Fresh Loaf

The fine folks at the Wren’s Nest museum are kicking off their summer literary escapade — the Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. — and they’re looking for some Atlanta-area high school students who want to learn about editing and the wordsmithin’ business.

From the site:

Each summer, high school students at the Wren’s Nest create a literary journal to be published and sold exclusively at the Decatur Book Festival.

All editorial decisions regarding the journal are made by the 6 – 8 brilliant editors who work with us throughout the summer. They learn about about writing, editing, publishing, and being awesome from professionals in the print industry.

All of the short stories, essays, and artwork in the journal are contributed by Atlanta-area students. The program is free and competitive.

Previous editorial programs included field trips to Paste, the AJC and the Decatur Book Festival. If you or someone you know might be interested in the program, check out the museum’s information page. The deadline to apply for the program is May 10. If you’re interested in submitting writing or artwork for publication in the museum’s literary review Vernacular, details are on the information page as well. Deadline for submissions is June 14.

(Courtesy Wren’s Nest Publishing Co.)

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Architecture society DOCOMOMO’s Georgia chapter and the Young Architects Forum of AIA Atlanta will host a presentation and self-guided tour of downtown Atlanta’s central library on March 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Atlanta's central library

The library is the final work of famed Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and has been at the center of a heated preservation effort after Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts said he wanted to sell the building or move the library’s collection to a new facility near Centennial Olympic Park.

For more information about the event, part of the Atlanta Preservation Center’s Phoenix Files series which showcases the city’s “living landmarks,” visit the site. (The series, which includes tours of The Wren’s Nest and the Olmstead Liner Parks, is worth a look.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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— Newt Gingrich was in Macon Wednesday, and Lucid Idiocy checks in on his various pronouncements. I remember when Newt was something of a liberal, back when he was a West Georgia College professor who played weekly poker games with a group that included Col. Bruce Hampton. Newt is proof that, like cats, politicians can have nine lives.

– DriftGrift adds a new feature, his “afternoon Jay.” And it kicks off with a $150,000 shopping budget for new work clothes. I did that with my last job. Didn’t you?

— But the lovely Sara at Going Through The Motions reminds us that Alaska is not exactly a high-fashion Mecca. I remember that from Northern Exposure, which was really filmed in Washington state, but what the heck? It was still one of the greatest television series ever. And Sara also points out that looking good is much more important for female candidates than their male counterparts. Touche.

— Poor D-Cup at Politits. She has the worst feeling ever: a co-worker who professes that they could never vote for a black man decides to cancel out D-Cup’s vote for “that one.” Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

— At the Wren’s Nest, there was a similar WTF? moment when a staffer of color began to lead a tour and a white person on that tour had a question and then a comment that has to be read to be believed. Let’s at least hope the tourist was from lower Alabama.

— And, finally, lost in all the election hub-bub … it’s almost Halloween. Which for me, means my annual birthday has arrived. For everyone else, it means trying to find that ever-elusive Halloween costume. But worry not. The fine ladies at Pecanne Log have got you covered with costume ideas galore.

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— GriftDrift explains why he hates liberals, but really f*cking hates Republicans. His grumpiness is for our reading pleasure.

— And Jason Pye is grumpy with CNN’s Lou Dobbs, who was grumpy on the air about our economy and the free-market. Pye’s point? Dobbs really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

— Has the “silly season” in Georgia politics officially opened? Andre over at Georgia Politics Unfiltered certainly thinks so. Exhibit No. 1 is an email from the Vernon Jones campaign that lashes out at Jim Martin for having “voted against Barack Obama” in the primary (Martin supported John Edwards for president). And, yes, this is the same Vernon Jones who twice voted for our current Republican president. Yep. Silly season is definitely here.

— How many times did Dagmar Midcap appear on yesterday’s hour-long 4 o’clock newscast on WGCL-TV? Thankfully, our friends at Live Apartment Fire counted them. Our favorite: a lingering shot of Dagmar dramatically looking down (presumably at a weather radar) and tracking Hurricane Dolly. Glad she’s on the case. The answer is eight, by the way.

— The folks at the Wren’s Nest take us through their day, including the woman in the nightgown who sleeps in her car and parks it in their driveway.

— Over at Ashes and Glass, Sara celebrates the first day of vacation by sleeping late. Ah, the luxury.

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— Is the clock ticking on Glenn Richardson’s reign as House Speaker? Jason Pye says some key Republican legislators have come out publicly in support of a challenge by state Rep. David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge.

— What’s life without DriftGrift’s “Morning Wooten?”

— Reporter-Cub recounts a jarring election day conversation he had with a tech at his doctor’s office. Seems the tech, who is white, couldn’t believe that Cub actually voted for Obama.

— Over at Paw Paw Bill, William Cotter has a troubling essay on the irony of a Vietnam resort hosting the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

— The Wren’s Next posts some of its fan mail from the wee ones, and they sure are charming.

— And speaking of kids, what’s on Maigh’s mind today is the loss of manners and how so many parents use television and computer games, essentially, as babysitters. “No one likes a Goop, and with Grover as my witness, we’re raising a whole generation of ‘em,” she says.

— Which leads nicely into the final item. ATLMalcontent shares an email from a grammar-challenged delegate who attended the National Education Association convention. Let’s hope he/she isn’t an English teacher.

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