I spent the last week in the Bay Area, eating in spots from downtown San Francisco to San Jose’s Japantown (yes, San Jose has one too). I saw an incredible supermarket in Cupertino, an enormous flea market in San Jose, and I have pictures of much of this. So over this week (perhaps next) there will be a lot of articles about Bay Area eating and shopping.

In the meantime. we arrived late enough to need a 24 hour eatery, and one of the best diners near Snellville is the Metro Cafe in Stone Mountain.  We had two specials, a grilled lamb shank and grilled tilapia there, and we also had hot wings.

The hot wings fared best in our hands, large, dry and spicy.

The tilapia serving was enormous, and accompanied by a decent set of steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and a ton of rice. The tilapia was good, but lacking in spices. Tossing some black pepper on the tilapia cured a lot of the lack of taste.

My daughter ordered the lamb shank, which she originally thought was good and then later decided was just ordinary. I had a taste. Yes, not much flavor from a chunk of meat that should have been flavorful almost by default. It was very tender though.

Tuesday, my sister Amber treated our whole family to a day of fun at Stone Mountain Park.  Stone Mountain is one of the world’s largest exposed granite mountains, and the famous bas-relief carving on the front of it is the largest of its kind, so huge in size that it dwarfs the one on Mount Rushmore.  (To give you a sense of the scale, at one point during the carving project, a 20-person banquet was held at a banquet table set up on Robert E. Lee’s shoulder.)

Stone Mountain is a beacon in many of my childhood memories.  Our family attended the laser show on the front lawn of Stone Mountain Park over and over each summer, and I’ve climbed it with friends more times than I can count.  Everyone who lived anywhere nearby had a season pass, and the park was a popular hangout spot for teens all through high school.

Going back with the kids was a lot of fun.  We started out the day by taking the cable car up to the top of the mountain.  I did not scream, hyperventilate, or pass out.  (I have a weird psychological condition: I will thrill to the crazy heights and loops and hairpin turns of any roller coaster in the world, but the ferris wheel–or the cable car–renders me helpless and shuddering in a pool of terrified sweat.) 

The ride is worth it, though, when you’re standing on top of the world with the wind playing in your hair.

Amber and Caleb

A miracle: Katie and Caleb, both looking, both smiling!

My dad, a man on the edge...

After the tram ride, we took a walk around Stone Mountain Crossroads, watched a craftsman blowing glass, and experienced a 4-D production of Polar Express (we wore 3-D glasses for the movie, and there was snow falling from the ceiling, water spraying at us from the seats, and gusts of air to make us feel like we were really there!)

Here comes trouble!

We rode the open air train that goes all the way around the mountain, which the kids loved.  There were Christmas lights all over the place, and Caleb glowed with delight every time the train whistle blew. 

We finished up the day in The Great Barn, a children’s activity area that features 65 interactive games, climbing structures, trampoline floors, and slides.  Everything was powered by these fun foam balls that the kids could collect and then shoot out of air guns and feed down complex chutes to the people below.  They were pretty sad to leave, until they saw the cool toys outside.

Thank you, Aunt Amber, for a wonderful day!  It ended with the one major indicator of a successful adventure: tired kids!

Guide de Voyage Atlanta

Atlanta, « la grosse pêche » est construite autour d’un axe majeur nommé Peachtree street, prolongé au nord, dans Buckhead, par Peachtree road. Cette large route traverse les 3 principaux quartiers de la ville : Downtown, Midtown et Buckhead. Le principal souci dans le centre ville est donc de s’y retrouver avec ces Peachtree partout, car outre la voie principale, plus de cinquante autres rues s’appellent Peachtree a Atlanta ! Et, le pire de tout dans cette histoire, est que, malgré les forets entourant le centre-ville, il est impossible de trouver un seul vrai pêcher (l‘arbre a pêches) dans tout Atlanta !

LIRE LA SUITE : GUIDE DE VOYAGE ATLANTA COMPLET ET GRATUIT

Georgia Aquarium – The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world’s largest with more than eight million gallons of water and more aquatic life than any other aquarium. With something new every 90 days, you are sure to see things you’ve never seen before!

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site – Tour Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birth Home and historic Ebenezer Church. View films and exhibits, and reflect at King’s gravesite.

High Museum of Art – Houses European & American paintings, special exhibitions, African, decorative, folk & twentieth-century art, photography & interactive gallery.

World of Coca-Cola – From a multi-sensory 4-D theater, a special one-of-a-kind World of Coca-Cola bottle produced exclusively for  guests on the bottling line, to an opportunity to sample over 60 beverages from around the world, you’ll experience something new and inviting around every corner of the new World of Coca-Cola.

Underground Atlanta – Located in the heart of downtown, Underground Atlanta is bustling with activity, day or night. Enjoy daily entertainment, homemade candy, delicious dining and souvenir shopping. Learn of Atlanta’s past on the guided history tour, From Civil War to Civil Rights.

Stone Mountain Park – Visit Georgia’s most popular attraction with the world’s largest mass of exposed granite, featuring the world’s largest high-relief carving. During Saturday evenings in the spring and fall plus nightly during the summer, see the face of the mountain light up at the Lasershow Spectacular.

Starlight Six Drive-In Theaters – Six outdoor screens show current major motion pictures year-round!

Centennial Olympic Park – Located in downtown Atlanta, this 21-acre legacy from the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games features The Fountain of Rings with four shows daily.

and Community, The Office and 30 Rock: Halloween Comedy on NBC

October 29th, 2009

My brother, on his Twitter feed, made a comment that Halloween episodes are always the best holiday episodes. And while I understand that he, being born on Halloween and having taken the holiday as his own, has a particular affinity for the holiday, I don’t. And, perhaps it is such that I do not view Halloween as an immediate symbol of greatness in my television programming.

However, I do agree that Halloween episodes can be very good programming, and what I found interesting about the NBC comedy lineup (so interesting that I’m lumping them into one post) is how differently each show used the holiday. I won’t argue that any of the shows should be judged on whether they integrated Halloween “correctly,” but I think that the current direction of each show is inherent in how they chose to play with All Hallow’s Eve.

It resulted in one great episode which focused in on elements of the holiday which fit its characters perfectly, one very good episode that used Halloween as a variable of existing dynamics, one okay episode which evaded the holiday but for a quick joke, and one weak episode that used the holiday as a boring subplot that didn’t go anywhere, squandering its potential entirely.

The highlight of the evening was, without question, Parks and Recreation’s “Greg Pikitis.” What made the episode work was how it took a Halloween as broad as Halloween and focused it down to a single element that could then be turned into a broad comic episode. There is something inherently silly about Leslie having an arch-nemesis that’s a 16-year old high school kid, so part of the episode’s charm is how she has taken something as meaningless as a yearly Halloween prank and turned it into a personal crusade. Combine by throwing both Andy (posing as the FBI) and Dave (who continues to be an amazing addition to the cast) into the storyline, and you have both someone calm but also charmed by Leslie and someone who is more unhinged than Leslie will ever be and feels like her owes her. When we eventually learn that Leslie wasn’t wrong at all, and that Greg Pikitis really is a criminal mastermind, it reminds us that Leslie isn’t completely crazy about some things, and her serial killer-esque behaviour really wasn’t that crazy (okay, so maybe it was).

The other side of the storyline was somewhat less clever, but I thought Ann’s Halloween party was similarly well-executed. It was a broader take on the holiday, but I enjoyed that all of Ann’s doctor friends came dressed as doctors, and I also enjoyed how Tom played against type by saving rather than ruining the party. I was half concerned that the episode was going to reveal that Tom was the graffiti artist (he arrived late at the party), but the episode continued the trend from a few weeks ago (with the money he gave to the pit project) of Tom turning into a real human being. The moment where he realizes that his fake wife has no intention of staying with him once she has citizenship, and that his wife is people’s favourite thing about him, makes him pause for reasons that are part selfish (wanting the social status that comes with having a hot wife) and part genuine (enjoying how they work as a team, the companionship it offers). The party also got some fun beats from the nurses interrogating Mark, and genuinely seemed like a fun time. All in all, it was an episode where the show found a particular element of Halloween culture that fit its universe and narrowed in on it, while also acknowledging the holiday in a general fashion. Plus, it was damn funny, which is of course very important.

Community, meanwhile, delivered an episode (“Introduction to Statistics”) where Halloween was basically just an excuse for everyone to be in the same place and, more importantly, for everything to be somewhat trippier than usual. Whereas the over-the-top nature of Halloween wasn’t Parks’ focus, even if the episode ended up being a bit over-the-top, Halloween was an added variable to an existing wackiness that the new series embodies. And, because of how well the two fit together, it delivered a really engaging episode. It was nice to see Jeff having a romantic engagement that didn’t involve Britta (picking up on the thread of them being only friends that was dropped during out of order episodes), and Pierce’s drug trip was an example of Chevy Chase having a lot of fun while wearing a Beastmaster outfit so I can’t really complain about it. However, what was interesting about the episode is that it didn’t need to be about Halloween: there’s no reason that people needed to be in costumes in order for the episode to work, which means that this was less a Halloween episode and more an episode set during Halloween.

But it works because what we see in the episode is that Halloween is good for these characters. For Pierce, it made his drug spiral that much more spooky in his mind, plus it involved him wearing a Beastmaster costume. For Jeff’s conquest of the Math teacher, it forced him to embarrass himself, and self-deprecation works for Joel McHale at times. For Annie, the Halloween party was a good excuse to raise her popularity anxiety, and Allison Brie continues to make me happy in this role. And for our beloved Abed, who is usually a one-note joke character albeit in the television realm, his turn as Batman (complete with creepy Christian Bale Batman voice) was hilarious in short bursts, wonderfully interconnected as he saves Jeff and Pierce from the table fort, and gut-busting during the final monologue of sorts as he takes to the roof. The result is a very good episode of Community that bounces back from a couple of weaker ones, and Halloween was perhaps the added component that gave the show a breath of fresh air.

For The Office’s “Koi Pond”, though, you can sense that they aren’t willing to entirely give into Halloween. Perhaps it’s that the holiday would prove too distracting from its ongoing serialized storylines (here, focused on Michael and Jim’s ongoing interrelationship as co-managers), or perhaps it’s because the show did its Halloween episode (appropriately titled “Halloween”) back in the second season, but here we get only a cold open (for the second straight year, in fact, as last year’s “Employee Transfer” had only Pam’s corporate gag). That cold open is funny, of course, as Darryl is misguidedly given the role of narrator of everyone particularly abstract costumes (my favourite of which was Jim as “Bookface”) and Michael decides that Halloween, too, should have a message and hangs himself as a lesson about how suicide is never the answer. It’s ridiculous, it’s funny, and then the episode continues on as if the holiday never happened.

It’s an approach, as I note, the show did last year, and it works. The rest of the episode wasn’t particularly ingenious, but it is noteworthy for continuing the plan of having Michael become that much more sad in the eyes of the office. When he starts playing up the self-deprecatory humour, it seems like he might finally be on his way to taking control of the joke but within seconds he’s traveling back to high school and realizing just how often in his life he has fallen or been thrown into bodies of water (the fountain at the Steamtown mall and a frozen river being added to the koi pond, for a start). The story had some good laughs, the meeting about the “Do Not Mock” list offering up a couple of gems (“who’s your worm guy?” being my favourite), but it was just an example episode for how Michael and Jim’s dynamic (Jim’s concerns about being taken seriously, and Michael’s concerns about being less attactive) will operate. The sideplot of Pam and Andy’s baby had a similar note of sadness with Andy’s creepy birthcoach comparison shopping, but the jokes weren’t really hitting on the cold calls for me outside of Ed Helms’ usually great delivery. Nice to see the show trying out new pairings, but I got more of a kick out of Pam’s hilariously awkward interaction with Erin in the coda – let’s throw them into a storyline together next.

And then we come to 30 Rock’s “Stone Mountain,” which I’d say was the only real dud of the evening. While The Office didn’t do more with Halloween than was required for NBC to be able to promote every episode being about the holiday, 30 Rock didn’t do much more but unfortunately had it as a more prominent element of the episode. 30 Rock, to this point, been all over the place with holiday episodes: its Christmas episodes have been quite legitimately bad for me personally, while its previous Halloween material (like, albeit not directly related, “Werewolf Bah Mitzvah” and Kenneth’s epic TGS Halloween party that led to the amazing next morning meeting that detailed its insanity) has been quite great. That this was a dud of an episode demonstrates that using the holiday as an excuse for a lame subplot featuring Jenna (in a fairly one-dimensional mode) and the writers (who are always in a one-dimensional mode) is ultimately a waste. Halloween added nothing to the storyline or the episode, which was unfortunate since it needed something a bit extra.

I liked the Rule of Threes storyline, which featured some fun cameos by Betty White and Jimmy Fallon, but that’s just because it was basically “let’s have Tracy Morgan be paranoid” and thus is simple enough that it can’t go wrong. And, while Jeff Dunham remains unfunny, I thought Liz and Jack’s road trip had some great one-liners from Jack and continued the hilarious use of Jack McBrayer to play random background characters (including both female and moustached versions of Kenneth at the Chuckle Hut/Laugh Factor). And even Jenna’s storyline had the great moment where she read her gay entourage member’s face. But Halloween didn’t add anything to any of them, outside of the fun opening scene where Tracy noted that it was going to be the scariest Princeton Parents’ Weekend ever. The show remains clever, but its use of Halloween was anything but, and it seemed as if it was just a lame excuse to shuffle in a lame B-Plot.

At the end of the day, a Halloween episode lives and dies based on whether or not you would call it a Halloween episode. For Community, with its various costumes and the gimmicks therein, it was definitely a Halloween episode, which can be (and was) very good. For Parks and Recreation, meanwhile, it was an episode that dissected Halloween and integrated it into the show’s universe almost seamlessly, an episode which captured how its characters would act during Halloween more than the holiday itself. I ultimately prefer the latter integration, but both made for funny episodes.The Office was a bit less engaged with the holiday, but I ultimately preferred its quick and dirty opening to 30 Rock’s failed storyline featuring the holiday, which proves that just because you can use Halloween doesn’t mean it’s going to add to a mediocre episode in any way.

And that’s how four sitcoms did Halloween episodes without once attempting to be legitimately scary (which would be dangerous, should an aging celebrity less strong-willed than Betty White were watching – Rule of Threes and all).

Cultural Observations

• Note that both Parks and 30 Rock raised awareness as to the excitement that Gay Halloween can offer – I sense a trend.
• My favourite line on 30 Rock was definitely Tracy’s attempt to discern the likelihood of Betty White perishing by asking whether she planned to investigate corruption in Russia. Although I liked Tracy’s analysis that Jimmy Fallon was only a real celebrity for being a friend with Queen Latifah – being on NBC doesn’t count.
• I could say “Greg Pikitis” all day and I’d still laugh. PIKITIS! *Shakes Fist*
• Louis C.K. was amazing in this episode: I enjoyed both his continued realization soon after he says things to the camera that he shouldn’t be saying them to the camera, and his analysis of Leslie’s ability to be a cop (noting, casually, that he would not want to live where she was in charge of enforcing the law).
• Someone help me: where do I know the actress playing the Math professor on Community from?

Here are the materials (pdf document) from Brian’s presentation at Saint Andrew Christian Church on Oct. 25.

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$105, 152.00 is the new list price for Hopat Manor. We are motivated to sell our beloved homestead in Stone Mountain’s Mainstreet Community.

Hopat Manor is located in  a 428 acre subdivision teaming with trees, lakes, hiking trails and that classic swim/tennis community charm. Mainstreet is DeKalb County’s first planned unit development. They just don’t make subdivisions like this anymore.

• Buyer’s Mainstreet mandatory homeowner association dues, which aid in maintaining 70 acres of communal land will be paid for one year.
• Buyer’s agent will receive 4% on the sale.
• $8000 tax credit for first time homebuyers (home must be purchased by December 1, 2009)
• $200 (Target, Home Depot, Kroger, or Whole Foods) gift card to Mainstreet residents who refer a buyer.

Check out the website for more details and make an appointment with Keller Knapp Realty’s Dave Quam at 404.427.2717 (mobile) or 678.358.4321 (office) or davequam2004@yahoo.com to see Hopat Manor today.

Enter your new home via the foyer, living, dining room that provides tremendous flexibility. At first glance you are greeted by the welcoming hardwood floors, fireplace and renovated feel of this low maintenance brick ranch. Lead into the kitchen with solid surface counters, new applicances, fixtures and tile floor covering. Adjacent is the breakfast/dining with new double door exit to the rear patio and fenced yard. The master bedroom has a completely remodeled bath with tiled shower. Two additional bedrooms and a bath with spacious vanity area. As an added bonus, the family / recreation room is spacious with bay window, a second fireplace, indoor grill, built in bookcases and exits to the side and rear yard. This culdesac lot provides a private rear space for family, friends and entertainment.
]]> http://hopatmanor.com/2009/10/08/take-advantage-of-federal-tax-credit-for-first-time-homebuyers-now/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:43:31 +0000 Kwadjo Boaitey http://hopatmanor.com/2009/10/08/take-advantage-of-federal-tax-credit-for-first-time-homebuyers-now/

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

According to the IRS, “The first time homebuyer credit is a new tax credit included in the recently enacted Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. For homes purchased in 2008, the credit operates like an interest-free loan because it must be repaid over a 15-year period. The credit was expanded in 2009 for homes purchased in 2009, increasing the amount of the credit and eliminating the requirement to repay the credit, unless the home ceases to be your principal residence within the 36-month period beginning on the purchase date.”

The IRS as well as the nifty http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com have a great question/answer section to address all your questions and inspire you to call Dave Quam and make HOPAT Manor your haven of peace and tranquility.

Check out this video for a bit more on the Federal Housing Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers.  Remember, the tax credit is available for first time buyers who purchase their home before December 1, 2009.

This is an actual country store with an actual garden. I’ve seen the owners working in the nearby garden. They serve a variety of vegetables and barbecued meats such as brisket, ribs, pork and chicken which they smoke out back. They serve barbecue but I wouldn’t call this place a traditional southern barbecue restaurant. They have seafood such as shrimp, but not some southern standbys such as fried chicken. Vegetables include collard greens, squash and sweet potatoes and are more rustic style. There’s a display of pickled and canned vegetables for sale.

The store is surrounded by developed neighborhoods. There’s a constant stream of people coming by to pick up meals to go. There’s only one table inside and two outside but it’s fun to sit inside if you can get a seat.

It can be a little difficult to find–even though it’s on a main drive. It’s on the south side of Stone Mountain–not the city, the actual mountain. So you have to go around it. But it’s worth it.

M-Th: 11:30-8
F-Sa: 11:30-9
Su 1-6

567 Stephenson Rd
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
(770) 413-0338
no web site

As Sara Murphy finished an impromptu hike down Stone Mountain, Ruth Stringer was set to begin a five-mile run.

Patrick Leithead was there, too, lurking near the restrooms. They were among the few people at Stone Mountain on this dreary Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20.

“Something was off about [Leithead],” said Murphy, a GBI agent based in Athens. “He was acting very strangely.”

Stringer, a lieutenant with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, also noticed the hulking stranger. “He was just sitting there on the bench,” she said. “I probably wouldn’t have paid him any mind had there been more people around.”

As Stringer finished stretching, Murphy continued tracking Leithead. “He was checking out everyone who walked by,” she said. She briefly lost sight of him, but not for long.

At about the same time, Stringer had stepped into the restroom, unaware that Leithead had already snuck inside. She spotted male feet sticking out from under one of the stalls, “as if he was kneeling.”

“I thought maybe it was a couple making out, or a father helping a child,” Stringer said.

Then she heard the muffled cries of a child.

“I knew I could handle myself,” said the unarmed ex-Marine, “but at the same time I didn’t know what would be coming out at me.”

In her most commanding voice, Stringer ordered the man to release the child. She repeated the command. And again. Finally, a teary-eyed 13-year-old girl emerged.

“There’s a man inside there,” she told Stringer.

The off-duty lieutenant escorted her outside. Standing at the door, she yelled for someone to call 911.

Murphy was already heading her way, looking for Leithead.

“I was glad to see Sara coming,” Stringer said. By then the 36-year-old suspect had emerged from the bathroom.

“I should’ve run,” he told Murphy. Armed with the Glock she retrieved from her vehicle, Murphy held him down until park police arrived. Leithead, arrested and charged with aggravated child molestation, remains jailed without bond in DeKalb County.

“He admitted he had gone there with the intention to rape,” Murphy said. Fortunately, he didn’t get that far.

Fate played a hand.

Murphy said she wouldn’t have been at Stone Mountain had I-85 not been clogged by traffic.

“We figured why not hike?” she said. “I really feel like God put us there.”

Stringer said she was  compelled to act.

“You’re on-duty 24 hours a day,” she said.

Murphy agreed: “There’s no such thing,” as being off the clock.

LINK

I don’t know why… but lately I have been noticing things… things which get under my skin… Things that don’t make sense, but are there none the less like a burr under a saddle… a pea under a mattress… a fly in the ointment… stupid, silly, ridiculous stuff… Small or large… I’ve decided to start pointing these “head scratchers” out… because, quite frankly, they get under my skin and venting a little always helps… doesn’t it?

Okay… first pet peeve… I’ll call this pet peeve number one, though the number one is just because it was the first one I thought about but is by no means my “number 1″ pet peeve. Okay… a couple of weekends ago I did a craft show for my wife in Stone Mountain, Georgia… beautiful spot… hot and humid weather… very “summer like”. As I finish my rather lengthy set up and begin to settle down for four long days of sitting in a craft tent and hocking our wares… I hear loud music coming from the vendor beside me… CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

Now… most shows do not allow vendors to play music because it isn’t exactly polite to the vendors within ear-shot and if everyone wanted to play their own music, you would have quite a din… a cacophony of sound… and most vendors understand this and are sensitive and self-aware enough to restrain themselves… not so my neighbors.

Now I am a wimp respect people and their stupid hair brained desires and I get that they were selling Christmas things… but holy crap… Not only were they playing Christmas music… they were playing only ONE 40 minute tape of Christmas music over and over and over again… not ONLY that, it was from the forties or fifties and the Partridge in a Pear Tree was swapped with “The Good Bible of My Lord”… that doesn’t even fit… AND… AND… the tape was stretched!!!!! So not only did I listen to the SAME God awful Christmas tape from half a century ago for ten hours a day non-stop for four days… but it was speeding up and slowing down. They might as well have hammered a nail into my eardrum or put bamboo under my fingernails or water-boarded me (actually the water boarding might have been nice, as hot as it was). THAT is my pet peeve number one. People not being aware enough of others around them because of their own self-interest or because they just can’t empathize with others. Horrible! Bad, damaged Christmas music in September? PLEASE! I didn’t even mention that the craft show had country music performers playing throughout the weekend about 150 feet from us… so you got this nice mix of insipid noise blasting at you in an already uncomfortable situation (sitting in a craft tent ten hours a day). Nice…

Oh… here is another thing… not quite on the same scale. I’ll call this pet peeve number two. On the other side of me were two very nice people… We did a lot of talking… commiserating… and rolling our eyes at the Christmas music couple. They told me about their life and I told them about mine… And as we were leaving… and bidding fair-thee-well, the woman (very nice woman), says to me… “Say hello to your wife and family for me”…. What?…. “Hey, Hon… this woman you never met asked that I say hello to you and the kids”. Pet peeve number three is when I do that.

Oh… and before I go… Here is another… pet peeve number 4. My niece has started high school this year. She told me yesterday that all students… teachers… and staff… are required to wear ID badges while at school. Now look… I’m all for protecting our kids… believe me… and I understand where this badge thing comes from… I get it… but where do we draw the line? Is it safer to have everyone wear badges at school? Yes… probably. But isn’t it also safer to have them all wear bullet proof vests? What about helmets? Do you know that I had an English teacher in prep-school who walked out of the library building… tripped on the steps… hit his head on a rock and died? Really… an awful tragedy… he had a three year old son… If he had worn a helmet, that could have been prevented. He would still be with us today… But that would be insane, wouldn’t it?

Where do we stop with all this? Somebody has to draw the line and increasingly, it seems that no one wants to draw that line in a reasonable place… Everyone blames everyone else for their accidents and misfortunes, so no one wants to be reasonable any more…

Okay… that about wraps it up for today… and to be completely honest… pet peeve number 5 would probably be listening to other people’s pet peeves.

Man who spray-painted dog not guilty of animal cruelty

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A contractor who spray-painted a dog was found not guilty of animal cruelty by a DeKalb County State Court jury Thursday.

Dario Harris maintained he was afraid of the barking black lab mix, Bear. Harris said even though the dog was in a fenced backyard, it could have jumped the fence and attacked him.

Harris was marking utility lines with fluorescent orange paint outside Jeffrey Tompkins’ Stone Mountain home. Tompkins said Bear was a stray he found with five other newborn puppies four years ago, and that Bear was no threat.

In an interview before the trial, Harris said he loves dogs and “was just trying to protect myself.”

His attorney, Gerald Griggs, said Harris’ testimony was the difference.

“The jury got to hear his actual intentions that day,” Griggs said.  “You have to look at what’s reasonable under the circumstances. There were two dogs (Bear and Boo), both weighing over 60 pounds, jumping at a fence. You don’t know if they were nice dogs or mean dogs. He did not intend to injure Bear in any form or fashion. He was just scared.”

Harris wants to pay the veterinary bill, Griggs added.

Solicitor Robert James said he was disappointed in the verdict but respects the jury’s decision.

He added: “This is not going to change the way we do things in DeKalb County. We take animal abuse very seriously, it’s wrong, and we’re going to continue to stand up for pet owners and animals, continue to hold people accountable.”

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Wow!  It’s so exciting at Dream-Adventures today!  We’ve just received over 500 new authentic designer handbags including bags by B Makowsky, Dooney & Bourke, Tignanello, Kathy Van Zeeland, Vera Bradley, Stone Mountain and more! 

500+!!! 

We are still unpacking, but we wanted to let you know what was in the works, and that we will soon be unveiling our new inventory of designer handbags. 

May your days be filled with Dream-Adventures!

This came out on AOL News just about a day ago: “Police say a 61-year-old man annoyed with a crying 2-year-old girl at a suburban Atlanta Walmart slapped the child several times after warning the toddler’s mother to keep her quiet.” First and foremost, I feel oddly in touch with this piece of news because I used to live a few miles away from the store in question; in fact, I still visit that Walmart occasionally. As your typical media-saturated and fame-addicted citizen, I’m pleasantly surprised that one of the local places near me made national news, despite the rather embarrassing nature of the story itself. However, my reasons for talking about this are not completely (maybe just 90%) asinine and driven by my proximity to the scene of the crime. Many a times on long and tedious international flights, I have considered asking the mothers of those crying children to make a better effort at quieting the little brats; but in my brief mental picture of such a scenario, my request would always be polite and non-aggressive. Never in my most irritated state did I dream of physically punishing a stranger’s child. Now, maybe the man thought that all his 61 years gave him some sort of right to discipline random kids in supermarkets. I’m not even half as old as him, but even if I were, I would not have the crazy in me to do such a thing. Of course, slapping isn’t the worst type of violence possible and will not cause any permanent damage, but you have to wonder what was going on in Mr. Stephens’ head. Anger management exists for a reason, folks!

See article here.

This is one for the WTF were you thinking category.  It’s one thing to slap you own kids but grabbing a stranger’s two year and and slapping her face four times at Wallyworld is quite another.  Evidently the toddler would not stop crying and the mother didn’t handle her business fast enough to suit Grandpa Walton so he took matters into his own hands (no pun intended).

He was arrested thankfully.  The child is okay.  Somebody needs some anger management.

Roger Stephens, 61, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree cruelty to children after he allegedly slapped a 2-year-old girl, he did not know, for crying too long.

The confrontation happened shortly before noon at the Walmart in Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta.

According to the arresting officer, the child’s mother said her daughter was crying as they walked down one of the aisles.

The mother said a stranger later identified as Stephens approached them and said, “If you don’t shut the baby up, I will shut her up for you.”

A few moments later, while the mother and the crying child were in another aisle, Stephens allegedly grabbed the girl and slapped her across the face.

Police said he hit her four or five times. “See, I told you I would shut her up,” the suspect allegedly told the mother.

Authorities described “slight redness” to the toddler’s face.

WOW! I’m speechless, but pretty sure he would have never gotten close enough to either of my kids to hit them 4 or 5 times. I probably would have said something to someone after he threatened.

So uncalled for.

He is currently being held by the Sheriff’s Department.

SOURCE