Call this number and you might get served with a subpoena.
"Attention: Searching for anyone who witnessed a female being violently restrained by Walmart Security on Epps Bridge Pky. June 18, 2008."
Epps Bridge Parkway, Oconee County, GA
2008-07-03
2008-07-02
snap! crackle! pop! 4th activities
For those of you who haven't been to the colbert canna festival & parade (!!) really, you are missing out! Unfortunately, I've had to miss it the last couple of years, but every Colbert festival I've attended has been a unique experience -- between the Little Misses (the baby pageant queens) and the line of John Deere tractors in the parade...and of course, the cloggers, the arts & crafts, bbq, and well, all of the rest of it.Other things to do: Rack of Spam is playing at Ashford Manor in Watkinsville on the 4th. Oconee County is also doing their thing, the "eighth annual Fourth of July Heritage Celebration" (starts at 10:30 a.m.)
..and of course, the ACC fireworks have been saved (I'll leave discussions of the political wranglings over these, to the rest of you. )
From the ACC newsletter: Oh Say Can You See... The Star Spangled Classic is scheduled for Friday, July 4 at Bishop Park!
Activities begin at 6:00 p.m. and culminate with the firworks display at approximatley 9:30 p.m. Enjoy patriotic music from the Classic City Band and the community birthday cake donated by Publix.
For more information, please call (706) 613-3589 or visit www.accleisureservices.com
2008-07-01
seeking sunflower field
Well, this is only tangentially related to athens, but I don't know who else to ask.
I'm looking for a sunflower field to photograph -- preferably one visible from a public property (road, park, parking lot, etc.)
I will gladly share my pix/digital images with the owner, but if I can find a field that I can just shoot without bothering anyone, that would be lovely.
Also would prefer someplace where I won't get shot at for being a trepasser ;-)
any suggestions?
thnx robin ( my photos @ flickr, if you're curious)
I'm looking for a sunflower field to photograph -- preferably one visible from a public property (road, park, parking lot, etc.)
I will gladly share my pix/digital images with the owner, but if I can find a field that I can just shoot without bothering anyone, that would be lovely.
Also would prefer someplace where I won't get shot at for being a trepasser ;-)
any suggestions?
thnx robin ( my photos @ flickr, if you're curious)
2008-06-29
2008-06-27
PAWs Cookout Sat!
Earthfare is holding a benefit cookout for PAWS tomorrow (Saturday, June 28) from 11-2. Pets welcome! PAWS provides assistance to people on limited incomes to spay/neuter their pets. Come share some great food for a great cause!
More about PAWS can be found here
More about PAWS can be found here
Scenes from the Mayflower
I ate lunch at the Mayflower this afternoon and man what a treat it was. Not the food, which was also very good, but the things/people I observed there is what made it the treat it turned out to be. (Salmon patties, fried okra, turnip greens, corn bread and of course sweet tea for those who might wonder what I ate).
I was in the next to rear most booth, sitting by myself. An elderly gentleman came in after me and sat the booth right behind me. Shortly after that four college aged kids sat in the booth in front of me. In the front of the restaurant was a little middle aged guy, balding, maybe 5’5” and 140 pounds tops. I have seen him almost every time I have been in the Mayflower. What is remarkable about him is that he is almost a living cartoon character. He is highly animated, he flits around from table to cash register, then out the door to chase someone down on the sidewalk, then back in the door and over to the table, all the while gesturing with his hands. Pondering this, I heard the older waitress asking the gentleman behind me how he was doing, calling him by name. So he’s a regular too. The old man literally wailed saying this was the worst day of his life. His bird died this morning he reported, then broke down into sobs. The waitress tried to comfort him to no avail and left to get his tea. No order was ever placed, his Friday ritual is no doubt well defined over the years. I sat with my back to him, listening as he occasionally heaved a big sigh or a sob. I felt bad for the old man.
Now the four kids in front of me had placed their order and after their tea was delivered, one of the kids asked if they could pray. They clasped hands and one began to pray. Daddy God, he began, and went on to thank him for allowing them to share witness with others. The prayer was interspersed with references to Jesus, Daddy God, Father, Daddy, and each sentence usually began with something like ‘Daddy, we just come asking..... followed by some directions for God to follow to benefit the petitioners. Lots of humble ‘We just ask’, ‘We just thank’, We just take time’, you get the picture. I also heard him ask that, ‘much like you, Father God, designed our bodies to use this food prepared for us, we just ask that you use our bodies in your kingdom’. I had to wait then to see if any of them had ordered spaghetti, but they didn’t. That would have been too weird.
Now, along with this lengthy instruction to God, superimpose the sobs of an old man behind me. Superimpose a living cartoon character on that composite scene, and you might understand why I was beginning to feel weird. I ate more slowly to see what else might unfold. Once the prayerful kids’ food was delivered, their conversation turned to obese dogs, cell phone ring tones and other more mundane topics. The cartoon character danced out the door after paying his bill at the cash register. The old man continued to occasionally sob or sigh behind me. I thought for a moment about asking the kids in front of me to instruct God with respect to the dead bird, but thought better of it. Maybe God doesn’t care about dead birds, particularly this close to another SEC football season.
Paying my bill, I asked the lady at the cash register about the dead bird and the cartoon guy. She rolled her eyes, smiled and told me I ought to eat there more often. She’s right. I will.
I was in the next to rear most booth, sitting by myself. An elderly gentleman came in after me and sat the booth right behind me. Shortly after that four college aged kids sat in the booth in front of me. In the front of the restaurant was a little middle aged guy, balding, maybe 5’5” and 140 pounds tops. I have seen him almost every time I have been in the Mayflower. What is remarkable about him is that he is almost a living cartoon character. He is highly animated, he flits around from table to cash register, then out the door to chase someone down on the sidewalk, then back in the door and over to the table, all the while gesturing with his hands. Pondering this, I heard the older waitress asking the gentleman behind me how he was doing, calling him by name. So he’s a regular too. The old man literally wailed saying this was the worst day of his life. His bird died this morning he reported, then broke down into sobs. The waitress tried to comfort him to no avail and left to get his tea. No order was ever placed, his Friday ritual is no doubt well defined over the years. I sat with my back to him, listening as he occasionally heaved a big sigh or a sob. I felt bad for the old man.
Now the four kids in front of me had placed their order and after their tea was delivered, one of the kids asked if they could pray. They clasped hands and one began to pray. Daddy God, he began, and went on to thank him for allowing them to share witness with others. The prayer was interspersed with references to Jesus, Daddy God, Father, Daddy, and each sentence usually began with something like ‘Daddy, we just come asking..... followed by some directions for God to follow to benefit the petitioners. Lots of humble ‘We just ask’, ‘We just thank’, We just take time’, you get the picture. I also heard him ask that, ‘much like you, Father God, designed our bodies to use this food prepared for us, we just ask that you use our bodies in your kingdom’. I had to wait then to see if any of them had ordered spaghetti, but they didn’t. That would have been too weird.
Now, along with this lengthy instruction to God, superimpose the sobs of an old man behind me. Superimpose a living cartoon character on that composite scene, and you might understand why I was beginning to feel weird. I ate more slowly to see what else might unfold. Once the prayerful kids’ food was delivered, their conversation turned to obese dogs, cell phone ring tones and other more mundane topics. The cartoon character danced out the door after paying his bill at the cash register. The old man continued to occasionally sob or sigh behind me. I thought for a moment about asking the kids in front of me to instruct God with respect to the dead bird, but thought better of it. Maybe God doesn’t care about dead birds, particularly this close to another SEC football season.
Paying my bill, I asked the lady at the cash register about the dead bird and the cartoon guy. She rolled her eyes, smiled and told me I ought to eat there more often. She’s right. I will.
2008-06-26
Mike Hamby now running for commission
Mike Hamby has qualified to run for Athens-Clarke County Commission District 10. As posted earlier, Elton Dodson is running in that district for reelection.
(We should have a microblog version of Athens World.)
(We should have a microblog version of Athens World.)
2008-06-25
Changes to watering restrictions and another criticism of leaf and limb service
When the watering restrictions schedule gets this complicated, you have something that will be even more difficult to follow or enforce. It takes effect on June 30. I'll just refer you to an official webpage.
In other county government news, the leaf and limb pickup schedule has been reduced to once every eight weeks instead of six because of the budget cuts for the next fiscal year. That is phenomenal considering how inadequate the schedule already was. Other cities have pickups every one or two weeks, yet once every six weeks has become too rich for us. Yes, if we can't do it right we may as well cut it out completely. Eight weeks is too infrequent to be useful. We're still paying taxes for a service that we might rarely use, but on top of that many residents are already often paying landscapers and landfill fees to get rid of their yard waste in a timely manner. Perhaps it should be free to dump leaf and limb waste since we're already saving the county so much money by bringing it to the landfill ourselves.
In other county government news, the leaf and limb pickup schedule has been reduced to once every eight weeks instead of six because of the budget cuts for the next fiscal year. That is phenomenal considering how inadequate the schedule already was. Other cities have pickups every one or two weeks, yet once every six weeks has become too rich for us. Yes, if we can't do it right we may as well cut it out completely. Eight weeks is too infrequent to be useful. We're still paying taxes for a service that we might rarely use, but on top of that many residents are already often paying landscapers and landfill fees to get rid of their yard waste in a timely manner. Perhaps it should be free to dump leaf and limb waste since we're already saving the county so much money by bringing it to the landfill ourselves.
ACC Library Booksale
Friends of the Athens-Clarke County Library Summer Book Sale Saturday, June 28, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.*
Thousands of books for sale including fiction, non-fiction, hardbacks and paperbacks. Free admission. Call (706)613-3650, ext. 344 for more information. In the Library's Lobby.
Thousands of books for sale including fiction, non-fiction, hardbacks and paperbacks. Free admission. Call (706)613-3650, ext. 344 for more information. In the Library's Lobby.
2008-06-24
Spring Valley EcoFarms
Spring Valley EcoFarms reports on its research and outreach programs and recent tours:
As flood waters subside from Midwestern farms and Georgia growers struggle through a drought, media outlets have jumped at the chance to educate the public about food. However, five-minute video clips or 250-word articles lack what Spring Valley EcoFarms offers: information rooted deeply in research.
For 15 years, academics, college students and farming professionals visiting the 100-acre facility have learned how to improve soil quality, rely on nature's nutrients for increased crop yields, and implement the latest techniques in organic farming. The farm's Agroecology Lab continues to be a research station for the undergraduate and graduate students within University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology. Full Moon Farm, also located on the Athens property, provides farmers across Georgia and beyond with a business model necessary to implement community supported agriculture.
Now the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization enters a new stage of educational outreach by opening its gates to students in northeast Georgia's public schools. In May, nearly 90 third-graders from Timothy Road Elementary School explored Spring Valley EcoFarms. Kari Speakman, a Timothy Road Elementary teacher, says: "The tour fit (with our school curriculum) because the students were able to see animals in their natural habitats. They also saw how plants can grow without chemicals."
Sites within a farm tour include: a two-acre old-growth hickory forest, an original farmhouse built in 1868, free-range chickens, pigs and cows, a greenhouse with rare and endangered plants from Southeast China, as well as an active organic fruit and vegetable farm. "Spring Valley EcoFarms creates an outdoor learning laboratory that allows kids and adults an opportunity to use all their senses in order to understand how farm life can work with nature to produce food for people while also conserving nature," says tour leader Rachel Smalls, a graduate student at the University of Georgia.
Anabel Foucart, the farm's vice president and marketing communications director, explains that exposure to such outdoor learning labs is key for today’s school children. She says, "At Spring Valley EcoFarms we feel there is a need to support public schools through outreach. Our objective is to educate children in 'green' and environmental subject matter in a fun but strategic fashion, taking the burden off of the teachers who are focused on developing basic skills. We have the resources and talent to roll this out to children of all ages and backgrounds -- and hope to encourage a vivid interest and dialogue around sustainable themes and conservation."
As the consumer -- either young or adult -- continues to learn about food safety and increasing food costs, Spring Valley EcoFarms will continue serving as an open-air classroom. To learn more about the farm or schedule a tour, please visit www.springvalleyecofarms.org.
Email SVE: info@springvalleyecofarms.org
Call SVE: 706-410-0945
2008-06-23
2008-06-21
2008-06-20
Friday Musings
Summer time on North Campus is prime time listening to the orientation groups/guides coming through. The arrival of such a group was heralded by the ringing of the Chapel bell. I think that was stop 1 on the North Campus orientation. I said was because with the bell tower under renovation the ringing has stopped for now. From my station on one of the benches on the North Campus quads I have heard in recent weeks that the Library has developed its own search engine which is better than google to help students find the books, articles, and journals needed for students to complete their assignments. BUT!! If this state of the art search engine fails to find what you need, the Library is staffed 24x7 with Librarians who will find what you need. I also found out that the North Campus squirrels were not afraid of humans, were aggressive and need to be left alone if not avoided altogether. I found out that the oak trees on North Campus are over 100 years old. I suppose some of the alpha squirrels are up there around 100 years old as well. Mean as they are..
Why is it that the people in glasses ads on teevee all look like they have never worn a pair of eye glasses in their life until that ad was taped?
Some of the running commentaries on the letters to the editor on flagpole.com are highly amusing reading. Some of it is mean-spirited garbage, but a lot of it is really clever stuff.
A sponsor blurb on NPR the other day informed me that Range Rover is the vehicle of choice for humanitarians. I did not know that.
When did it become a requirement for pre-convention nominees from both parties to be referred to as 'presumptive nominee'? Are the media outlets worried about a lawsuit if the Clintons steal the nomination? (But but, you said nominee!!!!). I never heard this term before this campaign cycle, but almost all the talking heads say that.
What in the hell is nougat? I know its a part of a candy bar, but really, what is it? Who invented it? And why that name?
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