Quotes from The Little Thinkers (1 of 16): William Shakespeare

We gather that the Bard is known as Willie Shakespeare in Johnson City, Tenn., and today our first quote in this 16-entry series with quotes from historical figures begins with a quip from William Shakespeare.

The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is currently performing the Shakespeare play "As You Like It," which has a performance on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

And, Criterion Classics posted a promotion today for the late Japanese cinematic master Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood," which is based on the Bard's "King Lear."

Here is a quote from Shakespeare:

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."


http://www.americanshakespearecenter.org

http://www.visitstaunton.com

Presidential Quotes (4 of 12): Woodrow Wilson

Today, we quote President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), who as of this writing does not have a Washington Nationals mascot. Wilson served in office for two full terms (1913-1921) and he died three years after he left office in 1924.

Wilson had four alma maters, in Davidson College, the University of Virginia, Princeton and Johns Hopkins. He also has at least four high schools named after him, including Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, West Virginia.

Wilson's birthplace in Staunton, Va., and his residency in Washington, DC, are historic sites open to the public. He is also buried at the National Cathedral in the nation's capital.

Wilson was the eighth Democratic president since Andrew Jackson, and he would be the only Democrat to hold the presidency until Franklin D. Roosevelt came to the helm in 1933.

Here is Wilson's quote, which makes one think of the problems that President Barack Obama has faced with regards to Obamacare:

"If you want to make enemies try to change something."

http://www.woodrowilson.org

http://www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org

http://www.millercenter.org/presidentwilson

Quoting Romeo and Juliet for V-Day

Yes, I know. I am getting suffocated from Valentine's Day nonsense myself, but of course since I am an American (well my late father came from Turkey) why not be a bit of a contrarian/hypocrite and indulge in this madness/nonsense.

So, here is a quip from "Romeo and Juliet," which will probably be made into a 3-D movie soon:

"But, soft! What light through window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the son."

We learned that the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is not performing "Romeo and Juliet" at the moment, but they will be staging the John Marston play "The Malcontent," including a performance on Sat., Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m.

SIDEBAR: For those American tourists who have the spare time to span the globe and the courage to stay in the Middle East in spite of political upheaval, you can go to Tel Aviv, Israel, to see everyone's favorite Russian emigre punk band Gogol Bordello perform at the Barby Club there from Feb. 28-March 2. The band is actually giving three concerts at the venue!

They later head to Rome, Italy, for a concert on my 41st birthday (March 4th) at the Atlantico Live Club before heading to one of my favorite cities Istanbul, Turkey, for a March 11th concert at the Babylon.

But, for those of you who live in Nebraska and prefer classical music (I actually like everything from heavy metal to classical, but I'm the first to admit that would make for quite a surreal mixed tape!) there will be a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on Fri., March 4 at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m. with conductor Thomas Wilkins at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. The performance will be from the Omaha Symphony. It should be fun; be sure to wear your Grateful Dead tye-dye t-shirt to the event!

High School of the Week- Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City

Greetings from the Waffle House in Staunton, Va., (well we are not actually there at the moment!), where we profile Northwest Classen High School from Oklahoma City as our High School of the Week.

The high school, which is the alma mater of country singer Vince Gill, is nicknamed The Knights. The school principal is Tamie Sanders. And, the school's demographics are 38.5 % Latino, 25.8 % White, 22.4 % Black, and .00000000009 % Pashtun (forgive the humorous reference to an Afghan ethnic group).

Alas, folks in Oklahoma are not likely to be happy tonight as their beloved Oklahoma Sooners, the top-ranked team in college football, fell to the University of Missouri by a 36-27 margin. But, then again we can't feel too sorry for Oklahoma since it is a red state and it now approaching 3:30 a.m. here at The Waffle House in Harrisonburg, Va.,.......oh, I mean Staunton, Va., of course!

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!

Wasn't It Shakespeare Who Said.....

"Eat, Drink and be merry for we may get #@%&*$ snowed in tomorrow."

Yes, it has been a bit tough on those of us who live in Virginia and North Carolina (I divide my time between both states) and other states in the South- though the storm also affected Maryland and Oklahoma, which to my knowledge are not southern states, but perhaps there is someone in Baltimore and Tulsa who would want to argue with me on that.

If you are a William Shakespeare fan, you might want to check out a performance of "Twelth Night" in Staunton, Va., should you be traveling between Roanoke, Va., and Washington, DC. The production is going on right now as we speak (well, not literally as it is two a.m. now).

But, you may want to call their number 1-877-MUCH-ADO or visit their web site (americanshakespearecenter.com) in case the area gets hit with a third major winter storm to see if "Twelth Night" or their other plays will be performed as scheduled.

Snowfall accumulations for most zip codes in Virginia and North Carolina ranged from five inches to just over a foot. I gather that Lexington, NC, and Martinsville, Va., were among the towns with the most snowfall totals in their respective regions.

Many school systems in southwestern Virginia and northwester/north central North Carolina are scheduled to be closed on Monday, so I guess some ninth graders will have an extra day to work on their "Romeo and Juliet" book reports.