does everyone have to throw around "hotlanta"

having moved (back) to atlanta this month after two years in baaastun, i notice many more people asking me how things are in "hotlanta." even worse, they sometimes put it in quotes, as if i'm not going to get it.

hotlanta isn't even accurate. you want hot? go to phoenix, where my brother lives. it's 135 fucking degrees at night in the shade. dry heat my ass. atlanta's got nothing on phoenix.

but anyway, come on, hotlanta is so overused and so old. to the new yorkers: does it bother you when people say "how's life in the big apple?" i'll admit, when i lived in baastun, i didn't really mind when people asked "how's life in the shitty-ass frozen tundra where shitty bars have last call at 11:30 PM and people's accents make your ears bleed wicked bad?" then again, it's a pretty descriptive nickname. "beantown" is lame.

calling it "hotatlanta" just has a ned flanders ring to it. find something new. for the love of lucifer, call it vicklanta if you have to.

anyway, it is cool to see how much vicklanta has changed. greg is this guy who rides his bike to work and takes pictures from key vantage points around the city and matches them against historical pictures taken from the same point. it's a revealing way to see how a city can change. click here to see his website and collection of amazing pics at atlanta time machine. here's a great set, comparing midtown atlanta in 2005 and 1955: