Watch viral sensation “Alabama Face Guy” teach Jimmy Fallon his technique
Nerve.com – Feb. 23
What began as a teen goof with his buddy, has now propelled University of Alabama freshman Jack Blankenship into full-blown, transient, internet stardom. For the uninitiated, Blankenship, aka “Alabama Face Guy,” has captured the imagination of sports fans by holding up a large cutout of his contorted face at Alabama basketball home games with the intention of distracting opposing teams.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 22
WYFF-NBC (Greenville, S.C.) – Feb. 22
WBIR-NBC (Knoxville, Tenn.) – Feb. 22
WDTN-NBC (Dayton, Ohio) – Feb. 22
WSAZ-NBC (Charleston, W.V.) – Feb. 22
WRCB-NBC (Chattanooga, Tenn.) – Feb. 22
KOAA (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Feb. 22
KETK-NBC (Tyler, Texas) – Feb. 22
KVLY-NBC (Fargo, N.D.) – Feb. 22
KXJB-CBS (Fargo, N.D.) – Feb. 22
WEAU-NBC (La Crosse, Wis.) – Feb. 22
WICU-NBC (Erie, Pa.) – Feb. 22
January national home sales hit highest levels since May 2010
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 22
A new report released says national sales for pre-existing homes rose in January to their highest levels since May 2010. This week realtors across Alabama are gathering for their annual conference. 17 percent. According to Grayson Glaze, the Executive Director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate, that’s the number home sales in Alabama rose from last January. If you’re looking to sell your home in the current market Glaze has some unusual advice. “This may sound a little strange, but get an appraisal first. I mean at the end of the day the appraisal is what’s going to determine whether your new purchaser can get financed. So if people will price their house for the market it will sell. It’s all about pricing, but pricing it correctly.”
‘Discovering Alabama’ host to speak in Dothan
Dothan Eagle—Feb. 23
Dr. Doug Phillips has traveled throughout the state of Alabama for more than 25 years, documenting its rivers and swamps, its forests, caves and highest peaks. He has completed 100 episodes of the Emmy-winning documentary series “Discovering Alabama,” which Phillips created, hosts and produces. The show, which airs on Alabama Public Television, puts the state’s diverse natural resources in the spotlight. . . . Phillips will speak at the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens on Saturday during an event sponsored by the gardens and the Wiregrass Master Gardeners Association. . . . An environmental educator and conservationist, Phillips works out of the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. “Discovering Alabama” was created in 1985 and has been used as a resource for teachers across the state. Phillips spent years training teachers in outdoor education.
Review: Splendid production elicits laughter, sadness and hope
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 23
Cass, the fate-seeking wanderer of “Wonder of the World,” does not know her Thomas a Kempis. Nor her Buckaroo Banzai. The medieval Catholic monk wrote in “The Imitation of Christ,” circa 1440: “So the cross is always ready and waits for you everywhere. You cannot escape it no matter where you run, for wherever you go you are burdened with yourself. Wherever you go, there you are.” In the 1984 action-comedy movie “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension,” neurosurgeon/particle physicist/rock star Banzai pauses mid-song to paraphrase that Zen-ish thought as “Hey, hey, hey … hey now. Don’t be mean; we don’t have to be mean, ’cause, remember: No matter where you go, there you are.” Cass (Abby Jones) opens the absurdist, existentialist comedy “Wonder,” running in the (University of Alabama) Allen Bales Theatre through Sunday, packing a suitcase while gazing at an obscure Marilyn Monroe movie, “Niagara,” notable mainly for Monroe’s warbling of the trifling ballad “Kiss.”
Crimson White – Feb. 23
WUAL fundraiser, home tour offers peek into kitchens
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 23
Kathy Henslee, development director at Alabama Public Radio, said the seven homes on this year’s tour, which takes place from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, will give people a lot of ideas about how to build a home or redo their kitchens. The event will also help people find a local caterer for their upcoming events, she said. Tickets to Saturday’s event, presented by the board of Friends of WUAL, are $20. All proceeds will benefit Alabama Public Radio.
Vanity Fair author, speaking at UA, says tribunal has links to today
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 23
The elements that contributed to the Spanish Inquisition still exist in today’s society, Vanity Fair magazine’s editor at large told an audience at the University of Alabama on Wednesday. Cullen Murphy, author of a new book, “God’s Jury: The Inquisition Through Modern Eyes,” said the 15th-century tribunal was born after decades of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim fervor in Spain. In the first 15 years of the Spanish Inquisition, more than 2,000 people were found by the Catholic Church to be heretics and were burned at the stake.
Sculpture marks fresh start
Crimson White – Feb. 23
To me, nests are a symbol of rejuvenation, and we want what we’re doing to be that symbol for Tuscaloosa,” said Emma Fick, a junior and one of the people behind The Nest. The Nest will be a large piece of art made up of branches and debris from the tornado found by University of Alabama students in cooperation with the Tuscaloosa Area Volunteer Reception Center. Working with UA graduate student and visual artist Kelly Shannon, Creative Campus has already built much of the nest, but it is not finished yet. Creative Campus wanted others to get involved, and Naomi Thompson, a junior and collaborator on The Nest, could think of no better group to work on the piece than children around the area. So, they went to local schools like Tuscaloosa Magnet, Cottondale Elementary and Holt Elementary to let students paint branches and make their own piece of the nest.
Fiji Run for justice to take place Saturday
Crimson White – Feb. 23
Currently, 27 million people are victims to the act of slavery worldwide, a practice that is stronger today than any other point in history, according to the International Justice Mission. For Phi Gamma Delta fraternity philanthropy chair John Pickering and IJM officers Darby Hess and Tori Luna, this number is unacceptable. They’ve decided to join the fight against slavery in a fundraising event called the Fiji Run. “Together, the Phi Gam brothers from Mississippi State and Alabama will be running from Starkville to Tuscaloosa, [with] each brother running one or two miles,” Pickering said. “All proceeds from the event will be donated to the International Justice Mission.”
Former Wall Street Journal writer to discuss civil rights
Crimson White – Feb. 23
Douglas Blackmon, The Wall Street Journal’s former bureau chief in Atlanta, will discuss his book, “Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II,” tonight at 6 p.m. in Gorgas Library Room 205. The book was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award in 2009, in addition to appearing on The New York Times Bestseller List.