Interview: Author Colleen Oakley of Before I Go
This month, journalist Colleen Oakley publishes her debut novel, Before I Go, a poignant look at issues of death, life, coping, and letting go. I spoke with her about craft and making the transition from true life to fiction.
The Walking Dead Awards: We’re still here
Each week, we comb through the guts of The Walking Dead, much like a horde of hungry walkers, to bring you the episode’s best moments, surprises, and other post-apocalyptic curiosities. This week: Why smoking kills; always say please before you hit someone with your staff; and this episode is brought to you by the letters J, S, and W.
The Southeastern Center for Conservation works to preserve native orchids and other endangered species
While the labs of the Southeastern Center for Conservation may lack the dazzle of the Atlanta Botanical Garden's orchid show nearby, they are bursting with life, home to thousands of species of orchids and other plants—many of them endangered—native to the Southeastern United States, the Caribbean, and Central America. Growing in sealed plastic containers or tucked away in temperature-controlled seed banks, these species are an insurance policy against catastrophic climate change and human-propelled biodiversity loss—keys to the plant ecology of the entire Southeastern region.
Mark DeRosa joins MLB Network
This season our own Mark DeRosa joins the likes of Harold Reynolds and Al Leiter behind the desk of MLB Tonight, the MLB Network’s signature nightly highlight and analysis show.
Vanity Fair turned me into a Southern stereotype—and I let them
I was one of nine Southern female authors assembled by Vanity Fair magazine for a photo shoot to accompany an article about us. And there, on the Swan House lawn, was that quirk again, this time in the form of hats.
Johnny’s Hideaway
Nothing much has changed at Johnny’s Hideaway, the cougar bar buried in the strip mall homogeneity of Roswell Road. Not the disco ball or the parquet floor or the glamour shots of dead and dying celebrities. Divorcées in tight jeans and halter tops still troll the perimeter. The oldies soundtrack is the same, though founder Johnny Esposito, “Mr. Nightlife,” passed away in April at age seventy-nine. Chris Dauria, the son of Esposito’s partner Mike Dana, has run the place for years—still guarding the door with his entourage of big, bald bouncers, as if something valuable were inside. And maybe, in this age of disposable bars, there is.
Fox Theatre summer film festival gets retooled for 2013
Thanks to a pair of Facebook fan surveys and a few long overdue arm wrestling bouts with Midtown parking purveyors, the Fox Theatre’s 2013 Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival could be the Atlanta landmark’s most ambitious movie series in years. When discounted advance tickets go on sale Friday morning at 10 via the Fox’s website, movie fans will see a more stream-lined line up: Friday nights will be devoted to action flicks, Saturday offerings will be date night and family friendly with Sundays reserved for revered classic films.
This time-lapse video of the I-85 collapse repair is pretty impressive
A new time-lapse video from Atlanta-based company OxBlue shows off the speedy six-week repair of the collapsed I-85 bridge.
Small change: A Cabbagetown charity wants your forgotten gift cards
Last year, after a fire destroyed their Grant Park house, a family of 10 got hot meals and clothing from an unlikely source: gift cards that are usually tucked away or forgotten. That emergency was one of many needs that Plywood People—a Cabbagetown nonprofit that promotes socially conscious entrepreneurs—has met during the past six years with its Gift Card Giver program.
RHOA Recap: Kim becomes a pistol-packin’ mama, NeNe seeks an AbFab nightclub
The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Episode 410: “We Come in Peace (And Packing Heat)” recap:Editor's note: On Monday, we chose to observe the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with our own public service project. Not recapping RHOA.With the NFL lockout still in place, Kim Zolciak and her Atlanta Falcon boy toy/baby daddy Kroy Biermann opt to while away the hours at Sharp Shooters USA in Roswell. In an effort to redefine family fun, baby K.J. is with them. As they arrive with tot in tow, the sole female employee at Sharp Shooters USA is silently paraphrasing Reese Witherspoon’s dialogue from “Sweet Home Alabama” (“Look at you. You have a baby. In a firing range.”). Kim instantly makes Swiss cheese out of her paper target using a variety of lethal weapons (“She’s a great shot, a real pistol-packin’ mama,” praises her instructor). Kim is hesitant about actually owning a firearm, however, until she spots a nine millimeter with a bubble gum-hued handle. “Oh, this is adorable,” she tells Kroy. “I’m excited!”
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