Potluck Quote of the Day (5 of 10): Muhammad Ali

Today's quote of the day comes from the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) who died earlier this year. We found this quote on a tribute by Keith Knight in his political cartoon series "The K-Chronicles." We are also happy to learn that Knight now resides in Chapel Hill,NC, which puts him in the same state as our good friend Chris Knight (no relation, in fact Keith is black, and Chris is white) who is based in Reidsville.

Ali's legacy continues through the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky.

Here is today's potluck quote of the day: "If you even dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologize."

http://www.alicenter.org

http://www.kchronicles.com

http://www.muhammadali.com

We are featuring Ali today as a tribute to the 2016 Rio Olympics. On our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogpsot.com we have a quote from Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci.

Our Favorite Comics from Sunday, Jan. 18th from Comics Kingdom: Bleeker Rules Again.....

Greetings to our blog readers in Switzerland, Malaysia and Zimbabwe as well as those of you who reside in Cong. David Price's (D-NC) congressional district, which I believe includes Chapel Hill, Durham and Fayetville, so Cong. Price represents Chapel Hill on Capitol Hill (Stephan Pastis might like the pun, well maybe not!)....

"Pearls Before Swine," which is Pastis' comic strip is not actually distributed by Comics Kingdom, but "Hi and Lois" is. Today, we take a slight departure from the norm,  and focus on our favorite comic strips from the distributor rather than a given Sunday newspaper. This gives us a chance to rank "Zippy the Pinhead," one of our favorite comic strips that has a loyal cult following but is not in many newspapers, especially those in small markets, like (presumably) Altoona, Pa, Dayton, Ohio, and Charleston, W.Va.

This week, Bill Griffith, who draws "Zippy" featured an homage to the old "Nancy" comic strip from yesteryear.

Our images for today are from 1) bread bowls, which are featured in the Sunday comic strip for "Six Chix" where a café is literally serving everything imaginable in a bread bowl, 2) "Are You Being Served?," an old English sitcom which our fellow blogger and friend Chris Knight from Reidsville, NC, adores for the comic strip "Retail" and 3) a shark for "Sherman's Lagoon."

Here is our Comics Kingdom top ten:

1) Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog

2) Bizarro

3) Zippy the Pinhead

4) Six Chix

5) Retail

6) Between Friends

7) Sherman's Lagoon

8) The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee

9) Take It from the Tinkersons

10) Piranha Club

http://bleekercomics.com/

http://tinkersons.com/

http://www.zippythepinhead.com

http://www.tnaqua.org/

http://www.ncaquariums.com/

http://scaquarium.org/

Today is This Blog's 8th Anniversary

It was on this day that we started blogging with this blog eight years ago. Very few of us from the 'Keystone Kops' days of the blogosphere have kept up with our blogs for this long. One person who comes to mind is my good friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC.

I should point that the Chris Knight I know was not on "The Brady Bunch" (it aired before he was born, and when I was an infant), nor is he the singer who is playing Kirk Avenue Music Hall in Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 29th.

http://kirkavenuemusic.com/

Nor is he related to the great cartoonist Keith Knight of "K-Chronicles" and  the "Knight Life" comic strip, which runs in the Sunday "Washington Post." Keef, as he likes to call himself, is actually an African-American. The Chris Knight I know, and the other two Chris Knights are all white guys.

http://www.kchronicles.com/


But, the Chris Knight I know is the guy aired a Star Wars-themed tv ad when he unsuccessfully ran for an open seat for the Rockingham County School Board in 2006. (Interestingly, both Chris Knight the blogger and Keith Knight are huge Star Wars fans).

 http://theknightshift.blogspot.com/

http://www.theforce.net

The most popular blog entry on this particular blog is one that discusses a tweet from Bristol Palin (Sarah Palin's daughter.) It has close to 15,000 hits. We are still amazed by that!

Here's to eight more years.....

Although I'd like to take a day off and go to the Museum of Bad Art in Massachussetts:

http://www.museumofbadart.org/

Last Ten Films We've Seen- Cosmopolis Rules

 

 

 

Well, folks about 113 things went wrong as we were posting this; here are some notes on the images:

 

 

1. The dolphin for "The Day of the Dolphin"

 

2. The lizards from the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia are because Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi who is under house arrest in Iran develops a close relationship with a pet lizard since he can not legally leave is apartment.

 

3. The fringe preachers from Reidsville, NC, who may well be affilated with the radical Rev. Johnny Robertson from Martinsville, Va., which is close to Reidsville, are in refernece to "Elmer Gantry," a film about a revival ministers with a questionable background. This image comes from my friend's Chris Knight's blog (see link below)...

 

Here are the films:

 

1. "Holy Motors" (France. dir-Leos Carax. 2012)

 

2. "Cosmopolis" (Canada. dir-David Cronenberg. 2012)

 

3. "Elmer Gantry" (dir-Richard Brooks. 1960)

 

4. "The Day of the Dolphin" (dir- Mike Nichols. 1973)

 

5.  "This Is Not a Film" (Iran. dir-Jafar Panahi, 2011)

 

6. "Spring Breakers" (dir-Harmony Korine. 2012.)

 

7. "Alfie" (dir-Lewis Gilbert. 1966)

 

8 "The Company You Keep" (dir. Robert Redford, 2012)

 

9. "Wake in Fright" (dir. Ted Kotceff. 1971)

 

10. "The Brass Teapot" (dir. Ramaa Mosley. 2012)

 

http://theknightshift.blogspot.com/

Silly Image to Fill Space- Apathy

I was all set to write a follow-up from yesterday's entry about college gymnastics, but I am simply overwhelmed with Apathy. Maybe, it's because of the weather or perhaps it is because I'm in the Bible belt and folks here take Easter a bit too seriously, especially someone like the Rev. Johnny Robertson from Martinsville, Va.

Or, it perhaps because we are not getting as many hits from small European countries like Malta, Latvia and Slovenia, as we had been getting.

But, forwhateverreason, this is the mood I am in.

However, stay tuned kids. We are making a very big announcement tomorrow.

PS- We do want to take time to wish our good friend Chris Kinght, I am referring to the blogger who ran for a Rockingham County, NC, school board seat, with a lavish Star Wars-themed commercial, not the child actor of the same name from "The Brady Bunch."

The Rabbit Ears Test (5 of 12)_ The Brady Bunch

Earlier this year, tv show pioneer Sherwood Schwartz, who created both "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch" died at age 94. But, he will always be remembered for creating one of the first unusual sitcom families which broke away from the "Father Knows Best" forms of the '50s and '60.

"The Brady Bunch" starred the late Robert Reed (1932-1992) as Mike Brady. Reed came to the show with a Shakespearean actor background, and he would later teach Shakespearian acting at UCLA during the last years of his life which ended at age 59 from AIDS.

But, the other two adult cast members, Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis, who played the housekeeper Alice, are alive and presumably well. Davis turned 85 this year.

The oldest Brady child was Greg Brady, played by Barry Williams, who is 57 today, a mere two younger than Reed was when he died 20 years ago. The other Brady Kids were played by the likes of Eve Plumb, Maureen McCormick, Chris Knight (not to be confused with my blogger friend of the same name), Mike Lookiland and Susan Olsen.

"The Brady Bunch" ran for 117 episodes, and Gene Hackman_ of all people_ was considered for the part of Mike Brady. The show was actually more popular after it initially aired, as it never got past number 34 in the ratings.

The dog Tiger disappeared after the second season because off-screen the dog was tragically run over by a car, though his dog house was around up until the show's conclusion.

I actually had the chance to meet Williams in person in 1996. He said he still got high volumes of fan letters every week.

So, today, we are asking when exactly did "The Brady Bunch" first air; is the answer?:

A) Sept. 26, 1969

B) Jan. 2, 1970

C) Sept. 25, 1970

D) Nov. 20, 1970

SIDEBAR: Alas, our beloved UNC Tarheels fell 41-24 to the Missouri Tigers in the Independence Bowl that was mentioned in an earlier entry.

Happy Thanksgiving from Lucy van Pelt

As is our custom, we are wishing everyone a Happy holiday from a cartoon character, though at times, we've used obscure celebrities or politicians (I think we said "Merry Christmas from Bob Dole" once).

Today in New York, an estimated 3.5 million people watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from the streets alone. Among the balloons were Snoopy, who debuted at the parade in 1968.

As for Lucy van Pelt, we found out while researching that not only is Linus her younger brother, but so is Rerun, an infrequent "Peanuts" character. Lucy is a nemesis to Charlie Brown, and we're not sure if Snoopy and Woodstock like her either.

Lucy, who is known for pulling the football and her five cents psychiatry booths, actually made her "Peanuts" debut a year and a half after Charlie Brown and Snoopy on March 3, 1952. But, she joined them in the final original strip for "Peanuts" on Feb. 13, 2000, which was published right away the series' cretor Charles Schultz
(1922-2000) had died.

Amazingly enough, Lucy actually liked Charlie Brown at first!

SIDEDISH: I wanted to wish a special congratulations to the Radford University women's volleyball team. The squad, which represents my alma mater, won the Big South tournament over top-seed Liberty University in Charleston, SC, on Sunday. the Highlanders scored the victory in straight sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-22). They will now head to the NCAA tournament. Seedings will be announced this Sunday.

SIDEDISH TWO: We are happy to report that my friend Chris Knight in North Carolina did not get injured when deep-frying his turkeys today, as is his annual Thanksgiving tradition. Because of the high potential risk for deep-frying turkeys, many celebrities, including William Shatner, have spoken out against it. But, that didn't prevented Knight from engaging in his holiday ritual.

Quote of the Week- Elizabeth Manley

As we continue to quote famous Canadians this month, we turn our focus to women's figure skating legend Elizabeth Manley, 46, who won silver at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Manley, who hails from Trenton, Ontario, is the Canadian spokesperson for Ovarian Cancer Awareness as the illness claimed her mother's life.

Here is her quote, despite efforts to find out who 'she' is, we were unable to pinpoint it, but this seems like a nifty quote as it is:

"If she keeps her nerves under control....she could easily be the one to upset the apple cart."

SIDEBAR: My friend Chris Knight in North Carolina has promised to once again take part in his annual Thanksgiving tradition of deep-frying, which he will almost certainly discuss on his blog "The Knight Shift" (http://www.theknightshift.blogspot.com); while I am very interested how things turn out for Knight, I would not try this myself.

I recall reading a story from a Kansas City news source via Twitter that many people in the metro area were injured from turkey deep-frying efforts over Thanksgiving last year. But, we wish Chris well!

SIDEBAR 2: We were surprised to find out that the Greek Cypriot team APOEL Nicosia became the first team from their country to qualify for the knock-out round of the UEFA Cup tournament by tying the Russian team Zenit St.Petersburg 0-0. Though, we try to avoid putting ethnic politics into sports, I was amused to read (I am a Turkish-American) that APOEL was suspended from UEFA play back in 1986 because the government in Nicosia refused to let the team play the Turkish soccer power Besiktas (Istanbul) in UEFA play. Turkey and Greece tragically went to war over Cyprus in July of 1974.

It was also a good day for the Greek team Olympiakos FC from Piraeus as they defeated the French team Marseilles 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 81st minute from Ioannis Fetfazidis, aka 'the Greek Messi' in the 81st minute of play.

In other soccer games today, the Spanish team Valencia decked the Belgian squad Genk 7-0, and the Portuguese team FC Porto beat out the Ukrainian champs Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0.

Quote of the Week- Steffi Graf

Today, we are quoting two German tennis legends on our two blogs (Boris Becker is the other). Here, we are quoting women's tennis great Steffi Graf, now 42 and married to famed American tennis player Andre Agassi, who is a year younger than his wife (Agassi and I are the same age).

Graf, a 22 grand slam event winner, literally made a splash when she sported a bathing suit for the swimsuit issue of "Sports Illustrated," which put her alongside the likes of swimsuit models, such as Vendela and Elle MacPherson.

Those lines for female athletes between sporting talent and sexual appeal has been even more blurred in recent years as partial nude photographs of gymnast Alicia Sacramone and women's soccer goalie Hope Solo were featured an recent issue of "ESPN" magazine.

Here is Graff's quote:

"It's so difficult to find times besides the tennis."

SIDEBAR: One of the downsides of having two blogs is that I often don't get to read the blogs of my own friends, so I heartily recommend my friend Chris Knight's blog "The Knight Shift," which is www.theknightshift.blogspot.com, which has well over a million hits!

SIDEBAR 2: Since we had an entry about Turkish soccer yesterday, we wanted to mention that Trabzonspor scored a 1-1 tie with Italian powerhouse Inter Milan at home in Trabzon, Turkey, today. The home team's goal came from Halil Altintop.

Halil's twin brother Hamit Altintop as his team Real Madrid decked the Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb 6-2 with goals from Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Callejon and Mesut Ozil, who like the Altintop twins is a Turkish player who grew up in Germany (Ozil plays for Germany; the Altintop twins play for Turkey).

In other games, Bayern Munich beat the Spanish team Villarreal 3-1, and the Swiss team FC Basel triumphed over the Romanian team Otelul Galati in a high-scoring 3-2 affair.

Things We Learned from Twitter Today- Wrestler's True Cause of Death

In a tweet from Slate.com this evening, we learned that former pro wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage, 58, who was a rival of Hulk Hogan's in the 1980s, actually died from a heart attack as opposed to a car accident.

It was widely reported and logically assumed that a car accident claimed Savage's life in May as the car he was driving hit a tree in Seminole, Fla. (near Tampa). But, an autopsy report released today has proven that a heart attack actually claimed the former wrestling superstar's life.

In other tweets, though I do politically differ with my libertarian friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, since I am a centrist to liberal Democrat who only wishes Barack Obama could have as many terms as FDR, I did love this biting proclamation by him which everyone can assuredly sympathize with:

"Said it before and will say it again: American politics is two identical cages of howler monkeys throwing handfuls of dung at each other."

Since the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" reported this week that that there were similar bickerings between conservatives and liberal parliament members in Ankara, Turkey, (I am a Turkish-American), it appears that Knight's viewpoint is one usually felt around the globe.

SIDEBAR: For those who like to stay up even later than me on Friday nights, TCM will air the 1958 Boris Karloff film "Frankenstein 1970," which should not be confused with Andy Warhol's version (or the Mel Brooks film "Young Frankenstein" for that matter) at 2:45 a.m., immediately following a marathon on B-westerns starring Roy Rogers and his beloved horse Trigger. The screening is part of the late-night series TCM Underground, which was once hosted by Rob Zombie- of all people!

Quote of the Week- Lillian Hellman

Today, we continue quoting figures who were either socialists or communists this month since May 1 is associated with Marxism. Though I'm not one myself, I consider Marxists to be a bit more intellectually sound than the radical Chicken Little evangelists who are forecasting mushroom clouds on Saturday.

And, we turn our attention to the great playwright Lillian Hellman (1905-1984) who is best known for three plays in particular, "The Children's Hour" (1934), "The Little Foxes" (1939) and "Toys in the Attic" (1960).

According to Wikipedia, Hellman was blacklisted because her long-time lover the noir novelist Dashiel Hammett was a communist and because Hellman also refused to name names.

Here is her quote:

"Belief is a moral act for which the believer has to be held responsible."

SIDEBAR: I must profess that I could not agree with my friend Chris Knight in Reidsville, NC, who tweeted the following today: "Call me old-fashioned, but if a man can't be trustworthy with his wife, he can't be trusted with elected office." I think Knight was eluding to a certain actor/body-builder who became the governor of California, but it did remind me of current Republican presidential candidate newt Gingrich.

A former congressional rep from New York put in the former house speaker in his rightful place by saying: "Newt will be knocked off his message more times for his own actions than by others."

SIDEBAR TWO: Since there are times when I can be a bit overbearing around others, I was wondering if there was a term for a male diva. And, according to the Urban Dictionary, there is. We are divos. But, we should not be confused with people who can be called devo, though we love the '80s New Wave band Devo. That term refers to male divas are possibly homosexual or meterosexual!

No April Fools Joke This Year

We are postponing our annual prank for a variety of reasons, perhaps the main one being that everyone, even my naiive as a missionary working with cannibals in the Amazon River basin of Brazil friend Sal Jackovich* in Scranton, Pa., gets the gag.

Normally, we have said that we were going on a sky-diving trip at either Carolina Skydiving in Jonesville, NC (near Winston-Salem) or Sky Dive Orange in Orange, Va (near Charlottesville).

However, my friend Chris Knight from Reidsville, NC, normally has great gags on his blog (www.theknightshift.blogspot.com). The April Fools Joke in which he said the radical Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va.** had attacked the Pope in Vatican City remains one of the best cyber-pranks I've ever seen. Knight said that reportedly even the FBI called him to ask where he got 'the information.'

*- Not a real person, but I do have a friend like Sal though he does not reside in Scranton, Pa.

**-Yes, he is a real person and he does fit the stereotype of an over-the-top Southern preacher.

PS_ The answer to our road trip question last week was A, as Lexington, Ky., and Columbus, Ohio, are just over three hours away from each other.

Quote of the Week- Friedrich Nietzsche

Today's Quote of the Week continues with yet another quip from a famous philosopher; this one being the German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche (god, his last name is hard to spell!, and I should talk).

We dedicate this entry to our friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, as he and I appear to be the only two people in the world who are still blogging after all these years! In one entry on his blog (http://theknightshift.blogspot.com) Knight talks about a church that is very hard to get to in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, which was where Joseph Stalin was from.

As for Nietzche, he was a major influence on postmodernism, and he was known for using metaphors and irony. His key ideas including the notion that "God was dead" and the will to power. The German philosopher was also a contemporary of the composer Richard Wagner, according to the 1990 graphic novel "Nietzche for Beginners" which we found at The International Bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC, a few weeks ago. (The establishment is hosting a Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night, which is probably not something that the fringe, ultra-conservative preacher the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va., will be doing with his folks this week).

Niettzche was also known for what would not now be deemed politically incorrect views on religion (well, of course!), love, and women in general. So, I expect that even this tamer quote by him may not go over well in Eden, NC:

"A subject for a great poet would be God's boredom after the seventh day of creation."

MONDAY LEFTOVERS: We wanted to update the blogging public on the status of the University of Cal-Santa Barbara's women's water polo team. The Gauchos were not able to win their game vs. Loyola, which they lost 8-3. But, later in the day, they played a school named Occidental (yes, we've never heard of them either) and beat them 8-5. Kristin Kulakowski scored two goals in that victory.

The UCSB men's basketball team made the NCAA tournament and as a 15-seed they will face the Florida Gators (#2-seed) in a game that will be played on Thursday in Tampa, which is quite close to the Gators' campus!

Interestingly enough, the Gauchos' women's water polo team will next face Bucknell, a smart school in Lewisburg, Pa., for a home game on March 19. Bucknell's men's basketball team also made the NCAAs as a 14-seed; they will face the U-Conn. Huskies in Washington, DC, on Thursday as well.

Though the Gators are my favorite school in the SEC, I may have to root for the Gauchos on Thursday as my cousin's daughter attends that school in Santa Barbie.

There is a great quiz on mentalfloss.com asking the quiz-taker if they know which state a given school is located. Though I have stumbled on many "Mental Floss" quizzes before, I got all 11 questions right today!

Thanksgiving Day Blog-a-Thon Starts with Shakespeare Quote

We start our crazy idea of having a Thanksgiving Day Blog-a-Thon (I sure hope my friends and fellow bloggers Moviezzz and Chris Knight have better things to do today; even if that means eating their grandma's green bean casserole!) with a quote from William Shakespeare:

"I say there is no darkness, but ignorance."

Since the holidays are upon us, many stage companies which perform Shakespeare productions are opting for Christmas plays, which Shakespeare didn't write (alas, our intern Javier went hope to visit family in Honduras this weekend, so we can't verify this!).

Hence, the Georgia Shakespeare Company in Atlanta is performing a stage version of the 1983 holiday cult film "A Christmas Story" from Dec. 7-26 (box office is 404-264-0020).

And, the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival in High Point will be performing Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" from Dec. 3-19.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Darth Vader Dogs

We thought we'd post an entry with this vintage photo of a dog dressed like Darth Vader. Some friends and co-workers are urging to keep my promise of dressing up like the Star Wars for Halloween as I jokingly promised a few weeks ago, but costumes are going for (yikes!) $90 online. My friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, might be inclined to buy it though since he loves Star Wars, so much so that he once used in a local political campaign when he ran for school board offie in 2006.

The Asheville Humane Society in Asheville, NC, is sponsoring a special event aimed at increasing adoptions over the upcoming Halloween weekend. The event called The Halloween Dog Festival will be held on Sat. from 1-5 p.m., and it will include costume categories for both large and small dogs.

Among the mutts that are up for adoption in Asheville are Cassandara, an 11-month-old spayed retriever lab, Anchoive, a five-year-old terrier/chihuahua and Honeycomb, a nine-month-old female lab beagle.

For more info, one can call 828-761-2001.

High School of the Week- Red River HS (Grand Forks, N.Dakota)

This may very well mark the first time that we've had an entry about North Dakota, a state we've never been to!

But, Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.Dak., is our High School of the Week.

Kim Slovtsue is the principal of RRHS, which has about 1,330 students. The school was established in 1967. And, the school's nickname The Rough Riders was in honor of Teddy Roosevelt (pictured here).

Unlike most schools in my two states of Virginia and North Carolina, RRHS offers hockey as one of its school sports for both boys and girls alike. The school won the state championship in boys' hockey last year.

"The Rider's Digest" is the school newspaper.

Emily Wong, a freshman gymnast for The University of Nebraska, is among the school's recent alumni.

SIDEBAR: Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, NC, a suburb of Greensboro and High Point, which was a previous High School of the Week, won their home game over Western Guilford HS by a 25-17 score on Friday night. The Flying Tigers is on the road against Page High School from Greensboro.

SIDEBAR TWO: My good friend and fellow blogger Chris Knight has reported that an Elvis Presley impersonator went into a Sheetz gas station in Eden, NC, on Aug. 27. We have idea if he sang "Viva Las Vegas" for customers or not!

50 Beers Around the World- Brahma (Brazil)

For today's entry devoted to 50 Beers From Around the World we go to Brazil where they serve Brahma Beer, which started in 1888. The brew is found in Moscow, London, Toronto, New York, Milan and (we should hope) in Rio de Janeiro.

SIDEBAR: For those living in the Chapel Hill area or visiting Tarheel Town, you may want to go to the next-door town of Carrboro, NC, where you will find Carrburritos. The Mexican eatery where I have yet to dine myself (though I have driven past it) is said to be a cool happening place which offers substantially better burritos than ones you would find at any given Taco Bell.

SIDEBAR TWO: The Oddfellas Cantina in Floyd, Va.,- one of the nicest little towns in southwest Virginia is hosting Irish Night next week as they do on every first Friday of the month. Reservations are highly recommended as is the establishment's Mexican dishes.

SIDEBAR THREE: My good friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, always has some interesting posts on his blog www.theknightshift.blogspot.com
Recently, he has talked about why "Interview with a Vampire" author Anne Rice is leaving the church though she is not giving up her faith (cites quarrelsome nature of religion among her reasons), how 'Darth Vader' robbed a bank in Long Island at gunpoint and how some comic book fans at ComicCon in San Diego organized a counter protest to the Rev. Fred Phelps (perhaps America's most notorious homophobe) holding up signs which read: "God Hates Jedis."

Top 10- Favorite Non-Celebrities to Follow on Twitter...

For starters, we would like to dedicate today's entry to students at Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, where the late author Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") was from for they will inevitably be the ones who take care of us in nursing homes in the future!

Here are favorite non-celebrities to follow on Twitter. I must profess that I debated if either Arsalan Iftikhar and Keith Knight, two people with loyal followings, could fit this category, but both are slightly less-known than the likes of Paris Hilton.

1. Boulder the Cat- We aren't sure if Boulder the Cat is a Siamese, like the one pictured here. Nevertheless, whoever is behind this feline's tweets is quite hilarious. One recent tweet advised 'fellow cats' that the best time to attack owners is when they are using the toilet!

2. The Kansan- At first, I was looking to follow the school newspaper of the same name for The University of Kansas. But, instead I found a young lady who happens to reside in Lawrence, Kansas, who has a great knack for making fun of Republicans, including a suggestion that the GOP's new theme song should be "Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum!

3. Chris Knight- My friend in Reidsville, NC, is not the same Chris Knight who was on "The Brady Bunch," but I love his off-the-wall tweets. Last night, he was watching the science fiction film "Moon," which came out in theaters last year.

4. Ali Arikan- This movie blogger from Istanbul, Turkey, may actually be even more obsessed with film than I am as he is taking a dvd of the Harvey Keitel film "Bad Lieutenant" to watch on the plane!

5. The Muslim Guy (Arsalan Iftikhar)- This young Muslim American activist has become quite a media sensation. Today, he lambasted Tennessee's Republican lt. gov. for calling Islam a cult.

6. Keith Knight- One of the best new cartoonists in America.......! Keith Knight, an African-American who pens "The Knight Life" is no relation to Chris Knight who is white.

7. Anna Li- The UCLA gymnast who helped the Bruins win a national championship this spring is always a delight to follow on Twitter as she details her life as a 20-something college athlete.

8. Dever Food Guy- Great recipes! He really knows how to use squash, tomatoes and cucumbers!

9. Nathan Tabor- A Republican?! I suppose this Winston-Salem, NC, conservative activist is an example of reverse affirmative action. As one might expect, President Barack Obama is often subject to his critiques.

10. LiberalChick230- This San Fran woman is always cool to follow. Today, she said that a Tea Party diversity event was indeed a big bust....

We Screwed This Up!

Wow! I am screwing up blog entries left and right tonight........maybe I should let my friend Chris Knight take over next week. But, then again, he's a libertarian. I'm not. Hmmmmmm.........yeah, he might post some propaganda about Ron Paul. Nevertheless, it might free up my time to research to research philosopher Frederick Nietzsche so I become a well-rounded intellectual snob!

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Little Green Men

Since two science-fiction films have been nominated for Best Picture Oscar this year ("Avatar," and "District 9") and much to the seeming dismay of my science-fiction connosieur friend Chris Knight, I hated them both with equal disdain, I thought I would post an entry dedicated to little green men. In this case, they are actually protesters in the United Kingdom.

While researching this piece (and yes we actually did that for this!), we found out that Cedar City, Utah, is apparently a hotbed for UFOs.

And, there will be a UFO Congress meeting at the Ramada Inn in Bordentown, NJ, on May 8-9 this year. I guess like the tea-bagger convention which was held in Nashville, Tenn., a few weeks ago, it might be interesting to see what's going on, but (since I don't believe in little green men) I'd feel out of place. Of course, I would have also felt the same way at the Southern Baptist convention, which was held here in Greensboro, NC, a few years ago (when Bush Two was El Presidente no less).

Apparently, Wytheville, Va., a truck-stop town some 60 miles west of my hometown of Roanoke, Va., reported many UFO sightings circa 1987 and there is a UFO rest stop in Stephensville, Tex.

For those of you visiting this blog from Bergen, Norway, who may think us Americans are alone in this whackiness, there is also a UFO Musuem in Istanbul, Turkey. I have actually been there. I gather Marvin the Martian likes the ruins to Ephesus, and drinking beer while watching topless German women in the resort town of Bodrum.