Oh, Jesusssss

- Cat Power was a good time. Chan behaved for the most part, the band sounded great, and she even did some stuff solo, which was a little unexpected. Although my pictures turned out terrible, I got a copy of the setlist... which did not include the off-the-cuff cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". Sounded weird, but quite stirring.



- Thrashers training camp opened on Friday, the 15th, and I was there in all of my glory. For the first time since April, I got to be feet away from the working Thrash, including Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa, and Kari Lehtonen. I also got my sneak peek at new members of the squad and some of the kids in the lower ranks of the organization, including recent draft picks. Overall, it was awesome. It's not everyday that you have the opportunity to be this close to the players as they are playing... and to be able to do that, for free, is so amazing. There are more sessions of camp that go until the beginning of the season. For more info, check this out at the Thrashers' website.

- The Atlanta Spirit promo caravan came to town (i.e. Peachtree City) last nite and, needless to say, it was totally lame. Other events included appearances with head coach Bob Hartley, broadcaster Dan Kamal, and n00b Michael Garnett. I guess the caravan lost some members as there was NO ONE there last nite. Well, a bunch of PTC kids were there; Thrash was there; a few inflatables were set up. Unfortunately, that was the turn out. Now, granted, I can understand that the players/coaching staff are tied up with the start of the season, but at least have someone present from the team. Oh, and may I add that there was almost zero representation from the Atlanta Hawks? Yeah... well, I guess it's good to know that the priorities with the Atlanta Spirit in this part of town are with hockey. But the event as a whole was quite the letdown.

- Tonite marks the return of hockey to the Atlanta area as the Thrashers take to the ice, pre-season style, against the Florida Panthers at Phillips Arena. The lineup for the evening can be found here. It's reassuring that I'm also hearing that the student ticket prices are returning this season. I'll have my fingers crossed until we arrive at the box office that this deal still stands. The puck drops a little after 7PM.

- Project Runway is getting dicier and dicier. And I love it. How I love it. Kayne's obsessively bitchy character is finally removed from the show... and now we're left with four. And it seems that everything is gonna change... HOW SURPRISING. But, once again, how I love it. What I don't love is how there is not a new episode airing tonite. What I'm hesitant about loving are the clips/stills from all four designers' Bryant Park appearances... found elsewhere on the web. I have yet to involve myself in such things and I'm wondering how long I'll continue holding out. What I do love is a fourfour sum-up. Oh, Jesus!

Things going on this weekend:

- JapanFest at Stone Mountain Park. For what seems like the ump-teenth year, I'm missing out on it. Apparently it's a celebration of Japanese culture, which I am quite fond of, and I'm assuming that it's probably a great time of the year to make it out to Stone Mountain as well. Both excuses work for me, quite honestly.

- Paste Rock-n-Reel Festival at venues all over Atlanta. While it's been going on since Saturday, there are still some pretty noteworthy artists still performing, including the French Kicks (Sunday @ the Earl), Jose Gonzalez (Saturday @ the Earl), and The Wrens (Saturday @ the Variety).

- 80s revivalists Ladytron make their stop at the Variety Friday nite. Light and magic commence at 8PM.

- Big City Burlesque stops at the Punchline Comedy Club Saturday nite at 11PM. Granted, I found out about this yesterday and cannot do anything about it because my girlfriend and I are already going to see The Wrens that evening. But considering how we were looking forward to catching something burlesque during our summer trip to New Orleans, I guess this could work, too. Something about these kind of shows curiously appeals to me. It's not quite as goth or depressing as the Suicide Girls, so I guess that's a plus? It's good to know that there is a local burlesque troop though... for future reference.

- For the historians in the audience (myself included), there's a regrettable moment in Atlanta history being acknowledged this weekend. The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot set this city back what seemed like decades in its race relations department. Completely perpetuated by the local news media, several innocent African Americans were murdered due to local newspapers printing outrageous and wildly inaccurate stories about black men attacking, kissing, or even acknowledging white women. This weekend marks 100 years since that terrible stretch of days and there are numerous events around town that are remembering such a blight on the history of a seemingly progressive city in the Southern U.S. For more background on the events from 100 years ago and further info about what's going on, consult atlantaraceriot1906.org.

- For local Cowetans (ugh, myself included), there's the Coweta County Fair. If you're a fan of funnel cakes, bumper cars, the gravitron, and fair culture, this is the event for you. I know I'm hoping to make an appearance this weekend, if things work out alright.

And to speak frankly on the matter, I'm making a return up north during the first weekend of November. Carry on!