Best of 2015

Jam of the Year – Turkaz 

Website of the Year - Roads and Kingdoms

  

New Atlanta Restaurant of the Year - Superica

A photo posted by Ed Peterson (@ed_peterson) on Sep 26, 2015 at 7:19am PDT

Gig of the Year – Loretta Lynn/Jack White/Raconteurs

Read of the Year - Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker

Most Zambi Reunion of the Year – Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit

Axe of the Year – Bill Monroe’s 1923 Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5

Atlanta Beverage of the Year - Wanderlust Nitrogen-infused Cold Brew Coffee 

Best Secret Place in Atlanta - Intown Ace Hardware Hidden Candy Drawer
 

Sport of the Year – Ashville Waterfall Sliding


Southern Thing of the Year – Veggie Plate at Husk Nashville

Oasis of the Year – Norton Simon Museum Modern and Contemporary Gallery

Cake of the Year  – Southern Sweets Old Fashion Chocolate

A photo posted by Debbie Peterson (@cheesydp) on Jul 26, 2015 at 12:04pm PDT

Treasure of Troubled Genius of the Year - Don't Suck, Don't Die: Giving Up Vic Chestnut 

Crate Dig of the Year – Autographed Ahh...The Name is Bootsy, Baby!
 

ATL Takeout Trifecta of the Year – Zhong Dumplings from Gu's, G.C. BBQ Brisket, Fred's Burgers
 

Marketing Technology of the Year – LottaFrutta Customer Loyalty Program

Best Use of Chalk – Butter and Cream Whale by Patrick Nguyen 

#chalk #whale #wall #art. Thanks to Butter&cream at Decatur

A photo posted by Patrick Nguyen (@dozfy) on Oct 1, 2014 at 8:39am PDT

Periodical of the Year – 2015 Oxford American Southern Music Issue - Georgia
 

Cheese of the Year - Meredith Dairy Marinated Sheep and Goat Blend

Victory of the Year – Universal Studios Simpson's Tennis Ball Shoot

Obsessive Geography Tool of the Year - What3Words 

Atlanta Culinary Loss of the year - Bread Garden

Mic Drop of the Year - Bryan Cranston

We Love You Atlanta!

Via Garden & Gun Blog

 
I've heard Garden & Gun referred to as the lifestyle magazine for the nonexistent South, but past the ads for $100,000 shotguns and equestrian wear is terrific content.

Reminded of this with today's shout out post about Atlanta.  Grab the October issue, packed with Inman Park places and personalities, and give the ATL a high five.

Amazing Websites - Atlas Obscura

Former Slate editor David Plotz is at the helm of my current favorite destination on the Web.  Atlas Obscura is packed with the cool, idiosyncratic places that make for the idea road trip.  Pop in your zip code for crazy discoveries in your back yard or load up on freakness for your next trip out of town!

Best of 2014

Website of the Year - Bitter Southerner  

The Pentecostal Serpent by Asher Elbein

YouTube Find of the Year - Reg Kehoe & his Marimba Queens

Book of the Year - Do Not Sell at Any Price

Late Night Grub of the Year - Red Arrow Diner 

Gig of the Year  - Christian McBride Trio at Birdland

Best New Thing in Inman Park - Krog Street Market

Via Krog Street Market Facebook Page 

Best Secret Place in Atlanta - Lullwater Power Station   

Via Atlanta Trails

Couple of the Year - Michael Trent & Cary Ann Hearst

Best Thing from 20 years ago - Freebird at the Fox 

 Best App of 2014 - Blue Note 75 (for iPad)

Atlanta Taste of the Year - Poutine at General Muir

Runner-up - Green Tea Mochi at Ah-Ma's Kitchen
Runner-up - Raw Bar at Kimball House 

Tweet of the Year - John Lurie

Note to younger artists - when cutting off the ear it is best to do it outside the house. pic.twitter.com/sCL9B3Tx9t
— John Lurie (@lurie_john) December 2, 2014

Pie of the Year  - Garden and Gun Bourbon Pecan 

Pecan pies in effect!

A photo posted by Ed Peterson (@ed_peterson) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:16pm PST

Record Label of the Year - Dust-to-Digital

Costume of the Year - Edward Scissor Hands

Top Public Art of 2014 - Mi Casa, Your Casa

Greatest ever!

A video posted by Ed Peterson (@ed_peterson) on Sep 9, 2014 at 12:21pm PDT

Time Killer of the Year - The American Values Atlas 

Hokum of the Year - But They Got It Fixed Right On

Enigmatic Pic of the Year - Ethel with Turkey

My grandma back in the day

A photo posted by Ed Peterson (@ed_peterson) on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:48am PST

China's One-Child Policy

Excellent article today from Matthews Asia on the PRC's liberalization of the 1980 One-Child Policy and the general state of population growth in an increasing urbanized China.

"Last November, China’s Communist Party announced that the one-child policy would be relaxed by implementation of a policy in which families are permitted to have two children if either a husband or a wife is an only child. This marks a change from the previous rules which required both the husband and wife to be only children in order to qualify to have a second child.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, ending the one-child policy is unlikely to change the longer-term trend toward a lower fertility rate, as the pressures of modern life lead Chinese couples to have smaller families."

Twenty Years in Atlanta!

This month marks the start of my 20^th year in the ATL!

It is a joy to be a part on this amazing community.  My thanks to the crew mentioned in my 15 yearpost for getting me here are these folks for keeping me going:

My amazing wife Shannon Graham, Sean Wood, Chad Elkins, We&Co, Hector and Leslie Santiago, King of Pops, Mark Redstrom and Rebecca Barrow, Montessori In Town families and staff, Dales Grados, Social Media Club Atlanta, Jeff Shelton, Judi Knight, Josh Moffitt, Team Shoutlet, Debbie Pohl, Alex Kaminsky, Matt Kelly, Jessica Hart and everyone at Team YP, David Williams, Atlanta Beltline, Pepin Owensby, the Atlanta start-up scene, Henry Alvarado, Greg Scott, Inman Park Security Patrol, Michelle Swanson, Yumbii Taco Truck, Jeff Diaz, Mosquito Teach and the army of amazing teachers, sitters, coaches and friends who have helped raise our youngins.  

Space is the Place

Baron Wolman/via NPR

Great post from NPR on the life and legacy of Sun Ra - Act Like You Know!

On Doers - King of Pops

Two of my favorite things about Atlanta: the On Doers video series and King of Pops!  Enjoy!


Episode 005 | King of Pops from On Doers on Vimeo.

Best of 2013

Blog of the Year - Aquarium Drunkard

   

 

YouTube Video of the Year - Faith

Best Secret Place in Atlanta - Kids Comic Stash at Criminal Records

Office Product of the Year - Palomino Blackwing 602

Smoothie of the Year - Anything at Kale Me Crazy

Genre of the Year - Non-Fiction Buzz Kill.  Check out Command and Control, What to Expect When No One is Expecting and The Race for What's Left

 

Best New Restaurant in Atlanta for Kids - Yum Bunz

Instagramer of the Year - Eleanor Gould

Favorite New Thing in Atlanta - Honey Bubble

Cover of the Year - Milwaukee Blues (Carolina Chocolate Drops)

Top Addition to Inman Park - BoccaLupo

Stunt of the Year - David Black Does the Cannonball Run in Less than 29 Hours!

Photo via CNN

Discovery of the Year - Hotel Boheme

Photo via http://www.sanfranciscophotoblog.com

Gig of the Year - Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Maple Leaf

Anticipation of the Year - Krog Street Market

Tree of the Year - Angel Oak

Sandwich of the Year - Hot Pastrami at the Wrecking Bar

 Kid Activity of the Year - Harry Potter Camp at Little Five Points Music Center

Consumer Product of the Year - Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix

Most Valuable Foursquare Tip of the Year 

Business Book of the Year - The Science of Marketing

App of the Year - Fiverr

The Beginning of a Great Adventure

 
RIP Lou Reed, the only man who ever really pulled off a mullet.  New York has been in my CD player for twenty years.

40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World

Map of Europe Showing Literal Chinese Translations for Country Names

I have more than a dozen geographers in my Facebook feed, so map posts are an almost daily occurrence. These are a big hit with the pros.  Check out  40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World on TwistedSifter.
  

Immersion: Beneath the Surface

Immersion: Beneath the surface from Deepak Jagdish on Vimeo.

Pop your Gmail account into the MIT Immersion Tool for a meta-data reality check!

Keep the Faith

Lake Street Dive - http://www.lakestreetdive.com/

Inman Park’s Latest Offerings

The neighborhood has two new venues for great food, each playing to different parts of the foodie palate.

My crew hit BoccaLupo, currently rated #1 on the Eater Heat Map, on its opening night in the former Sauced location on Edgewood Avenue.  We had an amazing meal, including two delightful varieties of extruded pasta. Leave the kids at home and be sure to try the black spaghetti.

While no institution will ever replace Inman Park's beloved  T.W. Collins & Co., Julianna's Coffee & Crepes is making the best use of the unique cavern at the intersection of Ashland Ave. and Lake since Todd's departure. 

The restaurant opened right before Inman Park Festival at the end of April, so things are still coming together a bit.  The classic Nutella crepe that you will see most folks eating is a flash back to your favorite day in Paris.  If you are huffing it on the Beltline, this ultimate carb load is only two blocks away.  The savory crepes are tasty but small, so stick with the sweet offerings.  
  
The burgeoning restaurant scene in Inman Park has Highland Ave. backed up the weekends, but this not an issue at all during the week.  Come enjoy a patio meal anywhere in the 'hood on a Tuesday or Wednesday for a perfect Atlanta spring evening.

Remembering Alvin Lee

Sad news this week that British Blues legend Alvin Lee past away unexpectedly after minor surgery. Along with Cream and The Who, Alvin's band Ten Years After was an obsession of mine in high school, fueled in large part by what is arguably the standout performance on the Woodstock soundtrack.

The first time I saw the Woodstock movie I was dumbfounded by Alvin's killer guitar face and his watermelon.  I got a kick out of watching it again tonight. 

Atlanta in the Spotlight

Lots of great press for Atlanta this week, including a feature article in the New York Times about the Atlanta BeltLine and a widely shared article about Atlanta's burgeoning startup community.

Be sure to checkout the latest release in Michael Tavani and Blake Williams's interview series On Doers, featuring a conversation with Ryal Gravel.




Episode 002 | Ryan Gravel from On Doers on Vimeo.