Photo: Sharon and Nikki McCutcheon (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for July 19, 2015:

• Blogging’s hidden cost: tradeoffs
• Why Did @FrontlinePBS Kill Lowell Bergman’s Gambling Documentary? By @TheLloydGrove
• How @KellySue DeConnick is changing comic books, by @LauraAnnaParker (via @BooksLIVESA)
• Flashback: Blood oath
• It’s Amazon’s 20th Birthday! As Usual, I’m Being a Party Pooper, by @CRollwagen
• 5 ways Amazon has damaged the literary world, by @TheMisreadCity (via @tsutrav)
• Slides from Y’all Connect 2015
• The Sad, Strange Story of Sandy Allen, Tallest Woman in World, by Sandra Allen @sealln
• You Rang? Mastering the Art of Serving the Rich, by John P. Davidson [PDF]
• Flashback: Wade’s 101: Headline retrospective 2
• Whatever happened to Josh from “Clueless”? By @magicmolly (via @Laura_Weir)
• Revenge Killing: Race and death penalty in La. parish, by Rachel Aviv (RT @melaniesiow)
• My Year in the NRA, by @rob1cox
• A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email, by @TeddyWayne1999 (RT @AfrikaReads)

More posts from Wade this week:

• The Birmingham channel: Planned outings

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Barry Badcock (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for July 12, 2015:

• Twitter transcript for Y’all Connect 2015
• Newport Beach (CA) Police Made Life for Its Good Cops a Living Hell, by @RScottMoxley
• What makes a book quote more popular than its book? By @JesseBrowner (via @BooksLIVESA)
• On the air for “Biz Talk with Roy Williams”
• Prague Journal; Shirley Temple Black Unpacks a Bag of Memories, by Craig R. Whitney
• Bookindy app helps bookshops fight against Amazon, by @DavidMBarnett (via @GreenhouseAds)
• Flashback: Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 28: http://itswa.de/haiku-28
• The Strange Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe’s Hair, by @ElonGreen
• @TaiyeSelasi: Stop pigeonholing African writers (RT @AfrikaReads)
• Concert series “We Have Signal” ends 7-year run
• Baby abandoned outside supermarket in 1987. Update from @TellTheresa (via @DonnaWares)
• A Holacracy of Dunces, by @PaulCarr (via @MartyMcCabe)
• In the Gay Wing of Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail, by @AniUcar
• What would you pay to be happy? By @axrenton (RT @SusaWivolin)

More posts from Wade this week:

• The Birmingham channel: Echoes of summer

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

That’s me onstage at the third annual Y’all Connect Presented by Alabama Power. I get to take my blogging skills from the last 10 years and share them with others.

I’m fortunate.

This post is another fortunate gift, as it’s the 5,000th post for Wade on Birmingham. I wrote many of them, and friends and colleagues wrote some of the best ones.

By the numbers …

• It took 561 days to reach 1,000 posts.
• Another 722 days to reach 2,000 posts.
• Another 594 days to reach 3,000 posts.
• Another 880 days to reach 4,000 posts.
• And then another 802 days to reach this 5,000th post.

I haven’t been idle since No. 4,000. I launched my blogging and social media conference. I’ve traveled around the Southeast to talk about communications topics. I was even on the the radio Saturday.

A quick rundown of the state of the blogs …

• Wade on Birmingham — Back in December, I wrote my most popular post ever on this site. How popular? First time in 10 years that the surge in traffic crashed the site for a few hours.

• Wade Kwon.com — Aside from all of my 60,000 tweets, a few essays when time permits. Plus a surge of year-end activity to compile a few best-of lists.

• Birmingham Blogging Academy — Still going strong after 6 years. Thanks to all my clients and readers and fans!

• Project Bulk — Completed in 2014, with a super healthy body fat percentage around 15 or 16 percent.

• Y’all Connect — As mentioned above, now looking ahead to 2016. Plenty of new videos from this year’s event just hit the site.

To my readers: Thank you for your kindness, your feedback and your critiques! On to the next 5,000 …

(And in October, we’ll officially mark 10 years for this site!)

Wade Kwon is a Birmingham native and publisher of Wade on Birmingham.

Photo: Violet Carson (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for July 5, 2015:

• The 5,000th post for Wade on Birmingham!
• Y’all Connect: Our annual 10-day video sale
• Slavery and Freedom in New York City, by Eric Foner @cwrmooc
• “Roadtrip Nation” special stops in Birmingham
• In lieu of another blog post, 2015 edition
• Farm to Fable: Deception, fraud in the farm-to-table movement, by @_TroyJohnson
• Don’t Be Afraid of the Clowns, by Leigh Cowart @voraciousbrain
• On Starbucks’ controversial #RaceTogether campaign, by @AustinCarr (RT @Cassidy_Davis)
• Obergefell v. Hodges, a 5-4 ruling making gay marriage legal across US [PDF]
• 10 celebrity memoirs to devour this summer

More posts from Wade this week:

• Happy Independence Day!
• Emmylou Harris returns to White House for PBS concert
• The Birmingham channel: Rolling along

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Video: “Fireworks,” directed by Victor Hugo Duran

Happy birthday, America!

P.S. I sat in on “Biz Talk with Roy Williams” this week, and our hourlong pre-taped show airs at 3 p.m. today on WAGG (610 AM) and streams live online.

A scene from the short film “Fireworks”

Photo: Robert Couse-Baker (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for June 28, 2015:

• Promote an event with a real Web presence
• Public radio needs more weekend hits, and fast, by Michael Arnold @radioarnold
• Book reviewing has lost its serrated edge, by Frances Wilson (via @BooksLIVESA)
• Flashback: Social Media Day 2012: Birmingham tweetup at J. Clyde
• Personal finance expert @Ramit Sethi answers questions on Reddit
• The Definitive History of Personal Style Blogs, by @CaseyMLewis
• Y’all Connect: Winners from our 2015 conference and survey
• Sail Away: The Oral History of Yacht Rock, by @lordandrewtoal
• The future of loneliness, by Olivia Laing @olivialanguage (RT @lermann)
• Flashback: The @WadeOnTweets 1,000 follower prize blowout!
• The Most Daring Cliffhanger in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” History by @AaronCouch
• Anti-Intellectualism Is Killing America, by @ahadave (via @dianabill @amtant1972)
• Between Kickstarter’s frauds and phenoms live long-delayed projects by @CaseyJohnston
• 20 Things You Might Not Know About “Office Space,” by Roger Cormier @yayroger

More posts from Wade this week:

• Y’all Connect: Video: Y’all Connect 2015 starts off with … math
• The Birmingham channel: High hopes

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Jake Stimpson (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for June 21, 2015:

• Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 35
• Why Summer Makes Us Lazy, by Maria Konnikova @mkonnikova
• 11 Literary Luminaries’ Ultimate Summertime Reads, compiled by @imjasondiamond
• Outrage Theater
• Summer Job Diaries, by Shannon @__Keating
• Into the Woods, from Tech: Adult summer camp as “social experiment,” by @chriscolin3000
• Flashback: The power of digital storytelling: Your story (first of 3 parts)
• Notes from a Bookshop: Late Summer, or Summer Is a Kind of Island, by Kelly McMasters
• Top 10 Ways to Survive the Summer Without Air Conditioning, by @monkeykin
• My popular 1st ebook “The Social Media Stars of Birmingham” turns 2 years old in June
• Summer Camp, by Tyler Ford @tywrent
• Mental illness: The big lie that follows mass shootings by white men by @arthur_affect
• Why Parents Aren’t Making Their Kids Read During the Summer, by Stephanie Cohen
• How to Make Online Dating Work, by @AzizAnsari and @EricKlinenberg

More posts from Wade this week:

• Y’all Connect 2015 through your eyes
• Y’all Connect 2015 through photos
• The Birmingham channel: As seen from above

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Glasseyes View (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for June 14, 2015:

• Be kind to your Twitter followers
• “Calvin and Hobbes” embodied the voice of the lonely child, by @midwestspitfire
• Powerful post on McKinney by @PoliceLawProf: 2 officers, guardian and warrior /RT @ShaunKing
• Flashback: The 500th post on Wade on Birmingham
• Definitive Oral History of How “Clueless” Became an Iconic ’90s Classic, by @chaneyj
• Robert Graves and Maurice Sendak on the Magic of Reading, by @brainpicker
• Y’all Connect: Our thanks!
• Sometimes, dead is better: Has TV’s reboot fever run amok? By @sepinwall
• Columbia House insiders explain shady math behind “8 CDs for 1¢,” by @AnnieZaleski
• Flashback: Good news from the Green Eyeshade Awards
• The making of the Simpsons’ two-part classic, “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” by @AlanSiegelDC
• SEAL Team 6: A Secret History of Quiet Killings and Blurred Lines (RT @ItsKev7)
• NPR explains the real reasons U.S. graduation rates are rising (RT @M_Bloom)
• Cam girls choose sex streaming as a long-term career path, by @mandystadt

More posts from Wade this week:

• Y’all Connect: A typical Friday night in Birmingham

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Sharon and Nikki McCutcheon (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for June 7, 2015:

• Flashback: Y’all Connect: A guide to getting the most out of any conference
• Holy Crop: How Federal Dollars Are Financing the Water Crisis in the West (via @ev)
• Books: Excerpt from Patti Callahan Henry’s @pcalhenry “The Idea of Love” #bham
• Uncovering the Fraud Behind Gay Marriage Data, by @jessesingal (via @bijupunalor)
• Blogging fear: Opportunity costs
• Teen Sylvia Plath writes to Mom on joy of living, writing as salvation by @brainpicker
• Flashback: Denial of coverage: Bham Business Journal banned stories on my company
• @mshrayber details his encounter with @RealGrumpyCat
• Flashback: Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 24 #haiku
• The role of black dolls in American culture, by @BritRBennett (RT @AfrikaReads)
• Amy Poehler Is Really Making Herself Uncomfortable, by @BSvetkey
• Red Cross Raised Half Billion Dollars for Haiti ­and Built 6 Homes (via @nic_mclean)
• How a curmudgeonly reporter exposed FIFA scandal, by @MikeMillerDC (RT @nelson_aj)
• The quick, offstage choreography of SNL costume changes, by @RyanVlastelica

More posts from Wade this week:

• Y’all Connect: The last 25 tickets

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Francisco Osorio (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for May 31, 2015:

• Y’all Connect: Our last two speakers are …
• Why an Oregon official leaked @GovKitz’s emails, by @NigelJaquiss
• “Click-clack the Rattlebag,” by Neil Gaiman @neilhimself
• The art of the brand [Rocket City Bloggers]
• Inside Walt Disney’s Failed City of Tomorrow, by Matt Patches @misterpatches
• Nikki Finke, Feared Hollywood Reporter, Turns to Fiction, by @RaviSomaiya
• Y’all Connect: Spotlight on 2015 speaker Taylor Robinson
• Fanboi @StephenFry talks with Apple’s chief design officer Jony Ive
• John Bohannon Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here’s How
• Flashback: Project Bulk – Day 273: End of the third trimester
• Did your favorite TV show get canceled? 7 possible reasons by Todd VanDerWerff @tvoti
• A Choice for Recovering Addicts: Relapse or Homelessness, by @Kim_Barker
• Escape or Die, by James Verini (RT @thehiphopswami)
• Dunham, Schumer, Ellie Kemper, Kate McKinnon, Gina Rodriguez, Tracee Ellis Ross comedy roundtable

More posts from Wade this week:

• Y’all Connect: Video: Wade visits “Talk of Alabama”
• The Birmingham channel: Making tracks
• Happy Memorial Day

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Video: Gen. Colin Powell on the meaning of Memorial Day.

Happy Memorial Day!

Photo: Blondinrikard Fröberg (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for May 24, 2015:

• Y’all Connect: Our next, next three speakers are …
• Dangerous Bites: Cultural Implications of Food Allergies, by @HapaMamaGrace
• Last steps for Noah Galloway in “Dancing with the Stars” finals
• Hacker @Sidragon1’s Tweet Reignites Ugly Battle Over Security Holes, by @KimZetter
• The art of the brand
• The war on big food, by @BethKowitt
• Flashback: Project Bulk – Day 266: The days go by so fast
• The Watchdog, the Whistleblower, and the Secret CIA Torture Report, by @JasonLeopold
• Fall of the Hipster Brands: Decline of American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, by @LizSegran
• I Can’t Just Look at the Grand Canyon, by @ethicalthinker (RT @FamilyNature)

More posts from Wade this week:

• The Birmingham channel: What we do in our off-hours

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Craig Sunter (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for May 17, 2015:

• Speaking gigs: PRCA North Alabama chapter on Wednesday
• Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers, by @SarahMaslinNir
• Noah Galloway enters the ring on Week 9 of “Dancing with the Stars”
• A Farewell to the Homewood History Hunt, by @MrJakeCollins #bham
• Y’all Connect: Wade Kwon on “Birmingham Shines” for May 2015
• The Mystery of $2 Bills, by @RickPaulas
• Y’all Connect: 2015 call for volunteers, media and bloggers
• 6 Reasons Modern Movie CGI Looks Surprisingly Crappy, by @MovieHooligan
• Flashback: Project Bulk – Day 266: The days go by so fast
• Deconstructing the Star Beast: How “Alien” Saga Went Wrong, by @Kneumsi (RT @bmbufalo)
• Speaking gigs: See Jane Write on Tuesday
• An Impossible Choice, investigative series on CA “vent farms,” by @JoanneFaryon
• The Secret to Love Is Just Kindness, by @EmEsfahaniSmith
• David Letterman: Happy at Last, by @JoshEells

More posts from Wade this week:

• The Birmingham channel: A stage for everyone

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Homini (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for May 10, 2015:

• Y’all Connect: Our next three speakers are …
• Anna Jarvis Was Sorry She Ever Invented Mother’s Day, by @JoelOliphint
• Killing UAB Football Part of Larger Plan for UA Board of Trustees, by @Doctor_Nicolas
• Double time for Noah Galloway on Week 8 of “Dancing with the Stars”
• Can books save us from what digital does to brains? By @HughMcGuire (h/t @mitchjoel)
• How Click Farms Inflate Social Media Currency, by @DougBockClark (RT @kickpointinc)
• Flashback: Project Bulk – Day 253: Feelings, noting more than feelings
• 7 essential @BillSimmons columns
• Kidnapped at the Border, by Sarah Stillman @stillsarita (via @melaniesiow)
• Speaking gigs: Florida Public Relations Association, Pensacola chapter, May 2015
• How a fake newspaper is turning into real media empire, by Chris Heller @c_heller
• Why Cops Like Me Are Quiet on Police Brutality, by @GrahamCC (via @radleybalko)
• The Price of Nice Nails, by @SarahMaslinNir
• Letterman and 23 Writers on Greatest Jokes That Never Made It on Air, with @NellSco

More posts from Wade this week:

• The Birmingham channel: A sense of place

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me

Photo: Jack Hope (CC)

My picks for #sundayread for May 3, 2015:

• Y’all Connect: Our new media sponsor: WBHM 90.3 FM
• Author @TFerriss answers questions on Reddit
• Why I’ll always be a “high-maintenance” speaker
• The Moral Bucket List, by @NYTDavidBrooks (RT @MsCarleeJean)
• Noah Galloway gets his strut on for Week 7 of “Dancing with the Stars”
• Birmingham’s @LochamyBrothers profiled by Greg Robinson
• [aff. links] Just read Yes Please by Amy Poehler http://amzn.to/1EMT6Dz, To Sell Is Human by @DanielPink http://amzn.to/1EMTcv4
• 2010: Publishers rejected his poetry book. 2015: Pulitzer. By @xanalter (via @nytimesarts)
• Flashback: 1 year ago, the successful conclusion of Project Bulk
• The Worst Parents Ever, by @MooneyMichaelJ
• “Wheel of Fortune” winner @ChadMosher tells all to Marah Eakin @marahe
• 2 decades ago, $130m sunk into Baltimore neighborhood failed to revive it. (RT @dabeard)
• The higher education sweatshop, by Tanya Paperny @tpaperny (via @NTEUNSW)
• David Letterman Reflects on 33 Years in Late Night, to NYT’s Dave Itzkoff @ditzkoff

More posts from Wade this week:

• The Birmingham channel: Blazer film festival

The latest #sundayread tweets

#sundayread Tweets

• More #sundayread recommendations from me