Take the laughter and
smiles and thoughtful cards and gifts
to cherish always.

• • •

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A couple of the
reindeer do Paleo, the
rest are gluten-free.

• • •

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David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr.
in “Selma,” directed by Ava DuVernay, right.

The historical drama “Selma” hits a few screens on Christmas, opening wide on Jan. 9.

A preview screening takes place in Birmingham at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Carmike Summit 16, and free passes are available.

The movie tells the story of the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, led by Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo, recently in “Interstellar” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”). Ava DuVernay, who became the first African-American woman to win the Sundance Best Director Prize in 2012, signed on to direct after Lee Daniels chose to make “The Butler.”

Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt are among the producers.

“Selma” shot primarily around Atlanta, but did some on-location work in Selma and Montgomery.

Free passes for the Jan. 6 screening are available from Gofobo.

Video: Trailer for “Selma”

“Selma”

• Website | Facebook | Twitter @selmamovie | Instagram

A holiday worth
celebrating in verse with
enough syllables.

• • •

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A look at Birmingham in videos …

The Gaither Homecoming Friends sing “Christmas in the Country.” From EACOG1946.

•

“O Come All Ye Faithful” on the pipe organ at the Cathedral of St. Paul downtown. From John Tally.

•

The Birmingham Boys Choir 36th Annual Christmas Concert from 2013. From Missy Narkates.

•

Real Rap Wives Christmas Show. From Channel Birmingham.

•

Jim Brickman sings “Coming Home for Christmas” on Magic 96.5. From thejimbrickmanmusic.

•

ZooLight Safari from the train. From iam8of9.

•

A special Christmas for the Beckhams. From WIAT-42.

•

Hoover dad gives family snow for Christmas. From WIAT-42.

•

Hewitt-Trussville High School Chamber Choir sings carols at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. From Chris Cheatwood.

•

“Lips Together and Blow” by Dana Dean on the “Dean and Company Christmas Special” for 2014. From Charles Gagliano.

•

Christmas on Us giveaways from Cumulus Media radio stations. From hot1077.

•

The 2014 Birmingham-Southern Holiday Card. From Birmingham-Southern College.

•

Violinist Sue Nuckols performs “The Christmas Song” at the Lyric Theatre downtown. From Canvas Bag Media.

•

“Silent Night” with bells on at the Crestline Cumberland Presbyterian Church. From SRG.

•

Christmas morning. From Zach Benson.

•

Branch Life Church Christmas party at Urban Standard downtown. From Heath McPherson.

•

Adam Wright of Act of Congress performs “Silver Bells” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” From Jason Morales.

•

Vestavia East Elementary students made hygiene kits to be passed out to those in need downtown. From Urban Purpose.

•

Drone shows Friday’s Black Lives Matter protest at the Summit. From Kevin Henderson.

•

Drone footage of Christmas lights around Birmingham. From Kevin Henderson. [added Dec. 23]

•

See Birmingham celebrating Kwanzaa.

•

See Julie from “The Real World” catching up with castmates.

•

See the story of the documentary, “Our Mockingbird.”

•

See the Scouts who raised more than $15,000 for charity.

• • •

Send us links to your videos. | More videos on the Birmingham channel.

Steam rose from the cups
of green tea as they held hands
in the afternoon.

• • •

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Photo: Ning (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for Dec. 21, 2014, highlighting the year’s best reads:

• Louisiana Loses Its Boot, by Brett Anderson @BrettEats
• Pixel & Dimed: @SarahFKessler spent month hustling for gig economy
• Giving up crimson: A farewell to football
• Quest for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie, by @DavidLeite
• Love People, Not Pleasure, by @ArthurBrooks
• Project Bulk – Month 20: Achievement unlocked
• How Anonymous incited vigilantism from Tunisia to Ferguson, by @DavidKushner
• 10 Life Lessons From a Navy SEAL, by Adm. William H. McRaven
• In Alabama, Judges Play God, by @williams_paige
• Myth vs. Fact: Violence and Mental Health, by @LoisBeckett
• Be more skeptical: 20 tips for interpreting scientific claims
• Resegregation of America’s Schools, with look at Tuscaloosa, by @nhannahjones
• The $9 Billion Witness: JPMorgan Chase’s Worst Nightmare by @mtaibbi
• Big in Japan: An author discovers his surprise fame overseas. By @DavidGordonX

More posts from Wade this week:

• Sundayread 2014: the complete list
• Kwanzaa 2014: events around Birmingham
• Oprah to interview Julie from ‘Real World’ and Natalee Holloway’s mom
• PBS World to show ‘Our Mockingbird’ documentary
• Scouts raise more than $15,000 for KIND fund
• The Birmingham channel: Hearts of Dixie
• Y’all Connect: Christmastime in the Magic City
• Birmingham Blogging Academy: The power of Facebook groups

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

She mixed the dough. He
prepped baking sheets. They had a
litter of cookies.

• • •

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The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will hold
its annual Kwanzaa Celebration on Dec. 30.

Places around Birmingham will mark Kwanzaa, taking place Friday through New Year’s Day. A guide to events:

Dec. 27: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church has its Kwanzaa Celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. Free. 1500 Sixth Ave. N., downtown [map].

Dec. 30: The Five Points West branch of the Birmingham Public Library has Kwanzaa Kraft Time from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free. 4812 Ave. W [map].

Dec. 30: The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has a hands-on workshop at 5 p.m. in the Abraham L. Woods Community Meeting Room, followed by a community celebration at 6 p.m. in the Odessa Woolfolk Gallery, including musical and children’s performances. Free. 520 16th St. N. [map].

Video: Celebrating Kwanzaa at the Birmingham
Civil Rights Institute

They wound their way home
on bicycles built for two,
(Their hearts popped wheelies.)

• • •

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“Real World” pioneers Norman Korpi, Heather Gardner (center)
and Birmingham’s Julie Oliver Gentry reunite Sunday on OWN.

It was the series that launched the reality TV craze. Sunday, Oprah Winfrey catches up with a cast member from Birmingham.

Julie Oliver (now Gentry) starred in the first (of 30!) season of “The Real World,” MTV’s docu-soap that followed seven strangers in a New York loft. She joins castmates Heather Gardner and Norman Korpi for “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”

Not that we haven’t had multiple opportunities (People | Miss Stacy | Wetpaint) to catch up with Gentry and company since 1992 …

Just think: No “Real World,” no “Jersey Belle” …

Julie Oliver then (on the show in 1992) and a few years later.

In the same hour, Winfrey interviews Beth Holloway, whose daughter Natalee disappeared in 2005 during a Mountain Brook High senior trip to Aruba. She has never been found.

“Oprah: Where Are They Now?” airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on OWN (repeats throughout the week).

Video: Promo for “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”
(and note who else is on the show)

Video: Catching up with Julie, Norman and Heather

Video: Clip from the very first “The Real World”

“The Real World”

• More on the big reunion on OWN
• Recaps from season 1

Would she like something
sparkly, or silky, or a
present from the heart?

• • •

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I really can’t stay.
— But, baby, it’s cold outside.
Don’t call me “baby.”

• • •

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Sandy Jaffe film shows theatrical collaboration between Birmingham schools

The cast of the play “To Kill a Mockingbird” is featured
in the documentary “Our Mockingbird,” airing on
PBS World in 2015.

A documentary about two Birmingham-area high schools’ production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” will air nationally for Black History Month.

Update Feb. 4:
Watch “Our Mockingbird” online.

Sandra Jaffe’s film “Our Mockingbird” is scheduled to run Feb. 3 on PBS’ World Channel as part of the “America Reframed” series. The director had already set out to do a documentary on Harper Lee’s landmark novel when she discovered that mostly black Fairfield High and her alma mater, mostly white Mountain Brook High, were working on a joint production of the play.

The documentary has screened in various stages since its debut in 2010 in Monroeville, Lee’s hometown. It appeared at the 2012 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival and as a part of Birmingham’s 50 Years Forward in 2013, as well as screenings in Jaffe’s current city, Boston.

This isn’t the first time Jaffe has turned her lens on her hometown. In 1985, she directed the short doc, “Jazz in the Magic City,” about musicians in the 1920s and ’30s who learned to read music in the city’s only black high school from the printing instructor. It aired on PBS and the Discovery Channel.

Jaffe is a screenwriter and script consultant in addition to director, plus a screenwriting instructor at Northeastern University. She has won several awards for her work, including one from the Writers Guild of America.

A specific time for Alabama Public Television has not been announced yet. Update Jan. 28: The film premieres at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 on PBS World, repeating throughout the week. PBS World broadcasts in Birmingham on channel 10.2.

Video: Interview with Sandra Jaffe

“Our Mockingbird”

• Website | Facebook | Kickstarter
• Features in the Washington Post, Village Living, Boston Globe, Alabama Humanities Foundation

Also

• “America ReFramed” 2015 lineup

Sometimes, it’s better
to curse the darkness while you
cuddle up at night.

• • •

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