SOTU Blogathon: Republicans Against Cancer Prevention

We bring back an image of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to make fun of the new house speaker who failed in his attempt to unseat Julia Louis-Dreyfus as vice president of the United States (for those of you in Romania: yes, we are kidding. Joe Biden is our veep)....

You will figure out why we dumped an image of Thomas Jefferson (pict. top) when you read this. As for Miss Piggy, even though her presence may hurt our hits coming from Dubai, we think it is a great way to make fun of Congressional pork and the fact that her show was on right before the State of the Union (SOTU).

Here are the tweets:

1)  WNYC: Obama: It's one of the few regrets of my presidency--that the rancor has gotten worse instead of better.

2) Roll Call: Obama: We've got to make it easier to vote, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now.

3) Talking Points Memo: Obama: ISIL doesn't threaten our national existence.

4) Washington Post Politics: Obama: This isn't a matter of political correctness. It's a matter of understanding what makes us stronger.

5) Peter Sagal (NPR talk show host): This is true! Our Founders were a bunch of jerks who hated each other! (Yeah, that's the reason for TJ).

6) Colorado Avalanche: Tampa scores again. (the Tampa Bay Lightning won the hockey game 4-0).

7) Colorado Dems: Obama: We need to reject any politics that target people because of race or religion.

8) Cong. Mark Sanford (R-SC): Obama mentions closing Gitmo while he lacks the legal authority to take such actions.

9) Rachel Blevins (conservative college student from Texas): For his 8th and final SOTU, Obama promises to shut down Gitmo yet again....

10) Paul Ryan: For too many, the American dream is slipping. Nothing I've heard tonight is very reassuring.

11) The Onion (satire news): Obama Praises Own Resiliency in the Face of Hardship During the SOTU.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/

http://www.rollcall.com

https://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

http://www.theonion.com

Colorado Republican Debate Tweets: The DC Insiders Perspective (3 of 3)

Instead of focusing on strife in places like Afghanistan, Syria, and South Sudan, the BBC World Service will be giving live updates from the CNBC Republican Debate held tonight in Boulder, Colorado. Perhaps, that it is indeed quite fitting.

SPOILER ALERT: The Kansas-Iowa State college volleyball game we mentioned in earlier tweets resulted in a Kansas victory (3-1).

These tweets are from Washington, DC, media outlets as well as some partisan and non-partisan observers. Now, the BBC is saying that Google is trying to reach remote jungle areas in Indonesia, hmm....yeah, we can't imagine we get many hits from those areas.

The photo above is of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex), one of the Republican candidates, who bears a stark resemblance to the late "Dracula" actor Bela Lugosi.

Here are the tweets:

1) The Hill: "Ben Carson on homosexuality_ I believe our Constitution protects everybody."

2) The Onion (a satirical publication): Jeb Bush Inching Podium Closer to Center of Stage During Commercial Breaks.

3) Chris Cillizza (Washington Post): Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are just on a different level tonight.

4) Robert Costa (Washington Post): Bush muted. No more hits on Rubio for now.

5) Bernie Sanders (liberal presidential candidate): "It is an embarrassment that we have a major political party that rejects the overwhelming science on climate change."

6) Emily Stephenson (Reuters): Rubio: Democrats have the ultimate Super PAC, it's called the mainstream media.

7) Glenn Kenny (movie critic): One liners not withstanding Rubio's a goddamn fascist.

8) John Robinson (former  Greensboro, NC "News&Record" news editor): "You poor people watching the GOP Debate. You could be watching the Series or the NBA or Jane Seymour's Skin Care Secrets."

9) Tom Tomorrow (liberal cartoonist): Another hit on the media DRINK.

Sunday Night Tweets: Be on the Look-Out for Runaway Cheetahs

During our last entry, we said that we were going to send Dutch Ambassador Rudolf Bekink (pictured center) a card to congratulate the Netherlands' successful third place  finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Alas, a Malaysian Airlines plane carrying 385 passengers, about half of which were Dutch citizens, was shot down by Russian separatist terrorists in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, so the Netherlands has gone from a period of joy to tragedy in a very short time span. The plane was in route from Amsterdam, Holland, to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

It also been a disastrous week for Palestinian-Israeli relations as Israel has taken defensive measures by bombing Palestinian areas in the West Bank, killing scores of women and children, which also coincides with the Muslim Ramadan holiday.

But, we do have some light-hearted tweets as well; let's take a look:

1) Washington DC News: Pro-Palestinian Groups march to the White House.

2) Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Man arrested after barricading himself, and a 2-year-old in a Mount Washington apartment.

3) Mark Duplass (actor/filmmaker): "The Master" is now streaming on Netflix. Do it. Like now!

4) The Onion: This week, last year FBI offered $1 million for any information on cheetahs (see top image)

5) Netherlands Embassy: The Dutch embassy in DC will open a condolence register for victims of MH17 this Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

6) Dallas Morning News: Dallas police handing out Slurpee tickets to kids for being good (Bottom image, actually of a 7-11 in Japan).

7) Jeremiah Owyang: Seriously, the current news cycle is morbid and bleak. Hoping for a better week, planet earth.

Tweets of the Day: What To Do About the Great Dictator?

We can't bring ourselves to post an image of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, so in his place, we have an image of Mad King George. The other two images are Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn., top) and The Katzenjammer Kids, a beloved American comic strip of yesterday; we are using their image in reference to a tweet from the always hilarious faux news publication "The Onion."

Though many of these tweets suggest vast opposition to intervention in Syria, I support any measures as it now seems clear that thousands and thousands could be randomly killed if something is not done to stop him and his insanity. But, we do feel obligated to show a range of public opinions.

Here we go:

1) CommonKnowledge (@CommonKnowUK): "China sends warships to #Syria. Joining Russian warships in the Mediterranean."

2) Raquel E Saraswati @RaquelEwati: "Oh Thank God Madonna lent her foreign policy expertise to the debate on #Syria. SAID NO ONE EVER."

3) Reason @reason, a conservative Libertarian magazine: "Polls show Americans demand Obama get Congressional approval for #Syria airstrikes."

4) TheNation @thenation, a liberal magazine: "President Obama was right to seek approval to strike Syria- but new Congress must turn him down."

5) Hurriyet Daily News@HDNER: "Eleven G-20 states, including #Turkey and #US urge strong response to #Syria #chemicalattack"

6) The Onion @theonion: "Nation Throws Great Temper Tantrum Upon Learning Syria is Complex, Nuanced Issue."

7) Dennis Kucinich @Dennis_Kucinich, a former Democratic congressional rep from Ohio:"Busy day today! I'm on @oreillyfactor tonight; 8:30 ET talking #Syria. Tune in if you can."

8) Roll Call @rollcall: ""Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va) sees Syria vote coming within two weeks."

9) Slate @slate: "With #Syria, Obama made the exact same mistake Bill Clinton made 20 years ago with Serbia."

10) The Daily Beast @thedailybeast: "@nytimes staffers got 'physically ill' watching and editing #Syria execution video."

11) The Hill @thehill: "Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) leaning towards supporting military action in Syria."

12) DenverPoliticsNews @denverpolitics: "AP Survey: House shows opposition to Syria attack."

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.rollcall.com/

http://reason.com/

http://www.thenation.com/

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

Tweets of the Day and Night: Damascus is Causing Problems

With images of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, and Secretary of State John Kerry, we begin our tweets of the day about the sensitive matter regarding possible military intervention in Syria, which I personally support as I feel if the late American folk singer John Denver were to support a war, it would be this one.

Let's go:

1) The New Republic @tnr (a center-left magazine): "As long as the Christian population is ok, Rand Paul seems unconcerned with #Syria's fate."

2) The Daily Edge @TheDailyEdge: "Republicans express concern that Obama plan for #Syria doesn't slip in any multi-billion-dollar no-bid contracts for Haliburton."

3) Hurriyet Daily News @HDNER: #Russia says strike on #Syria could mean nuke disaster. (Hurriyet is a Turkish newspaper with Turkish and English editions).

4) Slate @slate: Congressional Republicans now using the example of Iraq to oppose #Syria

5) Free Syria Media Hub @FSA_Media_Hub: "Obama, Putin Handshakes and Smiles at G20 Summit."

6) The Onion @TheOnion, this is a satirical journal: Obama assures Americans this will not be another 1456 Ottoman seige of Belgrade. (Our favorite tweet of the day).

7) @TodaysZamancom: Turkey says Syria strikes should aim for regime collapse. (Zaman is a Turkish newspaper with Turkish and English editions).

8) The Nation @TheNation, which is a liberal American political magazine: "Media Question Kerry's mysterious 1,429 death toll in Syria."

9) Jason Chaffetz @jasoninthehouse, Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is known for his social media savvy: "Utah delegation not sold on Syria air strikes."

10) John McCain @SEnJohnMcCain: "Another scripted town hall on #Syria in #Tucson this afternoon with lots of participation and great t-shirts!"

11) The Colbert Report (an American satirical tv show): "29% of Americans want the U.S. to attack #Syria; plus side means 29% of Americans know there's a place called Syria."

12) Plaid_Seida (Plaid Seda is president of the Syrian National Council, and an opposition activist): "I am still in Istanbul, Turkey. I wish I could be at the G-20 summit, convincing world leaders to help #FreeSyria."

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

http://www.theonion.com/

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.newrepublic.com/

http://www.todayszaman.com/home

http://www.free-syria-foundation.org/

Return of Friday Night Tweets: Bad Weather, Baseball and Politics

As of last report, the Durham Bulls (Durham, NC, pictured top) are losing badly in their home game against the Charlotte Knights. The score was 8-1 in the third inning. Here's hoping you are having a somewhat better night.

From the left and the right, here are the tweets:

1. National Review @NRO ( The National Review is a right wing publication, this is a center-left blog, the late Dale Carnegie would say that they should send us a thank u card): "Major Hasan's attack at #FtHood was terrorism, not workplace violence, and he'll be the first one to say so."

2. WXII 12 News @WXII (A tv station in Winston-Salem, NC): "Thunder and lightning right now in Winston-Salem. Keep an eye on the interactive radar.)

3. Durham Bulls @DurhamBulls: "Prior to tonight's game @DukeU Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Dr. Robert Lefkowitz threw out first pitch."

4.Erin Cunnigham @erincunnigham: Ugh, you have to show ID now when buying nail polish remover at CVS? Seriously America, stop cooking so much meth."

5. Portland Sea Dogs @PortlandSeaDogs_ a minor league baseball team in Portland, Maine: "First pitch set for 8:00 p.m. Henry Owens to make his Hadlock Field debut against Bowie."

6. The Onion @theonion_ for those of you in Azerbaijan, "The Onion" is a fake news publication: "Corpses of 'Lone Ranger' producres hung from Hollywood Blvd. street lights as warnings to others."

7. Tom Perriello @tomperriello_ pictured bottom, Perriello is a former Democratic congressional rep and now a CEO for a progressive lobbying firm: "Passing by Sylvania, Ohio, thinking of my grandfather Thomas Gillooly who spent his career there as teacher, coach, fireman, WWII vet, hero to me."

8. Mustafa Akyol @AkyolinEnglish_ Akyol is a Turkish journalist for "Hurriyet" newspaper: "If you are around Detriot, you are welcome this Sat to my debate on Islam, democracy and religious freedom."

For more tweets, check out my other blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com


http://www,nationalreview.com (We are amused by their story: "Norway's right turn." So, if you find a couple of Norwegian right wingers, this means the country is turning to the Bergen Tea Party? Perhaps, "The Nation," should write an article called Iran's Left Turn).

http://www.wxii12.com/

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.americanprogress.org (Perriello's group)

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com

http://www.thewhitepath.com (Akyol's web site)

Friday Night Tweets: Hooray for Danica Patrick

We initially tried to get a picture of Danica Patrick, the women's race car driver who won the trials of the Daytona 500, in a bikini to get higher hits, but we figure that those image have stern copyrights. And, besides, we are popular in Dubai!

Here are tonight's tweets. It should be pointed out that tomorrow the University of North Carolina is facing ACC rival North Carolina State in a key men's basketball game. Those two schools met tonight in college gymnastics, and the UNC Tar Heels edged out the visiting Wolfpack:


1) Toledo Walleye @ToledoWalleye: "Kyle Rogers got his second consecutive goal!" (The Toledo Walleye won their home minor league hockey game over the Wheeling Nailers 5-2 tonight).

2) WRAL News in NC @wral (WRAL is the NBC-affiliate in Raleigh, NC): "UNC, NC State set for pivotal ACC contest."

3) Alabama Gymnastics @BamaGymnastics: "Alabama and Arkansas are tied @ the midway point of the meet after scoring matching 49.425s on vault and 49.175s on uneven bars."

4) Duke's Men's Lacrosse @Duke M-LAX: "And Penn scores after the 30-second warning goes on. Quakers lead #Duke 13-9, 3:00 to go." (Penn was hosting Duke)

5) Tar Heel Monthly @Tarheel Monthly: "Congrats to @uncwlax on big win tonight in Chapel Hill, topping No. 1 Northwestern 11-8."

6) The Onion @TheOnion: "In Sports: Danica Patrick Lauded for Breaking Down Barriers for Attractive Women." ("The Onion" is a faux news publication, Patrick is pictured on in our top image).

7) Anchorage Daily News @Adndotcom: (SPOILER ALERT: We love this one!) "Anchorage mother and son jailed in attempt 80 pounds of marijuana to Alaska."

8) University of Akron @uakron: "Retweet @ZipsMBB: Zeke Marshall hits two at the line, Akron leads 60-45 with 1:49 to go #ZipsGameDay." (Akron went on to beat North Dakota State 68-53; the game is part of Bracket Busters, which is a weekend when teams from secondary conferences in college basketball play each other. Marshall is in the middle image).

9) Kansas City @VisitKC: "The second full moon cycle will be here next week. Are you ready?"

http://www.visitkc.com

http://www.toledowalleye.com

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.uakron.edu

http://www.danicaracing.com

http://www.espnbracketbusters.com

Monday Night Post-Debate Tweets: Let's Play Battleship

Before we get to the 8 tweets that we will post here, we should point out the reasons for these images: 1) Cenk Uygur, a Turkish-American liberal tv show who was born in March of 1970, essentially he is the same person as Tilly Gokbudak (that is me) the editor of this blog, except the later does not have a tv show on Current TV or anywhere else 2) Battleship: Yes, President Barack Obama made the night's pop cultural reference tonight, and surely the popular '70s board game will sell out by the end of the weekend and 3) Golda Meir, the legendary late first prime minister of Israel.

Let's get started:

1) @EWErickson (Erik Erickson, conservative editor of redstate.com): "The lefties in my timeline are exceedingly angry. A good sign for Romney."

2) @JenGranholm (Jenifer Granholm is a former Democratic governor of Michigan who now has a tv show on Current TV): "RT @CBS News: Breaking: CBS News Instant Poll on who won the #debate? Obama
53 %, Romney 23 %, tie 24 %"

3) @CenkUygur (Cenk Uygur): "Romney people saying he has grown as a candidate. Pretty much devastating admission he got killed."

4) @JonEasley (Jonathan Easley, a reporter for "The Hill"): "Chris Wallace: A marine tweeted us to say the Marines still use bayonets, so it may not be clear who really knows." (Obama made reference to bayonets during the debate).

5) @NRO ("National Review," a conservative magazine): "Chris Matthews slams Obama for #pandering on Israel #debates." (It's ironic to see a conservative journal quipping a center-left pundit. Yes, this tweet is why we are using an image of Golda Meir).

6) @TheOnion ("The Onion" is a faux news outlet): "Obama takes out Romney with a Mid-Debate drone attack."

7) @DavidCornDC (David Corn is a reporter for "Mother Jones," a liberal magazine): "Romney wins the #deabte_ if you're measuring by production of presperation."

8) @politico ("Politico" is an objective political journal): "Obama to Romney: This is not a game of Battleship."

Tweets of the Night_ Politics, Sports and Religion

For those of you who are are yak herders in Mongolia or Buddhist monks in Bhutan, the first image is of Cong. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) who is Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's arch conservative running mate. The other two images are of a college volleyball player (there was lots of college volleyball action tonight) from the University of South Florida and a Serbian priest, who to our knowledge has not endorsed either Romney or President Barack Obama, that is not the case with certain reality tv show 'stars.'

Let's jump in the pool:

1) @uncgsports (UNC-Greensboro Athletics): Women's soccer takes down Davidson on Senior Night 1-0.

2) @GatorZoneVB (University of Florida Gators Women's Volleyball): "No.11 #Gators Earn Ninth Sweep of 2012 with 3-0 Victory over Ole Miss."

3) @uncvolleyball (University of North Carolina Women's Volleyball): "Carolina Holds off Virginia 3-2 as the Tar Heels improve to 14-4, 5-3 (in ACC play) on the season," (the game was played in Charlottesville, Va.)

4) @AlexSemin (Carolina Hurricanes hockey player Alex Semin, a Russian national formerly with the Washington Capitals): "He may only be a teenager, but until Bryce Harper goes to Russia to play hockey for his grandmother, his accomplishments are miniscule." (Semin is referring to one of the star players for the Washington Nationals, a team that lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs by a 9-7 score tonight).

5) @TerryMoran (Terry Moran of ABC News): "Some idiot fired shots into Obama's field office in Denver.  Let's all try to calm down and respect each other."

6) @LOLGOP (LOL GOP): "If the math behind Mitt Romney's tax plan worked, George W. Bush would have spoken at the Republican Convention."

7) @theOnion ("The Onion," a faux news publication): "Joe Biden: I'm a flawed man, but there's love in my heart."

8) @VT_Volleyball (Virginia Tech Women's Volleyball): "Hokies drop 3-1 decision to NC State: Kathryn Caine knocked down 13 kills."

9) @MLBJesus (Major League Baseball Jesus): "Some of my best friends are Cardinals," this satiric statement made in reference to the St. Louis Cardinals.

10) @SecretCabDriver (Secret Cab Driver): "GOP: Vote for us because we have guns. And, remember we're not afraid to use them." (this tweet was meant to be satiric in nature)

11) @HuffPostPol ("Huffington Post Politics"): "Democratic Brad Sherman regrets grabbing Howard Berman during debate." (This is a tweet regarding the Congressional battle which actually pits two Democratic Congressional reps from the Los Angeles-area against each other; we have a special interest in this because the Armenian-American lobby sponsored one of the debates and Turkey was mentioned throughout the forum. Turkey and Armenia do not have diplomatic relations in spite of being neighboring countries due to a very ugly and controversial historical dispute).

12) @davidfrum (David Frum, a conservative pundit who has been critical of the current state of the Republican Party; he was actually profiled in an excellent article in "The Nation," a liberal magazine): "Message of the debate poll: Twitter loves politics, is bored with government."

Weekend Tweets Log- Is Mitt Romney Out of Touch?

Today, we our posting some actual tweets we saw earlier this afternoon, about three hours ago. Let's explain the images: 1) Well, we always love making fun of Mitt Romney and we think the image is self-explanatory; 2) Lots of college football games today, hence this image; 3) We have flight attendants from Singapore Airlines to accompany a tweet from the faux news magazine "The Onion." Let's get started:

1) @HuffingtonPost (Huffington Post): TELL US: Is Mitt Romney out of touch?"

2) @slate (Slate): "Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are going to shoot a movie on the Google campus. It's about 40-year-old interns."

3) @DoughtyOnAir (Douglas Doughty, a sports writer for "The Roanoke Times" in Roanoke, Va.): "Wondering if UVA will score @TCU, where it's 14-0 @ halftime. Cavs can't run the ball and receivers aren't  making big plays." (The University of Virginia ended up losing the game 27-7).

4) @VT-Football (Virginia Tech football): "Virginia Tech honoring Officer Deriek Crouse right now. Standing Ovation." (The Virginia Tech police officer was killed last year by an armed off-campus person who committed suicide after the shooting).

5) @NastiaLiukin (Nastia Liukin): "Hi Portland. It's National Gymnastics Day! Who's coming to celebrate with tonight at the #KelloggsTour?" (The 2008 gold-medal winning American gymnast of Russian heritage is among the all-stars performing tonight in Portland, Oregon).

6) @DailyNewsEgypt (The Daily News Egypt): "Iraq aims to reunite with a new national anthem and flag."

7) @TheOnion (The Onion): "Dad suggests arriving at airport 14 hours early."

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.singaporeair.com

http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com

http://www.notmittromney.com

http://www.nastialiukin.com

GOP Day One (Delayed Due to Weather) Tweets

Today, we continue our tweets regarding the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, Fla. We should explain that we decided to go with Cuban-flag flip flops because the Republicans depend on the small, but significant Cuban-American vote in the Miami area of Florida and because the GOP's candidate Mitt Romney has radically changed positions on abortion, gun control, health care and perhaps even which baseball team he roots for...

The Turkish tea glass is our way of making fun of the Tea Party, a mostly far-right movement which has actually thrown out Republican members in both houses of Congress deemed to be too moderate, and we thought that Democrats, like sharks, ate their own.

Lastly, we have an image of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) who represents a swing state, and we quote a tweet from him here as well.

So, to borrow a right-wing cliche; let's roll:

1) @hillballotbox ("The Hill," a journal covering Congress): "Poll: Women overwhelmingly back Obama, concerned about the economy."

2) @NickKristof (Nicholas Kristof of "The New York Times"): "Global warming may be linked to hurricane intensity. Do we see a divine reprimand of Republicans for climate skepticism?"

3) @theonion ("The Onion," a satirical faux news publication): "GOP Convention To Feature Strong Lineup of Conservative Women Listeners."

4) @LOLGOP: "For a guy who has betrayed every political belief he's ever had and lies about everything all the time, Mitt gets treated pretty well."

5) @ChuckGrassley (Sen. Chuck Grassley): "Read 2day wallstreetjournal editorial for treatsie on how ObamaCare will ration healthcare 15 bureaucrats will be dictating to doctors."

6) @hardball_chris (Chris Matthews of MSNBC): "It's ashame when the #RNC has to to go back to Ronald Reagan to pay tribute to a past president. What happened to GHWB and GWB?" (These are references to George and George W. Bush)

7) @Jasoninthehouse (Cong. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah): "Up at the Diamond Fork fine. Growing fast. May triple in size today. Very windy." (This is in reference to the awful weather in Tampa).

http://www.gopconvention2012.com

http://www.visittampabay.com

Our sister blog:

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

Quote from International Writers_ Franz Kafka

This just in, a mere three days after they have their vice presidential candidates debate in Danville, Ky., Vice President Joe Biden and his challenger Paul Ryan will have a wrestling match during half-time of the Cincinnati Bengals-Cleveland Browns game in Cleveland on Oct. 24th. They chose the occasion because Ohio is a swing state; I'm sure the late comic actor Andy Kaufman would be proud.

We are joking, of course, but like us, the satirical publication "The Onion" is having fun at the candidates' expense, one recent 'story' this week said that perhaps Paul Ryan should have told Mitt Romney about the guy he's dating.

With that, today we start a series of quotes from famous world-known writers. And, we begin with the Czech writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924), whom I'm amazed to see that I've actually outlived him, as he died in his very early forties.

Kafka is well-known for penning "The Trial" (1925); here is his quote:

"A book should be an axe, to break the frozen sea within us."

http://www.clevelnadbrowns.com

http://www.theonion.com

Image of the Day/Week-Vanilla Latte

Today, we feature an image of something we all love at the office here in Oshkosh, Wisc., (not really where we are at), and that is the vanilla latte. We usually prefer the hot vanilla lattes when the weather is cold or in the morning, and conversely the cold version goes better when the weather is hot or in the afternoon.

A great place to have either version of the beverage for those in the Tarheel State is the Green Bean in downtown Greensboro, NC, an independent coffee shop, which actually has its own blog! (www.thegreenbeancoffeehouse.blogspot.com).

SIDEBAR: We just adored this story in today's edition of "The Onion," a satirical fake news publication which once got in trouble for a story that said American women's Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson from Des Moines, Iowa,www.theonion.comwww.greensborobean.comwww.thegreenbeancoffeehouse.blogspot.com had died from complications due to a gymnastics accident. Of course, we should point out to anyone not reading this carefully, that Johnson is alive and well. Oh, back to what we were talking about; here is the headline: 'Human Feet Originally Used for Walking, Anthropologists Report' the story cites 'sources' from Oxford, England in its current 'story.'

Bonus Road Trip (7 of 10)- Columbia, Mo., to The Indepence Bowl

Since we originally started the Road Trip series back in the spring of this year, we set out to try and cover every state, including Alaska and Hawaii (for the Aloha State, we used a short drive on the island of Maui). And, we think got all the states except for possibly Missouri.

So, we are including the Show Me State here just to be 100-percent certain. Since we are sort of based in North Carolina, this may seem like high treason as the University of North Carolina Tarheels will face the Missouri Tigers for the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

This is actually an early bowl as it will be played on Monday, Dec. 26, at 5:00 p.m./Chapel Hill, NC, time.

For this entry, we chose two Mexican restaurants as our points of destination. La Siesta on North 9th Street in Columbia, Missori, the city where the Tigers are based, is the Mexican restaurant for Mizzou. And, for Shreveport, we have chosen Superior Grill, which also has three other restaurants in Louisiana and one in Alabama. In Sheveport, the restaurant can be found on Lime Avenue.

If you are in Chapel Hill, NC, we saw that our friends at the Turkish restaurant Tallula's on Franklin Street about 15 hours and 30 minutes from the Superior Grill in Shreveport, La.

But, we are looking for the distance between Columbia and Shreveport; and the answer is:

A) 9 hours, 45 minutes

B) 10 hours

C) 10 hours, 15 minutes

D) 10 hours, 30 minutes

E) 10 hours, 45 minutes

SIDEBAR ONE: Lots of books with very long titles are out these days, including this one we saw mentioned in "Rolling Stone" and later at a book retailer in Washington, DC: "Free Ride: How Digital Media Parasites Are Destroying the Cultural Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back" by Robert Levine, who is also a contributing editor to "Rolling Stone."

SIDEBAR TWO: We love headlines from the satirical news publication "The Onion," and this header from today's edition was as always quite funny and very dark: "(Detroit) Tigers Sign Jim Leyland Through His Death in 2012."

It should be pointed out that the legendary baseball manager Jim Leyland is alive and well; in fact, he turned 67 on Dec. 15th.

Sports Desk_ High School Football in Va and NC

For those hoping to see scores from games in Richmond, Va., or Charlotte, NC, I should point out that these scores are for games in the Roanoke, Va. region, and the Greensboro, NC region. Hmmmm....I sense we lost some sponsors in Mecklenburg County (where Charlotte is located), oh well!

For starters, it was not a good Friday night for the two high schools in my hometown of Salem, Va. My alma mater Glenvar High School lost on the road at Radford High School by a 21-14 score. The visiting Highlanders were up 14-0, but according to "The Roanoke Times," the home Bobcats were helped by when the team's quarterback Hunter Marshall put the 'Cats ahead for the remainder of the fourth quarter with a three-yard touchdown dive.

But, it was also a bad night for the Salem High School Spartans (pictured) as they faced the emerging powerhouse Christiansburg High School Blue Demons, a team that is now 8-0 on the season, on the road. The Demons pulled off a close 42-36 victory with two touchdown runs and TD passes from quarterback Brenden Motley. Though Marty Bishop of Salem rushed for 244 yards and five touchdowns despite the loss.

In other Roanoke action, the Northside High School Vikings edged out the William Byrd High School Terriers 21-20 thanks to outstnading play from Tyler Fisher. And, the Partick Henry Patriots won its homecoming game over the Halifax Count Comets, a team that had to put up with a two hour-plus bus ride back to South Boston, by a 41-0score.

In Greensboro, NC, the Page High School Pirates (yes, they are the reason why we posted an image of the Captain Crunch cereal) decked cross-town rivals Dudley HS 21-0 thanks to two touchdowns from Drew Rogers, according to "The News-Record."

And, the Western Guilford Hornets made the playoffs by upsetting the Southeast Guilford Falcons 20-10 while the East Forsyth Eagles topped the Northwest Guilford Vikings in a surprisingly easy 35-6 victory (given that both teams had similar records).

Here is the scoreboard:

Virginia

Radford 21 Glenvar 14
Christiansburg 42 Salem 36
Northside 21 William Byrd 20
Patrick Henry 41 Halifax County 0
Hidden Valley 13 Pulaski County 10
Franklin County 34 George Washington (Danville) 20
Martinsville 46 Bassett 34
Tunstall 21 Patrick County 13
James River 14 Parry McCluer 13

North Carolina

Page 21 Dudley 0
Western Guilford 20 Southeast Guilford 10
Northern Guilford 49 Morehead 8
East Forsyth 35 Northwest Guilford 6
Ragsdale 21 Glenn 0
Northeast Guilford 36 North Forsyth 26
Western Alamance 32 McMichael 21
Reidsville 42 Providence Gap 7
Eastern Alamance 16 Rockingham County 12

SIDEBAR: Yes, it can be quite challenging to know if the satire newspaper/news organization "The Onion," which now has weekly 'newscasts' on IFC here in the United States is actually being serious or taking things a bit too far.

Today, "The Onion" actually had the following headline: "Al Qaeda Also Fed Up with Ground Zero Construction Delays." Anyway, we are just relaying the news, or in this case, the fake news, not actually reporting it.

High School of the Week- Daniel Boone HS in Gray, Tennessee

We conclude our High School of the Week series today with a profile of Daniel Boone High School in Gray, Tennessee, near Johnson City, Tenn., where Eastern Tennessee State University is located.

The school nicknamed the Trailblazers won the 2010 Tennessee High School Women's Softball Championship in Murfreesboro; the team had a 41-9 record.

Daniel Boone HS has an enrollment of 1,300 students. The school principal is Roger Jackson. On Monday, the school serves a choice of a fresh deli sandwich (ham or turkey) or a turkey corn dog...........hmm?!

This reminds me an entry in the "Things We Learned on Twitter" today series we had here a few months ago about a San Francisco restaurant that was serving lobster corn dogs!

There is also a Daniel Boone HS in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.

SIDEBAR: The BBC had a somber story about a zoo fire in Karlsrule, Germany, that killed 26 animals, including Shetland ponies, sheep, goats and a llama.

SIDEBAR TWO: On a lighter note, the satirical publication "The Onion" is 'reporting' that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is feeling confident enough to do something terrible again. Vick, as everyone probably knows, is a convicted felon who bred pit bulls for the sole purpose of raising them to engage in dog fighting. Vick is an alumnus of Virginia Tech which is playing a big ACC game on the road against UNC today, kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. eastern time. Paul the Octopus is apparently picking the Hokies (that is a joke!)

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- One in Five Americans Think Obama is a Cactus

According to a hilarious tweet from the satire 'news organization' "The Onion," one in five Americans now thinks President Barack Obama is a cactus.

"The Onion" further 'reported' that these fringe folks think it's possible that Obama was a water-retaining desert plant since the day he took office.

The 'news source' also said that there was a rise in those who say that either Obama was born a cactus or he became a cactus in his youth.

I wonder what the numbers were like in Mesa, Arizona.