That's the summary of Atlanta...
Actually, not quite. Just trying to spice things up.
Two weekends ago, a friend and I went downtown to the World of Coke museum but the line to the tickets was ridiculous. The aquarium across the street was too expensive, so we decided to hang out at Centennial Park.
I thought it was going to be boring walk just doing people watching, but other than the free supply of Coke Zero that they were giving out, there were plenty of activities going on throughout the park. Which is really pleasant. Things like this doesn't happen in Detroit simply because there isn't such infrastructure. I guess people in Atlanta really have to thank the Olympic that was held here in 1996.
This is really like a big party with different themes at different parts of the park. There were people demonstrating the Brazilian Martial Art, which is more like a dance called Capoeira. There were tons of kids and folks playing at the water fountain park, then there's wrestling going on at the other end, and protesters yelling their lungs out in front of the CNN center. You just never know what you will see. A disappointed trip to the museum turned out to be an entertaining and amusing tour!
Ok, just going to post photos than chat more later.
Dude walking around with a baby python. I guess python will be an ok pet. It's pretty tame when not hungry. But when it gets big, it's not like you can ride on its back.... I wonder if this guy really understands what he's getting himself into. They say there are about 100k pythons in Florida causing a disaster on local ecology. That's A LOT of stray snakes!!! They should export them to China, plenty of humans hungry now.
Of course, can't do without some festive clowns!
It's amazing how something as little as a bubble can create so much happiness, especially in today's economy and social state.
I also really admire these guys who put themselves out there to bring a little entertainment to unrelated folks. It's a really tough job, and much more constructive than those who make a living thrash talking on tvs.... (see below for what I mean)
Of course, people watching, and me watching those who are watching people.
Something to be excited about for every one.
HEROS and BASTARDS!!!So just as we walked around, we found this boxing ring at one corner of the park where a wrestling match was going on. BWA it was. I don't know what it stood for, but this was the first time I ever saw a match in person.
It was sort of funny. There was more thrash talking than actual action in the beginning, because there were as much crowd then. It was smart because they were trying to make as much noise as possible to draw crowd, and conserve energy for the best part of the show. I have to say, thrash talking without using a simple swear word is quite a thing to learn. There were primarily kids and parents in the spectator stand. It was a fine line between entertainment and bad education.
So the action started, and hell I was dodging them left and right while trying to get my lens close to the ring. These guys were cool. They were more than willing to let us get close, but each time they slam each other on the floor, it was quite a roar and I have to remind myself to get out of the way of action.
Just when it was time for the show to end, the security showed up just to monitor the stage dismantling, but to these guys, it was their moment of light! How can you not thrash talk to the security????
Pros are pros, got to give it to them.
What's really amazing is, there's this distinctive separation between what's on and off the stage. While on stage, everyone involved was playing their part. The wrestlers were filled with fury, the referee acted like he didn't see the final move in order to keep the flight longer, and the crowd, kids booing at the wrestlers, calling them loser.
Then the bell rang, and a winner was declared. The show was over, and the wrestlers stepped down from the stage. They gave each other high-fives and patted on each one's shoulders. The manager tossed them bottles of ice-cold water and towel, and the kids and families who were booing them minutes ago came up asking to take photographs with the wrestlers. Moments ago, the man was yelling and slamming bodies against the floor. Moments later, he held a little boy in his arms and smiled gently at the camera. People talk about heros and making impact on the society. These guys are doing it for real.
Nancy Grace, did you hear them?Who's Nancy Grace? Those who reside in the states will probably know her. For those who don't, I will explain this later.
After the wrestling show, I thought that was going to be the peak of the show we were going to get, but we were wrong. Right in front of the CNN center was a group of people protesting against the Iranian government. This time, it aint funny business. Of course, it was peaceful and respectful. There were not a lot of crowd, just them trying to get their voices heard, and a bunch of unrelated dudes taking photos.
The voice was strong and the message was clear. However, did the ears of those who need to hear it get the message?
Right across the street was a bill board of Nancy Grace, a news show host that reports news in an extremely opinionated way. She talks about nothing but gossips and imposes her moral values like as if she's the absolute opinion on America. Well, there are many of such figures on the media, but she's one of the more annoying one to me. So on this bill board, she's staring with her mean eyes with a slogan "Justice served nightly"
WUT?!
So now she's a judge?
It was extremely ironic and fitting at the same time that we have a group protesting the aggressor and pleading for the weak right in front of a media figure who does nothing but thrash talk on the media, yet claims to "serve justice". Wow, that's all I can say.
Of course, can't leave without taking some illegal photos of the CNN center...
So there you go. Heros vs thrash talkers. What the walk taught me is that the world needs more action than talk. It doesn't matter how little the action is. Even the slightest action is more effective and meaningful than some media personality making claims in a comfortable air conditioned room.
Please click
HERE for photos from the park, and
HERE for the wrestling ones.
