georgia confidential

march madness

As of this date I have not been to a single concert in 2012. Tragic.

Fear not. Next month is shaping up nicely. Check it out:

• Scott Miller.
• Elizabeth Cook.
• Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt.
• Bruce Springsteen.
• Dan Baird and Warner E. Hodges.

I read an article on time management recently. The writer, a CEO, sailor and father of five, said he is able to accomplish so much because he doesn't watch TV, doesn't waste time at sporting events and doesn't have any time-consuming hobbies.

I respect that. But I say, in my most rocking voice, "I'm so glad I'm not you. And you will regret never experiencing Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt."

and the list grows ...

Every once in a while, I find something that moves to the top of the Atlanta Must See List. This is that something.

cruise virgin

The closest I've ever been to a cruise was reading David Foster Wallace's essay about his own luxury liner experience, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." I had two reactions: (1) to laugh uproariously (2) to declare, "Hell no."

I heard a surprising stat on NPR's "Marketplace" this evening: 80 percent of the U.S. population has never been on a cruise. I believe the term they used was "cruise virgins."

In the wake of the Costa Concordia tragedy, I'd wager more people will be signing that abstinence pledge. To be honest, nearly everyone I know who's been on a cruise loves them. They rave about the food and the activities, the ports of call. When I was growing up, I thought it pretty cool to see a picture of my grandparents, complete with formalwear, shaking hands with the captain of their cruise ship. I thought it even cooler that my cousin met an interesting foreign guy on her cruise and became pen pals with him.

But as I got older and discovered what I love about travel, I realized that none of my passions has anything to do with a cruise. Until they put a museum, a Frank Lloyd Wright house and the Ryman Auditorium inside a cruise ship, it will remain a hard sell for me. Then they'd need to get rid of all the other passengers, the casino and the drowning hazard of an oceangoing vessel.

And then I saw this photo.

Hell no.

conversation threads

PEORIA -- These topics are coming up again and again as I make my way through coffee / tea / pancakes with friends and family:

• Should we close our accounts with Bank of America for ethical reasons?
• Why do 20% of people do 80% of the work?
• When did we get so old?
• Why are there no good movies for a while, then a bunch of movies all at once so you can't see them all in the theaters?

Discuss.

 

so it's not all about me?

Mom: Hi, I'm calling to ask if you will bring a second suitcase when you come home.

Me: Absolutely -- for all the presents I'll get? 

[uncomfortable silence]

Mom: Actually, I wondered if you would bring back some of that Christmas garland I loaned you.

big thanksgiving list

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

What am I thankful for? How much time do you have?

brilliant

This has been a big red-letter day on my calendar because it’s the day of author Simon Winchester’s appearance at the Carter Center.

He is touring to support his biography of the Atlantic Ocean, titled “Atlantic,” and if that sounds boring, then you haven’t read any of his works about the Oxford English Dictionary, the San Francisco earthquake, or  a 19^th-century geological map.

That’s the marvel of these books – I have shaken my head in awe reading them. How he is able to synthesize cultural, scientific and historical elements is a wonder. And even as he addressed the audience at the Carter Center tonight, he told amazing, almost cinematic stories.

What a memory! He explained how he got the idea for this book, from a night spent in Patagonia, where he spent the night in an estate library, reading until dawn.

lone star struck

Until I post a proper rundown of the antics in Austin and San Antonio, here are some pictures you can enjoy.

And here's  a Google map of all the places that got the Mapgirl time and dinero.

what’s german for ‘barbecue’?

LOCKHART, Texas -- According to legend*,  HCB drew a circle with a 500-mile radius around his tiny Illinois hometown. Then he decided to go to college outside that radius. And that’s how he ended up at the University of Texas** in Austin, where his romance with BB began.

Longtime readers know that I think HCB and his wife, BB, are two of the finest humans on the planet today. So who better to ask for Austin advice?

HCB has been texting daily to check on our whereabouts. He said he’s living vicariously through us. But where he really has brought his expertise to bear is in the barbecue department. BB is from Lockhart, Texas, which HCB (and the Texas Legislature) have declared the Barbecue Capital of Texas.  Conveniently located on the drive back from San Antonio, Lockhart was a place we had to see for ourselves. This Hill Country town boasts multiple barbecue joints, and everybody seems to have their favorite.

We chose Black’s, humble from the outside, even humbler on the inside. It has the requisite horns on the wall and the red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. But Black’s features two specialties: Brisket and German bluegrass.

It’s true! I loved the brisket (although I didn’t get the traditional sausage alongside – simply didn’t have room with all the great fixins). And the German bluegrass band – the Sieker Band – was enjoyable as well. 

 

In case you didn’t know – and I didn’t – this part of Texas was settled by lots of German and Czechs. I learned this through some comments on my Facebook page earlier this week. And driving down I-35, seeing such town and road names as Greune (pronounced Greene), Schumannsville, Schertz and Wurzbach, I saw that it was true.

Lockhart doesn’t have a German name, but it definitely has a colorful history and a striking courthouse that anchors a lovely downtown.  Any coincidence that BB married a future judge? I think not.

__________________ 

* As recounted by HCB himself

** “Hook ‘Em Horns,” HCB himself would say at this point

 

been a long time since they scored a goal

AUSTIN, Texas -- The agenda for Austin is simple:  see live music, drink beer, eat Tex-Mex food.  Simple instructions, pick any order.

So on the first full day, after walkabout, it was off to the pub in early afternoon.  The first choice was not yet open for business, so we quickly chose another nearby that held the promise of soccer football.

Into the dark we went, and two men were seated at the bar and riveted to, of course, the football. One had a leonine mane of wavy hair and bright eyes and was the spitting image of Robert Plant.

It was Robert Plant. JMM is from Scotland and knowledgeable about football, so he sidled up to chat about the game while I stood, starstruck into paralysis, about five feet away.

JMM also is knowledgeable about All Things Rock and happened to be wearing the very Showco Sound T-shirt that apparently John Bonham made famous, and which Robert Plant remarked upon. Robert Plant’s only comment to me was to say it was nice to meet me, which was courteous but untrue since he so obviously wanted to watch the match.

We took our leave and moved to a nearby table.