Photo: Pedro Ribeiro Simões (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for Nov. 9, 2014:

• UAB study: Common blood pressure drug eradicates diabetes in mice
• @DianeRavitch reviews @YongZhaoUO’s book on China’s “super” schools
• Spotify, Taylor Swift and the mess of royalties, by @BAHjournalist (via @scottperry)
• Mailbag: How to budget for Y’all Connect 2015
• Army covered up suicide of soldier who refused to torture prisoners in Iraq (RT @joshjonsmith)
• The challenge of music clearances for beloved TV series to DVD, by @tvoti
• Project Bulk: My 60 days of ice baths: Experimenting with testosterone and vitamin D
• Why Better “Research Methods” Are Necessary: Beyond the Catcalling Video, by @zeynep:
• Now our government tracks our snail mail, too. By @nixonron
• AUM presentation: The absolutely essential Twitter workshop
• “Sports Night,” An oral history, compiled by @ktatkinson
• The $9 Billion Witness: JPMorgan Chase’s Worst Nightmare by @mtaibbi (via @scottperry)
• Black-Owned Businesses Are Quietly Powering Detroit’s Resurgence, by @KABBEYL
• 26 Things You Didn’t Know About the “Terminator” Films, by @IvanMCohen

More posts from Wade this week:

• Frozen Tide battles Razorbacks tonight, Saturday on home ice
• Veterans Day events include memorial service, Wounded Warrior fund-raiser
• Vote 2014: Alabama general election results
• Vote 2014: Midterm voting starts now
• The Birmingham channel: To serve, to sculpt, to skate

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Games, humming, drinking,
gossip, snacking, doodling, texts,
reality shows.

• • •

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Human trials to begin in 2015

Video: WIAT-42 report on UAB’s diabetes research

UAB scientists announced Thursday a breakthrough in the fight against one of America’s deadliest diseases.

After more than a decade of research, the Comprehensive Diabetes Center has found that hypertension medication verapamil reverses the onset of diabetes in mice. UAB will begin human trials in 2015.

Dr. Anath Shalev, the center’s director, said in a UAB report, “We have previously shown that verapamil can prevent diabetes and even reverse the disease in mouse models and reduce TXNIP in human islet beta cells, suggesting that it may have beneficial effects in humans as well.”

Dr. Anath Shalev

Beta cells in the pancreas produce insulin to control blood sugar. When blood sugar levels increase, so does production of the protein TXNIP which kills beta cells, thwarts insulin production and fosters the progression of diabetes.

UAB’s research has found that verapamil lowers TXNIP levels in mice, eradicating diabetes in the process.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has given a 3-year, $2.1 million grant to UAB for human trials.

Video: How verapamil saves pancreatic beta cells and
cures diabetes in mice

She would stare at the
broken moon and wonder if
her piece had been claimed.

• • •

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The Frozen Tide faces Arkansas tonight and Saturday in Pelham.

The 10th season of Alabama club hockey is going strong, with only one loss among its opening nine games. Tonight and Saturday, the Frozen Tide faces Arkansas (11-5-0) in its first SECHC matches of the season.

The Razorbacks have been playing since September, already having defeated new West Division provisional member Auburn in two early games.

Faceoff is at 8 tonight and 1 p.m. Saturday on home ice at the Pelham Civic Complex, 500 Amphitheater Road [map]. Tickets are $5 at the door.

The games are available on Pay-Per-View for $6.99 or free streaming audio.

Alabama Frozen Tide

• Website | schedule | Facebook | Twitter @AlabamaHockey

Dial-up connection
and a tendency toward
manual gear shifts.

• • •

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A photo posted by #InstagramBham (@instagrambham) on Nov 11, 2013 at 10:59am PST

The nation’s oldest Veterans Day parade will hit the streets of downtown Birmingham next week. In addition, the National Veterans Day celebration will have other events around town.

• Sunday: The Veterans Day Tribute takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Alabama Veterans Memorial Park near Liberty Park [map]. Free.
• Monday: The National Veterans Award Dinner and Dance takes place at 7 p.m. at the Sheraton Birmingham, 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N., downtown [map]. This year’s honoree is Bob Dole, former Senator and World War II vet who was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. $30.
• Tuesday, Veterans Day:
  • 8:30 a.m. — Memorial service honoring veterans who have died in the last year. Cathedral Church of the Advent, 2017 Sixth Ave. N., downtown [map]. Free.
  • 10:30 a.m. — World Peace Luncheon at the Sheraton Birmingham. $25.
  • 1:30 p.m. — Parade through downtown (see route map below).
  • 6:30 p.m. — Got Your Six Gala at Good People Brewing Company, 114 14th St. S., next to Regions Field [map]. Montgomery blues singer Kip Traylor performs. $25, proceeds benefit the Wounded Warrior Family Foundation, an Alabama nonprofit organization providing financial assistance to families of wounded and deceased soldiers.

For more information, visit the National Veterans Day site.

Update Nov. 6: UAB will hold its third annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday on the Campus Green [map]. (h/t @MCuthbert)

 Map: Parade route in downtown Birmingham

Video: The National Veterans Day Parade in downtown Birmingham

National Veterans Day

• Website | Facebook

Status quo as a
platform and candidate wins
even in harsh times.

• • •

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The mid-term election ballots have been cast. Results from Tuesday’s races in Alabama and the Birmingham metro area …

Statewide voter turnout was 41 percent, the lowest for a mid-term election since 1986.

More election coverage in our Vote 2014 special report.

(Contested races only)

• D = Democrat | I = incumbent | L = Libertarian | R = Republican
  
• Winner in red

Chart: Alabama governor’s race 2014

• • •

More Vote 2014 coverage.

The white blood cells tell
the rest of the body to
pack it in this week.

• • •

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Photo: Ludovic Bertron (CC)

Excellent … polls have opened till 7 tonight for races at the local, state and national levels.

Q: Where do I vote?

A: Call Jefferson County: (205) 325-5550, Jefferson County (Bessemer only): (205) 481-4105, Shelby County: (205) 669-3913.

Or Search Your Polling Place on AlabamaVotes.gov.

Wade on Birmingham:
election results tonight

Remember, if you have problems at your polling place:

• Notify a poll worker immediately.
• Call the state attorney general at 1-800-831-8814 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Wednesday or fill out this online form.
• Call the secretary of state at 1-800-274-VOTE (8683) or visit his site, StopVoterFraudNow.com.
• And tell the probate court for Jefferson County (205-325-5203) or Shelby County (205-669-3713).
• E-mail us at Vote2014[at]wadeonbirmingham.com.

Q: What can I expect to see on the ballots?

A: Check out these sample ballots for each county.

You’re voting for U.S. Senator and Representative, state (including governor) and county officials.

Q: And what about all those amendments?

A: A few insights from WBHM (90.3 FM).

Who are you voting for today? Tell us in the comments.

• • •

More Vote 2014 coverage.

Corruption and lies,
theft and disenfranchisement,
crimes left to crooks.

• • •

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A look at Birmingham in videos …

Goren Avery, server at Highlands Bar and Grill on Southside since 1982, honored for his work as the 2014 Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award. From Southern Foodways.

•

Frank E. Adams Sr. passed away last week. A charter member of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, he gave tours while playing on his clarinet. From LittleLevi1606.

•

A video posted by Vince Davis (@vinceinsanepaint) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:17am PDT

Parking lot drift. From vinceinsanepaint.

•

Joe Minter’s African Village in America, a sculpture garden south of Elmwood Cemetery in the Woodland Park neighborhood. From Made in the Magic City.

•

A video posted by Scenario Skateboards (@scenario_bham) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:07pm PDT

Skateboarding downtown. From scenario_bham.

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The Black Panther cartoon is on … BET. Really? (Filmed before Marvel’s big announcement.) From Out of the Game.

•

A video posted by The 30x30x30 Project (@the30x30x30project) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:26pm PDT

Mariah Carey from painter’s tape. From the30x30x30project.

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A video posted by Kileyroc (@hellokiley78) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:25pm PST

Dia de los Muertos 2014 jazz processional. From hellokiley78.

•

A missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on her trip to Birmingham. From Prepare to Serve.

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Students from North Carolina reflect on their visit to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. From the Burlington School.

•

Bethel Baptist Church and its role in the civil rights movement. From David Mathews Center.

•

See Birmingham celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

•

See Birmingham’s Sarcor and Slice Pizza featured on PBS’ “Start Up.”

•

See Hoover’s Moss Rock Festival.

• • •

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

The ideas on
the pages collect dust while
the reader keeps on.

• • •

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Photo: Big Ben in Japan (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for Nov. 2, 2014:

• 9 things to prepare you for Moss Rock Festival today
• The New Glenn Beck, by @MooneyMichaelJ
• As concussion awareness grows, HS football rosters dwindle (RT @ikepigott)
• Y’all Connect: Shelly Kramer on the need for inbound marketing
• Amy Poehler answers Reddit questions
• How Edward Snowden Smuggled Secrets Past Danger, by @MicahfLee (via @acarvin)
• Why the collapse of the Birmingham media ecosystem is a good thing: What you said
• Why Millennials aren’t buying cars or houses, and what that means for the economy
• A Foodie Repents, by John Lanchester
• Flashback: Project Bulk – Month 14: Fall back
• Billy Joel, 33 Hit Wonder, by @NickPaumgarten
• The Red Cross’ Secret Disaster
• How poor Mississippi got left behind by Obamacare, by @SarahVarney (via @nelson_aj)
• Excerpt from Amy Poehler’s new memoir, “Yes Please”… On Taping “SNL” While Pregnant

More posts from Wade this week:

• Dia de los Muertos rises Sunday
• Happy Halloween!
• Birmingham’s Sarcor, Slice featured on PBS series “Start Up”
• Russian/Slavic Food Festival: Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out
• The Birmingham channel: The Classic 2014, wandering souls

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me