Thursday, May 28, 2009

True Confessions (11 of 11 Final Entry)- The Forbidden Fonz







Recently, I sat down to write my memoir of growing up as the son of a Turkish immigrant (my father Mehmet Gokbudak died on my 13th birthday in 1983) in Salem, Va., during the 1970s.

Much of my writing focused on some dark chapters including how my father died of a sudden, abrupt heart attack while I was preparing to go to my junior high school.

But, there were some lighter moments I rediscovered.

Like many immigrant fathers (as well as perhaps Southern Baptists), my father was a bit uptight about how American pop culture was influencing his children. He did not like the way I would 'talk back' to him.

He attributed this to "Happy Days." While there were other shows that we watched which he hated like "Different Strokes," this coming-of-age comedy was public enemy nunmero uno. He really hated Fonzie's catch phrase: "sit on it."

He also saw Tom Bosley's character as a weak, pushover father figure.

So, some time circa 1981, we were actually forbidden to watch "Happy Days" (I wonder if Dick Cheney did this to his children as well).

But, alas my father couldn't win for the show aired in reruns during the afternoons, and of course since it was 'banned,' I was eager to watch it even more. I must have seen the episode where Fonzie jumps the shark six or seven times.

Alas, "Happy Days" has not really stood the test of time though in my view "That '70s Show" was essentially a remake of it, and by no means is it nearly as 'cool' as the original.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Know Your Mayors (8 of 12)_Mayor of Philly









The man pictured here happens to be the mayor of the City of Brotherly Love, which is (of course) Philadelphia.

Is his name (all of these choices are big city mayors):



A) Dave Bing

B) Adrian Fenty

C) Michael Nutter

D) Michael Bloomberg*


*-We couldn't resist!

UPDATE: 6/7-The answer is.............C) Michael Nutter

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Very Silly Photo to Fill Space





And, to think he probably had to beat out 327 guys to do this!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Summer Concerts 2009






Here is a list of summer dates from various music groups that are on tour this summer. Check their official web sites to see if they are coming near you:


June 4 REO Speedwagon, Kansas City, MO. (Starlight Theatre)

June 9 Coldplay, New Orleans, La.

June 10 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, El Paso, Tex. (Club 101)

June 23 Depeche Mode, Budapest, Hungary*

June 25 Huey Lewis and the News, Newport, RI

July 21 Journey, Morrison, Col. (Red Rocks)

July 31 Gogol Bordello, Norfolk, Va. (The Norva)

Aug. 8 Def Leppard (w/Cheap Trick and Poison), Charlotte, NC

*-Depeche Mode will play North America in July

Quote of the Week-Peter Fonda





This entry complements the Dennis Hopper quote on my other blog "The Daily Vampire:"

"Henry Fonda's son: That's how everybody identified me until 'Easy Rider' came along. Good old Captain America."


You know "Easy Rider" and "Mary Poppins" would make for a very interesting double-header.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Cinema of the Week (13 of 21) Michigan Theatre in Detroit





The historic Michigan Theatre in Detroit is showing a special Memorial Day screening of the Disney classic "Mary Poppins" at 3 p.m., and get this- it is a sing-a-long!

How does that song go: "Supercalafragilisticxb..........." oh never mind!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that amazingly enough "Mary Poppins" is actually one of filmmaker David Fincher's ("Seven," "Zodiac," "The Game") favorite films!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Remembering the American Newspaper-Want Ads





We loved this service listing from "The Boulder Weekly" in Boulder, Col. We slightly changed the actual number to protect the man's privacy:


"I am a friendly, dedicated CU teacher who teaches piano lessons to young people and adults. I am available to teach you at your home. $30.00/half hour. (303) 555-8720. Ask for John."

Friday, May 22, 2009

Misadventures in Chapel Hill




We were gone for over a week due to a trip to Colorado, but we are back. The details of that trip are on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

Yesterday, I had a chance to visit Chapel Hill here in the Tarheel State (well, actually I'm in Virginia at the moment) and even though I was there for four hours the venture had its fair share of highlights and lowlights.

Here are some of them:

*-Ate Adana Kebab at Talulla's on Franklin Street. Tallula's easily has the best Turkish food in North Carolina. I drank a Pabst Blue Ribbon to go with it only to find out after ordering that they in fact carried the Turkish beer Efes Pilsen, which is not available anywhere else in NC (I presume).

*-Saw a barefoot girl walking past me near Tallula's.....hmm, I guess college students can't afford shoes these days.

*-I got a copy of a Lucky Luke comic book/graphic novel at Chapel Hill Comics, one of my favorite places to buy comic books in NC or anywhere else.

*-Saw college students protesting at a KFC in Carrboro.......it's nice to know there are people out there who actually make me look conservative.

*-Got a cd of Joy Division's greatest hits. It's been 24 hours and I have yet to attempt suicide (they are a pretty dark band!).

*-Went into a cigar store that sold pipes shaped like 'male anatomy parts.'

*- Saw a cool t-shirt with Larry Craig which said: "I'm not gay, but my party is."

*- Had coffee at a restaurant and kinda sorta flirted with the waitress who is half my age........I didn't get around to asking her if she had a Facebook account.

*-Got Tom Stoppard's play "Rock and Roll" at a used bookstore. They are now performing it in Chicago and Washington, DC.

*- Saw a band performing in the back of a pickup truck to promote their show this weekend.

*-Saw a copy of "High Times," the marijuana magazine. And, I actually got into a brief argument with a college student about marijuana legalization, which I am not in favor of.........(eyes rolling)

*-Walked by the ever-kewl Varsity Theatre and saw that they were showing "Angels and Demons" just like everybody else.

*-Saw two Che Guevarra posters in two different stores.......I would assume Jesse Helms is rolling in his grave.

*-Decided to bandwagon and get a UNC baseball hat....hey, they are the NCAA men's basketball champs after all!

Lowlights:

*_ Some parking attendant was apparently in the process of getting my license plate number AS I WAS LEAVING the lot. I had overparked there by 43 minutes. He blocked me in. I was going to go to a play from there, but decided just to go home instead. Apparently, I am going to get a parking ticket in the mail.......awkward!

*_ I did not meet a girl half my age to go out with, c'est la vie!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Remembering the Newspaper-Restaurant Review




Yesterday while I was watching "Face the Nation," I witnessed former (vice) president Dick Cheney, who always reminds me why I am a Democrat (Nancy Pelosi looks so good by comparison!), taking a dig at Colin Powell.

Perhaps, the two need to have lunch at Siroc, a new establishment on 15th Street in Washington, DC, that was profiled in "The Washington Post Magazine" on May 3, so they can patch their differences.....that is, if anyone can patch their differences with Cheney.

Reviewer Tom Sietsema said Siroc is a place in which upon reading the menu one can sense that there is a chef in the kitchen who wants 'lure you in with familiar food even as he slips in a few surprises.'

That chef is Martin Lackovic, who co-owns the restaurant, and his specialties include octopus salami and handmade pasta. There is also the rabbit sausage dish, which might equally offend both Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig.

Sietsema said he was impressed that Siroc offered many dishes under $25 and a pleasant atmosphere. He said that he was also intrigued to see the place busy on a Monday night.

Siroc is a no-smoking establishment, and they offer valet parking on Fridays and Saturdays. Hmmmmm........I'm not sure many restaurants in Danville, Va., offer octopus salami.

Silly Photo to Fill Space




Since I am traveling to Denver tomorrow to see my sister, my brother-in-law and their two charming cats, I thought I would post a photo of people falling asleep at airports, although I suppose this could just as easily be a business meeting.

Quote of the Week- DeForest Kelley






Today, we quote two "Star Trek" icons on our respective blogs, the other one being The Daily Vampire.

Here we use a quip from the late DeForest Kelley (1920-1999):

"I have no aspirations whatsoever to be the next leading man."

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Special Quote of the Day from Joan Crawford



Well, it is Mother's Day weekend, so we are posting our annual tribute to Joan Crawford with one of her quotes.

There is another quote from Crawford at our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" which you can access through our links.

"Mommie Dearest" will be showing at the Bow Tie Cinemas Movieland in Schenectady, NY, tonight. Yopu can also visit the web site joancrawfordbest.com for more info about her.


Here is today's quip:

"It has been said that on screen I personified the American woman."

Thursday, May 7, 2009

A Republican Bumper Sticker I Actually Agree With




As I was driving down Route 220 near Boones Mill, Va., the other day, I came across a military veteran who had all sorts of right-wing bumper stickers, including one about how to annoy liberals by getting a job.

There was one that I actually agreed with though, but for different reasons.

It said:

"Sarah Palin 2012"

I was thinking: "Wow, if that happened, President Barack Obama could conceivably win every state in the country.......ok, except Alaska."

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Remembering the American Newspaper- Right Wing Letters to the Editor




Along with several entries here and our sister blog "The Daily Vampire," we will be publsihing a weekly mock tribute to the American Newspaper, which is vanishing like a bambi in a redneck's backyard.

Today, we take an actual fringe letter-to-the-editor that was published by "The Roanoke Times" in Roanoke, Va., on Sat., May 2. I must profess that I find some right wing letters-to-the-editor to be even more amusing than "Pearls Before Swine."

This is certainly one of that qualifies as the author, Darkas Mason of Roanoke, goes on a rant against homosexuals and the issue of gay marriage, using The Bible as the source of their hate:

"God didn't make Adam and Steve. He made Adam and Eve to have children and replenish the Earth. Nowhere have I found in the King James of the Bible where two men have had children together. 'Thou Shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination. Leviticus 18:22. Clear wording. Do not have sex with another man. That is detestable. I think this is pretty clear."

And, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) is not a hypocrite.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

This is Exam Week!




I RULE!!!!

It's so nice to be the teacher this time of the year.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Quote of the Week- Lenny Bruce





Before there was Howard Stern or Sarah Silverman, there was Lenny Bruce.

It was hard to find a quote from the late comedian which would not have offended. Frankly, this one may upset my friends in Princeton, WV, or Eden, NC, but it so true:

"I hate small towns because once you've seen the cannon in the park, there's nothing else to do."

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Silly Photo to Fill Space





Since we posted an image of an ex-girlfriend voodoo doll on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire," we thought we'd go with an ex-boyfriend voodoo doll here.

Even though I'm heterosexual, I must profess this one is actually funnier!

This product was made for the UK market hence realize is spelled 'realise.'

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Special Quote of the Week by Che Guevara




The man pictured above is not actor Benicio del Toro who is currently starring in the epic four-hour film "Che," which I'm told is a personal favorite among right-wing Cuban-American bloggers and the editors of "National Review."

We are quoting Ernesto Che Guevara (1928-1967) whose t-shirts can be found at a shopping mall near you (that irony just kills me!). The occasion for this is the fact that yesterday was May Day, which is still celebrated by those who call themselves socialists around the world.

For those who don't know, Che was a revolutionary Latin American figure who helped Fidel Castro come to power in Cuba. He was assassinated by CIA officials in Bolivia, but he has become ever the cult icon.

For the record, I am NOT a socialist though like everyone who voted for Barack Obama (especially in the redneck south) I have been accused of that. I enjoy my Starbucks frapuccinos thank you!

But, Che did have some unique quips, including this one:

"Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel!"