question: what’s your favorite atlanta thrift store?

You’re a dime store diva, a bargain hound, a clearance bin shop-a-holic. Let me know what your absolute favorite Atlanta-area thrift store is for finding your favorite deals on clothes, accessories, home goods, food stuff or whatever tickles your fancy.

photo credit: pixeljones

atlanta travel: getting steamy all night long at jeju sauna (as seen on trazzler)

The communal bath house is a relaxing tradition that’s found in many cultures, but most Americans would raise an eyebrow at the notion of visiting a 24-hour Korean spa. Rest assured, it’s not that kind of affair, even though the hot-pink neon signage out front might make you think otherwise.

$25 gets you a locker and unlimited access to the facilities at Jeju, plus a standard-issue, one-size-fits-all short set that evokes images of Logan’s Run. If lounging au naturale is your thing, the gender-separate locker rooms have showers, steam rooms, and soaking pools, and for an extra fee, you can have one of the older lady masseuses smack you up, flip you, and rub you down.

You might opt to literally spend the night in the large common area, which boasts 7 different therapeutic saunas – like the Jade room and the Charcoal Room, a large swimming pool, and a quick-serve Korean snack bar. Just a few hours at Jeju makes for a happy ending you don’t have to be ashamed of.

cheers,

k

Jeju Sauna
3555 Gwinnett Place Drive
Duluth, GA 30096
www.jejusauna.net

of snakes, slaves, and shamrocks – fact and fiction surrounding st. patrick’s day

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those really random holidays that lots of Americans celebrate mainly because it gives us an excuse to get drunk, wear green, and pinch total strangers. But few know the real story about the man who originally inspired the celebration, and even less about the images associated with the annual bacchanalian festival.
So I thought I’d share and dispel some of the most common myths and misconceptions associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick was Irish.
Nope. St. Patrick, whose original name was Maewyn Succat (Can you imagine celebrating St. Maewyn’s day? Lame.), was British born. At 16, his family was attacked by Irish raiders and he was shuttled off to slavery. He spent 6 years as an enslaved sheep herder until a vision from God inspired him to escape. After that, he entered the priesthood, where he assumed the name Patrick.

St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.
Um, not really, since Ireland doesn’t have any snakes. What St. Paddy did do, however, was return to Ireland after his escape from slavery and begin spreading Christianity to the largely pagan Irish folk. Thus the notion that he drove ‘snakes’ from Ireland is probably more of a figurative idea. The pagan Celts of ancient Ireland also used the symbol of the snake in many of their rituals, so that also plays a part in the erroneous snake-ridding legend.

St. Patrick’s Day is always celebrated on March 17.
It is! Except… occasionally, it isn’t. St. Patrick’s Day always occurs during Lent. The Catholic church has a policy against celebrating saint feast days when they fall on a solemnity. For brevity’s sake, we’ll just say a solemnity is a reeeeally important event on the Catholic calendar (for instance, Good Friday is a solemnity). On the rare times that March 17 falls on a solemnity, dear old St. Paddy gets shifted to another spot on the calendar. The last time St. Patrick’s Day was moved was in 2008, when it was shifted to March 15. The next time will be 2160. So, I doubt you’ll have to mark your calendar for that one.

The shamrock is a symbol of good luck.
Well, kinda. Back in the day when St. Paddy was trying to convince those pagans to switch to Christianity, Powerpoint slides and Venn diagrams hadn’t been invented yet. So, trying to explain a complicated concept like The Holy Trinity was a bit of a hassle. Luckily, there were all these little three-leaf clovers growing about that he could pluck and use as a visual aid. And that’s how the shamrock became linked to St. Patrick.

The color green is the traditional hue associated with St. Patrick.
As this clip from the History Channel reveals, the original color associated with St. Patrick was blue. The color green came into play when Irish Catholics would wear a shamrock on the feast day of St. Patrick. Eventually, the Irish adopted more widespread use of the color as a political and patriotic statement during the Society of United Irishmen’s rebellion against British rule in the 1790s.
So now you know the truth about St. Patrick’s Day. In case you’re wondering what you should do with these valuable new brain wrinkles, I recommend the following: go to your local pub, and bet a drink to anyone who thinks they know more than you do about St. Patrick’s Day. Because in the end, it is all about getting sloshed, isn’t it?

Here are some choice St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Atlanta where you can flaunt your newfound Irish knowledge:

2010 Atlanta St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival (March 13)
Peachtree Street, Downtown. Noon. Coach Vince Dooley is this year’s Grand Marshal. Visit http://www.stpatsparadeatlanta.com/ for parade route and details.

The Junior League of Atlanta’s ShamRock N Roll Road Race (March 14)
Highlights of the race held at Atlantic Station include entertainment at the start and finish, a pre-race warm up by Operation Boot Camp and bands like Consoultant and Stratogeezer along the course. Kilt wearers are welcome! 5k race starts at 8am; 10k at 8:30. All entrants will receive a free running shirt. For more info, visit: http://www.jlatlanta.org/?nd=shamrock_n_roll

St. Patrick’s Day Party at AltoRex Rooftop Lounge (March 17)
The open-air lounge, situated atop nationally acclaimed restaurant Pacci Ristorante, will serve up green beer and drink specials including their signature Lemintcello, made of housemade Limoncello, Midori and fresh mint, as well as Irish food specials. Win raffle prizes and take pictures with a real leprechaun! For more information, call: 678-412-2402 or visit: www.altorexlounge.com .

St. Paddy’s Day at Stats, (March 17)
Celebrate with $2 pints from 2 p.m.-2 a.m., live music by Whiskey and Stout, and giveaways from Baileys, Bushmills, Guiness and more. Call 404-885-1472 for more details.

St. Patrick’s Day at Fado Irish Pub (March 17)
Pub opens at 6 a.m. Bagpipers and Irish dancers start at 12:30 p.m. After that there will be an outdoor festival with live music all day and a DJ at night. $15 cover charge for adults after noon. Kids enter free. You must be 21 or over to be in the event area after 4 pm. Tickets available at: http://www.fadoirishpub.com/atlanta/

cheers,

k

photo credit: Loci Lenar

looking for daily atlanta deals? meet scoutmob.

 

If you’re not already signed up for Scoutmob, you’re missing out on some great deals at restaurants, bars, and shops in Atlanta.

Haven’t heard of Scoutmob? Maybe you’ve heard of its parent company, Skyblox. If you’ve ever linked into the wi-fi network at intown Atlanta joints like Joe’s Coffee in EAV, or No Mas Cantina in Castleberry Hill, you’ve no doubt seen the Skyblox home page. The company was founded about two years ago by former Earthlink  employees, and initially started as a secure wi-fi service provider for local restaurants, bars, and cafes. As an added service, Skyblox began publishing weekly emails that clued readers in to the latest happenings and specials at Skyblox wi-fi locations and other local haunts. The weekly email grew quite popular and eventually morphed into Scoutmob – dubbed a curious guide to mobile deals for the Atlanta explorer – which debuted a little over a month ago.

Here’s what’s so great about Scoutmob.

It’s opt-in – Scoutmob publishes a brand new deal each day that you can claim if you want or ignore if you’re not interested. This is great for consumers, because you’re not committed to sign up for anything,  and it’s even better for the businesses advertising via Scoutmob, because it gives them easy visibility into how many people responded to their campaign.

It’s limited-time only – Each deal expires within 24 hours, so there’s a sense of urgency to claim the deal. Once you do, you have anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to redeem it at the location.

It’s mobile – This is truly what makes Scoutmob unique. Most deals, discounts, or coupons require you to either print something out to present at the venue, or worse yet, require that you just remember the deal when you happen to show up. Once you claim each Scoutmob deal, it’s sent directly to your mobile phone – which you then present at the venue. If you’re an iPhone user, there’s a Scoutmob app that makes the process even easier.

It encourages exploration – In addition to the daily deal (which gives you incentive to try a new place out without paying full price), Scoutmob also publishes brief recommendations on local people, places, and things you might also want to check out.

The deals are deep – In my opinion, 10-15% off usually isn’t worth the hassle of signing up for something, and it generally doesn’t persuade me to visit a place. Scoutmob deals are more apt to make me act on them because they’re significant. Almost all of the discounts I’ve seen so far have been in the 40% and higher range.

Check out Scoutmob for yourself. Visit their website or follow Scoutmob on Twitter.

cheers,

k

a fleeting bloom in winter – gloAtl’s performance at lenox square mall

Lauri Stallings has a knack for befuddling audiences with her art. When I first heard of Bloom, the site-specific dance performance that would take place in the arteries of – of all places – Lenox Mall, my first response was a wrinkled brow and a head scratch. Why Lenox Mall? Why not a venue that would be more suited to the art form than a place characterized by crowded consumerism? Yet, I was intrigued enough to brave the weekend throngs and hellacious parking lot to catch a glimpse of gloAtl’s final performance of Bloom, which was set to begin at 4pm on Sunday.

At 4:15, a sizeable crowd of curious spectators gathered around a stark white dance floor that had been installed near the Starbuck’s at the center of the mall. Several more people – including yours truly – leaned over the banister of the mezzanine above, waiting for the spectacle to begin. Most people had no idea what they were even waiting for. “There’s a dance performance today,” I informed those who bothered to ask. One guy responded, “Oh, like America’s Best Dance Crew!?” He seemed a mite disappointed when I told him the show would be more ballet than b-boy.

After waiting several minutes with eyes trained on the stage, I noticed an out-of-place character in the crowd below. A svelte dancer clothed in a burlap-and-black tutu dress stood amidst the waiting onlookers; no one appeared to even notice she was there. Another dancer emerged from the crowd, crossed the stage and exited to the stairs leading to the second level of the mall, disappearing from view as quickly as she had appeared. Moments later, two more dancers emerged from the mass of shoppers, stretching limbs, twirling and executing elegantly awkward poses while mall patrons filed by with their shopping bags – some smiling, some oblivious, and some with confused looks on their faces. The befuddlement spread to the mezzanine quickly, especially when more than one dancer nudged between the upstairs onlookers, executing arabesques and fluid backbends over the edge of the railing.

The elimination of the barrier between a performer and an audience made for some profound observations. The crowd seemed to focus more on the dancers when they were in the designated performance space than they did when a dancer was literally performing right in front of their faces. I silently wondered whether the goal of Bloom was to remind us that art – like the blooming of a flower – is organic, and that we should be conscious of its presence all around us, instead of limiting it to a stage or a designated venue that proclaims, ‘herein lies art’.

Or perhaps the intent was to solidify gloAtl as a sort of fine arts flash mob that spreads this message of organic art appreciation throughout Atlanta.

Or maybe… the objective was simply to make people scratch their heads in between sips of their double shot, no foam macchiatos as they headed for their next retail fix.

atlanta travel – touring the future on the beltline (as seen on trazzler)

Usually, if you want to get to know a city, you visit monuments of its past. But if you really want to get to know Atlanta, you can also take a tour of its future. The Beltline—a multi-year, multi-billion dollar urban renewal effort—is also a symbol of the things Atlantans love most about their town: its historic neighborhoods, urban green spaces, and its legacy of rising from the ashes. Today, the Beltline isn’t much more than 22 miles of abandoned, overgrown rail lines. But enthusiastic tour guides will lead you by bus, bike, or foot on a journey behind the scenes and into the future of the South’s brightest city. Don’t expect pristinely picturesque scenery. Like the future, the beauty of the Beltline is less about what you can see with your eyes, and more about what you can imagine in your mind.

cheers,

k

View other Atlanta travel stories on Trazzler…

a night of bliss: sade album release listening party at halo

Sade’s latest album was released yesterday, and tonight DJ Mars and DJ Doc will dedicate their new weekly event, Bliss: A Night of Intense Musical Pleasure, to exploring the diva’s greatest hits and tracks from the new release.

Free champagne from 9-10. No Cover!

Click here for more details.

cheers,

k

v-day poll results and some unconventional v-day events in atlanta

A couple of weeks ago, I polled guys and ladies separately on what sort of gift you’d like most for Valentine’s Day. Well, the results are in!

 

While they weren’t all that surprising – women overwhelmingly prefer ‘experience gifts’ to stuff like flowers and candy (wait, you guys did know that already right?), and men didn’t really have a preference -  what was surprising is that more women than men responded that they thought Valentine’s Day was for suckas, and 10% of the ladies who responded said that they just wanted ‘to be left alone’. C’mon girlfriends, it can’t be that bad out there… can it? 

Whether you’re single or seeing someone, here are my picks for some unconventional ways to spend this Valentine’s Day in Atlanta.

Witness the Black Man-o-logues – This play by DreamCatcher Productions at the 14th Street Playhouse answers the question, “What runs through the head of a black man when he is confronted with the subject Love?” Shows Saturday and Sunday. For more info:  http://www.catchingdreamz.com/

Take a Trip to Jeju Sauna -  A spa retreat like you’ve never experienced before. Just a short trip to Duluth, and you can lose yourself in another world for a whole day. Check out my review of Jeju Sauna on Trazzler.

Celebrate Valloween – A combination Halloween costume party with the sexiness of Valentine’s Day for both singles and couples. Because there’s “nothing better than playing dress-up to make a depressing holiday more palatable.” For more info: http://professionalmuse.net/

Hey Love: Bilal, Foreign Exchange, Jesse Boykins III – Sexy soulfulness takes Center Stage on Friday. Bring your boo or plan on finding one when you get there. Tickets at Mood’s Music in Little Five Points and Ticketmaster

Bloom at Lenox Mall - Lauri Stallings, the choreographer behind the 2008 genre-blending production big, that thrust ballet dancers onto the stage with Atlanta’s own Big Boi, will be taking dance to another platform this weekend at Lenox Mall. Bloom, the 3rd site-specific art installation from Atlanta-based gloATL, will feature dancers interacting with shoppers in the arteries of the mall. Spoken word artist Big Rube will also perform. It’s sure to be a sight! For more info: http://www.fluxprojects.org/bloom/index.html 

V-Day Mixology Massacre – If Valentine’s day makes you want to kill something… why not make it a cocktail? The Mixology Meetup group is hosting this event at Room at Twelve on W. Peachtree. You’ll learn how to make 3 V-day inspired cocktails at your own bar station. Then you can immediately drown yourself in them. For more info:  http://www.meetup.com/Mixology-Atlanta/

Make Sweet Chocolate Love at Cacao – If cocktails ain’t your thing, how ’bout some chocolate? Make your own chocolate treats and package them up for yourself or a loved one. Might I suggest: chocolate salty balls. Cacao Atlanta in Va-Hi hosts. For more info: http://www.cacaoatlanta.com/events

To El with Valentine’s Day – El Taco says, ‘be glad you’re single”, and invites you to celebrate your solo-ness with drink specials (like $4 Hornitos Mischieve tequila shots), special prizes from the Wheel of Taco, and an in-house photo booth and tarot reader on Sunday. Get all the details here.

cheers,

k

photo credit: Sister72

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