University of Alabama taking food pictures to next level
Just Good News – Nov. 6
An Alabama researcher is developing a high-tech diet tracker that will add to the trend of people slapping on wearables and firing up phone apps for their health. Edward Sazonov, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Alabama, already has a prototype of a sensor worn around the ear that would automatically track diet, giving medical professionals and consumers accurate information that can be missed with self-reporting. “Weight gain comes from an unbalance of the energy we take in versus the energy we expend,” Sazonov said. “We can estimate diet and nutrient intake, but the primary method is self-reporting. The sensor could provide objective data, helping us better understand patterns of food intake associated with obesity and eating disorders.”
Daily Mail (UK) – Nov. 7
Gizmag.com – Nov. 5
Mobihealthnews.com – Nov. 6
Students operate health clinic in West Tuscaloosa
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 6
Thanks to some students who hope to enter the health field, there’s a new way to get health screenings in an area of Tuscaloosa where some people may have trouble getting access to medical care. The West End Health Project operates a clinic for free screenings at the McDonald Hughes Center, every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The West End Health Project is a collaboration through several groups at the University of Alabama. The students offer blood pressure, weight and glucose screenings, as well as education and counseling on diet, exercise and diabetes prevention. A doctor is always on site, and if someone is found to be at risk for a health problem, the doctor can refer them to a care option that is affordable. A main goal of the West End Health Project is to help those who lack transportation. “Even though there are services available close by, for example, sometimes access is still difficult for some populations,” Dr. Pamela Foster, with the UA School of Medicine – Tuscaloosa Campus, said.
Fox 6 Broadcast Report – Nov. 6
Forward progress: Backward-moving play pushes UA students’ acting
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 7
The University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance is pushing students with its newest production. “Merrily We Roll Along” is a 1981 Stephen Sondheim musical, with a book by George Furth, based on the 1934 comedy by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It starts at the end of the main character’s journey and works its way to the beginning. Franklin Shepard, who once composed Broadway musicals, has sold out to the bigger money and fame of Hollywood. So the show starts at the peak of his movie-making fame, then rolls along back through his past. It has pushed director and third-year master of fine arts in directing candidate Matt Davis, and his cast, to their limits. “Through this, we are able to see the mistakes made (by the characters) and we can see if they were worth the price of success,” Davis said.
5 things to do around Tuscaloosa this weekend
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 7
Let’s dance: A campus favorite, “Dance Alabama!” returns to the stage with a performance at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the University of Alabama’s Morgan Hall Auditorium. Students choreograph, cast, rehearse and design their pieces in hopes to be chosen by the dance faculty through a rigorous audition process. The concert features about 25 pieces produced entirely by students. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for faculty, staff and seniors, and $14 for students. Call 205- 348-3400 for more information.
Photo gallery of Dance Alabama – Tuscaloosa News (Nov. 7)
Tuscaloosa mayor says every Crimson Tide home game brings $17 million to the city’s economy
AL.com – Nov. 7
In the latest of his series of videos giving a behind the scenes look at how the city of Tuscaloosa operates, mayor Walt Maddox broke down some of the numbers related to one of the city’s biggest economic drivers — home games for the University of Alabama football team. Maddox said it takes a lot to make Gameday in the Druid City go smoothly. More than 400 city employees work overtime hours on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to keep the experience as safe and convenient as possible. It’s not cheap, either. Maddox said the cost of overtime alone is more than $750,000 every season, a figure that doesn’t include the cost of equipment and other materials used to make everything work. The payoff is huge, though. Maddox said every home game puts between $17 and $18 million in new money into the city’s economy.
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 7
WBNM-FM Radio (Birmingham) – Nov. 6
Museum of Alabama to offer free admission new temporary exhibit on Sunday
AL.com – Nov. 7
The Museum of Alabama will open its new temporary exhibit, “Alabamians in the Great War,” to the public beginning around 2 p.m. on Sunday in downtown Montgomery. “Alabamians in the Great War” tells the story of Alabama’s contributions to victory in World War I, the conflict that made the U.S. a leading global power. Artifacts from the museum’s extensive holdings, including numerous recent acquisitions, are complemented by items on loan from private collections. . . . The event will begin with a presentation by Rod Frazer on his new book, “Send the Alabamians: World War I Fighters in the Rainbow Division,” at 2 p.m. in the Joseph M. Farley Alabama Power Auditorium. Published by the University of Alabama Press in 2014, this book recounts the story of the 167th Infantry Regiment of the World War I Rainbow Division from their recruitment to their valiant service on the bloody fields of eastern France in the climactic final months of World War I.
Alabama band to practice at Teurlings
The Advertiser (Lafayette, La.) – Nov. 7
A shortage of hotel rooms in Baton Rouge has sent The University of Alabama’s band marching — along with nine charter buses and an 18-wheel truck — to Lafayette for a Friday and Saturday hotel stay and Saturday practice. Alabama will play LSU on Saturday night in Baton Rouge in a game with national significance. The Million Dollar Band will practice on Teurlings Catholic High School’s football field from 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday in preparation for their halftime performance in Baton Rouge that night. “We typically travel with the full band to about two or three (road) games per season,” said Heath Nails, UA University Bands travel assistant. Those games include LSU and Tennessee. A full band trip includes about 425 band members and a total travel party of 475-480.
UA SGA raises money for Honor Flight
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 6
The University of Alabama Student Government Association is partnering with the school (student veteran affairs) to help fund honor flights for veterans. Each year, honor flights send local veteran s to the nation’s capital. The Tuscaloosa honor flights is the last operating branch in the state of Alabama. One group of local vets was able to go on a honor flight last month. . . . The SGA will be set up on the quad on Monday to take donations for future honor flights. If you are unable to stop by Monday, you can also give through their Facebook page just search UA SGA Honor Flight Funding Initiative.
CBS 42 (birmingham) – Nov. 6
GOP backs Hubbard, homeless vets, guerrilla theatre
Alabama Public Radio – Nov. 7
Tuscaloosa city officials say the economic benefit of the University of Alabama’s home football games far outweigh the cost the city spends on staff overtime during game weekends. Mayor Walt Maddox says more than 400 city employees work overtime Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays on home game weekends. Maddox says the city spends roughly $750,000 each season to cover the cost. Maddox says each of the school’s home games has a roughly $17 million to $18 million impact on the city’s economy. . . . A theatrical tradition of a different kind continues tomorrow on the campus of the University of Alabama. APR student reporter Ray Allen introduces us to Guerrilla Theatre. Guerrilla Theatre is a 10-act-variety show. Organizers hope tomorrow’s crowd is as happy as this group from the last show. Performers are given 10 minutes to dance, sing, act and everything in between. There are only three rules: No animal sacrifice, no full-frontal nudity. The event is staged by the Alpha Psi Omega fraternity. Chapter President Jordan DeWitt says it’s not unusual to have a sellout.
Drowned towns: What traces of ‘ghost’ cities lie beneath Alabama’s man-made lakes?
AL.com – Nov. 6
Lawrence Cemetery was submerged beneath Weiss Lake, according to Scott Wright, author of “The History of Weiss Lake.” A video on YouTube filmed when Weiss Lake was at its lowest showed gravesites that are submerged for part of the year. Watch it here. However, Wright said the majority of bodies were disinterred and moved to other cemeteries before the lake was flooded. “There was a vast amount of check lists they had to follow (when moving graves). They had to find family members, if any were living, and ask what they wanted to do.” In some cases, people did not want loved ones bodies disinterred and they were left alone. “Fifteen cemeteries were moved for Weiss Lake,” Wright said. So what is left beneath the lake? “Mostly, old roadbeds and house foundations.” The area was excavated for Indian burial sites by the University of Alabama before the area was submerged.