10 for 10 (5th Entry): Love Those Greyhounds

Greetings to our blog readers in Argentina, Israel, and Russia........

The sport of greyhound racing which is popular in many American states including West Virginia is highly controversial, but in recent years, awareness has been made about adopting retired greyhounds, we will provide two links to greyhound rescue organizations in Virginia and North Carolina.

Additionally, we will provide links to animal shelters in Georgia and Florida.....

At this hour, we are delighted to hear writer Steve Almond who has written a critical book on American football on the BBC World Service; we have been a fan of his work since he wrote pieces for "The Oxford American." Almond, a long-time Oakland Raiders fan, also recently wrote an opinion essay on the need for greater civic action to protect football players from concussions.

Here are the dog links:

http://www.virginiagreyhounds.org/

http://www.greyhoundfriends.com/

http://albanyhumanesociety.com/ (animal shelter of Albany, Georgia)

http://www.thehsmc.org/ (animal shelter of Ocala, Florida)

http://againstfootball.org/ (Steve Almond's book)

Top Ten Sunday Comic Strips from the Sunday News and Record (Greensboro, NC): Foxtrot Takes Gold

Greetings to our blog readers in Macedonia, Kenya, and Dubai....

This week we take a look at the top ten comic strips from the Sunday edition of "The News and Record," a daily newspaper in Greensboro, NC, which is not to be mixed up with a weekly newspaper of the same name in South Boston, Va., a town which is noted for having artistic fire hydrants. A similar project was performed in Lewisburg, WVa.

There were no fire hydrant jokes in the ten comic strips which made our cut, but "Foxtrot," our first place finisher, focused on everything that could go wrong on a family picnic, including the dreaded poison ivy (pictured top) as well as ants........oh actually Javier the Intern has informed us that the strip featured ticks not ants. Let's move on.....

The Danish import "WuMo," featured a crazy elephant trying to tip over a Coca Cola truck to the confused befuddlement of his fellow elephants at a gas station, perhaps in an Interstate town like Augusta, Georgia.

And, speaking of Augusta, we conclude with "Ziggy," which week showed the title character having a miserable day at the golf course, which is why we have an image of golf legend Arnold Palmer in our third slot! An alcoholic beverage that we've never had is named after him as well....

Here is the list:

1. Foxtrot

2. WuMo

3. Pearls Before Swine

4. Brewster Rockit: Space Guy

5. Over the Hedge

6. Ziggy

7. Phoebe and Her Unicorn

8. Dilbert

9. Judge Parker

10. Doonesbury

http://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot

http://www.gocomics.com/wumo

http://www.gocomics.com/ziggy

http://www.arnoldpalmer.com

Presidential Quotes (15 of 16): Jimmy Carter

Yes, we would probably get more hits by arbitrarily mentioning Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty," who is apparently not related to the televangelist Pat Robertson or the fringe minister Johnny Robertson, from Martinsville, Va.

But, we are sticking with our game plan and quoting former Democratic president Jimmy Carter, whose term lasted from 1977 to 1981; Carter was also the governor of Georgia before becoming president.

He is the only president we've quoted so far in this series who is still alive, and he is the second oldest president behind George H.W. Bush:

"You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it better than you think you can."

http://www.cartercenter.org

http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org

Presidential Quotes, Cont'd: Jimmy Carter

Greeting to our blog readers in the Netherlands, Croatia and Uzbekistan.

Today, we are continuing our series of presidential quotes with a quip from Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer from Georgia who upset other Democratic candidates in the 1976 primaries and then defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford, whom Carter later became good friends with, to become president of the United States.

Other quotes in the series can be found on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguys38.blogspot.com

Interestingly enough, the Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck also ran for president in 1976; we think he got more votes than Ralph Nader.

Here is the quote:

"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, human rights invented America."

http://www.carterlibrary.gov

http://www.cartercenter.org

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (5 of 10)

Name: Stephanie Montgomery

Age: 54

Race: White

Reisdency: Smyrna, Ga.

Job: Secretary

Will Likely Vote: Mitt Romney

At the outset of the election cycle, it seemed like Georgia, the home state of Newt Gingrich, might be a swing state since Barack Obama almost beat out John McCain in the Peach State's electoral college vote in 2008. But, it now appears to be safe for Romney, though given his latest rounds of serious gaffes, it does appear that if the election were held today, it would go to President Obama.

We should add that Stephanie Montgomery is a fictional character based on demographics, and that Smyrna, Georgia, is a bit of an in-joke. The actual Smryna is the city of Izmir, Turkey, my late father's country. Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey.

http://www.georgiademocrat.org

http://www.gagop.org

Quote of the Day/Week-Jimmy Carter

We continue our posts of the last eight American presidents with a quip from the 39th president and the first one from the state of Georgia, Jimmy Carter.

In addition to being a former president, Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

After his presidency, Carter founded the Carter Center, a non-profit group dedicated to human rights. He was also a key figure in the development of Habitat for Humanity.

Carter is also a fan of music, and his favorite singers include Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.

Dan Aykroyd played Carter on "Saturday Night Live" as did Joe Piscopo, who was the only "SNL" player to perform as Ronald Reagan and Carter.

Carter is the same age as former president George H.W. Bush, who is slightly older than Carter. Both former American presidents were born in 1924.

Here is Carter's quote:


"Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political social boundaries."http://www.cartercenter.orghttp://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org

Bonus Picture to Fill Space- Big Bass

Today, since we are behind with entries, we are featuring an entry of a big bass, this one presumably caught in a river or lake in Texas.

For those residing near Clarkesville, Georgia, there will be a senior fishing rodeo at Moccasin State Park from 8:00-11:00 a.m.; for more info, one can call (706) 947-3194.

SIDEBAR ONE: For those who like the intellectual side of sports, the public radio series "Only A Game" broadcast nationally through WBUR/Boston will feature a segment on the controversial new Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen (hmmm...we just realized the Marlins might be the only pro sports team with the name of a fish) who surprisingly praised Cuba's Fidel Castro, which did not go over to well whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifith Miami's Cuban-American community.

SIDEBAR TWO: Kudos to the following six women's college gymnastics teams (the other six are listen on our other blog "The Daily Vampire") for qualifying for nationals:

Champaign, Ill., Regionals: 1. Oklahoma 2. Stanford; Auburn, Ala., Regionals: 1. Georgia 2. Oregon State; Seattle Regionals: 1. Alabama 2. LSU

The Rabbit Ears Test (7 of 12)_ The Dukes of Hazzard

Thanks to everyone in Slovenia, where this blog is apparently very popular. Our sister blog seems to be well-liked in Slovakia. Since "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979-1985) may not have aired anywhere outside of the United States or Canada, we are not sure this entry will help with our international hits.

Today, our focus is on Ben Jones, who played Cooter in the CBS show that was always more-watched in Atlanta than it was in Hartford!

Jones, 70, was born in Tarrboro, NC, but in recent years, he has lived in Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.

Jones had a second life after television as he ran for Congress in Georgia as a Democrat, and then he actually won. Two years prior to Jones' entrance on Capitol Hill in 1989, Fred Grandy, the subject of our entry today on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire", who played Gopher on "The Love Boat" was also elected to the U.S. Congress as a Republican representing Iowa in 1986 (he was sworn in on Jan. 3, 1987).

Cooter/Jones was re-districted to a district with a veteran Republican Congressman named Newt Gingrich (yes, that Newt Gingrinch; I know I can't stand him either), and alas no amount of tv fame could assist him. In fact, according to Wikipedia, Jones only got 35 percent of the vote.

Ironically, according to "Mother Jones," Grandy endorsed Gingrich right before the Iowa Caucuses, but it appears not to have helped much since Rick Santourm edged out Mitt Romney in that political contest as Gingrich finished considerably behind them.

After his defeat Jones moved to rural Sperryville, Va., some two hours south of Washington, DC, and very close to the Shenandoah Valley, where he opened up the original Cooter's Place.

Amazingly enough, Jones decided to take on another powerful Republican in Eric Cantor (yes, that Eric Cantor; I know I can't stand him either) in 2002. Needless to say, Jones was defeated once again.

Jones is actually considered a conservative Democrat, and he even asked then-President Bill Clinton to resign following the Monica Lewinski sex scandal.

While in Sperryville, Jones also started a band called Cooter and the Band, which we gather is still active.

Since Cooter's Place was a success, but hard to find, Jones relocated the roadside attraction to the much more touristy Gatlinburg, Tenn., and then he opened up a second Cooter's Place in Nashville.

But, Jones still hasn't forgotten Sperryville, and this year, Jones will host Hazzard Homecoming in that zip code from Aug. 11-12.

Today, we are asking just how long Jones was a member of Congress, is the answer:

A) 2 years

B) 4 years

C) 6 years

D) 8 years

The winner will get an autograph of Gingrich that we do not have.

Things We Learned on Google Today- Kutaisi is Georgia's Second City

In case you are wondering, the image above is of Kazbegi Beer (well we ran into a tech glitch so the image is of Georgian folk dancing instead, but all beer bottles look similar, don't they?!), which is the most popular brew in Georgia, as in Tblisi not Atlanta.

The former Soviet republic of Georgia is now an independent nation though it has been dealing with ethnic unrest as Abhazia and South Ossetia, two states within Georgia, want independent nationhood status for themselves, much as Chechnya wants a divorce from Russia. If all of this is confusing, then just ask Condi Rice to clarify it for you (not that we are Republicans here).

Kutaisi has a population of 186,000, and it has Georgia's second highest population behind the capital Tblisi. Kutaisi, which is some 150 miles west of Tblisi, is relatively close to the geographic center of Georgia.

The city also sits along both banks of the Rioni River (yes, we got all this info from Wikipedia), and it is bounded by the northern Imereti foothills. Much like neighboring Azerbaijan, Georgia has hot summers and cold winters.

FC Torpedo Kutaisi is the local soccer team, and the landmark attraction in Kutaisi is the Bagrati Cathedral, which is now in ruins.

As for the Georgia where former president Jimmy Carter grew up and still resides, Augusta is the state's second largest city. We wrongly assumed it was Savannah, which is actually the Peach State's fourth largest city.

THE WHOOPS DEPARTMENT: In Saturday's entry, I did not spell liberal reporter Suzy Khimm's name correctly; we did in fact spell it as Suzy Khim. She has an excellent Twitter page, which I highly recommend, even if the person reading this happens to be Condi Rice. Khimm wrote an excellent article in the December 2010 issue of "Mother Jones," which is actually to the left of me, about Virginia's militant far right wing Republican attorney general whose name I can't spell any way.

PS_ The answer to our "Rabbit Ears Quiz" from last week was c) 31. "Star Trek" had 79episodes whereas "Space 1999" had 48 episodes. Thus, 31 is the mathematical difference between them. Aysegul Denizli* of Izmir, Turkey, won our grand prize for guessing the correct answer. Our grand prize is indeed an 8-track tape from the
'70s of American honky tonk truck-driving songs.

*- Fake name, though there might very well be a woman somewhere in the world with that name! And, there were no prizes for guessing correctly.....

Special Quote of the Week- Jackie Robinson

Today's quote of the day comes from the baseball great Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) who was born in Cairo, Georgia, and went on to become Major League Baseball's first African-American player when he joined the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Ironically, Robinson died at 53 as did Babe Ruth, who is featured on our other blog "The Daily Vampire," and the Bambino also passed away a year after Robinson's historic entrance into baseball.

Here is the quote from Robinson:

"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he's losing; nobody wants to quit when's ahead."

Road Trip (Entry 3 of 20)- U of Kentucky to Ohio St.

Perhaps, today is the one day when I should send a 'telegram' thanking the annoying person sitting in close proximity to me at a public library in Smryna, Georgia* as I have tons of stuff to do, but we wanted to make sure we got this posted today or at least before the office zombies in Portland, Oregon, stumble upon this site as it is approximately 8:30 a.m. there as we speak.

We are continuing our look at the approximate distances between two college campuses who have to face each other in the NCAA tournament.

Today, we are looking at two places which are actually pretty close together in Ohio State (in Columbus, Ohio) and the University of Kentucky (in Lexington, Ky). Both schools have gymnastics programs and if we were pressed to find out how long "Mr. Ed" (pictured above; we thought of it because Kentucky is famous for horses) was on the air via Wikipedia, we would tell you how those respective teams are doing!

Hopefully, either a gymnast or coach from one or both of these teams can fill us in, or perhaps someone from collegegymfans.com; it would be so appreciated!

But, instead of actually going from campus to campus, we are looking at the driving distnace between Third Street Stuff, a coffee joint in Lexington, Ky., and the Northstar Cafe on N. High Street in Columbus, Ohio, (one of several establishments in what we believe to be a local chain).

Is the distance:

A) 3 hrs, 10 minutes

B) 3 hours, 25 minutes

C) 3 hours, 45 minutes

D) 3 hours, 55 minutes

Of course, we are not counting traffic congestion time!

*- We are not actually in Smyrna, Ga., which is said one of the nicer suburbs of Atlanta. That annoying person almost caused me to forget to mention this! The original Smyrna is in Turkey; the once predominantly Greek city in Ottoman times, that is now Izmir, is Turkey's third largest behind Istanbul and Ankara.