Baton Bob

Baton Bob has made the Atlanta Journal-Constitution!

I first became familiar with Bob when Kenny posted a link to an article in a St. Louis newspaper about Baton Bob. The article talked about Bob's impending move to Atlanta. I wrote the author of the article, telling him that Atlanta really needed someone with Bob's joie de vivre. Well, I was quoted in the followup article!

Because of that early knowledge about Bob, I feel a special closeness to him and was so happy when I first saw him twirling in Piedmont Park.

We saw him just last night on our way to dinner. He was at the corner of Juniper and 10th, twirling and whistling, dressed in a majorette's uniform. As we passed by, he wished us "Happy Spring" (it was a sunny, almost-80-degrees day -- woo hoo!).

Happy Spring back to you, Bob. You really do bring a much-needed smile to the collective face of Atlanta.

Betty on Terri

Betty Bowers has an excellent (as always) commentary about the Terri Schiavo situation.

Personally, I think it would be fun to really piss off the reich-wing by using a stem cell to clone Terri Schiavo. But that's just me.

All grown up

My younger brother is a football coach at the high school we both attended back in the day. He’s 33, just a couple of years younger than I am.

Yesterday, a car crash killed two students from the high school, one of whom was a football player. This isn’t the first student death my brother has had to deal with.

If memory serves correctly, no students died while I was a student there. I remember at least one high-schooler being killed in an accident when I was in middle school, but none while I was in high school. If there were any, I didn’t know them.

So I can’t imagine the feelings my brother must be having. To know this 16-year-old boy who had his life in front of him and seeing it wiped out in a flash must be incredibly difficult. And, in his role as teacher, to have to keep it together enough to be a support to the other students has to be stressful too.

I never thought I’d think of him as an adult, but he has grown to be quite a fine person. And given our totally opposite personalities and interests, I never thought that I could say that about him. Sure, he does all those disgusting straight-guy things. But he puts his special touch on them. Like teaching his not-quite-two-year-old daughter to answer “Poop!” when he asks her “What does mommy do?” But he also taught her to growl like Chewbacca, too! Both are quite endearing to watch, believe it or not.

But today, he’s hurting and having to be the grown-up that I never thought he would be. I’ve come to be quite proud of him.

Finally

Someone has said it on the record. Let’s give credit to Republican Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut for telling it like it is. He is quoted in the New York Times as saying, “This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy.” He is, of course, talking about the recent Congressional vote to move the Terri Schiavo case to the federal-level courts. The conservatives who are pushing for her to be kept alive are merely using her as a pawn to further their own agenda. Representative Shays also said, “My party is demonstrating that they are for states' rights unless they don't like what states are doing.” These people are not for states’ rights, or individual rights at all. They want to get their way. End of story. And they will lie, distort, and mislead on any number of levels to get their way. The hypocrisy boggles the mind.

These are the people who decry “judicial activism” except when it’s in their interest.

These are the people who worship that “sacred marriage bond” until a legal spouse makes a decision they don’t like.

These are the people who scream “let him fry,” furthering a supposedly hated “culture of death.”

Mr. Shays speaks volumes of wisdom in the above quotes. It’s about time these right-wing zealots are called on their hypocrisy by a fellow conservative.

Finally.

I think we've found at least part of the problem

This is from today's Knoxville News-Sentinel. (I used to live there so I check the newspaper occasionally.) Apparently, Knox County, TN officials had a meeting with parents of truant students. Some parents and guardians were upset about being called out on their child's truancy:

Cecelia Donaldson, who received a letter about her 5-year-old grandson's absences, came to West High on Tuesday, but she refused to enter the auditorium where the other parents heard remarks from [county officials].

"I don't want to hear what [he] has to say," said Donaldson, who said her grandson has asthma and other medical problems.

Donaldson said she was furious after receiving Nichols' letter.

"I sat down and I ate three Mr. Goodbars because I was so angry," she said...

Small Acts of Rebellion

I just read this NYT article and I started thinking about the small acts of rebellion I sometimes commit. The only one not mentioned in the article is how I handle tailgaters. Instead of slamming on the brakes, I just lift my foot off the gas. You slow down, but without benefit of brake lights! It scares the bejesus out of them (most of the time). And if they hit you, hey, they were tailgating!

What are some of your small acts of rebellion?

Outrage

I’m no fan of the military. More precisely, I’m no fan of the military mindset. Realizing it’s a necessary evil, I think our military fosters a bullying environment that is then used against the weak.

That said, I have great respect for members of the military. For the most part, I view them as victims of the military, rather than a part of it, especially in the current military situation. This week, NPR has been running a series of stories about how Guard and National Reserves members have been adversely affected by being called away to war for such a long time. Businesses have been lost, incomes have gone down, families have gone bankrupt because, with the loss of a major income stream, they can’t pay the bills.

According to NPR, 40% of American troops in Iraq are made up of Reserve or National Guard forces. That sounds huge to me. Fifty-six percent of those are married, and fifty-five percent of those report a loss of income over their civilian jobs. Distilled to one number, that’s about 12.1% of our people fighting who have lost income because of their deployment. I’m sure the number is higher, as it doesn’t take into account unmarried Reserve and National Guard members.

But the point isn’t about income, really. It’s more about the ramifications of the loss of income. NPR mentioned the case of a military wife who was living in her car because she had lost the house due to lack of resources. Granted, that’s an extreme example. But even one case like that is too many. If we as a society are asking for the ultimate from these soldiers, can’t we at least repay them and their families by ensuring they aren’t destitute? Sure, it might involve a tax increase, but it’s worth it; call it the price of freedom if you want. If we as a country are to have any shred of decency, we must take care of those fighting dubious wars, and we must take care of their families who are left behind hoping and praying their loved one(s) return(s) safely.

The Bush II administration, however, has no decency; for if it had, we wouldn’t be fighting this war in the first place. I’m naïve to expect the administration would want to take care of the families when they weren’t even taking care of the troops they’ve put in harm’s way until it became public knowledge.

Enter the organization USA Cares, which “exists to help servicemembers and their families deployed across America and around the globe. USA Cares provides support with relevant and direct assistance that improves challenging situations and betters the life and well-being of Americans who ask so little, yet give so very much.” Since March 2003, they have helped families from 47 states, and have provided $393,119 in assistance. I'm sure other organizations like this exist, so it's good that these people have somewhere to turn.

But it’s a shame that these organizations even need to exist.

The Birthday Celebration

Saturday night was my birthday celebration. After several people who answered the e-vite in the affirmative had to cancel, we ended up having six people for dinner. We ate at Shout, midtown's newest eatery (don't you hate that word??) where Kevin declared he had his best meal ever in Atlanta.

The decor is very nice at Shout; I now understand why the renovation took so long. It's a dark wood, modern look with modern rock columns and patterned-beamed ceilings. And the place is huge! Every room, it seems, leads to another. Curved hallways and varying sizes of open spaces make for an interesting trek to the men's room!

Not being ones to enjoy the anticipation of waiting at the bar while a table becomes available, we had a 7:00 reservation, so the restaurant wasn't yet terribly crowded. The room we were put in was crowded, however. And loud. Very loud. That seems to be the theme of Shout; patrons take the name literally. We had to scream at each other to be heard above the din of drunken former sorority girls and their (sometimes) hunky boyfriends. And that was the only downfall of the place. The noise really detracted from the overall ambiance. But that is what the chic, hip, fashionista Atlantans are going for. A crazy noisy place with even mediocre food ensures success in today's Atlanta.

After dinner it was a bit early to go dancing (another weird quirk of Atlanta -- nothing really fun gets started before midnight at the clubs) so we walked over to Einstein's for a drink. We ran into some old friends and acquaintances there and had a great time. The weather was so nice that we spilled out onto the patio for a while.

We then went to The Heretic to dance. The experience wasn't in the top 10 I've had, but it was fun enough. I had a great time watching my friends scout out boys. That's always fun (living vicariously, I suppose!). But I'm in one of those phases of life where clubbing just isn't as much fun as it once was. I kind of miss those days of trying on outfits (yes, outfits) trying to decide what to wear, getting that Just Right Look. All that just seems like a hassle now. And the drugs are really way out of hand. Too many people take "going out" way too seriously, and I think it's because of the drugs. Just a guess, though. Maybe it's the impetuousness of youth, though. Who knows? I know my enjoyment of dancing will come back, just not in the form it once was. That makes me sad in a way, because I've had so much fun dancing with friends. But the Mature Todd says that it just means another enjoyment is just around the corner.

You really can tell I've had a birthday, can't you!?!?!?!

Anyway, I would like to thank all my friends who showed me a great night Saturday. I had a really good time with all of you. That's what it's all about anyway. Whether dancing or ditch-digging, if I'm with good friends, we'll have a good time. I'm so grateful that's the case!

Todd's Grammar Gripe #1

OK, class, let's look at the following sample sentence:

I am supposed to go to the movies tonight.

While the wording could be better, we won't look at that aspect of the sentence for now. The third word is supposed. The word suppose is not correct in this situation. In everyday conversation, it may sound like the word is suppose, but in written form, please use supposed.

Summary
Incorrect: I am suppose to go to the movies tonight.
Correct: I am supposed to go to the movies tonight.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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In other news, the Gallery has been updated with new photos of Bailey and some self portraits.

Shameless Self Promotion

Happy Birthday to me!

Yay! :-)

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Privacy

I'm sure you've heard about the recent "scandal" involving Alpharetta, GA-based ChoicePoint and their sale of Americans' personal information to identity theives. (Alpharetta is a suburb of Atlanta. In my urban-centricness, I refuse to say the company is Atlanta-based, especially given the disdain most suburbanites feel toward Atlanta.)

Anyway, this company collects information on practically every man, woman and child in the country and sells it to other companies. My current employer, for instance, used the company to do a background check on me when I was hired (and I wonder what they found). This scandal has brought to the forefront of the public's mind the practice of selling citizens' information. Many are feeling violated. Our local alternative weekly did some digging on ChoicePoint's CEO, Derek Smith, and published some info about him in this column.

Nice, huh? :-)

A Night Out and About: Las Vegas

I've just posted new pics of Las Vegas from last night. Check them out in the Gallery.

And tonight I passed part one of three towards my certification as a CBIP (Certified Business Intelligence Professional)!!! Woo-hoo!!

I'm off to dinner and drinks to celebrate!