EchoBooming in Birmingham

Ignore

The District 54 race is rearing its ugly hair again (as if anyone doubted that an election won by 51 votes wouldn’t be contested).

http://alablawg.wordpress.com/2006/07/28/district-54-again/" target="_blank" target="_blank">AlabLAWg managed to pipe up with some excelent points including this little gem about the WAR ON DUMB article that I http://3choboomer.net/2006/07/25/thar-be-monsters-here/" target="_blank" target="_blank">blogged about last week:

The mayor’s atlas is not only wrong, but anyone who accepts it cares not for Birmingham, and has plenty of their own prejudices.

First, that Kincaid and Hendricks could be so wrong about the make-up of the area means they have no interest at all in the area. That is a shame, because these are the wealthiest neighborhoods in B’ham. And that these well-to-do people choose to live in B’ham in spite of the high crime, bad schools, and inept leadership, means that they really love the city. Yet the mayor, and Hendricks ignore them. The resource is not just untapped, it is rejected. That is bad for B’ham.

Amen Brother, Amen…

Shore

Fairlyn had quite the grainy time at the beach. I’m sure she injested nearly as much sand as I got in my shoes all week. Hopefully sand is good ruffage.

Her first reactions to things like the surf and salt water are priceless memories that I will never forget.

More pics after the jump…

Subaru Whore

I whored myself out to the COBB/GOTO:Racing Subaru Legacy GT team this weekend at the Barber Motorsports Park. They are a very well organized team and I really didn’t do too much to help them other than watch them work. I could have been a bad luck charm as they had a few electrical gremlins on the pace lap and started the race in the pits. They finally got back out on to the track a few laps down, and quickly moved through the field (even passing in the grass after being pushed off the track by a BMW). They were not able to get back on the lead lap before they retired due to some mechanical issues (I was asked not to go into any details about the mechanical issues by the team owner, and if that changes, I’ll post up the details).

However all was not lost for Subaru’s racing efforts Saturday. The ICY/Pheonix Subaru Legacy GT (which is sponsored by Subaru themselves) finished the race in 2nd place and they would have won the race outright had the Grand Am officials not called off the race due to the threat of severe weather. (All we got was rain, and the AWD Legacy would have cleaned house against the other rear and front wheel drive competitors). I also heard a little rumor that because of politics, the ICY team was not forced to monitor the turbo boost on their car (All of the other turbo and supercharged cars are forced to monitor their boost including the other Subaru Legacy). Since racing is all about cheating within the rules, I’m sure they were running much more boost than they were supposed to, and subsequently making much more power than the rest of the field. But I ain’t one to gossip, so you didn’t hear that from me…
Subaru Wagon Photo Credit: Jeffery Keeton
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The Porsche 250 at the Barber’s Motorsports Park. The best in road racing on the best road racing circuit in North America (and it’s right in our back yard).

I’m going to be there scouting corners for the GOTO: Racing team (the COBB Tuning Subaru Legacy GT) and I’ll also be cheering on the ICY/Pheonix Racing team driving a Subaru Legacy GT Wagon! (just like mine!)

Both teams have great drivers and great crews, if you’ve got a paddock pass, make your way over and meet the teams. They be good people!

I really wanted to blog about the article that appeared in the Washington Post last weekend about the Music Scene here in Birmingham, but I was quite busy… Go read it if you haven’t and I’ll let another blogger do my commentary:

Kelly jumped up on her soapbox and made some great points about the negative attitude many ‘Hamians have about this Magic City we live in. Go read what she wrote and the article that she helped get written over on her blog here.

And I’m going to steal some of her work in an attempt to spread the word and get you guys talking.

Kelly thinks that there are 6 types of residents here in Birmingham:

The whiners -. Those that “can’t wait to get out of Birmingham” because “there is nothing to ever do”. On any given night or day, I know of at least 405 things to do, bands to check out, films to see, places to hang, and people to meet. The whiners really need a new shtick, because this one just plain doesn’t work on me.

The left outs -. Those that take every opportunity afforded them to complain that they aren’t included in various cliques or groups. My advice: get involved. There is no shortage of opportunities for any one WANTING to get involved. The shortage lies in that person’s willingness to seek out opportunities – or – GASP – volunteer their services to help nurture a better City/group/industry/project. I have volunteered and still volunteer for everything I can fit into my schedule. There is nothing worse than a complainer that doesn’t do their damndest to fix things and be a part of a resurgance.

The apologizers – The ones that profusely apologize for what we have to offer, i.e.: “God, Im so sorry you had to spend your weekend here.” Trust me, dude, no one is sorrier than the person listening to you say that, that you live in this City. Stop your fucking apologizing and either a.) move on your merry way; b.) keep your pity to yourself or c.) explore and find out why so many people DO love it here. I bet you’ve never even been to the Garage before, you stupid Sorry Monster.

The History majors – The ones that can’t stop talking about the 60s. You know, the era in which Birmingham was center of all media attention for our ADVANCEMENT of Civil Rights. Yeah, some of you may remember that while the rest of the country was segregating and showing their bigotry and deeply seated racism, Birmingham was stepping up and NOT taking it any more. It was because of the activities [led by the total minority of those simply in power] and the “final straw” that the COUNTRY rose above and beyond and conquered the inequalties of the rest of the country. What would have happened had Alabama and Birmingham NOT been the basis for this uprising? I embrace what happened here. I move forward knowing that we were the catalyst for change to occur – across the country, and including our dear friends in the north.

The boomerangs – Those that grew up here, moved away for college, jobs, scenery – and then came home. Nine times out of ten, these folks are our new biggest cheerleaders. They have lived and worked other places and know the great secrets we hold dear in Birmingham and, like a magnet, found their ways home. Experience elsewhere gives them a new found appreciation for the comparison.

The proud – Those that start every sentence with a beaming smile and cannot wait to show their Southern charm with their incredible way of telling a story of their favorite Birmingham place, person or thing. Transplants to our City learn this trait quickly and adopt their own personal story for future use.

So what type of Birminghamian are you?

Me? I’m part of the Proud (even if that means sending my children to Private School) although I admit I used to be an appoligizer.

I really hate being disconnected…

No highspeed in the room, and I just found a “Dizzy Bean” Internet cafe and checked my email…. My neighborhood vice-president runs an email list and he forwarded an article that appeared in the Birmingham Weekly last week to everyone and I’m about to post it to the Neighborhood website that I run (http://fpsa.info).

And while I find not only Kincade’s and Abbot’s description of the “whitey’s” that make up my neighborhood funny, I find that the author’s description comes *really* close to hitting home with me. Although, it’s more likely that I’m “not afraid” to vote for a democrat if I think that person is fit for the job. (and you won’t find me searching for organic food and/or giving up my “gas-guzzling” turbo-charged cars) Despite the fact that I’m a Christian, I don’t care if you are as long as you’re a good elected official and I like what you want to do once you’re in office.

Anyway, enough about my political leanings, go read why this author thinks a gay white person won an election in a majority black district.

Been a busy busy day and I’m way late with this post, so I’ll keep it short:

Art on the Rocks Friday night.

My daughter’s first birthday on Saturday.

Guster Sunday night at the Alabama.

Orange Beach Monday-Saturday.

Have a good one!

P.S. Be on the look out for other bloggers at Art on the Rocks…