Facing the music is hard. With the sinking economy and the price of eggs skyrocketing, life is no walk in the park these days. But getting down and out won't help anyone, especially not you. It's time to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and laugh, dammit. And you can do it on the cheap, too. The Village Theatre, the hotly anticipated new improv comedy destination, premieres this Friday, Oct. 3, with another performance Saturday, Oct. 4. The shows are just 10 bucks. A totally affordable, hilarious night out for friends, couples and first dates, too.
When: Fridays and Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. (The company will add Thursdays to its repertoire beginning Oct. 9.)
Where: The Village Theatre, 486 Decatur St., Atlanta, GA 30312 (next to Lenny's Bar, between Inman Park and Cabbagetown)
How: Tickets are $10. Purchase via phone (404-688-8858), e-mail (villagecomedy@gmail.com) or at the door.
Why: It takes a village. (Full article and comments)

Head to Phipps Plaza Thursday, October 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. for the 80th anniversary celebration for Cole Haan, a premier luxury lifestyle brand offering men’s and women’s footwear, accessories and outerwear. Meet acclaimed jewelry designer Anna Sheffield, who recently designed two limited edition jewelry collections for Cole Haan, and Cole Haan’s CEO Jim Seuss, while enjoying cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a 20 percent discount off all merchandise.  (Full article and comments)

One of my favorite Southwestern dining destinations, Agave Restaurant, is having a fantastic Partida tequila tasting dinner tonight, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. $65 per person, plus tax and gratuity. For reservations call Agave Restaurant at 404-588-0006 (242 Boulevard SE, www.agaverestaurant.com)

The menu:
The Elegante Tequila Dinner Featuring Partida Super Premium Tequilas & The Cuisine Of Chefs Jack Sobel & Richard Silvey

Seared Lamb Shank Taco with Hatch Chili with Sweet Yellow Corn Puree, Lobster & Poblano Sauce and a Smoked Jalepeno & Red Pepper Drizzle
served with Partida Blanco Traditional Margarita

Seared Gulf Shrimp in a Ginger, Butter & Cilantro Sauce over Arugula and Homemade Flatbread topped with Red Chili Oil & Citrus Crema
served with Fresh Fruit Mango & Partida Blanco Margarita with Partida Agave Nectar

Spicy Fall Chicken Soup with Pasta, Basil & Tortilla Strips
served with Partida Reposado Top Shelf Margarita

Chile Seared Wild Salmon over Fire Roasted & Crushed Local Heirloom Tomatoes & Baby Spinach topped with Fresh Lemon and Poblano Crema

served with Partida Perfecto Anejo

A Rich Chocolate Ganache and Caramel Torte with Belgian Chocolate Chips & Fresh Cream
served with a shot of the Exquisite Elegante

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Last night at the gym, a middle-aged black man who renovates houses for a living held forth on the proposed bailout: “Let them fail!” he raged. “Let them fail! People in this country need to wake up! Those banks and investors that were reckless shouldn’t get one dime, not one dime, from other people who work for a living!” He was mad as hell, and as he moved from bench to platform lugging lots of heavy weights, he continued without drawing a breath, “We have raised a whole generation to believe that they are entitled to everything, that if they make a bad decision, somebody else will bail ‘em out. If I make a bad decision, who bails me out? Nobody. Nobody. And I am sick and tired of people who think they deserve help because they didn’t get what they wanted. And here they go, telling me to vote for somebody because he’s ‘cute’? To hell with that.”

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So, there we were, me and about 70 or more of my fellow citizens, lined up in an orderly fashion at the Quick Trip on Briarcliff Road near Shepherd’s Lane a little after 10 a.m. today, when it seemed to me that the guy filling his small burgundy Chevy pick-up (with DeKalb County plates) had been there for a very long time and was filling his tank in a very odd fashion. He was basically squatting next to the pump away from prying eyes and I could see gas spilling in generous pools on the ground. That’s when I saw the gas cans—four or five of them. Having filled his tank, he was filling gas cans, and as he moved the nozzle from can to can without stopping the pump, generous rivers of gas were pouring onto the concrete, even as the line of cars grew. (Full article and comments)

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president Jimmy Carter (pictured) is 84 on Oct. 1. What have you done lately?

 

The princess of perkiness , Kelly Ripa, is 38 on Oct. 2. Seriously—do you think she and Rachael Ray are the same person?

 

His lite-rock lordship Sting is 57 on Oct. 2. Loved the Police reunion—although that still doesn’t excuse “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.”

 

Singer Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is 24 on Oct. 3—and if anything is even less interesting than her sister, if that’s possible.

 

Atlanta’s neo-soul queen India Arie, the musical equivalent of self-empowerment guru Oprah Winfrey, is 33 on Oct. 3.

 

Gwen Stefani is 39 on Oct. 3. See, girls? Start a mediocre ska-pop band, marry a third-rate grunge leftover and you, too, can be famous!

 

Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee is 46 on Oct. 3. Will he triumph over Ludacris on Planet Green’s “Battleground Earth.” Oh, the anticipation is simply too great. 

Photo: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

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In answer to the all the emails this morning, here’s how I scored last night’s debate between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama: Unfortunately for the many Americans still struggling with making a decision, it was a tie. I thought Obama performed better than McCain on the economic part of the debate and that McCain applied, in the words of an NBC commentator, “an ass-whuppin’” to Obama on foreign policy. The problem for McCain in the first part of the debate, the economic part, is that although he is, quite rightly, crusading for a clean-up of Washington’s financial practices, Obama was able to bring the economic debate to the kitchen table and that, my friends, is where presidential races are decided—through kitchen table economics. (Full article and comments)

In this week’s edition of The Sunday Paper (the “Cash Crisis” issue), we explore the Wall Street debacle. We also talk with finance experts Alexander Barinov at the University of Georgia and Ivo Welch at Brown University about the economic plans of Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his opponent, Democrat Barack Obama. Here's what they told us about the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout:

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The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in just two hours before Troy Davis was scheduled to be excuted yesterday and ordered a reprieve until the Court can decide if the Georgia Supreme Court did its due diligence last March when it decided against giving Davis a new trial or hearing of new evidence.   (Full article and comments)

Troy Davis, who's scheduled to be executed tomorrow night, should get a new trial. An overwhelming majority of those who testified against him when he was convicted of murdering a Savannah police officer in 1989 have since recanted or admitted they lied. To carry out an execution based on such faulty testimony places the much-maligned death penalty on even more morally wobbly footing. If you support the death penalty, the Troy Davis case should appear to you as a threat to its future.
Now, Davis' fate now rests with the US Supreme Court. This just in from the Georgia Supreme Court:
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