The Georgia Blog Carnival Has Arrived!

The Georgia Blog Carnival is open for your reading enjoyment over at Paw Paw Bill's place. Our host has titled edition 32 as the What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong carnival as he experienced computer problems earlier in the week, and I had email issues which is why you might not have received that bi-weekly reminder from me about carnival submissions... even though I sent them out.

Through all the down time we might have missed a submission from you. Please let us know, or save it, and submit it for next time using the official form.

Please remember the pay a carnival host receives is your link informing your readers about the carnival. It only takes a second to do, and it’s most appreciated.

I’m off to get me some cotton candy. See ya at the carnival!

It's That Time Again...Submissions Are Due

The next edition of the Georgia Carnival will post this Friday, March 28th hosted by Paw Paw Bill.

Avoid the rush by sending in your submission now. Forward it to gamind@mail.com or use the submission form.

The submission deadline is Thursday, March 27th at 6:00 p.m.

It's Spring!

Well the new outfits have been bought, a menu planned, groceries bought, and arrangements have been made with Sir Bunny to leave a few bits of chocolate for my really-too-old-for-the-bunny-thing children. When does it stop? I mean they are 15 and 22!

Who am I kidding! If someone fixed me an Easter basket I’d take it. I’d want lots of chocolate and a few sparkly things too!

All that’s left to do is the churchin’, the cookin’, and the eatin’.

If you need something to read you might enjoy a former post from History Is Elementary titled Sticky Easter Memory…I never celebrate Easter without remembering the particular Easter detailed in my story.

Whether you celebrate Easter or not I send good wishes your way that your weekend is safe, relaxing, and filled with what you desire.

I’ll be back Monday…

Endangered Civil War Battle Sites

The American Historical Association Blog has published a link to the 10 Civil War Battle Sites that are endangered per the Civil War Preservation Trust. Included on the list is our own Savannah battle site that entered the history books as Sherman was near the end of his March to the Sea in December, 1864.

The site details the threat:

As new houses, commercial establishments and roads are built, the 1864 defenses are in danger of being lost. Isolated earthworks remain on the grounds of the Savannah Christian Preparatory School and along the southern portion of the Confederate Line between Ogeechee Road (U.S. 17) and Louisville Road (U.S.80), but most of these fragments are overgrown and unprotected. Tom Triplett County Park contains the remains of Federal fortifications and camps.

The image I’ve posted here shows Sherman’s troops removing ammunition from Ft. McAllister. While the fort is not listed on the CWPT site I thought the image was interesting.

Are You a Cracker? Thank the Irish!

Words are funny little things. What can be an epithet to some are proud labels to others.

The label “cracker” is one of those words. Many think they are highly insulting someone if they call them a “cracker.” Some folks are insulted by the label. Others wear it proudly and seem to like the moniker.

I guess it all depends upon who is using the word and who is on the receiving end of the label.

Heck, Atlanta even had a baseball team by that name, and like everything in the South in those days we had the Black Crackers as well.

It’s all in the context.

The New Georgia Encyclopedia has an interesting article about the word “cracker.” At one point the article states:

The true history of the name [cracker], however, is more involved and shows a shift in application over time. Linguists now believe the original root to be the Gaelic craic, still used in Ireland (anglicized in spelling to crack) for “entertaining conversation.”

Eventually the English used to the term to refer to someone who brags excessively.

I like to think the term was used here in Georgia to refer to the settlers who cracked their whips to keep their cattle in line.

At any rate….Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Well, Hail!

It’s been an on again off again kind of day here along the tornado corridor known as I-20. The same goes for communities to the north and south of it. After some initial excitement at 5:30 this morning it was pretty quiet around here even after storms began to barrel through around noon. Most were far north of here, but I stayed glued to WSB and Glenn Burns.

This is the second time I’ve written about storms today so I guess it’s pretty clear they are foremost in my mind. While it’s true Fridays aren't so wonderful lately, today wasn’t so great either.

The husband came in and told me things were going to get bad around here pretty soon. I said, “You’re crazy. I’ve seen the radar. It’s all north of here.”

Hubby remained adament. “Nope, it’s gonna get bad. The llamas know.”

“Llamas?” I asked.

We have quite a few llamas living down the road and it seems even though there was no wind and the sun was out the the llamas were all huddled together in a circle. Hubby took that to mean the llamas knew something we didn’t.

Well, hubby was right, and so were the llamas.

Within 30 minutes WSB was tracking yet another storm bearing down on Villa Rica and heading for us. We sat and watched until it began to hail. We ended up in the basement. We watched from the garage doors. The rain began to fall….the hail began to get larger and larger. With every crash and bang Hubby worried about the vehicles. Using my best wifey voice I snapped, “That’s what we pay insurance premiums for.” Still….

We retired to the laundry room as the hail became large enough to bounce up into the windows. It was over in just a few minutes and we ventured out to collect some hail to examine. It littered the yard like Easter eggs. The image to the left is some of our collected eggs...er....hail.

Later we were able to see the storm system that moved over us taken from an airport tower camera and seen on WSB:


Oh my.....what a monster.

When will this be over?

Shelbinator has posted two videos of Vine City Damage here and here.

…and one of my favorite haunts Oakland Cemetary has sustained storm damage from last night.

If you have posted storm pictures or videos at your site leave a comment and link.

Fridays Aren't So Wonderful Lately

Don’t we all simply live to get to Friday? Fridays just have a different sort of feeling to them. They are normally that little bend in the racetrack where you can catch your breath for moment, look back on a week accomplished, and begin to plan for the week ahead.

Around here though, the last two Fridays have been knee deep in tornado terror. As a native Georgian tornados and stories of tornados have been a part of my life since birth, but lately……

Last Friday night I was working on a post while there was a nice little rain coming down. It was already dark and I was waiting on my husband to get home. News reports had mentioned rain and had mentioned the possibility of wind but no mention of tornados. As I was working with my laptop the lights suddenly went out…..pitchblack except for the light of the laptop which had switched over to battery.

I kept working as the power went on and off, on and off, on and off, on and off, several times in succession. The rain had stopped and it was very quite and still. Five minutes later the storm sirens went off. I didn’t get scared until the sirens went off. I think that sound is more scary than the wind and the rain, quite frankly. It was so confusing to hear the siren because there was nothing going on outside.

There I was computer in hand, no warnings from my television, no warnings when I checked the local tv sites…..nothing but quiet. I thought maybe I should go to the basement, but there I was in the dark with no flashlight, and I’d probably kill myself just trying to get down there navigating the maze I’ve created with “important stuff” I keep telling myself I need to store.

Come to find out while it was so quiet and the power kept going on and off a tornado was overhead and was traveling to its dismise just a few miles away. In fact the storm had hit a Kroger store and some houses about 5 miles away from me and had done quite a bit of damage.

Witnesses there said the sirens didn’t go off until ten minutes after the storm had hit. What’s the point? Later in the week the National Weather Service confirmed a touchdown of and EF1 tornado with winds of 110 mph. The track of the storm was seven miles long and approximately 100 yards wide. The touchdown was at Hampton Mill Road, and the track continued northeast through the Kroger across Chapel Hill Road through Brookmont, and finally disappating at Vulcan Drive near Groover Lake in Lithia Springs. Since I’m near Vulcan Drive I know that all of that time it was so quiet the storm was moving overhead.

Scary.

That brings me to last night when the city of Atlanta made history. A tornado hit the city for the first time that we know of. The damage pictures are absolutely amazing. Fellow Georgia blogger Spacey G from Mostly Media shares her own video from last night.

Details from Atlanta’s oldest local news channel, WSB-TV, can be found here along with a slideshow of images taken by media types, and a slideshow of images uploaded by
everyday folks. A paper from Kentucky has a few daytime images of highrises as well as the many condo buildings (concerted factories) that dot the downtown area.

It is amazing to see Atlanta landmarks like the Equitable Building and the Peachtree Plaza with windows blown out. Also, as much as many Georgians complain about the craziness that can go on with Atlanta government and politics it seems the city did a great job last night handling a situation that could have resulted in utter chaos. I’m sure we’ll hear somebody complaining in the days to come though.

As I am writing this today another wave of storms are racing across the state and fatalities are reported in Polk County, Georgia. For a time they were mentioning my father’s community of Macedonia near Canton, so I have been in prayer for folks I know and love as well as folks I don’t know.

Springtime in Georgia….it appears it will be a bumpy ride this year.

….note for you grammar-type folks--- tornadoes and tornados are both accepted as proper plural forms….just in case you wondered. :)

Georgia Carnival: Edition 31

The newest edition of the Georgia Carnival is up for your reading pleasure over at Shelbinator.com. This edition includes great timely topics, interesting categories, and the repartee we have come to expect from the Shelbinator.

Make sure you alert your readers about the carnival by sending Shelbinator a little linky-love his way. I’m sure he’d appreciate it because that’s all the payment a carnival host receives. :)

Additions and Submissions

Here are a few more blogroll additions you can check out if you aren’t already aware, and I wanted to remind you that the Georgia Carnival will be open for your enjoyment once again this Friday, March 14th, over at
Shelbinator.com.

Don’t be shy now…..send your submission on over by forwarding it to gamind@mail.com or use the submission form. They should be turned in by Thursday, March 13th by 6:00 p.m.

The Georgia Carnival for March 28th will be hosted by Paw Paw Bill. If you would like to schedule a date for hosting the carnival at your Georgia blog please drop me an email and I’ll hook you up.

Here are this week’s additions:

Chow Down Atlanta – This is a fantastic food blog. I lurk there often!

Junk – LA muses away about many interesting things.

Nia Knowles: Westend – all about real estate centered in Atlanta’s West End and West View

Omnivore – a very delicious food blog from Creative Loafing

Atlanta INtown – the online blog for Atlanta’s monthly paper. Atlanta INtown features stories on people, places, arts, culture, dining, business, and real estate.

Young Democrats of Atlanta – from the site….”Young Democrats of Atlanta is the official Fulton County chapter of Young Democrats of Georgia, and as such includes membership from all of Fulton County, not just those inside the Atlanta city limits. However, as the Young Democrats chapter at the center of the greater Atlanta area, we encourage the participation of local Young Democrats from any other county in our neighborhood."

Georgia Bloggers: Journalism

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that represent journalism. Perhaps the author is a journalist or the site deals with the profession of journalism in some way.

Andisheh Nouraee

aTypical Joe

Georgia Podcast Network

Live Apartment Fire

Newsmanbook.com

Public Journalism Network

Do you know about journalism blog/site I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Online Media

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that represent online media. The majority of these are also offered in print media forms as well. I do realize there are several other Atlanta and Georgia oriented print magazines that offer articles online. I need to get busy and link to them. Feel free to suggest some in the comments.

If you are looking for a specific online newspaper visit Georgia Daily Digest or Blognet News Georgia links.

Online media blogs/sources are:

Alpharetta News Blog

Athens Banner Herald

Athen TV

Atlanta INtown

Blognet News Georgia

Creative Loafing/Fresh Loaf

Flagpole

Georgia Gazette

Georgia Life and Style

Georgia Daily Digest

Georgia Podcast Network

Get Schooled/AJC

GPB News Blog

Moonshine

Omnivore

Political Insider/AJC

The Georgia Art Exchange

The South Magazine

The Sunday Paper

Do you know about a online media source I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

A Little More on Lynchings

Why on earth would I want to revisit this subject after this post remembering the Leo Frank incident, but I couldn’t get the subject off my mind all weekend.

Over at History Is Elementary I’ve posted Sins of the Fathers with links to an online project with several postcard images taken at lynchings, a little history concerning the word “lynching”, and the Billie Holiday song Strange Fruit which many considered to be one of the first anti-racism songs of the modern era.

A Mob of a Different Kind

Today the AJC and other Atlanta media outlets reported a gathering of folks near Roswell Road and Frey’s Gin Court to unveil a new historical marker that references another gathering that took place on August 17, 1915.

Today’s gathering was much more conciliatory considering that the location is the spot where Leo Frank was murdered by a mob of citizens. They were provoked into frenzied action when Frank’s death sentence for raping and murdering thirteen year old Mary Phagan was commuted to a life sentence by then Governor John M. Slaton. At the time Gov. Slaton stated per this website, “Two thousand years ago another Governor washed his hands and turned over a Jew to a mob. For two thousand years that governor’s name has been accursed. If today another Jew were lying in his grave because I had failed to do my duty, I would all through life find his blood on my hands and would consider myself an assassin through cowardice.”

The mob was not a group of ignorant rabble, but were actually prominent members of society including an ancestor of Gov. Roy Barnes.

Over the years there have been several reviews of the evidence including new possible evidence regarding the murder and rape of Mary Phagan. There have been many books written on the subject and many online articles exist such as this one and this one. While many doubt Leo Frank’s guilt today, members of the Phagan family hold fast that the court system had the correct man.

While we may never know for sure the Mary Phagan/Leo Frank case should be part of any historical study regarding the movement of farmers to the city and the increase of manufacturing in the early days of the twentieth century, a revival of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as the interaction between various ethnic groups converging in Atlanta during that time.

A Few More Blog Additions

This week’s additions are:

Jen's Genuine Life – Jen already has already submitted to two Georgia Carnivals so you may already be familiar with this genuine Atlantan mom of twins living in the Peach state.

Radlanta – debuted in the most recent Georgia carnival. This is a blog for Radical Atlantans---it’s basically a resource for events and programs in/around Atlanta that are radical, underground, subversive alternative or different fun, entertainment, and politics

Sky Girl Style – has also contributed to the carnival (yes, I’m that behind in posting additions). I love the blog title and I absolutely adore the cute baby booties on her main page.

Vamos Juntos – this blog is authored by a young couple who are preparing to go to Mozambique as missionaries. There are only two Georgia blogs on the blogroll where I have actually met the bloggers, and this is one of them. The Nalls spoke at my church the other night and I admire their tenacity and courage to share their faith. Join them on their journey as they prepare for their trip. They leave later in the summer.

Steakhead's Atlanta Eats Blog – this is the blog to read when you want the lowdown on eating in A-town!

If you have sent me a request to be added to the blogroll and I still haven’t gotten to you I apologize. Please send me a reminder and I’ll get to it zippy quick. I’m also still working on Georgia Blog categories as well.

In case you missed it the most recent Georgia Carnival is here.

The next carnival will post on March 14th and our very able host will be Shelbinator.

Submissions can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy blog carnival submission form. They should be turned in by Thursday, March 13th by 6:00 p.m.