Birmingham Top Ten, Thanksgiving Edition: November 16 – 22

Prepare for Thanksgiving, help the BORG, solve a hilarious murder, all in a single week!  And on a totally unrelated note, check out some guy I found on Youtube “securely erasing” computer hard drives with thermite!  Don’t worry, securing your devices for recycling doesn’t always require welding supplies – it’s just more fun that way.  Here’s what’s up in Birmingham:

UAB Blazers vs LeMoyne-Owen Magicians

• November 16 @ 7PM
• Bartow Arena
• $10-$20

If you’ve played Dungeons and Dragons, you know it takes more than one magician to slay a dragon.  Come out to Bartow Arena and support our beast of a team this Thursday!  Read more

Shred it! Recycle it!

• November 17 @ 10AM
• Homewood Library
• Free!

You know all that paperwork that you want to get rid of, but can’t just toss because it has stuff like your social security number or superhero alias on it?  Just me?  Well.  Shred sensitive financial documents for free on the 17th!  If you went digital, you’re not totally out of luck: the guys offering document obliteration, Protec Recycling, are also offering hard drive destruction for $10/drive.  Read more

Dranksgiving

• November 17 @ 5PM
• Hop City Birmingham
• Free tastings

Get ready to drink enough to make your drunk uncle tolerable this Thanksgiving – or if you’re the fun uncle, get ready for this year’s show!  Hop City will offer tastings for “a little bit of everything” including mead from B. Nektar!  Mead is underrated.  Probably because it spoils quickly, but who waits that long anyway?  Read more

The Big Pitch

• November 18 @ 1PM
• Negro Southern League Museum
• $35

Who is starting to influence Birmingham?  What businesses should you keep an eye on?  Find out here, at Birmingham’s Big Pitch!  Ticket purchasers get to pick their favorite competitor in this shark tank.  Read more

Tech Drive

• November 18 @ 2PM
• Homewood Public Library
• Free (it is a donation event, after all)

Slow down for a second, this is one of the few times in my (legal) adult life I’ve taken something really seriously.  Think for a second about how incredible it is that you’re able to look up almost any information you want at almost any time.  There are people who don’t own a single computer – not a smart phone, nothing.  Owning a device will enable them to file taxes more easily, to look for better jobs, and to stay informed about their world and what affects them.  If you have devices that you feel are cripplingly slow, or taking up space, consider donating them.  All devices will be wiped clean, then loaded up with Linux and given to a family in need, alongside free lessons on getting started. Help the BORG (Birmingham Organization of Recreational Geeks) today!  Read more

The Dinner Detective Public Show

• November 18 @ 6PM
• 2101 5th Ave N
• Full, but who knows who might cancel?

Murder?  Hilarity?  Food?  All this and more await those lucky few with tickets (which could open up at any moment, for all we know).  Are you an unwitting killer?  Read more

Shana Falana and Little Girl

• November 19 @ 7PM
• The Syndicate Lounge
• $5

Psych Pop: the genre you know you’ve heard and nodded along to, but never knew the name of until now.  Or is that Dream Pop?  My point is that this concert will be a trip to remember, even if you’re sober!  Shana Falana prides itself on its stunning visuals matched to the music.  Joining the band is Little Girl, a Birmingham local!  Read more

The Green Apple

• November 21 @ 12PM
• Birmingham Museum of Art
• No price listed

Learn about the Mother of Modernism, Georgia O’Keefe, next week at the BMA!  This quick half hour exploration intends to give its audience a deeper understanding of where an artist found inspiration and how they expressed it.  Read more

Loi Loi, Pink Pyramids, Sonder

• November 21 @ 8PM
• The Syndicate Lounge
• $5

Full bodied synthpop from only two people?  Loi Loi would use the term “economical.”  Joining Loi Loi are the local goth ravers Pink Pyramids, and Sonder, who I just don’t know how to describe – listen to them and find out for yourself!  Read more

Turkeys and Turntables

• November 22 @ 11PM
• Nana Funks
• No cover listed

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without $4 turkey bombs and DQ the Blizzard spinning vinyl.  You know where to be.  Read more