The President, the Professor and the Police Officer

According to Yahoo News, yesterday's meeting between the President, Professor Henry Louis Gates and Police Sgt. Josheph Crowly ended in the men agreeing to move forward and focus on the future. The public has been shocked by the President's original response to the situation. Others were hoping for more discussion on race relations. Vesla Weaver, UVA professor and former intern of the Southern Poverty Law Center located in Montgomery, AL, comments that she does not blame the President for not pushing the "race" issue forward. What do you think?

See more about the meeting http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_harvard_scholar.

Birmingham's Southside

I have been hanging out on Birmingham's Southside since I was 11. I attended Ramsay High School which is a few blocks from Five Points South. I also attended John Carroll High School which was on Highland Avenue. When I returned home from UVA, I worked at UAB. So most of my academic and professional life were spent on the Southside.

There weren't any national coffee chains back then. There was a convenience store where Ruby Tuesday's sits. There was a different fountain in front of the Greek Orthodox Church. If we were heading downtown, it meant that we had crossed from south to north.

So when did the Southside become part of downtown? Was it always part of the downtown area? Several organizations will ask, "Would you like our "south of town" or "downtown" location?" When I look at the address of the "downtown" location, it is on the Southside.

When I volunteered for ONB, I recall hearing the term "City Center" to describe the Civic Center to Vulcan as the northern and southern borders. So am I alone in wondering when the Southside became part of downtown Birmingham?

Searching for Tea in Birmingham

A friend shared a post about Taiwan's tea industry. I LOVE tea. I am always looking for local places with diverse tea selections. Safari Cup is the top spot for me to find tea. Tea selections represent the far corners of the earth. One of my friends and I even attended "High Tea" which consists of a variety of teas and pastries.

Where is your favorite spot for tea in Birmingham?

Also see, Heavnly Tea in Chinatown.

A Taste of Germany in Downtown Birmingham

Looking for something to do on Friday? Join the Alabama-Germany Partnership for Stammtisch on Friday, July 31, 2009 at the FDSK - German Club 2318 2nd Avenue North 5:30 p.m. According to the AGP website, the Birmingham Stammtisch is an opportunity for networking with friends.

For more information visit the AGP website at http://www.alabamagermany.org.

Southern Winery

In a previous post, I wrote about attending a Japanese festival at Morgan Creek Winery in Harpersville. If you are a Birminghamian, you may have passed through Harpersville on the way to Rickwood Caverns, Still Waters Resort or to an Auburn game. I have been to a friend’s stable and to a wedding in Harpersville. I even saw a rainbow once.

So, is anyone still thinking to themselves, “A vineyard in Alabama? The Grapes of Wrath did not include Alabama to my knowledge. Nothing surprises me ever since I escaped from Buggy Top Cave in Tennessee and ended up in the only winery in Tennessee in the ‘90’s, but I digress. Perhaps I will share that story on another blog.

Anyway, what is southern about winemaking? I was accompanied by a friend from Minnesota by way of Chicago. As we were tasting wine, she asked, “What are muscadines?” Almost every wine was made from muscadines. I shared that they are grapes grown in the southeastern region of the country. The southern experience wasn’t soley based upon muscadine based wines or the use of familiar central Alabama images such as Vulcan and Red Mountain. The finale included a peach wine made from peaches harvested right here in Alabama.

Birmingham Sister City Trip to Senegal

Did you know that Birmingham has a Sister City in Senegal? Our Sister City, Guediawaye, is located outside of Dakar.

I was reminded of our trip to the slave castle on Goree Island when I saw the Obama family in Ghana. Birmingham residents traveled to Senegal with the intent to make connections between cultural, educational, political, and corporate institutions.

Attached are a few of our pics.

Harpersville Winery Host to Japanese Festival

As we drove to Morgan Creek Winery for Natsu Matsuri, I was thinking of my childhood in Northern California. If you visited us, you had to go to the wine country. When friends visit me in Alabama, the southern experience doesn't usually include wine tasting or sake. However, the drive to Harpersville got us out of the hustle and bustle of the city. As we approached the winery, I immediately began to feel relaxed.

I also began to think about my parents. They were young Alabamians on a mission per the U.S. Army to Japan in the ‘60’s. They immersed themselves into Japanese culture. I was thinking of all the Japanese families that have immersed themselves into U.S. American—Alabama culture.

The festival, which was sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Alabama, featured traditional and contemporary Japanese entertainment. Foods were a blend of traditional U.S. carnival foods such as popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones and Japanese food. One could choose between sake and/or wine tasting. The festival organizers also arranged for Bento boxes ala Sekisui restaurant in Vestavia.