ATLANTA VEG FEST 2012
Posted: November 10, 2012 Filed under: Festivals, Humane Organizations, Love, Random Cool Things, Veg Restaurants I love, vegan, Vegetarianism | Tags: animal rights, Atlanta Veg Fest, Atlanta Vegan, Atlanta Vegetarian, Crack The Plates, Dulce Vegan, Herbivore Clothing, Veganism, Vegetarianism 1 Comment »
Atlanta just got a little more progressive, ethical, livable, sustainable and aware. Thank you to the organizers of today’s Atlanta Veg Fest. It was a great day for vegetarians, vegans, the animals and the environment (and my stomach -thank you Dulce Vegan for your lemon sliced cake). I hope this is a new wave of progressive thinking about what we eat down South. As one of the many wonderful sponsors and vendors, Herbivore, says, “Eat like you give a damn.” Yayza.
Buy this adorable (and true!) sticker HERE.
Get To Know: AMY ANDREWS
Posted: September 18, 2012 Filed under: Books, Brilliant Folks I've Interviewed!, Feminism in Action, Humane Organizations, Music, Random Cool Things, Southern Musicians - Georgia, Veg Restaurants I love, Vegetarianism | Tags: Amy Andrews, bookstores, feminism, feminist, Feminist Bookstore Tour, kickstarter, The Grit Leave a comment »
Amy Andrews is a Baltimore-born, Decatur GA-transplanted, fierce feminist singer-songwriter. She is about to embark on a Feminist Bookstore Tour of North America to raise funds for the few indie feminist bookstores and community centers still in operation. She wants you to know about her many furry friends, and her encyclopedic knowledge of musicals, but MOSTLY about the Kickstarter campaign she just launched to get herself on the road to do good.
Name:
Amy Andrews
Occupation:
singer-songwriter
My companion animals (names and personality traits):
Lillian A. Cookie – “Lillian A. for ‘Angelic’ Cookie”
Freckles – “The Loveable Curmudgeon”
Hazel(le) – “The Maniac”
Lexi – “The Skittish Hedonist”
Louise – “The Big Ol’ Baby”
Magnolia – “The Misunderstood Misanthrope”
Ripley – “The Senior Stateswoman”
The movie that best represents me right now:
Tommy Boy – life on the road is just one adventure after another.
Obviously, my favorite musical of all time is:
As a kid I would sing “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” Mary Magdalene’s piece from JCS, “Aldonza” from Man of La Mancha, or “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard for auditions. Auditions for kid roles. Totally age inappropriate audition material, but it was what I felt most natural performing. I think I’ve always been a bit on the mature side. And intense.
And with that I say, favorite musical? Maybe a tie between RAGTIME, TITANIC, & GYPSY? I could also throw in The Last 5 Years, Songs for A New World, Jesus Christ Superstar, Mame, Chicago, Cabaret, Evita, …
Bucket list item that would surprise my friends:
I don’t think I have a bucket list item that would surprise anyone, and I can’t really think of anything that would.
I’m an introvert, but I’m a performer (I think that’s a lot more common than people imagine), so I suspect people would assume that I have a desire to do something wild or ostentatious, but… I would just love to travel the world, live in many places, experience different cultures, but… probably just spend a lot of time alone in beautiful, natural landscapes.
Well, I would also love to sing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy alongside Bette Midler, but I don’t think that would surprise anyone either. I grew up with a, well documented, desire to become Bette Midler.
Here’s another, and maybe I’ve never said it aloud: I would love to host SNL. (Gosh, I hope Lorne Michaels is reading this.)
My favorite road trip so far in my life:
The last one always seems the greatest, doesn’t it?
Well, nothing exotic here, but, I recently went on a drive just through north GA for the day – passing small-town churches, withering buildings, seemingly long-forgotten cemeteries. Stopping at roadside antique shops, leisurely taking in historical markers, dropping in a small diner tucked away just off the road, taking an impromptu hike through the woods. It was unexpected, and beautiful.
My biggest fan:
The aforementioned Lillian A. Cookie, and my mom, of course.
My most favorite veg food or restaurant:
The Grit, in Athens. I’m going there this weekend, and I intend to get some delicious nutritional yeast goodness, sweet potatoes, and strong coffee. Read the rest of this entry »
Get to Know: THE SKIPPERDEES
Posted: August 29, 2012 Filed under: Brilliant Folks I've Interviewed!, Music, Southern Musicians - Georgia, Southern Musicians - Tennessee, Veg Restaurants I love | Tags: Banksy, Captain Underpants, Catherine Backus, David Rawlings, Emily Backus, Fried Green Tomatoes, Gillian Welch, Grease, Howard Finster, ilovemountains.org, Jill Andrews, sleater-kinney, The Grit, The Skipperdees, The Spice Girls, The Tomato Head, Tig Notaro, To Kill a Mockingbird, Vincent Cassel, Wendell Berry Leave a comment »
The Skipperdees (twin sisters Emily and Catherine Backus) hail from Oak Ridge, TN, a town mentioned in the 1989 film Fat Man and Little Boy which featured Paul Newman with a mustache. They write sad songs but are happy people. They are Capricorns and vegetarians. Come say hey at theskipperdees.com. or find them in one of the seven Waffle House locations in their current home of Athens, GA. The ‘dees will be playing Eddie’s Attic > on Tuesday, September 4th at 8 pm.
Name
THE SKIPPERDEES - Catherine Backus and Emily Backus
Occupation
Students??? (Not really making a living doin’ the singin and strummin thing right now)
My companion animals (names and personality traits)
C: EMILY REFUSES TO LET CATS INTO OUR APARTMENT so we are petless.
E: Cats are vile, fickle creatures. I stand by my decision.
The movie that best represents me right now
C: I’m gonna go with Fried Green Tomatoes because I’ve really been trying to channel TOWANDA lately (also I will watch that film at any and all times you’
E: Mystic Pizza (I’m Kat, the frumpy dreamer) meets Drop Dead Gorgeous (I so badly want to be Allison Janney’s chain smoking Loretta)
Obviously, my favorite musical of all time is
C: Grease
E: THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Catty is clearly wrong.)
The book that defined my childhood
C : To Kill A Mockingbird
E: Captain Underpants Read the rest of this entry »
Vegetarian Soul Food
Posted: October 26, 2011 Filed under: Veg Restaurants I love, vegan, Vegetarianism | Tags: Bottletree Cafe, Dulce Vegan, Etsy, Lisa Simpson, Matt Groenig, vegan, vegetarian Leave a comment »
Hey, vegetarian food is good for the soul. I’ve been veg my whole adult life and it is such a part of me that I really can’t imagine any other way. Vegetarianism is good for the animals, good for me and good for the planet. This made it all the more challenging when I made the conscious decision to move back to the South to raise my kid. The South is the land of the carnivores. It just is. It’s odd to me, even in progressive communities, to find a lack of consciousness around the food we eat. Yes I generalize when I say, that even among the locavore/organic movement here, the assumption is that people eat meat. I don’t get it.
Anyway, moving on to the positive message I have! There are two restaurants I visited recently that really deserve a shout out for their veg offerings to those of us who would travel far and wide to have those delicious options. I’m not a food critic, and not even a foodie really, I just like a good meal with a good vibe.
The first place I visited, the Bottletree Cafe, was chosen in part due to a suggestion by Mount Moriah and in part because we were due a visit to our friendly neighbor Birmingham. It’s a combo bar and restaurant, and from all accounts, a really important music venue. I hope to have more experiences at the Bottletree in the near future for all those reasons. Oh, and for these other four reasons: Homemade Black Bean Burger, Viking Funeral (look it up), Tofu Peanut Butter Pie, and the best cup of coffee I’ve had in months. Bonus: you can peruse some original art displayed up front, ready to take home with you. It’s like an eat-in Etsy store. So, check it out. Go on, now, it’s close and the experience makes for a great date night.
The second is a lot closer to home, and it’s one my lady introduced me to via some very special take-out lunches. Dulce Vegan is located in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. EAT HERE PLEASE. The homemade soups are amazing and the sandwiches are nuancy with yummy greens and crusty bread. Wowza. I’m not exaggerating when I say their balsamic marinated tofu sandwich with walnut pesto and their chickpea, lentil and curry soup changed my life. My Southern life for sure. So I thank you, Dulce Vegan, for injecting delicious, fresh vegan tastiness into my life. I do love this joint and wish them all the success they can grab.
So hey, we all gotta eat. Put some soul into your food and some food into your soul. Go veg.
Illustration credit: Matt Groenig
