Museums Holiday Open House
3 University of Alabama museums open free on Sunday: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 9
Three of the University of Alabama’s museums on Sunday will offer seasonal decorations, refreshments, family-friendly exhibits and crafts and free admission. The open hour tour begins from 2-4 p.m. at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway. The tour continues from 3-5 p.m. at the Gorgas House Museum 810 Capstone Drive on the UA campus. The tour finishes at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, 427 Sixth Ave., from 4-5:30 p.m.
‘Hilaritas’
‘Hilaritas’ concert puts fresh spin on holiday classics: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 9
Sunday is your last chance to catch the 48th annual production of “Hilaritas.” Begun in 1969 by The University of Alabama School of Music professors Fred Prentice and Steve Sample, “Hilaritas” takes its name from a Greek word interpreted loosely as “to live joyfully.”
Sandy Hook
Newly released documents detail Sandy Hook shooter’s troubled state of mind: WEW News – Dec. 10
He spent much of his time in his mother’s basement and in his bedroom with blacked-out windows, essentially turning into the “homebound recluse” a psychiatrist who had evaluated him feared he could become … “Don’t turn these people into celebrities,” said Adam Lankford, a criminologist at The University of Alabama who studies mass shootings. Photos, videos and social media posts by a gunman, he said, “can inspire celebrity worship.”
Conservative Daily News – Dec. 11
Daily Caller News Foundation – Dec. 11
Game of Chess
The Sharp Game: The Ringer – Dec. 10
I was down on my knees before the chess set. Not out of deference, though I did feel a bit of that … Stuart Rachels, a philosophy professor at The University of Alabama and former U.S. national chess champion, no longer plays competitively, but he still follows the game and has written extensively about its place in our culture.
Tweeting History
Making History go viral: Slate – Dec. 11
Every time major news broke this year, the best place to find historians’ perspectives on the latest Trump calumny or #MeToo revelation was on Twitter, where their carefully argued threads were going viral … “Probably the best thing about a Twitter thread is speed,” Joshua Rothman, of The University of Alabama, wrote in an email. Rothman posted a thread about the 19th century writer Charles Ball’s experience of family separation during the slave trade just as we were learning about the worst effects of the Trump administration’s border policies.
The Verge – Dec. 13
Alabama Choir School
Alabama Choir School prepares for concert: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 11
Young singers with the Alabama Choir School on Tuesday rehearsed in the concert hall at the Moody Music Building for the school’s annual winter concert. Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the concert hall of the Moody Music Building, 810 Second Ave., on The University of Alabama campus. The performances will feature a variety of seasonal pieces, including traditional holiday carols, spirituals and songs from around the world, contemporary and popular.
Politics in Ghana
Can ex-presidents run for office in Ghana? A constitutional analysis: Modern Ghana – Dec. 12
Increasingly Ghanaians are being confused by events in the country regarding the issue of ex-Presidents running for office. To preserve democracy and peace in the country, this issue must be addressed timely … (Author: Professor Seth Appiah-Opoku, University of Alabama)
Ghana Web – Dec. 14
Columbia University
Watch, react, repeat: What the racist Columbia University video reveals: NBC News – Dec. 12
When Julian von Abele said it on tape, he was exuberant. “White people are the best thing that ever happened to the world.” … In August, a University of Alabama researcher found that about 6 percent of white Americans surveyed share the alt-right’s views, including a strong sense of white racial victimization, solidarity and pride.
“The Nutcracker”
Dancers prepare to perform a Christmas classic: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 13
This marks the 47th year the Tuscaloosa Community Dancers have produced “The Nutcracker.” The Tuscaloosa Community Dancers began in 1971, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing together members of the area’s many companies, including The Dance Centre, Academy of Ballet and Jazz, MJ’s Academy of Dance, The University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and more. The group incorporates professional guest artists to raise the level of expectation and inspire younger dancers.
Holiday Events
Our stocking runneth over with holiday events this week: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 14
UA Opera Theatre’s bringing back its popular performance of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at 3 p.m. in Bryant-Jordan Hall, on Bryce Lawn Drive. After partial, scenes-only performances, Paul Houghtaling created full-scale performances for 2016 and 2017.
Graduation
A degree of accomplishment as UA students graduate: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 15
The University of Alabama awarded more than 2,700 degrees Saturday during fall commencement exercises at Coleman Coliseum on the UA campus.
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 15
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 15
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Dec. 15
UA Opera Theatre
UA Opera Theatre to perform classic tale Sunday: Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 16
As “The Nutcracker” is to dance troupes, and “A Christmas Carol” to theater companies, so is “Amahl and the Night Visitors” to opera. The holiday standards ring heart-warming notes of tradition and familiarity, the comfort that can be found returning home … The annual performances by UA Opera Theatre, begun in 2016, are free to encourage audiences of all ages, according to Paul Houghtaling, coordinator of voice and director of opera at the University of Alabama School of Music.