Image to Fill Space- Woman in White Bikini

It's come to our attention that the only three people reading this blog are a Winthrop  Univeristy college student in Rock Hill, SC, a Turkish taxi driver in Baltimore (orginally from Eskisehir, if you're Turkish you might get the joke) and a house wife in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Hopefully, this blog entry which might remind one of Acapulco, Mexico, might change all that.

We expect this particular entry will be popular in Latvia, Pakistan and Dubai!

This and That_ We Will Be Back

As I'm sure any blogger will tell ya', there are times when one simply must post an entry even if there is very little to say.............this is one of those very moments!

Tweets from DNC in Charlotte_ An Empty Chair for bin Laden

Today, we continue logging tweets from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) which officially gets underway tomorrow in Charlotte, NC, but many meet and greet events, including delegation breakfast talks, have started up.

"The Washington Post" is focusing on Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland (pictured top) as he is one of the most -coveted speakers at the convention. Former Virginia governor Tim Kaine, who is running for an open U.S. senate seat, will also speak in Charlotte. Just so there is no confusion, O"Malley is not the governor of North Carolina, that distinction belongs to Gov. Beverly Perdue, also a Democrat, who is stepping down this year at the end of her term.

We are also using a coffee cup from the Turkish coffee Kahve Dunyasi (Coffee World) since many progressives have started the Coffee Party in opposition to the far right Tea Party movement, which has actually propelled fringe candidates, such as Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), into congressional representatives!

Here is a look at some of the tweets from last night, from the right, the left and the center:

1) @theobserver (Charlotte Observer): Was that George Clooney jogging down Tryon Street?

2) @DavidCornDC (David Corn, a liberal journalist with "Mother Jones"): Even Clint Eastwood said we were halfway through a comeback! That is, before he began his career as a performance activist.

3) @reason ("Reason" is a libertarian magazine): Charlotte protests already bigger than in Tampa.

4) @KyDems (Kentucky Democratic Party): Ky Democrats starting to arrive in Charlotte. KDP is finishing convention walk through.

5) @ChrisRockoz (We thought this was the real Chris Rock, but it appears to be an impersonator. Nevertheless, it is very amusing): Democrats should have an empty chair for the entire DNC and when someone asks who it belongs to, they can say Osama bin Laden.

6) @StephenFHayes (Stephen F. Hayes, a columnist for the conservative publication "The Weekly Standard"): Advice to all in #Charlotte. Avoid the Orange Cab company. An hour late for pickup. Told four times cab was 'five minutes' away.

7) @BarryHouse (Barry House is a liberal activist in Illinois): I wish just once #Democrats would be as vicious at their convention as #Republicans always are at theirs.


http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.kydemocrat.com

http://www.reason.com

http://www.weeklystandard.com

http://www.ncdp.org

http://www.mddems.org

http://www.charlotteobserver.com

Status Update_ Someone from E-Harmony Must Read Our Blog

Status Update for 1/26: "Wow! Someone from E-Harmony might actually be reading our blog because I was matched with an Asian girl today!"

Amazingly enough, after saying that I would like to see E-Harmony match me with an Asian girl, and a few hours later, that's exactly what happened.

Since local newspapers appear to be waging an uphill battle against new media, we thought we'd mention a couple of good small town newspapers.

For starters, there is "The Carrboro Citizen" in Carrboro, NC, which adjoins Chapel Hill at the Flying Pig at the Crook's Corner restaurant (if you've been to Chapel Hill, you'll get the joke).

Their headline story this week is that Benjamin Charis told a gathering at the First Baptist Church in Chapel Hill to be renew efforts to remember Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy. Personally, I consider "The Carrboro Citizen" to be the best community newspaper in the Tarheel State.

As for my alma mater "The Salem Times-Register" in Salem, Va. (I worked there as a reporter from 1996-97), one of the stories on their web sites is that Cynthia Munley (who happens to be a personal friend) got her husband Frank Munley, a professor at Roanoke College, a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr., marching from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., as done by artist Adam Reinhard.

In international news, we learned (from the radio actually) that a 32-year-old woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, attempted suicide by jumping from the 23rd floor of her hotel only to collide with an incoming taxi which broke her fall and ironically saved her life. Of course, she is now 'in hospital' (as the Brits say) recovering from her injuries.

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."

Bonus Silly Photo to Fill Space- Ayran

Today, we feature ayran, the yogurt milk beverage that is very popular in my late father's country Turkey. An Istanbul taxi driver named Atilla Kalkan gave me the recipe back in 2008. Alas, efforts to find him on Facebook failed (though there are a lot of Atilla Kalkans out there!).

One can find ayran at Harmony Market in Cary, NC (Raleigh, Phone: 1-919-380-0077) along with other Turkish food items with the noteable exception of raki (the Turkish version of the greek spirit ouzo) as they do not have an ABC license.

For our friends in Georgia, ayran should be available at Bereket Turkish Grocery in Atlanta (phone: 770-613-9950), where one can also get a Cola Turka...a Turkish cola beverage which once featured commercials with Chevy Chase! (Yes, that is true).

One can not find ayran at Texas Tavern in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., though it can be found (if you ask) at Arzu International, which is also downtown. So, if you are inclined to have a cheesy western at Texas Tavern for breakfast (a scarmbled egg sandwich with a hamburger pattie and cheese, ask your doctor before eating!) and Izmir kofte (lamb dish which unlike cheesy westerns does NOT cause heart attacks) for lunch at Arzu then the Star City is the place to be!

NOTE: Ayran was one of the items listed on my Christmas wish list. Of course, this is ironic because Turkey is a Muslim country and I actually prefer Festivus over all religious holidays. The beverage can also be purchased online in the United States (and perhaps Canada) from tulumba.com in New York.

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Taxi Cab Driver

If one googles the term 'taxi driver,' they will get one thousand references to a certain 1975 movie with Robert DeNiro. But, being a taxi cab driver can also be a rewarding summer job with lots of good tips, well unless you're working in rural Kentucky.

But, perhaps, Altoona, Pa., is a better place to drive a cab than Harlan, Ky. (asuming they have taxi service there in Appalachia). One with such inclinations may want to visit A1 Altoona Taxi on East 6th Avenue (assuming they're hiring).

We will continue to focus on summer jobs for next week's Silly Picture to Fill Space entry, but we will shift our focus from Altoona to any community somewhere in the eastern part of les etats unis.

Akron, Ohio, Trenton, NJ, Winston-Salem, NC, and Portland, Maine, are among the zip codes in the running. Perhaps, one of their mayors can send me a message on Facebook. We are based in NC, but does not guarantee that Krispy Kreme-town (as we like to call Winston-Salem which is also nicknamed Camel City) will get the bid!

SIDEBAR: Best wishes to Carley Schlentz, 13, of Greensboro, NC, who was bitten by a shark while vacationing with her family in Topsail Island, near Wilmington, NC, over the weekend. She had to have 60 stiches on her foot!

PSA- Please Don't Drink and Drive

With New Year's Eve coming tomorrow night, I thought I'd post an entry devoted to available taxi services in the region.

On my sister blog "The Daily Vampire," we profiled available taxi services in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. Here, we post services in North Carolina as well as Myrtle Beach, SC.

The photos in this entry are from taxis in Berlin, Germany, and Mumbai, India.

Regardless of where you are, I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's Eve/Day.

North Carolina

Greensboro
Blue Bird Taxi
336-272-5112
bluebirdtaxigreensboro.com

Winston-Salem
Lott's Taxi
336-727-7710

Durham
Durham's Best Cab
919-680-3330
durhamtaxi.com

Raleigh
Raleigh Taxi Cab
919-414-6865
raleightaxicab.com

Cardinal Cab
919-828-3228
cardinalcab.com

Charlotte
Crown Airport Taxi
704-334-6666
crowncabinc.com


Myrtle Beach, SC
Anchor Taxi
843-444-0101
anchortaxi.com

Quote of the Week- Mike Royko

Lately, we have been posting quotes from famous people associated with large American cities.

Today, we go with a quote from famous Chicagoan Mike Royko (1932-1997) who was the Windy City's most famous journalist:

"When I asked him how long he had been driving a taxi, he said. Dree mouse."

Note: The cabs in this photo are actually from New York!