The Silver Sceen Comes to Atlanta

Filming for the movie,” The Change-Up,” continued at Turner Field this Saturday. Filming for the movie has been going on all across downtown Atlanta for the past month. This Saturday afternoon, about 2,000 extras showed up for the filming, which lasted until about 8 p.m.

Filmmakers announced two days before filming that they would need 3,000 extras for the scene. Extras who attended enjoyed a free lunch and caught a glimpse at former Atlanta Braves baseball star pitcher John Smoltz, who did a small guest appearance in the movie.

Attendees like Tameka Williams were slightly upset when they showed up and were told that the film director only needed about 100 extras for filming that day. Williams said that she showed up at the stadium about 1 p.m. with her friend Angelica.

Williams, an aspiring actress, said that she is a fan of the film star Ryan Reynolds. She also said that she came down to the filming Saturday in hopes of meeting some new people that could possibly help her further her career.

“ I’ve been doing the acting thing about three years, I’m always looking for new opportunities and if I came down today to see if I could make this situation work to my advantage,” Williams said. “You never know what could happen.”

For every attendee who showed up a $5 donation made on behalf of the film company to the Atlanta Braves Foundation Charity. Attendees also had a chance to register to be entered into a raffle for prizes, which included a pair of season tickets courtesy of the Atlanta Braves. The comedy that stars actor Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, is just one of several movies being shot in Atlanta. “The Change-Up” is scheduled to be released August 2011.

GSU hosts 2010 Business Plan Competition

On Tuesday October 19, 2010 the Herman J. Russell, Sr. International Center for Entrepreneurship, hosted a business plan competition where Georgia State business students presented innovative business plans for their shot to win a cash prize of $10,000.

25 plans were submitted in total. “In the end only four finalists remained, ” Greg Henley, the Director of the Herman J. Russell Center for the entrepreneurship stated.

Each of the four finalist presented an eight minute long presentation to a panel of four judges. Students, faculty members, entrepreneurs and other members of the business community were also in attendance to hear the presentations.

After all contestants presented, only one finalist remained to claim the $10,000 prize money. Robinson College of Business student Megan Smith was awarded the $10,000 grand prize for her business plan creation of Polish Protectors.

Smith said that she had come up with the idea for Polish Protectors after experiencing numerous failed nail-drying products.

Smith recalled one experience to members of the audience where she waited 2 hours for her nails to dry. Afterward, she ended up scuffing her hand against a hard surface and ruining her nail polish.

“Receiving this check was a great honor tonight, it really gave me that extra push I need to really get this project off the ground,” said Smith.

In addition to being a GSU business school student, Smith also has a background in sales and marketing. These, Smith said, were two attributes that proved to be very beneficial in creating this business plan. Smith said she plans to use the money to jumpstart the initial phase of the project, which includes making the product, creating advertising around it and attracting more investors.

The Herman J. Russell, Sr. International Center for Entrepreneurship has hosted the business plan competition since 2008 and will continue to hold the competition and help students achieve their dreams.

Fall Brings Something Sweet to Atlanta

Every second weekend in October, a street in Atlanta that is historically known as the African-American mecca of black business, churches and social institutions transforms into one of the largest and liveliest street festivals in the southeast. On the anniversary that it was declared a national historic site, organizers come together to celebrate Sweet Auburn’s historical achievements by hosting the Sweet Auburn Heritage Festival.

The Sweet Auburn Heritage Street Festival is a place where tourists and natives from all over came to taste the slow-cooked barbecue, hot-fried catfish, and tasty Jamaican flavored dishes. It’s a place where up-and-coming artists come to display their new musical tracks and try to hypnotize audience members with their trendy dance moves. It’s a place where street vendors come and to sell everything from the newest African-American street novel to the latest knock-off designer hand bags.

William Floyd is a native of Goldsboro, N.C. and currently an Atlanta resident. He said that he likes the Auburn Festival because it gives him an outlet to showcase his work.

Floyd has a tall and lanky like figure. He towers over most people at a height of 6’4”. Originally, Floyd had plans for a career as a professional basketball player, but reconsidered his pro-ball career later on in college. Floyd eventually left college to pursue a graphic arts degree at Atlanta’s Art Institute of Design in 2003.

Floyd said he loves to paint and he specializes in creating pop art pieces like the ones he has on display here today. Floyd’s art work is unique, refreshing, and fun. The big, bright, bold colors make Floyd’s art work distinct and memorable. The small 6 x 6 inch display boards feature paintings of popular rap artist, black dignitaries, or famous African-American historical figures like Louis Armstrong, a piece that Floyd describes as his favorite.

“I get inspired by different people, different places, I like to hear different people’s stories.”

Floyd said he sells most of his work online at his website, but likes that change of scenery that festival gives him.

“I like to come out and get to see people face-to-face, it gives me a chance to connect with my audience and find out what they like to see.”

Students Stand together to Defend Public Education Rights

Today, students from Georgia Students for Public Education and the Progressive Student Alliance hosted a protest rally inside the GSU campus courtyard where students voiced concerns about Georgia State’s recent tuition hikes, student fee increases and budget cuts.

At the rally, students spoke candidly about education budget concerns using a bullhorn. Some students shouted chants, some used profanity, others passionately expressed personal their testimonials, in efforts to bring awareness to the recent financial changes concerning higher education. Students also boasted a giant report card that yielded all F’s. The mock report card was representative of protesters feelings towards Georgia legislators. Spectators of the rally were also encouraged to fill out similar report cards that would be delivered to the state capital later in the day.

Walker Berhart, a senior at Georgia State and member of GSPHE said that GSPHE decided to answer the call to action back in July.

“ I haven’t been affected personally besides the mandatory tuition hikes and student fee increases, but I am worried that the recent changes could continue and become permanent,” Berhart said.

This will be the second time this year that activist have organized nationwide to exercise their right to defend public education. The first National Day of Action took place earlier this year on March 4th 2010, and involved some 32 states around the nation including New York, California, Maryland, and Illinois.

The call to action was prompted by the media coverage concerning national budget cuts, rising tuition, hiring and salary freezes, teacher furloughs, teacher and staff layoffs, changes of academic policy and curricula, substantial changes in workload, and the increasing repression and harassment of immigrants in high schools and universities.

Rallies to defend public education are scheduled to take place all over the nation today. Georgia Institute of Technology, Kennesaw State University, and the University of Georgia, are just some of the Universities that are scheduled to have similar rallies.

If you missed the rally at 12:15 p.m. on the campus court yard today, you’ll have another chance to express your concerns to legislators this afternoon when organizers meet again at Woodrow Park at 4:30 p.m. for a brief rally and then march to the Capitol to present report cards to legislators at 5:30 p.m.

Windown Your Wednesday

For most of the week, Centennial Olympic Park sits neatly tucked away in the middle of Atlanta’s busy tourism hub. Drivers weaving in and out of traffic pass it by everyday rushing to get to their destinations. However, once a week from April to the end of September, Centennial Olympic Park transforms from a quiet and serene park into what looks like a lively outdoor nightclub.

“WindDown Wednesday’s” as it is appropriately titled, is recognized by some as one of Atlanta’s best-kept secrets. The summer jazz concert series takes place every Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. inside of the park’s Southern Company Amphitheater. The small and intimate venue size is large enough to hold a crowd of about 350 people, yet small enough to make the audience feel that personal connection with the performers on stage. The space is so dynamic that it makes a crowd of 350 people seem like 1000!

The featured musician of the evening is world renowned trumpet player Melvin Miller. Miller has performer at WindDown Wednesday’s in the past and has also been a known to perform at other live jazz functions around Atlanta, including popular sporting events such as the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcon's games. Miller has played in front of crowds large and small all over the world. He has been trained in the area of classical music, but he prefers to write and perform jazz music.

That evening, Miller was accompanied by six other musicians. His band consisted of one drummer, one bass guitarist, one keyboard player, one trombone player, and two other trumpet players. Melvin opened his set with cuts from his latest album which is entitled, “In the Moment.” The seven-man band rocked the crowd that evening as they played more adult contemporary jazz. The band certainly swooned audience members as they switched back and forth from original cuts from Millers album to more familiar cuts like, ”Reasons” by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

By 7:30 p.m., the small crowd has grown to what seems like 700 people. Men and women dressed in office attire, walking home from work, stop and listen to the sounds of the talented trumpet player. They also stop to take a look at the eccentric crowd. By 8:00 p.m. the show slowly comes to an end. The sun begins to set and the temperature drops. The musicians ended the show with a tribute to the late Michael Jackson as they perform the cut, Pretty Young Thing from the classic album Thriller. Suddenly, before you know it 2 and 1/2 hours seems to have flown by. As the band exits the stage, the only noise that is left to hear is the sound of the crowd applauding for an encore.

One of Atlanta's Best Kept Secrets

On Saturday evening, I had the privilege of attending a live jazz performance at one of the Atlanta’s most entertaining jazz cafés, Café 290. The small and intimate venue was filled with couples young and old who seemed to need a break from the typical Atlanta social scene. The dimly candle lit room set the mood for hand holding and eye gazing. The smooth jazz sounds that erupted from the instruments on stage, set the atmosphere for one romantic evening.

The band that night consisted of four very talented musicians. The supporting band members included drummer David Potter, saxophonist Chad Eddy, and pianist Earnet Turner. The bandleader that evening was bassist Will Globe; a young man with great charisma and a comedic personality who made the listening even more enjoyable.

Even though the band looked as if they had met an hour before the show, they looked very comfortable on stage in their casual dress shirts and black slacks. The quartet began the first set of the evening with an original piece written by Will Globe himself entitled, “The Dark Knight”. The tune is filled with low notes that kind of saturate the song and makes the mood change from honky-dory to dark and dreadful. The piece was very loud and filled with a variety of dark overtones.

Throughout the course of the night the quartet serenaded the small crowd with songs from the past like Billie Holiday’s 1964,”Good Morning Heart Ache,” and Bessie Smith’s 1920's,” Nobody Knows You When Your Down and Out”. Globe also dazzled the audience with his own original tunes like, “A Little Blue Circle” and “Catch 22.”

I’m definitely more of a smooth jazz kinda gal, but this jazz event was great. The venue, atmosphere, and waiting staff all get two thumbs up!