A wave of powerful storm cells swept the southeastern United States this week, spawning
hundreds of tornadoes that wreaked havoc from Texas to Virginia. While damage was widespread throughout the region, the most terrible toll was seen in Alabama, which has accounted for two-thirds of
the more than 300 reported deaths -- the deadliest since the Great Depression -- and where
many small towns were simply wiped from the map. Especially hard-hit was the university town of Tuscaloosa, the state's fifth-largest, where a monstrous F5 tornado (seen in
this terrifying firsthand video) tore a
vicious track through entire neighborhoods and business districts -- narrowly missing the region's primary hospital -- and continuing a path that rained debris as far as Birmingham, over sixty miles away. The disaster
prompted a visit from President Obama today, who declared
"I've never seen devastation like this" after surveying the area with Governor Robert Bentley, Senator Richard Shelby, and
Mayor Walter Maddox. More: photos from
In Focus and
The Big Picture,
aerial footage of the aftermath,
"before and after" sliders, the path of the Tuscaloosa twister
on Google Maps,
People Locator,
local aid information,
MetaTalk check-in thread
posted by Rhaomi
on Apr 29, 2011 -
102 comments
Despite the recent outrage over Congressional attempts to "
redefine rape" for the purpose of abortion funding, South Dakota's legislature has stepped the controversy up even further: a party-line panel has sent to the floor for a full vote
HB 1171 - "An Act to expand the definition of justifiable homicide to provide for the protection of certain unborn children."
Mother Jones considers the legal potential: "
This could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions."
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on Feb 15, 2011 -
279 comments
Slugburgers, hamburgers in which the meat has been supplemented with bread, meal, or crackers for filler, come from a triangular region that cuts across northern Alabama, northern Mississippi, and southern Tennessee and roughly corresponds with
the Tennessee Valley. They're called slugburgers in
Moulton, Alabama;
Decatur, Alabama; and
Corinth, Mississippi; doughburgers in
Tupelo, Mississippi; and breadburgers in
Cullman, Alabama. This regional take on the hamburger
became popular during the Great Depression, when the price of meat made it necessary to use fillers to extend supply. Though the exact origin of the term is disputed, it is most commonly held that Slugburgers got their name from the coin used to pay for them: when each burger cost 5¢, you could pay for one with a nickel which was then also called a slug. Corinth, Mississippi, has held
an annual Slugburger Festival since 1988. Take
a photographic tour of the Slugburger Trail.
[more inside]
posted by ocherdraco
on Sep 18, 2009 -
78 comments
55 years ago,
Brown v. Board of Education was decided, which lead to the controversial court-ordered school integrations in the South. Four years later,
the prolific Charles Beaumont wrote his
only solo novel,
The Intruder, based on a true story but set in a fictitious small southern town of Caxton that is riled up by a mysterious man from out-of-town who wants to halt the school integration. The novel was turned into
a movie by the same name in 1962, produced, directed and financed by
Roger Corman, starring
a charismatic William Shatner as the mysterious intruder, some 4 years before the start of his iconic role in Star Trek.
Shot on location, using
locals who were not fully aware of the plot of the movie, the whole film was made for $80-$90,000, and was Corman's only film to lose money at the box offices. The production was
banned in some Missouri cities because the local people objected to the film's portrayal racism and segregation. The film finally saw a profit after its re-release on DVD in recent years. (
Previously discussed as part of this 1970s Shatner post; video links inside)
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jul 7, 2009 -
26 comments
Desperate Man Blues Edward Gillen's documentary about Joe Bussard, renowned collector of 25,000+ blues, folk and gospel 78rpm records from the 20s and 30s. It's about the hunt and the hunter, as much as what he found. One week only on Pitchfork TV
[more inside]
posted by msalt
on Jan 31, 2009 -
15 comments
Transcripts of a troubled mind tells the life and times of Breece D'J Pancake, a brilliant young writer from South Charleston, West Virginia. In a raw, stripped down style, much of his work focused on the people and the language of the
Appalachia He committed
suicide at the age of 29 and left behind a small, but powerful collection of
stories
posted by scarello
on Nov 7, 2008 -
22 comments
Savita Bhabhi is India's First Virtual Pornstar (NSFW). A sexy,
buxom, and lusty almond-eyed femme fatale, Savita, bearing the title 'bhabhi' which means 'sister-in-law' indicating that she's married, is the quintessential Indian male porn fantasy 'toon.
Launched in March this year, the web site has proven to be a hit, incorporating South Asian themes such as sleeping with the
servant boy; with a
cousin; and, of course, the boys playing
cricket next door.
posted by Azaadistani
on Oct 6, 2008 -
33 comments
Jerry Clower (
Wikipedia article) started telling his funny stories to boost sales when he was a seed and fertilizer salesman. He went on to become a successful comedian and Grand Ole Opry star.
[more inside]
posted by Daddy-O
on Aug 7, 2008 -
16 comments
The black backs by and on which the fortunes of the New South were built:
On March 30, 1908, Green Cottenham was arrested by the sheriff of Shelby County, Alabama, and charged with “vagrancy.”... Cottenham’s offense was blackness.... [After a brief trial] Cottenham... was sold. Under a standing arrangement between the county and a vast subsidiary of the industrial titan of the North — U.S. Steel Corporation — the sheriff turned the young man over to the company for the duration of his sentence.... he was chained inside a long wooden barrack at night and required to spend nearly every waking hour digging and loading coal. His required daily “task” was to remove eight tons of coal from the mine. Cottenham was subject to the whip for failure to dig the requisite amount, at risk of physical torture for disobedience, and vulnerable to the sexual predations of other miners.... Forty-five years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freeing American slaves, Green Cottenham and more than a thousand other black men toiled under the lash at Slope 12.
— from the Introduction to
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II. The
book's website includes
reviews of the book, an
excerpt of the Introduction, and an extensive photo gallery that includes
disturbing images of enslaved and tortured prisoners. [more inside]
posted by orthogonality
on Jun 21, 2008 -
94 comments
A day in the life of
Abdullah Ibrahim, South-African composer and performer who creates hypnotic and softly singing grooves.
To me,
his recent piano trios are the highlights of his work, because they are both swinging and soulful. But his compositions do not sound bad in a
big band setting -(or in an arrangement
for guitar). His music is quiet and meditative but powerful, and has sometimes been used as a banner for freedom and equality. Now he likes to withdraw
once in a while to the smallest scenes (french commentary with some english underneath), putting strong emphasis on necessary simplicity.
Written portrait.
posted by nicolin
on Nov 1, 2007 -
5 comments
On ham, with a fascinating (well, unless you're kosher) history of colonial curing methods.
posted by digaman
on Oct 19, 2007 -
46 comments
North by South : web content on the Great Migration, the result of a six-year, NEH-funded collaboration between Kenyon College and K-12 students in Ohio and various Southern communities.
posted by Miko
on May 1, 2006 -
3 comments
Latin
America
Turning
Left?
From the top
:
Lula da Silva*,
Lopez Obrador,
Nestor Kirchner,
Hugo Chavez*,
Alvaro Uribe,
Michelle Bachelet*,
Ollanta Humala,
Alfredo Palacio,
Oscar Berger,
Leonel Fernandez,
Oscar Arias,
Tony Saca,
Tabare Vazquez,
Martín Torrijos,
Evo Morales*
Manuel Zelaya,
Nicanor Duarte,
Daniel Ortega,
Rene Preval*.
posted by airguitar
on Apr 13, 2006 -
30 comments
In Europe, it's debated whether it's
Suchowola
Poland, the village of
Krahule near Kremnica Slovakia,
Dilove in western Ukraine, or
Bernotai Lithuania. In Asia, there are more disputes, but
Kyzyl put up an obelisk and stages tours. Various places claim that the
Central African Republic is at the geographical centre of Africa, but that seems more likely based on looking at a map than measuring anything. On January 9 1956,
Admiral Byrd
flew over the geographical center of Antarctica.
Alice Springs is pretty close to the centre of Australia. The center of North America is at
latitude 48°21'19" north, longitude 99°59' 57" west in
Rugby North Dakota. South America's center is officially
Chapada
dos Guimaraes in Cuiaba Brazil.
posted by Kickstart70
on Dec 1, 2005 -
11 comments
Dean can't carry the south. The New Republic's Jonathan Chait writes in response to Dean's flag gaffe: "What's alarming here is not that Dean wants to win votes from guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks. It's that he thinks he actually can... His aggressive secularism, association with civil unions, and antiwar stance all make him culturally anathema in the South. This is one of the many, many reasons Dean would be squashed like a bug in the general election if nominated: Bush could take the South for granted, and concentrate all his resources on battleground states like Pennsylvania. "
posted by gregb1007
on Nov 9, 2003 -
47 comments
Southern Folk-Art, Outsider Art & Self-Taught Art • Ginger Young of Chapel Hill, NC who runs this eponymously named art studio, says: "Despite their lack of formal training, these artists have tapped into a powerful wellspring of creativity to render their worlds with passion, pathos, and immediacy." Truly
beautiful,
unfiltered,
vibrant stuff. How could you go wrong with artists named Tubby Brown, Minnie Adkins, Mose Tolliver and Woodie Long? On another note: is this school of thought/art, which comes in and out of vogue every few years, as pure as it seems, or is there an air of exploitation and corniness that comes with fetishizing The Other?
posted by dhoyt
on Oct 17, 2003 -
14 comments
