Dolly Parton....Mitt Romney's Running Mate?

For those half-dozen of you who come to this blog on a semi-regular basis, you may be wondering if there is any grand plan here. I think I will answer that concern by leap-frogging from sheep sacrifices to Dolly Parton.

As I was looking for some great quotes for my Facebook page, I decided to look at "The Film Yearbook 1984," which I got from the recently-closed Waldenbooks store at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke, Va., back during the Christmas of 1983. (The mall_ for those of you not residing in The Star City_is still open. In fact, it still has a K & W Cafeteria).

The book has a tremendous number of funny quotes from the likes of Paul Newman, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and the pride of Seierville, Tenn.

In her quote, Dolly Parton expressed her misgivings about a film whose subject matter was seemingly disclosed in its title_ "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."

Here is what she said, which is why I think she would be a perfect running mate for Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who carries on the Massachussetts political tradition of flip-flopping:

"It kind of embarrased me. I wouldn't recommend people take their kids to see it. I wouldn't say it's great family fun. I am upset about it. It was a big surprise," Parton said.

Parton has since moved on to other things, including building a lavish amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. She was also in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. And, as it turns out, she is soon embarking on a worldwide tour.

It begins on Feb. 28 at The Northup Auditorium in Minneapolis. And, for those of who wondering when and how you can see them, here are some other dates. She will be at The Opera House in Boston on March 5- one day after my 38th birthday!

Then, on March 7, she will be at Radio City Music Hall in New York_perhaps the mayor Michael Bloomberg will be there! She will be in the vicinity of the nation's capital when she performs at The Patriot Center in Farifax, Va., on March 11.

And, her last North American tour date (for the moment), will be at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta on March 12. Perhaps, she will sing "9 to 5." I did not get info on ticket prices, but I'm guessing they are cheaper than seats for Hannah Montana.

Those of you who are passionate Parton fans can visit her web site, which you probably already knew about:

http://www.dolly_online.com

While there, you can choose which one of Parton's bluegrass albums is your favorite. I'd vote for her 1999 release "The Grass is Blue," but I'm not sure if I've heard any tracks from it. Maybe, I have.

Alas, I did not get a chance to make a joke about the prominent feature which made Parton popular on the pinball circuit, nor did I talk about how we took a family trip out West which included a stop in Dollywood back in 1986.

But, I've got to call a friend to see if she might want to go Christmas shopping at Barnes and Noble. Oh.... I almost forgot! I gather that from time to time people living outside the USA actually visit this blog. So, if you live in Malmo, Sweden, you should rejoice because Parton is coming to your town too! Alas, she did manage to snub Roanoke and Greensboro. But, we can always hope that she'll come this way in 2009_ and bring lots of toys to the children of Whoville.

Tags: Dolly Parton, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Dollywood, Mitt Romney, Malmo Sweden

Everything You Wanted to Know About Sacrifical Lambs...

The actual title of this entry is "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sacrifical Lambs, But Were Afraid to Ask."

I am posting this entry in honor of Kurban Bayrami- the Turkish name for a Muslim holiday in which lambs are sacrficied and the meat is donated to the poor.

My good friend Volkan Ozdemir is with the Divan Cultural Center in Cary, NC (Raleigh), and they are hosting a feast for the occasion on Fri., Dec. 21, at 7 p.m.

I am not sure I can make the event as there are literally 100 things going on that evening in 'my two states' (Virginia and North Carolina)- some of which will be posted about right here! Of course, my biggest fear is that everything will cancel each other out, and I'll opt to stay home and watch Charlie Rose on PBS (Bill Clinton was on tonight- perhaps, it's time for tivo!).

I have an amusing story about Kurban Bayrami. When I was living in Turkey as a child in 1978, my late father Mehmet Gokbudak brought a sheep from a seller in the town of Kara Deniz (Black Sea) Eregli where we were living. He had brought the sheep for a sacrifice that was going to be held at my late grandmother Zekiye Gokbudak's house in Buyukada- which is off the coast of Istanbul.

I was not aware that the 'kuzu' (Turkish word for sheep) was going to be sacrficied. Having grown up in Salem, Va., I had no knowledge of the sacred rituals that were conducted in Moslem countries for the holiday. So, I made the sheep my pet! We drove four hours to the port of Bostanci (on the Asian side of Istanbul), and I was delighted to spend that time in the back seat of the family Volkswagen with my new pet. 

I also got to spend time with the sheep on the boat from Bostanci to Buyukada. In those days, the boat took a good 40 minutes (today it takes a mere 15). When we got to my grandmother's house, the sheep was tied outside underneath her stairs. I was horrified to see that the sheep had vanished the next morning.

My grandmother lied to me the next day and said that the sheep ran away. But, like the Santa Clause myth, I soon figured out what really happened. My mom said that my father felt guilty about the whole ordeal for years!

Personally, I have mixed feelings about sheep sacrifices. I saw one being performed on a street in Izmir, Turkey, and I thought the people involved should have shown more civil regard for those who might not want to see a ram being bludgoned to deathout in the open. I am sure representatives of the Turkish Tourism Bureau would agree!

But, on the other hand, it is a religious ritual that people have performed for thousands of years. And, the intention is a pure and nobel one.

I guess people should perform them in their own backyard, and hopefully, that is what is done in most cases.

And, like other religious holidays around the world, the occasion is one which is celebrated with lots of food and drink_well, in this case, ones without alcohol!

Turkish people are not the only ones celebrating the holiday.

I got an email from the Muslim cleric who conducted my late uncle Ilhan Gokbudak's funeral in Roanoke, Va. (Uncle Ilhan was living in Istanbul and he died in Brazil_ I need to write an essay- or better yet a memoir about that experience which happened in 2000).

Apparently, The Kufa Islamic Center which the Iraqi imam presides over will be getting their sacrificial sheep from a farmer in the rural community of Rocky Mount, Va, in Franklin County!

I just hope no 8-year-old boy got attached to any of them!

Useful Links:

http://www.divannc.org

PS_ Ironically, Rocky Mount, Va., is the hometown of Cong. Virgil Goode (R-Va) who made highly racist remarks about how Muslims shouldn't be allowed to immigrate to America. Like David Duke, Goode is not one who feels the need to apologize.

PPS (Dec. 16)_ Upon reading this entry, my sister who was around four-years-old in 1978 reminded me of a few little details about our sheep experience. The VW bug, which was the family car back then, was extremely tight in the backseat. Our father had brought it in Frankfurt, Germany_ of all places (if this is the right VW bug I'm thinking of). And, the sheep actually got quite sick on the journey! My sister also bonded with the sheep, which may have lead to my mother's request for a stay of execution. Alas, it was denied. 

Tags: Divan Cultural Center, Kurban Bayrami, Turkey, Istanbul, Salem Virginia, Rocky Mount Virginia, Congressman Virgil Goode, Raleigh North Carolina

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation at the Grandin (Roanoke, Va.)

Whew! It has been an insane week- to put it mildly.

I got late word that The Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va. will have a midnight screening of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" on Dec. 22....I am presuming that means Sat. night/Sun. morning.

Fortunately, Jason Garnett- the manager of the Grandin is a good friend of mine so he can confirm or clarify this.

http://www.grandintheatre.com

The movie stars Chevy Chase..........well, we all knew that.

For what it's worth, Leonard Maltin gives the film three stars, but then again he gave "Taxi Driver" a mere two....but, I think it's a fairly fun film. I didn't realize until just now that it came out in 1989! To think, I was 19-years-old back then. Alas, the late Imogene Coca- who played an annoying relative in "National Lampoon's Vacation" is not in this one!

 

Tags: The Grandin Theatre, Roanoke Virginia, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Chevy Chase, Imogene Coca

"Wrestling with Angels" Premieres on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 9 PM

From: P.O.V. newsletter <news@POV.ORG>
Subject: "Wrestling with Angels" Premieres on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 9 PM

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P.O.V. INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER – December 10, 2007
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** "Wrestling with Angels" Premieres on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 9 PM **
** Introducing the Launch of the Brand-New P.O.V. Blog **
** P.O.V. Online Shorts Festival – Watch Films Online! **
** Community Organizers and Educators: Hold a P.O.V. Screening **
** Local P.O.V. Events & Screenings Around the Country **
** P.O.V. Site Redesign: We Need Your Help **
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* "Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner" Premieres
on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 9 PM *

"People who've been around Tony [Kushner] in a public setting are often surprised
at how he really touches them. Someone once described him as the ‘most
charming dissident’ around!" — Freida Lee Mock, filmmaker
 
Tony Kushner, whose epochal Angels in America won a Pulitzer Prize and a
Tony Award, has emerged as one of the country's leading playwrights —
and one of its fiercest moral critics. In the film "Wrestling With Angels:
Playwright Tony Kushner," Oscar-winning director Freida Lee Mock
("Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" P.O.V. 1996) followed Kushner for three
tumultuous years, from September 11, 2001 to the 2004 presidential election,
to delve into the passions that keep him reaching for the great American play.
Actresses Marcia Gay Harden, Meryl Streep, Tonya Pinkins and Emma Thompson,
directors Mike Nichols and George C. Wolfe, and writer/artist Maurice Sendak
are seen collaborating with Kushner on such landmark works as Angels in
America; Caroline, or Change and Homebody/Kabul.
 
"Fiercely political, deeply personal, incredibly intelligent, funny, poignant,
hopeful, and immensely spiritual, Kushner’s work is a bright shining light."
— David Courier, Sundance 2006
 
“You leave [Sundance] wishing that more of the movies ... shared [Tony Kushner’s]
humor, ambition, vision and dazzling braininess." — David Ansen, Newsweek.com


The WRESTLING WITH ANGELS companion website offers a streaming video
trailer of the film, an interview with filmmaker Freida Lee Mock (video, podcast and text);
a list of related Web sites, organizations and books; a discussion guide and classroom
activity; and the following special features:
 
Additional Video
Watch extra video not included in the film, including an extended clip from Kushner’s
commencement speech at Vassar College, a conversation with drama students at
Northwestern University and more outtakes from the TimesTalk panel featuring
Kushner, former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich, and playwrights Larry
Kramer, Terrence McNally and Paul Rudnick.
 
Book Excerpt
Read an essay entitled "American Things" from Kushner’s book, Thinking About the
Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness.

Check your local listings at
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Introducing the Launch of the Brand-New P.O.V. Blog *

We are excited to announce the launch of the P.O.V. Blog this week
on our website. The P.O.V. staff will be blogging every weekday about
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* P.O.V. Online Shorts Festival – Watch Films Online! *

Premiering this week: "Scaredycat"

An experimental documentary about the role fear plays in our lives,
"Scaredycat" takes as a point of departure the beating of the filmmaker
at the hands of a gang of young men who called themselves "The
Portland Riders."

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/scaredycat/index.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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We have just launched our brand new Community Events Planner.
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Local PBS stations, film festivals and community groups will
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Check the Amdoc/P.O.V. Outreach page for details, and for more
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New Film from Les Blank- so much for my hiatus

I suppose my sister Lale Lovell knew this would be harder for me than I realized.

But, I am breaking my vow not to add blog entries for a good cause- to promote a documentary film by my good friend Les Blank, who is best known for his 1982 film "Burden of Dreams," about German film director Werner Herzog's effort to film an epic film (which is hard to spell) in the Amazon River basin of Peru.

Blank's latest effort is a documentary about tea. It is called "All in This Tea," and it was filmed in (where else?!) China. There is an article about Blank and the film, which he co-directed with Gina Leibrecht, in yesterday's edition of "The San Francisco Chronicle."

The Film opens at The Roxie in San Francisco and at the Smith Rafael Center in San Rafael, Cal., on Friday.

For more on the film and Blank, one can access these web sites:

http://allinthistea.com

http://www.sfgate.com

http://www.lesblank.com

 

Tags: Les Blank, documentary films, tea, China, San Francisco

Postcards from The Past, and My Hiatus (until Dec. 21)

Well, it has sadly come to this. I have so many things between now and Dec. 21 that I am going to put this beloved blog, which has even received hits from Armenian-Americans for Fred Thompson,* on hold until Dec. 21.
There are many, many things I have not had a chance to get to but hopefully they will still be here two weeks from now.
In the mean time, I am going to leave you with a suggestion to go The Giffords Ice Cream store in Bethasda, Md., if you are in Washington, DC area. I am not receiving any money from them for this plug, but they sent me some great postcards last year and it definitely seems like a cool place to visit. I just hope they are not closed for the season!
And, since today is Pearl Harbor Day, I will leave you with this postcard from 1941 (actually dated April 18) and I will dedicate to the memory of my stepfather Donald Sullivan (1918-2003), who was himself a WW II veteran.
The postcard, which I would scan if I had such talents, is of the Pennrose Country Club in Reidsville, NC. It was sent from a woman named Frances to a woman named Frances Adkins in Vinton, Va.- just outside Roanoke.
Here is the message:

"I called to tell you all I was coming back with Edna, but no one answered any way.**
I am down here and enjoying this beautiful sunshine so much. See you all soon. Love Ruth."

*-One may not get this joke unless they know me. I am a Turkish-American, and a Democrat. My late uncle Omer Bati, an Istanbul lawyer, came close to throwing me off the balcony when I told him that I had voted for Michael Dukakis over George Bush when I was 18 in 1988 upon a summer visit to Turkey in 1989............since there are some people with irrational negative views of Turkish people, I should point out that I am joking- but, he was not happy with me at all!

**-I am aware that anyway is one word. It was spelled as two words on the postcard. I guess they did not have spellcheckers in those days.

Useful Links:

http://www.postcardcollector.com

http://www.giffords.com

Tags: Postcards, Giffords Ice Cream, Bethasda Md., Roanoke Va., Reidsville NC, Fred Thompson, Armenians, Istanbul Turkey, Michael Dukakis, Pearl Harbor, Donald Sullivan

Turkey to Face Armenia in 2012 World Cup Qualifier

Regardless if the game is played in Istanbul or Yerevan, fervent nationalists on both sides are likely to make this historic match-up a difficult one for the players on the field, the referees and perhaps even-if the game is played in Istanbul- the simit (pretzel) vendors.
Ironically, I found out about the game though Armenian-American activist/journalist Appo Jabbarian, a person I get along with pretty well considering how..........I think I need a bottle of raki*:)
According to Jabbarian***- whose name I hope I spelled right, so I don't inadvertently start World War III, Turkey will face Armenia in qualifying for the 2012 World Cup in South Africa, which Turkey attempted to host as well.
Turkey and Armenia will be in Group 5 along with traditional powers Spain and Belgium. The other teams in the group include Estonia and Bosnia-Herzegovinia.
Turkey has been up and down in EuroCup qualifiers. They lost to traditional rival Greece 1-0 in Istanbul, but the team turned around with a resounding win over Norway. The most historic moment in Turkish international soccer was a victory over Japan for a stunning third place finish in the 2002 World Cup. That team consisted of international superstars Hakan Sukur and Hasan Sas.
According to Jabbarian, Armenia has had its own recent ups and downs as well. Armenia won a game on the road over Kazakhstan- the country Borat put on the map, and they also defeated Poland 1-0 in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. But, the team lost to Belgium_ the country that the rest of the world (except the US) knows as the home of beloved comic book character Tintin. I personally think a Turkey-Armenia game could be competitive- especially if played in Yerevan, though even folks who would be more objective than me would also likely expect Turkey to win.
I hope Jabbarian shares my view that many of us reasonable people want to distance ourselves from radicals who use soccer bulletin boards on the internet to post needless hate messages. I saw some on a Greek soccer site, which sickened me- one poster basically said Turkey was a backward country, undeserving of being a World Cup host. But, I have also witnessed a Turkish hacker doing something similar to Armenian soccer site.
I once read such a message from an Armenian militant who expressed joy over the Turkish earthquake of 1999 on a BBC message board. But, despite our different views on many matters, I know Jabbarian would never stoop to such depths as Iwouldnot as well. In each case- regardless if it is a Turk, a Greek or an Armenian, it is simply sad to see people, who might very well be grown men, acting like pathetic teenage boys.
Of course, not all animosity of this nature involves ethnic political spats. Traditional Istanbul powers GalataSaray and Fenerbahce play tomorrow.  I'm sure my  friend Bahadir Acuner from Seattle, an FB fan, will let me know if my beloved GS** loses the game, which should be over by 2:30 p.m., Eastern time. Conversely, he will probably send me a virus if we win!

*- Raki is the Turkish equivalent of the Greek alcoholic beverage Ouzo. One should drink neither if they are nursing a baby, taking Prozac or while watching a soccer game with Bahadir Acuner.
**- I do have friends who root for GalataSaray including Volkan Ozdemir from the Raleigh, NC-area. One of my other friends Ugur Celikkol maintains a fan club for the soccer team BursaSpor in Bursa, Turkey. Alas, they lost to the other Istanbul Besiktash 1-0 today.
***- Yikes! I did in fact misspell Appo Jabarian's last name by accident. I decided not to change it as the mistake actually makes the entry more humorous- even if it does start World War III.........

Useful Links:

http://www.turkish-soccer.com

http://www.greeksoccer.com

I tried to find a site for Armenian soccer, but I was unable to locate one. However, I can refer one to Appo Jabbarian's web site even though I respectfully disagree with many viewpoints concerning Turkey that are presented in his publication, "USA Armenian Life." But, both of us love the game of soccer, though I must admit Appo follows it closer than me. In fact, it would not completely shock me if Jabbarian knew the final score of the GS-FB game before I did!

http://www.usaarmenianlife.com

 

PS- Alas, Fenerbahce won the game over GalataSaray 2-0 on Saturday.

Tags: GalataSaray, Fenerbahce, Armenia, Turkey, Appo Jabarian, Borat, Tintin, Bursa Turkey, Istanbul Turkey, Yerevan Armenia, Soccer