Highlight from the Things To Do List: Go to the Local Art Museum

As I try to do every month, I put together a list of 100 Things To Do. It should be pointed out that while I respect religious people and Elvis Presley fans, I am posting this image to be ironic. Hopefully, our followers in the Czech Republic get the joke.

Here we go:

1. Visit the local art museum (yeah, that's another reason for the velvet Jesus and Elvis painting)

2. Looking into getting a Facebook page for the family business

3. Read "The Atlantic"

4. Read "Rolling Stone"

5. Read "The Week"

6. Cancel some magazine subscriptions

7. Read "The Nation" at the Salt Lake City* Library

8. Read "The National Review" at the local library to get into the right-wing mindset.

9. Do the laundry

10. Recycle

Quote of the Day/Week-Richard Nixon

Today, we conclude our quotes of the last eight presidents, four of whom are quoted on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire," with a quip from Richard Nixon (1913-1994) who died at age 81 during Bill Clinton's presidency.

Among the iconic images of Nixon are the photo of him bowling, a poster of which can be seen in the Coen Brothers' cult classic "The Big Lebowski" and the photo of him meeting Elvis Presley, who was rumored to be high on marijuana when the picture was taken.

A portrait painting by Norman Rockwell of the president can presently be seen at The National Portraits Gallery in Washington, DC.

Nixon has been played many times on film, in fact, two actors Anthony Hopkins ("Nixon") and Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon") have been nominated for playing him. The Richard Nixon Library is in Yorba Linda, Calif.

Here is his quote, which seems appropriate given that this is both a presidential election and an Olympic year:

"Finishing second in the Olympics gets you a silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion."http://www.nixonlibrary.gov

Quote of the Week- Andy Warhol

Today we feature a quote from Andy Warhol (1927-1987) who was known for soup cans and for funky painting of folks ranging from Elvis Presley to Che Guevara.

There is currently a special exhibit dedicated to one of Warhol's other favorite subjects, Marilyn Monroe at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Similarly, The Baltimore Museum of Art is featuring Warhol's later works in an exhbit that is named: Andy Warhol, the Last Decade. It runs through Jan. 9, 2011.

Here is the quip, which I can relate to since having a girlfriend these days seems harder than planning a trip to Tashkent, Uzbekistan:

"When I got my first television set, I stopped caring so much about personal relationships."

One has to wonder what Warhol would have made of Facebook!

We also want to wish another renegade and legend, French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard a belated happy 80th birthday (it was on Friday).

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!

Quote of the Week- Happy Birthday Elvis

We were actually going to publish this over the weekend when Elvis Presley and Richard M. Nixon both had birthdays, but I got sick (see last entry, which now contains a photo of cartoonist Bill Griffith).

If they were both alive, Presley would have turned 75 on Jan. 8 and Nixon would have turned 96 on Jan. 9.

While researching this piece, I found out that there was a tv movie called "Elvis Meets Nixon" made in 1997, but the director of that film Allen Arkush is believed to be one of the worst filmmakers around......of course, having said that, I can't recall anything he's made right off-hand!

Here is our quote from Elvis:

"Look guys, if you're just going to stare at me, I'm going to bed!"

Special Quote of the Week- Elvis Presley

To compliment our quote from Bob Dylan on our other blog "The Daily Vampire," we thought we'd quip the late Elvis Presley here.

If it were not for the fact that I was posting this from a public library in Bethesda, Md. (not where I really am!) which does not allow access to YouTube, I would post a video from 'The Turkish Elvis' Nevrez Caliskan, the 2008 European Elvis Impersonator champion, performing "Viva Las Vegas!" Apparently, Nevrez is so popular that he has even performed in Houston!

There is also a Russian emigre rock/swing band called The Red Elvises, which really bear no resemblance to the pride of Tupelo, Miss. But, they are performing close to their home turf (the band is based in Santa Monica, Cal.) with shows in Berkeley, Cal., on Friday, Nov. 26, Santa Cruz, Cal., on Nov. 27 and a performance in Sacramento on Nov. 28.

Similary a friend of mine's band Kyle Van Band performs at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, Cal., on Nov. 28. Perhaps, they will come 'up here' to suburban Maryland some time soon as well!

PS-Ooooops! I forgot to post Elvis' quip! Here it is:

"Don't criticize what you don't understand, son. You never walked in that man's shoes."

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Elvis Meets Nixon

This still has to one of the best portrait photos ever taken!