Top Ten Comic Strips from the Sunday Washington Post: The Post-Mother's Day Hangover

Greetings to our blog readers in Algeria, Sweden and the Czech Republic.....


Today, we post our top ten favorite comic strips from today's "Washington Post" which includes a little kid losing a battle with the printer from hell ("Lio"), a kid demanding macaroni and cheese at all costs ("Candorville"), and a stubborn Obi Wan Kenobi (pict. bottom) holding out on the clarinet in an orchestra with other "Star Wars" characters ("The Argyle Sweater"). Perhaps, Benny Goodman, the late clarinetist from yesteryear would be proud.

Other highlights included a millennial female deciding to wear yoga pants for all occasions ("Reply All"), a fabulous drawing of an octopus by James Allen ("Mark Trail") and Scott Santis taking a funny cheap shot at those of us who are progressive ("Prickly City"). The guy who does the right-wing comic strip "Mallard Fillmore" was perhaps quite amused.

Here is our top ten:

1. Candorville http://www.gocomics.com/candorville

2. Lio http://www.gocomics.com/lio

3. The Argyle Sweater

4. Reply All http://www.gocomics.com/replyall

5. Mark Trail

6. Speed Bump

7. Pearls Before Swine

8. WuMo

9. Prickly City

10. Sherman's Lagoon

http://www.washingtonpost.com/comics

http://www.denverpost.com/comics

When It's 8:00 p.m. in New York, It's (now) 8:00 p.m. in Athens (until March 30th)

Yes, for all we know, the sushi pictured on the bottom might well be from a shopping mall food court in Fort Worth, Texas, as opposed to an authentic Japanese sushi eatery in Tokyo, but we need to get this entry up so we can watch the exciting clash of the NBA titans tonight as the Washington Wizards battle the Charlotte Bobcats (forgive the American sports humor!).

On Sunday morning, there was a one hour 'spring forward' across North America, and most of us Americans and our Canadian friends are still recovering from it.

Here are the times around the world which will be in effect when it becomes 8:00 p.m. here in the Eastern time zone, which includes the American cities of New York, Boston, Detroit, Washington D.C, Atlanta and Orlando and the Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal:

1) Athens 2:00 a.m. (same time as Istanbul)

2) Berlin 1:00 a.m. (pictured middle)

3) Houston/St.Louis 7:00 p.m.

4) Rio de Janeiro 9:00 p.m.

5) Tokyo 9:00 a.m.

6) Dubai (pictured top) 4:00 a.m.

7) Honolulu 2:00 p.m.

8) Tel Aviv 2:00 a.m.

9) Beijing 8:00 a.m.

10) Warsaw 1:00 a.m.

11) Seattle 5:00 p.m.

12) Tunis 1:00 a.m.

http://www.dubaitourism.ae/

http://www.visitberlin.de/en

https://www.gotokyo.org/en/

http://www.visitseattle.org/Home.aspx

7 Words in Norwegian (7 of 7): Shrimp

Today, we conclude our 7 Words in Norwegian series with the word for shrimp.

Greetings to our blog visitors from Denmark, Egypt and Greece. Since I'm half-Turkish, I should point that Turkish shrimp is much better than Greek shrimp (forgive the ethnic humor).

We gather that Key West, Florida, which is a city that Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett made famous, is a good place in America to dine on shrimp.

So, here is the answer.........

shrimp=reker

(I don't actually speak Norwegian, but Google and Bing have been a great help to us).

For the Turkish word for shrimp, check out our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" and the 7 Words in Turkish series: http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

http://www.margaritaville.com (Jimmy Buffett's web site).

7 Words in Norwegian (6 of 7): Oysters

In this case, the Norwegian word for oysters is virtually the same word in English; it is OSTERS.

Greetings to our blog-readers in Afghanistan, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

And, we wish everyone here in America, a happy Labor Day weekend.

Bonus Road Trip- Theatre to Theatre

Since Washington, DC, like many places on the east coast, ranging from Myrtle Beach, SC, to Chapel Hill, NC, to Norfolk, Va, to.......well, you get the idea, is expecting massive chaos and flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Irene, it may be good to think about fleeing town.

Mike Madden of (Washington) "City Paper" blogged earlier tonight that an eastward shift in Hurricane Irene's path may help the nation's capital miss some 'real ugliness.'

So, we thought we'd compare the distances between two very historic theatres, the Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, and the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va., relatively close to the Tenneesee border- just in case anyone still really wants to leave the DC-metro area, and perhaps that would include members of Congress.

The drive which passes through towns like Front Royal, Mount Jackson, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Roanoke and Radford will take awhile even though no state line will be crossed after one leaves Washington, DC, and enters the Virginia suburb of Arlington.

The Barter Theatre, which started in 1933, has seen actors like the late Gregory Peck grace its stages. Currently, the Barter is producing several plays, including "Elvis Has Left the Building," which deals with Col. Tom Parker's frantic mission to find Elvis Presley in time for a major concert in 1970.

Meanwhile, the Ford's Theatre, which is best known for being the place where President Abraham Lincoln was assasinated by John Wilkes Booth, prompting the following quip from comedian/author Sarah Vowell: "No one really goes to the Ford's Theatre to actually see a play," is going to be performing an interesting musical called "Parade" from Sept. 23- Oct. 30.

Though the play is a musical, the subject of "Parade" is a very serious one as it depicts the trial and eventual hanging of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Atlanta in the early 20th century, who was accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl named Mary Phagan. It is now generally believed that Frank was wrongfully convicted and executed for the crime.

So, our question is just how far apart these two zip codes are.

Is the answer:

A) 4 hours, 15 minutes

B) 4 hours, 45 minutes

C) 5 hours, 15 minutes

D) 5 hours, 45 minutes

Alas, Hurricane Irene is devastating the communities of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, my state of residency, and my thoughts are with everyone in that area.

SIDEBAR: Even before we remembered that liberal turned neocon playwright David Mamet ("Oleanna/"American Buffalo") penned a roman a clef about Leo Frank entitled "The Old Religion" (1997), we were going to mention him because of his new memoir "The Secret Knowledge."

In this new book, Mamet apparently discusses the reasons which resulted in his radical political shift, which include disillusionment with labor unions and his partisan support for Israel.

Mamet's novel about Frank is told from the condemned man's point of view, and it is a work which illustrates the role of race, ethnicity and religion in America.

One has to wonder if there are any similarities between the new Mamet and the old Mamet, which was brought forth brilliantly by "The Village Voice" blogger Rosie Gray regarding a "Financial Times" piece in which Mamet talked about his Noam Chomsky to Ayn Rand conversion and the art of playwrighting.

Gray said that it was amusing to read that Mamet is an admirer of Sarah Palin, a person which one would think might make a convert revert to his old political orthodoxy. She added that everyone needed to remember that Mamet was no longer 'a brain-dead liberal' (his own words).

But, the blogger pointed out that during his interview with FT, Mamet had a meal which consisted of a 'very liberal' salad with balgamic vinaigernee. The playwright/essayist/filmmaker also resides in Vermont part-time; it is considered to be the most liberal state in the union?!

Teaser: New Miniblogseries Coming Soon...

I don't want to give away too many details quite yet, but starting around Sept. 1st, I am hoping to post a new mini-series called "The Backpackers Are in Front of BestBuy" regarding my recent quest to find and photograph all seven public sculptures/works of art in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., which are part of a city-wide art project. (More info can be found at artinroanoke.com)

There were some misadventures and mistakes along the way, and the reason why I am going to title the mini-series "The Backpackers Are in Front of BestBuy" is because a sculpture piece called "Traveling Wanderers" by Willis, Va. (near Floyd, Va.), artist Charlie Brouwer shows two backpackers. The art piece is actually located in the vicinity of the very busy Valley View Mall shopping area. And, in fact, one person told me that phrase as I was trying to locate the sculpture.

SIDEBAR: Last week, Chef Ludo Lefebrve hunted a buffalo down in rural Colorado and served it for dinner at Biker Jim's in downtown Denver for the Sundance Channel series "Ludo Bites America." This week, the reality show came to our neck of the woods as the chef went all over the Tarheel State (including a legal moonshine still in Madinson, NC- yes, I know that's an oxy moron) to fix a pigfest at Gravy Restaurant on Wilmington Street in the heart of downtown Raleigh. Among the items, Ludo served up were: fried pig ears and pigblood pudding (yes, we were wondering if that was a dessert item too).

Ironically, this episode is running during Ramadan. Since my late father Mehmet Gokbudak came from Turkey, I should mention that there are several good Turkish restaurants in Raleigh.

None of these restaurants serve pork (and, if I have to tell you why, then perhaps that explains why Republican candidate Rick Perry is turning to global warming denialism), and this would include The Bosphorous Restaurant in Cary, NC- Raleigh's largest suburb. They have a great chicken kebab by the way!

SIDEBAR TWO: We also want to wish kudos to Lewisburg, WV, for being named the 'coolest small town in America' by "Budget Travel" magazine. The tows in some 90 miles north of Roanoke, Va.

Oh yeah....so much for the proposed hiatus!

Quote of the Day- James Baldwin

During this month of August, we will be quoting from famous literary and creative radicals on Mondays, or whenever we can.

Today, we start with the late great poet/novelist/playwright James Baldwin who was also a civil rights activist for blacks and gays.

The liberal journal "The Nation" recently published quotes from famous people who have contributed articles and columns to the magazine over its long history. And, it was from a July 11th, 1966 issue of "The Nation" in which Baldwin made this provocative comment:

"The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer."

SIDEBAR: We want to wish our Muslim friends a happy Ramadan season, an occasion which is alas soiled because of the political unrest in Syria which once again escalated on Monday. Many groups, such as the Divan Cultural Center, in Cary (Raleigh), NC, are holding special iftar dinners for the holiday.

If you are a Muslim living in the Washington, DC, area, (or just enjoy mutton) and you happen to have lots of capital wealth and enjoy very fine dinning, then we can recommend the Poste Brassiere at the Hotel Monaco on Eight Street, NW. According to "The Washingtonian" magazine, the restaurant offers roast lamb for $70. The restaurant also apparently requires a one-week in advance reservation.

Quote of the Day- Sinead O'Connor

Today, we are featuring quotes from famous people from Ireland, and today's quip comes from the always interesting and controversial figure who is singer Sinead O'Connor, who came to fame with her version of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U," which is written by Prince.

O'Connor battled breast cancer and in a 2009 blog entry on a breast cancer site, she said that she had lost six pounds after going through several rounds of chemotherapy.

The Irish singer, who is now 43, toured mostly European countries including Slovakia, Italy and Spain last summer in addition to an artistic trek through China.

These comments below were made in regards (we believe) right before a concert that she was to give in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1997, but things didn't go according to plan:

"I cannot put in danger the lives of my two children, my musicians, and my technicians, so I have decided to cancel this concert."

Speaking of controversy, the issue of where our food comes from will be broached again tonight.

The Current-tv series "Kill It! Cook It! Eat It!," which is a British show that airs at 10 p.m. New York time tonight focuses on the killing and eating of growse, a wild game bird.

Participants in the episode will either hunt and kill the bird, while others, like vegeterian contestants, debate the ethics of such a practice. They will gather in the Scottish Highlands during tonight's show for the growse hunt. The bird is apparently available in America as well, particulary in New England states such as Vermont.

Quotes from the Composers- Zoltan Kodaly

We conclude our Quotes from The Composers series with a quip from Hungarian master Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) who was also an educator, linguist and philosopher. Kodaly is perhaps best-known for his orchestral/opera "Hary Janos" (1926) which Wikipedia describes as 'a Hungarian folk opera.' It was first performed by the Royal Hungarian Opera House in Budapest that same year.

We love this quote, and in case, you were wondering the image above is of Hungarian goulash, which they might serve at the Mirabell Restaurant in Chicago, which is actually a German restaurant:

"The laws of morals and the laws of music are the same."

Classical music fans in Pittsburgh, Pa., can hear a performance of "Mozart's Symphony, Number 4" on Jan. 28 at 8:00 p.m., followed by another performance on Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m.

SIDEBAR: Since I am a Turkish-American, it may surprise a few folks that I am a huge fan of the Greek film composer Mikis Theodakris, who is alive and well (we hope!) at age 85. Theodakris is known for his legendary compostions to "Z" and "Zorba the Greek" and he also scored the 1973 Al Pacino drama "Serpico."

One can listen to WUVT-FM (90.7 Blacksburg, Va), the student-run college radio station of Virginia Tech, for Greek music from 11 a.m.-1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. A Turkish music show follows on the same station from 1:00-2:30 p.m. I co-hosted a Turkish music show on WUVT in 1994 and I was told that I played too much music from the late pop singer Baris Manco which proves it's impossible to make people happy!

DC Diary- No Need for a Taxi Tonight

Since I managed to seriously lost and meander around aimlessly through Northwest DC on Wednesday night, my family who was eagerly awaiting my impending arrival on Thursday night (day four of our excursion) was delighted to see me arrive at our home away from home at 10:04 p.m. that evening.

If things had gone exactly according to my sincerest desires, I would've been dancing at the Gogol Bordello concert that night at the 9:30 Club. But, the show was sold out, and assuredly if I had gone, I would have not come back to the temporary residency until circa 2:00 a.m.

So, I opted to see the Finnish film "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale," which is about how an archaeological expedition to Antarctica yields the discovery of a Santa Claus who has been frozen stiff for eons.

When I first heard about the film, I thought it might be a bit of a subversive take on Christmas, which I would not have objected to (I am a Festivus kind of a guy). But, in actuality, it is merely a quirky comedy that is perhaps just slightly more "A Christmas Story" than "Bad Santa" though the distinctive Scandinavian sense of humor which one can see in films like "The Kitchen Stories" (Norway) and "Together" (Sweden) would probably be lost on most American audiences.

So, as it was, since I got home in time, there was no need for the friendly Indian or Pakistani taxi driver who had bailed me out the night before!

SIDEBAR: We love this tweet from comic book artist/cartoonist Chris Eliopoulos, who is always a hoot: "My wife made lobster mac and cheese ensuring that I will die of a heart attack b4 I'm 50."

21 Words in Norwegian (18 of 21)

Soup


Sape


This is an actual Norwegian soup, which looks like it would tough to eat!