Aristophanes Play in Charlottesville, Va.

My friend Greg Wood is in the ensemble cast of "Lysistrata," a stage play by ancient Greek playwirght Aristophanes at Live Arts Theatre in Charlottesville, Va. The production will run until March 1.

According to the Live Arts, the play is about:

"Everything you need to know about men live and die by the sword. Ribald and profound, these words have gained meaning with each of the 2,500 years that have passed since they were written. And the women they empower have become more vital with every redundant bout of armed foolishness undertaken by men when they must care."

Tickets for the show are $10-22.50

There will be a shows this week starting on Wednesday (pay what you can night) at 8:00 p.m. Thursday's performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday the play will be performed at 8:00 p.m., and there is a Sunday matinee at 2:00 p.m.

Live Arts is also producing the Edward Albee play "The Goat or Who is Sylvia?."

For more information, contact boxoffice@livearts.org or call 434-977-4177, ext. 108

Tags: Aristophanes, Theatre, Charlottesville Virginia

Virginia, Maryland and DC Vote Today

My home state of Virginia, where I also work, will be choosing Democratic and Republican candidates for the White House today. There are also primaries in Maryland and Washington, DC.

It is expected to be a big day for Barack Obama and John McCain. And, today could be the final body blow to the the Mike Huckabee campaign.

Huckabee spoke at the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke on Monday for a crowd of about 600 people. "The Roanoke Times" said most of the supporters were the likes of Little League coaches, Sunday school teachers and blue collar workers.

Ruth Bellman drove about 50 miles from the rural town of Dublin to hear Huckabee speak. She said she was praying for a victory from the former Baptist minister.

Huckabee, who was endorsed by Jerry Falwell, Jr., also held rallies at evangelical churches in Lynchburg and Richmond.

Another former Arkansas governor, President Bill Clinton was also in The Star City. A far larger group of 1,200 people turned out to hear him speak at Patrick Henry High School. Health care was one of the central issues, he discussed according to "The Roanoke Times:"

"Raise your hand if you you someone who doesn't have health insurance," Bill Clinton said.

Both Obama and Hillary Clinton were to hold rallies in Roanoke. Obama's rally was to be at 7 a.m. (not a typo) at the Jefferson Center, but high winds in southwest Virginia forced both candidates to campaign elsewhere.

Hillary addressed political scientist Larry Sabato's Politics 101 class at the University of Virginia, according to "The Virginia-Pilot" (Norfolk, Va.).

Student Erin Garratt told the 'Pilot' that she was convinced to jump off the Obama bandwagon and vote for Hillary today.

When asked by another student about what she likes about the political process, Hillary said it was the personal experiences of meeting people, and having a chance to be invited into their lives.

The former first lady and New York Senator said she strongly supports the separation of church and state as well as embryonic stem cell research.

Obama opted to campaign in College Park, Md., on Monday, but his supporters travelled across Virginia to show support for his campaign.

I came across former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus (D) in Danville, Va. He told me that he thinks Obama has a chance to win traditional home states, like Mississippi and Louisiana, in November, should he win the Democratic nomination.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) was among the early supporters of the Obama campaign. Dan Balz of "The Washington Post" said Kaine might also have a chance at being on Obama's short list for a vice preisdential pick. His 18-year-old son Nat Kaine rallied for Obama in Roanoke, and he showed supporters his voter registration card.

Chris Cillizza of "The Washington Post" said Obama is expected to win decisively in both Maryland and Washington, DC. WDBJ-7, the CBS affiliate in Roanoke, said that Obama was beating Clinton by a 60-38 margin in Virginia.

Huckabee has closed in on McCain, but not enough to pull off the proverbial major upset.

The Arizona senator spoke at the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond with retiring Sen. John Warner and former senator George Allen, who lost his seat to Sen. James Webb in part because of his infamous use of the racial slur 'macaca' at a rally in the far southwestern community of Breaks, Va.

McCain gave a red meat speech which placed a major emphasis on continuing the war in Iraq and the fight agaisnt terrorism.

According to the "Pilot," McCain is courting the Christian conservative vote which primarily went to Huckabee by having Christian right leaders like former fringe presidential candidate Gary Bauer of Indiana speak during rallies.

The other candidates in the race are Democrat Mike Gravel and Republican Ron Paul. Of the two, Paul has at least achieved a significant degree of name recognition.

UPDATE (2/13/08): Obama swept all three primaries. At a rally in Madison, Wisc., last night, he said: "We're on our way." We'll see if Hillary can make yet another comeback.

On the GOP side, McCain expectedly won all three primaries, though Huckabee got an impressive 44 % (compared to McCain's 48%) in Virginia. Ron Paul got four percent of the vote in Virginia.

Useful Links:

http://www.roanoke.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com

 

Tags: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Virginia Primaries, Maryland Primaries, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, George Allen, Tim Kaine, Ray Mabus, Larry Saboto

Scientology Protest Video from Washington DC

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Bela Lugosi Meets Dennis Kucinich

One day when I was a college student circa 1995, I found a copy of Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from Outer Space" at a video store (that was what we had before dvds, kids) in Radford, Va.

I heard that there were several scenes featuring Hungarian-born actor Bela Lugosi (aka the original Dracula) even though he had died during filming.

Wood apparently decided to use his chiropractor in place of Lugosi and have him hold a vampire cape up to his face so no one would know he wasn't Bela.

Enter Dennis Kucinich.

He dropped out the Democratic race several weeks ago to maintain his Ohio Congressional seat which is being challenged even from within his own party. Kucinich actually fared better than Fred Thompson (in terms of votes. I am aware that they are in different parties) in the New Hampshire Primary, but he was still getting about one or two percent of the Jeffersonian party's vote.

But, according to the public radio series "Weekend America," scheduled to air nationally tomorrow, the Kucinich campaign in Washington state is still up and running!

Their hope is apparently that their views will somehow influence Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in their platform after they either gets the nomination to go against (highly) likely Republican candidate John McCain (sorry, Mike Huckabee fans, the man upstairs and Chuck Norris can only help him so much!).

The promotional email for "Weekend America" asks the question: "Are they delusional or nobly crusading on behalf of their ideals?"

I guess if you live in Walla Walla, you can decide for yourself when Washington state holds its caucuses tomorrow. I must admit its confusing as to who gets primaries and who gets caucuses! 

Alas, North Carolina doesn't hold a presidential primary until May 6 which will be four weeks after the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments conclude (and, basketball in NC is bigger than soccer in Rio de Janeiro, so I guess I should readjust my priorities!).

My home state of Virginia has one on Tuesday, and this year it will actually mean something unless you happen to be a Republican.........

Useful Links:

http://www.americanpublicmedia.org

 

Tags: Washington State Caucuses, Dennis Kucinich, Bela Lugosi, politics

Remembering the Mitt Romney Campaign...

I thought I would head this the same way I usually do when someone I will miss has died. I am not a Republican, though they are good for material, but gosh darn it I really am going to miss the Mitt Romney campaign and that hair!

I have made more fun of Mitt Romney than other politician ever on this blog. That includes people like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Fred Thompson and Nancy Pelosi (well it's good to show nonpartisanship when it comes to making fun of these people).

He was such an easy target, and gee whiz I really want to take a moment to pause and think about all the sacrifices that he, his wife, their five perfect sons, Daffney, Veronica, Shaggy and Scrappy-Doo made on the campaign trail going through places like Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Nashua, New Hampshire, in order to win the presidency and try to make America a better place.....at least according to his image.

Here is one last Romney joke that was made earlier in the presidential race. (Hey he did win the endorsement of "The National Enquirer" I mean "The National Review" and that should count for something):

"Mitt Romney stunned everybody by raising $23 million..... in small donations. Apparently, he got one dollar from each Osmond," Jay Leno.

We'll miss you, Mitt. But, we sure are glad you're not going to be our president. Now, you can take some time off and go duck-hunting with your pal, Dick Cheney. Or, perhaps you can cross party lines and come down to Chapel Hill, NC, and take in a UNC basketball game with John Edwards. I'm sure you two would have 'lots' to talk about.

But, knowing my party as well I do, I would not be surprised if we somehow find a way to let you have a shot at actually winning The White House in 2012.....now, that's a scary thought!

 

 

Tags: Mitt Romney, Scooby Doo

Congrats to Miss Virginia! Well, She Came in Fourth

I suppose since the Miss America Pageant was on Jan. 26 in Las Vegas this entry may seem as dated as one devouted to a Fred Thompson rally in Anderson, SC, but I am proud that Hannah Kiefer represented my home state well. She finished fourth in the competiton (yikes! I have no idea who won........).

Kiefer is an alumnus of Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. It is an all-women's college which has such distinguished alumni as writer Annie Dillard and controversial photographer Sally Mann. But, amazingly enough (since I am a guy), I am also a graduate of the school!*

While in Vegas, Kiefer performed ballet en pointe in the talent portion of the competition and she sought to raise awareness of 'creating healthy choices' for teens.

Miss Virginia also praised Hollins University in a "Richmond Times-Dispatch" interview:

"I attend an all-women's university where we all are encouraged to be individuals and we're encouraged to be achievers."

My other alma mater, Radford University beat Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s Liberty University 89-88 for homecoming in a men's basketball game that was played in Radford, Va., on Saturday. Other than Winthrop University, there is no other school that I'm happier to see us beat.

*-I went to Hollins for graduate school in the film studies discipline. The school is co-ed at the graduate level.

Useful Links:

http://www.hollins.edu 

Tags: Miss America, Miss Virginia, Las Vegas, Hollins University, Radford University, Liberty University, Roanoke Virginia, Heather Kiefer

Congrats to Mitt Romney on Winning.........Utah!

We love former Massachussetts governor Michael Dukakis....I mean Mitt Romney here at Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time. I now estimate that I have made more fun of him than all the other Republican presidential candidates combined, and that includes Fred Thompson.

And, I am ashamed to admit that we may have actually been even harder on him than any member of the infamous Bush-Cheney administration! (Yes, I agree.....how's that possible?).

So, to show our apologies to Mr. Romney who has assuredly campaigned very hard and recieved very little rest, we are going to congratulate him on winning...........Utah!

I know most of you think that a Mormon Republican candidate winning Utah is like Barack Obama winning over an Oprah Winfrey studio audience, but Romney really kicked butt in the Beehive State!

He captured 88 percent of the vote, an absolute coronation, in the Utah Republican Primary, where fringe candidate Cong. Ron Paul actually got more votes than Mike Huckabee! And, front-runner Sen. John McCain of Arizona finished a distant second in single-digits as well.

According to Bob Bernick Jr. of "The Desseret Morning-News" (a Salt Lake City newspaper), it was the largest victory in a major contest in Utah history as Romney won all 36 of Utah's convention delegates.

But, Romney, aka The National Review poster boy, did not fare well almost everywhere else as his rival McCain won in key states like California, Oklahoma, New York, Illinois and Missouri, which lead Democratic Party leader Howard Dean to say that McCain is now the Republican nominee in an e-mail to Democratic constituents.

Perhaps, Fox News should now hire Dean to join the booth on Election Night this November so he can 'project' a winner in Florida (for those of you in Nepal, I am refering to an infamous moment in broadcast history which occured the 2000 Presidential Election).

On the other side of the political spectra, the Democratic race appears to be a virtual dead heat according to "Washington Post" political blogger/cloumnist Chris Cillizza.

Utah Democrats, who perhaps feel like vegans in Omaha, chose Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton by a 56-40 percent margin. Obama won 13 states in total.

Megan Riffe of Salt Lake City told Bernick that she was deligthed to see a high turnout for both Obama and Clinton supporters in a state which only votes for Democrats about as often as elephants mate (though LBJ somehow won the state in 1964).

Obama supporters in SLC partied at The Skybox Bar and Grille downtown, where apparently one can actually have a Budweiser.

But, Hillary had a good night as well as she won in Super Tuesday's California primary. She won a total of eight states, including Romney's Massachussetts despite Obama endorsements from John Kerry and Ted Kennedy. On the GOP side, Romney was able to win his home state but Donny Osmond was not by his side for his 'victory' speech in Boston last night.

This blog is supporting Clinton over Obama, mainly because of experience and because the junior Illinois senator was endorsed by the Armenian lobby (see earlier entry). And, (with respect to my Armenian friends), if your name was Mustafa, Omer or Ayshegul, I assure you_ you would understand.

Useful Links:

http://www.dessertnews.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com

 

 

Tags: Mitt Romney, Utah, Super Tuesday, Mormons, Donny Osmond, Barack Obama, Salt Lake City, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Fred Thompson