Weekend Walks

I’ve written a few blog posts during quarantine cataloging the weekend walks (and their corresponding pictures) I’ve taken these past 7 months or so. This time around I took a very leisurely stroll in the rain on Saturday and then I did a combo walk/run on Sunday when the weather was better.

I’ve broken up the pictures into two galleries but I find them hopeful. The recurring theme is that you can find some real beauty when you slow down a bit. [I know this isn’t earth-shattering]

Enjoy!

Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation

The current Flag of the State of Georgia1 features the seal of the state which bears the words wisdom, justice, and moderation on the pillars of an arch (Which was the inspiration for the Arch on UGA’s Campus. Go Dawgs!).

All of which is just setup for the fact that I firmly believe the jackasses who rallied at Stone Mountain in support of the Confederate flag this past weekend have zero understanding of the concepts of wisdom, justice or moderation.

Take a gander at the photos of the event, if you’re brave enough. Me, I couldn’t get past the brazen stupidity of this particular ass-hat.

A wise person would realize that a symbol is defined by who adopts it and how they use, not by what anyone says it means.

A just person would realize the extent of injustice wrought under the banner of that flag; it’s very adoption was an act of protest against the cause of justice.

A moderate person would honor the true memory of the past and refuse to fly a flag celebrating the losing side of an armed rebellion against the United States of America.

The current seal & flag do more to honor the full legacy and heritage of the state – the entirety of Georgia’s history PLUS it’s future – as opposed to the any other flag. Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation: those symbols & words have proved to have a much more enduring legacy than that other flag.

If supporters of that other flag in Georgia really cared about their heritage they’d support the current state flag – and the tenets espoused on the seal – and the U.S. flag, instead of cheering for the losing side of a lost rebellion and the losing argument of a bunch of losers who wanted to protest against the policies of the Civil Rights era.

In the words of the elder Jeffrey Lebowski: “Your revolution is over, Mr. Lebowski! Condolences! The bums lost!”

  1. For a better story about how the flag changed from its Civil Rights era form to its current incarnation, here’s a good start. If you’re curious to see & hear Zell Miller argue in favor of changing the flag when he was governor, C-Span has that video.

Georgia (Beer) On My Mind

I <3 beer.
Which is to say I love beer.
Would marry it if that didn’t violate my current nuptial status.
Seriously.
Srsly.

I’ve even just had a nice jolt of dopamine by hitting the “save draft” button while editing this very entry.

Clearly, I’m in desperate need of Mmmm, Beer [hear Homer say it: mp3].

What got my beer tooth tingling was a particularly tasty cask ale – Saint Arnold Elissa IPA – that I drank at Ginger Man in Austin, TX during SXSWi. The beer got me thinking about cask ales and drinking good beers regularly (apart from the all-too-seldom Monday Night and the stash in the beer fridge) at places local, knowledgeable, inviting and well-stocked.

My normal haunts have rotating selections – places like Taco Mac, Varner’s and Smyrna World of Beverages – but I feel like I’m doing a disservice to beer-drinking by not branching out enough.

So after checking out the cask situation in the local two things happened:

  1. I did the whole 5 Favorite Beers on Facebook
  2. Garrett emailed me about the grand opening of Hop City Craft Beer & Wine at the new 5 Season Westside this Thursday, April 2.

So now I have a conundrum. Go drink some free beer and eat some free food at a beer establishment on Thursday (and hang out with some very cool, like-minded folks) or do I go the Social Media Club Atlanta meeting at Manuel’s and do the same thing in a different venue with different folks?

I know, I know. Rough life, huh?

I think I’m leaning heavily towards the grand opening, only because I saw some of the Social Media Club folks in Austin and I’d like to sample the new wares/digs over Manuel’s (which I already know/love).

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some new sites and tools I’m using in my beer quest:

  • Beer Counter for iPhone
  • Worked like a charm @ SXSWi and I managed my (over)indulgences.

  • 97 Bottles
  • A beer rating social network that ties in nicely to OpenID and my other social accounts. I’ve been looking to jump ship from RateBeer to BeerAdvocate for some time (damn you, locked-in ratings!) but I’m giving this the old college try.

  • BJCP Styles for iPhone
  • No self-respecting beer snob should leave home without a copy of the rules.

Since I’m cobbling together a big beer post, it’d be great if folks wanted to vote in the AJC/Evening Edge’s 2009 Beer Bracket Final Four for the best IPA. It’s down to the Final Four and Atlanta’s own Sweetwater IPA is in the running, having already captured the judges’ votes and looking for a win amongst readers.

And if you’ve got a few seconds more in your day to devote to beer-related clicking, take Monday Night Brewery’s survey [via JohnMcNicholas].

Until Thursday, drink a beer for me.