Fresh Loaf

CL staffer Glenn Lafollette likes GIFs. He’s prolific at making them, actually. He says he’ll soon graduate to flash video. I, for one, hope he doesn’t abandon the wonderful aesthetic and convenient medium of the GIF. Every one is a treasure worth discovering.

Anyway, upon hearing the news that one Bobby Cox would retire, Glenn decided to conceptualize the importance of this announcement in the form of an animated GIF.

This is the result.

As far as Cox’ legacy beyond the animated GIF, ie, baseball? ESPN’s Rob Neyer’s post puts it in good perspective:

Really, the only thing missing from Cox’s resumè is World Championships (plural). He’s won just one of them, fewer than non-Hall of Famers Danny Murtaugh, Billy Martin, Tom Kelly, Ralph Houk, and Cito Gaston.

Which won’t keep Cox out of the Hall of Fame. It’s a lot harder to win the World Series than it used to be, and winning just one World Series certainly didn’t keep Earl Weaver out of the Coop.

(Photomontage awesomeness by Glenn Lafollette. Cross-posted from UmpBump.com)

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Atlanta Unsheltered’s Jeanne Bonner says there’s preliminary talk of using magnetic levitation trains to ferry Atlanta Braves fans from Five Points to Turner Field.

The issue came up yesterday at a meeting of MARTOC, a joint committee of the Georgia House and Senate that oversees MARTA’s budget.

I’m waiting for more details from the MARTA folks. There’s talk of lots of things, but where are we on this? I think the very preliminary stages.

What’s cool is if the project were to get off the ground, it could involve a Powder Springs company called American Maglev Technology. The company has a test track near its headquarters where it tests out a lighter vehicle version of the maglev technology.

Atlanta Unfiltered’s Jim Walls has more:

(more…)

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1) Real Housewife Nene Leakes signs her book, Never Make the Same Mistake Twice, at Barnes & Noble.

2) Sugar Ray performs at Variety Playhouse.

3) Counting Crows, Michael Franti and Augustana play Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

4) The Braves face off against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field.

5) Thy Mighty Contract plays the Earl.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo © Simon & Schuster)

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1) For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf continues at Southwest Arts Center.

2) Spanky and the Love Handles perform at the Earl.

3) The Atlanta Braves face the New York Mets at Turner Field.

4) Photo-Griots opens at Hammonds House Museum.

5) Hoots & Hellmouth play at Park Tavern for Unplugged in the Park.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo courtesy True Colors Theatre Company)

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1) Farmer Jason performs at Red Light Café.

2) The Atlanta Braves play the Boston Red Sox at Turner Field.

3) Comedian Lisa Landry performs at the Punchline.

4) Corndogorama continues at East Atlanta Village.

5) Gil Robertson signs Family Affair: What It Means to Be African American Today at Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo © Lawson Little)

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1) The Atlanta Braves take on the New York Yankees at Turner Field.

2) David O. Stewart lectures on his book, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy, at the Atlanta History Center.

3) Trouble & Bass perform at the Drunken Unicorn.

4) Joseph Olshan signs The Conversion at Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse.

5) Drop Dead, Gorgeous plays the Masquerade.

(Photo © 2009 Atlanta Braves)

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Orlando: Never. I’m from Havana. Everybody plays baseball In Cuba. I was a catcher. And we all grow up loving the Yankees. The Yankees have been a winning team for years. They’ll spend the money. The Braves won’t. They let [Rafael] Furcal go and [John] Smoltz go. He had plenty of gas in the tank. If you let them go, you don’t know much about baseball. The Yankees are all about winning. It’s not about money. The Braves are about money — keeping a limit on it. You can only go so far.

Jeannine: You would have to pry the hat from my cold, dead hands. Everything that is good about America is represented by the New York Yankees. Yankee fans are true fans, in good times and bad — unlike Red Sox fans and Braves fans who don’t understand you root for your team even when they’re bad. Many aspire but few can achieve the greatness of being a Yankee fan. Braves fans need to learn not to Yankee-hate, but to congratulate and appreciate. Bobby Cox learned to win by playing for the Yankees. Braves fans should be grateful for us.

Steve: Never. Born and raised in the Bronx. Everybody has the same sense about Yankee fans: that we’re abrasive, conceited and cocky. But Yankee fans are people, too. We have a lot of pride because of the history of success. Yankee fans are lovers of baseball and the history of baseball and the American tradition of it. Yankees fans embrace all the same things that Braves fans embrace. Baseball brings everybody together. We should all be proud of what baseball is and how the rest of the world has embraced it. But the Red Sox suck.

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1) A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens at Georgia Shakespeare.

2) Al Green and Etta James perform at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

3) Flicks on 5th kicks off with Quantum of Solace.

4) Femi Kuti performs at Variety Playhouse. *

4) The Young Antiques play 529.

5) The Atlanta Braves host Bark in the Park at Turner Field.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo by Bill DeLoach)

* Update: Oops. Femi Kuti actually performs tomorrow. Don’t go tonight.

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1) The Plaza Theatre screens Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy.

2) Les Claypool and Matisyahu perform at the Tabernacle.

3) The Atlanta Braves play the Chicago Cubs at Turner Field.

4) Wolves in the Throne Room play the Earl.

5) PJ Harvey and John Parish play Center Stage.

(Photo © 2004 Avery Danziger)

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1) 500 Songs for Kids continues at Smith’s Olde Bar.

2) NPR contributor Lauretta Hannon discusses her book, The Cracker Queen, at Decatur Library.

3) The Bookhouse Pub hosts Localvore Monday.

4) Potters of the Roan continues at Mudfire Gallery.

5) The Braves play the New York Mets at Turner Field.

(Photo courtesy 500 Songs for Kids Foundation)

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1) Dan Deacon performs at the Masquerade.

2) The Atlanta Braves open their season against the Washington Nationals.

3) Brian Jonestown Massacre performs at Variety Playhouse.

4) The French Films Yesterday and Today series starts at the High Museum with The Grocer’s Son.

5) Paint as Subject opens at Emily Amy Gallery.

(Photo by Josh Sisk)

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ATLANTANS LOVE THE CRACK: Of baseball bats in the spring

With all the buzz over Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler and Mickey Rourke’s bleak portrayal of an aging fighter grappling with a lot more than in-ring opponents, professional wrestling’s enjoying some newfound popularity. The World Wrestling Entertainment universe is still reeling from WrestleMania’s 25th anniversary last Sunday, where Rourke decked Chris Jericho after Jericho’s tasteless victory over some real-life aging wrestlers. The spotlight comes to Atlanta Mon., April 13 when Raw broadcasts live from Philips Arena.

This special three-hour edition of Raw will feature superstars from all three WWE shows (Raw, ECW and SmackDown) — everyone from champions to announcers is eligible for that night’s WWE Draft. The draft always creates new feuds and rivalries, keeping things fresh in the testosterone-fueled drama. But regardless of who ends up where, the real treat for fans is the potential to see pay-per-view quality matches between combatants who might not normally cross paths.

Mon., April 13, 7 p.m. $20-$70. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive. 404-878-3000. www.wwe.com.

Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals After a successful spring training, the Braves won their season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies last Sunday. Atlanta takes on National League East rival Washington for its home opener this Friday to start a three-game series. Opening day festivities include post-game fireworks and free magnetic schedules for the first 45,000 fans.

Fri., April 10, 7:30 p.m. $6-$80. Turner Field, 755 Hank Aaron Drive. 404-577-9100. www.braves.com.

(more…)

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An usher for the Braves since 1966, Banks is a well-known personality at Turner Field. He’s legendary among fellow attendants for his extensive knowledge of numbers and baseball, as well as for his humble personality.

What is a typical day like for you?

I try to give the fans a real Braves experience — making them feel welcome, talking to them, and just making them feel at home. [Depending on] the way they’re treated, there’s a chance they’ll bring somebody back with them, and then that person will bring somebody back. A real Braves experience is just rolling the red carpet out and making them feel at home.

Can you describe what happened when Hank Aaron set the record?

Of all the big events I’ve witnessed, that was one of the biggest. That was a centerpiece of the Braves franchise. On every aisle seat, there’s a logo of Hank Aaron.

(more…)

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Ella Guru calls it quits and has a great big sale (Unfortunately, another mom-and-pop record store bites the dust. Help a fella out and pick up some discounted vinyl.)

Atlanta Braves search for bands to play ‘09 home games (Yes Atlanta, one of you could open for … the Braves.)

Live Review: Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tenn. (Feb. 6-8) (Wait … Neil Hamburger was there? Damn it!)

Touch & Go’s drastic downsize sends tremors through indie rock world (How Atlanta darlings All the Saints and the Coathangers will be affected remains to be seen.)

Read more from Crib Notes.

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Got plenty of links to go with that freshly roasted Honduran coffee … mine that is…

Nafiza “Soulja Girl” Ziyad is asking a judge to drop her charges related to her now infamous freestyle battle with an elderly, gray-haired lady riding MARTA. The defense motion cited in the AJC says the video, which went viral and has been watched over 600,000 times, “exposed her to extreme distress and embarrassment.”

Wait till she sees the REEEMIX:

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• Jury deliberations begin in the Brian Nichols case.
• Not all are opposed to Gwinnett County’s mandatory recycling program.
• Braves GM Frank Wren busy talking deals on day one of Baseball’s winter meetings.
• More Clayton county students could find themselves in single-sex classrooms next year.
• Illinois Guv arrested on corruption charges.
• Five suspected 9/11 planners recant their offer to confess.
• President-elect Obama’s plan to bring broadband to the masses is hailed all over, and his web 2.0 press machine is all over it (the praise, that is).
• If media were complicit in hyping the housing bubble that drove the economy in the last five years; are they being complicit in making things seem gloomier than they really are now?
• More Media Briefs: Jay Leno to stay at NBC … Arianna Huffington is IWM’s person of the year … Time’s top 10 magazine covers of the year.
• Just because: Remember in Back to the Future when Marty McFly goes into Doc Brown’s house and the automated robotic arm drops another can of dog food onto Einstein’s bowl, which was already overflowing? … Feed your dog with an iPhone.

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— Last night was this year’s version of the “If you can’t baffle ‘em with brilliance, befuddle ‘em with bullshit” vice-presidential debates and the blogosphere is alive with reaction.

— The debate, and Palin’s stance on gay rights, left Life On The Q with a four-Advil headache from trying to decipher exactly what she was trying to say and her basic ignorance about the laws that prohibit gays from visiting their partners in the hospital or buying homes together.

— Anyone notice how Palin had to keep glancing down to read from her notes? Lucid Idiocy did and points out that she couldn’t answer any question that wasn’t on her cheat sheets. She reverted back to some talking point that had nothing to do whatsoever with the topic at handle. You know … the befuddle ‘em tactic.

– But Joe Biden took the “baffle ‘em” approach and came across as a tired old hack, writes ATLmalcontent. His plea to whomever is elected president: Please don’t die in office.

— At Georgia Women Vote, Amy explains why the neocons have embraced Palin and why she’s ticked off that an “average, Joe Six-Pack” kind of woman is on this year’s ticket.

— But enough about the debate. We’re finally seeing gas stations with gas, but Dave at Rather Than Working has an interesting point: In July, crude oil was selling for about $145 a barrel and gas costs about $4.09 a gallon. Today, crude is selling for less than $100 a barrel, and gas at the pump is $3.95 a gallon or more. Where’s the corresponding price drop?

— It’s October and what else is wrong with the world? Well, the Braves aren’t playing baseball. On his always enlightening Braves Blog, David O’Brien says the team has to regain its swagger next year or risk losing its reputation as an elite team.

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BAILOUT: President Bush, looking concerned, nervous but still slightly amused, tells the nation that the “entire economy is in danger.”

PALIN: CNN’s Campbell Brown issued a rant to the McCain campaign Tuesday, calling for it to stop sheltering its VP candidate and treating her “like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment,” in response to the campaign barring reporters from asking her questions at a U.N. appearance. Palin was then turned loose to Katie Couric Wednesday, and it did not go well.

MCCAIN: Suspends his campaign to focus on the economy, and asks Obama to postpone Friday’s debate if a bailout deal isn’t reached by then. Obama declines, saying “It is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.”

GAS PANIC: Still going on, and people are still fighting at gas stations.

MERGE PROTECTOR: Northwest Airlines’ shareholders this morning approved merging with Delta, whose shareholders will also vote today. Antitrust approval still awaits.

EURO TRIP: Gov. Perdue’s upcoming trip to Spain is expected to cost taxpayers $100,000 at a time when Georgia faces a nearly $1.6 billion budget shortfall and has asked state agencies, including the governor’s office, to cut back.

SHOOTING THE BREEZE: The Gainesville Times reports that relocated city slickers often are shocked this time of year by their neighbors outside, guns a-blazin’, because much of unincorporated Georgia allows residents to shoot guns on their own property.

UGA VS. ‘BAMA: Officials warn that Athens may be flooded with counterfeit tickets Saturday, as average real-ticket prices are more than $300.

TERROR LEVEL RED HOT: The New Englandish region (touché, Jimbo) isn’t establishing a good track record with bomb recognition. First there was the 2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force scare in Boston; now the Philadelphia Phillies blew up some hot dogs before losing to the Braves Wednesday night.

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AIG: U.S. taxpayers save the insurance giant from its own bad investments via the Fed’s historic $85 billion bailout, which, despite its unfairness, was needed to prevent the worldwide financial bedlam that would follow an AIG collapse.

STREET CRED: Wall Street’s free fall has given Obama an opening, but while he does poll better than McCain on the economy, he doesn’t poll as well as a generic Democrat against a generic Republican.

PALIN: Not ready to be Hewlett-Packard CEO, according to former HP chief and McCain economic adviser Carly Fiorina, who then dug herself an even deeper hole by adding that McCain couldn’t lead the company either.

ALDERMAN: The convicted murderer was executed Tuesday for the 1974 killing of his wife.

ERR LIKE A SAILOR: Disgraced former Georgia lawmaker Ron Sailor Jr. is sentenced to 63 months for fraud and money laundering.

FUEL AND FAR BETWEEN: Ike has left the city of Atlanta with just 15 days worth of fuel, prompting the closure of two fueling stations and a plea to city employees to conserve.

STANDOFFISH: A fugitive wanted in a 2006 Atlanta murder is arrested in Chicago after a standoff.

THE YOST IS CLEAR: After being unexpectedly fired by the Brewers, there’s some speculation that former Braves third base coach Ned Yost could end up back in Atlanta.

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BUSH: Secretly ordered the recent covert military strike in Pakistan, according to the NY Times, a major detachment from the usual U.S. tactic of using unmanned Predator spy planes to fire at suspected al-Qaeda targets in the country.

MCCAIN: Leads Obama by 18 points in Georgia.

HURRICANE IKE: Barreling toward Houston and Galveston, expected to be a Category 3 when it hits Friday night. Thousands of coastal Texans are evacuating.

CAGLE: Will run for governor in 2010.

THE POACH STATE: Georgia is among the fast-growing states poaching teachers from more economically strapped states, such as Michigan.

EXCELLENCE DEFICIENCY: The Commission for School Board Excellence, formed at the request of the Georgia Board of Education, is recommending that Georgia should have more power to intervene in dysfunctional local school boards such as Clayton’s.

BOBBY COX: Will return next season.

TOUCH AND GO: A Fulton Superior Court judge dismisses a lawsuit by VOTER GA challenging the fraud-proofness of the state’s touch-screen voting machines. VOTER GA’s Garland Favorito says the group may appeal.

CUMBERLAND ISLAND: Will begin tours of its north end, which had previously only been accessible to visitors via a 17-mile hike.

UGA: Will face its first real test of the season as it enters SEC play against Spurrier’s Gamecocks in Columbia Saturday.

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Ya know that baseball stadium under construction in Gwinnett County? The one the county commission recently agreed — without any public input — to support with an additional $19 million of taxpayer dollars?

From the AJC:

“I’m still trying to figure out how this is going to pay for itself,” [Gwinnett County resident Don Shaw] said, echoing an oft-quoted line from County Administrator Jock Connell in January, on the day county officials announced they’d reached a deal to build the stadium and relocate the top minor-league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves to Gwinnett.

Connell said he anticipated the stadium “paying for itself from day one.”

It might seem that way, “Jock.” (Gwinnett is a land rich with irony.) But a bunch of academics — as well as our very own John Sugg — politely disagree.

(more…)

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RNC: Fred Thompson, Joseph Lieberman and a not-too-close President Bush regaled John McCain during the first full day of convention festivities in St. Paul Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ron Paul held his own convention outside Minneapolis Tuesday, rallying his troops behind his libertarian conservatism.

SAVANNAH: May need to evacuate for Hannah, which is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall Friday. Some scrambling for flood insurance find out it’s too late.

ROTARY CUB: The newborn panda at Zoo Atlanta is back out of the incubator and with its mother, Lun Lun.

TYING UP JUICE ENDS: Coca-Cola is hoping to capitalize on its recent Beijing marketing blitz by making a bid for China’s largest juice company, which would be its second-largest acquisition ever.

DECORUM, BUT NO QUORUM: The new, relatively uncontroversial Clayton school board has just three members, two short of a quorum, but has 45 days to appoint additional members.

UGA: Falls to No. 2 in both major polls despite winning Saturday, as USC’s rout of Virginia leapfrogs the Trojans to the top spot.

CHIPPER JONES: Atlanta third baseman’s quest for the NL batting title is the only silver lining left on the Braves’ dismal season.

CHENEY: The vice president will speak Sept. 19 in North Georgia at the opening-day ceremony for the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga.

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OBAMA: Officially becomes the Democratic nominee for president, the first black person ever nominated by a major party. He’ll give his acceptance speech tonight.

MCCAIN: Has picked his running mate, whom he’ll inform of his decision today and introduce Friday in Ohio.

UNDERDRIVE: As gas prices and environmental worries have driven down driving, highways and other transportation projects, including commuter rail, have lost a major source of funding — gas taxes.

CLAYTON IS THE HARDEST PART: SACS will announce its accreditation decison at a 1 p.m. press conference today. [UPDATE: Accreditation lost.] Meanwhile, a state judge has recommended that Gov. Perdue remove four Clayton school board members from office for violating Georgia’s open-meetings laws and ethics code. 

FREE REFILL: Fay has now added two feet back to Lake Lanier, as rainwater continues to move downhill through the basin. It’s still 15 feet below full pool, but that one storm has made up for the month of August so far, which has been especially dry.

FUNNEL VISION: The National Weather Service says up to four tornadoes may have touched down in Hall County as Fay passed through.

OUR DEERLY DEPARTED: Rome’s world-famous six-legged deer died last week after surgery to remove his two unnecessary legs.

PAUL JOHNSON: The New York Times profiles Georgia Tech’s new skipper and his stubbornly distinctive coaching style, which he’ll debut in Atlanta tonight as Tech hosts Jacksonville State to open the season.

BRAVES: Call up minor-league outfielder Josh Anderson after trading CF Mark Kotsay to Boston Wednesday for minor-league outfielder Luis Sumoza. Atlanta also signed journeyman relief pitcher Elmer Dessens.

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CLINTON: Addresses the Democratic National Convention by pleading for unity in supporting Obama, telling her supporters, “I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me?” Bill speaks tonight, along with Biden.

GLITCH, PLEASE: A computer glitch at an FAA facility south of Atlanta is blamed for delaying hundreds of flights across the country Tuesday.

SAXBY ON THE BEACH: Saxby Chambliss, who helped secure federal funding for the pork project, attended a coastal ceremony on Tybee Island Tuesday to announce a restoration plan for its eroding beaches. “I’m a beach bum,” he announced. “I love the beach.”

KOTSAY: The Braves’ center fielder may be headed to Boston, with Atlanta unlikely to get much besides a free roster spot in return.

SPELMAN: Gets an anonymous donation of $17 million.

ROCK YOU LIKE A TROPICAL DEPRESSION: Fay flooded Helen, Ga., and battered Hall County, but she also put a dent in our drought and raised Lake Lanier by a foot.

NO. 1 WITH A BULLET: UGA’s offense and defense say they’re ready to live up to the hype, but the loss of OL Trinton Sturdivant and “sloppy” blocking in practice has raised some nerves.

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FAY ACCOMPLI: The tropical storm has caused severe flooding in Florida and is expected to keep zig-zagging up the coast, although it probably won’t become a hurricane again. Georgia is expected to avoid a direct hit, but the barrier islands and southeastern coast will likely get drenched.

LAKE HARTWELL: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially initiates the lake’s Drought Level 3 contingency plan for just the second time in 20 years, and officials say they won’t be surprised if the current drought soon forces them to “trigger level 4,” which has never happened before.

BIGFOOT IN MOUTH: The former Clayton cop and car salesman who claimed to have a Bigfoot body are being sued by a Bigfoot researcher, and officials are looking into whether the ruse could be a crime. The deceptive duo discusses the hoax with WSB-TV.

CLAYTON: The lawyer for several black school board members is accusing white whistle-blowers of racism for reporting to Gov. Perdue on alleged malfeasance in the Clayton BOE.

GLAVINE: Surgery will keep the 42-year-old pitcher out for the year, which is all he’s under contract for, but fellow Braves and Bobby Cox want him back next season.

STAFFORD: UGA’s quarterback has assumed the team’s leadership role in his junior season.

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VICE UNIT: Obama is Biden his time and keeping rumors at Bayh when it comes to his VP candidate, but the two senators believed to be atop his short list are given prime-time convention speaking slots, raising speculation it’s one of them.

COLOR-CODED: Reuters offers an analysis of how race has bubbled below the surface throughout this campaign, and how it manifests itself in coded language.

SAVANNAH RIVER ECOLOGY LAB: Less than two years after it looked like the ground-breaking, 54-year-old lab would be shut down for lack of funding, its own fundraising ventures have exceeded expectations and drawn in $2 million.

BIGFOOT IN THE DOOR: The Clayton County cop and former corrections officer who claim to have a frozen Bigfoot body will hold a press conference this afternoon in Palo Alto, Calif., to announce their findings. So far, even Bigfoot experts aren’t buying it.

WETLANDS: Can survive a drought, despite appearing dried-up.

BRAVES: Swept by the Cubs in six games for the first time since 1876, despite Mark Kotsay hitting for the cycle.

VICK: Bankruptcy judge appoints a trustee to oversee the troubled QB’s finances, after his initial trustee was charged with securities fraud.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE: Falcons third-string QB Joey Harrington, whose Detroit teammates used to call him “Joey Sunshine” for his sunny disposition amid miserable circumstances, still hasn’t given up hope.

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