Filed under: DC, Food, Photographs, Random shots, Washington, children, people
Of course one of the fun things about traveling and seeing friends from college is the ability to watch the new people in their lives, especially if they’re in the “little people” category. This is Katrina; she’s almost 3 years old and she served as my “host” during my trip to Washington, DC for Main Street certification training. Here she is on my last full day in town showing me everything that one can do besides eat red onions. What’s not shown is the reassembling of the rings, her taking them back apart, and the use of tomato and lettuce to make a face.
One of the more enjoyable moments of the trip.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: Atlanta, GA, Jackie Robinson, Photographs, Random shots, airport, iPod, people
There seems to be a lot of buzz going on about last night’s American Idol episode. Well, I admit that I didn’t watch the episode; I’m still attempting to recover from traveling and testing last week. We’ll get back to the world of blogging tomorrow, but first I figured I’d share a couple of images from my trip. This image is of an “iPod vending machine” at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. Definitely a sign of the times.
More later.
Cheers.
P.S. Today would have been Jackie Robinson’s 88th birthday. Check out this entry about his life and accomplishments.
Filed under: AL, Birmingham, Birmingham AL restaurants, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham art galleries, Birmingham, AL, Blogging, Gallery 2306, MOB, Media of Birmingham, Photographs, Random shots, art
January is always a time of new beginnings and endings. Keeping that in mind, a couple of quick shots as we start what some would consider a short work week here at the Ramblings.
Gallery 2306 closed
Driving down 2nd Avenue North this weekend, I noticed that the Gallery 2306 storefront looked like many of its pieces were out of the window.
A closer look revealed a “For Lease” sign. The owner of the business came to the door and told me that in fact they were closed for business. He said that sales during the holiday season were not quite what they expected and that they were closing before it got any worse. I hope that they eventually update the website to inform others of their decision.
Those that still have artwork at the gallery should call 908.8528. The same number is also suggested if you have any additional questions about the closing.
The MOB met last night…
MOB meaning Media of Birmingham that is, at Surin West in Five Points South. The group, founded in 2003 by Christina Tutor, Vivi Abrams, Kyle Whitmire and Wade Kwon, “serves as a networking and social club for media and advertising professionals in Birmingham, Alabama”.
For the record, I was listed as being a freelancer on my name badge at last night’s meeting. I would say that’s a fair assessment of my situation right now. I’d guess that 14-16 people came out for this month’s meeting, my first. I’m also sure that Wade will correct my numbers at some point this morning. Those wanting additional information about the group, visit their about us page by clicking here.
A recap of the weekend including vandals and wondering
For those that decided to take it easy and not read (and quite frankly, I couldn’t blame you, it was beautiful out there), here are links to this weekend’s posts:
Vandals are starting to mess with Vulcan… what gives?
Remembering Dr. King and the future of the dream in 2007
Live (on tape) from the 2007 State of the Region for Birmingham, AL
As always, share comments if you’ve got ‘em.
Enjoy the day (or at least stay warm).
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, Architecture, B'ham Wiki, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, Cities, Civic Engagement, Magic City Flickr Group, Photographs, Random shots, State of the Region, Vulcan, Works Progress Administration, art, urban issues, vulcan park
UPDATE: Click on the images below to see exactly where the damage has occured on the signs.
Vulcan. I affectionately refer to him here as “The Big Guy atop Red Mountain.” It is hard to think of any modern event covered in Birmingham, Alabama without thinking of the money shot many refuse to leave without, that of the god of fire and forging as he overlooks Jones Valley. The scary thing is, recently there have been bad things going on at the base of the statue.
Considering the fact that I did not see this tagging going on during the holiday season, I can only assume that it’s occurred in past couple of weeks. These interpretive signs that describe the view from the park overlook are not the only victims of area vandals. Picnic tables that are located throughout Vulcan’s current home (he moved there in 1936 and it was recently restored, the project completed in 2004) have also been “tagged” by some that probably don’t care about the significance of the world’s largest cast iron statue.
A common theme at Friday’s state of the region luncheon was “as goes [insert name of city here], goes the region.” Perhaps as we prepare to hold our elected officials accountable for the image of our city, perhaps we need to hold each other accountable for the image as well. At what point does it become your problem? Hopefully sooner rather than later. Especially as The Big Guy gets renewed national interest and in so doing, so does Birmingham, Alabama and the rest of the region.
Let me know what you think?
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, B'ham Wiki, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, AL, Cities, Civic Engagement, Civil Rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Kelly Ingram Park, Martin Luther King, My Birmingham, News Media (as source & subject), Photographs, Race and Prejudice, Random shots, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, history, memories, people, urban issues, urban parks
Today many in the nation will take a moment to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during unity breakfasts, prayer meetings and television montages that will no doubt have people in Birmingham believing that the only thing people think of when they hear the name of their city is fire hoses and dogs. Commissioner Langford, a likely candidate for mayor in this fall’s election will speak at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church here in the city this afternoon. There will be wreath-laying ceremonies at the base of the above statue of the fallen civil rights leader later this morning with other political and social leaders taking part. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will be open to the public for free, leading to an influx of cars from across the country coming to see the exhibits and the history of this facility.
An early morning walk through the downtown area showed many treating it as they would any other Monday morning. There are considerably less cars downtown today as many have the day off. This afternoon several hundred people will culminate a weekend of service to the community throughout the greater metropolitan area. There are those that will push the issue of whether or not a city celebrates the holiday. The Birmingham News provides this list in today’s paper. The issue of taking the day off just to have the day off or spending the day working is one that will be raised for some time to come. How do you honor a man who led one of the most important fights in the history of civil rights in this country?
I say one of them because there is still progress to be made in race relations in this country on all levels. Homelessness and poverty still rear its ugly head at levels much greater than we need or want. Gay and lesbian rights are still a long way from being dealt with openly and candidly. So what do we do?
As mentioned last year, I’m still not sure why we choose to focus on these issues and challenges at only one time of year on such a national level. I’m hoping that some people choose to voice their thoughts today as that would be as great a tribute to Dr. King as it would be to roll up your sleeves and do something about it without feeling the need to resort to violent tactics.
The irony of the focus of many of the local activities here in Birmingham, Alabama is the significance of the person that Kelly Ingram Park is named for:
It’s named for the first American sailor killed in “the war to end all wars.” For both Ingram and those that sacrificed for my ability to write these words today, we must really ask ourselves what must we be willing to do to finally achieve victory over these issues.
Let’s hear ‘em.
Cheers.
