Concert promotion is a strange gig. You worry about everything except what the concertgoers care about.
I’ve worked on concerts before, but this was the first show with Eddie & Agnes, the new partnership with Agnes Scott College, Eddie’s Attic, and Verb productions. Leading up to the concert, I was concerned with ticket sales, underwriting spots, newspaper coverage, giveaways, and tuning riders, giving very little thought to actually seeing George Winston play.
Eddie and I helped him load in. I expected him to be professorial and taciturn, in fact he turned out to be quite loquacious, with a good sense of humor.
At about 6:30, half an hour before doors, he sat down to do a final tuning check on the revamped Steinway. He started playing around—casually, just checking out the instrument. I thought that was a great chance to check out the sound around the house—back under the balcony, left side, right side, balcony.
I wandered up to the back of the balcony, sitting in the seat furthest from the stage to get a sense of how an unamplified show was going to sound in this old 850-seat house. The short answer was “better than my wildest dreams.”
Concert riders are considered proprietary, and details are generally not disclosed to the public. But saying that George Winston cares about his piano tuning isn’t giving anything away. So we paid to have a good serious tuning done to the Steinway, and it was worth it.
I sat in the worst seat in the house, and listened to this master play around with a beautiful piano in its prime for about 20 minutes, and suddenly remembered why we started this concert series. Sound filled the room, warming the big empty space. Winston is an unusual piano player. He walks out on stage, stocking footed and casually dressed, somewhat disheveled, and he limits his comments between songs. But his playing is singular, nearly perfect, and transporting. Whether it’s a seminal track from his breakthrough album December, or his take on Professor Longhair or even The Doors, he brings a warmth and friendliness to the instrument. It’s no wonder that he has focused on Vince Guaraldi’s work of late—they both share a joy in their instrument that you see more often in guitar players.
Winston occasionally pulled out his unusual 7 string guitar or his harmonicas, but it will always be his piano work that captivates.
Talking with him afterward, he expressed how much he liked Decatur and the hall. He even asked if he could play the following night down in Madison in another venue Eddie’s working with. I can’t help but think he walked into a Piano lounge somewhere between here and his next gig in Richmond and started playing just for the fun of it.

Ru Paul: WORKIN’ IT

Outwirte Bookstore
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 7:30PM
**This is a Line Ticketed Event
"Workin' It!" will provide helpful and provocative tips on fashion, beauty, style and confidence for girls and boys, straight and gay - and everyone in between! No one knows more about life, self-expression and style than RuPaul! With photos by Mathu Andersen from the new season of RuPaul's Drag Race and a fresh look at style and inner beauty, "Workin' It!" will pick up where the show leaves off. The book will be as colorful, fun, and intriguing as RuPaul, with insights into makeup, clothing choices and the illusion of drag. Fans of RuPaul will get piece of Ru's philosophy on style and attitude - and how it's more than the clothes that make the man, or woman! With four colour photos throughout and a fresh, funky design "Workin' It!" will be the perfect guide to RuPaul - part style guide, part confidence manifesto, and entirely fabulous! And, words of wisdom from your favourite contestants on Season One of RuPaul's Drag Race including, Nina Flowers, Ongina, Rebecca Glasscock, and more!
Ru Paul and Elton John--Don’t Go Breakin My Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDqPpbqSnAI

A major media presence thanks to his outgoing persona and campytheatrics, RuPaul was a popular attraction on '90s dance floors as well,scoring several club hits with Hi-NRG Euro-disco pop. Born Rupaul AndreCharles, he grew up in San Diego, learning fashion tips from his mother and three sisters.

The Big Read Kick-Off: Harlem Renaissance Celebration

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 6pm-8:30pm
Atlanta History Center
The Atlanta History Center's Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House
presents a unique after-hours program with a nod to the Harlem Renaissance during the Big Read kick-off party. Guests enjoy living history performances by Yvonne Singh as she portrays Zora Neale Hurston, musical performances by singer/songwriter Kyshona Armstrong, and guided tours of the exhibition Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits. Light refreshments and a cash bar are available. The first 50 visitors through the door receive a free copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God. This program is free of charge.

Woody Holton: ABIGAIL ADAMS
Saturday 2/20/2010 5pm
A Cappella Books
Abigail Adams is perhaps best remembered for requesting that her husband, the not–yet–president John Adams, "remember the ladies" as he helped forge a new government in 1776. This famous private letter has turned Adams into a feminist icon, and while here she may have been specifically referring to domestic violence, in other letters she expressed what is often seen as a progressive, enlightened view that women should be equally educated with men and allowed to engage in business and control their own finances. This aspect of Adams's biography is well-known. But less so are her conflicted ideas on religion, African-Americans, money making, Europe, politics and family. In Abigail Adams, by American history scholar Woody Holton, readers are given a vivid and complete picture of America's second first lady.
Woody Holton was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Margaret Atwood
SCAD Main Campus
Tuesday, Feb 23rd 6:30-7:30
Margaret Atwood, the Booker Prize-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin, follows up her award-winning narrative, Oryx and Crake, with the highly anticipated book The Year of the Flood. Her latest novel focuses on a group called God's Gardeners, a small community of survivors of the same environmental catastrophe depicted in Oryx and Crake. In her 30 years as a writer, Atwood has authored more than 25 volumes of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. She is also the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees.
Do you really need convincing to go see Margaret Atwood? She's one of the most interesting writers of the last 30 years and she has made it nearly impossible to categorize her. She's a fine reader, and The Year of the Flood, which runs concurrent to Oryx and Crake, sounds like a winner.

Robert Hartle Jr: The Highs & Lows of Little Five (GA): A History of Little Five Points
A Cappella Books
Saturday, February 13,7:15PM
Because, as we know, all the cool kids hang in little five:

Atlanta's Little Five Points, the city's first Neighborhood Commercial District, stands out as one of the most distinctive shopping districts in the Southeast. There have been quite a few ups and downs in the area's history, but ultimately the dedicated, passionate individuals who made L5P what it is today handled them with perseverance and foresight, creating unique, independently owned stores that draw the most eclectic mix of people found anywhere in Atlanta. The cultural melting pot created by these stores is what makes Little Five Points such a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Join author Robert Hartle Jr. as he tells the story of the revitalization of Little Five Points, including firsthand accounts from longtime L5P business owners who were actually there and who helped to save the area from the many threats to its survival.

Verb has produced hundreds of hours of radio, spoken word, music, and audiobooks over the years. Watch this space as we start highlighting bits or archives.
From the Spoken Word radio series, best selling author Bruce Feiler writes about finding spirituality in the mundane and multiculturalism in the modern world. He's even appeared on The Colbert Report. To his name we find a slew of titles including Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan (1991), Walking the Bible (2001), which sprouted a PBS miniseries, and upcoming Council of Dads. In this episode he talks in depth about his book Abraham: A Journey into the Heart of Three Faiths (2002) and his process of spiritual discovery. He artfully blends history, research, and analysis with personal philosophy, to bring us fascinating insight into Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Q&A session follows.

The Spoken Word: December 17, 2002

Pretty much unedited and unwanted, here are the notes from Monday's spot on WABE's City Cafe with John Lemley

Thomas Mullen: THE MANY DEATHS OF THE FIREFLY BROTHERS
Wednesday, February 3, 7:15
Decatur Library
Mullen, the author of the acclaimed novel The Last Town on Earth, and a resident of Decatur, joins us to help launch his eagerly anticipated new novel, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers. It's a rollicking, imaginative Depression-era tale complete with kidnappings, gangsters, heiresses and speakeasies, focused on bank-robbing duo Jason and Whit, known as the Firefly Brothers. The novel is all about what happens when you get gunned down in a police shoot-out and go on to find out the truth about your mythical lives. We think it's headed for the top of best-seller lists! Join us for a reception to honor the author.
The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers
Late one night in August 1934, following a yearlong spree of bank robberies across the Midwest, the Firefly Brothers are forced into a police shootout and die . . . for the first time.
In award-winning author Thomas Mullen's evocative new novel, the highly anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed debut, The Last Town on Earth, we follow the Depression-era adventures of Jason and Whit Fireson—bank robbers known as the Firefly Brothers by the press, the authorities, and an adoring public that worships their acts as heroic counterpunches thrown at a broken system.
Now it appears they have met their end in a hail of bullets. Jason and Whit's lovers—Darcy, a wealthy socialite, and Veronica, a hardened survivor—struggle between grief and an unyielding belief that the Firesons are still alive. While they and the Firesons' stunned mother and straight-arrow brother wade through conflicting police reports and press accounts, wild rumors spread that the bandits are at large. Through it all, the Firefly Brothers remain as charismatic, unflappable, and as mythical as the American Dream itself, racing to find the women they love and make sense of a world in which all has come unmoored.
Complete with kidnappings and gangsters, heiresses and speakeasies, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers is an imaginative and spirited saga about what happens when you are hopelessly outgunned—and a masterly tale of hardship, redemption, and love that transcends death.

Jim Wallis: THE GREAT AWAKENING: REVIVING FAITH AND POLITICS IN A POST-RELIGIOUS RIGHT AMERICA
Friday, February 5, 7pm
Jimmy Carter Library
Jim Wallis, the widely respected NPR commentator and founder and editor of Sojourner magazine, discusses his best-selling examination of America's "new" religion and politics, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America. Hailed by critics, Wallis' book argues that a "groundswell of progressive believers may accomplish a social transformation that politics and politicians cannot deliver." He is also the author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It.
The Reverend Jim Wallis (b. June 4, 1948, Detroit, Michigan) is an evangelical Christian writer and political activist, best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners Magazine and of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name.
Wallis actively eschews political labels, but his advocacy tends to focus on issues of peace and social justice, earning him his primary support from the religious left. Wallis is also known for his opposition to the religious right's fiscal and foreign policies.[1]
Speaking to a conference of clergy from the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool (The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, UK, 23 June 2009) Wallis said, "The press don't get it - they say, 'Have you replaced the religious right with the religious left?'" Rather, he says that his Christian commitment does not allow him to align with any political wing - on some issues, his views would be counted as coming from the left, on others, from the right. "Don't go left, don't go right: go deeper."

Kevin and Hannah Salwen: THE POWER OF HALF
Wednesday, February 3rd, 7pm
Barnes & Noble Buckhead
It all started when 14-year old Hannah Salwen, idealistic but troubled by a growing sense of injustice in the world, had a eureka moment when a homeless man in her neighborhood was juxtaposed against a glistening Mercedes coupe. "You know, Dad,” she said, pointing, “If that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal.”
This glaring disparity led the Salwen family of four, caught up like so many other Americans in this age of consumption and waste, to follow Hannah's urge to do something, to finally just do something. And so they embarked on an incredible journey together from which there would be no turning back. They decided to sell their Atlanta mansion, downsize to a house half its size, and give half of their profits to a worthy charity. At first it was an outlandish scheme. “What, are you crazy? No way!" Then it was a challenge. “We are TOTALLY doing this.” Each week they met over dinner to discuss their plan. It would transport them across the globe and well out of their comfort zone. Along the way they would inspire so many others wrestling with the same questions: Do I give enough? How much is enough? How can I make an impact in the world? In the end the Salwens' journey would bring them closer as a family, as they discovered, together, that half could be so much more.
Warm, funny, deeply moving and wholly uplifting, THE POWER OF HALF is the story of how one family slammed the door on the status quo and threw away the key.
Kevin Salwen was reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal for over 18 years. After his tenure at The Wall Street Journal, he started a magazine, Motto. He serves on the board for Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta, and works with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Hannah Salwen will be a junior at the Atlanta Girls' School, where she plays for the varsity volleyball team, and is her grade's representative to the student council. She has been volunteering consistently since the 5th grade at the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Cafe 458, among others.

Watching this video, it becomes apparent that Tom Hanks is trying out for some role as a new media specialist. I guess he went completely method shaving his head and then he making up the unlikely name "Clay Shirky" and even landing a spot at this Web 2.0 conference.
OK, I actually talk about Clay Shirky often. And this probably isn't Tom Hanks, but watch a little bit, and tell me your sure. Shirky's first book Here Comes Everybody is quite brilliant, and I'm impatiently waiting for his next one, due this year.
His argument here is really on target for the publishing world. The only real question about how does publishing evolve is "What does the filter look like?"
The publishers only have one real function anymore--filter, and they do a lousy job at it. Proof lies at both ends of the mechanism. How many rejection letters did Kathryn Stockett get? Something like three dozen, I believe. When she finally does get published, The Help just sells and sells and sells. That's a bad filter at work.
Ask any publisher how many books they pulp each year. That's a bad filter at work.
The reason that self-publishing is such a challenge is that there is no trusted filter from the writer to the reader. As a consumer, there is no one to tell you which self-pubbed book is any good. If that mechanism is created, then Random House is in big trouble. And that filter is coming sooner or later.

'Catcher in the Rye' author J.D. Salinger dies - Yahoo! News
No other author in the last sixty years has so shaped the voice and characters of writers of subsequent generations.

Who Knew? He drives everywhere. I mean everywhere
Decatur News Online: Decatur Life - George Winston: A Man for All Seasons and for Eddie & Agnes

Thomas Mullen: THE MANY DEATHS OF THE FIREFLY BROTHERS

Georgia Center for the Book
Decatur Library
Wednesday, February 3rd, 7:15pm
Late one night in August 1934, following a yearlong spree of bank robberies across the Midwest, the Firefly Brothers are forced into a police shootout and die . . . for the first time.

In award-winning author Thomas Mullen's evocative new novel, the highly anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed debut, The Last Town on Earth, we follow the Depression-era adventures of Jason and Whit Fireson—bank robbers known as the Firefly Brothers by the press, the authorities, and an adoring public that worships their acts as heroic counterpunches thrown at a broken system.

Now it appears they have met their end in a hail of bullets. Jason and Whit's lovers—Darcy, a wealthy socialite, and Veronica, a hardened survivor—struggle between grief and an unyielding belief that the Firesons are still alive. While they and the Firesons' stunned mother and straight-arrow brother wade through conflicting police reports and press accounts, wild rumors spread that the bandits are at large. Through it all, the Firefly Brothers remain as charismatic, unflappable, and as mythical as the American Dream itself, racing to find the women they love and make sense of a world in which all has come unmoored.

Complete with kidnappings and gangsters, heiresses and speakeasies, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers is an imaginative and spirited saga about what happens when you are hopelessly outgunned—and a masterly tale of hardship, redemption, and love that transcends death.