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The Year in Review: May 2006

The latest American Idol

So, there’s this guy who was living in Birmingham, AL who made it onto American Idol. We had tried to avoid the whole thing, but then a funny thing happened in May: he made it to the final three, and then the finals. Taylor Hicks brought the musical world back to the Magic City for the third time in four years, giving those that were new to town the notion that we were new to the music scene, or at least not recently involved.

We did decide to get into the act, posting pictures from Hicks’ parade down the Birmingham Green to City Hall. Here’s another one for good measure. We also had the chance to get some images from the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra’s performance after Hicks won the competition. The proceeds from this particular after party went to a great local cause as well.

Just how important is D I to the psyche of a “sports fan” town?

Birmingham-Southern took steps to make academics a visible priority on campus as it took steps to move from NCAA Division I to Division III. The dialogue that followed both here and in mainstream media was heated and surprising. Those wondering just how not having scholarships would benefit a sports program’s competitiveness needed to only look down the road to Montevallo as the baseball team made a run for the NCAA Division II Championships. While it did not garner the same press that those two big schools normally do during their seasons on the gridiron (hell, the high school teams were getting better coverage), it showed just how excited a town and a school can become in that situation even without the media circus.

Lighting up the night, one sign at a time

With one post of a much beloved neon sign, we started the Neon in Birmingham series, hopefully showcasing images unique to the Magic City. Click here to see the series. We think we’ve finally caught up. There’s a lot more of them to document too, so let us know if you see any.

Staying busy

For those that continued to say that Birmingham had nothing to do, it sure seemed that there was a lot to do when May hit, including:

The first of a successful outdoor film series, Movies by Moonlight

Do Dah Day (images available through this post)

The Strokes, Black & White, and Catalyst; three ways to enjoy the night before Idol madness hit

McWane announced their feature film series for the IMAX screen

Other shots

This image provided what could become a rare view of past and present in Birmingham.

The next generation of news sites are here… Are we ready?

Development announcements were endless in the city

More later.

Cheers.

See also:
The Year in Review: January and a little December ‘05 too
The Year in Review: February 2006
The Year in Review: March 2006
The Year in Review: April 2006

Published inAmerican Idol: Season 5BloggingCitiesCommentaryMoviesNeon in B'hamneon signsThe Year in Review