Just a word to the folks in DeKalb County. The county has issued a Boil Water Alert for all of DeKalb County. This includes all areas within the City of Decatur. DeKalb County is currently working to resolve this issue. However, it is unknown how long this situation will last. For further information, you may call the DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management at 770-621-7200 or stay tuned to your local news broadcasts. Click here to read more. (Full article and comments)

We love local fashion designers, especially when they're close to our heart, like SP's very own web developer and graphic designer Kristina Ackerman. The snazzy crafter debuts her jewelry line, Gangbusters, at the Atlantic Station Market tonight, from 5 to 10 p.m. The cool collection is comprised of nearly 200 never-before-seen Gangbusters pieces, from comic books to vintage magazines to pretty florals, all ready to be worn. By you. And in honor of The Dark Night—which, if you haven't yet seen it, is the perfect excuse to be at Atlantic Station this evening—Ackerman says she'll have a couple dozen excellent Batman pendants on display... perfect for you or the Batman fanatic in your life. Can't make it tonight? Shop her Etsy e-boutique anytime by clicking here. (Full article and comments)

We love free stuff, and we're sure you do, too. Sushi Kiku is offering readers to come out and try their fresh sushi for free. Crazy, right? But it's true. They're just trying to get their name out there with their grand opening party and free food. Anyway, we'd be crazy not to get the word out to you that you can confidently fill your gas tank up this Saturday night, because dinner's free!

WHEN: Saturday, July 12, from 7 to 9 p.m.
COST: $0 (but good manners say tip your server)
WHERE: Sushu Kiku, 2770 Lenox Road, Atlanta, 30324
CONTACT: 404-467-4544. www.kikujapanese.com.
DON'T FORGET: Tell 'em you heard it from The Sunday Paper

(Full article and comments)

OK, so it's a terrible time to try to sell a home. That's no secret. It's certainly an OK time to buy one. But it's always a good time to get something for free, yes? And who wouldn't want a new home? T-Mobile's giving one away at its National Open House on July 12, 2008, from noon to 4 p.m. at Peachtree Center (235 Peachtree Street Ne Ste C-29f, Atlanta, GA 30303). The T-Mobile Ultimate Home Giveaway is your chance to win a new home or other great prizes, and it's the phone company's chance to tell you about its new T-Mobile at Home service (home phone service with unlimited nationwide calling for just $10 a month). If you're the lucky winner, make sure you invite us to your killer housewarming party! (Full article and comments)

Is just standing there and soaking up the envy more your cup of tea? Take your smokin' hot self to the small screen. ABC is casting for a new show called "The Great American Beauty." If you’re beautiful and between the ages of 18-29, contact Brian at updyke.brian@gmail.com. Darn, we just missed the cutoff age. (Full article and comments)

If you think you've got singing and dancing skills a cut above the rest of the rhythm nation--we're talking Janet Jackson (pictured) or Justin Timberlake-level chops--tomorrow's your chance to put your money where your groove thing is. MTV, 25/7 Productions and Wright Crear Management are holding an open call audition as part of a nationwide search for singers and dancers to take part in Mz. Jackson's new reality show. Those who are chosen get to compete to become Jackson's protege, as she and choreographer Gil Duldulao shape one lucky winner into tomorrow's superstar.

Auditions take place Wednesday, July 9 at Dance 411 Studio, 749 Moreland Ave. SE in Atlanta. Registration is from 9a.m.-3p.m. Applicants must be at least 16 years of age, and not appear older than 22. You must also be able to sing a cappella and dance in your own personal style. Those who impress the casting director will be invited to a second call-back round in front of Gil Duldulao.

For more information, visit www.prodigycasting.com.

Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images

(Full article and comments)

From everyone here at The Sunday Paper, have a safe and happy holiday weekend.

(Full article and comments)

This weekend's for celebrating -- not just in the sense of "proud to be an American," but also in the "proud to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and any other category you might happen to fall in because you were born a certain way and damn it, you embrace yourself" sense. Yes, Atlanta Gay Pride is upon us, my friends. If you like it, come celebrate. If you don't, put your angry "gays are spawns of Satan, but I still wear wool and eat pork" Bible-beating signs down and give it a rest already.

 

Why we celebrate...

What the hell is Atlanta Gay Pride, anyway? It's certainly not just a flamboyant show of feathers and leather. It's far more meaningful. Typically, Atlanta Gay Pride takes place in late June (the third weekend, to be exact) to honor the historic Stonewall Riots, which took place June 28, 1969. The event was a major catalyst for the GLBT community as it helped us develop a very strong and unified front. Standing together, we were going to fight back ... again and again. With organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign lobbying for our rights in Congress and California legalizing gay marriage, progress continues to be made, though we're far from true equality. As we band together during Pride, we're embracing our community for all that it is -- a veritable rainbow of bright personalities from all walks of life, be it attorneys and surgeons, teachers and police officers, military and artists, CEOs and sanitation workers, editors and accountants, restaurateurs and ministers, neighbors and friends. Together, we celebrate our similarities and our differences -- proudly.

 

What to do this weekend...

Because of the drought, Pride's 3-day celebration has been moved to the 4th of July weekend and from Piedmont Park to the Atlanta Civic Center. There's a plethora of activities this weekend to celebrate Atlanta Gay Pride, not just at the Atlanta Civic Center and the parade, but also at all the gay and lesbian bars around town. 

 

The main Atlanta Pride event is the three-day Atlanta Pride Festival, which takes place this year downtown at the Atlanta Civic Center (395 Piedmont Ave. NE). The festival kicks off at 6 pm on Friday, July 4, and lasts until 11 p.m. The next two days, Saturday and Sunday, the festival continues at the park, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. Admission is free, and during the festival there's live music and comedy; a Pride Market featuring dozens of vendors, GLBT organizations and crafters; and a variety of forums and ceremonies.

 

Entertainment at Atlanta Pride is extensive and varied, and typically includes movies, concerts, cabaret and fashion shows. On Saturday, the Festival presents the first of two big parades, the Dyke March, which starts at 6 pm. The Atlanta Pride Parade is held on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm.

 

Happy Pride!

  

 

(Full article and comments)

Welcome back, Jimmy Baron! Jimmy just sent me this message on his Facebook page (yeah, we love Facebook, too):

(Full article and comments)

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charles Walter "Chuck" Dryden, a member of the famed WWII Tuskegee Airmen, will be eulogized today following his death last week at the age of 87. Funeral services will be held at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road in Atlanta. The Rev. Andrew Young, former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta mayor, will deliver the eulogy.

Dryden trained at the Tuskegee Army Flying School in Alabama and was among the second class of black pilots to graduate pilot training in U.S. military history. On June 9, 1943, he made history yet again, leading a flight of six pilots against enemy aircraft over Sicily, the first time black American pilots of the U.S. Army Air Corps had engaged in aerial combat.

Dryden also flew combat missions in Korea and served as a professor of air science at Howard University, among many other distinctions. He also wrote a book about his life, "A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman." Our condolences to his family.

(Full article and comments)