Fresh Loaf

The loss of Fuzzy’s Place last year was a blow to Atlanta’s music scene, and to the regulars who frequented the North Druid Hills Road for drinks and Cajun food. But after the death of Fuzzy Cawthon in 2006, majority ownership in the bar was turned over to his brother who elected to shut the doors after 30 years of business.

But there’s good news: The staff of Fuzzy’s Place have opened their own place. Fuzzy’s Place, meet Zuffy’s Place. It opens today at a new location at 1860 Corporate Blvd., right around the corner from where Fuzzy’s used to be.

“We’re all excited,” Keirsten Alexander, a co-owner of Zuffy’s said last week when I visited during the bar’s soft opening. “When Fuzzy’s closed, we looked at everything within two miles. And this was the perfect location.” (more…)

Bookmark It

— A year ago, Amy Morton was in Iowa campaigning for John Edwards. On Georgia Women Vote,  she recounts her trip and a tender moment with Elizabeth Edwards.

— Speaking of disgraced political types, who gave Ralph Reed a ticket back into the party? ATLmalcontent looks at John McCain’s association with Reed and smells a “sell-out.”

— The Atlanta PD plans to use undercover officers in the ever-continuing quest to get rid of panhandling downtown. At Terminal Station, B King wonders if that is the wisest use of manpower although he agrees something has to be done about the situation.

— Dave gives his Sunday AJC  a final read at Rather Than Working and shares the email he sent to Julia Wallace, the paper’s editor. In short, he’s disappointed with the cutbacks and isn’t renewing subscription.

— Over at Reporter-Cub, there’s a break from the usual snarkiness for an essay on how our inner-child helps define us as adults.

— And finally, Ashley at Random Atlanta has discovered just how rough times are: God is selling real estate. Ouch.

Bookmark It

— Sad news from Decatur. Andy Peters at the Deal Watch blog reports that the company that owns the Crescent Moon diner filed for bankruptcy protection. Although the diner, which has two other locations, has remained open, Peters reports the diner’s Decatur landlord wants to start eviction proceedings.

— The United States is on the verge of becoming majority minority, and Reporter Cub celebrates our diversity.

— Over at Politits, Dcup strays from politics to discuss some real-life adventures in parenting three kids.

— But politic junkies, fear not. At Tondee’s Tavern, Mcantone looks at Karen Handel’s quest to have Jim Powell disqualified from the Public Service Commission election.

— Doug Richards at Live Apartment Fire has dug up a 15-year-old “inside the newsroom” video produced by WAGA-TV. For those who have been in Atlanta that long, it’s a fun trek back in time to really bad haircuts, including Amanda Davis doing her best Sheila E.

Bookmark It

 — Most often, Live Apartment Fire looks at the state of local television news with a somewhat cynical eye. But today, he gives major props to WXIA-TV’s Brenda Wood for the job she’s doing over in China for the Olympic Games.

— At the Daly Briefing, our intrepid correspondent from the war zone shares a meal (standing up, because that’s how they do it over there) with some Iraqi friends.

— The Shelbinator makes the case for Joe Biden as Obama’s vice-presidential running mate.

— There’s a dust-up on the blogosphere that makes you think the world is coming to an end. Gray over at Left On Lanier sums it up beautifully … and hilariously.

—  Sara rediscovers her inner chef at Going Through The Motions. But why didn’t she invite us to the meal?

— And finally, Mostly Muppet puts everything into perspective: It’s all about good beer.

Bookmark It

— As Clayton County tries to rebound from four years of chaos, B. King over at Terminal Station writes a thoughtful analysis on how Eldrin Bell borrowed from his experience in Atlanta politics to put together a successful coalition of candidates.

— After a long absence, DriftGrift offers up yet another “Morning Wooten”. Fortunately, he saved up all those lost Morning Wootens and combines them all into one.

— Over at Going Through The Motions, Sara treats us to a few of her random thoughts. Most notably, she’s not happy with John Edwards. Especially because he was cheating on his wife as she battled cancer. Sort of like a former Georgia politician of note handed his wife divorce papers while she was in the hospital being treated for cancer. Call us, John; we’ll put you in touch with Mr. Gingrich so the two of you can commiserate.

— Mingaling is getting married in a DIY ceremony, and she’s sharing with us. Today’s topic: How to make a Boutonnière for the boys.

— Most have applauded the city’s recent crackdown and people hanging out in Barbara Asher Square at Five Points. But Arc of Time has a different perspective, arguing that it gives the city character and diversity.

— And, finally, it turns out we’re not the only ones confused by this Russian invasion of Georgia. On the Georgia (that’s state, not nation) feed for Lefty Blogs, are such headlines as: “Cheney: Russian aggression must not go unanswered” and “Russia versus Georgia; the reality of Obama’s candidacy” and, our fav, “Is Georgia the last Iraq casualty?” Time to get the hell out of here, ya know?

Bookmark It

BULLDOGGED: Did an Athens site for a federal research facility get left off the finalist list because of politics? It’s suspicious that a site in Mississippi that scored lower than Athens on the Department of Homeland Security’s checklist made the pool of finalists, and Athens didn’t.

ADULT SWIM: Squirty the loggerhead sea turtle makes its first foray into the ocean, and 1,000 people gather at Tybee Island to watch.

STEEP HILL: Clayton County is so exasperated with Sheriff Victor Hill that it has filed papers in federal court asking that a special monitor be appointed to run the sheriff’s department until Hill’s term expires.

SKIPPING A BEAT: The Braves are back in Atlanta for the first time since Skip Caray died. And Pete Van Wieren dreads a press box that doesn’t have Skip holding court.

JUDGMENT DAY: The former judge in the Brian Nichols trial joins the chorus of those who say the reason the trial is so costly is because Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard has turned a simple, one-week trial into a tangled mess of hundreds of witnesses and a dozen crime scenes.

Bookmark It

Beloved Braves announcer Skip Caray will be honored at a 10 a.m. memorial service Tuesday at Turner Field.

Caray’s long-time broadcast partner Joe Simpson will lead the event, which will include tributes from Pete Van Wieren, Chip Caray, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Braves CEO Terry McGuirk. Fans who wish to attend can park in the Green lot and enter through the Plaza gates. Gates will open at 9 a.m.

There will be more tributes at Tuesday night’s game (ironically against the Chicago Cubs, where Caray’s father, Harry, was a broadcast icon), with a pre-game ceremony that will include the Caray family.

To read CL’s tribute to Skip, click here.

Bookmark It

— It’s no secret the state’s facing a budget crunch. But Travis Fain at Lucid Idiocy reports that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle says it could be worse than originally predicted. Cagle now says it could force the state to trim 10 percent from its budget, which would mean lay-offs and hiring freezes.

— That’s one of the reasons that Amy over at Georgia Women Vote is so rip-roaring angry at Gov. Sonny “Let’s go fish” Perdue for his little jaunt over to China for the Olympics.

— Over at Cracker Squire, Sid links to a Wall Street Journal story that says the Republicans are losing their grip on the South. Maybe it’s because they’re all traveling to China for the Olympics instead of trying to do something to fix the economy.

— There’s a short My Morning Wooten posted by Driftgrift before he headed south in his super cool Mustang.

— Mike Barnicle, the former Boston Globe columnist who once had a showdown with the Red Sox because he refused to stop smoking a cigar in the stands at Fenway Park, was on  MSNBC and referred to bloggers  as ” these nitwits with their computers.” First up to respond: Dcup at Politits.

Bookmark It

— As the fall campaign season goes into full swing, Travis over at Lucid Idiocy notes that one reason voters are so cynical is because of all the lies, lies, lies that candidates expect us to swallow. When Paris Hilton becomes a political voice of reason, we know something’s drastically wrong.

— For most of us, the Olympic Games have devolved into another made-for-television event that is very easy to ignore. Juliana at Blog For Democracy reminds us of one of the reasons the 2008 Summer Olympics still matter. Hankies not provided.

— Another heartwarming moment comes from the Daly Briefing, where our intrepid correspondent in Iraq gets a care package from home, and it’s all about the Orange Monkeys.

— And yet another tug on the heart string from Live Apartment Fire, which discovered a video deep on the WGCL-TV website. It’s “The Evan Thomason Show,” a spoof on TV news that runs nearly 15 minutes and features a kid who is too adorably cute. Turns out the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent him to do a newscast at the station. The video is funny, it has a Dagmar Midcap sighting and hats off to the News 46 staff for being such good sports. In Evan, a new television star is born.

— The very-much-missed Atlanta song siren Kelly Hogan, who’s now living in Chicago, turned me on to Blossom Dearie many years ago. At Cable & Tweed, Rich notes that it’s the 50th anniversary of the jazz singer’s best album. And Kelly, won’t you please come home?

Bookmark It

Gawker has posted an item regarding the sex-capades that have allegedly turned up in the divorce of Andrew Fisher, president of Cox television, and his wife, Robin.

We aren’t going into details — you can click if you want the dirt — other than to note that Fischer is alleged to have had a rendezvous at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. That happens to be the same place former N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer had his infamous meet-and-greet with call girl Ashley Dupre.

Bookmark It

— Yesterday’s run-off primary saw a welcome changing of the guard in Clayton County and the defeat of Vernon Jones in the U.S. Senate race. All of which, writes Prince Tao at Not Your Average Democrat, is cause for serious celebration.

— The election of Burrell Ellis as the new Mr. CEO of DeKalb County has the folks behind the anonymous DeKalb Officers in an optimistic mood. They post an open letter to Davis, urging him to appoint a civilian task force to look into problems at the county police force.

— Despite those victories, it can be a scary thing to be a liberal in a red state, as D-cup relates on Politits. She had an encounter with a co-worker who was shocked that she will vote for Obama because, well, a vote for Obama is a vote for gays and abortion. God help us all.

— The ATLmalcontent notes the irony of a white guy named Toby questioning Obama’s blackness.

— Preston Craig treats us to a couple of YouTube videos at KISS Atlanta, which suspiciously looks like a gathering of D-cup’s co-workers.

— And, finally, Brian over at The Self-Abasement Tapes explains what can happen when a deity gets angry. How else to explain what’s happening to vacuum cleaners in our country?

Bookmark It

Last month, the New York Sun picked up a Bloomberg story that detailed how 40,000 former New Yorkers have settled in Atlanta over the past five years. Good enough.

But they then proceeded to diss Atlanta left and right. We have no culture. Our bagels suck. Our pizza doesn’t hold a candle to New York pizza. Whine, whine, whine.

For this week’s CL story — I Love New York — we turn the tables and ask ex-Atlantans who now live in New York to critique their new city. Almost all of them, by the way, intend to move back to Atlanta at some point.

Yesterday, we posted 10 reasons ex-New Yorkers should love Atlanta.

Today, we have our 10 reasons ex-Atlantans hate living in New York. We’re looking for your ideas also. What’s aggravating about New York … or New Yorkers?

For our list, click on the jump.
(more…)

Bookmark It

Last month, the New York Sun picked up a Bloomberg story that detailed how 40,000 former New Yorkers have settled in Atlanta over the past five years. Good enough.

But they then proceeded to diss Atlanta left and right. We have no culture. Our bagels suck. Our pizza doesn’t hold a candle to New York pizza. Whine, whine, whine.

For this week’s CL cover story, we turn the tables and ask ex-Atlantans who now live in New York to critique their new city. Almost all of them, by the way, intend to move back to Atlanta at some point.

We also came up with a list of reasons ex-New Yorkers should love Atlanta. And we want your ideas, too. So please add your thoughts. Where can an ex-New Yorker get a good slice of pizza? Or a decent bagel? And where oh where can they find culture in Atlanta?

They need our help, y’all.

To see our list, go to the jump:
(more…)

Bookmark It

Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn is said to be one of the leading candidates to be named as Barrack Obama’s running mate. But he’s also going to be one of the celebrity barkeeps for a Sept. 7 benefit for the March of Dimes at my fav Mexican restaurant in Atlanta, Nuevo Laredo Cantina.

That’s after the Democratic convention, which leads inquiring minds (like colleague Andisheh Nouraee, who’s off for a few weeks to finish a book but passed this tidbit along anyway) to ask:

Reading the tea leaves, is this a sign that he’s not going to be the vice-presidential nominee? After all, he likely wouldn’t be able to take time away from a presidential campaign to be a celebrity bartender at Nuevo Laredo.
Or could this be a head fake to make us think he’s not going to be the Democratic vice-presidential candidate?

Of course, there’s always the possibility he booked the gig in April.

Bookmark It