Quote of the Day/Week- Werner Herzog

Today, we quip one of our favorite German film directors Werner Herzog as we conclude a month-long series-within-a-series dedicated to quotes from famous Germans.

While researching this, we found out that Herzog is the first film director to make a film on every continent, including Antartica!

The 69-year-old director has just completed work on a documentary called "Death Row" about death row inmates in America. The subject should be a unique one from Herzog's vantage point as many Europeans find the fact that America executes inmates extremely unsettling, while more than 50 percent of Americans seem to support capital punishment in spite of conclusive proof of wrongful executions.

(Full disclosure: I am highly opposed to capital punishment, and I am a long-time supporter of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty).

We get today's quote from the Les Blank documentary "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe," which was made in 1980 and originated from a bet that Herzog made with a then-unknown documentary filmmaker named Errol Morris, who has since become an Academy-Award winner. Morris's latest documentary "Tabloid" was an art-house hit earlier this year:

"If you want to do a film, then steal a camera, steal raw stock, sneak into a lab and just do it."


SIDEBAR ONE: We found out yesterday that actress Anne Hathaway, whom I have admired since she made the 2005 independent film "Havoc" and has since made box office successes, such as "The Devil Wears Prada," is getting engaged. We should wish the actress, who turned 29 earlier in the month well, but frankly we are as jealous as Daffy Duck! Assuredly, anyone wanting more info on Hathaway's personal life can watch "TMZ" as we are moving on to other things.

SIDEBAR TWO: This might seem like a headline from the fake news publication "The Onion," but it is in fact an actual headline from the current issue of "Seattle Weekly:" "The gay softball team that wasn't gay enough has reached a settlement."

Indeed, in 2008, the San Francisco-based gay softball team D2, which finished second at the Gay Softball World Series in Seattle, was disqualified because they allegedly had two or three bisexual or heterosexual players. We first heard about this from the same publication, and blogged about it last year (search our 'gay politics' tag to learn more).

Apparently, the matter went to court, and it has reached a binding resolution. We can imagine that this story may actually be a topic of discussion for both gay rights activist/sex advice columnist Dan Savage and a right-wing talking head,like Rush Limbaugh, who may use this as an example of extreme political correctness (but, I guess rebel-flag waving Confederate apologists in 2011 is ok?!),.......only in America!

Know Your Mayors (15 of 21)- Sam Adams of Portland, Ore.

Twitter has introduced to a lot of people I wasn't fully aware in the arenas of politics, government, pop culture and pro sports.

One of the more unique figures I've come across is Portland, Ore.'s mayor Sam Adams,46, who was the first openly gay mayor elected to one of America's 30 largest cities when he was elected in November of 2008 (Houston recently elected a lesbian to become its mayor). Adams was sworn into office on Jan 1st of this year.

Even in a more progressive state like Oregon, Adams has seen political problems stemming from his sexual orientation mainly because of a scandal which erupted when admitted to having a sexual relationship with a young intern for Republican state legislator Kim Thatcher. Adams had first denied the allegations which came about through an article in the Portland alt weekly "Willamette Week."

An investigation was opened by state attorney general John Kroger (D)but later dropped due to a lack of credible evidence. Gay columnist Dan Savage (not to be confused with far right talk show host Mike Savage) said he was outraged by the attacks against Adams which he saw as a clear act of homophobia.

Adams is mostly known for being one of America's most vocal environmental mayors and while in office Adams has emphasized measures to reduce the city's carbon dioxide emissions. He has also tweeted extensively about developments at the very recent international climate control conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The mayor has also supported new regulations for horse-drawn carriages in the city after a horse died in downtown Portland in August. Adams switched political positions by opposing a $4 billion, twelve lane replacement for a freeway bridge over I-5.

Adams gained political recognition as a grassroots activist. He campaigned with Peter DeFazio, who ran for Congress in 1986. DeFazio remains a member of the Oregon delegation in Congress.

Adams was born in Whitehall, Mont. His domestic partner is Peter Zuckerman, a former journalist with Portland's main newspaper "The Oregonian."