Quoting Romeo and Juliet for V-Day

Yes, I know. I am getting suffocated from Valentine's Day nonsense myself, but of course since I am an American (well my late father came from Turkey) why not be a bit of a contrarian/hypocrite and indulge in this madness/nonsense.

So, here is a quip from "Romeo and Juliet," which will probably be made into a 3-D movie soon:

"But, soft! What light through window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the son."

We learned that the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is not performing "Romeo and Juliet" at the moment, but they will be staging the John Marston play "The Malcontent," including a performance on Sat., Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m.

SIDEBAR: For those American tourists who have the spare time to span the globe and the courage to stay in the Middle East in spite of political upheaval, you can go to Tel Aviv, Israel, to see everyone's favorite Russian emigre punk band Gogol Bordello perform at the Barby Club there from Feb. 28-March 2. The band is actually giving three concerts at the venue!

They later head to Rome, Italy, for a concert on my 41st birthday (March 4th) at the Atlantico Live Club before heading to one of my favorite cities Istanbul, Turkey, for a March 11th concert at the Babylon.

But, for those of you who live in Nebraska and prefer classical music (I actually like everything from heavy metal to classical, but I'm the first to admit that would make for quite a surreal mixed tape!) there will be a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on Fri., March 4 at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m. with conductor Thomas Wilkins at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. The performance will be from the Omaha Symphony. It should be fun; be sure to wear your Grateful Dead tye-dye t-shirt to the event!

Wasn't It Shakespeare Who Said.....

"Eat, Drink and be merry for we may get #@%&*$ snowed in tomorrow."

Yes, it has been a bit tough on those of us who live in Virginia and North Carolina (I divide my time between both states) and other states in the South- though the storm also affected Maryland and Oklahoma, which to my knowledge are not southern states, but perhaps there is someone in Baltimore and Tulsa who would want to argue with me on that.

If you are a William Shakespeare fan, you might want to check out a performance of "Twelth Night" in Staunton, Va., should you be traveling between Roanoke, Va., and Washington, DC. The production is going on right now as we speak (well, not literally as it is two a.m. now).

But, you may want to call their number 1-877-MUCH-ADO or visit their web site (americanshakespearecenter.com) in case the area gets hit with a third major winter storm to see if "Twelth Night" or their other plays will be performed as scheduled.

Snowfall accumulations for most zip codes in Virginia and North Carolina ranged from five inches to just over a foot. I gather that Lexington, NC, and Martinsville, Va., were among the towns with the most snowfall totals in their respective regions.

Many school systems in southwestern Virginia and northwester/north central North Carolina are scheduled to be closed on Monday, so I guess some ninth graders will have an extra day to work on their "Romeo and Juliet" book reports.