Happy 100th Birthday, Gene Kelly and Weather Around America

 

Well, as it turns out, we are NOT singin' in the rain, but we recognize Gene Kelly (1912-1996) which would have been this past week. Of course, to those of us who love Stanley Kubrick films, we will always cherish the tune in part because it's Alex's anthem in "A Clockwork Orange."

 

As Tropical Storm Isaac threatens the Republican Convention, scheduled to begin in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, weather is actually replacing politics as America's main concern. Of course, our thoughts are also with people in Cuba and Haiti who are dealing with the storm as well.

 

Speaking of the GOP Convention, we can't wait to start makin fun of Paul Ryan again; he reads Voltaire?! Yeah, I still not voting for him and Mitt Romney either. My personal feeling is that once again Boo Boo is overshadowing Yogi Bear; perhaps now Romney wishes he chose Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

 

Here's a look at weather around America:

 

Boston 68 74 cloudy

 

Cleveland 81 clear

 

Columbia, SC, 74 clear

 

New York 73 partly cloudy

 

Philadelphia 75 cloudy

 

Raleigh, NC, 68 cloudy

 

Roanoke, Va. 69 cloudy

 

St. Louis 75 rain

 

San Francisco 56 cloudy

 

Tampa 79 partly cloudy

 

Washington DC 72 cloudy

 

http://www.weather.com

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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!