Month: August 2010

Get There or Die Trying

Atlantans, why walk when you might die?  (Kudos to anyone who gets the subtle Mary Chapin Carpenter play-on-words)

From New York City’s Pedestrian Safety Study Action Plan (pdf)

More fun facts from the New York City study:

  • HOW do these pedestrian accidents occur? 36% driver inattention, 27% drivers fail to yield, 27% pedestrians crossing with signal, 20% pedestrians crossing against signal
  • WHO is involved? Seniors make up 38% of pedestrian fatalities.  80% of pedestrian crashes involve male drivers.
  • WHEN are pedestrian/driver collisions most deadly? From 3a-6a.

h/t: GOOD

The Complexities of Freedom

Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom” finally goes on sale today.

And if you had any personal hopes of finishing it before hearing him speak this coming Friday night at the Decatur Book Festival, you’d better get to a local bookstore today and then take the rest of the week off to read it, because like The Corrections, this is some pretty heady stuff.

How heady?  I’m so glad I asked.

How about tackling “the twinning” of the American concepts of “freedom” and the “secularization of power”?  From the New York Times’ book review…

That twinning is where the trouble begins. As each of us seeks to assert his “personal liberties” — a phrase Franzen uses with full command of its ideological implications — we helplessly collide with others in equal pursuit of their sacred freedoms, which, more often than not, seem to threaten our own. It is no surprise, then, that “the personality susceptible to the dream of limitless freedom is a personality also prone, should the dream ever sour, to misanthropy and rage,” as Franzen remarks. And the dream will always sour; for it is seldom enough simply to follow one’s creed; others must embrace it too. They alone can validate it.

Or liberal guilt…

[The Burglunds] are “the super-guilty sort of liberals who needed to forgive every­body so their own good fortune could be forgiven; who lacked the courage of their privilege.”

Or the “liberal paradox”…

…Liberals, no less than conservatives — and for that matter revolutionaries and reactionaries; in other words, all of us — believe some modes of existence are superior to others. But only the liberal, committed to a vision of harmonious communal pluralism, is unsettled by this truth.

Or sex…

Continue reading “The Complexities of Freedom”

Ag Commissioner Candidates To Debate “Sustainable Agriculture” at Emory

Wicked.  From the Gainesville Times…

Sustainable agriculture groups have seized on the opportunity of the first open agriculture commissioner seat in more than 40 years.

Georgia Organics and Emory University on Thursday will hold what they are calling Georgia’s first sustainable agriculture debate.

They say the three men seeking to be Georgia’s second agriculture commissioner in more than 40 years have agreed to participate in front of a packed house at Emory University School of Law’s Tull Auditorium.

…Some 600 people responded to an invitation from the Atlanta-based organization to come to Thursday’s debate, [Georgia Organics Communications Director Michael] Wall said.

The response has been such that Cinnat Howett, Emory’s director of sustainability initiatives, had to hire security guards and extra custodians.

A bit more info on the event HERE.

“Phantom of the Fox” Angry, Likely Leaving

I don’t know many of the details of this, but jeez, this got ugly fast.  From the AJC…

Joe Patten, the 83-year-old known as the “Phantom of the Fox,” did not sign a new lease that the Fox Theatre’s board drew up for him Monday and likely will be leaving his apartment in the historic theater.

Patten had been living in the apartment for 30 years and planned to remain there for the rest of his life. The Fox’s board on Monday terminated that lease and offered him a new one — that said he could remain there rent-free until he needs round-the-clock care.

…”Saving the Fox was the worst mistake I ever made,” Patten said. “I made a serious mistake in saving this building. It wasn’t worth it.”

“I’m out. I’m ready to leave now,” he said. “It’s really upsetting.”

President Kiss Agrees to Six More Years at Agnes Scott College

From Agnes Scott’s Communication Office…

Elizabeth Kiss will remain president of Agnes Scott College for the next six years, at the request of the Board of Trustees.

“These last four years have been transformative for Agnes Scott,” said Clyde Tuggle, chair of the board. “Since President Kiss took the helm in 2006, the college’s reputation has grown, attracting more diverse, high-caliber students and faculty and drawing more donor support. Additionally, President Kiss has placed a high priority on environmental and workplace sustainability, fulfilling the college’s mission to ‘live honorably.’ She has our full support as she continues to build on the college’s extraordinary legacy.”

“It’s been a wonderful four years,” said President Kiss. “In addition to the talented and dedicated students, faculty, staff and alumnae who have become such a large part of my life these past few years, Agnes Scott itself continues to amaze me with its power to transform lives for the better. My husband, Jeff, and I are honored to continue to be a part of the Agnes Scott community, and we’re excited about the college’s future.”

Decatur High 9th Grade Election Results

DHS teacher Chris Billingsley writes in…

The DHS 9th grade recently held elections for class office. After a spirited week of campaigning and an assembly that included speeches from each of the candidates, the results are in:

  • Class of 2014 President: Max Waterhouse
  • Class of 2014 VP: Mawal Sidi
  • Class of 2014 Secretary: Shykia Leach
  • Class of 2014 Treasurer: Alexis Williams

Pictures are some of the posters that appeared throughout the school. Congratulations to all the candidates for a clean campaign.

Roy and Nathan, take note!