A look at Birmingham in videos …

Looking at a railroad crossing on Google Maps (our vertical video of the week). From Justin Bradley.

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1. bionic reading
   The automated
   voice spit out text faster and
   faster to tired ears.
2. the turkey’s days are numbered
   From the pen to the
   factory to the market
   to my dinner plate.
3. it is never too late to settle
   Bachelor No. 3
   has a weird job, bald spot and
   questionable taste.
4. america’s ceos
   They may not be the
   best and brightest but just the
   tallest and whitest.
5. waiting for disaster
   His mind conjured up
   every misfortune he could
   create from nothing.
6. the old batch of cars
   Who wants this year’s lame
   models when next year’s models
   are so similar?
7. so much for tall, dark and handsome
   She knew exactly
   what she wanted till she found
   him at the checkout.
8. gratitude may just save your life
   Be thankful for the
   little things, the big things and
   still being thankful.
9. the tall neighbor
   Floor by floor, the new
   apartment building grew past
   old establishments.
10. ice cream as entree
    Sometimes, the dinner
    needs to be a dessert for …
    reasons. Rocky road?
11. shiraz butterfly
    She dipped the paintbrush
    in her wine glass and kept on
    daubing the canvas.
12. first date jitters
    She giggled her way
    through appetizers but found
    herself by dessert.
13. the toy aisle
    Christmas wishes come
    to life with robots and dolls
    stacked to the ceiling.
14. the party circuit
    Time enough for drinks
    here, small bites there, holiday
    cheer most everywhere.
15. the muse short-circuits
    How beautiful life
    is when the evening— damn, I
    had something for this …
16. the ineffective leader
    Evade, blame, whimper,
    obstruct, deny, fabricate,
    lie, cheat, ridicule.
17. the effective leader
    Reflect, give, honor,
    listen, practice, inspire,
    serve, prepare, follow.
18. climate crisis, where crisis means opportunity
    The rising tides mean
    everyone gets beachfront homes
    eventually.
19. an omen here, an omen there
    Hard to interpret
    signs when so many point to
    the end of the world.
20. the jaded crooner
    A guitar and a
    mic, and decades of songs for
    the brokenhearted.
21. a pollution conundrum
    What fills the landfills
    and clogs the oceans more than
    careless whims by us?
22. trickle down santa
    One giant sack of
    toys for rich kids, odds and ends
    for the remainder.
23. theater of the future
    Seats with microwaves,
    send texts using movie screens,
    support animals.
24. the bosses
    What the bosses want
    and what the bosses need are
    two different things.
25. oprah’s secret children
    A covert squad of
    heroes fighting for truth, jus-
    tice and empathy.
26. where the mall once stood
    Mostly empty stores
    connected by empty halls
    and empty food court.
27. christmas break
    A 2-week orgy
    of Fortnite, new toys, sleeping
    in and no homework.
28. overheard at the starbucks
    “We sent our son to
    a ritzy private school, and
    he fell in with snobs.”
29. soldiers of misfortune
    One by one, they talked
    up their greatest failures to
    garner empathy.
30. button-down metamorphosis
    He transformed himself
    from nebbish host to nebbish
    guru zen master.
31. the quiet season
    A hibernation
    that engulfs the living and
    reassures the dead.
32. tech bust
    A server goes down
    and with it, the dashed hopes of
    a wired nation.
33. just one more taste to be sure
    It took three bowls to
    convince her on the new kind
    of ice cream flavor.
34. elf alert
    Condition red! All
    personnel prepare for the
    big delivery!
35. yuletide sentiment
    Wishing you a bright
    and gay, holly and jolly,
    wonderful Christmas.
36. post-christmas blues
    Snow smothering the
    land, long nights of despair and
    dread, bitterness reigns.
37. resolve to fight
    The year may be done,
    but let us resolve to fight
    for another year.
38. who needs tahiti
    Their honeymoon was
    a trip to the store with fine
    wine and cheese at home.
39. the letter that never came
    The words that never
    comforted, the promises
    that were never read.
40. goodness graciousness
    Not a saint but one
    who worked nonstop at being
    kindly all the time.
41. the final countdown
    Thirteen twelve ele-
    ven ten nine eight seven six
    five four three two one
42. new year, new decade, new you
    We are reborn like
    stars, planets and galaxies
    from so much space dust.
43. resolution absolution
    The idea of
    transformation excites while
    doing it can suck.
44. flights of antsy
    Do we dare dream at
    all when we crash many times
    in so many ways?
45. to explore change
    A discarding of
    outmoded parts, retooling
    of parts that still work.
46. the courage to be less than
    Admitting to our
    selves that we want to improve
    takes guts, guts and guts.
47. changes in spurts
    A little setback
    can look like complete failure
    to the untrained eye.
48. there is no finish line
    We change and change and
    settle for nothing less than
    total perfection.
49. the next career
    A blinding light that
    relegates broken paths to
    the darkest corners.
50. emergency haiku
    This is a test. If
    this had been an actual
    emergency, run!
51. a light has gone out
    When a teacher dies,
    she leaves behind galaxies
    of brighter students.
52. hopelessly hungover
    Inspiration from
    the bottom of a bottle
    dries up so quickly.
53. who has a crush at this age?
    It’s still possible
    to like and like-like someone
    with all the tingles.
54. pick already!
    He wrestled with his
    Top Five albums long after
    his relevancy.
55. the colosseum 2020
    The lions are in
    league with the indicted in-
    surgent. Thumbs up … ass.
56. staving off loneliness
    Reaching out for a
    lifeline and finding one, no
    matter the tension.
57. no hair up there
    Aerodynamic
    and smooth sails the shiny head
    across skies of blue.
58. the algorithms of life
    A computer picks
    what we watch next, how we shop,
    when we stand and stretch.
59. academic incarceration
    Inmates discuss the
    works of Plato to reveal
    how we’re connected.
60. meaningless jargon
    Deep dive, low-hanging
    fruit, blue sky thinking, going
    forward, game changer.
61. the hand of a volunteer
    Step up to do one
    small thing with big results for
    someone else in need.
62. a magical dinner
    Lots of wine, lots of
    good conversation and ringed
    by happy dear friends.
63. a slightly drunker campus
    Make tuition free
    for everyone or allow
    payment by kidney.
64. smart shopper
    All I want to know
    is brand, price, size, warranty,
    color and rating.
65. the pretzel farmer
    A bumper crop of
    knots, a fair share of sticks and
    a few unsalteds.
66. caveat emptor
    Each grift is new to
    someone. We are all suckers
    at some point in life.
67. backyard air force
    A door opens and
    a squadron of birds takes flight
    in a giant swoosh.
68. who’s hungry?
    I like to think on
    what I’ve eaten, what I eat,
    what I’ll be eating.
69. it’s on, automaton
    Once the robots choose
    to unionize, enslaving
    their masters is next.
70. wearing out
    A broken zipper
    pull, a rip, a stain, a frayed
    cuff, a torn-up stitch.
71. by the numbers
    Haiku done: thousands.
    Haiku in progress: 14.
    Good haiku: a few.
72. the reality we live in
    Our perception can
    overwhelm what we see and
    feel. Virtual now.
73. the ache for something more
    My heart’s beating a
    million times a minute in
    anticipation.
74. to be the dumper, the dumpee
    The secret is to
    pull the trigger first and dodge
    that poisoned bullet.
75. in the life
    Wake up, eat, shower,
    first job, eat, second job, eat,
    wind down, go to bed.
76. the mad scramble each morning
    Somewhere between the
    seventh snooze and out the door
    lies flustered frenzy.
77. untapped, unneeded
    Do we get wiser
    as we get older? Does it
    count for anything?
78. competing anxieties
    Not enough sleep, not
    enough money, not enough
    time to get all done.
79. friday lunch break
    The pair bonded through
    shared laughs and a weird toasted
    rye bagel sandwich.
80. click to learn
    The teachers live on
    a server, doling out new
    knowledge when summoned.
81. vain brain
    He strove not just to
    be the smartest, but also
    let others know it.
82. predatory networking
    What a joy it is
    to mingle among those who
    struggle for answers.
83. tyranny of the tech giants
    Digital exhaust
    harvested into evil
    database of us.
84. the oceans of our mind
    We swim in a sea
    of memory, pausing to
    drown in nostalgia.
85. investigator, i hardly know her
    Clicking on random
    poorly sourced articles to
    skim through is “research.”
86. be courageous
    The bravest act in
    the world is to love someone
    with your complete heart.
87. sun’s out, tongue’s out
    The security
    cameras showed her with a blep
    anytime she moved.
88. the fight not to be dehumanized
    Machines influence
    us and we are creatures with
    resistant bright souls.
89. spreadsheet confab
    The squiggle boxes
    meet other squiggle boxes
    for light mathematics.
90. moment of strength
    Friends, are we the most
    vulnerable when we share
    ourselves with others?
91. harvest of shame: the next generation
    Data is the new
    oil, China the new Sau-
    di Arabia.
92. franchise failure
    A huge series of
    cool movies ending with a
    two-hour whimper.
93. the politics of breathing
    We owe ourselves the
    right to clean air and water
    on a fixed planet.
94. fake it till you fake it
    We live within un-
    certainty, but proclaim our
    opinions loudly.
95. that special taco
    From the taco truck
    on the corner, with the right
    amount of hotness.
96. a lesson in canine economics
    Nothing makes you ap-
    preciate having one pit
    bull than two pit bulls.
97. drag me to hell
    Roast me, mock me, knock
    me off my pedestal and
    help me to wake up.
98. that nagging cough
    Probably nothing.
    Nothing except the early
    warnings of a plague.
99. nothing normal
    Perilous times and
    bad news everywhere. It’s hard
    to stay on your feet.
100. the kitchen is secure
     The sink is empty.
     The stove is clean and shiny.
     The tile floor is mopped.
101. every day is an extra day
     Every day is an
     extra day as long as we
     continue breathing.

• • •

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A look at Birmingham in videos …

Minneapolis’ Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater holds a January workshop, “Raising Our Voices: Stories of Breast Cancer Told Through Movement, Music and Voice,” at the Alys Stephens Center. From Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater.

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A look at Birmingham in videos …

Coming to town for interviews with EWTN. From Father Ian VanHeusen.

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A look at Birmingham in videos …

Sarah Collins Rudolph, survivor of the 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, speaks in January at the Faith Community of St. Sabina church in Chicago. From St. Sabina Video.

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