Things We Learned on Twitter Tonight- Principal Skinner Mentions Roanoke, Va.

Harry Shearer, who has done many things besides voicing characters on "The Simpsons," mentioned Roanoke, Va., my hometown in a tweet tonight.

The tweet was regarding the fact that my friend Jason Garnett was screening Shearer's documentary "The Big Uneasy" about the Hurricane Katrina fiasco at The Shadowbox Cinema tonight. The film, which Shearer produced and directed, also shows at the same venue tomorrow night (Saturday night) at 8:00 p.m.

Here was the tweet from Shearer:

"Big Uneasy opens tonight in Roanoke, Va., and Encinitas, Ca., I'll be skyping the
Q & A at the latter, Palorma Theatre."

The film is also screening in Savannah, Georgia, this weekend.

I saw the screening at the Shadowbox and the documentary turned out to be a fairly well-done film, which features a number of funny cameos by John Goodman, that helps balance the depressing subject matter. The film's focus on how it affected New Orleans, where Shearer is a part-time resident, is quite moving.

As for Principal Seymour Skinner, I had found out a while back through Wikipedia that he was actually an Armenian-American?! This humored me because I am a Turkish-American, and for reasons why I won't go into (we only have so much time to dedicate to blog entries) our two groups have 'some political friction.'

Skinner's real name as revealed in a 1997 episode (it is easy to forget that the show has been on since 1990 and if Bart Simpson aged in real time he would have probably retired from skateboarding) is Armin Tamzarian.

In the episode in which the name of Skinner was revealed there is a real man named Seymour Skinner who confronts him for being an impostor. According to Wikiepdia, Shearer himself said that he intensely disliked the episode which many Simpsons fans apparently consider to be the equivalent of the infamous "Spock's Brain" episode of the original "Star Trek."

SIDEBAR: For my friends and followers back in my adopted city of Greensboro, NC, I also want to highly recommend "Talking Pictures," a new musical comedy by Tommy Trull and Chris Tilley who are (full disclosure) friends of mine. The two-act play is a farscial look at the early days of Hollywood when Harold LLoyd was the king of comedy. "Talking Pictures" is being staged at the historic Broach Theatre in downtown Greensboro. There will be a production tommorow night at 8:00 p.m.

Top Ten Horror Films of All Time

Since it is October, we thought we'd post an entry about the supposed Greatest Horror Films of All-Time. The Internet Movie Database in Seattle came up with this list based on member voting.

It's an interesting list (actually included 50 films with "Saw" taking the last spot), and we do agree with the Number One selection of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," though I was surprised that solid horror films like "Carrie" (well, ok it's a bit kitschy) and "Poltergeist" didn't make the full list.

But, here is the Top Ten.....perhaps not surprisingly, most of these films have been remade- some several times over:

1. "Psycho" (pictured with Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates) (1960 version)
2. "Alien" (1979)
3. "The Shining" (1980 film version)
4. "Diabolique" (France, 1955 version)
5. "The Thing" (1982 version)
6. "King Kong" (1933 version)
7. "Rosemary's Baby" (1968)
8. "The Exorcist" (1973, there was actually a remake in Turkey!)
9. "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari" (Germany, 1920)
10. "Frankenstein" (1931 version)

Joe Scott will be presenting "Silence of the Lambs" as part of the horror film segment of his Mixed Tape Series at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas in Greensboro, NC, on Oct. 21. At last report, showtimes were 7:00 and 10:00 p.m.

In Roanoke, Va., my friend Jason Garnett screens "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (of course we known the 1975 campy muscial cult classic with Susan Sarandon is not a horror movie!) on Oct. 30th at the Shadowbox Cinema at 10 p.m.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Pilates

Today, we continue our summer jobs series with a look at the field of yoga/pilates instructors (well, I suppose one would be quite talented to be able to do both!).

Our feature city is Trenton, NJ, and as it happens the suburb of Medford, NJ, which we hope is a Trenton 'burb, offers both yoga and pilates classes at The Yoga Center of Medford, including a pilates mat class from 8-9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Those of you residing in that area can call the center at 609-654-9400 for more info than what we can provide here.

But, we can tell you that pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates of Germany around World War I. 11 million Americans practice pilates, which is usually done barefoot or with special pilates shoes (we can not make this stuff up!).

The aim of the exercise is to strengthen and develop torso muscles and breathing techniques. It is said to be a great exercise for pregnant women.

UPDATE: Ay Karumba! We forgot to mention our High School of the Week when we posted this a few hours ago. The school is Belgrade High School in Belgrade, Mont. We choose Belgrade because we chose a Serbian beer (Belgrade is the Serbian capital) for our 50 Beers Around the World entry on Sunday.

Of course, high school students shouldn't drink beer, but they probably couldn't find that brew anywhere in Montana any how!

The nickname for Belgrade High School is the Panthers. It was 74 degrees in Belgrade, Mont., yesterday. We have no idea what the weather is like there today.

We would like to blame the oversight on Joe Murphy, the intern for "Yes Weekly" in Greensboro, NC, but he not only does nothing for us, but he also has no idea who we are!

SIDEBAR: My good friend Jason Garnett is showing several cool movies at The Shadowbox Cinema, his micro-cinema in downtown Roanoke, Va., this month. They include the vintage French New Wave musical "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1966) with a very young and very hot Catherine Denevue. She once said that women who kill have issues with their fathers. Hmmmmm.......?! That screening takes place on Aug. 25, and admission is five dollars.

Additionally, The Shadowbox will screen the 1931 Charlie Chaplin classic "City Light" on Aug. 27. "Caddyshack," a movie celebrating its 30th anniversary, on Aug. 28 and the ever demented Japanese shock horror film "Audition" on Aug. 30. Bring your kimonos!

Prices and showtimes vary. Check the cinema's web site theshadowboxcinema.com for more info.

Quote of the Day- Walt Whitman

I'm sure if the late poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) were alive today, he would be both delighted that we are quoting him today and that a high school in Bethesda, Md., is named after him!

We are quoting famous Americans all this month on July for the 4th of July, but to show that we are internationally-minded, we will also be quoting famous French people on Wednesdays in honor of Bastille Day, which will be on July 14.

Here is our quote from Whitman:

"There is no trade of employment but the young man following it may become a hero."

SIDEBAR: My friend Jason Garnett once again has a terrific lineup for The Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va., this month. Among the scheduled events is a screening of the 1953 film "Salt of the Earth," a liberal docudrama about labor injustices in California made by then-blacklisted actors which was effectively one of the first films banned in America for political reasons. It will show on July 12 at 8:00 p.m.

Other films in the lineup for Shadowbox include "The Goonies" on July 10, the soft-core Italian cult film "Chatterbox" on July 12 (I guess the ninth grade teachers at WWHS will never show this one in class!) and "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" on July 17.

The Lyric Theatre in nearby Blacksburg, Va., will be showing the new Oliver Stone film "Solitary Man" with Michael Douglas and Susan Sarandon that a friend of mine in Washington, DC, was raving about starting on July 16.

Bike Films To Be Shown in the Star City

My good friend Jason Garnett will be presenting a series of short films from around the world which were all filmed on bicycles! The event will be held at the Shadowbox Cinema in downtown Roanoke, Va., on Sunday at 2 p.m. The cost per person is five bucks.

When one thinks of films on bikes, the images of "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," "Breaking Away" or perhaps even the Italian neo-realist classic "The Bicycle Thief" comes to mind (not to mention that great sequence with Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid").

But, these films are actually part of a Portland, Ore., project which has been around for at least a couple of years. It reminds me of the new book by former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne called "Bicycle Diaries," in which he talked about cities like Istanbul, Manila and San Fransisco where he rode on his bike and then wrote about them!

All films that will shown in Roanoke are both independent and bike-themed.

The Shadowbox Cinema will also be screening the documentary "I Need That Reocrd" about the sad demise of independent record stores on April 22, which may have been the last place you could have found a vinyl 12-inch version of "Burning Down the House!"

For more info, go to shadowboxcinema.com or filmedbybike.org