Make it a blockbuster month with the African-American Film Festival as Lay Park celebrates Black History Month! Lay Park will host its fifth annual African-American Festival beginning Saturday, February 6 with the family oriented film "Ruby Bridges." The Festival continues February 20, with another family-oriented movie. All films are presented at 2 p.m. Admission is free and refreshments are provided. For more information, including a complete list of films, please call 706.613.3596 or visit the African-American Film Festival page at www.accleisureservices.com.

When: 02/6 - 2/20

Where: Lay Park

It's 1985 and rock-star wannabe Robbie Hart is New Jersey's favorite wedding singer. Hes the life of the party, until his own fiancee leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own.

When he meets an admiring young waitress, its love at first sight. Only trouble is Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark, and unless Robbie can pull off the performance of a decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever. Based on Adam Sandler's hit movie, with a score that pays loving homage to the pop songs of the 1980s, THE WEDDING SINGER takes us back to a time when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up, and a wedding singer might just be the coolest guy in the room.

The director of the show is an Athens native--M. Seth Reines, who attended Athens High School and worked as a proofreader for the Athens Banner-Herald. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1968 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre and in 1970 earned a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Stage Direction degree. He performed as a member of the Town and Gown Players while in college, then went to work as a writer and producer for WGTV.

Join The Classic Center and Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division to discover ways you can reduce your carbon footprint, save money, and make small changes that will have a big impact. Local businesses are encouraged to come out with their employees on Friday, and families should bring the kids on Saturday. Along with the exhibitors on the show floor, concurrent educational sessions will take place each day with Friday's focus on the business community while Saturday will feature sessions geared toward the home, lifestyle and family. It's two days of information you'll use and fun activities you'll enjoy, so mark your calendar and plan to come out to the first ever eco-focused expo in Athens.

"So who doesn't LOVE Trader Joe's? The Hawaiian shirts, the ringing bells, the AMAZING food!!! There is actually a way to request a new location on their site! Click this link and request to have the most incredible grocery store EVER brought to our very own Athens! "


You can view the Facebook group page here. 

In tragic news, the New York Times has reported that singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt is in a coma. While the cause is technically unconfirmed, it is widely believed to be the result of a suicide attempt. 

UPDATE: After multiple reports of Vic Chesnutt's passing Thursday night, his label, Constellation Records, confirms that the singer-songwriter is still in a coma following an apparent suicide attempt.

OA and Spinner have additional information. 

This was given to me by a older friend. He figured everyone would get a kick from the 4 digit phone numbers. Check out the bottom of the bag.

Don't think of them as bike racks, but rather sculptures with the functional purpose of securing your bicycle. The Classic Center Cultural Foundation has a history of dedication and commitment to the arts in our community and we are also committed to leading the way in making The Classic Center a greener place. We are elevating the profile of cycling to events at The Classic Center by installing bike racks at The Classic Center. But not just any bike racks, but artistic bike racks. Join us for refreshments downtown at The Classic Center as we celebrate the newest addition to public art in Athens. We will cut the ribbons on Joshua Jordan's artistic bike rack located on Thomas Street and Michael Ely's on Foundry Street.

When: 12.17.09
Where: Classic Center
Time: 4pm

Ohh, Boy! is a collective of selective vintage clothing, furniture, art, handmade clothing and jewelry. Celebrate their grand opening with food catered by Farm Cart and live music from Spring Tigers, This Piano Plays Itself, Werewolves, and the Pretty Faces. Featuring art and holiday gifts.

When: 12.05.09
Where: Ohh, Boy!
Time: 7-10pm

While it sounds like something Georgia Tech might suggest, Tim Bryant with WGAU (1340AM) in Athens just posted this:

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has a suggestion for the University of Georgia, which is looking for a replacement for Uga VII, the Georgia Bulldog mascot who died last Thursday in Savannah: PETA says the University should use what it calls an “animatronic dog,” or use a person in a costume. PETA has sent its suggestion via e-mail to University of Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans. The PETA e-mail follows…

In the wake of the untimely death of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) bulldog mascot, Uga VII, PETA has asked the school’s athletic director, Damon M. Evans, to replace the mascot with an animatronic dog–or to rely solely on a costumed mascot–instead of using another real bulldog. Bulldogs are prone to breathing difficulties, hip dysplasia, heart disorders, and other congenital ailments, and acquiring a dog from a breeder perpetuates the animal overpopulation crisis while causing another dog waiting in an animal shelter to be condemned to death.

Anglia's Hadley Climatic Research Unit was hacked, and internal documents released. Some discussion and analysis of the leaked items can be found at Watts Up With That. The CRU has confirmed that a breach occurred, but not that all 61 MB of released material
is genuine. Some of the emails would seem to raise concerns about the science as practiced — or at least beg an explanation. From the Watts
Up link:

"[The CRU] widely recognized as one of the world's leading
institutions concerned with the study of natural and anthropogenic
climate change. Consisting of a staff of around thirty research
scientists and students, the Unit has developed a number of the data
sets widely used in climate research, including the global temperature
record used to monitor the state of the climate system, as well as
statistical software packages and climate models. An unknown person put
postings on some climate skeptic websites that advertised an FTP file
on a Russian FTP server. Here is the message that was placed on the Air
Vent today: 'We feel that climate science is, in the current situation,
too important to be kept under wraps. We hereby release a random
selection of correspondence, code, and documents' The file was large,
about 61 megabytes, containing hundreds of files. It contained data,
code, and emails apparently from the CRU. If proved legitimate, these
bombshells could spell trouble for the AGW crowd."

Anyone surprised?