Pre-Election Day Tweets_Should Election Day Be a Holiday?

Before we begin, let's congratulate Marsha Line, the 2012 Cave Spring High School (Roanoke, Va.) homecoming queen; we presume that even though my home state is a swing state which reportedly the closest one in the country, along with perhaps Colorado, that neither President Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney has sought out her endorsement.

The 9th district of southwest Virginia has a fairly interesting Congressional race between Cong. Morgan Griffith (R), who is from Salem, Va., and his opponent Anthony Flaccavento, a successful organic farmer from Abingdon, Va., which is 2.5 hours from Salem and 7 hours from Washington, DC.

Coal has been one of the hot topics in the race in which Griffith is favored as coal miners, normally reliable Democratic voters, have been voting more Republican because of cultural issues and fears of environmental regulations, though climate change/global warming was the issue which made New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the most recognized political independent endorse Obama.

We have tweets from both candidates in this final round-up of Pre-Election Day tweets, taken from last night:

1) @Slate (Slate.com): "Latest polls show President Obama ahead of Mitt Romney in Ohio and Florida."

2) @CNNPolitics (CNN Politics): "Washington Redskins lose, San Francisco Giants win, election still unclear."

3) @lmcnelly (Lucas McNelly, a liberal activist): "I'm spending way too much time cursing at Republican attack ads."

4) @afor9th (Anthony Flaccavento, pictured bottom): "Thought telling truth and standing up for working people would rally folks. And it has. #Flaccavento in Wise County."

5) @MorganGriffith (Morgan Griffith, pictured top): "At the Dickenson County GOP Dinner. We've made over 40 stops and traveled more than 3,000 miles. Two days to go." (John McCain narrowly won the far southwestern Virginia county over Obama in 2008 according to "The Roanoke Times").

6) @CrowleyTime (Michael Crowley, a reporter for "Time" who previously worked for "The New Republic"): "Even weirder if Mark Warner hadn't bailed out in '08, Obama would likely be in the Senate or making first WH bid now." (Comment is in reference to Virginia's Democratic Senator Mark Warner).

7) @DavidFrum (David Frum, a center-right pundit and former George W. Bush speech writer): "Why isn't election day a national holiday?/Aka The Nightmare Before Christmas." (This is why we have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree image)

8) @NeilDiamond (Neil Diamond, the one and only iconic singer): "Working the phones for Obama. If I call you, don't hang up, it's me and I need you."

http://www.flaccaventoforthe9th.com

http://www.morgangriffithforcongress.com

The Rabbit Ears Test (8 of 12)_ "Flipper"

Today, we go way back, for our subject as "Flipper" first aired on NBC on Sept. 19, 1964. It was one of American tv shows I saw as a child while living in Turkey from 1977-79 on the TRT. It still seems ironic and amazing today that if you have satellite television you can watch Mexican wrestling matches (Lucha Libre), the new version of "Doctor Who" or an old Gary Cooper movie like "Pride of the Yankees" at any given juncture as there are over 300 channels on any given satellite provider.

But, in those days in Turkey, it was just the TRT and it consisted of one channel which aired at night during the week and during the day on weekends.

In Turkey, "Flipper" aired on Saturday mornings, and it was very popular, especially with children. Interesting enough, the TRT also aired a French documentary series by the late underwater filmmaker Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997) on Saturday afternoons.

The actual dolphin Flipper on the show was a bottlenose dolphin who belonged to a widowed father Porter Ricks, played by the late Brian Kelly (1931-2005), and his young boys Sandy, played by Luke Halping, now 64, and Bud, played by Tommy Norden, now 59.

Flipper was played at various times by at least five mostly female dolphins over the show's three-season run, including Mitzi, Little Bit, Suzy and Kathy. The dolphins were trained by Ric O'Berry, who later became a marine animal activist.

Ironically, in more recent years, "Flipper" generated some controversy when O'Berry stated that Kathy had committed suicide by drowning herself.

"Flipper" became a 1995 tv series and a 1996 feature film with Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood (both were also named "Flipper").

The original show's catchy theme song was written by Henry Vars and By Dunham.

Today, we ask, how many episodes were made of the original "Flipper"?

Is the answer:

A) 82

B) 86

C) 88

D) 90

Casualties of Modern Technology_ The Clothes Line (4 of 12)

While recently driving through West Virginia, I noticed that many residents of a small town near the state capital of Charleston (I think it was Cabin Creek, WVa., also the hometown of NBA legend Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers) were actually still using clothes lines. This is not something you see very often here in America. But, some environmentalists are encouraging a comeback for the clothes line since it doesn't consume any energy, unlike dryers.

Wikipedia describes a clothes line, not to be confused with the same term in the fashion industry, as 'any type of rope, cord, or twine stretched above the level of a ground. In earlier times, and still perhaps in cities like Venice, Istanbul and Cairo, one may well see clothes lines hovering over balconies as well.

There ia actually a company in Maine called The Clothesline Shop (clotheslineshop.com) which specializing in selling clothes line accesories, including pegs and pins to hold the clothes together.

Another advantage of the clothes line is that it allows clothing to be dried without chemicals. But, the process of using a clothes line is time-consuming and it comes with the risk of vandalism and theft, not to be mention Mother Nature. Yes, we imagine that rain and wind can totally screw the process up!

Know Your Mayors (15 of 21)- Sam Adams of Portland, Ore.

Twitter has introduced to a lot of people I wasn't fully aware in the arenas of politics, government, pop culture and pro sports.

One of the more unique figures I've come across is Portland, Ore.'s mayor Sam Adams,46, who was the first openly gay mayor elected to one of America's 30 largest cities when he was elected in November of 2008 (Houston recently elected a lesbian to become its mayor). Adams was sworn into office on Jan 1st of this year.

Even in a more progressive state like Oregon, Adams has seen political problems stemming from his sexual orientation mainly because of a scandal which erupted when admitted to having a sexual relationship with a young intern for Republican state legislator Kim Thatcher. Adams had first denied the allegations which came about through an article in the Portland alt weekly "Willamette Week."

An investigation was opened by state attorney general John Kroger (D)but later dropped due to a lack of credible evidence. Gay columnist Dan Savage (not to be confused with far right talk show host Mike Savage) said he was outraged by the attacks against Adams which he saw as a clear act of homophobia.

Adams is mostly known for being one of America's most vocal environmental mayors and while in office Adams has emphasized measures to reduce the city's carbon dioxide emissions. He has also tweeted extensively about developments at the very recent international climate control conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The mayor has also supported new regulations for horse-drawn carriages in the city after a horse died in downtown Portland in August. Adams switched political positions by opposing a $4 billion, twelve lane replacement for a freeway bridge over I-5.

Adams gained political recognition as a grassroots activist. He campaigned with Peter DeFazio, who ran for Congress in 1986. DeFazio remains a member of the Oregon delegation in Congress.

Adams was born in Whitehall, Mont. His domestic partner is Peter Zuckerman, a former journalist with Portland's main newspaper "The Oregonian."