I guess its a “power of words” sorta day.

In yet another documented instance of Atlanta news orgs referring to incorporated DeKalb as “Decatur”, thanks to a Decatur mailing address, the AJC first reported this DeKalb motel shooting as “Decatur motel shooting victim now in critical condition”, according to Andisheh.

Not the first time this has happened.

The location was reported as Decatur. An hour later, it’s changed to DeKalb without any note.

As we’ve noted before, it might not matter to most, but countless shootings and other illicit acts reported as “Decatur” but really in DeKalb, aren’t all that great for the city’s image.

Maybe a specialized “Decatur: We’re incorporated!” ad campaign would help.

In a recent Atlanta Magazine spread asking “dozens of Atlantans” for advice for new Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Decatur’s Own  Lain Shakespeare and Andisheh Nouraee inadvertently showed the broad spectrum of expectation for Atlanta’s massive BeltLine project.

Mr. Shakespeare has great hope…

Atlanta’s best idea is already at work: the BeltLine. The BeltLine’s potential addresses many of Atlanta’s problems so effectively, there’s no reason not to follow its lead. By focusing on what people need to thrive instead of exclusively on what cars need to thrive, Atlanta will become safer, healthier, and more competitive. Expanded transit, connected neighborhoods, affordable housing, and complete streets will foster denser and more vibrant communities.

Mr. Nouraee?  Eh, not so much…

Admit the BeltLine is a park with a bike path, not a mass transit project.

Hat-tip honors go to Mr. Nouraee

Andisheh sends us a photo of this year’s post-Christmas Agnes Scott pine tree gathering.

But where he sees a place where “Christmas trees in Decatur go to die”, I see a lively Christmas tree pig pile. (Someone must have left a bottle of water in the parking lot.)

And speaking of dispensing of your tree, Cate writes in…

Please Decaturites, don’t leave your be-tinseled tree on the curb for the trash guys to pick up. All sorts of small animals love to chew on tinsel and can get seriously ill.

Andisheh proudly points out that his grandparents-in-law, Ronald and Nettie Fisher, celebrated their 70th (!) wedding anniversary this past week.  Here’s the AJC blurb…

Ronald Fisher from Decatur and Nettie King from Fort Gaines met at North Georgia College. They became friends while riding through the hills in Ronald’s car, the only one on campus. That friendship blossomed into love, and they were married on July 29, 1939. Their love has grown over the past 70 years. It has survived the traumatic years of World War II and enhanced the lives of their three children Judy, Linda, and Fred, all of whom were born in Decatur where the couple continues to reside. Ronald and Nettie are blessed with 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Their amazing love and devotion to each other has only grown stronger over the years. The entire family honors them and wishes them well on this special occasion.

Extraordinary!  Congrats to Ronald and Nettie!

Andisheh was overcome with emotion when he spotted this crime of passion on an abandoned commercial building on West College near Atlanta Avenue.

My graffiti-annoyance was short-circuited by the sentiments expressed. Someone is deeply in love. Someone with good handwriting, too.

Good luck third-person speaking “boy.”  I can already see the proposal, (“Girl, will you marry boy?”), marriage (“Boy does”) and break-up, (“Boy is totally sick of girl telling boy what to do! Boy is going out to do some theraputic spray-painting!”).

Uh...dude, that's a rabbit...

With the recent resurgence of vegetable gardens across the nation, I bet there are a lot more people hating our wild, furry friends than ever before.

Andisheh is just the latest victim of squirrel-on-man crime in the Atlanta area.  And his hated-filled rant against tomato-loving grey squirrels over on Fresh Loaf reminds me of a great NY Times piece from last summer entitled “Peter Rabbit Must Die.”  In summary, if you think squirrels are bad, rabbits are pure evil when it comes to backyard produce.

Maybe the good folks over at the Oakhurst Community Garden could set up a support group/class for victims of fuzzy animal infractions, like Andisheh.

A once conflicted journalist

Only a year-ago, carrying and eating these two things on MARTA would have been inconceivable.  (I guess its still inconceivable to consume and digest a gun.)

Ten months ago, it seemed entirely odd that you could do one but not the other, as brilliantly illustrated by Andisheh in his definitive CL article…

“So I just want to be clear,” I asked MARTA police Chief Wanda Dunham. “If I had a turkey sandwich in one hand and a gun in the other hand, MARTA police would ticket me for the turkey sandwich?”

“If you’re eating it,” she replied. “Only if you’re eating it.”

Genius!  Evidenced by the fact that I still remembered the quote 10 months later.

But fear not sweet Andy.  Let these ironies plague you no more!

With the signage of a recent bill, MARTA now has the authorization to sell food and drinks in their stations, thereby resolving this irony that has hounded you like a cat-loving dog for far too long.

Ah, sweet relief.

Steve Fennessy over at Cityscape reports that Andisheh Nouraee is also leaving Creative Loafing, in editor Ken Edelstein’s wake.

“What happened today is just one symptom of the overall reason, that I don’t want to work there full-time anymore,” Nouraee said.

Aside from Nouraee being an integral cornerstone of the publication, that leaves CL with just three news writers and NO editors, according to Fennessy.

Lord, the wheels seem to be coming off.  This sucks.

Stupid prior commitments prevent me from attending…

Over on Fresh Loaf, Clark (Superman) Wheatley brazingly promotes his co-worker’s performance tonight at Push-Push (10p).  I’ll rip him off word-for-word since I don’t think he’ll complain in this particular instance.

He might be too modest to post it, but by God I’m not.

Tonight, CL senior writer Andisheh Nouraee will join the talented members of the Doug Dank Project at PushPush Theater in Decatur to perform a free-wheelin’, mindblowing, chuckle-inducing improv performance. The fun starts at 10 p.m.

Here’s the gist of how the evening goes: Andisheh will stand before the crowd and begin talking. The members of the troupe will use these delicious thoughts and topics as fodder for improv. Andisheh decides when to cut them off and the process repeats until time runs out or the fire marshall has all parties arrested for safety concerns and/or noise complaints. Hilarity does indeed ensue.

Tickets are $5 at the door. Push Push is located here.