11 Good Things from Emory film professor, author and curator Gregory Zinman

Gregory Zinman is an associate professor in the Department of Film and Media at Emory University and the curator of Off the Wall @ 725 Ponce, a public screening series on the Atlanta Beltline. He is the author of Making Images Move: Handmade Cinema and the Other Arts and a co-editor with John Hanhardt and Edith Decker-Phillips of We Are in Open Circuits: Writings by Nam June Paik. He recently received an Arts Writers Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for his next book, Public Scenes.

1. Chicken 65 from Zyka. In a city full of excellent fried chicken, this South Indian rendition — spicy, bright red (thanks, Kashmiri chili powder), served in bite-sized chunks and adorned with chilis and curry leaves — is my favorite.

2. Public film + video. I love the way local curators are bringing experimental moving image art to our streets and skyline. I’m proud of the willfully eclectic programming we offer at Off the Wall, I’m really excited about what Daniel Phelps is doing with Atlanta Downtown and the MAP Rover and I can’t wait for the kickoff of Joel Silverman’s L5P Picture Show this fall.

3. Maze Studios. One of the last great full-service recording studios in the Southeast, run by my buddy and producer extraordinaire Ben Allen. I play guitar in a local rock band called Flashlight Faces, and we had an awesome time recording an EP with engineer Tomás Uribe there last year.

4. Fresh-cut flowers. My weekly indulgence. A little organic color softens and brightens any space.

5. Repertory film programming has never been better in Atlanta. Between the Tara, the Emory Cinematheque and the Plaza — particularly Andy Ditzler’s always-wonderful Film Love and Plazadrome — fans of historical, experimental, cult and classic film have never had it so good here.

6. Being married to a brilliant scholar. We always have interesting things to talk about. Lauren Klein’s new book, Data by Design: Visualization and Power from Abolition to the Dawn of Data Science, is out from MIT Press this fall. I know I’m biased, but it’s great.

7. Wax ‘n’ Facts. My favorite record store for classic rock vinyl. Fair prices and full of pleasant surprises.

8. Grant Park Pool. A hot-weather oasis for our neighborhood.

9. 97 Estoria. The first place I grabbed a drink when I moved here 15 years ago, and it remains my favorite place to meet up with friends. The patio is clutch in the summertime — or really anytime.

10. A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. Andrew Hickey’s remarkable podcast takes a single great tune and uses it as a jumping-off point for wide-ranging and erudite discussions of rock, the bands who made it and the culture that surrounds and inspires its creation. He’s up to song 183, and it’s only 1969, so there’s a way to go.

11. My students. Nothing beats that moment in a classroom when you see a young person fall in love with cinema right before your eyes.