New episode of ‘Alabama Ghostbusters: A Web Series’ released
Tuscaloosa News – July 21
The creators of “Alabama Ghostbusters: A Web Series” have released the fifth episode of a fan series shot in Tuscaloosa. The Web series follows the story of a team of ghostbusters based in Alabama investigating the mysterious disappearance of a young woman. The series, inspired by the 1980s science fiction comedy, is co-written by University of Alabama film professor Adam Schwartz, a member of the statewide fan group Alabama Ghostbusters, and Nicky Stevens. Schwartz directs the episodes, which are produced by UA telecommunication and film students and graduates. The characters are played by members of the fan group, Theatre Tuscaloosa and students. The show began as a class project in 2013, but now is an extracurricular activity in which students get either internship credit or independent study credit for their work on the series, Schwartz said. The show’s season is expected to run about nine episodes.
Blood drive offers chance to view University of Alabama facility, see red blood cells under electron microscope
Tuscaloosa News – July 21
Organizers of a blood drive at the University of Alabama on Thursday hope to attract donors by giving them an opportunity to observe red blood cells with an electron microscope. “I just thought it would be a cool correlation,” said Rich Martens, manager of UA’s Central Analytical Facility. Martens is community service chairman for the Tuscaloosa Morning Rotary Club, which organized the blood drive at the Central Analytical Facility to benefit the American Red Cross. The drive will be in Room 1013 of the Tom Bevill Energy, Mineral, and Material Science Research Building from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The campus building is off Seventh Avenue north of Ferguson Center. Donors are asked to bring a photo identification or an American Red Cross donor card. Martens said the Rotary decided to have the drive because summer is traditionally a time that blood supplies fall to low levels. He said he hopes the chance to tour the Central Analytical Facility and see red blood cells and a hypodermic needle through some of facility’s equipment will attract donors.
Alabama’s Nick Saban comments on scholarship for injured Tucker football star
Atlanta Journal-Constitution – July 21
One of the feel-good stories from this past year’s signing day was finalized on Monday. Alabama officially got clearance from the NCAA to award a non-football scholarship to Elisha Shaw, the former Tucker High School standout who suffered a career-ending neck injury at the beginning of his senior season. Before the injury, Shaw was rated as one of the state’s top 10 overall college football prospects for 2014. He had around 20 scholarship offers, and listed Alabama, UGA and Ole Miss as his leaders. Shaw won’t count as a regular football scholarship, or against Alabama’s 85-man roster limit. “We’ve always done this kind of stuff for our players,” Alabama coach Nick Saban told the AJC on Monday. “We’ve had players that had Hodgkin’s disease and couldn’t play. We had a guy last year who … couldn’t pass his physical and is still going to school here. So whenever it’s allowed by NCAA rules, we always try to do the best we can for the player. “Elisha Shaw was committed to us for a long time. We thought he was a good player. Certainly, it wasn’t his fault that he got hurt. We’re all about trying to create opportunities for guys, and give them opportunities. Elisha was a guy, since he was committed to us, we wanted to see if there was anything we could do to give him the opportunity to get education here even though he was medically disqualified to play. “We were really just trying to take care of our own.”