Fresh Loaf

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Nyemb, 45, was born in Cameroon, on the west coast of central Africa. He’s been driving a cab in Atlanta since the mid-’90s — and has had his fair share of experiences both in his native land and behind the wheel.

When did you come to Atlanta?

I came here in 1991. I came to go to school.

Did you finish your degree?

No. I had to call it off. Because of some family obligations and financial constraints, I had to look for a job.

What kinds of jobs were available to you?

At that time, the only job I could get was driving. I was delivering newspapers for a while and then I started driving a taxi.

Job opportunities are better here. Unemployment is up to 40 percent in Cameroon. An education will not guarantee you a job. And here, although I could not do exactly what I wanted, I got a job to pay the bills. That is the big difference.

What are some of the cultural differences?

In Cameroon, people live in a family-oriented society. People help each other and you can stay at home until you decide to leave, even if you have a wife and children. People try to help one another.  Here, you are on your own. If you don’t make it, you get evicted. And the food was also a new experience for me.

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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This horse ran directly into the fence at full speed after being let out of the gate during the saddle bronc riding competition.

Thousands of people crowded into the Gwinnett Center Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009, for an evening of energized violence and brutality. The Toughest Cowboy competition had arrived at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. The contest involved 12 cowboys competing in the triathlon of cowboy chaos, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. The Gwinnett stop is part of a multi-city tour with the Toughest Cowboy being awarded a Rocky Mountain ranch near Laramie, Wyoming at the end of the three-month contest.

I was allowed to photograph from the rodeo dirt and focused my camera between the ring bars occasionally dodging hyper aggravated animals. I was so close I could hear the animals snort in Pain? Ecstasy? Revenge? Love? Death? I am not sure what they were feeling but they jumped and ran and kicked and screamed like beasts that had just been released from the gates of hell. The cowboys themselves were a beaten and tattered bunch. Tough Cowboy Jared Green from Socorro, New Mexico had to drop out of Saturday’s competition because of pain in his shoulder. Green’s injuries from rodeo competitions have included breaking both of his ankles, two surgeries on his shoulder, a knee operation, broken ribs, a broken hand, concussions and a knocked-out tooth. Green is only 22 years old.

The whole event seemed to teeter on epic disaster with batshit crazy horses running directly into fences at full speed and cowboys being thrown face first into the ground over and over again inside an arena of 5000 screaming people from the suburbs in cowboy hats and real cowboys from rural Georgia. It was insane, beautiful and chilling.

See more photos of the Toughest Cowboy in our photo galleries. 

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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This week’s Time and Place photo was taken at 12th and Spring Street during a protest against the Israeli killing of civilians during their invasion of Gaza. For me the girl in the photo has a look on her face that says “Why?” which matches the tone of the sign behind her. Here in Atlanta there have been protests almost daily against the Israeli action in Gaza. It seems so unbelievable that hundreds of people have been killed so needlessly, how can life be considered so worthless? Maybe I am just naïve, but it seems this action in Gaza will create generations of more war.

To view more photos of this event, visit Sideshow.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Rubi Cuautle, at a vigil for John Henderson

Tears, laughs, prayers, cigarettes and calls for organizing against crime were the orders of business this morning at a vigil in front of the Standard Food & Spirits — where, one day earlier, 27-year-old bartender John Henderson was murdered during an armed robbery.

Police estimated that more than 200 people, including Henderson’s friends and supporters, gathered to celebrate his life and discuss the tragedy at the popular bar and restaurant on Memorial Drive, near historic Oakland Cemetery in north Grant Park. Community residents circulated sign-up sheets and fliers for community action groups. Local filmmaker Kyle Keyser — himself a victim of a crime eerily similar to the one that took Henderson’s life — handed out a flier for a new group he’s forming, called Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks. Keyser said he decided to form the group last night, after hearing about Henderson’s death.

According to the AJC, Henderson and a female bartender were closing up the Standard at about 4 a.m., when four armed men threw a brick through the glass door and ordered them into the bar’s office. Henderson was shot four times execution-style — twice in the head and once in each leg. He later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Brandon Barr, a regular at the Standard, stared off into space under the Standard sign as he recalled his memories of Henderson. “He was a great guy,” Barr said, “and I came here to pay my respects.” Rubi Cuautle choked back tears and called for a boycott “of establishments that do not provide adequate security for their employees.” Kelly Dugan held a candle as she accepted deep hugs from well-wishers. “John was one of my really good friends,” she said.

More photos from the vigil at our Sideshow Atlanta Blog

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Deafening chants of “Long Live Palestine!” could be heard Monday evening outside the Midtown building that houses the Israeli consulate.

Over 250 people rallied to protest the hundreds of casualties in the Gaza Strip caused by Israel’s bombing and ground offensive. The attack came in response to rocket fire by Hamas into Israel.

According to organizers this was the fourth pro-Palestinian protest in Atlanta since Israel began its attack on Dec. 27.

Amar Aburas shouts "Free Palestine!" He is from Palastine and has family living in Gaza.

Demonstrators lined both sides of Spring Street at 12th Avenue during rush hour with dozens of signs bearing messages such as “End the Occupation Now” and images of bloodied Palestinan children. A Palestinian protestor named Mahmoud (no last name given) held a homemade sign that read “Who killed us? Israel did.”

More photos from the protest at our Sideshow Atlanta blog.

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On my way in to work today, I saw Jeff Roof at the intersection of Freedom Pkwy NE and Ralph McGill Blvd NE. Jeff is an out-of-work medical assistant desperately in need of a job.

“I have been out of work for almost two months. Everywhere I look for a job they want you to apply online and everyday I apply online but I never hear back from anybody so I figured what would it hurt to go and stand in the intersection.”

“I put this off for a week because of the rain and fog. I finally said this looked like my best day so I thought I would come out and see what happens. I realize its tough for everybody but I need a job before I am out on the street.”

“I put on [an] elf hat ’cause I figured it would draw attention — I feel like an idiot but I figured why not?”

“I even wrote Ellen (DeGeneres) and asked her for help. I never heard back from her but mama always said it never hurt to ask, what do I have to lose?”

“One of the reasons I got out of real estate last year is because I didn’t have any health insurance so I figured if I got into the medical field at least I wouldn’t have to worry about it but now I don’t have any health insurance.”

“The main thing I am hoping for is someone will offer me an opportunity, that’s all I am looking for.”

“I have been out here for about an hour and nobody has offered me a job but a number of people have rolled down their windows and said ‘good luck Jeff.’ If the weather is good I will be out here again tomorrow.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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December 8, 2008, 4:26 pm, at 1265 Lee Street SW

This week’s Time and Place photo is from a series of images I took of a couple of guys working on a car in southwest Atlanta last week. I chose the image because of the weirdness of the guy laying on the ground. To me the difficulty in deciphering what exactly he is doing makes it an intriguing image.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Dec. 8, 2008, 9:40 a.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive SW and Central Avenue SW

This week’s Time and Place photo was taken in front of the Fulton County Justice Center on Central Avenue in Atlanta. The photo is of Dean Gottschalk who was holding a sign that read “Honk for 50/50 shared parenting.” The sign refers to a movement he is a part of that advocates equal time for parents in instances of divorce that involve minor children. Dean explained his recent experience that led him to standing in front of the Justice Center with the sign. “Thanksgiving week I was falsely accused of abusing my children and the result is a presiding judge, without asking for proof, took the allegations at face value and leveled a punishment on me and my children. This year was my court-ordered year of Thanksgiving, so this is my year to have the kids and the ruling prevented my kids from having Thanksgiving with me.” Dean explained another man named Gregory Eisenhauer took this type of news harder and killed himself two days after Thanksgiving. According to Dean, Eisenhauer had received an order the day before Thanksgiving limiting his time with his children to 15%.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Last Thursday about 20 activists led by the group “Save Our Cypress Coalition” gathered outside of the corporate headquarters of Home Depot on Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta to boil crabs to protest Home Depot’s use of cypress tress in mulch that they produce. They claim that irreplaceable cypress forests in the southeast are being clear-cut to produce and sell garden mulch by Home Depot. “Clear cutting cypress forests to make mulch is like shredding the constitution to make post it notes,” said Dan Favre, campaign organizer for the Gulf Restoration Network.

The activists said that the crabs they brought to boil at the demonstration represented the Gulf environment that they were trying to protect. Several dozen live crabs were boiled to death and eaten to protest against the destruction of the crabs environment.

Boiling crabs to save them outside Home Depot

According to the demonstrators some of the cypress tress that Home Depot uses in their mulch take a hundred years to grow and could live for over 1000 years if they were not cut down and sold for garden mulch. The Coalition recommends Home Depot use other types of wood such as pine bark because it’s a byproduct of the lumber industry and requires no further environmental destruction to produce or pine straw because its renewable.

More boiling crabs to save the swamps photos at our Sideshow blog.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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On Monday night in downtown Atlanta, nearly 75 people gathered outside the U.S. Court of Appeals building to hold a candlelight vigil for death row inmate Troy Davis.

An 11th Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel met today to decide whether to hear his latest appeal. On three occasions, Davis received a last-minute stay of execution based on appeals that have raised the possibility of his innocence.

Davis was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since Davis’ original trial, seven of nine witnesses whose testimony helped convict him have recanted.

In today’s hearing, both the defense and the state presented 30 minutes of oral arguments. According to Laura Moye of Amnesty International, the court’s ruling — which is expected in the coming weeks — could lead to a hearing during which the witnesses who recanted would be allowed to testify. However, if the court rules in favor of the state, Davis likely will get his fourth execution date.

The Rev. Tim McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church, closed the vigil Monday night by leading the crowd in the song "This Little Light of Mine."

More photos from the vigil at our Sideshow blog.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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This week’s Time and Place photo is from the Bodies exhibit at Atlantic Station.

If you ever questioned the phrases of your mama like, “beauty is only skin deep,” or “it’s what’s inside that counts,” you need to head out to the Bodies exhibit at Atlantic Station. I ventured there Thanksgiving eve and left feeling quite nauseated and more convinced then ever that my mother was right.

Beauty really is only skin deep. We are all ugly on the inside.

The exhibit has been somewhat controversial — would you want your body exhibited like this?

Check out more photos from the exhibit at our Sideshow blog.

Suggested soundtracks for looking at photos — choose your vibe:

“Bodies” by the Sex Pistols

Or…

“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Frank Sinatra

(Photos by Joeff Davis)

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One of these photos is this week’s “Hard Times Holiday Guide” Creative Loafing cover which hits the streets (and the web) Wednesday. Which one would you have picked? (Scroll down to vote)

A)

B)

C)

D)

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I waited in line this morning for an hour and a half to vote at the Little 5 Points community center. I wondered what was holding up the line until I saw this guy.

See more photos here

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Democratic Senate Candidate Jim Martin at the “Campaign for Change” rally Monday night at the Georgia capitol.

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About 50 people showed up today at Woodruff Park in support of National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality.

One of the protesters was Iffat Muhammad Walker, whose brother Abraheem Muhammad was unarmed when he was shot in the head and killed during a confrontation with a DeKalb police officer in August 2006. The police report said that Muhammad had pushed an officer against a wall who had come to investigate a report of trespassing in an apartment complex at 3800 Flat Shoals Parkway and that the weapon discharged during the struggle, according to the AJC. A DeKalb County Internal Review Board later ruled that either Muhammad had pulled the trigger while attempting to shoot the officer or that the gun went off during a struggle.

Iffat says that the police report does not make sense and questions how her brother could have shot himself in the face. She also questions why the police are in charge of investigating their fellow officer. “It does not make sense. It’s like if I commit a crime and I investigate myself.”

Her brother’s case was one of twelve cases in which an officer fatally shot someone in DeKalb County in 2006, according to the AJC. In 10 of the 12 cases, the Internal Review board ruled the fatal shootings justified. In another fatal case, in which a suspect was beaten with a baton, pepper sprayed and later stopped breathing, the board found that the officers did not contribute to the death.

“We really want to know what happened, “ Iffat said during the rally. “I remember him as a very kind person. I dressed him for his funeral and that is the last time I saw him.”

(Photo of Iffat Muhammad Walker at the National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality at Woodruff Park)

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This week’s Time and Place photo was shot at 11th and Peachtree Street NE. For me, one of the benefits to living in the city is that the mirrored buildings create living canvases that change dramatically throughout the day. I like this photo because it combines that element of the city with another of my favorites — the workers who dangle fearlessly from buildings while they complete their daily jobs. To me, they are heroic. I also like the multidimensionality of this image — how the reflected building forms one world and the surface of the lines of steel form another dimension. The worker, seemingly walking at the top of the reflected building while touching the sky, forms yet another.

(Photo and text by Joeff Davis)

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Was anybody else weirded out by McCain’s freaky laughing last night?

Paper mache doll by the Missile Dick Chicks outside the 2008 Democratic National Convention

More info on the Missile Dick Chicks here

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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October 2, 2008, 9:35 p.m. at 502 Amsterdam Ave. N.E.

This weeks Time and Place photograph was taken off the television screen at the Amsterdam Café. When I go out on an assignment I try to previsualize an image before I arrive at the shoot and for this one I was thinking of somebody drinking in front of the television screen with the Vice Presidents debate going on behind them but when I got there that image felt a little too contrived so I started taking photos of just the television screen with a long lens and came up with this Palin shot.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Nearly 25 demonstrators gathered outside the Federal Reserve Bank Building at 10th and Peachtree today under the banner “Bail Out the People, Not the Banks” in protest of the controversial “economic recovery” package that was approved 74-25 by the U.S. Senate last night. The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Friday on the package. Supporters of the legislation, including Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, threaten economic collapse if the bill fails, claiming its passage is essential not just for people on Wall Street, but also for folks on Main Street.

But these demonstrators weren’t buying it. Chants of “Stop Corporate Greed Fund Human Needs”, “Money for Main Street not for Wall Street” and “Bail Out the People Not The Banks” were punctuated by honking horns from passing vehicles in support of the protesters.

“I oppose bailing out billionaires,” said demonstrator Ingmar Smith. “We have been trying to get basic health care funded for 20 years but as soon as Wall Street needs money its available in a week.”

Demonstrators outside the Federal Reserve Bank Thursday afternoon

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Supporters and loved ones of Troy Davis marched through downtown Atlanta and rallied at Ebenezer Baptist Church September 18, 2008.

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