Top 10 Countries to Run To If GOP Whacko Becomes Prez

We will probably have better things to do on March 5th, when the remaining Republican candidates have yet another debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. One of those even better things to do might be to watch a marathon of the British '70s sitcom "Are You Being Served?" (the show airs on PBS stations in North Carolina on Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m.) on dvd.

Here is a list of possible countries to run to if the likes of Rick Santorum (pictured), Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich becomes president:

1. Norway (pictured)

2. Argentina

3. Australia

4. Honduras

5. Chile

6. Greece

7. Denmark (yes, we like the idea of seeking political asylum in a Scandinavian country)

8. Canada (yeah, this is a bit of an easy choice)

9. Croatia

10. Poland

Yeah, we aren't quite zany enough to put North Korea on this list.

Quote of the Day/Week- Martin Scorsese

It appears to be a low traffic day here today on the blog, though 'simit,' a Turkish sesame pastry which one can easily find from a vendor along the Bosporus shores of Istanbul is a trending topic!

Today, we continue with quotes from Oscar-winning film directors with a quip from Martin Scorsese who finally won a well-deserved Academy Award for "The Departed" (2006). Scorsese is again nominated this year for yet another superb film "Hugo." The other Best Directors nominees includes the likes of Woody Allen, Terence Malick and Alexander Payne.

Here is Scorsese's quip:

"I know there were many good policemen who died doing their duty. Some of the cops were even friends of ours. But, a cop can both ways."

The poster above is for the early Scorsese cinematic gem "Mean Streets" (1973).

SIDEBAR: Kudos to my alma mater Radford University in Radford, Va., for breaking a 29-game road losing streak in men's basketball with a 58-54 victory over Big South rival Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, NC (near Hickory).

Freshman Javonte Green from Alberta, Va., lead the Highlanders in scoring 12 points.

Quote of the Day/Week- August Wilson

Today, we quote one of our favorite playwrights August Wilson (1945-2005) in honor of Black History Month. A production of his 2004 play "Gem of the Ocean," which is set in 1904, will take place in Wilson's hometown of Pittsburgh.

The performance will be from the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre at the August Wilson Center from June 2-10.

Ironically, we quoted another local hero former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who is originally from Louisiana, on our other blog "The Daily Vampire" yesterday.

Here is Wilson's quip:

"Blacks in America want to forget about slavery_ the stigma, the shame. That's the wrong move. If you can't be who you are, who can you be? How can you know what to do?
We have our history. We have our book, which is the blues. And we forget it all."

SIDEBAR: We learned this interesting trivial bit last week upon learning that it was the 41st birthday of actor Michael C. Hall, who plays Dexter on "Dexter," the Showtime series about a serial killer who kills people he believes to be serial killers. In the first season of the show, which recently finished season six, Dexter and his female companion Rita are watching "Terms of Endearment" (1984), which won the Best Picture Oscar that year.

Well, in season four, John Lithgow, now age 66, who had a supporting role in that film, made a 12-episode run as Dexter's nemesis Arthur Mitchell, otherwise known as 'The Trinity Killer.'

Quote of the Day/Week- Roger Staubach

Today we continue our quips from Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks with a quote from Roger Staubach, 70, who helped the Dallas Cowboys win two Super Bowls in 1972 (over the Miami Dolphins) and in 1978 (over the Denver Broncos). The Cowboys would win three more Super Bowls in the 1990s.

This one brings back memories because there is a photograph of me taken in Budapest, Hungary, in 1976 when I was just six years old, as I was wearing a matching Dallas Cowboys hat and jacket. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Roger Staubach really was.

Staubach was also a Heisman Trophy winner for Navy in 1963, and he helped the Midshipmen win two games over arch rivals Army. Along with former NBA star David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, Staubach is considered to be the most famous athlete to graduate from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Due to his military commitment, Staubach did not enter the NFL as a rookie until he was 27 in 1969. He retired from football after the 1979 season. Staubach played for the Dallas Cowboys for his entire career.

On the Fox-TV animated sitcom "King of the Hill," which ran for 13 seasons, the local Texas elementary school is named after Staubach.

Here is his quote:

"Confidence comes from hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication."

SIDEBAR: One thing one has to love about Google is that it can help you answer a question about something you saw on Twitter. Today, The Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty) said that several words in English, such as Gobblefunk, were the creation of children's book writer Roald Dahl ("James and the Giant Peach"). I was puzzled as to what exactly Gooblefunk or gobblefunk meant, and the answer is 'delicious.'

From the Record Collection (5 of 8) Bob Dylan "Slow Train Coming"

It is nice to see we are popular in Slovenia_ of all places, so we send out special greetings to those of you in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. We also wish to extend greetings to folks in Nassau, The Bahamas, and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. We gather the weather is slightly nicer in the Caribbean island nation.

Today, in our "From the Record Collection" series, we feature Bob Dylan's 19th studio record "Slow Train Coming" (1979). Last year, we found a used copy of the record at All Day Records in Carrboro (Chapel Hill), NC.

"Slow Train Coming" was Dylan's first record since becoming a born-again Christian. Dylan was raised as a Jew in Minnesota. Spirituality is exemplified through the record with songs like "Gotta Serve Somebody," "Precious Angel" and "The Animals," which alludes to Noah's Ark.

The axe used by a rail worker on the album cover is shaped like a crucifix as is the sailboat, which is used in the photograph of the back cover.

We could not establish how long the born-again period lasted for Dylan, or if he still views the world from that prism, though spirituality does seem to come up frequently in recordings made after 1979.

The many aspects of Dylan's life made for a great art film by Todd Haynes, "I'm Not There" (2007) which includes a remarkable performance from Australian actress Cate Blanchett who plays Dylan herself!

"Slow Train Coming" was a major commercial success, and "You Gotta Serve Somebody" was Dylan's first major hit in three years.

Of his conversion to Christianity, Dylan said that an image of Jesus Christ came to him while he was staying in a hotel room in Tucson, Arizona.

The record also features Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits on guitar on many of the album's key tracks.

The Rabbit Ears Test (6 of 12)_ "Gilligan's Island"

Greetings to everyone defending our freedoms and liberties by warding off those pesky Canadians from Winnipeg, the hometown of filmmaker Guy Maddin, who threaten our borders and our national security.

Hmmm....yeah, making fun of far right eggheads never gets old. Of course, we love Canadians, even the ones who speak French.

Today, we dedicate a blog entry to "Gilligan's Island," (1963-66) the popular cult tv series from Sherwood Schwartz who later brought the world "The Brady Bunch" (subject of our previous entry in this series). We presume that it was broadcast in Canada, though we're not sure if it ever made it to Turkey.

This subject is even more timely since I just recently returned from The Bahamas, where we stopped at Coco Cay, one of these private islands brought by a cruise ship company, which is just like "Gilligan's Island," except the natives want to sell you Bob Marley t-shirts.

Alas, Bob Denver, who played the beloved title character died at age 70 in 2005 in Winston-Salem, NC. For many years, he was residing in Princeton, West Virginia, and no one is exactly sure why.

But, Russell Johnson, who played the Professor, is alive and well somewhere in the United States, well not West Virginia.

Of course, for those of you unfamiliar with the show, it was shown for its catchy theme song, which is now a popular Youtube video.

So, for today's question, we are going to ask how old Johnson is; is the answer:

A) 84 B)85 C)86 D)87

If you are the lucky winner, we will send you a cassette tape with the theme from "The Love Boat"_ just kidding. Amazingly enough, the entire cast of that show (well the original '70s version), including Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), is alive and well.

Casulaties of Modern Technology (6 of 12)_ The Calculator

Greetings to all our blog readers in Turku, Finland, and Kobe, Japan, or whereever else you might be today.

By happenstance, I came across the Little Professor* calculator I used in the third grade in 1979; alas, it no longer seems to function.

And, though calculators are still used to a varying degree, it seems safe to assume that they are indeed a Casualty of Modern Technology.

The modern calculators that were used to assist with basic math were first developed in the 1960s. Pocket-sized calculators came about a decade later in the 1970s. And, it was around the disco era, when calculators became both small and affordable for everyone, including elementary school students.

This, in turn, created a debate about whether calculators should be used in the classroom or not. Many math teachers feared that the calculator would diminsh student math skills. But, while the matter became more controversial in Europe, American school teachers gradually seemed to accept the likes of the Little Professor in the classroom.

As they evolved, calculators were also able to perform more advanced technigues, such as trigonometry and stats.

In 1986, according to Wikipedia, the calculator accounted for 41 percent of all general purpose hardware. But, by 2007, calculators accounted for less than 0.005 percent of general purpose hardware.

*-Whoops, we initially incorrectly referred to the Little Professor calculators as Mister Professor calculators!