As football’s biggest night of the year approaches, determined hosts are making their grocery lists and prepping the kitchen for a showdown. Here’s a menu that goes easy on the bank account.
Beyond this weekend, if you’re looking for some literary fun, here are 11 author and book events to check out across metro Atlanta.
Find stories below covering what’s most important to seniors in Atlanta, from local lifelong musicians to emergency‑essential guidelines and advice.
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At 68, this Atlanta blues veteran soars into a new groove
On a recent morning in the living room of the North Druid Hills home he’s lived in for the past 30 years, Tinsley Ellis’ charming humility is on display. His unassuming demeanor belies the fact that his generations-spanning music has been lauded by The New York Times and Billboard.
“I don’t have a very glamorous career, but it’s mine,” Ellis said. “I get to write all my own songs, and now I do acoustic music, which is something I always wanted to do.”
The legendary Atlanta blues musician has released about 20 albums since the 1980s, including “Labor of Love,” which was released last week. It’s his first acoustic album with original material.
But underneath the accolades and longevity lies the inspiring humility of a man, who has a propensity for creative reinvention.
“I don’t know what else I would do right (at) the age of 68.″
🎸 Read on for more about Ellis’ blues passion, rooted in rock & roll heritage
For American Heart Month, learn a skill that could save a life
The vast majority of people who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest don’t survive. According to the American Red Cross, approximately 90% of them die. Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation can triple a person’s odds of survival.
In honor of American Heart Month, here are some useful tips on CPR:
⛑️ A bystander can mean better odds. According to the American Red Cross, 37.5% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests were witnessed by a bystander in 2024. Bystanders can dramatically increase a person’s odds of survival by immediately performing CPR, but those odds decrease by around 10% for every minute the individual doesn’t receive that care.
⛑️ When to perform CPR: Immediately call 911 and begin CPR on someone if they are unresponsive, not breathing and their heart has stopped. The American Heart Association suggests hands-only CPR for the general public.
❤️ Find a step-by-step hands‑only CPR guide here, along with a list of CPR classes near you
How to cope when the news fuels anxiety
Is headline anxiety bringing you down? You’re far from alone.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, anxiety remains a common issue nationwide. News consumption has likely played a significant role in that anxiety, as 49% of responders to the APA’s December 2025 Healthy Minds Poll said they were anxious about current events.
According to health and wellness expert Dr. Esther Sternberg, continuous negative news consumption can exacerbate the feeling of uncertainty in a profound way.
Left unchecked, those feelings can worsen into sleepless nights, a loss of appetite, inability to focus, impaired relationships, depression and even physical illness. There are, however, practical tips and strategies that can help you manage this constant exposure and protect your mental health.
The first step is to de-stress. “Find or create a place of sanctuary,” Sternberg wrote in Psychology Today. “This can be as small as a favorite chair in your home or a bench in a garden or park, or as large as a forest or mountaintop.”
For at least 15 minutes a day, your sanctuary will be a place for deep breathing, meditation and quiet serenity. Once you’ve de-stressed, you’ll want to remove as much doomscrolling from your daily routine as possible.
🧘♀️ Discover additional ways to take back your mental health
Everything to know about ‘super flu’ taking over Georgia
You might have noticed more illnesses this winter, with increased coughing and sneezing compared with a typical season. There’s a reason for it.
“Georgia is like most of the other states across the country right now, which are experiencing a surge in flu activity,” Julie Caldwell, senior manager of immunizations at Walgreens and longtime pharmacist, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
According to Caldwell, Georgia currently ranks at number 17 for flu activity among the states, meaning that our local problem is higher than average, and this year’s new flu strain is putting up a strong fight against people’s immune systems.
Because viruses are not fully predictable, Caldwell explained, this year’s flu vaccine was not a perfect match — as is always the case, though some years are better than others. In the meantime, the country was hit with Subclade K, a variant of the influenza A virus that has been highly mutated.
Subclade K, which some have deemed a “super flu,” is characterized by fever, cough, sore throat, body aches and headaches, all common symptoms of the flu, according to Stanford Medicine. However, this variant is also leading to longer experiences with symptoms and even stronger versions of them — which is the reason for the increase in hospitalizations.
💉 Learn more about what to do if you experience any severe flu-related symptoms
Atlanta music couple stays in tune by making art happen
It was a rager of a party at Rutgers University in the summer of ’91 when music majors Melanie and Paul Shaw fell in love.
The washer and dryer were commandeered as beer coolers and Melanie’s special mix tape was blasting over the house stereo. One particular song, “Beth,” stopped Paul in his tracks just as his future wife and eventual bandmate crossed his path. “This is Kiss,” he said.
“You and I are the only two people in this whole room who know that,” Melanie responded.
Instantly charmed, Paul invited Melanie to listen to his vinyl copy of Carole King’s “Tapestry” at his place. Friendship blossomed into romance, and within two years, the youngsters were wed.
Now in their 50s, the couple’s shared love for creativity has bounced them across the globe and back, recently settling in Atlanta, where they perform in the folk-inflected band Acoustic Station and promote Atlanta art through their nonprofit The Art Share Foundation.
Art Share’s projects have included murals by street artists VAYNE and Evereman, shareable crafting kits, coloring books and even holographic lenticular prints by designer Caleb Madrigal. The sponsored creations are often distributed during Acoustic Station’s live performances or planted in public spaces in secretive “art drops.”
🎵 Explore how the Shaws nurture the city’s creatives through their nonprofit
