March 29, 2007
John Sugg and Decaturguy think it’s possible.
The theory goes Vernon has long had closeted Republican aspirations. He did a total 180 in 2004 and voted for George W. Bush in the general election after supporting Howard Dean during the primaries, so there may be some truth to that idea. Sugg sums up the scenario nicely:
The buzz around both D and R circles is that he’s carrying water for Chambliss, and will be suitably rewarded by the Republicans for deterring a candidacy by any Democrat that might be victorious. It’s a truly sad commentary on Georgia, but no black Atlantan will beat Chambliss. But Vernon Jones can guarantee that a divided party will have no chance of fielding a successful candidate.
I always have conflicting feelings about Vernon. On one hand, DeKalb County is generally run pretty well, all things considered. He’s been good about acquiring and preserving green space. The county’s bond rating has been good under his watch. EMS response times are down. The budget has gone up, but isn’t out of control. And, he’s one of the most charismatic public speakers/retail politicians I’ve ever been around.
On the other, he’s demonstrated that he has a temper, is vindictive, and can be cynical to a point that should be considered scary for anyone close to him personally or professionally. Like Ralph Reed scary. Like “if Georgia sends him to Washington, don’t be surprised to hear about a few fresh bodies floating in the Potomac” scary. There’s a pattern of sociopathic behavior (too lengthy to list… here’s the latest episode) that makes stories like him carrying water for Saxby plausible.
So, is he running interference to block a more competitive candidate? Or, is that the story someone who wants Jones out of the race wants us to believe? I don’t know. The conventional wisdom among a lot of Georgia Democrats I read and talk to is that divisive primaries will run what’s left of the party into the ground. I do know that the chances of him winning are practically non-existent. And I do know that a lot of people want him to go away to make way for a candidate with less baggage.
Thoughts?
As Amber already noted, we’ll be participating in a panel discussion sponsored by TAG called Podcasts: What You Need to Know. Here’s the description from the web site:
TAG Content Management has assembled a panel of podcast professionals and marketing executives to give you insight into publishing audio online and to help you develop your related corporate strategies. Podcasts are changing the way organizations and individuals are interacting with their constituents. Hear our panel discuss a variety of topics including:
- Why have podcasts
- Podcasting best practices
- The role of Apple’s iTunes
- Real-world case studies
It’ll be held at The Macquarium Building Auditorium, 1800 Peachtree Street, Suite 250, Atlanta, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for TAG members and $20 for everyone else.
I really have no idea what to expect. I hope I sound more articulate than I did in the intro to the Teaching an old dog new tricks session at PodCamp, where I mumbled something about a vacuum, was stricken with terror upon looking at the size of the crowd, and sat down.
March 28, 2007
Me eating a delicious jumbo chili cheese dog from Barker’s hot dog stand
Originally uploaded by rustytanton.
It’s a tough call. If I didn’t have a real job, I’d probably have been at the Capitol trying to blog crossover day yesterday. But having a real job means I’m near the Barker’s hot dog stand at lunch time. Barker’s makes some of the most delicious hot dogs in the city.
UPDATE: Gah, I’ve been had by an impostor! I thought when I saw the cart that I read it as Baker’s, but wrote it off as an unclear font face messing with my eyes. Mind you, it was still a good hot dog, but it apparently wasn’t the real deal. The food service equivalent of Foakleys. Thanks to Glenn Robins, who started the original Barker’s in 1984, for leaving a comment clarifying things. Make sure you read the name on the cart closely.
March 26, 2007
Let’s see, what have we got today? Oh yes.
March 25, 2007
Swell day to stage a marathon. I can’t drive four miles from my old apartment to my new apartment. That makes moving anything kind of impossible.
March 22, 2007
Check out some of the places the Associated Press story about PodCamp Atlanta has ended up:
And the list goes on!
Today is the day to Bum Rush the Charts. What’s that mean, you may ask? Here’s the explanation from their site:
Podcasting gets little respect from traditional media. To them we’re little more than a joke, than amateurs. What they don’t understand is that podcasting is more than just a delivery mechanism - it’s a social movement. People are sick of the watered-down, cookie-cutter content that networks and record companies expect us to enjoy. People are tired of watching friends and loved ones get sued by record labels who only care about profits and nothing else, not even the artists they supposedly represent.
We want and deserve more. On March 22, 2007, we’re going to change that with your help.
We can do better. We can match and exceed the reach of big media, corporate media, labels, and the entrenched interests. On March 22nd, we are going to take an indie podsafe music artist to number one on the iTunes singles charts as a demonstration of our reach to Main Street and our purchasing power to Wall Street. The track we’ve chosen is “Mine Again” by the band Black Lab. A band that was dropped from not just one, but two major record labels (Geffen and Sony/Epic) and in the process forced them to fight to get their own music back. We picked them because making them number one, even for just one day, will remind the RIAA record labels of what they turned their backs on - and who they ignore at their peril.
I already purchased the track. The song sounds like a U2 rip-off to me, but I think the cause of striking fear into the music industry is totally righteous. So think of it as taking one for the team.
h/t Jeff, Grayson
Cross-posted on my Georgia Podcast Network blog
March 20, 2007
I took all of these photos of our new apartment in the Telephone Factory Lofts in Atlanta with my cell phone camera. Click on a photo to view a description and other details:
I might update this post later if I think of more that needs to be added. Like Shelby, it’ll still be a little while before I sort out what this all meant to me.
March 17, 2007
I don’t know how much or how little blogging I’m going to do, but this is awesome. Check out the Flickr group.
UPDATE: More on everything later. Just a few things to add quick-a-like:
- The Associated Press came out and wrote a story about PodCamp, which was picked up by newspapers in Athens, Columbus, Hall County, Macon and even Jacksonville, Fla and Charleston, South Carolina. There was also Atlanta TV news station 11 Alive and a Fox affiliate in North Carolina, and possibly even others that just haven’t shown up in search engines or that don’t put everything on the web. Creative Loafing was represented by at least three people I saw, though they didn’t (and I don’t think are planning to) write a story. Hmm… who does that leave out? The Atlanta paper. See Doug’s post and Griftdrift’s post for already-published thoughts on this. There are many posts brewing in my head on this topic, but I will have to write them later when I don’t have to run back out to return coffee dispensers to Starbucks.
- Correction for the AP story: to my knowledge, there’s no such thing as the “Georgia Political Network.” There is the Georgia Podcast Network and the Georgia Political and Policy Digest, where Grayson’s columns have appeared as podcasts and in text, respectively.
- For excellent Podcamp thoughts and recaps, check the posts that show up in Google blog search and Technorati.
