For some time the man who helped bring Birmingham’s park plan into fruition was unknown, his letters lost in the many collections of the Library of Congress. But now, The Birmingham Historical Society is celebrating the publication of Hand Down Unharmed, a collection of letters and materials that explain the genesis of the Birmingham park system in the words of those who did it. Tonight the Historical Society will have their annual meeting, which is open to the public. The meeting will feature a short talk by co-editors of Hand Down Unharmed, Katie Tipton and Marjorie White, on “The Man Who Brought Olmsted to Birmingham.” Tipton and White’s talk will explain how timber trader and Maryland native M. P. Phillips recruited the most talented and successful park designers in America to design Birmingham’s park system. The Olmsted Brother’s firm was responsible for the beautiful park systems of major cities like Boston, Baltimore, Seattle and Chicago. In addition to his work with the parks, Phillips arranged to donate his fortune to Birmingham-Southern College before his death in 1925.
To find out more about one of Birmingham’s first open spaces advocates come out the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Auditorium tonight, February 19th, at 7:30 p.m.
WE ARE WHAT WE EAT & ALWAYS HAVE BEEN: Birminghamians are obsessed with food, with eating, with cooking, with restaurants. It didn’t start with the current crop of fine-dining establishments but rather with the workaday places that brought Birmingham into being in the first place – the iron and steel manufacturers.
Way back in 1927, right around the time that the Sloss-Sheffield Iron & Steel was modernizing its methods of pig iron production, the company launched a marketing inititative called Pig Iron Rough Notes. The mini-magazine consisted mostly of metallurgical matter, but also included a recipes page called “Gentleman Cooks.” These delicious formulas are the subject of a new book titled Man Food, as well as this week’s cover story.
Elsewhere in the paper we’ve got less appetizing news: Alabama Democratic Conference Chairman Joe Reed is all for black candidates – except the one running for president. But then again what do primaries matter in the age of making playlists?
In the New Year, the living is easy, at least for J’Mel Davidson. That guy means to live right in his own inimitable style.
Halleleujah, I am happy to hear about the advent of Greencup Books. Scheduled to open on Feb. 15, Greencup is the brainchild of once-and-future Weekly contributing writer Russell Helms: a community space located downtown whose explicit mission is “to propogate CREATIVITY.”
Besides selling new and used (!!) books, Greencup will offer eight-week writing and art classes year-round and provide a venue for art openings, yoga classes, community meetings, readings and other literary events.
Located at 105 Richard Arrington Blvd. South (right next door to Bare Hands Gallery) Greencup will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Events already on the bookstore’s calendar include a Feb. 8 reading and release party for Stories from Real Life, a collection of short fiction by Tony Crunk paired with art by Peter Wilm. Feb. 13 marks the start of two eight-week courses being taught at Greencup: “Writing the Memoir” with Tony Crunk and “Publish Your Book” with Russell Helms.
Listen, people. If thousands of you can vote for Ruben and Taylor on American Idol, then you can take four effing minutes to sit through this silly music video about Cooper Green Hospital and cast a vote that means something.
Here’s the deal: Siemens is hosting a contest for one hospital in the United States to win a MAGNETOM Essenza 1.5T. That’s a fancy but affordable MRI scanner, a machine that uses magnetic resonance imaging to look (for lack of a better word) inside the human body and determine if tissue is healthy or pathological. The public hospital doesn’t have one but sure could use one and will get one if you vote here.
If you don’t care for the cause, let your sense of competition guide you: There are 100 hospitals in the running, and at this point, we’re in about 30th place.
You can vote once a day until Dec. 31. Go to www.winanmri.com for complete details.
I hate to play favorites among the many talented writers at Birmingham Weekly, but in the forthcoming “column,” Courtney Haden did such a bang-up job articulating his dismay about the future by commenting on the present, that I could not resist sending out this 63-word nub as a torchbearer for the entire issue:
So while the observance of IGY’s centenary is underway in 2057, we apparently will still be in Iraq, permanently based in Baghdad, forever policing those blasted streets in the shadow of the mightiest fortified embassy on earth, never to recover the trillions wasted or the thousands killed or the invaluable respect squandered on an evil bargain from which we will never extricate ourselves.
To learn what the IGY is, tune in here about this time tomorrow.
THE CONTENTS PAGE IS FULL OF LIES: Yep. The table of contents for Vol. 11, Issue 12 says that Kyle Whitmire’s “War on Dumb” can be found on page 4, when in fact what appeared on page 4 was a guide to the first-ever Downtown Holiday Open House (it went well, thanks for asking). And the contents page also said that Molly Folse’s story “Permission to Stare” about the awesome AXIS Dance Company was on page 23 or thereabouts, when in fact, it’s here. Otherwise, we meant every word we said, and that includes “Midterm Marks” for the Birmingham City Council, Courtney Haden’s consideration of I’m Not There, Jim Fahy’s contemplation of Dead Confederate and Carey Norris’ review of Lions for Lambs.
Next week, the truth will be revealed on the contents page – and a day early due to the holiday. Meanwhile, just prowl around www.bhamweekly.com
When an artist of Bruce Springsteen’s stature releases a new album, all listeners share one common thought - how does this release stack up to his previous releases? And while it may not be fair to compare a fresh batch of songs to well-worn classics including Born To Run and The River,it’s inevitable that fans will draw upon the old to analyze the new. Magic - an 11-track collection of songs performed by The Boss and his E Street players - combines Springsteen’s modern-day society commentary with songs full of memorable characters and stories.
If you need a dose of spirituality or poetry or both, the place to get it during the next few months is St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Montevallo. Dr. James Mersmann, who taught American literature and poetry writing for more than 25 years at UAB, is giving a series of “joyful talks” on the poetry of Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Richard Wilbur, Robert Bly, Rainer Maria Rilke, Kabir, Rumi and others on the second Tuesday of each month through January. Tonight’s talk is titled “Walt Whitman’s Great Camerado: ‘Letters from God dropt in the street’” and begins at 7:30 p.m. The church (not to be confused with the local parish of the same name) is located at 925 Plowman Street in Montevallo, at the corner of Oak and Plowman just across from the high school. Future talks are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11, and Tuesday, Jan 8.
DRUMS, CYMBALS, GONGS, BELLS AND RATTLES Will all be a part of the UAB Percussion Ensemble performance scheduled for Tuesday night at the Alys Stephens Center. Comprised of more than two-dozen percussionists under the direction of marimba maestro Dr. Gene Fambrough, the ensemble will perform a variety of musical numbers, with special emphasis on snares, bass and tenor drums. The free concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Jemison Concert Hall of the ASC. For more information, visit www.music.uab.edu or call 934-7376.
For some time the man who helped bring Birmingham’s park plan into fruition was unknown, his letters lost in the many collections of the Library of Congress. But now, The Birmingham Historical Society is celebrating the publication of Hand Down Unharmed, a collection of letters and materials that explain the genesis of the Birmingham park system in the words of those who did it. Tonight the Historical Society will have their annual meeting, which is open to the public. The meeting will feature a short talk by co-editors of Hand Down Unharmed, Katie Tipton and Marjorie White, on “The Man Who Brought Olmsted to Birmingham.” Tipton and White’s talk will explain how timber trader and Maryland native M. P. Phillips recruited the most talented and successful park designers in America to design Birmingham’s park system. The Olmsted Brother’s firm was responsible for the beautiful park systems of major cities like Boston, Baltimore, Seattle and Chicago. In addition to his work with the parks, Phillips arranged to donate his fortune to Birmingham-Southern College before his death in 1925.
Listen, people. If thousands of you can vote for Ruben and Taylor on American Idol, then you can take four effing minutes to sit through 
THE CONTENTS PAGE IS FULL OF LIES: Yep. The table of contents for Vol. 11, Issue 12 says that Kyle Whitmire’s “War on Dumb” can be found on page 4, when in fact what appeared on page 4 was a guide to the first-ever Downtown Holiday Open House (it went well, thanks for asking). And the contents page also said that Molly Folse’s story “Permission to Stare” about the awesome AXIS Dance Company was on page 23 or thereabouts, when in fact, it’s here. Otherwise, we meant every word we said, and that includes 
When an artist of Bruce Springsteen’s stature releases a new album, all listeners share one common thought - how does this release stack up to his previous releases? And while it may not be fair to compare a fresh batch of songs to well-worn classics including Born To Run and The River, it’s inevitable that fans will draw upon the old to analyze the new. Magic - an 11-track collection of songs performed by The Boss and his E Street players - combines Springsteen’s modern-day society commentary with songs full of memorable characters and stories.
If you need a dose of spirituality or poetry or both, the place to get it during the next few months is St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Montevallo. Dr. James Mersmann, who taught American literature and poetry writing for more than 25 years at UAB, is giving a series of “joyful talks” on the poetry of Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Richard Wilbur, Robert Bly, Rainer Maria Rilke, Kabir, Rumi and others on the second Tuesday of each month through January. Tonight’s talk is titled “Walt Whitman’s Great Camerado: ‘Letters from God dropt in the street’” and begins at 7:30 p.m. The church (not to be confused with the local parish of the same name) is located at 925 Plowman Street in Montevallo, at the corner of Oak and Plowman just across from the high school. Future talks are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11, and Tuesday, Jan 8.
DRUMS, CYMBALS, GONGS, BELLS AND RATTLES Will all be a part of the UAB Percussion Ensemble performance scheduled for Tuesday night at the Alys Stephens Center. Comprised of more than two-dozen percussionists under the direction of marimba maestro Dr. Gene Fambrough, the ensemble will perform a variety of musical numbers, with special emphasis on snares, bass and tenor drums. The free concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Jemison Concert Hall of the ASC. For more information, visit 
