Fresh Loaf

Prince Prinston wants to get a job, get rich and provide for his family. A recent transplant from West Palm Beach, Fla., the 17-year-old plans to become a lightweight boxer and learn to cook. He lives with his brother and sister-in-law in College Park.

“I wanna be a pro [boxer] in five years. I want my hands to be weapons, so I can’t fight a regular man.”

His favorite boxing movies: “Rocky, of course. The first one, second one and third one. My brother told me Cinderella Man was a good one.”

On leaving West Palm Beach: “There was too much violence there. I moved to get away from it. Ghetto stuff.”

“I’m going to Atlanta Job Corps. It’s just like school, but they pay you to go there. I’m gonna be doing culinary arts. I can’t cook, but they’ll teach me.”

On job prospects. “I ain’t consistent, but I’m looking. Wal-Mart, Publix, places for 17-year-olds.”

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Tony & Socks: I don’t know. But I’ll tell you about Cats — it’s no Sweeney Todd. You’re never going to see a movie about Cats starring Johnny Depp as a cat. It’s the longest Broadway show in history because nobody knows what’s happening so nobody says it’s bad. That’s the crux of it. I couldn’t understand a word they said. I saw it years ago. I’m not going to see that thing again. I have a cat, but I’ve never liked Cats. It has no plot. Give me West Side Story or Oklahoma! or Sweeney Todd.

Cliff & Pilot: I hope not. So many of us love animals, love music, love dance, and all of these are incorporated into the final product. It’s incredible. We’ve always seen in dogs and cats reflections of ourselves. I’ve seen cats do things incredibly human that freaked me out. And that play vocalizes and visualizes those things. There’s a parallel between animals and humans, and they just nail it. Plus, if you have children, there’s not a better play in the world. And what better place than the Fox.

Cassie & Snapper: All I know, it’s about slinking around in leotards. That doesn’t sound very catlike to me. If it was about cats, it would be a lot of sleeping, eating and getting petted. Most people who like cats like them because they hate people, so who wants to be surrounded by a bunch of people. I would never see Cats because I love cats. I don’t want to demean them by watching humans act like cats. And now I’ll make it a point never to see it just because you’re asking me.

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Bloggers and community bulletin-board contributors are increasingly voicing frustration with Mayor Shirley Franklin’s leadership.

“And to think that our mayor has the time to write a letter on behalf of Michael Vick, but can’t be bothered to address the problems with Chief Pennington and his department.”

— PETERK30310, commenting on the Yahoo! group Capitol View Homeowner’s Forum Dec. 22. Mayor Franklin wrote a letter asking the judge in the Michael Vick case to grant the former Falcons star leniency.

“No, I’m talking about her failure to run basic functions of a major city government. Things like roads, traffic lights, issuing permits, crime, and cleanliness . . . Shirley doesn’t have time to bother with such trivialities. She’s on vacation. It’s someone else’s job. She has checked out and is waiting for the next mayor to take over.”

— Blogger decaturguy at the Atlanta Publics Affairs blog Dec. 28

“Maybe instead of supporting common criminals, she can write letters and speak out on more important issues such as police corruption, the Atlanta Housing Authority Fiasco, the Beltline’s effect on low income residents, or Grady.”

— Blogger A Mad Democrat Dec. 14

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As we look forward to more awkward utterances in the coming year, we reflect on some of the more memorable moments of the most eloquent orator of them all, Gov. Sonny Perdue.

“Think of it this way … It really helps you plan ahead for the rest of your life — buying on Saturday, rather than Sunday. Time management.”

— Perdue, referring to Sunday alcohol sales, on Q100’s “The Bert Show,” on Jan. 17, 2007

“My goal is to turn Georgia into a fisherman’s paradise.”

— The governor during his State of the State address on Jan. 10, 2007

“I’m here today to appeal to you and to all Georgians and all people who believe in the power of prayer to ask God to shower our state, our region, our nation with the blessings of water.”

— Perdue’s call to prayer for rain on the Capitol steps on Nov. 13

Sources: the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Union Recorder, CNN.com

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Jordan: Cinemechanica’s The Martial Arts. It’s not the individual tracks but it’s like an emotional roller-coaster ride if you listen to it from beginning to the end. It’s progressive indie. It’s awesome. The worst is the Cat Empire’s Two Shoes. It’s crap. Tone-deaf retards. They’re holier-than-thou musicians that aren’t on the level of being holier than thou. It’s trying to be radio-friendly. It doesn’t work. It takes a certain personality to listen to that crap — idiot. If you relate to it you’re just as bad as the music.

Dee: Best is Bad Brains’ Build a Nation. When they decided to come back, it sounded like new and old stuff put together. They put on a really reggae vibe and a really good punk vibe. They’ve been feeding off both and it comes off as a new look on music. Worst? The Killers’ Sam’s Town is horrible. All their music is horrible. They’re stuck in that whole “too indie” phase. They’re trying to come out with their own style, but they’re still making music that kids listen to like they’re in middle school or the ninth grade.

Bri: Venus Doom by HIM. His voice is just like so amazing and deep, and it’s foreign so it makes it like 10 times cooler. They know how to harmonize really well. It’s really easy listening. Really smooth. The new Good Charlotte CD — Good Morning Revival is the worst. They used to be really good, but they’re now mainstream and just crap. Before they got famous they really had their own sound; now it’s annoying. It’s made for American teenagers, and American teenagers don’t have good taste in music.

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MOURDELLA AT THE STAR BAR LAST NIGHT: Lead singer Jessica Juggz shows off the denim miniskirt Satan bought her for Christmas.

(photo by Alan Friedman)

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Robert: Yes, it is. There are so many clubs and restaurants in this city holding New Year’s Eve bashes. On top of that, you got the Peach Drop. I was there last year — absolutely insane, in a good way. I was standing there and there were transsexuals to my left, 7 feet tall. I just thought, “This is cool.” I couldn’t move, but it was very happening. It’s a smaller version of Times Square. Atlanta is in the top five for New Year’s.

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Guyton: It used to be. The law changing the closing times, that’s when Atlanta became a nonhappening place. Personally I’d rather be home with friends. Before the law, I probably would have gone to some crazy dance party or a club, like Blue or the Warehouse. But clubs close too early now. Atlanta is no longer a party town. Most people now go out of town for New Year’s. Compared to other large cities, Atlanta is near the bottom.

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Jamil: In the South it is. Miami is overplayed. It’s been done before. Nothing new. It’s always water, alcohol, little outfits, predictable. Atlanta can offer a Southern culture feel, party-like-a-rock-star atmosphere. I’m staying in Atlanta for sure. Atlanta has a few hotel parties, you buy a ticket and you can just go and drink with your friends. Those are really the best places. On the East Coast, New York definitely has that stereotypical New Year’s Eve. But we’re better than Miami.

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Year the Atlanta Falcons franchise came into existence … 1966

Year the Falcons won their first division title … 1980

Years the Falcons have been in Atlanta … 41

Number of years the team has had a .500 record or lower … 32

Number of full-time head coaches in franchise history … 10

Number of those coaches who left with a winning record … 2

How much money Falcons safety Eugene Robinson offered to pay an undercover cop for oral sex on the eve of Super Bowl XXXIII … $40

Number of points the Denver Broncos scored against the Falcons in that game … 34

Number of other Falcons Super Bowl appearances … 0

Number of Falcons in the Pro Football Hall of Fame … 0

Number of pages on the Falcons’ official website devoted to team history … 0

Team record since Arthur Blank bought the team in 2002 … 43-49

Sources: Wikipedia, ESPN.com

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Duluth, Ga., created a MySpace account this month to entice young people to comment on the suburb’s plan for development through 2030. As of press time, Duluth has 10 friends.

“I’m a tattoo freak! And a MetalHead. I live in Duluth with my 2 cats & my partner of 5 years, Lee. He hates MySpace so don’t expect to find him in my Friends List. Just look in my pics for the one that Looks like Opie Taylor.”
– Demon Dawg, one of Duluth’s MySpace friends

“I HAVE 3 401 k ACCOUNTS AND A BUNCH OF Roth IRA..s. I. M not bragging i..m just being humble.”
– John, one of Duluth’s MySpace friends

“I have no addictions to any substance that I know of. I don’t abuse alcohol, I have never used illegal drugs of any kind, and to be frank for a moment I didn’t face many of the adolescence challenges that face our high school students today regarding hormonal urges.”
– AliAkbar.net, one of Duluth’s MySpace friends

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(photo by Joeff Davis)

Dent Myers is the proprietor of Wildman’s Civil War Surplus and Herb Shop, a store in Kennesaw selling Civil War, KKK and Nazi memorabilia. He is famous for his beard, his friendly demeanor, his love of guns and his racism.

How long have you lived in Kennesaw?
I was here when Kennesaw was still a real town. Used to be a town with a history. Then all these people came. You know, with more people there’s more crime. Kennesaw is like North Atlanta.

Has your store ever been robbed?
Oh, no. Do you see any blood anywhere?

Do you have regular customers?
Some. A lot of people come here from overseas. They know about the store more than people here.

How did you get the idea to open Wildman’s?
I was into metal detecting and I had a few guns. I opened the store with a few hundred dollars.

Are the guns you carry loaded?
I wouldn’t carry them if they weren’t loaded. If you have a saw, you keep the blade sharp, if you’re going to use it.

Have you ever had to use them?
No, it’s just security. People won’t try to mess with you if they think you can protect yourself. Unless they’re on drugs or something. [He goes into an impression of someone on drugs, tugging on his mustache and waving his hands.] Like, “Hey, man”

I saw the “No dogs, negroes or Mexicans” sign. Is that enforced?
That’s really old. A friend gave it to me. Anyone’s welcome in here, as long as they’re not causing trouble. I mean, you can see the pictures there. [He gestures toward a bulletin board full of photographs of smiling black customers.]

How do you respond when people call you racist?
I like it. It’s my name. My full name is Racist Bigot Honky Redneck.

Do people ever come in to complain or protest? Or just to insult you?
No, not in here. That wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. They just don’t like me.

Do you have children?
No, I know what you gotta do to get them. It’s just me since my dog died a few years back. I’m always either here or home.

I understand you’re friends with [Led Zeppelin guitarist] Jimmy Page.
Well, he spent a weekend with me once. [Indicating a picture taped by the register] That’s him there, with my girlfriend at the time.

I think that’s about all I have for ya.
I wanna just — [Myers pulls out a magazine article about the store titled, "Little Shop of Horrors."]

What’s this from?
That’s Morris Dees’ paper. You know who Morris Dees is? Southern Poverty Unit? He’s a Jew boy that hates the Klan and skinheads and white people. But see what he called it? That’s good. I couldn’t buy that much publicity. I can’t hide, that’s for sure.

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Torthel: Greenbriar Mall. It’s the most ghettoist mall on Earth. People get shot all the time. I went to the movie theater and right before the movie started, some kids opened the emergency exit door and, like, 10 kids swarmed in. I never see security. Kids just come running down the courtyard and start fighting. You can’t really shop because there’s too much going on with people. They don’t go there to shop. They go there to socialize and fight and steal.

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Lauren & Meredith: Atlantic Station. The crowd was a little funny. They’re very judgmental. We’re a couple and if we show any signs of affection in public there, it was not good. We were looked down upon. Pretty conservative, in what I thought would be a more liberal area. People stare at you. It starts at the face. It goes down to the hands. They keep on turning like, ‘Oh, they’re not just sisters.’ And it didn’t feel very Christmasy. There was a Christmas tree, and that was it.

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Tony: Lenox Square. It’s the cheese mall factor. It’s like the women all look the same. You can be standing next to somebody and they’re standing next to the mannequin and you look at the mannequin and think it’s them. It just looks like a bunch of mannequins roaming around a cheese mall. Everybody walks and looks like they’re a superstar. The dude working at the gas station there looks like he’s a big pimpin’ dude. To be different, you’ve got to be like a mutant.

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PALM READER AT PSYCHIC FAIR ON SATURDAY IN SANDY SPRINGS: “Your love-lines looks great, but your life-lines could use some Lubriderm.”

(photo by Joeff Davis)

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CAFÉ TACUBA LAST THURSDAY AT MASQUERADE: One of the band’s less-enthusiastic fans

(photo by Joeff Davis)

Even by the Masquerade’s high standards, the audience at Mexican quartet Café Tacuba’s one-night stand last Thursday was wildly enthusiastic. From dancing and cheering loudly for more than two hours, to rushing the stage, grabbing the microphone and shouting out lyrics while lead singer Ruben Ortega smiled approvingly, the band’s audience proved its devotion for all things Tacuba.

The Mexican quartet didn’t disappoint, either, offering up a poptastic mash embracing alternative-rock, ska and punk, while referencing Depeche Mod’s “Policy of Truth” and the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows.” The band’s misstep: not setting up a merchandise table so fans could buy T-shirts and copies of its new CD, Sino. It would have made a killing that night.

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(photo by Joeff Davis)

Spencer Grant, owner of Yule Forest in Stockbridge, has been farming Christmas trees for 35 years. The former WWII, Korean War and Eastern Airlines pilot also drops toys to kids on his farm from his plane.

Grant has about 2,000 trees on 35 acres. He used to have three times that many. He blames artificial trees for lower sales.

Grant once camped on his farm to keep some white pines from getting stolen. When a pickup pulled up and two guys lept out with a saw, he stepped out with a shotgun. “You’ve never seen anyone run so fast,” he says.

Grant sprays his trees for aphids. “They’re dormant when it’s cold. But when someone takes the tree into a nice, warm house, the aphids start running all over. Then I get a call, ‘There’s spiders all over my house!’”

Grant says he doesn’t prefer any type of tree. “Sometimes people will cut down a tree and not like it, so we’ll use it. They all look good to me.”

On what he does the rest of the year: “Sit around and get drunk! No, actually, Christmas trees keep you pretty busy. There’s always something that needs doing — not that I always do it.”

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Estimated years it will take to complete 22-mile Atlanta Beltline project: 25

Years it took to build the Great Pyramid at Giza: 20-30

Years it took to build a 31-mile tunnel and railway under the English Channel connecting England and France: 8

Years between the U.S.S.R. putting Laika the dog in space and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon: 12

Years it took to build the 5,600 mile-long Trans-Siberian Railroad: 12

Years it took to build the Hoover Dam: 5

Years it took to build first 88 miles of metro D.C.’s 106-mile Metrorail system: 25

Sources: Eurotunnel, PBS Online, NASA, BBC, Trans-Siberian Web Encyclopedia, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority

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Sara: I’m excited about going to my husband’s office party. I want to see if there’s really any hot girls he works with so I can be on him. I just want to make sure. I hope they’re all big and fat and have moles all over their face. I’ll be looking around. I’ll just keep a little list in my head. I’ll be real nice, but I’ll make sure I get their names. He has no reason to lie, but he’s a man, so you never know.

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John: My boss invited me and my pregnant fiancee to the party. My ex-girlfriend works there and she’s telling embarrassing stories about me, so my boss e-mailed me saying he heard I tend to get drunk and belligerent at these parties. That really pissed me off. I decided not to go. My ex tends to make snide remarks and my current fiancee has a propensity towards violence. I don’t want the baby to get hurt.

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Halima: No, because the first year meeting everybody is kind of nice and kind of cordial. The second year, when you realize people’s attitude and differences, you realize you’re better off staying home. I’m not going. I’d rather spend my time with people I really care about as opposed to people who are fake. You don’t want to be around people who smile in your face and give you a cheesy gift you don’t like. It seems ridiculous.

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TWISTED TOYLAND SALE: “This one’s from our Abu Ghraib Collection.”

(photo by Joeff Davis)

Here’s a rule of thumb we at CL follow: Any holiday gift sale with the phrase “no genitals showing” in its ad is worth at least stopping by – if not to shop, then at least to browse, people-watch and write about.

So on Saturday, we stopped by Twisted Toyland, a fetish gear sale benefiting the National Leather Angel Fund, which raises money for needy members of the BDSM community. Vendors hawked a wide range of sex-related knickknacks, from vibrators and dildos to handcuffs and whips, the latter of which were demonstrated with skill and gusto by people who liked to be addressed as master.

(post co-authored with Andisheh Nouraee)

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THE REDNECK TRIFECTA: 1) Jeff Foxworthy 2) autographing books 3) at a Wal-Mart in Snellville.

(photo by Sarah Harms)

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Bobby: I’m one of the best hip-hop artists and hardest-working people that’s ever graced Little Five Points — ever. Atlanta, being a mecca for hip-hop, I set an example for people who believe if you want to come to a city [to record hip-hop], this would be the city to do it in. I’m gracing people with good music and inspiration. I’ve sold 27,000 CDs by myself. People come to Atlanta to see me. If I wasn’t here in Atlanta, it would be like a part of Atlanta was missing.

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Melissa: I supply the city with coffee and I drive better than most people. I was in 13 accidents between the age of 15 and 16, so I kind of got a feel for that whole ‘oh, this is probably going to happen soon.’ I’m, like, more alert. I’m a good driver now. No more accidents. I’ve been driving since I was 10. I’m also a socialite, so I go to all the bars and hang out. I’m supporting the Atlanta socialite scene. If it weren’t for me, everyone would be in a worse mood.

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Phillip: I’m fuckin’ awesome, that’s why. I have impeccable taste in music and fashion. And I work in a really terrible place, but I just make it awesome, for real. Whenever I walk in the store, everyone starts smiling because I’m here. I have studied a little bit on being awesome, but for the most part it’s just natural. I’m just overall awesome. It makes Atlanta a cooler place, but unfortunately I’m leaving soon. San Diego will be a lot cooler.

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THE REV. DENNIS MEREDITH TAKES AN HIV TEST IN FRONT OF PARISH: “Open up and say ahhh-men.”

(photo by Sarah Harms)

Pausing between praises at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Old Fourth Ward, the Rev. Dennis Meredith stood before his packed and passionate congregation on Sunday, the day after World AIDS Day, opened his mouth and took an HIV test.

Meredith’s aim: to shatter the stigma associated with a disease that has hit African-Americans, especially in Fulton County, devastatingly hard. African-Americans make up 74 percent of HIV cases in Georgia, according to state health reports, with most cases stemming from men having sex with other men. After the service, volunteers handed out condoms and administered free HIV tests to interested parishioners. Meredith’s church has adopted an open-arms policy to gays and transgendered people in an effort to change the church’s traditional role as, what Meredith considers, “a vehicle of shame.”

“If we collectively do our job as pastors and ministers, we can turn this thing around,” Meredith said. “If we eliminate the shame, we can do so much. But if you don’t do radical stuff, nothing’s going to be done.”

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OUTWRITE BOOKS GLBT HOLIDAY TREE LIGHTING: Eat, drink and be Mary.

(photo by Joeff Davis)

Outwrite Books in Midtown kicked off War On Christmas 2007 with panache last Thursday with its third annual ceremonial lighting of the store’s GLBT Holiday Tree. With entertainment by drag queen Ruby Redd and the OurSong gay and lesbian chorus, the event raised $1,600 for Atlanta Pride Committee.

I’m, of course, joking about the War On Christmas. Celebrating tolerance and diversity with a GLBT “holiday” tree is truer to Christ’s teachings than explicitly leveraging religious faith to sell DVDs and lingerie in the mall.

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(photo by Perry Julien)

CORINNE LEE OF SNOWDEN AT VARIETY PLAYHOUSE FRIDAY: The warmest ankles in Atlanta rock

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For six years, Tommy Morgan has worked at Videodrome, an independent video-rental store on North Highland Avenue specializing in titles movies buffs can’t find at chains.

“Not like Blockbuster” is how Morgan describes the store.

“If there’s a movie I think we should have, we get it. The store is like a film archive. I’m almost a librarian.”

“[Business] definitely picks up over the holidays. When it’s nice out, our business drops significantly.”

“If there’s an ice storm, that’s the best [rental] day of the year … if the power isn’t out.”

“Recommending comedies is the hardest thing to do. What you think is funny isn’t always funny to other people.”

A popular misconception, Morgan says, is that working at Videodrome is like Clerks, referring to the 1994 cult hit film.

Store employees do not judge customers by their taste in movies, Morgan says. “I don’t think about it. You give me a tag for a movie, I get the movie. Everybody watches good movies and bad movies.”

He says his friends wrongly assume he’s snobbish about the movies he’ll watch. “People assume I wouldn’t want to watch what they’d consider a dumb movie.”

Morgan’s holiday film tradition: “I watch Planet of the Vampires every Thanksgiving in the store.”

On the movies they watch in the store: “Even if it’s PG, the [most offensive] part of the film always comes on when someone walks in the store.”

Asked how intown gentrification has altered the store’s stock over the years, Morgan says simply, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.”

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People living with HIV/AIDS in Georgia as of Dec. 31, 2006: 29,254

Georgia’s ranking in number of AIDS cases per 100,000 cases in the United States: 8

Number of persons newly diagnosed with AIDS in Georgia in 2005: 932

Number of persons newly diagnosed with HIV in Georgia in 2005: 1,267

Percentage of Georgians diagnosed with AIDS in 2005 who are African-Americans: 77

Percentage of Georgians who are African-American: 29

Percentage of new HIV infections occurring in people under 25: 50

Number of promising HIV vaccine candidates in testing: 20

Sources: Georgia Department of Human Resources, Georgia AIDS Coalition, AID Atlanta

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(photo by Joeff Davis)

KATHRYN JOHNSTON ANNIVERSARY: FTP vigil outside Johnston’s home

Thanksgiving eve was the first anniversary of the killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston by Atlanta police. Johnston was shot multiple times during a bogus drug raid, after which cops planted drugs to cover up their crime.

Shortly before the mayor and Chief Pennington’s photo-op memorial ceremony outside her home, a group calling itself FTP held its own vigil. Part of the group’s “Cease Fire: Stop Police Terrorism Campaign,” the gathering included speakers from Operation Lead, New Order, International Action Center and Coalition for Justice, all speaking out against what they call an epidemic of police shootings of African-American victims in major cities across the United States.

Among the speakers was ex-Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who told the crowd about the four unarmed African-Americans who had been killed by Miami police in the 19 days prior to the vigil.

FTP spokesman Kalonji Changa mocked the prison sentences the two white officers who’ve already pleaded guilty for the shooting will receive. If he (Changa), an African-American, had burst into a woman’s home and killed her, he asked, “Would I be facing only 10-12 years?” “No!” was the crowd’s response.

The vigil ended with a march through the streets to the chants of “Rise up! We are not going to take it anymore.”

Several hours later, the crowd at Mayor Shirley Franklin and Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington’s vigil was larger, but police officers outnumbered members of the community. In a ceremony called “Remembrance and Healing,” and heavy on photo opportunities, two white birds were released and candles were lit.

Asked about the two separate gatherings, FTP spokesmen Kalonji Changa said, “The cease-fire campaign is about justice for the people. We feel the city event was more a mockery of justice.”

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