Glory, Glory

The beach houses are secure.

Inside the Georgia Theatre: Looks great

This is a picture from upstairs at the new Georgia Theatre. Looks like there's a lot of new balcony space and everything's just nicer in general.

















Image: The Georgia Theatre.

Georgia Theatre nearly back

The Georgia Theatre is set to re-open in just over a week. Get your tickets and schedules here. Welcome back.












Image: Brian Huff, Saturday night.

UGA Spring Break: Belding, shots, ridiculous

Yes that's Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell standing on the bar and giving out free shots in Key West. Hilarious.

























Image: Approximately 1 a.m. today, Key West, Florida.


Eat your heart out, Charlie Sheen.

Happy New Year!

Image: Brian Huff, Denver, Colo.

Keanefirmed: Dawgs in the Liberty Bowl

I don't think it will surprise anyone, but I have it on good authority that you can stop considering the Bulldogs to be likely Liberty Bowl invitees and go ahead and plan that trip to Memphis.

The folks who handle those sort of plans for the university already are.

New blog policy: Car chases in all commercials - a South Carolina preview

Anyone telling you they've got a prediction for this game is full of it.

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Some commercial the other night made me think: "We should put a car chase in all commercials." And if it's good for a commercial ...


Wasn't going to go with Bullitt. And then Steve McQueen "explained" it to me. Warning, though, the guy he's chasing doesn't even put his seat belt on til 3:14.
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Starnes: I have no idea if this is going to be the resurgence or the complete unraveling downfall. I mean, it could go either way the next three weeks. What if we lost two out of these next three games? Also, it wouldn't surprise me if we just come out and kick ass.

Me: I don't know that it has to be either of those yet. It could be in the middle. I think I'm more excited than worried.

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Is it possible I forgot how much I like College Football? Because it's been story-line packed so far. I would have preferred not to see AJ Green in the wake of the NCAA getting awesome at catching people for violations just after catching USC.

Makes you wonder: Who does the NCAA know in the south eastern United States? You know, some one who knows things about football programs in, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

But the NCAA/AJ situation did shut people up about Boise State for a while. Joe told me he heard Brent Musberger and Paul Finebaum, early in the week on satellite radio, debating whether Boise State could succeed with an SEC schedule.

"How do you think it went," Joe said.
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Does any one else want to hear Michael Adams, and some other people at the University of Georgia, take issue with the NCAA?
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Me: Is it me, or is it getting stupider out there this year?

Joe: I don't know. Do you think Boise State should play for the National Title?
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It's one thing to say there's a difference between sportsblogging and sportswriting. It's another to see elements of their evolution toward one thing.
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Me: The two teams seem pretty evenly matched. But the problem is that Louisiana Lafayette and Southern Miss, I just don't know how to account for them. They're like unknown values in an equation, and I hope it adds up to Georgia beat down.

Huff: That's some professional analysis.

Me: If our line blocks, I feel good. We have speed on defense. We'll miss a few things, but we'll make plays, too. And from there, we just can't beat ourselves, and the talent will take over.
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From the Senator, last Friday:

Easily the biggest surprise last night for me was seeing how much of the old swag Spurrier reclaimed. I’m not talking about his behavior. I’m talking about his playcalling. As vanilla as Johnson was, the OBC was anything but – tons of formations, a very nice reverse call, a little wildcat were all on display, along with the old staples. That’s the sign of a confident man who believes he’s got the weapons to play with again.

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Finally, there is this from the L.I. Athens Bureau, reporting from Columbia shortly after midnight:

Consensus: Noon games for two top 25 teams are lame.

The man may die, but not the music

Today makes eight years since Widespread Panic guitarist Michael Houser died of pancreatic cancer. Time, she flies.






And a little lesser known, but maybe my personal favorite ...

Dawgs whip Jackets, 73-66

Well done, well done.


Scoreboard picture: Brian Huff.

Near the end of the radio broadcast, Scott Howard said the Hoop Dawgs haven't lost to Georgia tech in Athens since 1976. Considering the last decade or so of Georgia basketball, that's pretty staggering.

And awesome.

11:55 Update: Highlights from this game were just the No. 10, 5 and 2 top plays on ESPN. To be fair, though, only numbers five and two highlighted Travis Leslie.

"Rough night to be a Georgia tech fan, I'll just say that."
- Scott Van Pelt

Also, Georgia tech lost the Orange Bowl.

Commission study on Matt Stafford robot dawg

Just saw the uga robot prototype downtown. He went to toppers.
- Brian Huff

We also point you to video below, because somehow NFL Films knew to mic Matthew Stafford for the Detroit / Cleveland game.

Apparently Matt Stafford just isn't scared of the fucking NFL.

"Yeah. Get the fuck off me."

Update: Some have wondered if the f word is now acceptable here at Lucid Idiocy. The answer is yes, if you rock the NFL.

Tailgating: Recycling bag donations get free beer*

*Where free beer = good will.

University of Georgia business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi will be distributing garbage and recycling bags this season. They're also taking donations for the recycling bags, which will be clear.

Chick-fil-A Beechwood and Jittery Joe's have already made generous donations, the fraternity reports.

Donations can be made online with a credit or debit card via PayPal. Click here then click on the logo. Athens Bureau Chief Brian Huff, a member of AKPsi, notes you may also physically send bags or checks to the fraternity at 545 S. Milledge Ave., 30605.

Clear recycling bags make sense because you can see through them, yo.

For more information: melanielfoster@gmail.com.

From AKPsi:

“UGA fans are a people of pride,” said Thorne Brown, President of Alpha Kappa Psi. “We can show that same pride in the way we treat our campus. You don’t show your pride just by wearing UGA’s colors—you show it by keeping your campus clean.”

"Or, if you play defense, by destroying things, being in the right position and making sure tackles."

The Georgia Theatre is on fire

1340 in Athens reports the Georgia Theatre is on fire this morning, with "as many as 4 ladder trucks" on the scene.

Nothing online at The Banner Herald or The Red and Black.

UPDATE: The Athens-Clarke County Fire Department confirms it: The Georgia Theatre is burning.

UPDATE: As the commenter notes, The AJC is up with a story. They have a contributed picture on the home page showing a ton of smoke.

UPDATE: Athens Bureau Chief Brian Huff has arranged for pictures. The phrase "total loss" is being used a lot, and I think you can see why.


Image: Daniel Ussery.

Lucid Idiocy Athens Correspondent Jean O'Keefe reports at 8:59:

They have the fire under control but they are still hosing it down. You can see smoke from Milledge and the downtown area is fairly smoky. Lots of people hanging out on street corners and parking lots. Building is still standing. I will send pics out later today.

It looks like WSB TV in Atlanta sent their chopper to shoot the fire. They have several pictures. The Banner-Herald has a story up now. Apparently the fire knocked out power downtown, including at the paper.

Final update on this post: The Banner Herald spoke to the owner. He plans to rebuild, and there's some speculation as to the cause.

Fox 5 got an excellent view of the now-gone roof from their chopper, as seen in this video embedded at Fresh Loaf.

Widespread Panic, why are you still trying to kill me?

Athens Bureau Chief Brian Huff reports that Widespread Panic will tour this summer with The Allman Brothers Band.

The amalgamated schedule is on jambase. It looks like the closest they'll get to Georgia are stops in Charlotte and Raleigh on this swing of the tour:

10.03 Charlotte, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
10.04 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
10.06 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
10.07 Portsmouth, VA nTelos Wireless Pavilion
10.11 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion @ Walnut Creek
10.13 Knoxville, TN World's Fair Park

October 3 is the LSU game in Athens. October 10 is against Tennessee in Knoxville.

Band members should be beaten in the street for their continued disregard of the University of Georgia football schedule. Simply switch the Raleigh and Knoxville shows and add a date at The Landing in Jacksonville for the night before the Florida game and we'll be in business.

UPDATE: I absolutely continue to believe this schedule will continue to be filled in and there will be some crazy show in Georgia.

LIVE from Signing Day: YOUR home for the Bobby Knight Watch

Faithful Lucid Idiocy Lead Analyst Joe Petersen has risen early this morning to make the trek to Athens. He will provide real-time updates from Signing Day as the recruits make it official.

Is Coach Richt wearing a hat? Is Coach Garner having a chicken biscuit for breakfast?

We will let you know. And if anyone fitting the loose description of Indiana basketball legend Bobby Knight is spotted on Milledge Avenue, I daresay this blog will bring it to you first.

4:46: Bobby Knight for D-ends coach. I heard a report. Maybe The AJC will post it.

4:22 EDITOR's UPDATE: Hey, hey, Marlon Brown is a Dawg. Now that should put a smile on your face.

JOE's ANALYSIS: Word up. That makes this day a good day. As long as we got one of those guys... especially the 6'5" badass wide receiver who did not go to Tennessee. Marlon Brown. I like that.

Final wrap: No Bobby Knight sightings. A lot of anti-Knight sentiment from the crowd. We signed a good class, it's just disappointing that we didn't close on any of the big guys we were holding out for. I wonder what we'll do with the extra scholarships.

Signing day sucks. I feel like I completely wasted this day. I am retarded. Will that offend any retarded people? Are you still writing this down? Quit writing.

EDITOR's UPDATE: Jarvis Jones to USC. Marlon Brown rumored to Ohio State. I can't get Joe on the phone. He may have destroyed the Bling Pig in a suicidal rage.

2:07: Not in the Blind Pig bathroom: Bobby Knight, toilet paper or anything sanitized.

1:30: Huff just got here. He says Bobby Knight was in his psychology class learning how to treat players. As for signing day, we missed out on the safety from Tallahassee, the o-lineman from either juco or prep school, Massie, he went to Ole miss. Greg Reid, of course.

We did pick up Rantavious Wooten. And Jeff Dantzler is in the house, doing his show.

ME: Has he asked any of the girls what color their underwear is?

Honestly, the girls at the pig, you wouldn't want to know.

EDITOR's UPDATE: David Hale says Kiante Tripp is moving back to defensive end. Joe has refused to walk up to random senior citizens at the Bling Pig and interview them as if they are Bobby Knight. He just doesn't understand journalism.

12:30: Signing Day Sucks.

10:34: It is 10:34 and I am officially bored. I'm about to take the Blind Pig shuttle over to the Pig and go over there for a little while. Because this is boring as hell.

10:15: JOE: Breaking: Painted Head Guy is here. ME: With head painted? JOE: Of course.

9:48: Steven Hill picked Tech over us. So he's now a mortal enemy. It appears to me, from the interviews that I've conducted in the crowd, that the prevailing sentiment is we would rather have Marlon Brown than Bobby Knight.

EDITOR's UPDATE: David Hale says WR Marlon Brown is scheduled to announce between 3:30 and 4. That guy looked great at the Under Armour game. Brown, not Hale.

9:15: Also, free doughnuts and the sexiest blonde alive. Rantavious Wooten has signed.

9:05: Kelin Johnson is broadcasting live from Butts-Mehre on Gxtra.

8:45: Here's some breaking news for you: Beautiful girls still jog in the cold, parking in Athens still sucks and the Dooley statue is freaking beautiful.

7:31: This is not even really an update. But I'm actually reading the paper. There's an article about spending on football recruiting in The AJC. Georgia Tech outspent us? On recruiting? By $300,000? This doesn't make sense.

6:35: Uh, 6:35 a.m., and Bobby Knight has not, has NOT been seen at all this morning at the Starbucks in Douglasville. And, it is ----ing cold. I do not know why I'm doing this.

More from the Stafford / Moreno press conference

Technical difficulties here in the home office have delayed our team coverage, but LIABC (Lucid Idiocy Athens Bureau Chief) Brian Huff was at todays Stafford/Moreno "Death to the 2009 Season" press conference.

He was struck by something that David Hale, and I'm sure the rest of the press corps, notes in his report: That Moreno never even looked into where he'd be drafted.

He apparently forgot to submit his paperwork to the NFL and didn't really talk to anyone to get a sense of his draft value.

So incredulous was the press corps, Huff said, that "they asked him like three times."

No kidding. But that's how Superman rolls.

All press conference images courtesy Brian Huff:

Live from Butts Mehre

Lucid Idiocy Athens Bureau Chief Brian Huff is at the Stafford / Moreno press conference.

He says they're passing out stat sheets that say "for his career, Stafford/Moreno finishes..."

Georgiadogs.com is streaming the press conference here.

UPDATE: Yep. Gone. Banner Herald has a story up.

The bell is home

Athens Lucid Idiocy Correspondent Brian Huff was good enough to take a camera to campus today and film the first rings of the refurbished Chapel Bell. Long may she ring and often.


That's just good for the soul.

And here's a bit of speech making before the ringing


I believe we have here a 100-year tower. And I'm looking forward to winning all our Bulldog games this year so we can ring this bell.

The Grand Canyon: Aptly named

Two more pictures from my friends' trip.



Images: Jean O'Keefe and Brian Huff.

MLK and 9.11

For some reason, you can get in a lot of trouble in this country by suggesting that the normal laws of cause and effect may have been in play when Islamic terrorists attacked this country on Sept. 11, 2001.

Or, to put it another way, that United States policy may have helped lead to that terrible day.

So let me go ahead and admit that, when I read this quote last night from Martin Luther King Jr.'s book "Where do we go from here":

Cries of black power and riots are not the causes of white resistance, they are the consequences of it.

I wrote "9/11?" as a note to myself in the margin. Please, no one tell Rudy Giuliani. A buddy of mine and I were drinking and talking a couple of months ago, and he said something that I thought was so well-put and simple that I wrote it down:

Let's just maybe stop and think for a second. ... Maybe something that we've done in the past is encouraging this behavior. ... The CIA knows about blowback.... If you piss somebody off, it's gonna cause a hatred. Doesn't mean it's your fault but tell me that doesn't mean s#@$. ... And of course if we leave (Iraq) that's another @#$% you.

Well put. And while I'm sounding like an unAmerican pinko coward of a commie anyway, let me share this quote, from the same King book, which King attributed to former federal Office of Economic Opportunity director Hyman Bookbinder:

The poor can stop being poor if the rich are willing to become even richer at a slower rate.

I'm not sure that's true. But if it is, we should get on that.