Love is in the air February 14th at Wahoo! Grill

Happy Valentine's Day

Love is in the air February 14th at Wahoo! Grill





Make your reservation now!
404-373-3331


Valentine's Day Features & Wine Pairings
In addition to our full dinner menu


Appetizer
Fried Cold Water Rock Shrimp drizzled with
Hoisin and Mayhaw-Pineapple Sauce.....$8
Kris Pinot Grigio

Entrées
Heart-shaped Ravioli stuffed with Lobster and
Smoked White Cheddar sautéed in brown butter,
topped with Lobster and Parmesan.....$19
Appetizer Portion.....$10
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay

Eight ounce Filet Mignon with Black Truffle Butter,
Lobster Risotto, Grilled Asparagus.....$28
Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon

Blackened Grouper with Shrimp Buerre Blanc,
Mashed Potatoes, Today's Fresh Vegetable.....$24
George DuBoeuf Pouilly Fuisse

Dessert
Fresh Berries in a Lemon Cream .....$6
Campbells Tokay Dessert Wine

(No split plates this evening please)

*********

Now Selling Wahoo's delicious coffee
by the pound!




Since we opened our doors, Wahoo Grill has been serving locally-roasted Lakehouse Coffee right to your table. We've now decided to take our coffee one step closer to your kitchen table. Wahoo Grill and Lakehouse Coffee have teamed up to create a package that you can now purchase and bring home as you leave our restaurant. Lakehouse Coffee has been roasting Mountain Blend (our blend of choice) for the last 15 years. Mountain Blend consists of the perfect combination of Indonesian coffee with the finest Central American beans, and then, we top these off with a touch of French Roast. You will enjoy a comfortably rich taste that allows you to pick up on the full-bodied, sweetness; along with a snappy, tingling sensation on the back end of this coffee. Enjoy - $10 per lb.




1042 West College Avenue * Decatur, GA * 30030
404-373-3331
www.wahoogrilldecatur.com

2009 TOUR deCATUR

2009 TOUR deCATUR
5K Road Race,1 Mile Fun Run & Tot Trot


March 21, 2009
Renfroe Middle School

TIME: 8:45 am

ENTRY FEE:
(if submitted by March 13)
Adults: $18
Children under 18: $12
CSD Employees: $15

Race day entry fee is $25 for all participants


Register On-Line at www.tourdecatur.com
All proceeds benefit the
Decatur Education Foundation
PO Box 3159
Decatur, Georgia 30031
404-377-0641
www.decatureducationfoundation.org








Decatur Education Foundation | 315 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. Suite 770 | Decatur | GA | 30030

Hobbyist looking for home for empire

This is a model of the old downtown Rich's building, built by train enthusiast Frank Lowrie, 71. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

Hobbyist looking for home for empire

By JAMIE GUMBRECHT

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, February 09, 2009

Frank Lowrie’s Atlanta is about 1,700 square feet, full of trees and buildings forgotten by the real Atlanta, the one he lives in. Lowrie hand-built his city, with long-gone landmarks from history and his childhood, with trains still running everywhere.

The miniature city and trains operated for years at Underground Atlanta. These days, it’s packed up in boxes that fill Lowrie’s basement and two-car garage in southwest Atlanta. Lowrie doesn’t want it to stay that way.

His “Good Old Days Atlanta” exhibit was a class field trip favorite and nostalgia-generating machine at Underground in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and again from 1999 to 2003. Lowrie began making models as a hobby in 1974, and was known to wear his conductor hat and overalls at Underground to explain the cardboard and plaster structures.

He’s 71 now, still living with his wife in the same home where he began piecing models together as an adult. He doesn’t add much to his Atlanta anymore, except for a few key pieces he’d like to perfect — the Fox Theatre, for one. His goal now is to find a place for the city to live, something even bigger than his old space at Underground.

“I’d like to set it up somewhere where it’s permanent,” Lowrie said. “It takes about 90 days to put this up. It’s not something I can just throw up or tear down in a day or two.”

Kelli Copeland, director of specialty retail for Underground Atlanta, said they’d love to have Lowrie’s Atlanta back on display, but they don’t have a large, long-term, wheelchair-accessible space they can promise. (Underground Atlanta operators recently proposed building a $450 million casino and entertainment destination at the site; no timeline for the project has been announced.)

“He knows that we’re interested. It’s a great concept for us to have here, being so close to the zero-mile marker,” Copeland said, referring to the spot where the Western and Atlantic Railroad ended. The area became the settlement Terminus, the town of Marthasville and then the city of Atlanta.

Underground still gets phone calls asking about the old exhibitions, Copeland said. She, too, remembers the last time Lowrie’s city went on display.

“I was amazed by his craftsmanship, his attention to detail. He made the old Rich’s building look like the old Rich’s building,” she said. “It was so inspiring to see him put it all together, like a city within a city.”

After 30-some years of rebuilding Atlanta, Lowrie admits it’s nice to have some time off. He’s gotten into Japanese gardening, adding waterfalls, bridges and trees to his back yard. But if ever he found a space large enough space to hold the mini-city permanently, he said he’d go back to modeling.

As he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a 1989 story: “I’ve never met a model railroader who was finished.”




Holding a scale model of a Stuckey's gas station, model train enthusiast Frank Lowrie, 71, says "I went to every building that was still standing, smelled them, and tasted them, before I built a model." Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

more photos

Waffle House Now taking Valentine’s reservations

Now taking Valentine’s reservations: Waffle House
Chain expands its romantic promotion to 32 restaurants, including 10 in metro Atlanta.

By JIM AUCHMUTEY

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Jennifer Payne was skeptical last year when she heard that her bosses at Waffle House wanted to offer candlelit Valentine’s Day dinners at the unit she managed in northern Fulton County.

“Ain’t nobody gonna come to Waffle House for Valentine’s Day,” she thought. “And if they do, it’s because the guys are cheap.”

Cheap or not, the couples came — some of them in dresses, coats and ties — and so did TV news crews. The promotion proved so successful that Waffle House is expanding it this year to 32 restaurants, including 10 in metro Atlanta.

Pink signs at participating locations invite customers to “get scattered, smothered and covered” in romance. Reservations are encouraged.

The idea originated with Calvin Stokesbary, a division manager for the Norcross-based chain. The trick was how to make a sunny-side-up diner seem more cozy and intimate for the big evening.

AJC full story

Tonight at Eddie's Attic

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10th
OLIVER WOOD / PIETA BROWN
Show time: 8:00 pm / Doors open: 6:30 pm
Individual tickets: $12 / At the door: $15 / Tables of 4: $60

OLIVER WOOD (OF THE WOOD BROTHERS) takes the Attic stage tonight. This will be another night to remember as his music has a rootsy feel and a timeless quality with echoes of country blues, Appalachian bluegrass, and New Orleans R&B. The critically acclaimed debut CD (recorded with brother Chris Wood of Modeski, Martin & Wood)"Ways Not To Lose" was Amazon.com's #1 pick for folk music in '06



Raised in a bare-bones bohemian home, PIETA BROWN is the daughter of two-time Grammy nominee Greg Brown. In her early 20s, she garnered the attention of Lucinda Williams' guitarist and bandleader Bo Ramsey. He subsequently co-produced "In The Cool" in 2005 - a release that was named one of the year's best by Amazon.com and a number of newspapers across America. It also broke the Top 20 of the Americana Music Association radio chart and the Top 30 on the AAA radio chart. The BBC quotes her blends folk, blues, country and rock music as "Self-styled poetess, folk goddess and country waif, Pieta's music resonates with a seductive simplicity and lyrical grace."

Pub's first pint ($2,650) swigged for a good cause

Mikki K. Harris/kharris@ajc.com
Marshall Davis, co-owner of Steinbecks’s, drinks the first glass of beer at Leon's Full Service that he paid $2,650 to benefit a fund set up for employees of Trackside Tavern and 5th Earl Market employees.




By JOHN KESSLER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, February 09, 2009

Marshall Davis took his time before choosing a pint of Terrapin India Brown Ale — the maiden pint sold at Leon’s Full Service on its first day of operation in downtown Decatur. But for $2,650, he had the right to be picky.

Standing on a chair, he took a lusty swig and announced to the crowd, “It’s wonderful to have a community like this.” The beer preceded him off the chair and was passed from mouth to mouth like a communion chalice.
Davis’ business partners, Marc and Shelby Brennan, bid on eBay for the privilege of buying the first pint for a good cause: All proceeds go to the twin funds set up for the employees of Trackside Tavern and 5th Earl Market, two adjacent Decatur businesses that were destroyed by a fire in January. The three business partners own Steinbeck’s restaurant in Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood; the Brennans also own the nearby Universal Joint and made the donation from both restaurants.

In addition to the pint of beer, the winners also get a specialty cocktail named for them on the drinks menu at Leon’s, a new gastropub from the Brick Store Pub owners.

Marc Brennan joined the bidding for the beer after seeing an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last Friday. “It seemed a good thing to do; Decatur’s a small community.” Bidding was fierce up until the end between the Brennans and Dr. Will Draper of Village Vets of Decatur.

“He used to be my vet, until he made me pay $2,650 for a beer!” Marc Brennan joked. Draper, somewhat less ceremoniously, got the second pint.

Many local businesses have rallied to help the employees of the two establishments since the fire. A recent soup cook-off at the Corner Pub raised over $6,000.

The Brennans are also partners in the Standard Food and Spirits — the Grant Park tavern where bartender John Henderson was shot and killed by armed intruders in early January.

“After everything that happened, this feels really good,” said Marc Brennan.
Mikki K. Harris/mkharris@ajc.com
The Terrapin Beer Co’s India Brown Ale is the beer Marshall Davis selected.

Proceeds go to workers who lost jobs after fire

Cold Play Wins Best Song

Georgia artists Sugarland win Grammys

Chris Pizzello / AP
Georgia artists win Grammys

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland reacts after hearing she won.


Country Song: “Stay,” Jennifer Nettles, songwriter (Sugarland), track from “Enjoy the Ride” (Mercury Records; Publisher: Jennifer Nettles Publishing)

Valentines Day: Silver and Silk at Mingei World

What is still on the way from Thailand?
flowers
Fine cotton scarves and shawls and some fabulous scroll paintings are flying here now, and may have arrived by the time you read this.
Coming soon by sea?
Carved wooden monk figures from Burma, picture frames from recycled teak, mulberry paper lanterns, vintage Burmese puppets, trick wallets made of Thai funny papers, spirit houses, and more!
What's back?

Mola shoes
from Colombia
A store favorite!
These whimsical traffic-stopping shoes are well-made and very
comfortable!
The popular Mary Janes are back instock, as well as a new style..

Arghand soap
from Afghanistan
These gorgeous soaps look like river stones but are rich, lovely treats for the bath!
Made of local fruits, oils and herbs near Kandahar by a cooperative founded by former NPR reporter, Sarah Chayes!

Amulets
We'd gotten low on some of our Thai amulets, but they have been replenished!

silver Ann is Back with Wonderful Finds from Thailand!

Ann has just returned from Thailand with beautiful new silk scarves in a variety of rich colors and styles and a big bag of hilltribe silver. Also, her finds include an assortment of bags including unique bags made of recycled Hmong textiles! Shop soon for the best selection!
Nan earrings Jewelry Trunk Show
with Nan Albertson.



Nan manipulates a precious metal "clay" (PMC) which allows her to make textural impressions on these elegant pieces. Once fired the PMC becomes a hard fine (99.9% pure) silver work of art that will never tarnish. 24K gold can then be applied to pure silver using an ancient Korean process called Keurn Boo.


ratanabag Bagorama!

Some of the most exciting treasures being unpacked from Thailand are the bags made of recycled Hmong textiles. From coin purses to totes, there is something for everyone. But supplies are limited, so shop soon!

In order to make room for these new bags, we are marking down some other bags.



Remember our National Geographic bags? Carpet bags from Teotitlan del Valle? Hand-woven bags from Chiapas? Net bags from Argentina?

Those are all now 50% off!

February Book Club

The Mingei Book Club will meet Tuesday, February 10th, at 7:30. This month's book is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. If you can't make it this month, From Land of Green Ghost,
by Pascal Khoo Thwe on March 10th and on April 14 When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, by Peter Goodwin will be the books for discussion.


Mingei World Arts, Inc.
427 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30030
404.371-0101

At Taste, Oddball Valentine’s Day gifts show you care

JON WATERHOUSE/Special
Taste in Decatur carries stone coasters with images of Atlanta landmarks. Custom coasters can be ordered featuring a picture of your respective sweetheart.

Oddball Valentine’s Day gifts show you care
Think outside the box of chocolates with these unique gift ideas

By JON WATERHOUSE

For the Journal-Constitution

Sunday, February 08, 2009

In the realm of Valentine’s Day goodies, it’s no secret flowers and candy can be passe. So in the spirit of creativity, we’re taking Cupid on an alternative shopping trip with affordable and unique gift ideas.
COASTERS

Cost: Four for $39 or $13 each.

Where you can find it: Taste, 416 Church St., Decatur. 404-370-1863.

What you get: Taste, a gift and houseware shop in downtown Decatur, has a bundle of unique Valentine’s gifts on its holiday roster. Its stone drink coasters each feature a respective image of a popular Atlanta or Georgia landmark. Sift through the stacks and you’ll find the Big Chicken, Mary Mac’s Tea Room, Clermont Lounge, The Varsity, Oakland Cemetery and more. A special selection of Valentine’s Day coasters include images of heart candies, retro Valentine’s Day cards and an image of artist Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss.” You can have a custom photo of your sweetheart put on a coaster at no extra charge. Turnaround time on custom coasters is typically two days.

Other Valentine’s Day goodies at Taste include Vosges’ Flying Pig Chocolate ($12.95). This pig-shaped chocolate wrapped in pink ribbon and housed in a pink box is made of applewood smoked bacon, milk chocolate and other ingredients. A pair of pink rubber gloves by Gloveables ($14.95), featuring heart prints on the bottom of the sleeves, can be used for both gardening or doing the dishes after a V-Day meal.

Bottom line: Thoughtful Valentine’s Day gifts don’t necessarily cost a mint.

AJC Full story

Pratice Opening Night for Leon's Full Service

Leon's Full Service had a pratice opening night last night (invitation only) official opening will be on Monday.
I'm sure they will "pratice" Saturday and Sunday as well.

Oakhurst Wine Tasting Festival.

It's time again for the 2009 Oakhurst Wine Crawl (aka Oakhurst Wine Tasting Festival).

On February 28th from 4 to 7 pm, local Oakhurst businesses will open their doors and feature wine from around the globe.

This is one of the favorite Oakhurst events and it really kicks off the Spring Festival season. Usually about 20 different businesses will participate and it is great fun to visit the local auto repair shop or the optomotrist's office and sample a glass of wine.

If you haven't been to the Oakhurst Wine Crawl before, please know that it SELLS OUT FAST. Only 750 tickets are sold each year and it is best to purchase them prior to the wine festival so you don't have to wait in the long lines.

ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: Kavarna Coffee, Steinbecks and Universal Joint (all are on the corner of East Lake Dr and Oakview).

TICKET PRICES: $20 advance purchase; $25 on the day of the event


www.oakhurstga.org

Upcoming Book Signings and Events at Wordsmiths Books

Upcoming Book Signings and Events at Wordsmiths Books

Visit Wordsmith's to order signed books from upcoming events. Please specify in the Comments Box on the ordering page that you're ordering signed books and also enter any special instructions or personalization requests in the Comments Box.

All orders for signed books must be placed through our website at least 48 hours in advance of the event. We can not guarantee a signed copy or personalization requests - authors are sometimes unable to sign books - but we will try our hardest to get you one.

Event Quick Links:

View Events on Google Calendar
February 5 - Topher Payne with The Wayne Fishell Experiment
February 8 - Jim Warren
February 12 - David Hajdu
February 21 - Zachary Steele
February 23 - Christopher Moore

Sugarland makes a run at Grammys’ top prize

Universal Music Nashville
Sugarland’s Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles are nominees in two categories at tonight’s Grammy Awards.


By SHANE HARRISON

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



In January 2004, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a roundup of some local acts to watch in the coming year. Among them was Sugarland.

At the time, then-member Kristen Hall said this about the band’s songs: “I want to hear them in Wal-Mart. I want to hear them on the ringtone of somebody’s phone over there.”
That mission was soon accomplished. But four years later, Hall is no longer part of the band she helped start with Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles.

Despite setbacks, the band has gone from strength to strength and is once again a Grammy contender.

Still, the oft-awarded band has yet to secure that trophy.

Tonight could be its night, though, as it is up for both country performance by a duo or group with vocals and country collaboration with vocals.

As the duo reaches for this possible new milestone, let’s look back at the short but still quite strange trip of Sugarland.

AJC Full story

My favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Watch more AOL Sports videos on AOL Video

116 Waffle Houses to stay open under deal

JOEY IVANSCO / jivansco@ajc.com
Waffle House is based in Norcross.
WAFFLE HOUSE
• Headquarters: Norcross
• Founded: 1955
• Restaurants: 1,553
• Background: Started by Joe Rogers Sr., a former Toddle House manager, and Tom Forkner, who worked in real estate, when they opened the first Waffle House in Avondale Estates.


116 Waffle Houses to stay open under deal
Restaurant chain takes control of locations owned by largest franchisee, now in Chapter 11

By JOE GUY COLLIER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Waffle House has taken control of more than 100 restaurants once owned by Northlake Foods, a Tampa, Fla., franchisee that filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

The move keeps open 116 restaurants that employ about 3,500 people across the Southeast. Northlake, the largest Waffle House franchisee, operated restaurants in Florida, Georgia and Virginia.
Northlake’s largest shareholder was W.B. Johnson, an Atlanta businessman who owned Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. before selling it in the 1990s to Marriott. Johnson was sued by other Northlake shareholders for reportedly using Northlake money to pay for aircraft, a Buckhead office and other expenses unrelated to the Waffle House business.

Under a bankruptcy plan that cleared this week, the Northlake restaurants have been transferred to East Coast Waffles, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norcross-based Waffle House.

Waffle House wanted to take over the restaurants because it saw value in the outlets, said Jon Waller, general counsel for Waffle House and an officer for the newly formed East Coast Waffles.
AJC Full story

Update on Decatur Fire Station no. 2

Elvis Presley ....Blue Suede Shoes

Leon's Full Service auctioning off the right to buy the first pint

Current bid on Ebay is 850.00 as of 2/5/09
You can bid here.
Remember :All the proceeds go to the Trackside Tavern/Fifth Earl Employee Fund.
End time:Feb-07-09 08:44:49 PST

At this rate I would not be surprised if it goes over $ 2,000.00



Ebay listing reads:

After months of waiting, Leon's Full Service is ready to open. The Brick Store guys are putting the final touches on their new space for an official opening Sunday or Monday. Who gets to buy the first official pint at the new hub of our fair city? It could be you! Mike, Dave, and Tom are auctioning off the right to buy the first pint, and all the proceeds go to the Trackside Tavern/Fifth Earl Employee Fund. The historic moment will be photographed and enshrined on the wall of Leon's along with the first bill. This is history in the making. You'll tell your grandkids. This will make the Inauguration look like a Concert on the Square. Mary Jane Mahan will immortalize you in the sequel to "Love at the Pub." You'll get to choose from the finest beer selection in the Southeast. And it's all to help out the good folks down on College Avenue. So bid like crazy. Even in a bad economy, you've got to have a drink every once in a while. Why not this one? First Pint will be served at 5pm on Opening Day.

Event to celebrate DeKalb history book’s release

Event to celebrate DeKalb history book’s release

By APRIL HUNT

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Residents are invited to celebrate the release of a new book chronicling DeKalb County history at a party and silent auction next week to benefit the county’s history center.

As part of the launch of the book, “Historic DeKalb County,” the history center will host a party and fund-raiser on Thursday, Feb. 12. The event features hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction, with hotel stays, dinner certificates, children’s items and more up for grabs.
The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Old Courthouse on Decatur Square.

For information, call 404-373-1088 or send an e-mail to dhs@dekalbhistory.org

Every Girls Break-Up Song "I Will Survive"

Whit's End needs to make room for Spring Items

Dear Whit’s End Shoppers,



Ok, our Spring items will be in shortly, and we need to get rid of the rest of this winter stuff so we can pay for the new items.



So this means more savings for you!



All Patagonia and Columbia shoes are now only $69-$10 (Regularly $110-$35)

All Woolrich Slippers are only $19 (Were $39.99)

All shorts are only $10 (Were $30-$38), and Columbia and Dockers short sleeve shirts are only $9-$10 (were $30-$45)

All Dockers Cords and Cargo pants are now only $19 (Were $44-$55)

All Columbia winter upper body wear are now 50% off.

All Prana, Kuhl, Dockers, and Flyshacker winter upper body wear are now 40% off.

All scarves and Toms Shoes are 25% off.

All Chiliwear boxers are 10% off.

Dockers slacks and chinos are discounted too!


So, please come in a take these items from us!

Jeff and Greg

Whit's End, LLC
431 W. Ponce DeLeon Ave, #2
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 377-3310
(404) 377-8335 Fax
whitsenddecatur@bellsouth.net
www.whitsenddecatur.com

Agnes Scott College circa 1960

Agnes Scott College was established in 1889 with a distinctive mission: to educate women for the betterment of their families and the elevation of their region. The college was named in honor Agnes Irvine Scott, a Scots-Irish immigrant who upheld a strong sense of integrity and intellectual curiosity. Her son Col. George Washington Scott was the college’s primary benefactor, and the Rev. Frank Henry Gaines, minister of Decatur Presbyterian Church, was the founding president.

Initially named the Decatur Female Seminary in 1889 and renamed the Agnes Scott Institute in 1890, the college was chartered as Agnes Scott College in 1906 and was the first institution of higher education in Georgia to receive regional accreditation.

Plain White Ts - Hey There Delilah - Official (HQ)

Punxsutawteney Phil Predicts Six more weeks of Winter

Phil Says "Six More Weeks of Winter!"

Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2009 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:
Hear Ye Hear Ye

On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009

Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators

Awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper

And greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,

Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time

And a bright sky above me

Showed my shadow beside me.

So 6 more weeks of winter it will be.



Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the holiday:

. Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

. How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!

. How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

. Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

. On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

. According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

. No! Phil's forecasts are not made in advance by the Inner Circle. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2, he speaks to the Groundhog Club president in "Groundhogese"(a language only understood by the current president of the Inner Circle). His proclamation is then translated for the world.

. The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."

. Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887.

. So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br'er Groundhog.

GROUNDHOG.ORG


Groundhog Day the Movie

Oak Grove Elementary students donate quarter-ton of pennies

RICH ADDICKS / raddicks@ajc.com
Riley Hendrix, 6, a student at the Atlanta Montessori International School, holds up some of the pennies she and her classmates have collected for ‘Pennies for Peace,’ a fund-raising effort that helps fund a school-building effort in the remote regions of northern Pakistan.


Oak Grove Elementary students donate quarter-ton of pennies

By BO EMERSON

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


When it comes to charity, the kids at Oak Grove Elementary school in DeKalb County are heavy contributors.

Heavy, as in hundreds of pounds. They’ve donated at least a quarter-ton of pennies to help children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“You should have seen this container,” said Oak Grove dad Martin Belson, a co-pilot of the school’s “Pennies for Peace” fund drive. “You couldn’t get four people to pick it up. It got so heavy they had to reinforce the table.”

Oak Grove is one of 3,200 schools to participate in the program, which was created by humanitarian Greg Mortenson, mountaineer and co-author of “Three Cups of Tea” (Penguin, $15), which has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 103 weeks. Mortenson’s book details his quixotic quest to build a school in a remote village in the Karakoram mountains of northwestern Pakistan, starting in 1993, and the ensuing literacy campaign that has swept around the globe.
AJC full story

First Look Inside Leon's Full Service Pub

Leon's Full Service plans to open in about 7 to 8 days according to Dave of Leon's Full Service. He was kind enough to let me walk through and take some pictures today.
He said they still had some electrical issues to work out.

I got to meet Dave Blanchard and Chef Eric Ottensmeyer while I was there.
Thanks guys.


This week the Bamboo gets planted outside.
Still some touch-up painting to do.
This place looks very nice.

The Best Gym in Decatur...Snap Fitness Open 24/7

The Best Gym in Decatur, GA is NOW OPEN!!! BE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS!! We have the latest free weight, cardio, and tanning equipment available, and we are open 24/7 365!! Please be sure to check the staffed hours.

LOCATION: 317 West Hill Street Decatur, GA 30030. We are located in the Historic Scottish Rite Complex in the center of Oakhurst. We are across the street from Universal Joint, and next door to The Solarium. If you are on West Hill St facing the Solarium, our building is the stucco/brick building next door (to the right) and our entrance is on the side of the building facing The Solarium.

Decatur Snap Fitness Center
317 West Hill St.
Decatur, GA.

David Gray Babylon

Career Awareness Week at Decatur High

Our Career and Technology Department has spent a lot of time and energy educating our students about the careers and experiences that await them after high school. Next week, the department is hosting our annual Career Awareness Week. Many parents and community members will take part in the events, explaining their career and the training it took to accomplish success in their given field. Please see the events below. The community is welcome to participate, and is in fact, critical to the success of this experience. Please contact Mr. Duane Sprull at dsprull@csdecatur.org if you are able to participate.

At the very least, expect to see our students Monday afternoon scouring the city for businesses who are participating in a Scavenger Hunt. If you see teenagers who look lost, please offer your guidance!

Career Awareness Week

Read more at Bloggin Bulldogs here.

h/t indecatur

DeKalb home prices fall 27%

DeKalb home prices fall 27%

By KIRSTEN TAGAMI, TY TAGAMI

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Average home prices in DeKalb County plummeted 27 percent last month, compared with December 2007, largely because of a growing number of foreclosures.

The average sales price for single family homes declined from $208,671 in December 2007 to $151,935 last month, according to a report by the DeKalb Association of Realtors.
We have had a lot of investors out there grabbing foreclosures,” said Sharon Nelson, the association’s president.

DeKalb’s price decline is worse than the overall metro Atlanta drop of about 13 percent last year. Home prices in the county were dragged down by a rash of foreclosures in south DeKalb, said Tal Kramer, a real estate agent with ReMax Communities.

“It has one of the highest percentages of foreclosures going on,” Kramer said.

The part of DeKalb that saw the biggest drop in average price for the entire year, almost 45 percent, was near the Scottdale area, in the 30079 zip code. Belvedere Park, the 30032 zip code near Avondale Estates, had the second-biggest drop in value for the year, of almost 40 percent, said Kramer, who analyzed sales activity in all areas of DeKalb.

AJC full story

Candlelight Cafeteria - circa 1969 Better know as Pizza by Candlelight

If you are a long time Decatur resident you will remember this.

Comments:

Anonymous said:
I remember Pizza By Candlelite
very well.

January 31, 2009 8:34 AM

Next Stop...Decatur said...

Yes it was Pizza By Candlelite, it's probably remembered better by that.
I'm not sure when they changed names,
maybe someone else can. I think it was in the late 60's or early 70's
the photo came from a 1969 school year book and the ad from a 1967 school year book.
Note: Also their was a Pizza By Candlelite at
Candler and College.
Were these two a chain/related ? That I'm not sure.

3 Movies & One Man with No Name.

Watch All Three Today
Starting at 5:30PM on AMC

Sat., Jan. 31 @ 5:30PM | 4:30C

Watch all three movies in the Man With No Name series: Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, andThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly.



By the time Sergio Leone made this film, Italians had already produced about 20 films ironically labelled "spaghetti westerns." Leone approached the genre with great love and humor. Although the plot was admittedly borrowed from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), Leone managed to create a work of his own that would serve as a model for many films to come. Clint Eastwood plays a cynical gunfighter who comes to a small border town and offers his services to two rivaling gangs. Neither gang is aware of his double play, and each thinks it is using him, but the stranger will outwit them both. The picture was the first installment in a cycle commonly known as the "Dollars" trilogy. Later, United Artists, who distributed it in the U.S., coined another term for it: the "Man With No Name" trilogy. While not as impressive as its follow-ups For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), A Fistful of Dollars contains all of Leone's eventual trademarks: taciturn characters, precise framing, extreme close-ups, and the haunting music of Ennio Morricone. Not released in the U.S. until 1967 due to copyright problems, the film was decisive in both Clint Eastwood's career and the recognition of the Italian western.

— Yuri German, All Movie Guide

Snow for Groundhog Day? Maybe

Snow for Groundhog Day? Maybe

By MARCUS K. GARNER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



Planning to mob a nearby grocery store for bread and toilet paper because you heard there might be snow next week?

The National Weather Service suggests you hold off for now.

It’s way too early to know if it’s going to be a problem in the Atlanta area,” forecaster Terry Murphy said Thursday evening.

In the wake of nasty East Coast and Midwest winter storms, weather officials said a storm system with the potential for dropping a wintry mix in Metro Atlanta is just that — potential.

“We might have a chance of seeing some winter precipitation Monday night or Tuesday,” Murphy said. “But the ground’s going to be warm, so it will take a lot.”

Forecasts call for relatively warm weather through the weekend, with high temperatures in the 50s, the weather service said.

Friday will be sunny and windy, with a wind advisory predicting gusts of up to 35 mph.

Saturday should be less windy with plenty of sun and a high of 54, while the mercury on Sunday will climb to 56 degrees with partly sunny skies.

“It’s probably going to start as rain,” Murphy said of Monday’s possible winter weather. “If it gets cold enough, [snow] will be on Tuesday.”

This Weekend at Eddie's Attic

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30th JACKSON COUNTY LINE / ANGEL TAYLOR
Show time: 8:00 pm / Doors open: 6:30 pm Individual tickets: $10 / Tables of 4: $50 Mellow yet soulful JACKSON COUNTY LINE delivers solid folk pop with guitar, cello, mandolin, trumpet, bass and drums. They are currently playing in support of their debut CD release Jackson County Line. Paste Magazine raves, "this is a gently moving and disquieting debut album.
ANGEL TAYLOR is a California girl whose songs are reminiscent of her friend, Colbie Caillat. Her pop/folk driven debut release, "Love Travels" will be available in the spring.
tickets





SATURDAY, JANUARY 31st - AFTERNOON CHILDREN'S SHOW GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD'S MELLOW SENSATION
Show time: 2:00 pm / Doors open: 1:30 pm Individual children's tickets: $8 / Adult Tickets: $10 / Tables of 4: $50 GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD's MELLOW SENSATION concerts are a unique blend of live music and moving image. The minimally animated illustrations are accompanied by illustrator/songwriter Morgan Taylor's catchy and original story-songs for a truly different multimedia experience that is entrancing children, teens and adults. The character of Gustafer is a friendly creature who came to Earth from the sun and has an unusual magnetism for making friends with some of Earth's odder creatures. The New York Times said, "The show is a cross between "Yellow Submarine" and Dr. Seuss." Entertainment Weekly praised "...The most infectious original songs. It's like tapping into some pleasure center in the brain--both adult and kid...absurdly appealing. Grade: A+ New York Magazine named Morgan Taylor "Best Kids' Performer" in its 2008 "Best of New York" issue. "Mint Green Bee" from Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World is the Session I Grand Prize Winner in the children's category of the John Lennon Songwriting Competion, while "The Bluebird Tree" from Gustafer Yellowgold's "Have You Never Been Yellow?" is also a finalist.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31st - EVENING SHOW SUNDOWN / JESSICA URICK
Show time: 8:00 pm / Doors open: 6:30 pm Individual tickets: $10 / Tables of 4: $50 SUNDOWN (formerly Sun Sets East) is a unique blend of rock and country that is reshaping country music boundaries. They are a modern-classic country rock band pulling influences from Little Big Town and Keith Urban all the way back to The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.

Georgia's own country rocker JESSICA URICK has some impressive credits to her 22 years: performances at Nashville's acclaimed Bluebird Cafe, singing the national anthem at a professional sporting event, appearances on Good Day Atlanta, and a finalist on the TV show "Nashville Star." And it doesn't stop there. She was Atlanta's runner-up for teh Next Big Star Contest for Kenny Chesney, the winner of Nissan's Battle of the Bands and has opened for T. Graham Brown, Diana DeGarmo, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, and Luke Bryan.

Tickets

What's Your Signature Snack for the Super Bowl?

What's Your Signature Snack for the Super Bowl?

Posted by WickedGoodDinner, January 21, 2009 at 9:56 PM

What are you cookin' up this year for your Super Bowl party—your signature, go-to snack, or are you trying something new? How adventurous will you get to please the crowd? read all the comments here

Decatur start up aims to find the best blogs

Decatur start up aims to find the best blogs
Regator mines most interesting posts



MIKKI K. HARRIS / mkharris@ajc.com
Scott Lockhart (from left), Kimberly Turner and Chris Turner, founders of blog aggregator Regator.com, often hold meetings around the kitchen table.


By JAMIE GUMBRECHT

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Google.com has an algorithm. Regator.com has Kimberly Turner.
She’s 33, an Atlanta magazine writer, and curator of blogs on the young, Decatur-born aggregating Web site. On an Internet increasingly filled with noise and fluff, she sifts through hardly updated, long-forgotten, navel-gazing diatribes to find good writing and interesting discussions. She shuffles the best into categories on Regator, making it easier for users to find quality posts sorted by topic.

Since the site launched in August, she’s added more than 9,000 blogs to Regator categories, building each for quality, not quantity. Usually, she hunts blogs quietly, on the couch at home. For one week every month, she opens the site to nominations, and gets up to 400 suggestions per day.

Her rejection rate: about 75 percent.

Time consuming? Yes. But it also makes them different, says Turner, who launched Regator with her husband, Scott Lockhart, the site’s designer and business mind, and her younger brother, Chris Turner, the site’s techno-geek.

It was supposed to be a real estate blog aggregator (RE-gator, get it?), a side project for Lockhart and Chris Turner. But once Chris had written the code, well, “it kind of seemed silly,” Chris Turner says. “It wasn’t that much harder.” Topics range from parenting to hipsters to animal rights to cricket to gadgets to, yes, real estate.

AJC full story

Regator is a great place to find interesting blogs.

Here is their blog.

Here is their web site.

Chick-fil-A ‘blessed’ with increased sales

Chick-fil-A ‘blessed’ with increased sales
CEO credits affordable new menu and God for double-digit sales growth

By JOE GUY COLLIER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Chick-fil-A credited a loyal customer base, affordable prices and menu upgrades for helping it increase sales in 2008. God’s blessing didn’t hurt, either, a company executive says.

The Atlanta-based chicken chain reported Thursday system-wide sales for last year of $2.96 billion, up 12 percent from 2007. The company has increased sales every year since the first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967. It was the 16th straight year of double-digit sales growth.

AJC full story

Fundraiser for 5th Earl Market @ Parkers on Friday

Decatur Metro reports on a Fundraiser this Friday for the employees of 5th Earl Market will be held at Parker's on Ponce
5th Earl Market had heavy damage from the fire at Trackside Tavern.

Last Game in the Decatur Rec is scheduled for February 13th!

Sherri Breunig sends this over.

You're Invited!


Last Game in the Decatur Rec is scheduled for February 13th!

After 50 years of playing in "The Rec", Decatur High School has scheduled their last basketball game in the Decatur Recreation Center for Friday, February 13, 2009 against Blessed Trinity. Next season, the basketball games will be played on campus in the new athletic complex. To celebrate the final game, players and coaches of the girl's and boy's basketball teams who played in "The Rec" over the years are invited to come to the game for a time to remember and reminisce. There will be a reception in a hospitality room and between the girl's and boy's game, there will be a recognition ceremony for all former players and coaches in attendance. The girl's game will start at 5:00pm and the boy's game will start following the ceremony. If there are any former players or coaches who are interested in attending, please contact Brent Eickhoff at Decatur High School. His email address is beickhoff@csdecatur.net and his phone number is 404-643-0669. Please give your name and year of graduation. When you arrive, there will be a sign-in table in the lobby of "The Rec".

Slow Down, You Move To Fast

Homemade slow down signs have become very popular in Decatur, these have a string of lights attached to them that go from one side of the street to the other.