RTBTCKI (The March Madness Bracket Monday 2011 edition)

Is anyone doing a March Madness competition? I know I did one last year with a group and it was fun.

The Brackets were announced yesterday and I haven’t looked at the final sheet yet. I figure I will get to it sometime later today. Monday is my rather full day with various things that need to be done in a certain order.

Haven’t heard anything about any of the jobs that I applied for in the past two weeks. One is at Randomhouse in the Children’s department which I would be very good for and the other is at TOR which I would be awesome at. I would really like to get back into editorial work full time.

Any suggestions for Crafty Tuesday?

On another note I will not be going to LunaCon this year. Just too many things piling up on top of one and other to make it feasible for me to go this year. So may be next year.

Fig is a hidey cat. She likes to hide in and under things. Her favorite places are paper bags and under a pile of stuffed animals. We figure that this was learned behavior before we found her since she was a stray up until that point. We just have to be careful that we don’t accidently step on her and watch out for toe attacks.

Got Ariel back up to college after Spring Break. It was nice to have her home for a week. Caroline was very happy to spend some time with her big sister.

Still adjusting to the time change. And I still am not happy about the extension of Day Light Savings Time. It isn’t saving any energy because I have to turn on lights in the AM because there is no sun. It worked better with the original dates before the government extended it.

There are a couple of things I need to do about DragonCon starting with getting my contract into them. Then there is the Art Show which has opened the juried part of the site for anyone who wants try to get into the Art Show. I am sorting out my images for this year. The rules are pretty strict as to how old a piece can be. I just hope I get in this year. I have some ideas that are really cool.

Getting the day started now that the coffee cup is empty. Have a good one y’all.

I am grateful for smooth travel without delays.

LJ Idol Season 7 Week 17 Open Topic Part Deux

Fat Matt’s Rib Shack

At 1811 Piedmont Ave in Atlanta Georgia there sits a restaurant that doesn’t look like much. It is between Midtown and Buckhead before Buford Highway but after Moreland Ave if you are coming from Midtown or Piedmont Park.

At night on weekends you can drive past and hear the music coming from the shack. It is blues in the true form of the blues along with some bluegrass and other southern styles of music. That hole in the wall BBQ joint holds a lot of tales within its walls.

It was my brother Sean who discovered it through another friend. He informed us about it and we became patrons of its fine BBQ and cold beer. If there was a festival in Piedmont park, we would expect to wait extra time for our food. It was, at the time, cash on the barrelhead. They only started taking credit cards within the past 7 years and they still prefer cash. There is no menu other than the big painted sign with all the menu items. Not the best place for vegetarians but if you are a serious BBQ coinsurer this is the place to be.

I have taken a number of people to Fat Matt’s over the years. The conversation usual starts with, “Do you know a good BBQ joint in the area?” and ended up at the Shack.

When Mr. Punch came out Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean did a limited tour of the US visiting certain comic book stores. The store I was working for got one of the tour stops. Since I knew both Neil and Dave, the owner of the store told me to take care of them while they were in Atlanta. They had a day off before they were flying off to Chicago for the next leg of their tour so they invited me to come along with them. We went to see Pulp Fiction, which was surreal enough without adding those two, and they wanted some BBQ. Off to Fat Matt’s we go and chow down on those smoky sweet but tangy ribs. They had their backs to the door but I had fun watching some of the double takes that were being done by the patrons.

The week I got married, Peter and the girls arrived a couple of days before the wedding. I had been down there the week before taking care of some of the details including the last fitting of my wedding dress. Harlan Ellison was Peter’s best man so he and Susan were arriving the Thursday before the Saturday wedding. Thursday evening Harlan wanted BBQ and when Harlan gets a hankering for something, you tend to get it for him. I had introduced Peter to Fat Matt’s early in our courtship so he knew that it would be the place to take Harlan. All the way to the Shack, Harlan was telling us about this incredible BBQ joint he had eaten at a couple of DragonCons ago but he couldn’t remember the name. We were regaled about how good this place was but Harlan couldn’t remember the name. We pulled up and parked. Harlan got out of the car and shouted, “THIS IS IT!” We had a very happy Harlan on our hands. We had an enjoyable afternoon of BBQ and conversation that I will always treasure.

Since then we have taken a lot of our friends there. Marv Wolfman threatens to kill me in the nicest way because after we introduced him to the sauce at Fat Matt’s, he started to get it shipped to him out in California because he had never tasted better. We took Brad and George there for lunch the year that they got married. They also had their backs to the door so I got to see the expressions of the patrons.

And a couple of years ago we started have Chicken and Rib night at DragonCon. It was a nice way to catch up with friends and get everyone a solid meal at a convention that can be short on solid meals. It is a nice mix of our friends. The selling point is Fat Matt’s BBQ which is very popular. We then watch the DragonCon Masquerade from the comfort of our room with our friends. I can remember a friend of mine almost hyperventilating because John De Lancie who had played Eugene in Days of Our lives among many roles was in the next room. We had Scott Porter show up and found a whole bunch of his Orlando buddies there who were friends of ours. George and Brad are regulars when they are at DragonCon. Matthew Lewis (of Harry Potter fame) came by with his girlfriend to try real southern BBQ. It is always an interesting mix of people that find common ground to talk about all kinds of things.

2009 the movie “Up In the Air” came out and had some serious Oscar Buzz attached to it. Peter and I watched the film and groaned at a throw away line. Clooney takes a phone call from a woman he has sort of hooked up with. She asks him for a good place to eat in Atlanta. Clooney says, “Fat Matt’s Rib Shack on Piedmont.” The next time we drove by the place, it was beyond packed with people and there wasn’t a festival going on in Piedmont Park. It had calmed down since then but more people know about it that they did before.

We are already planning our next visit to Fat Matt’s when we are in Atlanta. It is a touchstone for us with a lot of good memories. While writing this, I could almost taste that tangy BBQ sauce again in my mouth. I may make BBQ chicken this evening but it won’t quite be as good as what I could have gotten at Fat Matt’s.