http://bhamweekly.com/birmingham/ UPDATE: Read War on Dumb in the March 29 issue of the Birmingham Weekly. This morning The Birmingham News reported that Birmingham City Councilor Valerie Abbott is considering running for mayor. At C]]> News comes from the Alabama Democratic Party this morning that Bill Clinton is coming back to Bama, again! According to the news release this morning: “Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham an]]> tu periodista preferido en Cuba ]]> honoring Birmingham's greatest civil rights leader On Thursday October 25, you can be a part of the commemoration of the first anniversary of the death of Birmingham's Civil Rights legend, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. In honor of her late husband, ]]> Honoring the Late Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth On Thursday October 25, you can be a part of the commemoration of the first anniversary of the death of Birmingham's Civil Rights legend, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. After a busy three days of activi]]> First there was the botched Facebook IPO which caused alleged losses at some banks totaling $365 million. This was due to so called computer issues with the electronic stock exchange the NASDAQ. Apparently, computers used to drive the auctions were overwhelmed by order cancellations and updates in the opening moments of the IPO.]]> con los ojos Better watch what you see when you look at forbidden fruits. Then don't look here anytime soon. ]]> Chef Lee Epting from Athens, GA Lee Epting will bring his southern gentility and hospitality of cuisine all the way from Athens, GA on September 14. Dine on quail from Manchester Farms in South Carolina, prepared with a combinati]]> When the Summer growing season finally arrives in Alabama, I always look forward to the fresh, local, and sustainable produce that´s always readily available. When I was a child my father Sidney Vizzina and my mother Grethcen Vizzina always had tomato plants and cucuzza growing in our back yard.]]> After roughly a year-long hiatus, lunch is back at Bottletree Cafe, and it may be better than ever. I used to take the crazy girl there, because it had all the vegetarian and even vegan dishes she preferred.]]> Ever been jamming with your garage band and thought you’d make it big if only you had your own recording studio? Are you a budding filmmaker in search of Alabama’s largest soundstage? In the market fo]]> From the Equal Time Department, word comes from our nation's capital today that Vice President Dick Cheney will be in Birmingham April 2 to help Sen. Jeff Sessions raise campaign cash. And just 24 hou]]> Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. -F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby How do you capture, visually, a shiny, vaguely self-blinded reflection--of a shiny, vaguely self-blinded ref]]> el proceso supera todo Como dice siempre Nick Saban el proceso es todo.  Ne te preocupas por el destino. Piensa en la ruta hacia lo que buscas.  En la vía hacia Cuba hay las islas de Bahama.  Y en el m]]> es un secreto Who knows where Anonymous will turn up next? Last night, the hospital, and all because of Scarlet, so they say. He will have to get out in a hurry, missing all the color in the streets. ]]> Sentences from under the Streets Did you ever dream of ships sailing by unattainable ancient cities in a lonely universe? Close your eyes, open them again, and find yourself in Cuba. ]]> During the Craft Bazaar During the 7th Annual Holiday Craft Bazaar in the Avondale and Forest Park neighborhoods, there will be arts and crafts everywhere, from Naked Art to the Beloved Community Church. On the opening nig]]> Larger Than Life Coming Out Party Nov. 2 Martin Hames left us ten years ago in November. After a conversation I had with a friend and fellow Trustee Board member, we agreed that even years after his death, our Altamont/ B.U.S./ Brooke Hil]]> David Ramirez at Bottletree Oct. 24 David Ramirez is an Austin-based singer/songwriter who has put out two full-length albums and one EP of achingly introspective Americana, folk, rock and country. He has received accolades from publica]]> Cuisine by Brandon Cain of Saw's, Beer by Avondale Brewery Brandon Cain will leave his kitchen at Saw's and walk across the street to Avondale Bricks Gallery to bring a unique variation of his soulfood/seafood/countrycooking haut]]> The Birmingham News Co. can’t demolish its historic former home just yet.Two weeks ago, the Birmingham Design Review Committee (BDRC) said it could no longer deny the News a demolition permit because,]]> Following a federal investigation can be a lot like tracking a submarine, always beneath the surface except for periodic moments when a periscope peeks at its target. It seems the government has Comm]]> Ever been jamming with your garage band and thought you’d make it big if only you had your own recording studio? Are you a budding filmmaker in search of Alabama’s largest soundstage? In the market fo]]> espera lo que viene desde Cuba ¿Listo? 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]]> Critical Calls Go Unmade--and Unevenly 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]]> ANONYMOUS TRANSLATION 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...]]> 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.]]> The former head of the Jefferson County environmental services department, Jack Swann, this afternoon was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison and fined $250,000 for his role in a widespread ]]> Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. -F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby How do you capture, visually, a shiny, vaguely self-blinded reflection--of a shiny, vaguely self-blinded ref]]> el proceso supera todo Como dice siempre Nick Saban el proceso es todo.  Ne te preocupas por el destino. Piensa en la ruta hacia lo que buscas.  En la vía hacia Cuba hay las islas de Bahama.  Y en el m]]> es un secreto Who knows where Anonymous will turn up next? Last night, the hospital, and all because of Scarlet, so they say. He will have to get out in a hurry, missing all the color in the streets. ]]> Richard Scrushy’s probation officer wants the former HealthSouth CEO to wear a LoJack on his ankle after Scrushy went AWOL in south Florida. Scrushy was on vacation with his family to Disney World whe]]> One ‘Invisible Primary’ deserves another — or maybe 20. Tonight is the first reporting deadline for presidential candidates — a barometer the punditry calls the “Invisible Primary.” Candidates are do]]> News comes from the Alabama Democratic Party this morning that Bill Clinton is coming back to Bama, again! According to the news release this morning: “Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham an]]> 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.]]> First there was the botched Facebook IPO which caused alleged losses at some banks totaling $365 million. This was due to so called computer issues with the electronic stock exchange the NASDAQ. Apparently, computers used to drive the auctions were overwhelmed by order cancellations and updates in the opening moments of the IPO.]]> Since 1990 and the dawn fun & Stuff, and the first official publication of the Birmingham Weekly in 1997, much has changed in what a newspaper is supposed to do as you can read in the Birmingham News some days but not others. We have spun off several other publications ourselves and they are spinning off as well.]]> You can make it, you can do it! I´ll be here cheering watching you get through it! It doesn´t matter what you do or don´t do, I love you anyway, I love you just because your you!!!.]]> Mix my martini, fast: it's back to school in the Magic City. As summer slowly folds up like the last beach umbrella at sunset, we shake the sand out of our sandals, dust off the Mary Janes, and brace ourselves once again for the sheer horror of what lies ahead: the back to school ride through hell.]]> Catalan, a highly acclaimed Spanish restaurant in Washington, D.C., before returning to Birmingham to work in some of the most prestigious restaurants. His career includes stops at the Five Star and Five Diamond resort The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, as well as Citronelle, iRicchi, and the Ritz- Carlton in Washington, D.]]> You will also have a chance to view the long-term installation of Cuban artwork by artists in prestigious collections around the world from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama..]]> After roughly a year-long hiatus, lunch is back at Bottletree Cafe, and it may be better than ever. I used to take the crazy girl there, because it had all the vegetarian and even vegan dishes she preferred.]]> ANONYMOUS TRANSLATION 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...]]> When the Summer growing season finally arrives in Alabama, I always look forward to the fresh, local, and sustainable produce that´s always readily available. When I was a child my father Sidney Vizzina and my mother Grethcen Vizzina always had tomato plants and cucuzza growing in our back yard.]]> 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.]]> Palo Pallas is fascinated with transformation: most particularly in how transformation relates to individuals and life experience. Pallas also believes that thought is energy and as energy cannot only be transformed but transferred. These concerns are the basis for an exhibit of the artists' work at Avondale Bricks Gallery opening August 30.]]> The extensive woodlands that house deer and even a wild boar population, used to be forbidding to all but a few humans willing to dare the expanses of kudzu and poison ivy.]]> Sweet tea, smothered pork chops, fried green tomatoes, blackberry cobbler, okra, lima beans, hopping john, chow-chow pickle, tea cakes... these are only a few of the tasty delights you might find on a hunt for bon-a-fide southern cuisine. The list goes on and on.]]> If you thought Crestwood Coffee as just a place to stop for some Zambesi roast (just like you thought Bottletree was just a place to hear The Great Book of John), then you may want to think again next time you are styling down Crestwood Boulevard with hunger pangs, heading east with nothing but fast food and an abandoned Hooters ahead.]]> 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.]]>