20-Word Fiction: A Real-Life John Hughes Movie

Greetings to our blog readers in Spain, Brazil and Japan............

Today's second 20-word fiction story imagines what a real-life Ferris Bueller would do on his day off if he lived in Roanoke, Va., as opposed to Chicago. This year marks the 30th anniversary of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," a film from the late John Hughes which stars Matthew Broderick.

Originally this story had Ferris going to the Mill Mountain Zoo where he fed a pygmy goat, but with a mere 20 words that part had to be omitted, though we feature a photo of that kind of goat here.

We also support the Sleepy Goat farm in Pelham, NC, just over the state line from Danville, Va., their goat cheese is awesome! In the We Caught It department, we originally said the goat farm was in Yanceville, NC, another town in Caswell Country (not that it matters as we are not "Atlantic" magazine!):

"Ferris decided to skip class on Thursday, but he quickly realized Roanoke is not an exciting place during the week."

http://www.mmzoo.org/

http://www.sleepygoatfarm.com/

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Retro Baseball Opening Day Tweets (from one week ago): Will the Fish Make It....

Yes, for those of you who follow baseball here in the United States and in Canada, recognize that these images are meant for: 1) The Miami Marlins; 2) The Baltimore Orioles; and 3) The Detroit Tigers. We lost track of who was winning these games at time, but the tweets paint an interesting picture of the excitement from one week ago today (yes, we were hoping to post these tweets last week.........oh well!):

1) DodgerzGM (who is not really the Los Angeles Dodgers' general manager): "Happy Opening Day! Also the Miami Marlins have been eliminated from playoff contention."

2) Ryan Wagoner: "I can't really focus on my Washington Nationals until after the Final Four weekend. Go Gnats, regardless! Happy Opening Day!"

3) Dave Cutter: "Crazy hail and wind in Boston. Might not be baseball weather in Boston, but it's beautiful here in Baltimore."

4) Wendy Trum: "No matter where we live or who we love or we vote for, we have baseball. Together, we have baseball! Happy Opening Day!"

5) RedEye Chicago: "Chicago Cubs baseball is on the air on WGN 720! Happy Opening Day, Cubs fans!"

6) Cincinnati Zoo: "Opening Day! We are ready for the Reds parade!" (Alas, that day the zoo also had a tragedy as Suci, the zoo's beloved rhino, had died either on Monday or over the weekend).

7) Brad Miller (not the basketball player of former NC Congressman): "Baseball is back!! A healthy year for all! Happy Felix Day and Go M's!" (he is a Seattle Mariners fan).

8) Only in Texas: "It's just about Baseball Time in Arlington! Love Opening Day at the Ball Park! (For those of you in Hong Kong, former president George W. Bush owned the Texas Rangers before entering politics; we wish he had won the pennant!.....That's what we call a back-handed compliment!)

9) Chris Morgan: "The Saint Louis Cardinals begin their quest for world domination today. Sorry, Braves fans. This isn't your year- nor is it ever!"


http://www.baseballamerica.com/

http://espn.go.com/mlb/

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb

http://cincinnatizoo.org/

Greetings from Mister Frog

Yes, even though we know frogs are amphibians instead of reptiles, we are stubbornly featuring them as part of Reptile Week because every frog deserves his or her day.

The frog being featured here is the American bullfrog, which is usually green or yellow with a white belly. It can be found quite readily in southern states, such as Louisiana. We would give a shout out to Louisiana's governor Bobby Jindal, but we don't want to be mistaken for a Republican although Jindal did have the guts to criticize Mitt Romney for his sour grapes speech to major campaign contributors regarding his well-deserved loss to President Barack Obama.

Apparently, the difference between amphibians and reptiles are that amphibians are born as soft eggs in water then hatch into eggs whereas reptiles are born in shelled eggs. Zzzzzzzzz.........sorry, thought I was back in my 10th biology class at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, NC, a suburb of Greensboro.*

Reptiles and amphibians can be seen at the San Diego Zoo though at the moment, it appears that a giant panda cub who was formally named "Little Grit" on Tuesday (the cub was born over the summer) is the latest animal celebrity at the park.

SIDEBAR: In ACC women's college volleyball action tonight, the home team Clemson Tigers won a tough 3-2 game (25-21, 16-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-12) over the visiting Duke Blue Devils on Senior Night. Serenat Yaz, a Turkish player for the Tigers who wears number one, was among the four seniors who were honored for Senior Night. Yaz had 13 kills and 13 digs for Clemson. Moneisha Simmons, a junior from Bufford, Georgia, contributed with 14 kills and 7 digs in the victory for the home team.

Here are other results from ACC volleyball games from Friday night; the home teams are marked with the # symbol:

#Georgia Tech 3 Wake Forest 0

# UNC 3 Virginia Tech 0 (more details on this are available on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire:" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com ).

#Maimi (Fla) 3 Boston College 0

#Florida State 3 Maryland 0

#North Carolina State 3 UVa 0

http://www.louisianatravel.com

http://www.coolamphibians.blogspot.com

http://www.sandiegozoo.org

http://www.clemsontigers.com

http://www.ragsdalemarchingband.org

*- We did not go to Ragsdale High School, but we hear that they have a great marching band!

Double Bonus Picture to Fill Space-Van Cat

Some people are stunned when I tell them that I once went to a zoo in Ankara, Turkey, and they had Van cats on display; the white cats which sometimes have red eyes are named for the city of Van in far-southeastern Turkey near the Iranian border.

For those residing in Columbus, Ohio, Cat Welfare of Ohio is hosting a Feline Wine and Dine at the Worthington Hills County Club on May 5. For more info, one can call (614) 268-6096.