Disinformation Campaign

Secret campaign to use Russian-inspired tactics in 2017 Ala. election stirs anxiety for Democrats: Washington Post – Jan. 6

A secret effort to influence the 2017 Senate election in Alabama used tactics inspired by Russian disinformation teams, including the creation of fake accounts to deliver misleading messages on Facebook to hundreds of thousands of voters to help elect Democrat Doug Jones in the deeply red state, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post … “My initial gut says that the alleged disinformation campaign I’ve read about would not have been enough to affect this race. Roy Moore is so well known in Alabama that people had very settled opinions about whether they wanted them as their senator before the race even started,” said University of Alabama political scientist Joseph L. Smith.
Al.com – Jan. 6
Norwalk Hour (Connecticut) – Jan. 6
Greenwich Time (Connecticut) – Jan. 6
Bridgeport Post (Connecticut) – Jan. 6
Stamford Advocate (Connecticut) – Jan. 6
San Francisco Gate (California) – Jan. 6
Danbury News Times (Connecticut) – Jan. 6
Laredo Morning Times (Texas) – Jan. 6
Stars and Stripes – Jan. 6
The Journal Gazette (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) – Jan. 6
Denver Post – Jan. 6
MSN.com – Jan. 6
Etorno Inteligente – Jan. 6

Bankhead Memorial Lecture

The Occasional Poet: An Interview with Nikky Finney: Scalawag – Jan. 7

Nikky Finney is a poet, professor, and the 2011 National Book Award-winner of Head Off & Split, a collection of poems named to honor her trips to the fish market as a girl growing up by the sea in South Carolina … Finney: In January, I’ll be doing the Bankhead lecture at The University of Alabama.

The Drowsy Chaperone

UA Department of Theatre and Dance to produce The Drowsy Chaperone (Live Interview): ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 7

We are switching gears. The Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Alabama is gearing up for a new production. It’s The Drowsy Chaperone musical. We have two actors with us today, Kyle and Megan.

Sculpture Series

All hits, no misses: Times Daily (Florence) – Jan. 8

Florence’s edition of the Singing River Sculpture series is a step closer after the City Council approved a contract last week for design services for the statue’s foundation. The $3,900 contract with William B. Campbell Jr. would place a sculpture on South Court Street. Eric Nubbe, a graduate student at The University of Alabama, said he will create the 20-foot statue in the university’s facilities in Tuscaloosa.The four largest cities in the Shoals are taking part in the sculpture series as a homage to the area’s rich music heritage.

Choral Festival

All County Choral Festival held at UA: WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 8

UA The all-county choir festival was held at the Moody Music building on the campus of The University of Alabama. Tuscaloosa County Schools middle school choirs joined together first, followed by the county high schools. A total of seven songs were sung throughout the program such as “I will sing” and “I shall not live in vain.”

Fast Radio Burst

Finding one repeating fast radio burst was unusual. Now there are 2: Daily News Herald – Jan. 9

Astronomers have spotted a second repeating fast radio burst, and it looks a lot like the first. The existence of a second repeating burst suggests there could be many more of the mysterious signals in the cosmos … Astronomers may have already caught a third repeating burst, too. FRB 110523, discovered in 2015, has some similar features to the first known repeating FRB, so it was worth checking to see if it also repeats, said astronomer Allison McCarthy of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
F3 News – Jan. 9
News Live – Jan. 9
Science News – Jan. 9

Lonely Giant

The Lonely Giant: Milky Way-sized galaxy lacking galactic neighbors: Scienmag – Jan. 9

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, fewer galaxies were born than expected–and that could create new questions for galaxy physics, according to a new University of Michigan study. The study examined the satellite galaxies of Messier 94, or M94, a galaxy similar in size to our Milky Way. Researchers have long known the Milky Way has about 10 smaller, satellite galaxies surrounding it, each with at least a million stars, and up to more than a billion, such as the Magellanic Clouds …Smercina’s co-authors include U-M astronomers Eric Bell and Richard D’Souza … Jeremy Ballin of The University of Alabama.
Space Daily – Jan. 10
Space Ref – Jan. 10
EurekAlert – Jan. 9

Remains of the Past

“Remains of the past” indicated in green: Info Seek (Japan) – Jan. 10

The green part that can be seen in the center of the image is called “Hanny’s Voorwerp” and it is near the spiral galaxy “IC 2497” which can be seen above … Image Credit: NASA, ESA, William Keel (The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa), and the Galaxy Zoo team.

Sound of Gold

B.B. Comer Marching Sound of Gold will perform in governor’s inaugural parade Monday: Anniston Star – Jan. 10

The B.B. Comer High School Marching Sound of Gold band is one of 20 in the state that will perform in the 54th Governor’s Inaugural Parade for Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday … Sixteen high school bands from throughout Alabama will participate in the parade, along with four college bands — Auburn University, the University of Alabama Million Dollar Band, Troy University Sound of the South and the Jacksonville State University Marching Southerners.

Sign Language Theatre

Sign language theatre troupe performs at UA: WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 10

A unique concert experience was held tonight at the University of Alabama’s Ferguson center. Sunshine 2.0, a professional traveling theatre troupe that uses sign language and vocals, put on performances for those who are deaf and hard of hearing.