Dre's Ramblings

Check out the new site!

2006-03-27T07:10:00.000-06:00

Good morning! You're regularly scheduled posting of Dre's Ramblings can now be found here! For those that subscribe to a feed of the blog, please change the link to: http://dresramblings.wordpress.com/feed For those that have linked to my previous posts, please note the new website address: http://dresramblings.wordpress.com I will not be taking down the Blogger site for at least another month

A majestic view of a Magic City

2006-03-23T11:32:00.000-06:00

While my hand was not necessarily the steadiest it’s ever been, this is the best shot of Vulcan I’ve ever taken. This is the image I spoke about yesterday that I took after the Vulcan Talks! panel discussion. Between that event and other conversations that I’ve had in recent days, I’ve been really beginning to think about what my vision of Birmingham is and what I want it to be. In many respects

Let's talk about our cultural future

2006-03-22T08:27:00.000-06:00

Good morning everybody: Click here to view today's post on the new blog. Cheers.

A new player enters the fray of sustainability, raising the focus on it

2006-03-20T13:52:00.000-06:00

I'm almost finished making the shift to the new site... If you have any comments, just post them over there. Thanks a lot. Enjoy the rain and don't get washed away if you're here in town! It’s a rather wet Monday here in Birmingham. While some say it’s a messy way to start spring, it’s definitely appropriate. The idea of new starts (though normally applied to fall) seems to be the theme of the

The Friday Ramble: Cooperation, Books and “Why do we wear green?”

2006-03-17T16:47:00.000-06:00

Will it work? Interesting how people hold their thoughts in until someone else let’s the cat out of the bag. There has been some very vocal support of comments made earlier this week by Alabama Power CEO Charles McCrary. Checking out the Breaking News blog on the Birmingham News site, it seems as though communication among local leaders is beginning to improve tremendously. This hopefully means

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2006-03-17T14:27:00.000-06:00

I’d try to say something Gaelic, but I’d rather just post some pictures from our parade. The beginnning of our St. Patrick’s Day parade as viewed from in front of the AmSouth Center in downtown Birmingham. Members of the Birmingham Jaycees and Alabama Jaycees executive committees enjoying a great St. Patrick’s Day afternoon. Spud’s Club’s float as it passes a crowd (trust me) by the Wachovia

Random shot of the week - Woodlawn High

2006-03-16T16:03:00.000-06:00

Not a great picture, but an interesting one nonetheless. This tree is located in front of Woodlawn High School in Birmingham. It’s located in the neighborhood of the same name across the street from my organization’s current office. The school is not as well known as some of its alum, including Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden and former UAB and San Antonio Spur basketball

Notes from last night's talk with Arrington

2006-03-16T10:21:00.000-06:00

I would suggest that if you wish to comment, that you do so at the new site. I'm still probably 3 or 4 days away from completing the transfer. But I will still post on both sites until it is over. Enjoy the ramblings. While my hopes were to make this post last night, fighting with code on both the old and new blogs made it a little difficult. That being said, it was probably better to sleep on

Let the move begin and a note for later.

2006-03-15T17:16:00.000-06:00

I've begun the process of moving my blog over to WordPress. Come over and check out the progress on the transfer by clicking here. Or you can cut and paste the following link: http://dresramblings.wordpress.com One more thing... This evening former Mayor Richard Arrington is speaking to the PARCA Roundtable. The group invited him to speak about the relationship between government and business

Can we talk? Some groups are ready to

2006-03-15T14:48:00.000-06:00

I just submitted a proposal to our local Chamber’s COOL Community Task Force. Click here to learn some more information about them. A while back I posted this entry (which I’ve referenced several times recently) asking for a listing of young professional groups and traditional civic organizations in order to eventually attempt to call a meeting of their leadership. The hope is to make everyone

Check out the entrance to the garden

2006-03-14T10:26:00.000-06:00

For a slightly cooler day, I figured I'd look back to last summer. This is a shot of some students walking home from school past the Princeton Healing Garden, located off the intersection of 10th Street and Tuscaloosa Avenue, SW in the Arlington-West End neighborhood. The garden was designed to serve therapeutic purposes particularly for the residents of the nearby Princeton Towers. This is one

Little blue signs everywhere

2006-03-13T15:32:00.000-06:00

I was driving around greater Birmingham over the weekend and began to notice small blue signs placed near interstate exit and entrance ramps and at major traffic intersections. The picture to the left is one of two located at the end of the exit ramp for Airport Blvd. off Interstate 20/59. The signs were associated with The Crest, a project proposed by Barber Properties to inhabit a prominent

Mt. Laurel revisited

2006-03-10T13:16:00.000-06:00

I mentioned recently that I’d received a message asking if my opinion of a previous post. That post focused on Mt. Laurel; the individual asked if my opinions on the development had changed since a post that I put up in August. I figured that the best way to answer was to go out and take a look out there. My opinion has changed… a little. Pulling into the town on a Saturday afternoon, I still

The Friday Ramble: Baseball and good music

2006-03-10T10:41:00.000-06:00

You’d think the world was ending ‘cause we couldn’t beat Canada (if you’re a baseball fan) The boys of summer representing the United States got a reprieve from elimination in the World Baseball Classic yesterday thanks to the Mexican national team in yesterday’s 9-1 shellacking of the Canadian national team. There are a lot of people asking why the United States is not dominating this tournament

City Stages is getting closer and a great pic

2006-03-09T14:06:00.000-06:00

You can blame how I stumbled into Birmingham in part on City Stages. 1998 to be exact: the year of the Phil Collins fiasco. For those that know, that’s worth a separate posting all unto itself (but I digress). That visit led to seven years of thinking about moving here and, to some extent, this blog. When you first mention it, you kind of get that weird look until you learn of its beginnings and

Random shot of the week

2006-03-09T10:38:00.000-06:00

For those that don't necessarily know Birmingham, AL (and I'm learning more all the time) the occasional random shot for you: Looking south at the corner of 7th Avenue South and 29th Street South in the Lakeview district.

Comments on arrests in church attacks

2006-03-09T09:39:00.000-06:00

Some of the most interesting news to come out of yesterday’s arrest of suspects wanted for the church burnings in rural Alabama was what came out of the college campus that two of the accused attended. The comments, made during a press conference on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College by their president, have been somewhat lost in the whirlwind of debate regarding proper punishment for the

Random ramblings for a Friday afternoon

2006-03-03T14:22:00.000-06:00

For those of you that got a message or comment posted about the site today, please look at this post & thanks for stopping by. Or just keep on reading this post. One more source for getting the word out I attended a Cultural Alliance workshop last night and learned something as a result of some additional research. Their new website, activeculture.info does provide for civic clubs to post

The power of blogging and why do we read them anyway?

2006-03-03T09:27:00.000-06:00

An e-mail I received yesterday reminded me of the fact that the comments I post up here serve as a window into not just my life, but this region, reveling how someone thinks it operates and where it’s going to those that choose to stop and take a gander. Blogging can be a tool to voice what you think or a way to keep inside jokes going. Its power has already been talked about on numerous

More organizations for your viewing pleasure (and some bones too)

2006-03-02T08:54:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Kristy J. for sending in the links to these organizations to add to our growing list. Young Leaders of Magic Moments Glenwood, Inc. Junior Board Young Women’s Connection Click here to read the initial post and this link (ok, and this one too, though not as necessary) to see additions to that list. Sometime later today or tomorrow I plan to reorganize that first entry to show

Two important projects poised to influence future of city

2006-03-01T15:47:00.000-06:00

This morning’s Birmingham News reported that the resolution providing $17 million to be applied towards the Railroad Reservation Park and the acquisition of the Eastwood Mall property for construction of a new shopping center was approved during the weekly City Council meeting. Click here for a history of the entire Railroad Reservation site, courtesy of www.bhamrails.info. A printer friendly

Pictures from the game and other tidbits for your viewing pleasure

2006-03-01T11:13:00.000-06:00

I just checked out the pictures that Curtis took at the Black Barons game on Sunday afternoon. I tried to take some, but once I figured out that the digital had no battery life left it became a little impossible. For those that look at new home sales as an indicator of the market, here’s something else to consider. Today’s Birmingham News article shows that preservation may in fact be alive and

Communication should be key to civic pride

2006-02-28T23:33:00.000-06:00

Even if you just stumble across this page, I’d love to hear what ideas you may have from your own towns about this post. Bets and I had some friends over for drinks to celebrate the end of the Carnival season before the beginning of Lent and my attempt to get back into decent shape before Memorial Day. While enjoying beer and wings, the

Catalyst gets a director; now the fun begins

2006-02-28T11:18:00.000-06:00

For those of you not familiar with Catalyst for Birmingham, two things to do before you continue: 1) Check out their website 2) Point of disclosure: I’m on the steering committee (like I said a while back, I have a hard time saying the word “no,” plus it’s a great organization). However, what I write on my

The Game, music for fun and the problem with television today

2006-02-27T14:38:00.000-06:00

One for the ages It was an interesting turnout yesterday and an INSANELY LONG game. The ones that appeared were the diehards, the ones that sought refuge from the rest of the world and those just looking for an excuse to call their parents and friends and tell them that they were going to be on TV (i.e., me). While reports had the crowd at Rickwood Field at 4,000, you get the feeling that

A chance to give back to nature, people and yourself (well...maybe)

2006-02-24T14:03:00.000-06:00

If you stumble across this post this afternoon, live in the metro Birmingham region and want to help support one of our greatest assets, please consider stopping by Ruffner Mountain tomorrow afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. We will be holding an organizational meeting for the Friends of Ruffner Mountain, which I mentioned sometime last week, wherever this link takes you :) This is an interest

Baseball set to capture the Magic City's imaginaton, and some other things

2006-02-24T11:19:00.000-06:00

Leading offThe ESPN Classic game featuring the Birmingham Black Barons taking place on Sunday afternoon that I’ve previously mentioned received some great press in two of our local publications today: The Birmingham News and Birmingham Weekly. I’m hoping there’s a great turnout. It definitely provides an opportunity to take a good look at and honor some history, complete with individuals that

Good news on Constitutional Reform front!

2006-02-22T11:17:00.000-06:00

Here’s an e-mail I just received from Hill Carmichael at http://www.gbm.org. Please take a moment and look it over and pass it on. Cheers.GREAT NEWS!!! Yesterday, the Senate Constitution, Campaign Finance, Ethics and Elections Committee passed a substitute of Senate Bill 52 (Citizens Convention Bill) out of committee on a unanimous 10-0 vote. The substitute bill of SB52 is very similar with the

Olympic spirit? Ratings push

2006-02-22T10:44:00.000-06:00

If you read the reports from Turin and the watch the coverage on the networks of NBC, you would think that there was a major news story going on in the world of speed skating. I’m even giving into the hype by writing something here. No matter, this is more a case of people trying to create drama during a Winter Games where most of the drama, as far as American media is concerned, has not

Get up Offa that Thing!

2006-02-21T12:22:00.000-06:00

“… & shake ‘til you feel better, get up offa that thing, and try to release that pressure.” – James Brown Just got an e-mail outlining Rotaract’s first major fund raising event. “Dress Up, Get Down” will take place on Friday, March 3 at WorkPlay. Click here to view the invitation. Proceeds from this event will help the organization raise money for their “Ready2Read” Initiative. The goal of the

Happy Presidents' Day!

2006-02-20T13:34:00.000-06:00

A few quick things on this Presidents’ Day: This is a shot taken outside of Sixteen Street Baptist Church earlier today shortly after ceremonies officially placing this grand structure on the National Register of Historic Places concluded this morning in downtown Birmingham. “Let Peace Prevail All Over the World.” An update on the “young professionals summit” progress: I’m wondering if

If history's your thing, this is a great time to be here

2006-02-17T13:14:00.000-06:00

Adding on to my earlier post, it’s a great day for those of us who claim to be preservationists. As reported in today’s Birmingham News, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church will be added to the National Register of Historic Places during a ceremony on Monday taking place at the church. The building not only serves as one of the most important sites of the civil rights movement, it also represents the

What's else is there to explore in the Magic City?

2006-02-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

A while back I said I'd try to write about some of the cooler things in the city from time to time. Some of them were among the reasons I ended up trying to move here in the first place. One of the reasons that I chose to move to Birmingham was the ability to see a varied terrain again. Growing up, the apartment sat at one of the highest points in the city and had some really cool views of not

Update from Montgomery, Pt. 2

2006-02-16T16:04:00.000-06:00

Here's the rest of that message from Hall (GBM): Update on the Public Hearing for Senate Bill 52 (Citizens Convention Bill). More than 70 people poured into Room 727 of the Alabama State House on Tuesday, February 14th, to tell the Senate Constitution, Campaign Finance, Ethics and Elections Committee what they thought about SB52 that calls for a constitutional convention. Supporters

And now an update from Montgomery...

2006-02-16T14:18:00.000-06:00

Here's the latest regarding the constitutional reform effort taken from an e-mail sent out by Hill Carmichael of Greater Birmingham Ministries earlier today: The House Constitution and Elections Committee voted on Tuesday, February 15th on HB109 (Citizens Convention Bill). The Committee voted 7 to 7 meaning that HB109 did not pass. Everyone in the Constitutional Reform Movement waits to hear

and now some websites...

2006-02-16T13:47:00.000-06:00

I finally have the website address for the Birmingham Jaycees' Relay for Life team. Click here to be redirected to the site and to find out additional information. You may also call the Jaycees hotline at 942-7313 to leave a message and someone will get back to you as soon as possible. I also want to remind (or inform) you of a partnership between the the Internet Professional Society of Alabama

Young Professionals Activities update for 2/16

2006-02-16T09:01:00.000-06:00

It’s already been a fairly busy day out there in the Magic City for the world of young professionals. Here’s what we’ve got so far: It appears that some of our young professional organizations are getting some more press recently. Today’s Birmingham News includes an article talking about the recent success of the city’s Rotaract Club. The organization does have an international presence, but

Constitutional Reform hearing tomorrow...

2006-02-13T14:31:00.000-06:00

The following is an e-mail that was sent out as a reminder about tomorrow's constitutional reform hearing. Please pass this information on to anyone that you think would be interested... Hello Constitutional Reform Advocates, I just wanted to send a quick reminder about the Public Hearing on SB52 tomorrow (Valentine’s Day) from 10:00am to 12:00pm in Room 727 of the State House Building (11

Comments on the church burnings

2006-02-13T12:15:00.000-06:00

Here it is: an extremely short entry allowing me to throw in my two cents worth about the senseless church burnings in Alabama recently. I feel sorry for the two “friends” (as the profiled suspects have been described by news accounts) that have to get their kicks by destroying houses of worship in the dark of night. I am extremely sorry that the congregants of these churches have to suffer as

Young Professionals, part 2 (The Other Cities)

2006-02-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

I posted earlier this week about developing a list of all of the young professional organizations in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Well, I've added more listings to the list that I've already started and again encourage anyone who sees this list and notices that there are groups missing to post a comment providing some additional information about these groups. I figured I would go one step

Calling all Young Professional Groups...

2006-02-08T13:10:00.000-06:00

I've written a little bit in the past about my thoughts on the need for civic engagement in order for a city to move forward. I would like to see what groups exist out there, or rather, what groups are known to exist out there for people to join. It's more an exercise in seeing what already exisis in a city before attempts are made at reinventing the wheel. I had already been working on

Dreaming...

2006-01-17T14:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the nation celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. Adopted as a federal holiday in 1983 and recognized since 1986, the nation recognizes King’s birthday as a time to celebrate the life and accomplishments of a great individual that was taken well before his time. It is also used as an opportunity to remind people that the issues are still there and must still be dealt with.

Should the Sunday Drive survive?

2005-12-29T14:07:00.000-06:00

It is something that I’ve become accustomed to hearing as I tell people that I’m preparing for any trip of a personal nature. The moment that I tell someone that I am driving to get to my destination, I am almost always asked some variation of the question “Am I crazy?” followed normally by the question “Why not (insert mode of transportation here)?” It is one of the times where I realize that I

Light it up!

2005-12-20T16:01:00.000-06:00

With the flip of the switch (OK, maybe the wave of a hand) and a flash of red in the saturated evening sky, one of the Magic City’s most iconic structures reclaimed its place in the nighttime sky. The relighting of the City Federal building sign on December 14 also served as a symbol of things to come in Birmingham, hopefully many good things. I live at one of the busier intersections in

Questions for the challenge... a day late (sorry)

2005-11-06T07:38:00.000-06:00

Good morning everyone: I apologize for not posting my questions as promised yesterday. My trip to Washington, DC took more out of me than I thought. I'll explain why I'm here later on. As promised, here are the questions. These are based off of a posting that I made to the site on Friday: Did you actually go and pick up and pieces of trash? If so, where did you go? If not, why not? Did

A challenge for the weekend...

2005-11-04T17:06:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday!I wanted to challenge anyone reading the blog today that is not in Birmingham or unable to attend the clean up day effort in Ensley on November 5 (see yesterday’s entry for more information) to do something for me. I would like to challenge you to pick up eight (8) pieces of trash wherever you see it during your journey tomorrow. Then I’d like you to check back here tomorrow and

Let's get out there and do something... but what?

2005-11-03T15:26:00.000-06:00

I figure since I posted a piece on civic engagement, I need to start using this blog as a way to let people know about opportunities to show how much they care about their issues. Of course, it also means that it’s going to slant more towards thing that are meaningful to me. Here’s what got me going on this tangent: I attended a post election party on Tuesday after the runoff elections were

Do we care anymore?

2005-10-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

An issue that has been on my mind in recent weeks is civic engagement. It is an extremely important factor regarding success in my job because without true participation from the public, success becomes difficult. I also feel that it is an important element in the health and vitality of a city. The real issue I’ve been thinking about is what people truly mean when they use the term. Voter turnout

Finding your rhythm

2005-10-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

It’s one of the most comforting sounds you may hear, though you don’t realize its effects on your mindset until you’re away for some time. It’s one of those things that I look forward to with great anticipation upon my return to the Big Apple tomorrow evening. After driving for close to 14 hours by some estimates and dropping my bags off at the apartment on Fordham Hill I’m going to run down to

Goals for the New Year (yeah, I know what I typed...)

2005-09-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

I’m one of those crazy guys that feels that if I’m going to have a time period thrust upon us to measure our age, that I should still be able to set some of the ground rules myself, including when to look back and take stock in what’s been going on and what’s coming down the pike. A couple of years ago I decided to start setting goals instead of resolutions and I chose to start doing it on my

Katrina's opened some eyes, but for how long?

2005-09-12T13:09:00.000-05:00

It’s been two weeks since our nation’s latest tragedy unfolded before our eyes with images and stories abound on the Internet and television. This one was much more devastating for our psyche since it also raised the specters of problems that most of the country felt had been solved by the sweeping signature of President Johnson several decades before and made us question whether or not our

How's the family?

2005-08-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

Family is a great thing. Some people are lucky enough to live relatively close to theirs. Sometimes due to distance, your friends become family. Your family lets you get away with things that many would not. Something that you can be lulled into is the idea that because you think that you’ve immediately made new friends that are really just acquaintances, you can fall into old patterns that your

Exploring the Big Apple and how to get there…

2005-08-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

I’ve been incommunicado for most of the last two weeks as I’ve been out traveling the country. At least I’ve been traveling portions of the country east of the Mississippi. I decided that I needed to go home to New York. The Lwanga Scholars were having a reunion and that gave me an excuse. I hate flying. Now, after being in the car for 15-16 hours, there are times that I can say that I don’t

Trust is earned, and he earned ours...

2005-08-08T16:34:00.000-05:00

There are two people that have influenced the way that I view the world and major national events that have taken place in my life so far. One is currently enjoying retirement, though still working at an insane pace for someone who was looking for a more relaxed approach to life. The other seems to have been taken away too soon. Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings both heavily shaped how I viewed the

My kind of town? I'm not sure yet.

2005-08-07T01:02:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I participated in the 2nd annual Shake and Bake 5K out in Mt. Laurel. This is the second real race that I’ve run since starting rehab work on my right knee in hopes of avoiding the knife. The time was somewhat respectable considering I still have not really gotten back into serious training (36.58.9) and that I figured that finishing with no pain was more important than finishing

What's in your city?

2005-08-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

I was talking with my friend Curtis Palmer about one of the more recent posts on his blog, and it made me think about viewing the city in a different way. That’s pretty much the result of all conversations with Curtis; I leave wondering just how much stuff there is out there to learn. Anyway… he talked about the fact that the longer that you live somewhere, the more “invisible” it becomes. The

Where have you gone Joe D? Ryno wants to join you...

2005-08-02T16:00:00.000-05:00

I consider Ryne Sandberg to be one of the greatest men ever to play the game of baseball. This belief has been proven true in my eyes by his actions time and time again: when he decided to simply walk away from the game that he enjoyed and from some of the most dedicated fans in baseball; when he turned down receiving one penny more of salary after retiring from the Cubs because he felt he hadn’t

“Rounding third and heading for home…”

2005-07-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

I just came in from running my first ever Homewood Twilight Retro 5K. It’s been a while since I’ve actually run a race. I’ve been spending more time in the doctor’s office than out on the streets logging miles recently. I would say that I’ve become addicted to running. My first ever race was the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, South Carolina in 2002. I had a pretty decent time then

Taking the leap

2005-07-30T22:29:00.000-05:00

I learned a great many lessons of life while working as a front desk clerk at the Eliza Thompson House while I was taking a break from and finishing up my college career. The owner of the inn at the time was a woman named Carol Day. Her husband, Steve, had taken early retirement from Caterpillar after a career that literally took him all over the world. The inn was an opportunity for her to do

What do you want to know?

2005-07-30T14:28:00.000-05:00

I promised a “more info about me” post. I’ve never been really good about talking about myself seriously, thus this somewhat abnormal post. Here are some of the facts, in no particular order: I’m 29 years old Grew up in University Heights section of the Bronx (that’s in New York :) It's called University Heights due to New York University's presence in the community during the early part of

"I'm Singing in the Rain..."

2005-07-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

Rain has always been one of those weirder natural occurrences to me. As with most things in nature, it can either sustain us or lead to destruction. I've always viewed the destruction as providing a great opportunity for a new start, a washing away of the past and the problems associated with it allowing for a new beginning. Yesterday I was able to stand in one of the those enjoyable rainstorms.