Meg White of the White Stripes, performing to a packed house at Sloss Furnaces last week. Photo by mosesxan.

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Records are made to be broken. Mobile native Hank Aaron once held the record for career home runs, until Tuesday. Some guy named Barry Bonds, pictured here, now holds the title with 756 homers, and counting. Aaron stepped aside gracefully, offering these words via video: “I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement. My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.”

The San Francisco Giants, even with Bonds’ steroid-fueled help, lost 8-6 to the Washington Nationals.
• Los Angeles Times: Losing his crown, but not his class

Video after the jump …

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If you’re happy and
you know it, clap your mouth shut
and stop the Prozac.

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Jim Skinner, the longtime TV pitchman for his dealership Jim Skinner Ford, died Saturday at age 87. He’s at the beginning of the commercial, above, but folks here will remember him side by side with his son during most spots, promising “a hundred dollars says we’ll beat your best deal, regardless.” Funeral services take place this morning. [obit]
• Birmingham News: Jim Skinner dies

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You will meet a kind
stranger by cutting in front
of her in traffic.

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When they come named with
adoption certificates,
I’ll buy an iPhone.

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Blessedly hot day
turns steamy with downpour of
cool drenching torrents.

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The secret club meets
at a strip mall restaurant
for Friday dinner.

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Finally, a holiday in August, and not just a greeting card holiday but one with real spiritual meaning in a world gone mad. We, of course, refer to the tax-free holiday today through Sunday, with nearly 400 municipalities in Alabama participating. What’s allowed in this back-to-school-inspired sale? Same as last year: clothing under $100, school supplies, books under $30 and computers and peripherals under $750 (pdf of rules). So stock up on pencils and Pentiums, and kids, stay in school.
• Alabama Department of Revenue: 2007 Sales Tax Holiday

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Then and now

The bucks start here: Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Fred Thompson (well, almost candidate in his case) stopped in town last month to meet the voters and raise the dollars. Both took part in private big ticket fund-raisers, and both are seeing their popularity rise in Alabama. Thompson, a Sheffield native, is the current front-runner among Republican candidates, while Obama jumped 8 percentage points to close the gap with fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to a recent poll.

Who should receive your vote on Feb. 5? Sir Charles Barkley weighs in … after the jump.

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My job, as I see
it, is success through others
in surprising ways.

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The infant laptop
seems helpless as the techie
looks for maladies.

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Sit back, relax and
watch the pictures, now, as they
fly through the air. (fade)

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