Quote of the Day/Week-Tina Fey

One has to ask Malcolm Gladwell, the "New Yorker" writer who has written about how the mind works, if Tina Fey's birthday, which is on May 18, had anything to do with her many major successes, including being a writer/performer for "Saturday Night Live," writing the screenplay and acting in "Mean Girls" (2008), creating and starring in the hit sitcom "30 Rock," somehow finding time to give birth to two children and being Republican candidate John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election.

We are quoting Fey because she was born in the same year as us, which is 1970. Whoops! We somehow forgot that Fey has also written the best-selling memoir "Bossypants." And, she wasn't actually McCain's running mate, but she did play Sarah Palin on tv.

Her quote seems like a fairly accurate as one would imagine that Fey has exceptional time management skills, and perhaps she drinks as many cappuccinos as cartoonist Shanon Wheeler's creation Too Much Coffee Man.

Here it is:

"I am constantly amazed by Tina Fey. And I am Tina Fey."

We often wonder here if celebrities ever visit our blog to check out our quotes, but we imagine that at this very moment Fey is in her dressing room talking to her "30 rock" co-star Alec Baldwin while simultaneously memorizing lines that she probably wrote herself!

Incidentally, Matt Damon, whom we quoted last week, had made frequent guest appearances as an airplane pilot on "30 Rock."

Quote of the Day/Week-Matt Damon

Yes, we had quite a hard time finding a useable image of Matt Damon, hence we had to find one of him in a still photograph from "The Talented Mister Ripley" (1999). Just last year, Damon rejoined 'Ripley' cast-mates Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law for the provocative science thriller "Contagion."

Other films that Damon is known for include "Good Will Hunting" (1997) for which he and pal Ben Affleck won Best Original Screenplay Oscars (neither has won an Oscar for acting or directing_ which Affleck has also done), "Syriana" (2005) and "The Departed" (2006).

Damon turns 42 on October 8th; this month we are quoting famous people born in 1970, the year I was born.

Here is his quote:

"I'd heard people say: 'You'll enjoy being famous for a week and you'll never enjoy it again.' But, I don't think I had that week. I may have been working and missed that moment."

SIDEBAR: We want to wish our fellow Turkish-American progressive Cenk Uygur a happy 42nd birthday. I am a mere 17 days older than Uygur who hosts an excellent political talk show on Current-TV at 7:00 p.m. (eastern and Pacific times); I was surprised that Uygur did not mention the milestone on this show tonight.

And, on the other side of the spectrum, Kirk Cameron, who was born on Oct. 12, 1970, making him just four days younger of the politically liberal Matt Damon, has recently been trying to defuse controversial comments he made regarding gays and lesbians. Cameron said that a homosexual lifestyle was detrimental and destructive, but he said that he never meant to hurt anyone's feelings. Cameron, who came to fame from the 1980s sitcom "Growing Pains," is an out-spoken evangelical who has turned his attention to religious-themed films in recent years.

Quote of the Week-Clint Eastwood

Since many poltiical experts from "The Hill" and "The Washington Post" and perhaps even the very liberal "Mother Jones" are forecasting doom and gloom for us Democrats tomorrow (is there still a chance that we can get that open congressional seat in Boise, Idaho?!). we thought we'd show irony by quoting one of Hollywood's few conservatives Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood, 80, is still directing films and his latest one "Hereafter" with Matt Damon has garnered lots of critical acclaim. But Eastwood was actually chastisied by the pro-life crowd especially arch conservative film critic Michael Medved because of a certain plot twist in "Million Dollar Baby," a boxing film that gave Hillary Swank her second Oscar. (Eastwood won his second directing Oscar for "Million Dollar Baby." His first came from helming "Unforgiven.")

Here is the quote from Dirty Harry himself:

"I don't believe in pessimisim. If something doesn't come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it's going to rain, it will."

Hmmm.....does this mean I still might have a chance to go out with Jennifer Love Hewiit?!

Remembering Howard Zinn (1922-2010)

As a centrist Democrat, I'm sometimes in a quandry about what to think of left-wing intellectuals. There are times when I completely agree with them, like their complaints about George W. Bush's dubious decision to invade Iraq, but there are times when I am soldly against them, like when they say President Barack Obama has too many Wall Street influences (just how can one become president of the country without those connections?).

But, regardless of how one percieves Howard Zinn, arguably the most recognized left-wing intellectual in America for a generation, it does seem fair to say that the world will simply not be the same without him.

Alex Green, an independent bookstore owner in the Boston area, wrote on "The Huffington Post" that Zinn's influence can be seen all over his store.

Noam Chomsky, a contemporary of Zinn's, told "The Boston Globe" that Zinn made a significant contribution to America's moral and intellectual culture.

Zinn also had celebrity friends like actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who mentioned Zinn's work in their Academy Award-winning screenplay for the film "Good Will Huntin."

Affleck told "The Boston Globe" that Zinn had one of the greatest minds in American political life.

Zinn, a long-time professor at Boston University, is best known for his 1980 book "A People's History of the United States," which was recently made into a History Channel docuemtary entitled "The People Speak."

He is also known for his sentiment that one 'can't be neutral.'

SIDEBAR: Though I don't like to focus on crime stories since it detracts from what I aim for on this blog, it would be morally wrong of me not to mention the brutal Morgana Harington slaying, especially since I hail from Roanoke, Va., where she was from. Harington's body was found near Charlottesville, Va., earlier this week. She had disappeared after a Metallica concert in Charlottesville in October. Harington was a student at Virginia Tech. The Washington, DC, radio station WTOP said that Metallica posted a message on their web site expressing their condolences to the Harington family. As an opponent of capital punishment who has been involved with Virginians for Alternative to the Death Penatly (VADP), I am outraged by those who suggest that those with my views sympathize more for the criminals who undertake such horrific crimes than the victims themselves. I certainly hope law enforcement officials find the person responsible for this awful act soon.

SIDEBAR TWO: There are other stories we are working on, and I hope to post my TOP 25 Films of the Year List here very, very soon!