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

Poop Goes Prime Time in Atlanta

If your kids are anything like mine, they will bolt for the car the second they hear the news that the Fernbank Museum in Atlanta has an entire exhibit dedicated to #2.  Running through September 3, The Scoop on Poop answers every question you have ever had about the end game of digestion, and then some.

While there are a few vignettes that creep dangerously close to Bevis and Butt-head territory, the majority of the displays are animal specific and include many fun, interactive components.  The highlight for my crew was the head-to-head dung beetle race.

Some of the video footage is surely having an impact on businesses in the cafeteria, but the appropriately themed selection in the gift shop is surely making up for the loss in revenue.  Be prepared for goodies of all sorts on display in toilets as you make a bee line for the exit. 

Have a great summer everyone! 

Kid Utopia at the Tellus Museum

This past weekend we make a spur of the moment trip an hour north of Atlanta to visit the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, GA. This may be the best museum for kids in Georgia!



While Tellus is a new creation, its roots lie in the collection of the old Weinman Mineral Museum. The brand new 120,000 square foot facility, on a beautifully manicured campus, has it all: space stuff, dinosaurs, old cars, a planetarium and the core collection of rocks and minerals.

The campus is beautiful, the exhibits include an extensive play and learn areas, and there is even an opportunity to touched fossilized dino poop. What more do you want? Load up the Family Truckster and hit the road!

Chasing the General

Will and Genevieve in Hot Pursuit

Need a perfect day trip for a Thomas the Tank Engine obsessed child or the family Civil War buff? Head north of Atlanta to Kennesaw, GA to visit the newly expanded Southern Museum, and its most famous artifact, the steam engine The General.

Immortalized by Buster Keaton, the theft of The General by James Andrews' ring of spies in 1862 was a sensation in the North and the South. In an effort to prevent reinforcements from Atlanta coming to the defense of Chattanooga, Andrew's Raiders ripped apart sections of the Western and Atlantic rail line, set fires and cut telegraph lines as they rushed towards Union lines in the hijacked train. The conductor of the The General stayed in hot pursuit of the bandits and most of the raiders were captured after the train ran out of fuel.

The conductor, William Fuller, became a Confederate folk hero. Andrews and many of his compatriots met the gallows, but their antics had a Doolittle Raid-type effect for the Union. The first awards of the newly created Medal of Honor were made to thirteen of the soldiers involved in The Great Locomotive Chase.

The Museum is a treasure trove of railroad memorabilia and Civil War artifacts. The General itself is the show stopper. Kids will enjoy the run through Tunnel Hill (above) as well as the park and displays across the street from the Museum.

Want a taste of The General's story in Atlanta? Fuller lays in rest at Oakland Cemetery. You will also find a discrete plaque (on the cemetery wall facing Memorial Drive, across from Doc Chey's) commemorating the Raiders.