On Stage: The Zombies Are Set to Invade Chapel Hill

Amazingly enough, we thought The Zombies were some new heavy metal, like Dillinger Escape Plan, but as it turns out there are the revolutionary psychedelic '60s band known for smash hits like "Time of the Season," "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No."

The Zombies perform in Chapel Hill, NC, at Cat's Cradle (well, actually the venue is in neighboring Carrboro) on April 18th at 8:00 p.m.; tickets for the event are $32-35.

http://www.thezombies.net/

http://zom.thefondfarewells.com/ 

http://www.dillingerescapeplan.org/

http://www.visitchapelhill.org/

http://www.downtownchapelhill.com/

http://www.catscradle.com/

Quote of the Week- Alexandre Dumas

Our quote of the week comes from the late French novelist Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) who is best-known for his two famous novels "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Crisco."

I think this quote exemplifies the reasons why Donald Trump could never become a manager of a Taco Bell in Trenton, NJ, as it is he is a real germophone (according to a "Rolling Stone" interview published earlier this year) as it is.

Here is the quote:

"It is almost as difficult to keep a first class person in a fourth-class job, as it is to keep a fourth class in a first class job."

SIDEBAR: There was a commercial a few years ago for American Express where Donald Trump went into a dumpster to look for his wallet (yes, it is pick-on-Donald Trump day). As it turns out, there is an environmental activist in Los Angeles named Jeremy Seifert who is engaging in dumpster diving, which is a way to dig into dumpsters to get out potentially recyclable materials. Seifert wrote and directed a film about his experiences and his compatriots in the dumpster-diving venture for a documentary film called "Dive!" Apparently, much to his surprise, Seifert found a high amount of good, edible food in these dumpsters. The film will be screening next on Thurs., July 28, at Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill, NC.

50 Beers from Around the World- Red Stripe (Jamaica)

"Hooray, beer!"

That is the famous catch logo for Red Stripe beer, the most famous export from Jamaica after the late Bob Marley.

The beer is named after its red stripe logo (did we really need to wiki that?), and it was first brewed in the capital Kingston on July 31, 1918.

Red Stripe was first imported to the United States in 1985, but it wasn't as popular as initially anticipated. That all changed when the brew began sponsoring reggae events and by the mid-1990s one could even find the beer in grocery stores in places like Mount Airy, NC.

There is also some interesting trivia associated with the beer. Reportedly, it was temporarily banned in America in 1989 because drug smugglers were putting cannibis in several of the brand's brown bottles.

In 2009 during the Beer Summit with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cambridge, Mass., police officer Jim Crowley, President Barack Obama and Veep Joe Biden, Gates initially wanted to have a Red Stripe. But, word spread out and Boston beer lovers and perhaps right-wing hotheads like Rush Limbuagh made an issue of it, so Gates ordered a Sam Adams Light instead. Limbaugh, who is a cigar fan, has probably smoked a Cuban himself!

SIDEBAR: Shocking news out of Turkey as a company in the southeast city of Gaziantep has developed 'instant Turkish coffee' according to Yigal Schieifer with the blog Kebabistan. According to the post/news story, Semesttin Yilmaz developed the new 'Shazili' brand of instant Turkish coffee with both sweet and non-sweet versions to find a unique niche on the market. But, according to Kebabistan, the real thing should be enjoyed at the Mandabatmaz Restaurant in Istanbul. Closer to home, one can drink Turkish coffee at Tallulah's*, a Turkish joint, in Chapel Hill, NC.

*-Alas, it is not spelled correctly on our links!

Bonus Silly Picture to Fill Space- Big Pig!

For those Japanese tourists who decided to come to North Carolina instead of watching your national team play Holland in the World Cup in South Africa, you may want to see a vintage piece of Americana when the city of Hillsborough, NC, (near Chapel Hill) hosts Hog Day!

Of course, for those living or visiting the area who don't have time to partake in the festivities, which include live music, crafts and games, and lots and lots of b-b-q, there is Hursey's Pg-Pickin' Bar-B-Q just down the road in Burlington, NC.

SIDENOTE: Ok, maybe the picture should be described as a 'little big pig.'

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Angora Cat

A Turkish Angora Cat (pictured here) was among those I saw at a cat show in Roanoke, Va., over the weekend. The cat's owner told me that there is a specialized zoo for these cats in Ankara, Turkey. My late uncle Ilhan Gokbudak, a Turkish diplomat who gave me the autograph of Chilean dictator Pinochet (!) actually lived in Ankara. Alas, he is dead now, so I can't ask him to verify this for me.

But, I can say that there are many cats out there who need a home (Alas, I already have a tuxedo cat named Gizmo- and, he is quit a handful!).

There are several animal shelters in North Carolina with pet adoption services.

These include the Orange County Animal Shelter which has a main branch in Hillsborough, NC, (they have two other shelters in the county including one in Chapel Hill) which currently has a tuxedo cat named Missy, a black cat named Mungo and another black cat named Crumper. They can be reached at 919-732-8181.

Another animal shelter in the Triad (Greensboro) area is the Rockingham County Animal Shelter in Reidsville, NC, which is currently offering several cats for adoption. Among them are a tabby named Houdini, a tuxedo cat named Gene Kelly and another tuxedo cat named Fred Astaire.

My good friend Moviezzz can probably name every Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movie off the top of his head, but the only I can come up with are "Top Hat" and "Singing in the Rain," respectively!

Know Your Mayors (Entry 10)- Durham, NC's Bill Bell

Municipal Elections are underway in many parts of the United States, including North Carolina.

The City of Durham, NC, is a college town (ironically so is Durham, NH) which is home to Duke University. But, the city is also known for the famous minor baseball team the Durham Bulls, which recently won the Triple-A World Series (see Sept. entry).

Bill Bell (pictured above) serves as the mayor of Durham, which has approximately 263,000 residents.

Bell, a Howard University alumnus, was first elected to office in 2001 and he was twice re-elected in 2003 and 2005.

The Durham mayor is among those seeking re-election in November, along with the likes of Greensboro's mayor Yvonne Johnson (see last entry in the series). Bell will be challenged by Steven Williams (I), also an African-American.

Bell is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bi-partisan group started by Boston mayor Tom Menino (subject of entry 14 in this series) and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg (when Bloomberg was a Republican as opposed to an independent).

The Durham mayor was challenged in 2005 by Thomas Stith (R) over a range of city issues, including violence. Stith charged that Bell needed to supply the city with more police officers.

Bell won the election over Stith with 58 percent of the vote.

The City of Durham is also part of the Research Triangle, which also includes the cities of Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Durham is also home to the mostly African-American college North Carolina Central.

Some four years ago, an incident between a female North Carolina Central student and Duke lacrosse players resulted in a famous scandal which lead to the resignation of Durham County's district attorney Mike Nifong.

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!

Cinema of the Week- Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill

Today, we focus our seventh entry in the series (of 21) on the famed Varsity Theatre of Chapel Hill, NC, which was once featured in an episode of "Dawson's Creek." This series has usually run on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

We chose the Varsity because it may one of the very few cinemas in the country to show "Slumdog Millionaire" on one screen, and the new "Friday the 13th" remake on the other. Of course, we don't have a crack team of researchers here to actually confirm this!

The Varsity is located at 123 E. Franklin Street, and their phone number is (919) 967-8665. There is now free parking in downtown Chapel Hill on Sundays, which is a good thing because it costs like $92 to park there usually (we aren't being completely serious here!).

On Feb. 27, the cinema will screen the acclaimed Israeli film ""Waltz with Bashir."

I had a chance to see the independent film "The Visitor" there back in the spring, and it was truly an enjoyable experience.

SIDEBAR: There is another historic cinema some 20 miles from Chapel Hill in Graham, NC. The Graham Cinema was showing the Will Smith vehicle "Seven Pounds" this past week, and they are known for a hysterical joke like which also lists their movie listings. It is (336) 226-1488, but I believe the movie they are showing this week is "Marley and Me."

Know Your Mayors (Entry 1 of 21)

Today we kick off another series which might interest some folks, and perhaps bore other's to tears.

I recently wrote a short play called "The Mayor of Chapel Hill" which was performed at No Shame Theatre, an activity sponsored by Mill Mountain Theatre, in Roanoke, Va.

The real-life mayor of Chapel Hill, NC, is Kevin Foy who ironically teaches at North Carolina State University (Chapel Hill is home to UNC).

Foy was born in 1956, and he has been the mayor of Chapel Hill since 2001. He is chair of the North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition which brings together the mayors of the state's 25 largest cities (hmmm.......I don't think Eden, NC, qualifies).

Foy is also a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Gun Coalition.

When I am in Chapel Hill, I love to stop by Chapel Hill Comics and the Turkish restaurant/night club Talullas. And, when I actually have time there, it's nice to see a movie at The Varsity Theatre or take in a play at the Deep Dish Theatre.

And, with all due respect to my friends in Blacksburg, Va., the city of Chapel Hill has to be one of the nicest college towns in the nation.