Marching abominable

 

Marching abominable

Originally uploaded by N-Sai

My birthday always coincides with the delightful Inman Park Festival, so there’s always lots of quirky goodness to go around without me even having to do anything. I got there just in the nick of time to watch this “marching abominable” give an impromptu concierto in the middle of the park and it was truly grand.

The rest of the day was spent having dinner at Agave in Cabbagetown and then catching a bizarre and almost intolerable performance by the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at The Earl. Followed by drinks at Bazaar and then the newly opened “Firehouse” (formerly the Spotted Dog). Good times. Literally.

Caterpillar suspended from tree

Caterpillar suspended from tree

Originally uploaded by N-Sai

It was such an odd moment… watching a wedding going on and being transfixed by a caterpillar or other creepy-crawly thing hanging from a thin cord off a tree, swinging in the sunny breeze. In the background, I could hear the vows of one couple’s signature moment and it was a strange coming-together of nature and someone else’s life. I wonder what would happen if we could piece together all the pieces of our lives that have been inadvertently recorded by someone else.

The view over the lake

Here’s what it looks like as you’re going over the lake. It’s truly a sight to see. The sunset was magnificent. You can also take a look at a video view of the city that I got.

Peach-faced lovebird sighting

Happy Holidays!

Ah, so pretty!!! Those red-and-green birds at the bottom came just for the holidays and I couldn’t be more joyful about it.

They are big in the Phoenix area for some reason. I hear you can find them in London, too. They’re a kind of parrot. I have seen them before, but they really seemed to appear at just the right time and I thought a commemorative photo would be appropos.

UPDATE: Peach-faced lovebirds

Originally uploaded by N-Sai

On the holiday itself: We had a pretty special day I guess… had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Chompies (which is technically a Jewish deli). Lots of people eat Christmas dinner there because it is so awesome. I had potato pancakes and a couscous salad. There are great bagels and fun pastries. I do enjoy that very much. It did rain a bit and there were heavy crowds at the Cine Capri theater when we went to see the Benjamin Buttons movie with Brad Pitt. I still can’t remember the full name of it. I think “The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons.” It’s based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald concept. I really like this story, although the premise was hard for me to swallow at first. The construction could have been better but it’s so nice. Like a Fried Green Tomatoes with a touch of magic and a hint of Forrest Gump to taste.

It was a little strange to see the South in a movie and walk out again and see the desert. And then we went to Cafe Pino nearby and I snickered about potential other names for this establishment. And now I’m back.

*The* costume

Last year it was Harry Potter. This year… Jokers, nurse jokers, you name it, this was the costume that everyone was wearing.

IMGP7566, originally uploaded by N-Sai

Entertainment musings…

DISCLAIMER — I don’t normally write so much about work, but in this case, it’s all over the Webernets and thus I don’t care.

I guess it’s THE Rocker (August 20 release) and THE Dark Knight (Releasing NOW) up for my entertainment attencion right now. Today, Dwight K. Schrute, or rather the actor who plays him of course, stopped by the dotcom newsroom for a chat. We took iReport questions for him and got a decent response, including an image of a Bobblehead from an … old friend. We witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of love that arguably surpassed that given to any other person who has come in. People love the Schrute. Rainn Wilson is pretty cool, too. What can I say? He was hilarious in his weatherman sketch and even signed T-Bone’s exercise ball and took time to take a group picture with us. I’ve never watched The Office but I’ve seen clips of it.

If you are my Flickr “friend” at least in name only, you will be able to see the photos of this momentous event that I have taken (minus a group picture, which I plan to steal from someone).

Now, another thing going on this weekend is the release of “THE Dark Knight” as you know and which I already mentioned, which features Heath Ledger. One of my favorite films of all time is “Brokeback Mountain” and Ledger was simply fantastic in that. He was also great in “Lords of Dogtown” and “10 Things I Hate About You” and really anything he touched, so I’m looking forward to seeing his final film. If he got a posthumous Oscar it wouldn’t surprise me. And, you know, I love Batman. It is the ultimate comic-book film franchise. It’s just… a classic film series and I can’t wait to see this one. They never seem to disappoint.

So I’m slobbering all over this film but don’t have tickets to the IMAX, and I didn’t get the free tickets being given out, and I don’t really care to stay up past midnight or wait in long lines, hence my avoidance of the iPhone 3G (and my lack of desire to pay for it), and thus I will be a wuss and wait to see this film. Maybe a couple days. I might see it Sunday night or something. Time will tell.

As an aside, what the freak is the deal-io with the iPhone not doing video? Does Apple have a film reel stuck up its arse? Seriously, let’s have some iPhone video. If I hear one person say they were going to shoot video but the iPhone doesn’t let them, I am going to … buy a Zune. I dunno. Not good, people, not good.

Fourth of July

I went to see the Lenox Square Mall fireworks display since it’s the oldest, closest and possibly the best display. Here’s what the finale looked like:

As always, see the remainder here in the Flickr set.

I worked that day and it was momentous as Joey Chestnut barely beat that Kobayashi dude in the hot dog wolfing contest on Coney Island in Brooklyn in New York. Baby. Hot dog ralphing, perhaps. Gross, man. We had our own weenie roast at work right in the break room. It’s an annual tradition, done on a George Foreman grill. If possible, we try to time it so it corresponds perfectly with the event. Things get pretty heated as we watch with bated, hot-dog-scented breath.

Centennial Olympic Park was crowded with people and many were wearing umbrella hats, which I think is a great way to take the shade with you in a flashy fashion. I opted to spend less time there and cooled off at home to escape the heat. When it got dark I boarded MARTA for the Buckhead region, where things were very crowded. The display was great. It was all good. Mom and dad went to Tempe Marketplace and I think their adventure was more fun, but then again I was working that day. So who knows.

Travel videos

Here are some videos I’d like to highlight that help tell the story of the trip:

Bears tussle on Grouse Mountain. They were in an exhibit behind a fence, thankfully. I think they’re just playing.

Walk the suspension bridge with me! Now, I realize that a large portion of the video is aimed straight at some guy’s arse, but that’s not because I was looking there. The camera was pointed there as I held it. And I’m not a butt girl anyways… so anyway, I hope you don’t get seasick watching this.

Take a spin down the Lion’s Gate Bridge and get a spectacular view of Stanley Park and the water and the bridge itself, which is cool stuff. Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have moved the camera so much.

Oh, and get the full goods at the Flickr set. Enjoy!

Laser light show

We attended the light show last night at Stone Mountain Park for the Last Big Group Thing with Ash. As I am going to Vancouver tomorrow, I will not see her again before she moves. Here is a clip from the show. It was very hot and humid and the picnic was great, with hoagies and chips and everything you can possibly imagine. Tons of leftovers to nurse. Seriously, if only it didn’t feel like 105 degrees outside (and heavy humidity) everything would be perfect.

Weather alert…

We had a case of some “severe” weather today in some areas. Hail dumped on my MARTA train around Buckhead station and I saw the poor passengers ducking for cover as the ice pellets came down. They had no choice; the train was going to pull away, so they just did it. I got lucky. Nary a few drops on my head. Some people did get a tornado in Cherokee County from what I’ve heard.

The storm did injure one victim in my complex: the little floral sprout in the faucet I call “fighting flower.” Still, it’s gone through storms before and I know it will pull through. I think it’s fair to say that I’m entranced by it. This morning and evening, I tried to capture my impression of this tiny detail I pass by each day. You can see what happened in the following before and after pics.