Drips and deluges,
showers and sprinkles, water
torture never ends.

• • •

Read more haiku.

The Hyundai Sonata 2011, built in Montgomery.

The new Alabama isn’t just football championships and high-gravity beers. The success of auto manufacturing in the state continues to grow despite a worldwide downturn.

Earlier this month, Montgomery’s Hyundai factory rolled out its 1 millionth vehicle. That figure includes 655,496 Sonatas and 344,504 Santa Fe SUVs, or about 600 cars a day, or a car every 2 minutes.

The Korean manufacturer opened the plant in May 2005. For comparison, Mercedes-Benz hit 1 million cars in 2007 after opening in Vance in 1997. Honda hit 1 million in 2006 after opening in Lincoln in 2001.

The plant is already turning out the redesigned 2011 Sonata, due to hit showrooms in January or February at $20,000 each.

War on Terror, Web
2.0, reality
TV, red/blue states.

• • •

Read more haiku.

The Birmingham Business Alliance is looking to the future in a city with a very troubled recent past. At its annual meeting Tuesday, the organization focused on Blueprint Birmingham, its effort to develop a regional plan for economic development.

The playbook has been similar to Opportunity Austin, the successful program that made the Texas city more competitive.

• Step 1: Hire Atlanta firm Market Street.
• Step 2: Ask for input on education, infrastructure, quality of life and other aspects through a survey.

Those interested can take the survey online or print the 69-page version to send in.

The survey deadline is Monday.

As Alabamians figure out their year-end tax strategies, consider the following …

The state has the lowest tax burden in the nation, based on Census Bureau analysis of the 2007 fiscal year. Gov. Riley considers that a plus in attracting businesses. But lobbyist Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association argues that limited funds keep Alabama lowest in education as well.

Meanwhile, that seemingly light tax load still hits the state’s poorest families the hardest. A study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington shows that households below the poverty line pay more in taxes than those in the other 49 states.

More families are sliding ever closer to poverty because of the highest state unemployment rate in 25 years.

The Legislature raised the threshold in 2007 where families start paying tax. Other states followed suit, keeping Alabama at No. 1. The tax on food is also considered a contributing factor to this dubious distinction.

Is Alabama succeeding or failing based on its taxation?

What matters more to industries considering coming to Alabama: low tax burden or educated workforce? And are they mutually exclusive?

No one knows your pain
but you. And still, you soldier
on because you must.

• • •

Read more haiku.

The last time Alabama’s unemployment rate was this high was more than 25 years ago. With 226,790 unemployed workers, the state’s jobless rate hit 10.9 percent in October, a slight increase from 10.7 percent the month before.

But the news is far worse in Birmingham. In October 2008, 26,000 people in the Birmingham-Hoover metro area were out of work. This October, more than 50,000 were unemployed, a 95 percent increase from year to year.

It could be worse. No, really: One economist at Regions Bank says Alabama’s unemployment rate could hit 12 percent by spring.

It’s a different kind
of fun when the light goes on
and teaching connects.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Classics, cartoons, musicals and miracles will fill the screen of the Alabama Theatre for 9 days. Tonight marks the start of the venue’s annual “Holiday Film Series.”

As a bonus, each screening starts off with a Christmas carol sing-along with the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

Tickets are $7, $6 for senior citizens and children 11 and younger.

The lineup:

• Tonight, 7 p.m.: “A Christmas Story”
• Tuesday-Wednesday, 7 p.m.: “It’s a Wonderful Life”
• Thursday-Friday, 7 p.m.: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
• Saturday, 2 p.m.: Children’s triple feature
  • “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
  • “Frosty the Snowman”
  • “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
• Saturday, 7 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m.: “White Christmas”
• Dec. 21, 7 p.m.: “Meet Me in St. Louis”
• Dec. 22, 7 p.m.: “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)

Plus, a few video previews to whet your appetite …

Video: A triple dog dare from “A Christmas Story”

Video: “You want the moon? … I’ll throw a lasso around it
and pull it down.” From “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Video: Squirrel!!! from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

Video: “We’re a Couple of Misfits”
from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

Video: Original trailer from “Miracle on 34th Street”

In tough times, a band
of football crazies pins their
hopes on Bama’s boys.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Solar-powered sleigh
comes with DVD player,
espresso machine.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Piling on the years
slowly drains the wonder from
a once bright outlook.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Running back’s victory represents Tide’s first ever award for top college football player

Video: Mark Ingram’s Heisman Trophy acceptance speech

Alabama’s perfect season just got a little perfecter.

Tonight, sophomore running back Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy in New York in the closest vote ever. He represents the first Crimson Tide player ever to win college football’s highest individual honor in its 75-year history. Ingram, a native of Flint, Mich., broke the school record for single-season rushing yards with 1,542 total.

The runner-ups were, in order, Stanford’s Toby Gerhart, Texas’ Colt McCoy, Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Florida’s Tim Tebow, who won in 2007.

No. 1 Alabama defeated Florida in last week’s SEC Championship match and faces McCoy and No. 2 Texas on Jan. 7 in the BCS National Championship Game.

Jefferson County commissioner William Bell (shown at far left) and attorney Patrick Cooper will get it on, in a political sense. The two remaining candidates for mayor of Birmingham have agreed to participate in four debates sometime after Jan. 1.

(At some point, we’ll have to start calling this Vote 2009-10.)

Cooper finished first in Tuesday’s election, and Bell finished second, but neither captured enough votes to win outright. Cooper proposed that two debates be broadcast on television, the other two on radio. Sponsors, locations and formats have not been determined yet.

Those looking for their past answers should check out the Terminal’s flashback to 2007, with audio interviews of both candidates.

Also:

• Black and White lauds Cooper for skipping most forums while dressing down the Birmingham News.

The runoff election is Jan. 19.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.

Birmingham native toured with music festival in late ’90s

Video: Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello perform “Love Hurts”

Lilith Fair, the traveling festival of female artists, announced its lineup Thursday for its 2010 return tour. Among the 41 musical acts signed is Birmingham native Emmylou Harris.

The legendary country singer-songwriter toured with Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. Harris has been touring this fall with her Red Dirt Boys. No word as to how many tour dates she’ll play.

Other artists announced include:

• Brandi Carlile
• Chantal Kreviazuk
• Colbie Caillat
• Corinne Bailey Rae
• Erykah Badu
• Indigo Girls
• Jill Scott
• Mary J. Blige
• Metric
• Miranda Lambert
• Sara Bareilles
• Sarah McLachlan
• Sheryl Crow
• Sugarland
• Tegan and Sara

The 18 cities announced so far span America, Canada and England. The closest stop, as in the 1997-99 tour, is Atlanta.