Nate Dorn over at Dornstar Productions identified a timely and topical photography opportunity at one of his B movie outings - apparently, somewhere in East Atlanta, a bunch of folks were made to look like Zombies for a few days.

Here’s a link to a taste of The Zombie Art Show, which is coming to Octane Coffee House on the Westside on October 10th. That’s a Friday night!

I’ve seen a few of the shots and Nate really nailed a cool opportunity - the photos should be hot sellers, amongst the freaky collector set.

Make sure that you check out the link, and while I have this unique opportunity to write an article about Zombies, I’ll leave you with a video from one of my favorite British Invasion bands, The Zombies - performing “She’s Not There” in 1965.

I turn to John Adams. He is the most trusted voice in Atlanta real estate. This article about appreciation really crystallizes the paradox of pricing and pricing right - for the market of the moment. This article is loaded with “post-foreclosure” property purchasing insight. His website, his classes and his radio show are the proof - if you are nervous or uncertain about Intown Atlanta and Decatur real estate values and holdings right now, keeping abreast of John’s thoughts is worth your time. You’ll feel better about things.

I turn to Steve Palm. Steve’s insights about FMLS data every month keep me and my clients informed with raw, real data. His latest letter about metropolitan Atlanta real estate is based on cogent, detailed analysis of the real numbers.

Any real estate agent that you meet who spews BS about “up and coming areas” and who gives you advice on flipping properties needs to memorize this statement after you kick their ass:

Atlanta’s “…downturn started 3rd quarter 2006 and it has yet to turn positive since then. Not only has the market not turned positive, but we have yet to hit a bottom. We are in a recession and it will not turn positive till our economy starts
improving…When our housing market turns around, closing prices will rebound quickly. I believe that prices have neared a bottom, so this is a great time to buy. There is over a 14 month supply of homes out there, so your buyer will have much to choose from.Our months-supply of homes is at an all-time high, but there were actually 4,500 less homes for all single family on the market at the end of July versus the same time last year. The reason, our demand has been just so much lower.
There were 7,112 expired listings in July for all single family. This was 1,100 more than July 2007 and 6,300 more than 2000. There were 5,993 expired listings for single family detached and 1,119 expired listings for condos & townhomes.Days-on-market was 88.9 in July for all single family and the lowest reported DOM since August 2007, but still 3.7 days higher than July 2007. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Anyone involved in residential real estate that makes it through this downturn will be positioned extremely well when the turnaround happens…”

I turn to Seth Godin. He says that in order to be trusted in a low trust world, you must tell authentic stories. Read Seth’s blog - here he is telling us about “What Advertising Can’t Fix.” 

Over the next few weeks, just remember that advertising will not fix what is wrong, especially if that advertising comes from a certain political party, a certain political candidate or a certain salesperson of any stripe who asks you to trust them.

They are on Main Street and on Wall Street.

I love Jerry Reed. My Mom and Dad loved Jerry Reed. He was a funny dude, a gracious Southern gentleman and he could play the guitar just like ringin’ a bell. Watch this playing here with Mr. Chet Atkins…

 
He died a few days ago, probably because he smoked too many cigarettes & and ate too much fried catfish.

He went to Intown Atlanta’s O’Keefe High School - a Westside institution back in the mid-20th century. Georgia Tech’s campus took over the land, but he was one of us!

He was a movie star too - reports have called him a “good old boy” actor. I’m reporting that Jerry was one of the coolest guys on the planet. Here’s what the AP reported:

“…As a singer in the 1970s and early 1980s, Reed had a string of hits that included “Amos Moses,” “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” “East Bound and Down,” “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” and “The Bird.”

In the mid-1970s, he began acting in movies such as “Smokey and the Bandit” with Burt Reynolds, usually as a good ol’ boy. But he was an ornery heavy in “Gator,” directed by Reynolds, and a hateful coach in 1998’s “The Waterboy,” starring Adam Sandler.

Reynolds gave him a shiny black 1980 Trans Am like the one they used in “Smokey and the Bandit.”

Reed and Kris Kristofferson paved the way for Nashville music personalities to make inroads into films. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers (TV movies) followed their lead.

“I went around the corner to motion pictures,” he said in a 1992 AP interview.

Reed had quadruple bypass surgery in June 1999.

Born in Atlanta, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord.

He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young.

At 17, he signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records…”

RIP Jerry - you are one of the very, very best guitar players who ever lived. One more video, with Mr. Glen Campbell…

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Coming to a sold out Atlanta Tabernacle on October 1st, 2008…

The hardest working band in the rock and roll business…The Raconteurs.

Here’s a preview of what you can expect - I’m already ticketed so I know what’s coming, but here’s a preview of this band, live on the wonderful Jools Holland show from the BBC with Consolers of the Lonely. Stick around with this video until about 2:45 in and then you’ll see some major fretboard work from Jack and Brendan. If you love classic rock and roll, then do not miss this October 1st show - they are up there with Radiohead and My Morning Jacket as the finest purveyors of modern classics.

Everyday, I read certain blogs and so do you, right?

I would not know that we have a National Blog Day unless I read Chris Brogan’s daily posts - Chris is a “Social Media Business Strategist.” I think I read about Chris at Guy Kawasaki’s blog, and ever since I’ve found his insights on today’s marketing to be on point and ahead of the curve. If Guy is reading Chris everyday then that is example enough for me.

Chris celebrated National Blog Day 4 (yes, it’s newish..) by encouraging his readers to do what Nir Ofir encouraged him to do - “to reach out and identify five blogs that you might not yet be reading. It’s his way of showing how wide a world it is and how interesting things can be out there in the blogosphere.”

Nir Ofir? This dude founded Blog TV and is developing I Am News. If he’s not a web heavy then I don’t know who is.

Getting back to Chris’ challenge - and you can read his 5 blog recommendations here - I wrote a short list of 10 websites that can all be found on my “Official Georgia Pecan Blogroll.”

I narrowed the list of 10, down to these 5:

1. Seth Godin - I call Seth the Headmaster, because I am always finding his writing and speaking to be the most insightful, most authentic and most relevant idea generator for me and my business. I’ve read almost all of Seth’s books and if you want to start somewhere, go buy “The Dip.” I saw him at the Keller Williams Realty Family Reunion in February here in Atlanta and I can’t say enough about how cool this guy is.

2. Zen Habits - “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit” said Aristotle. Good habits are so hard to develop, especially in our complex world of interruptions and noise. “Leo Babauta, is the author of Zen Habits. “Zen Habits is one of the top blogs on the Internet, and covers: achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits.” He just might be the coolest guy on the planet (now that John Lee Hooker and James Brown have passed away) and he lives on Guam with his lovely wife and 6 children. Digest Zen Habits - he is on to something.

3. Get Rich Slowly - J.D. Roth has identified a 12 point set of rules for sound financial living and he is recognized worldwide for his authentic, tried and true, very human approach to helping others “get rich slowly.” He describes his blog: “I’m just an average guy who found himself deep in debt. When it finally became too overwhelming, I began reading personal finance books, hoping to find answers. I wanted swift solutions to my problems. My research revealed that few people get rich quickly, but almost anyone can get rich slowly by patiently following some simple rules.” I read his advice everyday, I just don’t apply it as forthrightly as I should!

4. Go Green Intown - The folks at Atlanta Intown magazine have a superb blog series, and this one contains regular news, advice and tips that are are near and dear to many of my clients and neighbors. How to live eco-friendly in Intown Atlanta - cool concept!

5. Chris Martenson - Take Chris’ CRASH COURSE and learn everything that you need to know about the economy in 2 hours. One of the coolest thinkers, with a remarkable sense of humor that I know is Rusty Umphenour. I can not resist utilizing his current Facebook profile photo, just to keep this post as lively as possible.

Rusty told me about the Crash Course and if you take it, you will open your eyes widely to what is going on in our world. Consider that Chris conceptualizes “the end of money” as just one small part of his ethos and consider how completely convoluted the US economy has become, and you will not want to miss a chance to take the free CRASH COURSE.

So, there are my 5 - I hope that some of you get something out of this little discourse. We’ll reconvene on this subject next year!

I love modern architecture. I love luxury. I am thrilled that Buckhead is transforming into a more remarkable, more densely populated luxury address. This is good for Atlanta. People have been talking about Sovereign for 2 or 3 years now.

I’ve been talking about how the absolutely delicious Ivanka Trump is a bellwether for Atlanta, ever since I started the Intown Insider…

Ivanka...again

Sovereign is a bellwether too. A major bellwether. I would appreciate the opportunity to help you purchase one of the 82 residences located at Sovereign - we can go look at the $1 Million units, but I’m encouraging you to be your own bellwether and be the $11 Million purchaser of the mega-luxurious penthouse…

Sovereign is a super cool looking building - I saw it getting poured and framed in early 2007 when my client Michael Matassa purchased a condo at Realm that faced in the direction of Sovereign - looking northward to Lenox.

Sovereign’s tagline is “At the intersection of art, architecture and life.” That’s where Piedmont and Peachtree truly is nowadays - as soon as the Buckhead brainstormers get a conclusive idea of how to make a higher and better use of the property that houses the Container Store and Orvis, that “intersection” is bound to get even more artful, more architecturally significant and more lively.

All in due time.

For now, if you seek a distinctive address, then it doesn’t get any better than this in Atlanta  - take that Ivanka! Here’s the latest press release: Read the rest of this entry »