Top 10 Comics from Sunday Roanoke Times: Doonesbury Slam Dunks Kansas Politics; Pearls Praises Guns N Roses

Greetings to our blog readers in Germany, Lebanon, and Kenya..........

Kudos to Garry Trudeau for a brilliant satire of how Gov. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) messed up his state's entire education program with excessive tax breaks for the wealthy; we are pretty sure this might get his comic strip "Doonesbury" banned from "The Wichita Eagle" in Wichita, Kan., assuming the paper carries the strip.

While "Doonesbury" got first place, "Pearls Before Swine" got second place with a comic strip that referred to both Nirvana and Guns N' Roses, hence the reason why former Guns guitarist Slash is our top image.

"Get Fuzzy" came in third. "Jump Start" came in fourth with a look at what might happen if little green men like Marvin the Martian visited an unsuspecting neighborhood in a suburb like Cary, NC, (Raleigh 'burb) and lastly, "Speed Bump" came in fifth with a strip featuring two laid back cheetahs.

Here is our top ten:

1) Doonesbury

2) Pearls Before Swine

3) Get Fuzzy

4) Jump Start

5) Speed Bump

6) Non-Sequitir

7) Zits

8) Mutts

9) Hi and Lois (wow!)

10) The Family Circus (double wow!!)

http://www.doonesbury.com

http://www.gocomics.com

http://www.roanoke.com

http://www.kansas.com

Last Ten Songs We Heard on Simon-FM in Greensboro, NC

On Monday afternoon, between the hours of 4:00-5:00, perhaps when we should have been to "All Things Considered" on WFDD (88.5-FM, Winston-Salem, NC), http://www.wfdd.org
a local NPR affiliate, we were listening to 98.7-FM (Greensboro, NC) http://www.987simon.com/
and we have a list of ten songs in a row that were played on air during that hour.

The image of the jet plane from Bahrain is in reference to the band Jet, the poster for the 1987 film "Fatal Attraction" with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close is our image for the stalker anthem "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, and Cinderella is for the '80s pop metal band Cinderella.

Here are the ten songs:

1. All Right Now. Free. 1970

2. She Drives Me Crazy. Fine Young Cannibals. 1989.

3. Don't Know What You Got ('Til It's Gone). Cinderella. 1988.

4. Every Breath You Take. The Police. 1983.

5. Green-Eyed Lady. Sugarloaf. 1970.

6. Be Near Me. ABC. 1985.

7. Are You Gonna Be My Girl. Jet. 2003.

8. The Dock of the Bay. Otis Redding. 1968

9. 867-5309/Jenny. Tommy Tutone. 1981.

10. Black Water. The Doobie Brothers. 1974.

Polar Vortex Tweets: Lots of Chattering Teeth

We would add some commentary, but we want to be able to watch the local 6:00 p.m. news, which airs in 21 minutes, so here we go:

1) Shawn Reynolds (a Weather Channel correspondent): "As of 2 p.m., Texas is the only state in the lower 48 that is not below freezing."

2) WDBJ7 Weather (CBS station in Roanoke, Va.): Thankfully, not as windy tonight, but it will still be colder than ice. Warming to the 30s on Wed.

3) Digitriad (Channel 2, CBS station in Greensboro, NC): Flu death reported in Randolph County, 14th in NC

4) WXII (NBC station in Winston-Salem, NC): Feels like temperatures won't improve much this afternoon. 30s for highs late tomorrow.

5) Markos Moulitsas ("The Daily Kos"): I went on a training ride last night and was complaining that temps had dropped to 47F.

6) WRAL (NBC Station in Raleigh, NC): Trapped indoors by arctic blast? Here are some fun ways to avoid cabin fever from GoAskMom (refers to Sarah Hall, a contributor to the station's news).

7) Reagan Airport (Washington, DC): Water cleaning continues at bag claims #3 to #7. Bags are dry and have been relocated for pax.

8) 6abc (Philadelphia): Major delays on Amtrak Northeast corridor due to downed wires.

9) Tom Tomorrow: So 'cold weather' = no global warming is just another permanent fixture of the right wing landscape right now.

10) 11 News (NBC station in Atlanta): ICY CONDITIONS are being reported on I-20 West bound toward Turner Hill Rd.

http://www.weather.com

http://www.wunderground.com

The Return of Friday Night Tweets: Bad Night to Deliver Pizzas in Raleigh, NC

The three images above are of: 1) Soap actress Nadia Bjorlin of "Days of Our Lives" fame (she is apparently not on the show right now, but she has come back twice); 2) Police officers in Troy, Montana, and 3) Local televangelists from Reidsville, NC, we are actually using their image to go with a tweet about Kansas. We do have to thank friend and fellow blogger Chris Knight as he used the image of the Men in Grey on his blog initially. We believe this two tv preachers are associated with the very radical Rev. Johnny Robertson from Martinsville, Va.

Let's go:

1) Nadia Bjorlin @RealNadiaB: "Happy Friday! First day off summer and I'm off to Vegas!"

2) Raleigh News @RaleighNews: "Two pizza delivery drivers robbed minutes apart in Raleigh."

3) The Denver Post @Denverpost: "Ironman triathlon coming to Boulder in August 2014."

4) Wall Street Journal @WSJ: "Montana is the first state to require police get a warrant before tracking a suspect through a cell phone."

5) The Seattle Times @seattletimes: "Got big plans this weekend? Beware of traffic impact
from Saturday's Rock 'N' Roll Marathon"

6) Rolling Stone @rollingstone: "Gun nuts, anti-abortion zealots and free-market cultists are leading Kansas toward disaster."

7) ABC 11 WTVD in Raleigh, NC @ABC11-WTVD: "Report: 2 cannons raised from Blackbeard's ship."

http://www.nadia-bjorlin.com

http://www.visitmt.com

http://www.visittopeka.us

http://www.theknightshift.blogspot.com

Last Ten Films We've Seen- Cosmopolis Rules

 

 

 

Well, folks about 113 things went wrong as we were posting this; here are some notes on the images:

 

 

1. The dolphin for "The Day of the Dolphin"

 

2. The lizards from the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia are because Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi who is under house arrest in Iran develops a close relationship with a pet lizard since he can not legally leave is apartment.

 

3. The fringe preachers from Reidsville, NC, who may well be affilated with the radical Rev. Johnny Robertson from Martinsville, Va., which is close to Reidsville, are in refernece to "Elmer Gantry," a film about a revival ministers with a questionable background. This image comes from my friend's Chris Knight's blog (see link below)...

 

Here are the films:

 

1. "Holy Motors" (France. dir-Leos Carax. 2012)

 

2. "Cosmopolis" (Canada. dir-David Cronenberg. 2012)

 

3. "Elmer Gantry" (dir-Richard Brooks. 1960)

 

4. "The Day of the Dolphin" (dir- Mike Nichols. 1973)

 

5.  "This Is Not a Film" (Iran. dir-Jafar Panahi, 2011)

 

6. "Spring Breakers" (dir-Harmony Korine. 2012.)

 

7. "Alfie" (dir-Lewis Gilbert. 1966)

 

8 "The Company You Keep" (dir. Robert Redford, 2012)

 

9. "Wake in Fright" (dir. Ted Kotceff. 1971)

 

10. "The Brass Teapot" (dir. Ramaa Mosley. 2012)

 

http://theknightshift.blogspot.com/

Remembering Andy Griffith

Though he was best know for his tv sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-68) which was set in fictional Mayberry, North Carolina; the town was based on the town of Mt.Airy in northwest North Carolina, which is located near Pilot Mountain and the Virginia border, Andy Griffith, who died this week at age 86, was also known for his towering performance as Lonesome Rhodes in the Elia Kazan film ("A Face in the Crowd").

Griifith is a North Carolina icon, and in this month issue of "Our State" magazine, a travel and leisure state magazine for North Carolina, Griffith was among those featured, along with NASCAR star Richard Petty and famed tv preacher Billy Graham.

"The Andy Griffith Show" is still popular in both the Greensboro, NC, and Roanoke, Va., markets where the reruns continue to run on weekday evening.

With Griffith's death, the oldest member of the adult cast (Ron Howard who played Opie is know an Oscar-winning film director) is Jim Nabors, who is 82.

Bonus Road Trip (5 of 10)_ Mayberry to Milwaukee

Today, we look at the distance between Mount Airy, NC, which is the real-life Mayberry as it is where Andy Griffith originally hails from (he is now retired in the North Carolina coastal village of Manteo, a bit far from Mount Airy), and Milwaukee.

Ron Howard, now a film director, was on both "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days," and hopefully, anyone logging in from somewhere like Karachi, Pakistan, has some familiarity with iconic American tv sitcoms from yesteryear. If not; oh well!

For this, we took the distance between Snappy Lunch in downtown Mount Airy, a town that borders Virginia, and WTMJ (Channel-4, Milwaukee).

And, the answer is:

A) 13 hours

B) 14 hours

C) 15 hours

D) 16 hours

SIDEBAR: We jokingly said that the winner of our "Rabbit Ears Quiz" grand prize was Aysegul Denizli, from Izmir, Turkey. This was a name we had conjured up off the top of our heads. But, there does indeed happen to be a real Aysegul Denizli. She is a marketing executive in Istanbul. What a coincidence?! We certainly hope she doesn't ask for her cat toy (that was the grand prize).

Casualties of Modern Technology (1 of 12)- Swiss Cuckoo Clocks

Well, the Swiss cuckoo clock may not quite be an endangered species as one can find one on a retail site like e-bay for $200 or in a neighborhood antique store for a slightly higher or lower price.

But, in today's world, even the more modern and conventional wristwatch is becoming obsolete as every personal computer, laptop and cellphone tells each of us what time it is, irregardless if one is in Lagos, Nigeria, or Louisville, Ky.

According to Wikipedia, the cuckoo clock is pendulum-regulated, so that a mechanical cuckoo comes out at the top of each designated hour.

The cuckoo clock was first developed in the Black Forest region of Germany in 1629 by Philipp Hainhofer. The chalet/Swiss-style cuckoo clock emerged in the late 1800s. Cuckoo clocks also figure prominently in pop culture. Two examples in film include the classic thriller "The Third Man" (1949) with Orson Welles and the sci-fi cult classic "Blade Runner" (1982) with Harrison Ford. There is also a Cuckoo Clock Museum in Cheshire, England.

Cuckoo clocks, as well as other antique clocks, such as the grandfather clock, frequently comes up for discussion in the PBS show "Antiques Roadshow," which airs in most markets at 8:00 p.m. on Mondays. The episode for this coming week's show was recorded in Raleigh, NC, which is (almost) here in our backyard.

Things We Learned from Twitter Today- Wrestler's True Cause of Death

In a tweet from Slate.com this evening, we learned that former pro wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage, 58, who was a rival of Hulk Hogan's in the 1980s, actually died from a heart attack as opposed to a car accident.

It was widely reported and logically assumed that a car accident claimed Savage's life in May as the car he was driving hit a tree in Seminole, Fla. (near Tampa). But, an autopsy report released today has proven that a heart attack actually claimed the former wrestling superstar's life.

In other tweets, though I do politically differ with my libertarian friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, since I am a centrist to liberal Democrat who only wishes Barack Obama could have as many terms as FDR, I did love this biting proclamation by him which everyone can assuredly sympathize with:

"Said it before and will say it again: American politics is two identical cages of howler monkeys throwing handfuls of dung at each other."

Since the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" reported this week that that there were similar bickerings between conservatives and liberal parliament members in Ankara, Turkey, (I am a Turkish-American), it appears that Knight's viewpoint is one usually felt around the globe.

SIDEBAR: For those who like to stay up even later than me on Friday nights, TCM will air the 1958 Boris Karloff film "Frankenstein 1970," which should not be confused with Andy Warhol's version (or the Mel Brooks film "Young Frankenstein" for that matter) at 2:45 a.m., immediately following a marathon on B-westerns starring Roy Rogers and his beloved horse Trigger. The screening is part of the late-night series TCM Underground, which was once hosted by Rob Zombie- of all people!

Quote of the Week- Ludwig van Beethoven

Gazooks! It has been almost a full week since we last posted a blog entry, but I am still here.

We continue with a quip from German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) whom we all know from "A Clockwork Orange" (I know classical music people will hate me for saying that!).

For those interested, the Beethoven music in Stanley Kubrick's classic 1971 film is "Beethoven's ninth symphony, fourth movement."

Beethoven was also portrayed by actor Gary Oldman in "Immortal Beloved" (1994).

Here is our quote from Ludwig:

"Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make good soup."

One can listen to classical music 24/7 on WCPE (89.7-FM) in Raleigh, NC.

"A Clockwork Orange" will be screened at the Bardavan Opera House (ironically enough) in Poughkeepsie, NY, on Jan. 28.

50 Beers Around the World #40- Guinness (Ireland)

Today's beer is one of the most popular exports here in les etats unis. Guinness Beer is also still the king of beers (oops, that is Budweiser's trademark, oh well!) in Ireland.

Guinness Beer was started by Arthur Guinness (1725-1803) in Dublin, accoding to Wikipedia. The info site also states that studies have shown that drinking Guinness is good for the heart. You may want to check with my fellow Turkish-American Dr. Oz before you head to the beer section of the Food Lion in Mount Airy, NC.

I must profess that if I had to share a beer with someone besides Uma Thurman, who would assuredly shun me as all gorgeous women seemingly do (nudge, nudge, wink, wink!), it would have to be Chevy Chase. As we stated in our last entry about the Turkish yogurt drink ayran, Chase once starred in a Turkish tv ad for Cola Turka, which people all over the globe can now see on Youtube, well with the exception of Pyongyang, North Korea, and Qom, Iran, perhaps.

Bonus Silly Photo to Fill Space- Ayran

Today, we feature ayran, the yogurt milk beverage that is very popular in my late father's country Turkey. An Istanbul taxi driver named Atilla Kalkan gave me the recipe back in 2008. Alas, efforts to find him on Facebook failed (though there are a lot of Atilla Kalkans out there!).

One can find ayran at Harmony Market in Cary, NC (Raleigh, Phone: 1-919-380-0077) along with other Turkish food items with the noteable exception of raki (the Turkish version of the greek spirit ouzo) as they do not have an ABC license.

For our friends in Georgia, ayran should be available at Bereket Turkish Grocery in Atlanta (phone: 770-613-9950), where one can also get a Cola Turka...a Turkish cola beverage which once featured commercials with Chevy Chase! (Yes, that is true).

One can not find ayran at Texas Tavern in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., though it can be found (if you ask) at Arzu International, which is also downtown. So, if you are inclined to have a cheesy western at Texas Tavern for breakfast (a scarmbled egg sandwich with a hamburger pattie and cheese, ask your doctor before eating!) and Izmir kofte (lamb dish which unlike cheesy westerns does NOT cause heart attacks) for lunch at Arzu then the Star City is the place to be!

NOTE: Ayran was one of the items listed on my Christmas wish list. Of course, this is ironic because Turkey is a Muslim country and I actually prefer Festivus over all religious holidays. The beverage can also be purchased online in the United States (and perhaps Canada) from tulumba.com in New York.

Happy Thanksgiving/Black Friday from Howdy Doody

Gazooks! Gazooks! Gazooks!

As we were finishing up this entry about 45 minutes ago, my mom's whole computer abruptly crashed!

So, let's cut to the chase before anything else goes wrong!

I did want to mention that even though I'm not a vegetarian or vegan myself, that I thought it was interesting that WUNC-FM reported yesterday that the largest vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner in the nation is served in the Raleigh, NC, area.

This year, Dilip Barman put together two T'giving dinners: one at Cafe Parizade in Durham and another at Spice Street Restaurant in Durham. A total of some 800 folks come out for the gathering, and it sold out weeks in advance. The Triangle Vegan Society is in fact already taking reservations for next year!

I have to wonder if an evangelical like Rev. Chris Hazilip of Salisbury, NC (a real person) would venture to such an event, but since most vegans are very, very liberal and most revival preachers are EXTREMELY conservative, it might not go over well here in Purple Carolina.

Alas, our beloved Ragsdale Flying Tigers from Jamestown, NC, fell to arch rival High Point Central, the alma mater of Olympic speedskater Heather Richardson, by a 21-14 count last week. But, we wish them well next year.

Finally, NPR reported today that the Mister Kool Aid float made its debut at the Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York today. I was only able to get a glimpse of the Hello Kitty float on tv; it made its debut in 2007.

Well, no crashes this time around, but of course, mom is not going to be too happy with me!

Happy Belated Halloween

We were hoping to post this before Halloween, but well I was sick and the local libraries and coffee shops are closed on Sundays here in Mount Airy, NC (not really where I am at, though assuredly, everything is closed on Sunday there too!).

Casper the Friendly Ghost is actually a source of controversy amongst his fans as to whether he is the ghost of a dead child or if he is well just a ghost. There is an unsettling cartoon with Casper called "There's Good Boos Tonight," made in 1948, which hints that the former may be right, but we are not comic book historians (though I know folks who actually have that job title!).

Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo brought "Casper to life." The character was first shown in a Paramont Studio cartoon before making his debut for Harvey Comics in 1945. And, there is that supposedly awful movie which came out a few years ago. I imagine my friend Moviezzz has seen it. Of course, that is just an assumption!

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Darth Vader Dogs

We thought we'd post an entry with this vintage photo of a dog dressed like Darth Vader. Some friends and co-workers are urging to keep my promise of dressing up like the Star Wars for Halloween as I jokingly promised a few weeks ago, but costumes are going for (yikes!) $90 online. My friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, might be inclined to buy it though since he loves Star Wars, so much so that he once used in a local political campaign when he ran for school board offie in 2006.

The Asheville Humane Society in Asheville, NC, is sponsoring a special event aimed at increasing adoptions over the upcoming Halloween weekend. The event called The Halloween Dog Festival will be held on Sat. from 1-5 p.m., and it will include costume categories for both large and small dogs.

Among the mutts that are up for adoption in Asheville are Cassandara, an 11-month-old spayed retriever lab, Anchoive, a five-year-old terrier/chihuahua and Honeycomb, a nine-month-old female lab beagle.

For more info, one can call 828-761-2001.

Ragsdale HS Wins Big

I didn't go to Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, NC- which is a suburb for both Greensboro and High Point, myself. But, we seem to have a loyal following from Ragsdale HS fans. (Alas, there is no firm research to prove this!).

But, we can confirm that Ragsdale beat the living daylights out of Parkland High School by a 47-8 score. We don't know if the opposing team's mascot was pounced on afterward, but irregardless after this game, he will probably file for unemployment.

In other North Carolina high school football action, Rockingham County HS from Wentworth (near Reidsville) beat their arch rivals McMichael High School 41-20, which means the Confederate flags in Mayodan, NC (where McMichael is located) will probably fly at half-staff.

In a more progressive part of the state, where I can very well park beside another car with a Barack Obama bumper sticker, Carrboro High School beat their fellow Orange County rivals Chapel Hill High School 22-20.

And, Eastern Alamance beat Eastern Guilford 30-21, which gave people in those areas something to do besides watch "Dexter's Labratory" reruns on Boomerang on a Friday night.

Half a world away, there were three soccer games in Turkey earlier in the day. A seagull actually landed at Inonu Stadium in Istanbul, but that didn't prevent the home side Besiktash from defeating AntalyaSpor 2-1. GaziantepSpor was also a 1-0 winner over EskisehirSpor for those of you who follow us regularly from those zip codes (hmm....I guess it's possible someone could be reading this blog in Gaziantep or Eskisehir!).

SIDEBAR: We used to publish letters to the editor that we loved, but we feared we would cease and desist order from the likes of "Time" or "Newsweek," so we quit doing it. But, I didn't want to mention excerpts from a letter that San Francisco resident Marta Lindsey sent to "The Atlantic." In the letter, she said that when she put the word 'average' into Google, she got automated suggestions which included penile length, IQ, salary, and weight?!

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Star Wars

I'm sure my good buddy Chris Knight from Reidsville, NC, who has a blog at: http://www.knightshift.blogspot.com

He loves "Star Wars." I think he's seen "Return of the Jedi" 17 times, which is 16 times more than I've seen it. Though my cousin and Mike sure had a good time when we saw it a now-closed cinema in Rock Hill, SC, back when were kids in 1983 when movies didn't cost $400 million to make (excuse the 'Avatar' joke).


I got this idea when I saw an amazing photograph of a man dressed as a storm trooper walking around a hotel in Roanoke, Va., during a science fiction convention in the Sunday "Roanoke Times." But, that photo is apparently not on the web, so we're using this one instead.

I was also going to link this photo to the Roanoke Police Department, but their web site is not as cool as the Chicago Police Department's web site, so we will mention them instead. According to the Windy City's PD, they recently gave Christmas presents to two youths who were badly injured in a fire back in November.

Of course, we like all police officers irregardless of how hip or unhip their department's web site is. But, if one looks at the Chicago Police Department's web site (chicagopolice.org), you will definitely want to have a hot dog at a Cubs game with one of their officers. 'Course, with my luck, their police chief Jody Weis is probably a White Sox fan!

Political Confusion Test (16 of 21) Earth Day or Tea Party

Yes, folks one can see the political divide everywhere including where I live in Boneville County, NC (fictional county).

Just yesterday, there was a 'tea party' in the town of Ararat (fictional name) where folks held up negative signs about their commander-in-chief. At another such rally in Greensboro (real town), one person refered to our president as 'Baby Killer Obama' (yes, I agree that person is an idiot!).

For those in Karachi (real place), the tea party is being held to protest Barack Obama's efforts to stabilize our economy with a bail out package, even though Republicans are just as too blame for the economic mess as anyone else in Washington, DC (real place).

But, on Saturday, in Boneville we will have an Earth Day celebration with live bands outside the Backstreet Buzz Coffee-Shop (real place). This is undoubtedly going to be the very first Earth Day celebration in Boneville.

Some how, I doubt my good friend Chris Knight (I'm sure he'll let me use his real name since he is an uber extrovert) won't be there as he once refered to Earth Day as 'Nerf Day.'

I, for one, am not an environmentalist fanatic but if Ahnuld thinks global warming is a reality and each summer day in Boneville feels as hot as hell's kitchen when it's on fire then I think it's safe to conclude that Al Gore has a valid point.

I would write more but I have a class to teach at some real town in a real rural part of southern Virginia.

Sidebar_ Oooops! This was supposed to be on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

Cinema of the Week- Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill

Today, we focus our seventh entry in the series (of 21) on the famed Varsity Theatre of Chapel Hill, NC, which was once featured in an episode of "Dawson's Creek." This series has usually run on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

We chose the Varsity because it may one of the very few cinemas in the country to show "Slumdog Millionaire" on one screen, and the new "Friday the 13th" remake on the other. Of course, we don't have a crack team of researchers here to actually confirm this!

The Varsity is located at 123 E. Franklin Street, and their phone number is (919) 967-8665. There is now free parking in downtown Chapel Hill on Sundays, which is a good thing because it costs like $92 to park there usually (we aren't being completely serious here!).

On Feb. 27, the cinema will screen the acclaimed Israeli film ""Waltz with Bashir."

I had a chance to see the independent film "The Visitor" there back in the spring, and it was truly an enjoyable experience.

SIDEBAR: There is another historic cinema some 20 miles from Chapel Hill in Graham, NC. The Graham Cinema was showing the Will Smith vehicle "Seven Pounds" this past week, and they are known for a hysterical joke like which also lists their movie listings. It is (336) 226-1488, but I believe the movie they are showing this week is "Marley and Me."

Quote of the Week Special Edition- Hubert H. Humphrey

I heard a great radio documentary on NPR last night about the 1968 election, so I thought I'd post quotes from Hubert H. Humphrey and Richard Nixon on my two respective blogs.

"American public opinion is like an ocean, it can not be stirred with a teaspoon," Hubert H. Humphrey.

In other news, my good friend folk singer Bruce Piephoff will be performing at the Flat Irons Bar in Greensboro, NC, on Saturday night. There is a $5 cover charge.