The sign-up deadline is just six days away for our volunteer trip to Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans. Please join us April 8-15 to help out the good folks of the Gulf Coast in our Magic City Mission, in partnership with Hands on Birmingham.

Still not sure? Meet Nic, a volunteer who went to Hands on New Orleans, and not only transformed the lives of others, but also his own. A recovering alcoholic, he found a way out of his personal darkness: “You can do anything.” See his story in this inspiring three-minute video.

And, our wish list needs someone like you to make it happen. Your gift of supplies and tools help keep Hands on Gulf Coast and Hands on New Orleans on track to rebuild their communities after Hurricane Katrina.

Won’t you lend a hand? The sign-up deadline for the trip is March 15.

Thanks for your consideration.

‘Top Model’ contestant Samantha focuses on newfound career

Her TV modeling career took a long strut off an abruptly short catwalk. But this teenager is determined to turn her passion for fashion into a living.

Samantha Francis, 19, became the second evictee on Wednesday’s episode of “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW reality competition, currently in its eighth season, features 13 women squaring off in photo shoots and fashion walks to win a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl.

The Pinson native discussed her runway ambitions, her bonding with fellow contestants and her Birmingham hangouts by phone Thursday.

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Modesty becomes
you when accepting praise and
pans with easy grace.

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Read more haiku.

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole hour watching “America’s Next Top Model” for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think these models are. Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

Alabama contestants Dionne Walters and Samantha Francis, along with 10 other finalists, head back to school for some tough lessons in modeling and strutting.

All the photos, after the jump … (more…)

Theirs not to reason
why. Theirs but to do and die.
Noble six hundred!

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The playoffs continue, but the Hoover Bucs aren’t looking ahead to next week.

They’re looking ahead to next year

Yes, the seniors are looking forward to college, playing ball at another level, hanging out with their girlfriends, the whole campus experience. Except for Charlie, who may be repeating kindergarten at the rate he’s going. Even with higher education looming, the team faces the lowdown Thompson Warriors on the latest “Two-a-Days.” (more…)

Consumerist in
me wants things I don’t really
need or can afford.

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Read more haiku.

The Magic City Mission needs your help. If you can’t go with us in April to volunteer in Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans, we have the next best thing to being there. Giving tools. And bottled water. And other supplies.

The wish list, provided by the Hands On Network, shows what’s needed by staff members and volunteers right away. The best item to give is a gift card, allowing this nonprofit volunteer group to replenish tools and materials, even gas, as needed. We have links to the retailers on the wish list page.

Come with us to join in the fun — signup deadline is March 15. If not, drop off an item or two by April 4 for us to deliver on April 8 to Louisiana and Mississippi. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

Baby crawls, puppy
scampers in sudden race to
floor-bound finish line.

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Read more haiku.

Then and now

Festival future: Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival goes on. The new executive director, Catherine Pfitzer, and the board held a town hall meeting last week to cull ideas from a small groups of attendees. In addition, the organization has an online survey to pinpoint positives and negatives about the festival and other events. Birmingham Shout, slated for April, sponsored comedian Margaret Cho at the Alabama Theater, drawing around 1,500 fans.

And coming up next weekend, another Sidewalk Scramble with a new twist: pre-submitted scripts. Should be an interesting year for filmmakers and fans.

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If rehab can cure
bigotry, the 12th step must
be lobotomy.

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Read more haiku.

Ideas are the
easy part. Getting them done
seems to be the catch.

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Read more haiku.

A heckuva job: President Bush toured the disaster area in Enterprise today, shortly after Gov. Riley surveyed the tornado damage. Bush put the call out to Americans to lend assistance, even as the Coffee County was declared a federal and state disaster area.

The students killed on Thursday at Enterprise High School were Michael J. Bowen, 16; Peter James Dunn II, 16; Andrew Joel Jackson, 16; Ryan Andrew Mohler, 17; Kathryn Madora Strunk, 16; Michael D. Tompkins, 17; Jamie Ann Vidensek, 17; and Alice Michelle Wilson, 16.
• Bush to Americans: Help the folks down here [CNN]

Showdown in Selma: Former President Clinton and presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Barack Obama are all crowding into Selma on Sunday. To commemorate the 42nd anniversary of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge? Sure. To win voters in a casually Red State? Maybe. To grab camera time? Hmm …

Mr. Clinton will be inducted into the Voting Rights Hall of Fame. Yes, but will they ever let Pete Rose in?
• Clintons, Obama hope to woo black support in Selma [CNN]

So easy, even a Cave 9 could do it: Some things you may not know about the tiny hole-in-the-wall all-ages rock club known as Cave 9 … For instance, in 2006 the Southside venue became a 501(c)(3), meaning it’s a nonprofit organization. And, it owes $6,200 in back taxes to the state of Alabama. And, (whispers) they worship the devil. OK, maybe not the devil, but probably trans-fats or shaved-head Britney.
• Cave 9 rocks with independence [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Birmingham fails, forced to take Cool Remedial Summer School
• State two-year college system to offer lottery, cockfights
• Daylight Saving starts earlier, yet shows no real savings

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Generic whore would
like to be your friend and swipe
credit card numbers.

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Read more haiku.

Ten people were killed Thursday in tornado-related damage in Alabama, including eight students at Enterprise High School in the southeastern corner of the state. School officials sent students to interior halls at 10:30 a.m., but waited until 1 p.m. to close school. At that point, no one was able to evacuate until 1:30, because a tornado had already been spotted in the area. At 1:15, the storms struck, causing a concrete slab roof to collapse. Could a quicker response have saved lives?

Want to help? Red State Diaries has begun compiling a list of relief efforts for Enterprise, including ways you can give blood and cash. Don’t wait — do it today.
• Associated Press: School Was Warned Hours Before Tornado

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