Highlights from the Bucket List: Going to L.A. Anyone?

Yes, we actually made a bucket list this week! We're not sure if that was a good idea or not, but here are some of the highlights. Overall, there were 100 items on the list!:

1. Take an Amtrak train from Clifton Forge, Va., to Los Angeles (an Amtrak station in Hinton, WVa, is pictured on top)

2. Look into going to Costa Rica

3. Read "Infinite Jest" by Daniel Foster Wallace (the novel 1,076 pages long)

4. Go see a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC

5. Go to the village in Bolivia where Che Guevara was assasinated

6. Write a second screenplay (we wrote one, it has NOT been made into a film)

7. Go to the Hot Dog Festival in Huntington, W.Va

8. See an opera at the New York Met

9. Get a Frank Zappa record

10. Read Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace"

http://www.amtrak.com/home 

http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/home.asp?ididioma=2 

http://www.fordstheatre.org/ 

http://www.visitbolivia.org/ 

http://www.wvvisit.org/index_pc.php

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/index.aspx?

http://www.zappa.com/ (awesome web site!)

The Twitter Feed- Cong. Anthony Weiner is a Weiner!

Since this is a fairly partisan Democrat Party supporting blog, it come as a surprise to some of you that I am going to call Cong. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) a 'weiner,' but that is exactly what we are going to do!

Cong. Weiner called Turkey, my late father's country, a 'former ally' in a press conference today according to Twitter feed from a Washington DC news group.

The remarks came just days after Israel made a highly controversial commando attack on the Turkish ship Marmara in international waters off the coast of Israel as they were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

But, so it is clear that we are singling out Cong. Weiner, who was one of the leading proponents of health care reform (which we fully support), it has also been reported that House Minority Whip Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), another weiner who also happens to be a radical Zionist, is asking President Barack Obama to ensure that the United Nations takes no action to condemn Israel.

In other unique things I discovered through Twitter today, "The L.A. Weekly" has reported that Asian-American porn star Herbert Wong, aka Tom Dong, 30, was killed in a samurai sword-style attack in Van Nuys, Calif. The main suspect is another adult film actor Steven Hill, aka Steven Driver, 30. We couldn't have made this stuff up!

In our nation's capital, there was a collision between two dump trucks on I-295, the main corridor through Washington, DC, according to WashDCNews. Two people were taken to a nearby hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.

And, Cantos Booksellers, one of the leading independent bookstores in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., has closed its doors according to RoanokeNews. The store was located downtown right across the street from (well, we can't resist) The Roanoke Weiner Stand.

Roanoke's Texas Tavern Turns 80!

Amazingly enough, even though Roanoke, Va., is my hometown, and I have walked by the Texas Tavern at least 120 times, I have never actually been inside the landmark establishment--- not even to try their famous chilli!

The restaurant, located on 114 Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke, celebrated its 80th anniversary on Feb. 13. The restaurant was founded on that day in 1930 by Isaac Newton Bullington, who once worked for Ringling Bros-Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Bullington took a chile recipe from a San Antonio hotel, and diners have been steadily coming in ever since.

According to the Texas Tavern's web site, celebrities who have stopped have included The Three Stooges and Glen Miller.

The Texas Tavern is known as "The Millionaires' Club" by locals which is a bit ironic since the food is quite inexpensive. Hamburgers and hot dogs both sell for $1.25 and a pint of chilli goes for $3.25 while a sausage sandwcih goes for $1.10.

There was another Texas Tavern in Lynchburg, Va., but it became difficult for the Bullington family to manage both of them.

Today, the restaurant is run by Matt Bullington, the fourth-generation owner of the diner.

His father and previous owner Jim Bullington told "The Roanoke Star-Sentinel" that as was the case in the 1930s, The Texas Tavern's cheap prices allow folks to eat out even during a bad recession.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Hot Dogs

For those who care, the dogs in this photo are reportedly named Stella and Henry. I wonder if one of them bites?!