Mr. Understood: The Willy Terry Story

Here's a little bit of Atlanta "culture" for all the lovely people out there. Not high-brow culture, mind you, nor the sort of thing you take grandma to see when she comes to visit. That's what the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coke are for, I guess. Rather, this is one of the ATL's little quirks that you're only likely to know about if you have lived in the city.

Most days, there's a gentleman standing on the corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Briarcliff Road [a horrible, terrible, no good, bad intersection -- ed.], across from the Exxon station and a short distance from Little 5 Points. Why is this notable? Well... without being too obscene, I'll just say that he wears skin-tight white bicycle shorts every day that highlight his manhood. Just about every day. He's such an institution that the yellow sign above was posted in the last few months to note his territory. Many Atlantans, myself included, have long speculated about his intent, if not his sanity. Well, now we have some answers.

Through the magic of YouTube, a local documentarian has shared part of his story. The filmmaker has also taken commentary from many merchants and locals who see or deal with him on a regular basis. This video has been making the rounds quickly, so here it is for those who haven't seen it yet. It's in two parts, each about 9 minutes long. Whether you're interested or just curious about Atlanta's bizarre side, here you go:

Part 1 -- Part 2

Warning though -- not safe for work, or kids... and not to be seen if you're easily offended. Nothing explicit is in the video, but it does talk a great deal about this man's... um.. you know. Be aware.

I have to say though... isn't Keith from CVS (prominently featured in part 2) awesome? Gotta love that Curtis Mayfield soundtrack when he's pontificating about Mr. Terry.

I guess characters like this are part of what makes living in the city interesting. I full expect a report on Blondie from Clermont Lounge in the near future.

ELSEWHERE...

You know, Wax Fang didn't do much for me the other night. However, as I'm a big fan of The Big Lebowski... this is awesome.

If you need a live My Morning Jacket fix, the Knoxville gig and the Charleston show from last week are online to download. You can also stream them from the linked sites. No sign of Atlanta yet, but I saw at least one taper with quality gear.