Quote of the Day- Gandhi

Today, we conclude our quotes from figures who have been made into plush toys by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) who is a bit of an oxy moron in that he was one of the very, very few non-violent revolutionaries.

Gandhi actually has two things in common with Che Guevara, the subject of our last quote: One is that both men were revolutionaries, though Che went about it much differently as he killed lots and lots of people, but both were also assasinated.

In Gandhi's case, his death was a political assassination as opposed to a summary execution, but yes, the results are still pretty much the same, though Gandhi did live to be 78, whereas Che died at 39.

Gandhi fought British colonialism in India starting his famous Salt March in 1930.

On film, Ben Kingsley won an Oscar for playing Gandhi in the film by the same name, beating out the late Paul Newman, Peter O'Toole and Dustin Hoffman in the process.

Here is Gandhi's quote:

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

Bonus Silly Photo to Fill Space- It's Oktoberfest Time

Hmm....yes, I'm afraid this photo image might get blog banned in both Qom, Iran, (we've actually had hits from Iran!) and Provo, Utah. In addition, it's possible that Michele Bachmann might use this entry to exemplify her views of a decline in morals in our culture. Of course, truth be told, I'd be honored to be on her enemies' list as the late Paul Newman said when he found out he was near the top of President Richard Nixon's enemies list, which had some 249 other names.

One of the major Oktoberfests going on this weekend will be in Leavenworth, Wash. The event will start at noon on Saturday. It will consist of four venues full of beer, bands and brats (their words, not mine).

Minors will be allowed until 9:00 p.m., and No Dogs Allowed inside the Oktoberfest compound.

SIDEBAR: Believe it or not, I am in the process of finishing up listening to two artists known for kischy music. The first was Barry Manilow II, a record I found for one dollar at All Day Records in Carrboro, NC (near Chapel Hill). And, the second is "Poems, Prayers and Promises" from the late John Denver, which I got at a yard sale some 25 years ago.

Both records contain 'signature songs' from the artists as the first one has "Mandy" and the second one has "Take Me Home Country Roads," which was supposedly written on a farm in Mount Jackson, Va., in the Shenandoah Valley. The answer to the question why am I doing this to myself is indeed a very valid one.

Oscar Quote of the Week- Sally Field

Now that she is nearing my mom's age it is a tad bit unsettling to admit that as a teenage boy I had a huge crush on Sally Field after seeing her opposite Paul Newman in "Absence of Malice."

Field had won a Best Actress Oscar for the first time for "Norma Rae" (1979) based on a story that took place at a now-closed factory in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and then again for "Places in the Heart" (1984).

Here is her quote:

"I think the first thing I did was several scenes from Romeo and Juliet."

Quote of the Week- Paul Newman

Here is today's Quote of the Week from one of our favorite actors Paul Newman (1925-2008). We certainly wish he was still with us, but we can always put "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" or "Cool Hand Luke" in our Netflix ques:

"People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked."

SIDEBAR: For those of you in Pittsburgh (as in The Steel City in Pa., not Pittsburg, Kansas), the famed New York City story-reading group The Moth, featured on the NPR show "This American Life," will be performing a show on Thurs., Aug. 26th at the New Hazlett Theatre.

Kudos to the Cincy Cyclones!

The Cincinnati Cyclones (wow! We spelled Cincinnati right....!) won the Riley Cup* for the East Coast Hockey League championship with a 2-1 win over the visiting Idaho Steelheads from Boise. Alas, the Steelheads had to take the long Greyhound bus ride back home (we say that in jest---hopefully, they flew to Ohio on a private plane---hopefully!). But, their goalie Richard Bachman gave a stellar performance in the net throughout the minor league hockey season.

Honestly, I haven't watched an ECHL game since the now defunct Roanoke Express were playing in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., which was at least ten years ago, but thanks to Twitter, we have been following the sport fairly regularly.

We feature an image of the late Paul Newman's comedy "Slap Shot" (1977) not only because it was about minor league hockey, but also because the film is actually showing on the big screen at the recently reopened Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hll, NC!

According to the IMDB, Al Pacino expressed an early interest in playing Newman's role, and the Hanson Brothers who became cult figures after the film's release actually played minor league hockey for the now defunct Johnstown Jets. But, Johnstown, Pa. has a current team in the ECHL known as the Johnstown Chiefs (I hope we're right about that!) which was coincidentally the nickname of the fictitious team in the film.

Newman also said "Slap Shot" was among his favorite films, and he had a delightful time on the set.

*-Correction: It's the Kelly Cup!