some of the cooler living walls murals in atlanta are downtown. the size and scale of these projects was only possible on such large buildings. i will start off my downtown coverage with this great alligator mural. you can find it at the corner of mitchell & forsyth on the side of the old star hotel. i’m not sure when the star hotel was functioning, but it lists rates of 50-75 cents a room. wow!

the mural is by roa, a street artist from ghent, belgium. his black & white depictions of animals can be seen on the sides of decrepit buildings all over the world. roa’s alligator in atlanta is awesome, especially how its tail follows the old fire escape. it’s really cool he painted such a big mural here in town! be sure to visit his blog for lots of other works.

check out our previous coverage of living walls atlanta and also a great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: roa

201 mitchell street southwest
atlanta, ga 30303

have you ever noticed the skatepark right next to the masquerade on north ave? it has a sweet view of the city and an above ground pool with a slide, although the barbed-wire fence prevented me from getting a photo of the pool.

there was also a mural by atlanta artist hense, which is pretty awesome!

– ryan

after talking about it for ages, i finally cooked some popcorn in bacon fat with our whirly pop stovetop popper. i have to say, it was quite amazing! it was not an overwhelming bacon flavor, but it was definitely there and added a lot.

just throw a little salt on top and serve with cold beer or cocktails, highly recommended! bring some to your next olympic party and you will be a big hit!

– ryan

– don’t forget to try bacon fried pumpkin seeds as well!

i used a long exposure and was able to capture some night lightning in the distant clouds while at the beach. some of the photos turned out really great!

– ryan

here is another great living walls mural in the old fourth ward area of atlanta. it’s by street artist know hope, who hails from tel aviv, israel. it’s actually super close to the gaia & nanook and jaz murals on edgewood ave.

know hope’s artwork is really amazing, i’m excited he did such a cool mural in atlanta! he works in various media; from cardboard cutouts & lanterns to painted murals and 3d installation pieces, all of which have a recurring black & white character with a red heart.

check out more know hope artwork here & here or some “making-of” coverage here & here. or visit this website for an interview from a few years ago.

you can also order a self-published book of “drawings, writings, photographs and other side-seen moments” called bound by ties directly from know hope for $35. hurry though, he only printed a 1,000.

check out our previous coverage of living walls atlanta and also a great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: know hope

451 edgewood ave
atlanta, ga 30312

i enjoyed a relaxing father’s day hanging out with gub and clementine! we relaxed by the kiddie pool and made some ice cream with this awesome wooden ice cream maker gub got me! it’s crazy what a difference a year makes.

– ryan

there are talks of closing the fernbank science center. at the least it will likely be scaled back quite a bit. just so you know, this is not the fernbank museum of natural history, which we often write about on the website. it’s still a great atlanta attraction though and it would be a shame to see it close.

the fernbank science center is only a mile and a half from our house and is free to the public. it has lots to offer both adults and children, so you can’t go wrong. there are outdoor activities like a huge canopied forrest with paved walkways and a composting area with helpful tips and pointers. there are also indoor activities, including an exhibit hall with the apollo 6 capsule, an observatory and a planetarium!

the exhibit hall and observatory are both totally free! the exhibit hall is open monday through friday from 9am to 5pm and saturday from 10am to 5pm. the observatory is open for public observations on thursday and friday nights from 9 to 10:30pm, weather permitting. an astronomer is on hand to answer questions and position the largest telescope in the southeast. we definitely want to check this out!

the planetarium has adult and children programs from thursday through saturday. there is also a saturday morning program called the night sky, which goes through the current constellations, planets, etc. in the current evening sky. shows are $4 for adults and $3 for children, students, & seniors and free for fernbank museum of natural history members.

although it may not be as exciting as the fernbank museum of natural history, the fernbank science center is both fun and educational and is totally worth keeping open!

check out our post on the fernbank science center from a couple of years ago!

– ryan & gub

fernbank science center

156 heaton park dr.
atlanta, ga 30307
678-874-7113

i never thought i’d cave in and buy a novelty usb drive. that is until i saw one made out of real wood at office depot and totally needed it. i felt pretty dorky sifting through to find the one with the best wood grain, but i have to say it was worth it! what’s so wrong with wanting a little style in your jump drive?

– ryan

the latest living walls mural in atlanta is also one of my favorites. this gem just went up in east atlanta village at the end of april by ukrainian street artist interesni kazki. it’s actually right across the street from the sopo bicycle co-op mural we wrote about yesterday. i really like kazki’s surreal style, it has hints of bosch or even dali. visit his website to see some other amazing murals he’s done around the world!

check out our previous coverage of living walls atlanta and also a great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: interesni kazki

470 flat shoals ave se
atlanta, ga 30316

here is a living walls mural in east atlanta village on the back of the sopo bicycle co-op. it’s by new nyc-based street artist lny, who has done some great murals all over the country.

check out our previous coverage of living walls work here and also this great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: lny

465 flat shoals ave se
atlanta, ga 30316