Potluck Quote of the Day: Howard Zinn on Monopoly

Greetings to those of you in Germany, Spain and Australia........as well as to those of you who might just be checking us out on your wi fi from Ozo Coffee Pearl in Boulder, Colo., where perhaps you are reading a print edition of "Boulder Weekly" or from Publik Coffee in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah...........

Tonight, we start a series of quotes from noteworthy people, both alive and dead, who made contributions to society (yes, we will not quote Charles Manson, but Marilyn Manson is a possibility).

And, we start with the late very progressive scholar Howard Zinn (1922-2010). Once you read this quip, you will understand why we went with a Monopoly game board; Scrooge McDuck was out alternative choice.

Here is the quote from Zinn:

"Capitalism has always been a failure for the lower classes. It is now beginning to fail for the middle classes."




 https://www.publikcoffee.com/#/locations

http://www.ozocoffee.com

http://www.boulderweekly.com/

 

20-Word Fiction: A Real-Life John Hughes Movie

Greetings to our blog readers in Spain, Brazil and Japan............

Today's second 20-word fiction story imagines what a real-life Ferris Bueller would do on his day off if he lived in Roanoke, Va., as opposed to Chicago. This year marks the 30th anniversary of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," a film from the late John Hughes which stars Matthew Broderick.

Originally this story had Ferris going to the Mill Mountain Zoo where he fed a pygmy goat, but with a mere 20 words that part had to be omitted, though we feature a photo of that kind of goat here.

We also support the Sleepy Goat farm in Pelham, NC, just over the state line from Danville, Va., their goat cheese is awesome! In the We Caught It department, we originally said the goat farm was in Yanceville, NC, another town in Caswell Country (not that it matters as we are not "Atlantic" magazine!):

"Ferris decided to skip class on Thursday, but he quickly realized Roanoke is not an exciting place during the week."

http://www.mmzoo.org/

http://www.sleepygoatfarm.com/

http://www.theatlantic.com/

20-Word Fiction: Reading at Home

Greetings to our blog readers in Slovenia, France and Cyprus.........

Today's 20-word story is our ninth in a series of ten; they are sort of written on the spot; you can presume it takes place in High Point, NC, if you life:

"Mary was reading 'Fight Club' in her den when the ceiling collapsed. She wished she had gone to Starbucks instead."

http://chuckpalahniuk.net/

http://www.starbucks.com/

20-Word Fiction: The Bird Watcher

When I was with a bird-watching group in Highland County , Va., the smallest county in our state, we came across bird-watchers from Raleigh, NC, and Washington, DC. But, after the day was over with I realized my idea of bird-watching involved Woody Woodpecker cartoons on Youtube.

Here is tonight's 20-Word Fiction entry:

"The bird-watcher got obsessed with a yellow-billed oxpecker. That was before the bird crapped on his bald head."

The link below is for those who like to go bird-watching in Central Park in New York City:
http://www.birdingbob.com/

20-Word Fiction (7/10): Help with Math

Today, we are going with an image of Michael Caine from "Educating Rita" (1983), which was based on a play that we were fortunate enough to see at Triad Stage in Greensboro, NC, a few years. Caine lost the Oscars that year to Robert Duvall who won for "Tender Mercies."

Here is today's 20-Word Story of the Day, which we wrote ourselves:

"Suzy wanted help with her algebra homework, so she hired a Yale professor. He didn't know one freaking thing. Pathetic!"

To those of you who are Yale University alumni, this is a work of fiction!

http://www.triadstage.com

20-Word Fiction: Listen to Your Teachers

Greetings from the Hartford Public Library here in Hartford, Conn., which is not actually where we are blogging from but we expect they have every novel from Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, which have been translated into English.

Speaking of Turkey, today's image is of the famed Hagia Sophi, a state museum in Istanbul, Turkey, where actress Ashley Judd visited yesterday (we learned this from one of her tweets) which started as a Byzantine church before being converted to a mosque by the Ottomans.

Here is today's 20-word fiction which we are writing while listening to Brahms........:

"My religion professor said to be a true intellectual, one must read the Holy Bible and the Koran. Maybe so."

http://www.hplct.org/

20-Word Fiction (5/10): Reruns

Having just seen "The Nice Guys," the new Ryan Gosling-Russell Crowe buddy film which pays homage to '70s tv shows like "The Rockford Files" which starred the late James Garner who died in 2014 at age 86, we are in a '70s mood tonight. So, it should come as no surprise that we mention "The Brady Bunch," an sitcom which starred Florence Henderson and aired from 1969-74:

"The Brady Bunch was one of my favorite shows growing up. It would nice to watch it again. Maybe..........................." 

20-Word Fiction: The Family Vacation Debate

Did they really have to remake "National Lampoon's Vacation?" Weren't Chevy Chase, Anthony Michael Hall and Christie Brinkley great the first time around back in 1983?

Well, however, you feel, reading this entry will take up significantly less time than watching the remake with Ed Helms.

"The kids all want to go to Disney World. But, the wife wants to go to the Mall of America instead."

Ok, so this is 21 words.......

20-Word Fiction: Sunday Night with Clarence Thomas

We dedicate this post to 'my congressman' Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) who is playing a came of kick the can to prevent President Barack Obama to finding a Supreme Court justice to replace Antonin Scalia who died while on a hunting trip to Texas.

If November's election were on Tuesday and Goodlatte were to run against Woody Woodpecker, the red-haired bird would get my vote.

Though he is to the left of us, as we support Hillary Clinton while he supports Bernie Sanders, many years ago left-wing documentary filmmaker proposed running ficus plants against embodied, entrenched members of Congress; we fully agree with him on that point!

Here is our short, short, short story:

"The Supreme Court in my mind has voted 4-3 to stay awake; of course, Justice Clarence Thomas abstains as always."

http://www.michaelmoore.com

20-Word Fiction: Fishing in Kentucky

Todd went fishing in Kentucky. He caught a big bass. On his way home, Todd accidentally peed in his pants.

20-word Fiction: The Comedian (1 of 10)

Greetings from Atlanta:

Saw a great stand-up comic last night. I forget his name. Had one too many vodka shots.


(This is a work of fiction; the comedian pictured is Adam Cayton-Holland. He has been featured on Conan O'Brien)......