Wednesday, December 8, 2010

smalls steps of a long stroll

I read an article recently about the rise in businesses along the Ponce de Leon corridor on the Beltline who are losing customers due to their parking lots being taken for the Beltline project. Some are even having to relocate.

I have been saucy towards the Beltline idea for a while, mainly because their unfortunate out-of-touch relations with involved neighborhoods made them seem G'Tech-ed out and a little pretentious. And when shit goes wrong for them, I'm always curious.

As I'm reading this article, however, I am realizing the little movement that is starting and how right side of the road people can be.
So here it is, big and bright for everyone to notice. Atlanta walking space is creeping in. The less parking lots, the less people will be inclined to drive places. Like in most major cities, cheap parking is impossible to find. But, unlike most major cities, our transit system and walking space is in total shambles.

One business, Urban Body Fitness, is moving because of the lack of parking. Instead of embracing the shift of a sustainable lifestyle, they are using time and energy to maintain the status quo. 'People drive cars in Atlanta.' 'They won't come to your business if there is no parking.'
  So it could be possible, by way of Beltline, to really start the shift into a healthier, more engaging Atlanta. Businesses like Urban Body should know that. The more you move and get out in your world, the better you feel. It would be mindfully progressive for the Studio to get more involved with it. Get clients to take public transit by mapping out routes and having bus maps on hand. Do neighborhood focused advertising and encourage them using the walk-way.

After seeing the sad car-obbessed realitly that is Atlanta when Artichoke Bliss, a community garden on Edgewood Ave, was viciously graveled for a parking lot for a facility across the street who were the owners of the lot. At most one truck per week takes up the lot.
Eventually we are going to have to get in position to ween off car addiction. The small steps of the Beltline people shows that long stroll that will get us to a walking, biking, active, vibrant city.

Viva la Feet !

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Loitering in Atlanta : enforcing feet as decoration only.

when being out in the city is against the law.

one day i was sitting in a public space in downtown atlanta, near marta outside of the popeyes and cvs, writing in my notebook when a downtown ambassador told me i had to move. no reason was given, he just kept calling the atlanta police when i was questioning him. talking to the ambassador at their headquarters, they tell me 'some places are not for hanging out in. places like woodruff park have been designated to be in.'

but the other spot was public. why are they able to establish one public spot for existing in from the other. didn't the people of atlanta pay for both?


loitering : loi·tered, loi·ter·ing, loi·ters 
    wikipeidia- is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a protracted time.
    dictionary.com- 1. To stand idly about; linger aimlessly.
                             2. To proceed slowly or with many stops: loitered all the way home.
                             3. To delay or dawdle: loiter over a task.
     urban dictionary- What punks, creeps, Ace Boon Coons, and Pachuco boys can be found doing outside pool halls, liquor stores, and 7-Eleven stores. Loitering involves standing somewhat still, posing like a tough guy, spitting on the sidewalk, and (if you're an Ace Boon Coon) occasionally shouting "Sheee-IT!" or "MO FO!" Proprietors of businesses post signs that say "NO LOITERING." These signs can be found at better pool halls, liquor stores, and 7-Elevens in all major cities. They do this because if anything is bad for business, it's a slime ball punk or nose-picking creep or a greasy haired Pachuco or a shit-ass Blood or fat slob Crip standing outside your establishment
 
all which means nothing, really.

 but makes it easy for a shuffle of authority to tell you what you ain't should be doin.

in the world that is atlanta we have created a capsule for ourselves. get inside the thing, go get inside a different thing, take one thing to the other.
in this way it is easy to spot the people who have no capsule of escape. no car, job, home, hobby. so yea its easy to see these people out on the streets. walking around like duds.
and yea they are annoying and gross sometimes and are trying to sell you something no good or ask for 35 cent to get across town or whatever.

so then along come loitering laws. enforced really in a class by class basis. this guy on his cell phone in a business suit can stand on the corner however long he wants to. the guy in the dirty clothes has to move along.
people standing outside noni's and soundtable on the weekend nights never get bothered with a move along.

what the city does not understand is that the enforcement of loitering laws is actually making the streets of atlanta more sketchy. if no one is allowed to be out on the streets, crimes are easier to commit.
having more people around is more eyes. it makes the non-criminals feel better about walking down the street.

 we should be allowed and encouraged to be out on the streets of atlanta. with the shortage and extreme corruption of the atlanta police department, it makes more sense the the citizens to be the eyes in their neighborhoods.

public space is for public use. this is about the bigotry and the prejudice of some downtown merchants and police who don't want to see homeless people near their stores much as southern bigots in the jim crow south didn't want black people near their stores because they scare away the white customers.

in multiple cases, the supreme court has struck down loitering law cases as unconstitutional in chicago(http://libertarianrock.com/1999/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-loitering-law/) and new york city (http://gothamist.com/2010/04/27/nyc_held_in_contempt_for_enforcing.php)

atlanta, here's your chance to get a clue.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

building in a building - a quite possible experiment

i am dirty smelly banged up and tired. i just crawled from out of the shelled belly of a lulled giant that is city hall east. most visits to city hall east are a two-three hour expedition that has you walking, climbing, and winding for miles. a trek through a couple floors is a good mile or two not including the extra efforts getting in and out. she is a beast. a sedated monster now, the life of it had been slowly moved out one forsaken office at a time.

but i was lucky. i got to be in it during the final stages of death. i started working at the building in the early spring of 2010. two offices remained in the whole place. parks and recreations and the office of cultural affairs, where i was interning. i went to city hall east not knowing anything about the space, but leaving that first day completely obsessed with it. i would walk around different floors for hours after getting off work. i would bring people back in with me after hours. we would grab anything.

stacks of rolled up city plans for atlanta. huge beautiful images of the design of the city just dumped in offices.
leather-bound notebooks of urban designers' sidewalk plans.
room after room with stacks of old technology.
bags of un-used department patches and name tags.
endless arts and office supplies.
photo and ledger documentation for every department of the city.
huge maps of atlanta's inner workings.
weird personal office stuff people left behind.
bookcases, floor to ceiling with ledgers.
a full body silver flame resistant fireman's suit.
official letter-head everywhere.

and thats just the stuff i wanted.

so i would bring people with me who i knew could utilize and re-purpose the shit that was left like trash. it was not trash, however. it was all amazing beautiful historical record of how a system use to function.
an entire floor filled with chutes, conveyors, and drops once used for the sorting and routing of mail for the building is a serious mindfuck. people use to get mail ! tons of mail !
typed memos, handwritten notes, and pencil sketched cityscapes is a lost happening.

this building is now totally empty. every room on every floor is eletricfied and lit up so the guards can see when they are patrolling.  taxpayer's money being poured into a space the people of atlanta bought, but are forbidden access to. the city has decided what was 'vauable', deemed it worth, taged it, and sold it off. mostly old office furniture and weird bulky work stations. the documents, the extinct technology, the drawings, the handcrafted outline of constructing and maintain an exploding city-has been buried in a landfill. like it didnt matter.

the plan is to now get as many dollars dumped in there so it can start to bring about more dollars. what is a tradegy for the city, is that when no dollars are there, none can be dumped.

it has two options from there:
1) sit on the property trying to desperately squeeze a dollar for a filing cabinet and hope it sweetness up the deal for a potential slumlord savior. but as it goes, the monster is proven itself to be more then any real estater could tango. the possibility of a good long years of abandonment are more in store.
2) set up an open and diverse regulating system of allowing individuals or groups use the space for free for up to five years. agree and term it as fit to the benefit of the renter and space as allowing repairs and restores, cultural and artists events, areas for open media and education, local business, personal work spaces. it is overwhelmingly endless what a space like that could bring together.

allow it to be rejuvenated with life and excitement to build something new. if the structure of the city itself will be thrown away, an establishment of a enlivened environment should be honored and embraced.

after the deemed free lease is up, the building residents could work with the city or owners for a place of content. at this point it will have hopefully flourished into a self sustaining entity.

this could sound like bullshit but i dont think it is.
i believe it is possible for people to want to see this happen. i believe it could help inspire and shape the progression of self establishment by relieving pressures of money. i believe it could open up the doors for places like detroit and baltimore to exploit the run down ruins the greedy absent investors left them to watch decay at but never make use of.
i believe for sure that beyond spiking the value of the building itself, it will do double for atlanta.

this is beyond wanting to. we need to. city halls east needs us.
.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

merchants at the steps of the temple

this is my third attempt to compile these thoughts.

art not ads

even jesus christ chased them away. time we should gather our whips.

we see billboards, advertisements, flyers, and signs. they are hovering above us. they are taped to the glass.
they are littered underneath our feet. you can fix your eyeballs on any ad at any time in the a. the mighty glowy orb of coke-a-cola reminds atlanta who did what for when. they even have billboards that are televisions ! and perhaps i am from a dunky backtown of florida, but i aint nevaseen thems before.
it seems curious to captivate the drivers' attention like that. but yea, maybe they just get it, the highway is boring to look at.

i totally agree. when i do get the occasion to ride in a car, i am seeing the ads, but moreover staring blankly at the equally void wallspace that lines I-75/85. what are these big long slabs of grey concrete that shuffle atlantians in and out of town. and what are the visitors to atlanta thinking when they gaze upon the rippling waves of the metal sound wall? oh, i'm sure they are loving it. they are thinking how great it is to not to be inspired think about this space at all. in that way, they can go back to from wherest they came, and not have to spend their time and mouths telling friends about the spectacle that is atlanta. those people, in return, wont have to waste their dollars hanging out in atlanta, supporting the locals. its the win win whammy.


places round town i see murals commissioned by said pissbeer company slapped on the sides of local bars. art ads perhaps ? by local talent, too. but in the same deck, promoting the product not the producer. telling the community, art and product are one in the same.
where is the proud tax money of the people nabbed if it is not going to the artists in the community to beautify it for them ? we are letting them use our artists to get a sales boost from us, and are then devoid of thoughtful, sustainable pieces. the shit people fly around the world to see.

atlanta is littered with billboards. advertisements were and still can be thoughtful and artistic. they serve a very necessary purpose of employing artists and help in elevating a career. the right ads can propel cultural definitions and be historical references for the good ol days. but in this town, at this time, i am seeing more advertisement art then community based art. there is something way wrong with that. there is something cold and spineless about that.

if atlanta could pull out of a quick sale and give that space to an artist, the visual stimulation of residents and visitors alike would re-define what it's like to be in atlanta. there would be a dissension upon the city like a lusty wind whipping and gripping around with a dazzled look.
obviously, the design and road structure of this city got massively whacked through the years, but come atlanta you can atleast give an interesting marker at points where roads suddenly change names of the turn comes out of no where. could perhaps result in less road rage, i'm sure.


to instigate change, contact Camille Russell Love, DirectorCRLove@atlantaga.gov ,404.546.6999
or Dorian McDuffie, Project Supervisor
Public Art Division
DMcDuffie@atlantaga.gov
404.546.6980
tell them you want to see and do not just to be sold to.




photo cred to mike germon. beer ad done by local artist, MLK mural done by an imported artist through the living walls campaign.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Adderall : for those who can't at all

we are the ADD generation.
growing up with sugar cereal and hyper spastic cartoons before school, it is no wonder why children are diagnosed with attention deficit. they are being jacked up like electroshock therapy.
and in that process we allowed schools and councilors to medicate them, especially boys. young kids are suppose to be excited and energetic, but our current culture disapproves of that. desiring, instead, to medicate and zombify children so they will sit in a mindless and creatively devoid school structure.

boys seemed to be the heavily attacked and i knew lots of them in school who got put on ritalin. according to this article on overmedicating of american children ( http://www.chaada.org/OvermedicatingofAmerica.html ), "Antidepressants spending grew by 21% over a three-year period and ADHD by 369% (no typo) compared to 4.3% in the use of antibiotics"

what the fuck !?

so where are we now. we are in a culture of young adults who have no idea what it is like to feel sober and normal. and who are told still that they are not suppose to feel anything but productive. in the desire to rid themselves of depression, anxiety, mood swings they have dulled themselves to even the good stuff. the highs and lows are a never ending see-saw.

in the post-industrial age, we are taught to be machines. collages expect this, workplaces expect this, the trickle down to the family unit expects this.  to keep up with the demands of a constant punch-out while balancing the mental debilitation spawned by growing up medicated, the savior that is known as adderall has come to us humans.

people are able to focus and work more then ever. it is the equivalent of mental steroids. and causes similar side effects. the idea that we are to be mindless workhorses seems to be the paved road of american sense of production. we live to work not work to live.

competition in school and the workplace is putting an emphasis on mental enhancements. the options of proper diet, exercise, and healthy mental activity is a lifestyle shift most are not willing to embrace. taking a pill, is easier instead.

privileged class speed, it is creating drones and addicts in high places. getting reliant on it in college rolls over to work and now we are in brave new world.

more to come......

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

blue balls, ga

you know those ads on craigslist that offer a job with the democrats. turn georgia blue!
its so vague while being so intriguing. i could do something! i could get involved! i can be the grassroots obamaite who door to doors her way to having her a big bronze statue of community inspired vanity.

so we tried it out, my friend melanie and i.

interview. you go to the democratic party of georgia office in midtown atlanta. sit in a room with walls full of go-pro-demo signs. older ones too. carter to obama they are like mounted kills of a successful campaign year.  so here we sit in the trophy room in front of this guy who is rolling out the run down. he is animated, bright, good looking, and young. he is telling you that you too can be apart of this party. you too can have a hand in turning georgia from red to blue! goddamnit it you could even do-good your way to the toppist top, get a nice slick sign with your name on it, and inspire a new round a kids to get excited in politics.
the guy really does not stop talking the entire time. what he is saying is relevant, however. important words to hear for getting ready to charge fourth into hostile republican territories.
they are trying not to change people's minds, necessarily. they are just wanting to get the people who are on their side more involved and more active in the party. their mountain of success is flourishing with active, happy member of the community.
it is really quite a beautiful concept.
we were way into it.

they take you one on one and ask simple 'why do you wanna' questions. they told me to come back tomorrow. 
wear something casual and comfortable. "you know, nothing too fancy for the office."

the next day melanie and i show up ready for it.
we gather in a meeting room with about ten young democratic go-getters to max. we get paired with someone to train us and split up. for the next teo hours i am in front of a girl who hands me a script sheet and tells me what i am about to read has been tested and tweeked for years to verbal perfection in order to successfully get contributions from people.
    "Hi, my name is ______ and i'm with the Democratic Party of Georgia. As you may know, with this year's election we finally have a chance to take back the governor's mansion. But with 9 state seats open and an entire legislature up for grabs, .................................. So basically, what we are asking people to do, is ...."

and you are suppose to say it like you mean it.
we rehearse it over and over. role playing like you are in therapy. she gives possible scenarios and dialogues that could go down. people avoiding a contribution, being rude, trying to trick or confuse you about politics.
it seemed easy enough. ridiculous enough, as well.

back into the meeting room and we get re-paired with someone to canvas with. four to five people ride to various northern neighborhoods and get ready to hustle. the girl i am assigned to shadow, hilary, is the driver and delivers people to their respected 'turfs' with maps of the neighborhood in hand. the streets are colored according to how many houses per block have given money or could possibly, if you get the right person to answer the door. it feels like a game of shutes and latters. hilary and i get to our turf and get to getting.

walking up each driveway is nerve-racking. is this person going to freak out? are they really going to give us $200? how do you become the person on the other side of this door who is about to get hit up for their obvious aabundance of dollars.

and as it goes she does her thing. we get rejected over and over. people tell us that we were just there last week. we are surprisingly met with a lot of gratitude. people are happy that we are going door to door, trying to reach voters face on face. but no money. they are not willing to give us money.

in my head it starts to become so clear. people do not really have money these days. resources are not limited to cash, but that is all the democrats are asking for. and for the small amount they are making each day it is basically just going to pay themselves. not really to support and entire campaign. they do it, however to reach people. to get them involved and understanding the government structure. i am thinking, however, that money is the wrong way to go about it.

to get the community involved in a campaign is very important. there is a need for people to understand the issues, trust candidates, and be informed on what is or is not going to change when their candidate is elected. trying to use money as a motivator for that is choking and confusing the grassroots movement of the democratic party. people who they are trying to reach, the people who have the money to fund them, are not as concerned by the issues. they are also not as willing to give in a potential hope for improvement. there is no instant return.
the communities they should be heavily focusing on are the poorer. although they might not have the cash to fund big events or the bright blue tour bus they candidate will surely cruise on, they are hungry to get involved. they desire a real voice, and they have other, more genuine things to offer other then cash.

suffice it to say melanie and i quit. i told the fast talking guy back at the office that if they want to use me for what i am good at, then challenge me to do more then just begging for change.
the next night we went out selling food on the street to hungry people outside of bars at night. people were a hundred times more responsive and supportive of what we were doing. we even got tips! and it stimulated conversation about what we were doing and why they should care. engaging the community one falafel at a time.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

deep fried reality is better with powdered sugar

the historic old fourth ward has a small subsection near downtown just past the I-75/85 monster called Sweet Auburn District. According to the National Park Service of Atlanta,
                   " the Sweet Auburn Historic District reflects the history, heritage and achievements of Atlanta's African Americans. The name Sweet Auburn was coined by John Wesley Dobbs, referring to the "richest Negro street in the world." Like other black communities throughout the country, Sweet Auburn's success was intricately tied to the residential patterns forced on African Americans during the early 20th century--the result of restrictive laws in southern states which enforced segregation of the races, known as Jim Crow laws. It was here that many African Americans established businesses, congregations, and social organizations."

now it is drugged and apathetic. the residuals from the post civil rights and black empowerment movements and the former young boy gangsters-now gross dude junkies are drudging along like plankton or zombies or zombie plankton all over the Sweet Auburn area.
the space has been claimed by them in massive numbers....that is until the Sweet Auburn Festival comes to town.
then shit is nice and pretty.

one man block party grandmaster, charles johnson, is the organizer, and in effect profiter, from the festival which takes place in the spring. it's mostly vendors selling their standard display of crap. this year i saw a few small organizations had booths for the cause.
walking through it, esp under the highway monster, you feel consumed in the smell of terrible carnival food and desperate money hounds with shiny wrapped plastic earrings.

the next day its gone and the junkies are back and people wait until next year to celebrate a former atlanta cultural garden while mr. charles johnson is happy to plan the whole thing for them again.

Monday, July 19, 2010

the original art on the beltline : unfunded and lowbrow

prior to the atlanta wide artist call for work to be commissioned and placed along the beltline, there was already amazing and interesting works sitting around under the guise of trash. there were markers and traces that people living and wandering around the abandoned line were also some crafty creative motherfuckers.
no need for funding


Saturday, July 3, 2010

"You ain't gangsta you don't even know one"-tag seen by eastbound MARTAtrain near King Station

So street art. Atlanta is all about it. Atlanta needs it. Atlantians talk sooooo much for it.


Who the fuck is doing street art in Atlanta??


Well ok you have the city funded stuff. The office of Cultural Affairs is a big overseer in the Atlanta public arts world. They pop out a few big projects every four years (Art in Freedom Park, The BeltLine), as well as rounding up the Jazz Festival every year. There is a Public Arts Advisory Committee that is made up of 9 non-city workers who oversee and decide on new public art initiatives. Their meetings are open to the public for observation only, take place quarterly, and change in locations. Not a very community inclusive group, it seems.

Hidden, also, in the layers of the public arts division is an 82 page 'Atlanta Public Arts Master Plan' ( http://ocaatlanta.com/sites/ocaatlanta.com/files/ATLPublic_Art_Master_Plan.pdf) that is suppose to outline the overall agenda for the Office of Cultural Affairs.

Seems like a lot of groups grouping and not a lot of action.


The idea of street art has become so limited. Spray paint is dead and terrible for the enviornment. Wheatpasting is flat. Street art is anything. There are so many artists who have rooms full of their old work. Walk a couple blocks with a staple gun or hammer and nails and let the city see what you got. You think you're going to sell out that solo show?? Bright shiny news flash baby, Atlanta is one of the hardest places to make a living off of your art. The more you put your stuff out there, the more recognition will come. Galleries are dinosaurse and can be squared to yourself and your audience. Why not use the side of a fence for your show? Hang something from a sign. Who cares if someone takes your work? Then you know its out in the world, not piled into your closet or art stack. The sharing and exchanging of art will help this community of frustrated people more then they know.

Think about this idea. Free and constant publicity.

The more you or other artists put their work on the streets, the more people will go seek it out. There will be an abundance of other's work. Then, when you get that big show, people will come support you. There will be a recognition of someone who is legit.

Street art should also not be confined in traditional art forms, either. It is not just something to hang or glue and tie. It's walking down the street and picking up broken bottles. It's getting the holes and broken sidewalks fixed for your community. Use your spray paint to bring attention of a big open hole in the street that is waiting to be the death of a bike rider. It's talking and engaging with the people you live around. If the idea of art is to improve and make beautiful, then making more conscience engagements like that qualifies a street artist for sure.


Recognize the space around you. Decide what is needed. Don't wait for the organizations or institutions to designate where and when it will happen. Be an individual who is longing to see some fucking art on the street. This is what happens when the will of the people is stronger then the action of the government. We are the soldiers, the warriors, defenders of our groovy way of life in this city. You want Atlanta to be a more artistic city? Wake us, take a walk down the street, and do it yourself.
public art. accidentally.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

help me help you, MARTA

She’s like a cold, hard bitch.



WHY Atlanta public transit is failing:



-people are afraid to MARTA. disconnect of community due to large spread out lay out of the city. influx of vehicles in the city has created a high 'convenience' factor and void in social community interaction.



-people do not trust MARTA. buses and trains are inconsistent. unsure of destination points (esp. for someone unfamiliar with the city). cut off times are confusing and unnecessary.



-people have no need for MARTA. citizens are aware of system shortcomings and chosen to bypass it all together. city itself is more accommodating to vehicle use.



**problem solvers**—promote easier access to destinations. maps and schedules at every bus and train stop. offer special fares for events/ weekend rates. run trains 24 hours. focus on the economic value of public transit over vehicle. get more press.



ART! on MARTA



-makes people comfortable in their space



-generates interest in using facility during site specific event



-stimulates excitment about and within community



-rise in economy from increase of tourists



i’m just saying tho..


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

This town needs an enema...and less cars.

In the hopes that Atlanta will very soon get a clue.

This is a truthing of the how this city is fucking up.


There is so much evidence that the city of Atlanta values its vehicles over it's actual residents. Historic buildings and neighborhood have been and continue to be torn down to make way for new, wider roads. The massive expansion of I-75 and I-85 has not succeeded in reliving the constant gnarling traffic mess all day everyday. Neighborhood streets are used, and often encouraged to be used, as speedways.
I have said it so many times in so many ways, the mentality of the people in Atlanta consists of getting from point A to point B in a little time as possible with little or no engagement in the community they live and/or pass through.
This is why Atlanta is terrible in so many ways. What is the point in living and thriving in a community if you spend a majority of the time enclosed in something instead of actually being out in it? How can you know what is going on block to block in a place you know as home when you don't even have time to look around it. It just whizzes by in a flash and then you are parked and inside point B destination.

 Atlanta is not sustainable. There is no way we can continue to live in a car based society. The hypocrisy of people who are angry and shake their fingers in disgust at BP oil is amazing. You have no place to call for blood when yours is warmed by the gas they provide. When your accusing fingers grip the steering wheel of your vehicle. Mistakes happen. People and companies are fucked up. But they wouldn't have been down there if we didn't beg and scream and demand their product like the selfish children we are.

 In the photos below represent the whole shebang.
 The city is doing construction work on a strip of road and sets up signs to let drivers know. They block the entire SIDEWALK to let CARS know about what is happening on the ROAD. I pull the sign off the sidewalk and onto the street where it belongs, not in traffic, very much on the curb where it is out of the way for both parties. The construction workers put it back on the sidewalk. When I ask them about it, they tell me it is city law that they cannot put signs on the road, they must be on the sidewalk. They are under the impression that if there is a huge orange sign on the side of the road, cars may be inclined to run into it. If someone driving a car cannot see and avoid a huge orange sign on the side of a street they should not be driving at all. They seem confused when I ask them how someone in a wheelchair is suppose to get around it. And for that matter why do I have to crawl through it or walk in traffic just to get some coffee?


This is troublesome for a few reasons.
 First, someone in a wheelchair or any other disability would not be able to pass by. And where should they go instead? The street? How can they do that when there is no easy slant in the curb to even get on the road? In the first photo, the woman on the right side is having to go into the street to walk by the sign. That is typical of Atlanta to put pedestrians in danger for the sake of saving a theoretical car-into-sign mishap.
Second, it shows the obvious favoritism of cars over people. The city of Atlanta is proving that it cares not for the people who use these sidewalks, but only for vehicles that may or may not be able to move out of the way of a huge orange sign. In the other photo the white SUV that pulled up to the curb still hit the side of the sign so their theory is totally wrong. And people in Atlanta are terrible drivers.
Third, it continues to encourage the unsustainable car based lifestyle Atlantians are leading. Sidewalks are obstacle courses and the city bends and shakes for the unnecessary needs of vehicles. There was a place for that sign all over that block where it would have been out of the way for everyone.
Fourth, it proves over and over again the unawareness of the people of Atlanta to realize and understand how desperately important it is that we get off our vehicles. Like a bad drug, it is a crutch. It is hurting the city. The air sucks, city streets are boring and ugly because there is no cares, and people in Atlanta are severely cut off from each other in a way that is disheartening and alienating.It is such a joke to people here now, but it is actually a very sad reality we find ourselves in here.


In addition, the newly placed parking meters make is even more of a winding walk since the sidewalks are so small and they set them back so far.





I got rid of my car three years ago and tried to make it on a scooter. But in the reality of it I do not, I cannot live as a slave to fuel. There is nothing wrong with having a vehicle for the out of town adventures or moving things for which they are needed. But to drive all day to different spots that are in a 10 mile radius from each other is a waste. I feel shamed in the fact that I do take rides and need vehicles sometimes, but it is because of the city structure I have found myself in.
desperate plea for anyone listening who actually cares to help Atlanta before it is to late and the city is totally unsustainable. I believe that in five years, personal vehicles will have no place in this world. They will be used in need and not convenience, which is the main purpose of them now. It is bad news.We need to remember how to use our feet again and feel the city in which we want to be a part of all around us, not just seeing it as it flies by.

The people of Atlanta need to FLUSH OUT the people who are in power there now and start over in a more sustainable, aware, thoughtful, human, and caring state of mind. There is no more room for greed and gross denial in this time.

I am closing it out with a brilliant TED talk in which the idea of how to live longer is discussed and to no surprise has a strong emphasis on walking and existing in your chosen community. It's a good one. I hope we can all get into it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYxZluIilLo

Monday, February 15, 2010

Lauri Stallings, I want to be you when I grow up

Leave it to former Atlanta Ballet choreographer, Lauri Stallings, to make the mall actually interesting.
During my stint working for the Atlanta Ballet, I would get a wild hair idea ("Lets have the whole battle scene rats from the Nutcracker flood Atlantic Station!" "We can put Dracula and the un-dead on MARTA!")
Of course these suggestions were completely out of place, seeing how Lauri herself had attempted to coolify the ballet as well.
We did manage to get one dancer and myself dressed as rats running through lil 5 points, but not quite the spectacle I imagined.
So to see her pull off an idea parallel to mine was like magic.
The dancers whirled themselves beautifully through a cultureless devoid such a Lenox mall and brought a glimmer of what Atlanta public arts could be for people who were lucky enough to be shopping.
Since they were not going into the stores, the mall itself seemed more like a hilarious backdrop. In a recognition that these two worlds have tried so very hard to be separate from each other, one using the other in that way was beyond brilliance.
You could hear people getting muffled in an attempt to shop without interruption, consumers so insecure with themselves they feel the need to try to verbally tear down something that might cause a question to their everyday reality.
For most, however, it was hypnotic. The dancers were so possessed in their instinctual movements (known as channeling the gaga) it's almost contagious.
and now some photos......

Thursday, February 4, 2010

"Whynatte, man!"

Ok so here we go. I was sitting in the coffee shop listening to a meeting between people who are going to 'turn this neighborhood around'.
"Yea we are gonna make this the next SoHo, Williamsburg, East Village."
Because these are the ONLY places that matter in the universe and god damn if the area can have it's OWN identity. No we don't want to remember the time when the 4th ward was a scary place and the highway fucked up the beautiful flow of the area. No we don't want to know that people are actually living here and have been for generations and have always wanted some attention but didn't get it until it was considered the hippest new cool place in town.
fuck.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

bologna meat

So I am watching this video from the artist The Pill and its shot on my block.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42Wxd-_drg

showing people smoking crack. doin the street thing.
its a commentary on the real nature of this area. people are addicts that walk by. different from the addicts who exisit in regularland. people in their homes and cars and nice jobs but who are still popping and drinking and smokng their way into contentment. thats ok. but to be on the street really addicts is un-nerving. and this guy turned it into a music video.
amazing.
now i wonder since this is his vein of saddness is he really going todo anything about it? is he going to help the people he is putting on display? or is it his time to make a dime and tell himself he aint like that anymore.
i'm gonna email him.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Dollface







"She always looks so great! Her hair.....her skin.....everything...just right. Another thing....everybody likes her...the girs just as much as the boys."

You and Your Dates: How to be a Girl with a Boy.
  On a date, if your feeling about yourself are happy, it will be partly because of the things you do on that particular date. One of the most important things is to act in wys that will make your date feel masculine and protective toward you.
   This means that you should give your date a chance to open car doors for you, help you down from a bus, find a seat at the movies when there is no usher, give your order to the waiter.
    Another important thing to do is to act in ways that will make you feel feminine. This doesn't mean that you have to act helpless-you don't have to faint away to feel feminine in the day and age! It does mean that you should speak softly, move quietly, and act in a gentle, ladylike way. It means that you should have disscussions rather then arguments; that you should give suggestions (if asked!) but not orders; let him be the center of the stage-not you.
    If you follow this sort of "party" line, you're learning how to be a lovely and popular girl.

Secrets of Loveliness-Kay Thomas; 1964


With the right trianing, you too can be the proper kind of girl.
-gag me-