Capt. Ashley N. Johnson: Birmingham (AL) native; Chief of Military Justice in the U.K.
www.501csw.usafe.af.mil
People, Places and Things
GWEN DERU
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!
TODAY…
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!
**THURSDAY NIGHT WORKOUTS with Live Females at the Blu Onyx.
**FIRECAMINO, w/ VAMPIRE MANSION + VON MAUR and Special Guests at the Nick. FREE! HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
**MARTY’S GM & EAGLE NEST presents DANNY WINTER’S ANNUAL ST. PADDY CELEBRATION, starts 10 a.m. through….
**FIRECAMINO, w/ VAMPIRE MANSION + VON MAUR and Special Guests at the Nick. FREE! HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY
**EVERY THURSDAY HAPPY HOUR, 5:30 – 9 p.m. at the Kappa Komplex, 45 6th Avenue South.
**KARAOKE, 5-9 p.m. at Courtyard Alabaster Bar and Grill.
**TASTEMAKER THURSDAY – Every Thursday at Blaze Ultra Lounge, 228 Roebuck Plaza Drive, 8 p.m.- 12 a.m. with DJ Ace Twon (95.7 JAMZ) in the mix hosted by Audio Life and GMC Promo.
**THIRSTY THURSDAY at Hookah 114 17th Street No.
**THIRD THURSDAY BLUES JAM, 7 p.m. at True Story Brewing.
**TEQUILA THURSDAY at the Vibe Bar & Lounge.
**THROW BACK THURSDAY at The Vibe Bar & Lounge, 3801 Richard Arrington, Jr., Blvd.
FRIDAY…
**GARDENDALE MEDICAL MILE HEALTH EXPO, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Gardendale Civic Center.
**MARCH & MAYHEM & MADNESS & MICS, at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**QUE’S BAR & GRILL GROOVIN’ on 19th Street in Ensley.
**LIT FRIDAYS WITH RIPCORD, 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. at 4501 Gary Avenue in Fairfield.
**MEET THE NEXT PERFORMS DURAN DURAN at Iron City.
**STARSHAKER, COLD HALO & THE LIE WITHIN CALLIE at the Nick.
**FREE HOOKAH FRIDAYS at Blu Onyx, 10 p.m.
**QUE’S BAR & GRILL GROOVIN’ on 19th Street in Ensley.
**AFRO CARIBBEAN NIGHTS (Every Friday Night) at Ash’s on 2nd, 7 p.m. until with
Reggae, Afro Beats, Dancehall and Top 40 Hits.
**EVERY THIRD FRIDAY with DEIRDRE GADDIS at Perfect Note.
**FIREBALL FRIDAY at Tha Vibe Bar & Lounge.
SATURDAY…
**SPRING FLING MARKET, 1-5 p.m. at Ross Bridge
**SATURDAYS IN THE GARDENS at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
**WINE DOWN HAPPY HOUR, 4 p.m.- 9 p.m. at Saferoom Lounge Bar.
**MAGIC MIKE (2012): MARCH MADNESS, 7:30 p.m. at Sidewalk Film.
**MS. JOHNNIE AND THE JAMMERS Live After Five, 7-10 p.m. at Bistro on 19th located at 109 19th St. N., Bessemer. EVERY 2nd and 4th SATURDAY!!
**SOLD OUT SATURDAYS at the Blu Onyx Every Saturday.
**CIROC SATURDAYS at Blu Onyx.
**THE MUMMY CATS w/ AUDIOPHILE + ABBY HOLMES at The Nick.
**CHARLES & TANYA HARRIS at the Perfect Note.
SUNDAY…
**WORSHIP AT THE SIXTH, 9:30 a.m. at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.
**WOODLAWN STREET MARKET, 12 p.m. at Woodlawn Street Market.
**HAPPY HOUR FREE SHOW with TIM BYRD, 5- 7 p.m. at The Nick.
**DRAG NIGHT at The Nick.
**2 SEXY SUNDAY at the Blu Onyx, 8- 12 p.m.
**SOULFUL SUNDAYS at Perfect Note.
**SUNDAY FUNDAY for the grown Folks Kickback at Tha Vibe Bar & Lounge.
MONDAY…
**EVERY MONDAY is MONSLAYYY – THE CARIBBEAN WAY, 8 p.m. at the Vault with TRINI and BRENT TRINI-FRESH PIERRE. FREE.
**BIRMINGHAM BANDSTAND (Open Mic) at The Nick.
**MOM ROCK at The Nick.
TUESDAY…
**INDUSTRY NIGHT TUESDAY at Blu Onyx, 8 p.m.
**EVERY TUESDAY – TRUE STORY BREWING PRESENTS TUESDAY JAZZ
SESSIONS, 7- 10 p.m., 5510 Crestwood Blvd.
**TASTY TUESDAYS at Platinum of Birmingham.
**EVERY TUESDAY LIT AND JAZZ with DAVID TALLEY AND FRIENDS, 7 p.m. at Lit on 8th, 518 Rev. Abraham Woods Blvd.
**FAT TUESDAY at Tha Vibe Bar & Lounge.
WEDNESDAY…
**INTERFAITH NOONDAY PRAYER SERVICES every Wednesday, Noon at Linn Park in Downtown Birmingham.
**CANNIBAL CORPSE at Iron City.
**WEDNESDAYS WEEKLY JAZZ JAM, 7- 10 p.m. at True Story Brewing Company, 5510 Crestwood Blvd. Food until 9 p.m. Music until 10 p.m. and Drink until 11 p.m.
**OPEN BAR WEDNESDAY, 8 p.m. at Blu Onyx.
**LITVAR at the Nick.
NEXT THURSDAY…
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!
**GET THE LED OUT … A Celebration for the Mighty Zep at Iron City.
**THURSDAY NIGHT WORKOUTS with Live Females at the Blu Onyx.
NEXT FRIDAY…
**QUE’S BAR & GRILL GROOVIN’ on 19th Street in Ensley.
**LIT FRIDAYS WITH RIPCORD, 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. at 4501 Gary Avenue in Fairfield.
**VIRGINIA MAN & ARTS FISHING CLUB w/ CLEMENTINE WAS RIGHT at the Nick.
NEWS TO USE…
AT SIXTH BAPTIST CHURCH
…SEE YOU AT THE SIXTH …
**Sixth Avenue Baptist Church is hosting a BLOOD DRIVE on March 27, 7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Questions, email sabredcross@gmail.com.
**BAPTISM is the Fourth Sunday Baptism, March 27, 9:30 a.m. at the church.
**EVERY MONDAY MORNING MEDITATION WITH PASTOR CANTELOW, 7:15 a.m. Contact the church at (205) 321-1136 or (205) 321-1137.
IN THE COMMUNITY…
**MARCH & MAYHEM & MADNESS & MICS, Friday, 6 p.m. at the StarDome Comedy Club in the Broadway Room, with JAYMOE DR ROOKIE, DANIEL D, LATRESSA THE INVESTOR, LONNIE J JONES and MAMMA VEE.
**GROWNMAN ISSUES – THE STAGE PLAY, April 7-10. This is a musical theatrical production mixed with R&B and Soul at Encore Theatre. CLARISSA KENTY is joining the cast as Nancy. Grown Man Issues features WILLIE TAYLOR, from Days24, Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, MTV’s Making the Band4 and Marriage BootCamp. It is written by MARC RABY with musical direction by DEE HILL. Go to www.encorebham.orgfor more.
FOR MEN, FOOD LOVERS AND MORE…
**BRUH BRUNCH, March 26, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at LIT on 8th/Carter’s (Inside and Out) 514 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr., Blvd. 35204.
**CCDN FOOD HUBWEDNESDAY, Every Wednesday of each month in Fountain Heights Old Sardis Baptist Church 1240 4th Street North, 10 – noon. For more, www.communitycaredn.org.
**BEST FRIED CHICKEN – VOTE FOR THE MAGIC CITY’S BEST this SATURDAY – The Magic City Fried Chicken and Beer Fest, 1 – 5 p.m. at Good People Brewing Company, 114-14th Street South with vendors, live music and food trucks. Check it out! Vote for the Best Fried Chicken.
**SAVE THE DATE! APRIL 9 – HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECT DAY, 8 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the following locations: *First Baptist Church Gardendale – South, 940 Main Street, Gardendale 35071, *Classic Car Motoring, 3900 Grants Mill Road, Irondale 35210, and *City of Bessemer Public Works Laydown Yard, 1205 15th Avenue North, Bessemer, 35020.
**ROSS BRIDGE FARMERS MARKET, May 13, 4 p.m.
FOR ART LOVERS …
AT THE BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART…
**HOLI: A FESTIVAL OF COLOR, Saturday, 11 a.m.
**THE SPRING REFRAME, 5 p.m., Saturday.
AT STEPHEN SMITH FINE ART GALLERY…
**PAST ARTWORKS + LASTEST ABSTRACT SERIES ‘SILENT ANGUISH 2.0’ by ASHLEY D. GUEST, at Stephen Smith Fine Art Gallery located at 5104 Gary Avenue in Fairfield with Music by bands – RANGER 7 p.m. and DUO DUJOUR + FIRST KENTUCKY POST at 8 p.m. Call (205) 305-1451 for more.
FOR MUSIC LOVERS…
(Photo: Yola from the UK at Saturn) (Photo Credit: Provided)
**AT SATURN…YOLA from the UK is coming to Saturn in Birmingham on SUNDAY… – Yola is a Black British rising superstar. Yola recently performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and appeared on CBS Mornings interviewed by Anthony Mason. Her upcoming Stand For Myself 2022 headline tour dates will see her perform shows at venues across the U.S. Yola’s GRAMMY-nominated sophomore album ‘Stand For Myself’, released via Easy Eye Sound, reflects on Yola’s belief in the possibility of paradigm shift beyond the mental programming that creates tokenism and bigotry, which have deeply impacted her personal life and professional career. Yola experienced prejudice throughout her childhood and career and navigated these experiences, as well as homelessness in London and stress-induced voice loss to launch her solo career in 2016. She achieved breakout success with her debut album, Walk Through Fire, which landed her four GRAMMY® nominations including Best New Artist, critical acclaim and fans from Elton John to Estelle. Recorded during the fall of 2020 with a rhythm section that includes bassist Nick Movshon, noted for his work with Amy Winehouse and Bruno Mars, alongside drummer and rising solo artist, Aaron Frazer.
**FRIDAY NIGHT RAP, Every 1st and 3rd Friday at Crescent Cultural Center, 1121 Tuscaloosa Avenue, W.
**MAXWELL: THE NIGHT TOUR, March 26, 8 p.m. at BJCC.
FOR MOTORSPORTS LOVERS…
Photo Cutline: Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher (left to right) stands with 2022 DAYTONA Champion Owner Roger Penske, Champion Driver Austin Cindric and Champion Crew Chief Jeremy Bullins Tuesday After Team Penske delivered the authentic DAYTONA 500 race-winning Ford Mustang to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. The car will be on display at the Hall, located just outside of turn four at Daytona International Speedway until the 2023 DAYTONA 500.
**AT MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME – Driver Austin Cindric’s triumph gave Roger Penske his third Daytona 500 victory (Ryan Newman 2008, Joey Logano 2015) with the second and third both coming in seven-year-increments. An exclamation point was placed on the 2022 DAYTONA 500 when the Austin Cindric’s authentic race-winning Team Penske Ford was placed inside the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, where it belongs, until next year’s DAYTONA 500. In a thrilling run to the finish in NASCAR’s points-paying debut of the new Next Gen race car, Cindric, the 23-year-old NASCAR Cup Series rookie, held off Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe (.091 seconds behind) to notch his first Cup victory in his eighth start in the series. The 65th Annual DAYTONA 500 is scheduled for February 19, 2023 (subject to change). For more information on the 2023 Great American Race, visit www.DAYTONA500.com. Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway is this year’s summer classic, Coke Zero Sugar 400, set for Saturday evening, August 27, which will serve as the last-chance, cutoff race for the premier series playoffs. By virtue of his DAYTONA 500 triumph, Cindric has guaranteed his spot in the battle for the season-long title.
**TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY…A little closer to home…Before NASCAR’s best invade Talladega Superspeedway in the fall, the track will host a spring tripleheader on April 23-24, featuring the GEICO 500 for the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, April 24. Saturday will showcase a duo of events, kicking off with the General Tire 200 ARCA Menards Series race, a mainstay at the historic venue since 1969, and the Ag-Pro 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 1-877-Go-DEGA for more information.
**RACING FOR CHILDREN’S IS CHARITY PARTNER OF HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA – Racing for Children’s returns as the official charity partner of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The race provides a platform for Racing for Children’s to tell their stories to the community throughout the weekend on April 29 – May 1. Children’s of Alabama and Medical Properties Trust will reveal their race car which will be on display during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Racing for Children’s raises funds and awareness for the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s, which treats more than 90 percent of Alabama children diagnosed with cancer or blood disorders. Covered by handprints of patients from Children’s, the Racing for Children’s race car presented by Medical Properties Trust will be on display at Barber Motorsports Park throughout the weekend of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, April 29 – May 1, 2022.
AT THE WORLD GAMES 2022… (Keeping it right here!!! Look for more!)
The World Games is bringing greatness to The Magic City!
**TWG MEDALS ARE HERE – TWG2022 medals have been shown to the public and are very good looking and unique. Check them out on the www.twg2022.com site.
**TWG T-SHIRTS – Get your TWG2022 T-Shirts at the www.twg2022.com.
**TWG TAG – Get your TWG2022 Tag at the www.twg2022.com.
**NEWSWEEK NAMES THE WORLD GAMES ONE OF 22 GREAT THINGS IN 2022…The World Games Birmingham was named one of the 22 Great Things that will take place in 2022.
**CONDE NAST TRAVELER NAMES BIRMINGHAM ONE OF THE 22 BEST PLACES TO GO IN 2022 partially because the City is hosting The World Games 2022.
**THE WORLD GAMES 2022 BIRMINGHAM takes place from Thursday, July 7 to Sunday, July 17. This will be the 40th Anniversary of the event. There will be more than 100 countries, 3,600 athletes that will compete for gold in 34 unique, multi-disciplinary sports that include artistic sports, Bali sports, Martial Arts, precision sports, strength sports and trend sports. Tickets are available. Go to www.TWG2022.com for more.
COMING SOON…
**JULY 7-17, 2022 – THE WORLD GAMES are coming. Look for more!
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ time. People, Places and Things by Gwen DeRu is a weekly column. Send comments to my
emails: gwenderu@yahoo.com and thelewisgroup@birminghamtimes.com.
‘Peaky Blinders’ Superfan Spends Nearly $8,000 On Tattoos Devoted To The BBC Gangster Show
A “Peaky Blinders” superfan has forked out $7,825 (6,000 pounds) to cover his entire back and arms in tattoos devoted to the hit BBC gangster series.
David Hatfield, 58, has spent 125 hours under the needle to obtain the stunning artwork, which features most of the main characters from the iconic gritty crime drama.
The council worker got his first “Peaky Blinders” tattoo in July 2016 to cover up an older inking he had done in his youth.
He started with a portrait of main protagonist Thomas Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, before adding more characters across his entire back.
He has since spent several thousand dollars more covering both of his arms in images of mafia man Luca Changretta and Tommy’s brother Arthur Shelby.
And David says he isn’t finished yet as he plans to add a tribute to Helen McCrory, who played Aunt Polly, following her death due to breast cancer last year.
“I’m a massive fan of the show and the characters are really wonderfully portrayed,” said Hatfield, who lives in Halesowen, West Midlands, in western-central England.
“I was going to have ‘The Great Escape’ on my back as it came out in 1963 when I was born, but I chose ‘Peaky Blinders’ instead as I just fell in love with it.
“My back took 64 hours and 11 sittings to complete because a lot of them are cover-ups of rubbish old tattoos I had when I was younger.
“I was in the chair for seven hours for the first tattoo, and it’s 350 pounds [$456] a sitting. It’s roughly 6,000 pounds [$7,825] altogether, so I’ve spent a fair bit on them.
“I did it because I thought it was an original idea. I must have been the only one at the time.
“I’ve seen a couple more full back pieces now, but I think I’m the only one with a full back and arms.
“I was speaking to Packy Lee, who plays Johnny Dogs, on Facebook, and we were going to meet before COVID, but he is a busy man.
“I’m keeping my left arm mainly free for a tribute to Helen McCrory. I’ve always intended to get her as it was terribly sad when she died.
“She was an integral part of the show and a wonderful actress,” said Hatfield.
He noted that he is still not used to the pain that comes from his dedication to his “Peaky Blinders” body art.
“You never get used to the pain of the tattoo. Some of them can be a breeze, but other times, you can lie there in agony.
“The worst pain I had was my inner bicep and my lower back.
“I should’ve learned my lesson by now, and I said I’d stop when I did my back.
“But I will definitely finish it, with Aberama Gold and Polly to finalize both sleeves.
“I’m thinking of having a noose in a space, around my elbow, connecting to the tat of Arthur as he tried to kill himself.
“I’ll have the ribs done next. I might have the back connecting to the ribs so it’s just one big piece. Once you get the bug, you just keep on going.
“It’s going to be sad when the series ends because it has just been superb from start to finish.
“I reckon it’s going to end with Michael and Tommy fighting — maybe Tommy dies as Michael blames him for his mum’s death.
“I think the gray man Tommy’s daughter kept talking about that was coming to get her is Michael Gray.
“I’ll definitely miss it when it’s no longer on, but I really look forward to the film coming out,” said Hatfield.
His incredible artwork was produced by tattooist Martin Thornton at Ink Envy in Birmingham.
The final season of Peaky Blinders is currently airing in the United Kingdom on the BBC every Sunday at 9 p.m.
Edited by Siân Speakman and Kristen Butler
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The Saber-Tooth Predator That Lived Millions Of Years Before Cats
The earliest known prehistoric saber-toothed predator, living west of the Rocky Mountains millions of years ago, has been described for the first time.
Dubbed Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae, the cat-like predator was hyper-carnivorous, subsisting entirely on meat. Like the larger and better known saber-tooth cat, called Smilodon, it had saber-like teeth in its jaws, as did unrelated species much later on.
“Today, the ability to eat an all-meat diet, also called hypercarnivory, isn’t uncommon. Tigers do it; polar bears can do it. If you have a house cat, you may even have a hypercarnivore at home. But 42 million years ago, mammals were only just figuring out how to survive on meat alone,” said researcher Ashley Poust of the San Diego Natural History Museum.
“One big advance was to evolve specialized teeth for slicing flesh, which is something we see in this newly described specimen.”
Poust is a co-author of a study on D. vanvalkenburghae, published online in the journal Peer J Zoological Science.
“Nothing like this had existed in mammals before,” said Poust. “A few mammal ancestors had long fangs, but Diegoaelurus and its few relatives represent the first cat-like approach to an all-meat diet, with sabre teeth in front and slicing scissor teeth, called carnassials, in the back. It’s a potent combination that several animal groups have independently evolved in the millions of years since.”
A fossilized mandible, or lower jaw, of Diegoaelurus is part of a collection of fossils held at the San Diego institution. The fossil jaw also features teeth that give evidence on the evolution of mammals that prefer a diet based on meat.
The mammal lived during the Eocene Period, about 42 million years ago. Diegoaelurus and its relatives ranged from Wyoming in the United States to China. In life, the D. vanvalkenburghae was about the size of a modern bobcat and had a drooping, bony chin to protect its saber teeth. On the San Diego Natural History Museum’s website, visitors can view the fossil in 3D.
By contrast, Smilodon lived during the much later Pleistocene period, which featured various advances and retreats of glaciation and lasted from about 2.5 million to 12,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene period, other megafauna such as the mammoth, horses, giant ground sloth, giant buffalo, cave bear and giant armadillo-like glyptodonts thrived in the Americas.
Diegoaelurus is categorized under the Machaeroidines: a mysterious and now-extinct group of early mammals that are not closely related to modern carnivores. “We know so little about Machaeroidines, so every new discovery greatly expands our picture of them,” said lead author Shawn Zack of the University of Arizona.
Zack added that the fossil he and his colleagues had examined was especially useful because from the teeth, researchers can infer the creature’s diet and understand how Machaeroidines are related to each other.
D. vanvalkenburghae may have been the first to engage in hypercarnivory, which is a trait shared by modern cats. And Machaeroidines as a whole are known only by the very few specimens found in China and North America.
Zack concluded that Machaeroidines were more diverse than previously thought. He said that while a large form of Machaeroidines, the Apataelurus, was already known, the smaller Diegoaelurus was contemporaneous and raises the possibility that there were others like it.
Other saber-toothed animals may have also roamed the Earth at the same time. Poust said that Diegoaelurus may have crossed paths with the nimravids, or saber-tooth false-cats, which were the next cat-like creatures to enter North America more or less contemporaneously.
“Did these groups ever meet or even compete for space and prey?” Poust said. “We don’t know yet, but San Diego is proving to be a surprisingly important place for carnivore evolution.”
The Diegoaelurus fossil was found hidden in the 42-million-year-old rocks of a larger group called the Santiago Formation in San Diego County, California. The fossilized remains of an entire ecosystem have been found, giving evidence that the area was much wetter and warmer at the time. In addition, due to tectonic plate movements, San Diego was further south than it is today.
“The Santiago Formation fossils show us a forested, wet California where tiny rhinos, early tapirs and strange sheep-like, herbivorous oreodonts grazed under trees while unusual primates and marsupials clung to the canopy above. This richness of prey species would have been a smorgasbord for Diegoaelurus, allowing it to live the life of a specialized hunter before most other mammals,” said Poust.
Edited by Siân Speakman and Kristen Butler
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