Archive for February, 2009
candy is dandy
Thursday, February 19th, 2009Birmingham’s digital TV transition: This concludes our broadcast day?
Monday, February 16th, 2009
If you have cable, or satellite, or Amish beliefs, stop reading: You’re not affected.
(Also, if you have a newfangled DTV-ready TV set, you can also stop reading.)
Otherwise, if you’re a TV watcher in Birmingham, you might still be confused about the digital TV transition. We certainly are. But we’re here to help.
If you currently watch regular broadcast television, the kind that comes in for free via antenna, your free ride may be coming to an end — though it may end either late Tuesday or June 12. Yeah, see, confusing.
The federal government has required TV stations to switch from analog to digital transmission. The switch was to take place at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, but the DTV Delay Act gives those stations the option to switch now or on June 12.
Conversion schedule
Switching 11:59 p.m. Tuesday:
- Alabama Public Television (WBIQ 10)
- CW21 (WTTO)
- My 68 (WABM)
Switching June 12:
So if you do nothing, starting Wednesday, you will not receive APT, CW21 or My 68 on your TV set.
Making the conversion
What do you need to do to keep receiving that sweet, sweet signal?
1. Either buy a DTV-ready TV set.
2. Or, buy a converter box. (The federal government has $40 coupons, but they take awhile to arrive. To order, visit the DTV Web site or call 1-888-388-2009.)
3. Connect antenna to converter box, then connect the box to old TV set.
For more assistance, the United Way of Central Alabama will help the estimated 36,000 area households make the conversion. To request help, call 211.
what has changed
Monday, February 16th, 2009tyranny of expectations
Monday, February 16th, 2009love recession
Monday, February 16th, 2009pain is relative
Monday, February 16th, 2009EXCLUSIVE: Sidewalk loses second director in two years
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
Barely two years on the job, executive director Catherine Pfitzer is out at Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. She was fired Wednesday, according to an e-mail sent by board president Alan Hunter.
Pfitzer had been promoted from program director to festival head in February 2007, following the departure of previous executive director and co-founder Erik Jambor. He resigned in November 2006 citing differences with the board over the festival’s direction and his role in it.
Hunter announced the change in an e-mail to festival staffers and volunteers. While he praises Pfitzer’s work, he says the board felt she wasn’t the correct choice for the future:
“After much deliberation we decided we needed to go in a new direction for the sake of the AMIA down the road. We wish Catherine all the best, and we are grateful for her hard work over the last several and sometimes difficult transitional years. She stepped up when times were shaky and helped get us back on our feet. But as is sometimes the case, the people who get the ball rolling or work hard during shifting times aren’t always the right fit for the future.
That said, we are optimistic about the future and will be on the hunt for a new Executive Director almost immediately. We hope this person exists in our area, but we want to make sure the rest of the country knows we’re searching.”
When asked by e-mail to explain what had happened, Pfitzer replied:
“Wish I could. Trying to figure that out myself.”
The festival, which started in 1999, runs for three days each September.
Update: Pfitzer sent out an e-mail on Feb. 15, thanking supporters. An excerpt:
My time with the festival has been truly amazing: chock full of challenges and triumphs, of high highs and low lows. The intrinsic satisfaction I’ve enjoyed by being a part of Sidewalk and all things AMIA over the past six years can’t be measured — from providing opportunities for filmmakers, to supplying access to independent films to a hungry audience, and most of all contributing to efforts that make Birmingham a better city.
It’s because of these reasons that I encourage you to continue to support Sidewalk, Birmingham Shout and all AMIA programs, now more than ever. Not simply because the organization is enduring another challenging transition, but because these are difficult times for all of us, and during times like these it is art and entertainment that allows us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and get us up and running again.
• • •
More Sidewalk coverage.
Alabama on ‘Survivor’: At first glance
Thursday, February 12th, 2009‘Survivor: Tocantins,’ episode 1 recap
If it’s all about first impressions, let us revel in the diversity of the 16 contestants on the 18th edition of “Survivor.” We have at least two models, a crazy old lady, several black people, and the douchebag alpha male.
And that’s just in the first five minutes.
Let’s not forget our two Alabamians, Debra Beebe and James Thomas Jr., ready to take them down for the $1 million grand prize.
Who got good camera time on the season premiere, and who was virtually invisible? Find out, after the jump …
all the way to carnegie hall
Thursday, February 12th, 2009Alabama on ‘Survivor’: debut tonight
Thursday, February 12th, 2009‘Survivor: Tocantins,’ episode 1 preview
Welcome to the jungle: Alabamians Debra Beebe and
James Thomas Jr. debut on “Survivor: Tocantins” tonight.
It’s Debbie vs. J.T. vs. 14 others in the 18th season of CBS’ “Survivor” reality competition. Tonight, we’ll see which Alabamian can outwit the others for $1 million.
The Birmingham News interviews both Debra Beebe, a middle school principal in Auburn, and James Thomas Jr., a cattle rancher in Mobile (originally from Samson). J.T. says, “I’ve always watched ‘Survivor,’ but this was the first time that I actually applied, and it worked out for me.”
As for Debbie, she’s not worried about shaming her family: “I embarrass them on a daily basis. It doesn’t really matter. I’m very sure that there are going to be some things that they’re going to think are embarrassing.
Preview videos, after the jump …
in a field of dirt
Thursday, February 12th, 2009dishonesty is the best policy
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009A lie, a fib, a
half-truth, a whopper, a tall
tale, sometimes ring true.
• • •
Read more haiku.
an early visitor
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009a world of wheels
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009Come, let us gawk at
the oversize trucks and cool
hot rods that burn cash.
• • •
Read more haiku.
