http://bhamweekly.com/birmingham/articles.sec-7-1-news-views.html We just don’t get up to Muscle Shoals often enough. Florence, Sheffield or Tuscumbia either; in fact, you and I have been remiss in visiting our Quad Cities lately.]]> The TimeLess TimeLiness of marvin gaye’s masTerpiece Sometimes I feel myself turning into one of those guys who says too frequently, “Can you believe it’s been [insert mindboggling lapse of time] since [insert pop culture event of epochal significance]?” ]]> I was suffused by a transcendent insight of cosmic proportions awhile back and it was hard to stop laughing. Surprisingly, not when I saw Glenn Beck’s last show on Fox or Keith Olbermann’s first on Current. ]]> That Michelle Bachmann considers herself a viable candidate for the Presidency is one thing. In the curious world between her ears, anything is plausible. She thinks AmeriCorps brainwashes kids, she believes financial regulation reform smacks of Mussolini-style fascism and she has stated that the Revolutionary War started in New Hampshire. Why shouldn’t she assume she’s Oval Office material?]]> I know you don’t care about Medicare. The very word is redolent of mothballs and Aqua Velva. Medicare is old people’s business, a topic ill-suited to a zeitgeist manual such as Birmingham Weekly. However, the loosest cannons upon Capitol Hill are taking aim now at the largest health insurance program in the country, and if they succeed in destroying Medicare, they just might take your future with it.]]> It was a curious afternoon in the venerable Virginia Samford Theatre and the first time I’d been backstage. The occasion was a salute to the late Cousin Cliff Holman, legendary host of children’s television shows since Kermit the Frog was still in a fabric shop. ]]> Is this all about oil? Or are we actually saving people’s lives? Those questions recur every time American military might is brought to bear upon the Middle East.]]> In the wake of the tsunami, we are reminded that nothing brings our enormous planet down to size quite like its basic building block.]]> It occurred to me the other day that the last bastion of true democracy is the license tag renewal line.]]> żListo? Prepárate tu periodista preferido en CubaBy Anonymous Do you dream of Cuba, palm trees calmly swaying to hurricane breezes, salt oceans glowing from the brims o]]> While crossing from platform to platform in the trees, you will sometimes swing across, sometimes cross a rope bridge, sometimes go for a short ride hooked to the zipline strung from tree to tree, and sometimes glide for a hundred yards or more with your feet dangling in the air.]]> In a time when social media has replaced much of our face to face communication, it’s refreshing to see social media tools being used to enable people in Birmingham, which is frequently ranked as one of the top (insert an unhealthy habit or condition here) cities, to become more active.]]> The Cahaba River Ramble Trail Race, held each spring, is a spectacular 5k and 10-mile trail race along the “biological heart” of Alabama’s longest remaining free-flowing river, the Cahaba, and is the primary annual fundraiser for the Cahaba River Society’s CLEAN Environmental Education Program.]]> David Kelton has seen a lot since he started keeping bees forty years ago – bacterial plagues, colony collapse, even mites from Asia that can decimate honey bee colonies. But lately he has noticed a new phenomenon: more beekeepers.]]> On April 28th, cyclists took to the roads around Birmingham to raise awareness about prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in American men.]]> It's April again, and for many cycling enthusiasts in the Birmingham area, that means it's time to gear up for the Tour de Blue. On April 28th, cyclists will take to the roads around Birmingham ]]> At some point in all our lives, if we live long enough, we come to a point where we realize we are not ourselves. That we are living a life that falls squarely on the path that we thought we were supp]]> Like the outdoors? Most of us from the state of Alabama have a lot to choose from when it comes to hunting, fishing or hiking. Lets face it, everyone who is interested in the outdoors is linked in some way, shape, or form. With this in mind, we can see why we should all pay attention to the other two.]]> The upside is you won´t need much space for appliances. Environmentalist guru Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, notes that a 60 percent reduction in fossil fuel usage would result in a dramatic reduction of carbon emission per person.]]> Bureau of Land Management have said they are delaying the June 14 sale of gas drilling leases on almost 43,000 acres of public lands in the Talladega National Forest, a proposal which has sparked widespread and vigorous opposition from local citizens and some elected officials.]]> It is getting to be time to head for the hills to try to get cooler. Don't doubt it--the day is coming. But to cool your heels in green vales, cross the river and rest in the shade of the tree, you barely have to cross the line. The North Georgia mountains offer many pleasant opportunities.]]> In December, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda declared that “a cold shutdown” had been achieved and that the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was now over. “The reactors are stable, which should resolve one big cause of concern for us all,” Noda told the Japanese people in a televised address.]]> Jenn Patterson, Program Director for Black Warrior Riverkeeper won the James Lowery Service Award on March 17, 2012.   The Alabama Rivers Alliance selects one James Lowery Service Award winn]]> For anyone who has ever eaten a chicken McNugget and remains oblivious as to what it looks like before the McWeird-piece-of-chicken takes shape and finds its way into your mouth, you should know one thing: chickens don't have McNuggets.]]> As part of a series that I am working on I thought it would be cool to take the time to sort of get to know some of the state's conservation groups. I have had the good fortune to get to work with a good many of them in the past year, but there was one that I had not: The Black Warrior River-keeper's.]]> North Georgia has a thriving little wine industry, in fact. Most wineries are around the old gold-mining mountain town of Dahlonega. There's one near the faux Alpine village of Helen-or Hel[o]n Earth as I call it. There is one next door in Towns County, and one working winery still in Rabun County.]]> Forever Wild is a state program that preserves land for recreation, hunting, hiking and other public use. To pay for the land it uses 10 percent of the revenue from the Alabama Trust Fund, the annual earnings from royalties from offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.]]> The City Council voted earlier this week to apply for the grant to install seven pedestrian bridges in various spots throughout the 5.9mile path hewn by the April 27 tornado. The total cost of the project is estimated at $17.5 million, but the grant calls for a 20 percent match. Tuscaloosa residents would be on the hook for $3.5 million.]]> Early Saturday morning, on a day trip organized by the Cahaba River Society, a group of committed naturalists, hardy outdoorsmen and women, and a metro something photographer trundled off I-59 from Bham and turned down Hwy 5 past Centreville towards Selma to the Perry Lakes and Barton’s Beach Parks. ]]> A few weeks ago in a story about the special class at Elyton School, I mentioned a Civil War sword sticking out of a tree we used to watch for every time we drove down Third Avenue. It was part of a sad sweet story of love unfulfilled.]]> According to John Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper for the Friends of Hurricane Creek, “Coal mining has been a serious problem in Hurricane Creek for many generations causing it to be placed on the EPA’s impaired streams list. ]]> A mine on Hurricane Creek is polluting the waters that flow into the Black Warrior River and its owner should be forced to begin meeting its permit, according to a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit groups Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Friends of Hurricane Creek.]]> One of my first memories of my dad was at Lock 17. Judging by the number there must be many locks on the Black Warrior River, but this one seems special.]]> Here are some of the programs supported by the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College: What do you get when you combine great libations, a harvest supper by Whole Foods Market, and Birmingham’s coolest live & silent auction? ]]> This week the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) released its evaluation of the Northern Beltline highway project, drawing opposition from the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, an environmental watchdog group with a mission for protecting the river.]]> There are plenty of reasons for us to appreciate how precious our water is and to take practical steps each day to use less of it. For one thing, there are critical shortages of this life-sustaining resource in many parts of the world. ]]> NEW NUKES: The directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority announced recently that they plan to finish building the Bellefonte nuclear reactor in Hollywood, Ala. They spent mega-bucks on before dropping it in 1988 due to cost overruns and other factors, according to an Aug. 18 report by Matthew L. Wald of The New York Times (www.nytimes.com). ]]> A collection of Birmingham Weekly Photography of the devastation caused by tornadoes on April 27, 2011.]]> When you think of old pulp magazines or racy detective stories, you may not think of long-dead American writer Henry Miller, but I can’t help making that connection because of a passage from his book Black Spring.]]> Who has time for learning anymore? The leisure time between working, sleeping and eating that used to be the domain of self-education has become filled with a thousand little digital chunklets all vying for our attention.]]> But Brogan, a seemingly down-to-earth Maine native, didn’t mind making jokes about his field of endeavor to amuse 50 or so attendees at his presentation here, which was held in a conference area in the BJCC exhibition hall just off the busy expo floor.]]> Human beings have an innate need to believe in something. We are capable of achieving things, great things, things well beyond our means, if only we believe that it is possible. Conversely, we can be drawn into some of the most reprehensible behavior mankind is capable of by belief.]]> After reading her blog posts at al.com about last weekend’s BAAM Festival, I feel I’ve got legitimate reason to wonder. Her first installment, “First impression: Friday night at BAAM, the Birmingham Arts and Music Festival” should have been called “Local Music Fest Boasts Only Local Music.]]> Hello Birmingham. Nice to formally meet you! I’ve been lurking in the background at the paper for a while now, getting our new website ready and contributing an article or a photograph every once and a while, but it’s nice to take the final steps into editorship.]]> All Jesse Chambers wants to do is write and write and write. This is a man who, at the age of 50, decided the written word was his true calling, and he is not to be distracted—except for when he became editor of Birmingham Weekly three and a half months ago… reluctantly. Jesse knew that he was the only one who could step in and provide the necessary skills the paper needed in a very difficult time. His natural talent and a refusal to accept less than the best he can give, qualities that make Jesse an excellent writer, are the same things that made him a top-notch editor. He has worked tireless hours and, as regular readers of the paper know, it shows. ]]> Yeah, it’s time for another exciting “letter from the editor.” The only other one I’ve written was printed in March, in my first paper as managing editor. This is my final paper as managing editor, so—once again—it’s time to say… something. It’s 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, deadline day. I have about 45 minutes to write this piece. That’s it. Of course, I’ve already written the damned thing in my head a hundred times. It feels as though this piece should be a summing up, but of more than just my exhausting, emotionally rich few months as editor of this newspaper. It’s more a summing up of 53 years of trying to prove myself, of trying to be a good soldier.]]> It’s my last day as managing editor, so I decided to write whatever the hell I want. The following proposals, I believe, could dramatically improve this city of my birth, this city that I love (and hate… natives will understand my schizophrenia). Some of the proposals are wackier than others. Some are not at all original. But if you want to see Vulcan alive again, you’ll do what I say.]]> The Birmingham Weekly once again settles the question whether anyone can be a master or slave to fashion. Shlomi Dadon even transformed our publisher from a picture of doggerel verse to eglantine refinement, and everyone remembers that picture of shirtless savagery from the last makeover.]]> But one of the contenders running to be the Republican presidential nominee did just that in a recent GOP debate on January 16th.]]> I'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to stop raining. Every week there is a new deluge. Every week I get pushed further and further back from the start of the guide season. But then I remember that we really need the rain to bring the water table up.]]> So how can a column on food memories not honor that importance... for the commercials, the half-time show, the tail gate parties, and especially the parties all over the country? And a lot of them will be serving chili in some form or another so I figured I might as well weigh in with my version.]]> Welcome to the neighborhood. We still have people asking where to find us since we moved into new digs in Avondale. ]]> I love this place. It’s off the beaten path and so pristine it hurts. Now the place I’m talking about is the Kathy Stiles Freeland, Bibb County Glades Preserve. ]]> One essential component of artist survival is the gallery. German-Belgian transplant Guido Maas made a gradual transition to Birmingham starting seven years ago.]]> When you find yourself in the middle of publishing a newspaper and you are out trying to showcase--be it the sunny or the seamy side of Birmingham--you have to rely on model citizens to cooperate. That takes both management skills and constant education when dealing with amateurs and professionals alike.]]> We hope you have been getting the feel of this space from Haley Castille’s pieces in this section--that is meant to be a place to explore spiritual, metaphysical, and dare I say religious issues in a maybe what can we do about it in this life context.]]> Fuimos almorzar la semana pasada al camion Pineda con mesa picnic, e igual al Little Donkey, los dos ambos. Me sorprende que Escarlata fue conmigo hasta el camioncita taqueria en el autopista Pinson Valley. Se encuentra a menudo tomando margaritas en Homewood sin embargo.]]> So there goes the publisher again, trying to impress us with his versatility, not resting on his laurels by adventuring all the way to El Girasol in Roebuck last time, but ranging all the way from a Jim n' Nick's version of a Mexican restaurant in...]]> CNN, FOX, and MSNBC can't get enough of politics. In fact many of their reporters refer to themselves as political junkies. At the end of the day, a junkie is a junkie. Junkies will do whatever they have to do to get that next fix. They don't care what it is and where it comes from as long as they can get high.]]> At the pool the other day, I heard a George Michael song. That sentence alone raises too many questions to answer in the small space available here. (Why was he listening to a radio station, let alone one that plays George Michael songs? ]]> If you’re here looking for what has recently become a predictable dose of political satire, I’m sorry. This is not your week. The little yellow light on my satirical-faux-conversation tank is burning bright. I’m tapped out for now, man.]]> It’s Independence Week; what better time to brush up on that most American of American stories: Paul Revere’s ride. Now, the way I always understood it, Paul Revere rode from Boston to near Lexington, warning Americans that the British troops were making their move. But then Tea Party historian Sarah Palin gave us a more authoritative account:]]> I’m sure you were shocked by the wanton display by a politician last week, a man who surely knows better but was so blinded by his ego and insulated by his base that he felt he could get away with anything.]]> The presidency of Barack Obama ended April 4. It was a pretty good one, given that it lasted only two years. He managed to get some health care reform enacted, rescued a couple of car makers and generally helped the nation weather an economic tsunami resulting from eight years of a Bushquake.]]> Fifty years ago, beginning April 17, 1961, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency—using Cuban exile air and ground forces—tried unsuccessfully to invade Cuba and spark an uprising against President Fidel Castro. ]]> Just slightly more than a year ago, Birmingham was faced with a 77 million dollar deficit. The city was reeling from the many misdeeds of former Mayor Larry Langford, and the city government was in shambles. On top of that, we were in the midst of the great recession, which hit all of us hard and created a bleak landscape where progress for the city and hope for a better future seemed distant at best.]]> In something of a break with custom, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis has said he will not endorse or campaign for his primary opponent, state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, who beat Davis in June to become the Democratic nominee for governor of Alabama.]]> Since late last year, the Grants Mill Road bridge over Lake Purdy has been closed because the city could not enforce vehicle weight restrictions on the bridge. This has created quite a problem for Birmingham, Jefferson County and Shelby County residents who used the bridge—they currently have to take a six-mile detour to get to their destinations. ]]> What a week to reintroduce one’s self to Twitter. When the micro-blogging trend achieved white-hot heat back in 2008, I was there.]]> We received this response to Matt Hooper’s column “Tipping Point” from Nathan Barret, who runs the Spring Street Fire House DIY music venue here in Birmingham, and felt we should share it, and Mr. Hooper’s response, with you.]]> Hey, 440 some-odd days until the 2012 election! Excited yet? Sure you are! Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll, a black guy is running for the GOP nomination and Christine O’Donnell is walking off the set of Piers Morgan Tonight. It’s a great time to be alive.]]> A couple of weeks ago, while I was knee-deep in deciphering the debt ceiling debacle, I ran across a disturbing AP story out of Philadelphia.]]> Well, OK then. So much for the grand bargain. This past weekend had to be the most uninspiring stretch of time to be an American since...well, maybe Watergate or the Clinton impeachment. No wonder we couldn’t get our form of government to take hold in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.]]> Birmingham does not have a Speaker´s Corner to let off steam, but I was still faintly aware of some vapor evaporating in the Mountain Brook Starbucks over a couple of recent US Supreme Court decisions. One was on the affordable healthcare act, or Obamacare if you prefer .]]> The right to vote, equality in the work place, political power, wearing pants without being scolded...the achievements of women over the last century are innumerable.]]> In regard to the article written by Lori Hamilton, let me state that I am no fan of Newt Gingrich, although my dispute with him may differ from Ms. Hamilton's. Her categorization of Speaker Gingrich's assessment of helping poor people out as racist is, quite frankly, unwarranted.]]> Surely, there was plenty that went wrong in the Alabama Crimson Tide's loss to Texas A&M.  Enough to write a book, starting with the failure to run the ball with first and goal at the five i]]> It was Karl Marx who coined the term “opiate of the people” back in 1843 as a slight against organized religion. But the father of socialism could have just as easily spun the term to describe college football in the modern day.]]> My father never watched a soccer game in his life, but all during Sunday’s women’s World Cup final I kept thinking of him. When I was a kid, he thrilled me with his accounts of what it was like to sit in front of a radio and listen to Joe Louis’ knockout of Max Schmeling in 1938.]]> To call this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship “madness” would be something of an understatement. I feel a strong desire to quote Jerry Garcia and say, “what a long, strange trip it’s been,” but rest assured I’ll resist the temptation. ]]> Why a win for the players is a win for everyone So what just happened? For months, the sports media has been telling us that the National Football League Players Association was about to be crushed in their contract negotiations with the league owners. ]]> Why is brominated vegetable oil in Mountain Dew? I can understand the high fructose corn syrup (number two on the ingredient list behind carbonated water) and the various chemicals to preserve flavor and freshness, but I’m not sure about oil. ]]> “One kid, six dads.” That’s Scott Walton’s enduring memory of his son’s first T-ball game. As the batter knocked the ball into play, the first base coach, third base coach, batting coach and three other fathers in the dugout got into their high-volume act. As Walton recalls it, “Here was this four-year-old kid with a crowd of guys five times his size yelling at him to do different things.”]]> THE TOP FIVE WORST SUPER BOWLS IN REVERSE ORDER OF SUCKINESS]]> It’s been really getting under my skin this season, the way people are down on the strength of the SEC. Folks all over the media and across the country are pointing to the fact that Florida, Tennessee and Georgia are all struggling this year as evidence of the SEC’s waning dominance.]]>