Antiques Roadshow in Salem, Va.

This weekend, several antiques dealers, including my mom and myself will be participating in an Open House at the Salem Antique Market, located at 2700 West Main Street, Salem, Va. 24153. The phone number for the store is 540-389-6559.

The shop will be open from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., as it is during every weekday. Sunday hours for the store are from 11 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Among the featured items will be: Vintage comic books (the top image is very first issue of "Richie Rich," we don't have it, but there are plenty more), antique postcards (the middle image is of a postcard from Richmond, Va.), cups and saucers, paintings (prints), and old typewriters (we don't have any, but our neighboring booths in the shop do).

https://www.facebook.com/SalemAntiqueMarket

http://www.visitroanokeva.com/visitors/region/cityofsalem/

Random List of Ten Things To Do in Roanoke, Virginia:

This is a complementary post to one posted on "The Daily Vampire," this is a list of things to do in and around Roanoke, Va., my hometown, alas some places didn't make the list this time around.

Here we go:

1. B and D Comics (Yeah, that's why we have comic book character Cable, pictured top)

2. No Shame Theatre: A place where anyone can show off their talent as long as it's not over five minute and does not involving nudity (we guess boxer shorts from Target are ok....yes, it's the reason for the clown/magician in the middle...we wanted to go with a chainsaw juggler, but those images were hard to come by).

3. The Grandin Theatre: A cool, vintage cinema. "Vertigo" was the first I saw there when it initially re-opened in 1984.

4. Salem Farmer's Market (Salem)

5. O. Winston Link Museum

6. Oddfellas Cantina (Floyd): This nifty place in the village of Floyd, a long 29 miles from Roanoke, is a great place for weekend brunches.

7. Salem Red Sox (the local baseball team, they are playing the Frederick Keys right now as we speak)

8. Double Apple Restaurant and Hookah: There aren't many places to find authentic Middle Eastern food in Roanoke, but this restaurant on Brambleton Avenue pleases that need. And, they have great humus!

9. Too Many Books: One of the last remaining independent bookstores in Roanoke; it's located in the Grandin Village relatively close to the Grandin Theatre.

10. Dixie Caverns (Salem): A popular tourist attraction...don't hit your head on the stalagmites!

UPDATE: The Salem Red Sox beat the visiting Frederick Keys 13-9 last night, but this evening the team from Maryland came out on top by a score of 5-3.

http://www.roanokedoesntsuck.com

http://www.bandcomics.com

http://www.grandintheatre.org

http://www.noshame.org/roanoke

http://www.market.salemva.gov

http://www.oddfellascatina.com

http://www.toomanybooksroanoke.com

http://www.dixiecaverns.com

There is more on our sister blog site "The Daily Vampire:" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

Mom is Having a Major Downsizing Sale

For those of you who watch "Antiques Roadshow" and live in or near Roanoke, Va., my mother, a veteran antiques dealer who also sells items at Duke's Antique Mall in Lexington, Va., is having a major downsizing estate sale in Salem, Va., which is next to Roanoke.

The correct times for the event are as follows: Fri., Nov. 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sat., Nov. 3 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sun., Nov. 4 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The estate sale will take place at 2265 Mt. Regis Drive Salem, Va. 24153 http://www.mapquest.com

Among the antiques collector items available at the downsizing sale are: Guns, gun cabinet, Christmas outdoor displays, two wicker chairs, sofa marble top table, Elizabeth Arden pottery (North Carolina), chicken on nest collection, Barbie dolls, baskets, glassware (crystal), clocks and lamps. Plenty of items are for sale at reasonable prices.

Entry numbers will be handed out at 6:30 a.m. on Friday. For further information, feel free to call me on my cell phone at (540) 293-9284.

http://www.visitsalemva.com

http://www.pbs.org/roadshow/

http://www.blueridgepbs.org

http://www.lexingtonvirginia.com

Virtual Postcard from Virginia- The Big Pencil

Today, we send you a virtual postcard from my home state of Virginia with this image of The Big Pencil in Wytheville, a southwestern Virginia town that is one hour west of Roanoke. Wytheville is also known as the place where highways I-77 and 1-81 intersect, and the town is reportedly exactly half-way between New York and Miami.

The Big Pencil was once featured in a "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip, that is the brainchild of Bill Griffith. The town is in the congressional district of Cong. Morgan Griffith (R), a Republican from my hometown of Salem, Va., whom I know personally. But......well, I am not a Republican, but of course one should not say negative things about a friend in spite of political differences. It would be great if I could challenge him to a game of chess, bowling or mini-golf, but we doubt the freshman congressman has time for that. We should also point out that the cartoonist and the congressman are not related.

SIDEBAR: Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you probably can not spell the words Gladiolous and Crustaceaology, those are two words that were once used as Spelling Bee championship words in 1925 and 1955 respectively. Gladiolous, hope we spelled that right, is a type of flower; the other term was once used for the study of all things crustacean.

SIDEBAR: We are 'taking off' until Tuesday....We hope....!

http://www.zippythepinhead.com

Sports Desk- Vikings and Spartans Victorious in Virginia

Yes, a Spartan mask from a museum was not our initial choice for an image for this blog, but all the marching band photos were either too big or unavailable for legal reasons.

As it is, my alma mater Glenvar High School from Salem, Va., was not in action, but 'the big school' Salem High School was. And, the Salem Spartans defeated the William Byrd Terriers 27-13 in a home game.

Up the road, the visiting Northside Vikings beat the Hidden Valley Titans 21-17. Hidden Valley High School is one of two Roanoke-area high schools, including Eastern Montgomery High School, which did not exist in the 1980s, when I was a star quarterback for the Glenvar Highlanders (that is a joke, our real quarterback was a guy named Barry).

Here is a rundown of other high school scores from the Roanoke/Lynchburg/Blacksburg region:

Cave Spring 34 Lord Botetourt 18
Christiansburg 47 Bassett 0
Galax 43 Radford 0
Magna Vista 28 Franklin County 26
E.C. Glass 21 William Fleming 20
Martinsville 44 Liberty 34
George Wythe 31 Floyd County 19

SIDEBAR: We learned recently that an alum of Glenvar High School named Liz Trinchere plays volleyball for Virginia Tech. The Hokies were victorious over their arch rivals the University of Virginia Cavaliers by a 3 sets to 1 score in Blacksburg. Cara Baarendsey, a junior from Mason, Ohio, scored 13 kills and 16 digs for the Hokies in the home victory.

It was a mixed bag for the UNC Tarheels in women's volleyball this weekend. The team hosted the Tarheels Classic, and they scored wins over St. Louis and Miami (Ohio), but the 'Heels feel to Tulsa 3-1. Kaylie Gibson of Apex, NC, and Aleksandra Georgieva of Bulgaria combined for 13 kills despite the loss.

Conversely, my alma mater Radford University fell in a road game to UNC-Greensboro in the Spartan Spiketacular in straight sets on Saturday in front of 311 spectators. Radford Highlanders senior Carly Fleming of Manassas, Va., did become the school's all-time solo blocks leader (50) in spite of the defeat.

Karrian Chambers, from College Station, Tex., helped guide the Spartans to their victory and she recieved all-conference honors as well.

Whoops, We Forgot Belgium

Well, we are posting this simply to balance this blog with our other blog "The Daily Vampire," where we made an error sending an entry meant for this blog on that one.

But, we were thinking about taking a day off from blogging tomorrow to go wash dogs at an animal shelter in Lynchburg, Va. (that is a joke, but we understand there is a great animal shelter in that city).

Alas, an image we hoped to post of Borat at the rodeo in Salem, Va., which is my hometown, as featured in the film "Borat" fell through in our Kazakhstan entry due to technical problems or perhaps a block from that particular site. (By the way, the answer is B for the question in that entry).

And, earlier today, I was able to name 24 of the 25 cities that have hosted or will host the summer Olympics in mentalfloss.com quiz. We forgot about the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. I have even been to Antwerp, Belgium, (back in 1993) but I completely forgot that the city was an Olympic host. Our apologies to Tintin, and everyone else in Belgium.

Yvonne Tousek, a former Olympic gymnast and UCLA stand-out competed for Canada, who I get to chat with every now and then, competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She is curently performing with Cirque du Soleil.

I would say that I competed for Turkey (my late father's homeland) in greco-roman wrestling at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, when I would have been 22 years old, but I imagine the actual members of that team would not care for the joke.

Things We Learned on Wikipedia This Week- Capital of Kazakhstan

We are continuing our look at former republis of the Soviet Union today with Kazakhstan. The second largest former Soviet republic behind Russia was made famous/infamous by the film "Borat" (2006) starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the fake television reporter from Kazakhstan.

The film, which was in my top five list for the best films of 2006, will always be a special to me because the rodeo scene where Borat/Cohen tricked rodeo-goers into singing a butchered verison of "The Star Spangled Banner" was filmed at a rodeo in my hometown of Salem, Va. And, just today, I saw that the Internet Movie Database indicated one of the film's factual goofs is that it shows Salem, which neighbors the larger city of Roanoke, as being in the eastern part of Virginia as opposed to southwest Virginia.

Many of the Kazkakhstan village scenes for the movie were actually filmed in Romania. In one of the scenes, the audience is introduced to Borat's neighbor Nursultan Tuyakbey, who is a cross between the names of the current Kazak president/dictator Nursultan Nazabayev and his political opponent in the mid-2000s Zharmakan Tuyakbey.

In April, Nazabayev ran virtually unopposed and got close to 100 percent of 'the vote.'

Today's question is what is the capital of Kazakhstan? Is the answer:

A) Alma Ata

B) Astana

C) Chimkent

D) Pavlador

This is the fifth of 17 entries in this series, and the first one presented in trivia question form. The other four Soviet republics in this series were Uzbekistan, Russia, Kyrgzstan* and (the) Ukraine.

*-This has to be one of the hardest countries in the world to spell!

SIDEBAR: My friend Bruce Piephoff, a folk singer in Greensboro, NC, may not be heading out to Kazakhstan for a concert anytime soon, but he will be performing a live set for WXDU (88.7-FM, Durham), the student-run radio station of Duke University at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. My personal favorite song of his might very well be "I Remember Asheville," even though I've only been Asheville, NC, one time!

Roanoke vs. Greensboro- Drive-In or Bowling? (Entry 2 of 6)

Today, in our Roanoke vs. Grensboro series, we go a little bit outside both city limits, as look at the Lee-Hi Lanes bowling alley in Salem, Va., and the Eden Drive-In in Eden, NC, which is actually 40 miles north of Greensboro.

Lee-Hi Lanes, which are actually just over the line that divides Roanoke and Salem, was once the Lee-Hi Drive-In, an establishment that was in operation from 1948-1982.
The bowling alley features the Strikers Cafe, 40 lanes with automatic scoring, league bowling and moonlight bowling, which is pretty cool.

A movie theatre, which is now the Salem Valley-8, opened next to the Lee-Hi Drive-in in 1976, and caused problems. I remember seeing a James Bond movie "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974) as a child at the old Lee-Hi. Of course, it would have been even more cool to see "Werewolves on Wheels," a combination biker/horror film, but I was a bit too young for it (I was born in 1970). And, I can not verify that it ever showed at the Lee-Hi Drive-In.

The Eden Drive-In is still operating and apparently doing quite well. This week, the drive-in was showing a double-header with "Cars 2" and "The Green Lantern." The rates for seeing movies at the drive-in are quite inexpensive as adults are five dollars, children between ages six and eleven are two dollars and kids under five get in for free.

Though I am a movie person, my inner Zippy the Pinhead (Bill Griffith's counterculture comic strip character) would have to go for Lee-Hi Lanes. Drive-Ins are great except when it rains, and then both you and your car have to deal with lots and lots of mud. And, the money one saves by seeing movies at the drive-ins will go to a local car wash. I haven't read "Freakanomics," but I would gather this fits in with the 'one thing leads to another' realm of thought.

Incidentally, a poster of Nixon bowling was featured in the legendary Coen Brothers film "The Big Lebowski."

Announcing a Very Big Sale

My mom is having a HUGE moving sale at her former residence, located at 456 Ingal Blvd., Salem, Va. 24153 (we are using the zip code in case you want to Mapquest it; I think Bethesda, Maryland, is about five hours away as is Fayetville, NC---we really want people to come out in droves for this thing, seriously!).

Among the low-end items for sale are a pennant with King Kong hovering over the World Trade Center, a Captain Tennile vinyl record with their hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (it didn't belong to me) and a children's wind-up toy of a monkey playing a drum that might actually be older than I am.

The high-end items include an exotic Indonesian puppet, several antique lamps (we think), depression glass (hmmm....I should have asked mom to confirm all this), a nice couch and a huge big-screen tv.

There will also be lots of tools, but I'm not sure if those should be classified as high-end or low-end items. And, there is a cute, antique "Pinocchio" children's book as well as some novels which I actually found time to read, like "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis.

Should you reside in Provo, Utah, which is 30 hours and 21 minutes from Salem, Va. (we did confirm this!), you can always fly. I think Delta Airlines would have the best route.

But, we know you will probably settle for watching "Antiques Roadshow." The episode which is reportedly airing in most markets tonight was taped in Billings, Montana. Assuredly, that town is even farther away from Salem than the folks in 84601 (zip code for Provo, Utah).

For more information, you can go rickandvick.com which will hopefully have an update on the Big Sale during the week.

My mom also sells antiques and collectibles at Duke's Antiques Mall in historic Lexington, Va.

I guess now mom will have to take me out to eat at Applebee's for doing all this!


PS: We forgot to mention that the times for the Big Huge Sale are Friday from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Status Update_ Someone from E-Harmony Must Read Our Blog

Status Update for 1/26: "Wow! Someone from E-Harmony might actually be reading our blog because I was matched with an Asian girl today!"

Amazingly enough, after saying that I would like to see E-Harmony match me with an Asian girl, and a few hours later, that's exactly what happened.

Since local newspapers appear to be waging an uphill battle against new media, we thought we'd mention a couple of good small town newspapers.

For starters, there is "The Carrboro Citizen" in Carrboro, NC, which adjoins Chapel Hill at the Flying Pig at the Crook's Corner restaurant (if you've been to Chapel Hill, you'll get the joke).

Their headline story this week is that Benjamin Charis told a gathering at the First Baptist Church in Chapel Hill to be renew efforts to remember Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy. Personally, I consider "The Carrboro Citizen" to be the best community newspaper in the Tarheel State.

As for my alma mater "The Salem Times-Register" in Salem, Va. (I worked there as a reporter from 1996-97), one of the stories on their web sites is that Cynthia Munley (who happens to be a personal friend) got her husband Frank Munley, a professor at Roanoke College, a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr., marching from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., as done by artist Adam Reinhard.

In international news, we learned (from the radio actually) that a 32-year-old woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, attempted suicide by jumping from the 23rd floor of her hotel only to collide with an incoming taxi which broke her fall and ironically saved her life. Of course, she is now 'in hospital' (as the Brits say) recovering from her injuries.

Virginia High School Football Roundup

My alma mater Glenvar High School from Salem, Va., The Highlanders, pulled an upset on the road as they beat our second favorite high school from southwest Virginia_ The Floyd County HS Buffaloes 21-20 thanks to a game-winning stop from senior linebacker Phillip Tarpley. Alas, the Buffs move on to the playoffs next week and our Highlanders will have to wait 'til next fall.

Here are some other scores from the Roanoke, Va., area:

Alleghany County 14 William Byrd 7
Northside 28 Staunton River 7
Radford 34 Giles County 25
Pulaski County 21 Salem 13
Christiansburg 38 Blacksburg21
Cave Spring 34 Hidden Valley 10

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Former Guns N Roses Member Has a Beef

For those who grew up with Guns N Roses in the late 1980s, the band's anthem "Welcome to the Jungle" has a special place in our hearts.

But, Duff McKagan, a former member of the band, wrote in "Seattle Weekly" that he is not happy the song is now being played to rev up fans at Yankee Stadium.

Duff made his comments in a guest column for the journal, and he said while he is a huge sports fan, the song simply wasn't intended to be the equivalent of Queen's song "We Will Rock You."

SIDEBAR: Hooray for Duke University's hapless football team which beat Navy 34-31 for their first win of the year in Annapolis, Md., last weekend. This week, the BlueDevils host The University at noon on their home turf in Durham, NC.

My alma mater Glenvar High School in Salem, Va., goes on the road to the mountain hamlet of Floyd, Va., to face the Floyd County High School Buffalos. We wish the Highlanders luck, though personally I prefer the other school's mascot to our's!

SIDEBAR TWO: Our fellow liberal friend The Kansan, who is really from Kansas and a Kansas Jayhawks fan, tweeted today that: "One often hears the question: Do you have to politicize everything? The answer is of course yes!

On that note, we invite our readers to insert their favorite Sarah Palin joke in our comment section. I am deliberating as to which country I would move to if she becomes president in 2012. My top three choices are Norway, Costa Rica and Tunisia (we had to choose one Muslim to irk the Christian conservatives, though admitedly it would be quite hot in North Africa!).

The Post-Election Day Hangover

Mor


I recall one year when I was in college when my old high school pals Jake and Brett (not their real names) came over and we watched the Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills. The Giants won the game, but I will never forget the Jack Daniels hangover that my buds suffered. I was smart enough not to join them!

And, since my Twitter account is frozen up today, which I suspect is a result of following over 1,800 people, media outlets and organizations (yes, Paris Hilton is one of them) the day after a major election.

While Paris Hilton may not have won yesterday, the dubious choice that Kentuckians made in electing far, far right mad man Rand Paul (we actually like Ron Paul, his dad, but like George W. Bush this guy is crazier than his dad!) who according to "The Nation" even opposes abortion when a woman's life is in danger, may be just as fatal for the American political spectrum.

Closer to home, one of my friends (yes, the irony here kills me too) Republican Morgan Griffith from my hometown of Salem, Va., upset Cong. Rick Boucher, who was first elected to office when I was 12 years old in 1982! And, I was perhaps the only kid from East Salem Elementary School who watched the election results that night.

Boucher lost in part from a heavy turn-out in conserative parts of the ninth district, according to "The Roanoke Times," which we presume would include the truck-stop town of Wytheville.

"The Roanoke Times" also stated that Cong. Tom Periello, a first-term representative, who is actually younger than me at 36, lost to Robert Hurt, a conservative state senator from the town of Chatham, Va.

Chatham is in southside Virginia where local churches actually state to be wary of our friend Hot Stuff on a regular basis.

(That is Satan for those of who live in saner parts of the country/world; I am of course alluding to the Harvey Comics character that Perriello is too young to remember and Griffith might well be reading to his young children).

In my current state of residence, North Carolina, Congressional Democrats fared fairly well even though the state house fell to the hands of Satan (the Republicans) for the first time since 1898!

Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC) held off a Tea Party whacko named Bill Randall who like Clarence Thomas is African-American.

In an effort to somehow proclaim that the GOP is now the party of diversity, Fred Barnes of the conservative "The Weekly Standard" (We should mention that neo-con don Bill Kristol of that same publication actually sent me a friendly email during the Obama-McCain race which still shocks me to this day!; of course- it had nothing to do with politics) mentioned that two African-Americans won Congressional races yesterday.

They included Tim Scott of South Carolina and Allen West of Florida.

Hopefully, they will represent their constituents well. If not, the Democratic Party might want to find two fat, old white guys to run against them!

It Was a VERY Bad Day...

I'm not an African-American, like this guy is, but I love the expression on his face. It pretty much sums up everything I went through today in which nothing went according to plan and I was pretty much miserable the whole day.

Yesterday, however was a pleasant day which made this a bit of a surprise!

But, I do want to thank the UNC college radio station dj for WXYC-FM who played my request for the David Bowie/Queen classic "Under Pressure." I was listening to his show from Virginia via the Internet. He also played Kate Bush's classic "Running Up That Hill," which I was ironically thinking about earlier in the day.

I can definitely sympathize for the football players from Charlottesville High School in Charlottesville, Va., as they lost to Robert E. Lee High School (from Staunton, Va.) by a 42-6 margin. Interestingly enough, I have close friends who are alumnus of both schools. My presumption is that neither Greg or Tom really care about this!

But, my alma mater Glenvar High School (Salem, Va.) defeated James River High School (Buchanan, Va.) by a 41-34 margin, according to "The Roanoke Times."

Of course, that doesn't change the fact that for me, it was still quite a lousy day!

PSA- Save the Brown Pelican

Yesterday evening, I had a chance to listen to a segment on the NPR interview show "Fresh Air" about the brown pelicans which along with sea turtles have been greatly affected by the huge BP Oil Spill afflicting the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

Anyone who wishes to help with the National Wildlife Federation's efforts to help the birds, which up until very recently, were an endangered species (as are the sea turtles) can go to the organization's web site at nfw.org

In other happier news, The Myrtle Beach Pelicans in Myrtle Beach, SC, have a Fouth of July homestand this weekend. Last night, they beat the Kinston Indians 2-1 thanks to an outstanding effort from their pitcher Paul Clemens.

The Pelicans will host the Salem Red Sox from Salem, Va. (my hometown) starting on July 3rd.

The Akron Aeros from Akron, Ohio, another minor league baseball team, is now taking the field in Bowie, Md., to face the Bowie Baysox. Scott Barnes will take the mound for Akron while Ryohei Tanaka will be the starting pitcher for Bowie. Last night, the Aeros beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-6 in another road game. We take it that someone in that organization takes a liking to "Rocky and Bullwinkle!"

Silly Photo to Fill Space- School Lunch Menu

For school children living in Orange County, NC, which includes Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, here are the school lunch items that will be served on Thursday (5/20).

When I was a kid at East Salem Elementary School in Salem, Va. (near Roanoke) our school lunches were a mere 65 cents. Of course, I was a third-grader in 1979. My Turkish father was very adamant that I not eat corn dogs because they (of course) had pork.

Hmmm........maybe I will have to have a ham and cheese omelet at the Omelette Shop in Princeton, WVa (not actually where I am at the moment--but there is such a place there and it's open 24/7), but there really is no fun in agitating someone who alas has been dead for some 25 years! But, agitating people who are alive and well is a different matter.....though I could NEVER eat turtle soup! Well, could you?!

Here is what is on the menu, (this material was originally listed in "The Carrboro Citizen," but I assume they can't sue me since this is in the public record):

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks w/Marinara Dipping Sauce (pictured) or Baked Potato w/Chilli and Cheese; w/Wheat Roll, "Fun on the Run" (what in the world is that?!); Traditional Mixed Vegetables; Chilled Fruit Cocktail or Chocolate Pudding.

Next week, we will list the school lunch menu items for students attending grade school in Karachi, Pakistan (that is a joke!).

Happy Holidays from Bo the White House Dog

Everyone who was watching CNN at any point yesterday is aware that President Barack Obama is in Hawaii. Which makes one wonder who is looking after Bo? Or, did the Obamas take him with them to the islands?

Nevertheless, we thought it would be good to mention that plenty of cats and dogs are up for adoption at your local animal shelter. In my hometown of Salem, Va. (www.salempets.org), the Salem City Animal Shelter can be reached at 540-375-3038. In Reidsville, NC, the city where I live, which has a very high kill rate (among the highest in the country!), the shelter can be reached at (336)-342-4022.

We have a companion entry to this piece on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

On a side note, some conservative friends of the family are visiting us from Johnson City, Tenn. I jokingly told my mom that we should get them a subscription to "Utne" ( progressive magazine, which currently has a story on the 'environmental Star Wars'), but no one in my immediate family has a sense of humor. The same could not be said for my cousin Shannon Sturgis of St. Louis, Mo., who prevents me from being the most irreverent person in the family. I should get her a subscription of "National Review"* for that!

*-"National Review" is not a progressive magazine at all. My sister Shannon is actually to the left of me, and I am not a Republican!

Happy Joe Strummer Day...Long Live The Clash!

This photo reminds me of director Jim Jarmusch's film "Coffee and Cigarettes." It was made after Joe Strummer's death (the lead singer of The Clash died on this day seven years ago). But, the two were co-stars in Alex Cox's surreal western "Straight to Hell" (1987) and Jarmusch later directed Strummer in "Mystery Train" (1989).

And, though they don't allow smoking, The Mill Mountain Coffee Shop in Salem, Va., will be having a Christmas breakfast on Dec. 24 which will include a charity art auction.

I would write more but I'm running late for my mom's 70th birthday, and that might make her confiscate all my Clash cds!

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Dog Washing

We normally post the Silly Pictures to Fill space pieces on Tuesday, but today we are posting it on Monday to make everyone in Virginia aware that tomorrow is Election Day.

And, I desperately want to see Democratic state senator Creigh Deeds from Hot Springs, Va., beat out his far right opponent.

If you are a Virginia resident and you happen to see this, I will come to your house and wash your dog if Deeds wins tomorrow. I don't care if you live in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Grundy, Arlington, Woodstock, Abingdon, Boones Mill, Hopewell, Danville, Floyd or Newport News. We really, really need this one folks!

I wish I could do more but alas I live just over the border in North Carolina now.

I also want to mention that there is an animal shelter in my hometown of Salem, Va., which desperately needs folks to adopt animals, so this is not a mere political entry, but I do sincerely believe that Deeds' opponent Bob McDonnell will be a nightmare for Virginia in the same way that George W. Bush was for us as Americans.