.plazaatlanta.com/

http://silverscreamspookshow.com/HOME.html

http://profile.myspace.com/silverscreamspookshow

http://www.myspace.com/blastoffburlesque

For All You Batman Fans...

This is possibly the best LICD comic that deals with superheroes EVER

www.leasticoulddo.com/

This is also good to tweak those Superman fans with too.

Working and Wishing

Well, I finally got to work Sunday at Midway, and did pretty well, actually. I had money to cover items and twenty bucks left over. However, ten of it is in the bank, and I've had an issue getting a replacement card. First, the girl I talked to originally never processed the request, then there was an overdraft so they didn't send it. They also have no idea why the girl did not process the first one, as I had plenty of money in the bank then, and as I explained, I usually get to the bank when it's closed, hence, why I like the debit card. I can make an electronic deposit and get a receipt.

However, if I did have that card, I would not have ten dollars in the bank today, I can guarantee that. So it may be good that it was never sent out. As for the other ten, I sprang for a fancy shmancy lunch at the local Blimpie's for me and my man. Oh yeah, only the best baby. I think next time though, I'm only going to get a sandwich, not the combo, and save some money.

I'm getting tired of being in the house, but I have tomorrow off and I really wanted to take these two days to disinfect and clean everything. I have only a little bit of my room left and-finally-the last of the laundry, so I figure tomorrow I can hit everything and run around like a madwoman. Also, I think I have acheived almost 100% mildew removal on a rather handsome shirt that was unfortunate enough to be at the bottom of a pile of guys wet clothing, so there's my housewife points for the day, I guess.

I've also been working on a short story that I had been making notes on and forming in my mind. It's going slow, but it's going. We'll see how it turns out.

While I was sick, I had the opportunity to try out these wonderful bath products called Body Image under the Paris Products line. My favorite thing to do was take a cooling bath and saturate it with handfuls of the Sweet Pea "bath confetti": flower shaped bath gels that dissolve gradually in the bathwater. The www.parisproducts.com site does not have their Body Image page set up yet, but I did find it at this kmart site. I don't think the movie at the bottom is part of the product though.

UGHHHH

So, it's Friday, and the slight cold/nausea I had all week has blown into a full out fever. It's down to 101.1 now; but the part that really stinks is I had to call out tonight--and the tips on Fridays are flawless, child.

We went up the street for gatorade, but alas, no watermelon flavor. I'm not sure if they carry that flavor anymore, but I was hoping the gas station would have some. You know, hidden away. Twas not meant to be.

Well, hopefully this will be gone soon. I have two more days of work and I cannot miss it. In the meanwhile, I'm enjoying watching the Travel Channel. We went from Anthony Bourdain in Uzbekistan, to an entire behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney World.