Quote of the Week- Neil Diamond

While you are not likely to hear Neil Diamond on radio stations that play The Clash and Metallica, the legendary singer has endured and remains a favorite of adult contemporary radio stations from Cleveland to Kuala Lampur (we assume!).

His Neilness is not currently on tour, but you might be able to catch a performance of the Carrboro-NC based tribute band The Neil Diamond All-Stars, whose lead singer is Jack Whitebread, who does seem more like the late Joe Strummer (lead singer of The Clash) than Diamond himself but he does a great "Sweet Caroline."

I saw the trib band perform at The Cat's Cradle in Carrboro a few months ago, and they were simply awesome though I don't recall them singing my favorite Neil song "Red, Red Wine," which became a chart-busting hit for the English reggae pop band UB40 in the mid-80s.

The venue hosts the '80s New Wave band The English Beat ("Mirror in the Bathroom") on Aug. 24 which we wish were not a double-expletive school night!

Diamond also sang the national anthem for my sister's graduation at The University of Colorado.

Here is our quote from Diamond:

"I don't like all of the music to be serious and deadly."

50 Beers From Around the Globe- Niksicko Brivo (Serbia)

One Serbian poster, who may be as 'objective' as Fox News, proclaimed that his country's most popular beer Niksicko Brivo (we think brivo means beer in Serbo-Croatian) was 'the best beer in the world.'

It is apparently quite hard to find in America but one importer in Chicago seems to carry it.

For those wanting a good brew in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., Corn Beef and Company located downtown at 107 South Jefferson Street is a good bet. The establishment also offers $8 lunch specials.

Our followers in Kentucky (presuming there are some of you out there!) may try to seek out The Phoenix Hill Tavern in Louisville on 644 Baxter Avenue. The bar is hosting the band The Dollyroots on Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. We have no idea if they play Dolly Parton music or not!

Top 10 Favorite Countries I've Never Been To!

We are once dedicating one of our entries to tomorrow's leaders (that does sound like something from a '50s PSA doesn't it?) by dedicating this entry to students at North Lamar High School in Paris, Texas, which was made famous by the Wim Wenders film "Paris, Texas," which came out in the mid-80s.

While browsing the school's web site, we found out that the school nickname is The Panthers and apparently school lunches now cost $2.25! They were a mere 60 cents at my elementary school but that was 28 years ago!

Here are my favorite countries that I've never been to:

1. Norway
2. Morocco
3. Brazil
4. Spain
5. Portugal
6. Japan
7. New Zealand
8. Egypt
9. Argentina
10. Kenya

I know the fact that Uzbekistan did not make the list will disappoint our fans in Tashkent, but if the ambassador to your country Ilkhan Nematov * emails me and offers a free trip with a waiver for the visa fee (which was outrageous for Americans visiting Azerbaijan when I went to the capital Baku in 2008), it will topple Norway in the next edition of this list!

*- Yes, we looked up his name on the net, but that is the real Uzbeki ambassador to the USA. If a ninth grade geography teacher from North Lamar HS happens to see this, the Uzbeki capital is indeed Tashkent. Be sure to zing your students with that for their next test!

Things We Learned from Twitter Last Night- Israel is the Best Place to Get a Kidney

Those of you not hip to this blog may be confused by my twisted sense of humor, but while Tel Aviv may not be the best place to find that antique pipe organ you saw on the Kansas City episode of "Antiques Roadshow" (which airs on PBS here in the USA), it is apparently the best place for organ donations in the world according to an article in "The Jerusalem Post."

Through a tweet from the newspaper, I learned late last night that Israel is first in soliciting organ donations according to the article by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich.

The nation's Donor Action Foundation, founded in 1998, has been an international leader with 600 successful identifications of potential organ donors last year.

Israel is also a leader in preserving donated organs according to the article.

SIDEBAR_ If one wants to find an antique organ, one good place might be The Strasburg Emporium in Strasburg, Va. While visiting the town for the first time in years this week, I also discovered Cristina's Cafe which will be celebrating its second anniversary on Saturday.

SIDEBAR TWO_ If you are not a recipient of a liver transplant and you can pretty much eat whatever you want (a habit I am trying to break though I'm not carrying a dead teenage girl's organs), then you may want to try one of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries establishments in Greensboro, NC.

My friend Brian Clarey, the editor and food critic of "Yes Weekly!" in Greensboro recently reported that the diner at Friendly Center, one of three Five Guys places in the Triad (a national chain with 550 locations, including one in my hometown of Salem, Va., that started in the Washington DC-area a mere eight years ago) serves up a delicious burger as well as scrumptious French fries made from potatoes from a farm in Rigby, Idaho.

We presume that Brian has not had a recent organ transplant either, but if we has we will apologize for the oversight in advance!

Things We Learned From the BBC Today- Saudi Arabia to Allow Blackberrys

Yes, we are actually referring to those electronic telecommunication devices which were made famous in part by then-candidate Barack Obama during his run for the presidency. But, we couldn't resist an image of blackberries that you might find in rural West Virginia or wherever these things are grown!

But, after much dispute the Saudi Arabian government apparently will allow Black Berry service to continue in the kingdom according to the BBC.

Riyadh was apparently unhappy that Black Berry handsets automatically scrambled messages and sent them to Canada in a measure that was aimed at trying to find perspective terrorist suspects.

We are dedicating tonight's entry to students at Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ, as the Ghosts (yes, that is their actual nickname, but we think Harvey Comics would sue if they used Casper as their mascot) are our bonus High School of the Week (to make up for the fact that we forgot to name one last week).

Paterson, NJ, is believed to have the highest concentration of Turkish-Americans per capita in the country though I myself live far away in the coal-mining town of Hazard, Kentucky (that is a joke, but even though I live nowhere near there it's not much of a stretch!).

The high school was actually made famous as it was depicted in the Morgan Freeman movie "Lean on Me," which was based on a true story that happened there.

The current principal is Karen Johnson.

Eastside High is 70 percent Hispanic, and the school goes from grades nine through twelve.

The legendary beat poet Allen Gingsberg, one of my personal favorite figures of the '60s, is arguably the school's most famous alum.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Let's Go to the Movies!

Today, we focus with a Silly Photo to Fill Space aimed at summer jobs and what could be better than working at a movie theatre and fixing popcorn?! (I actually did that job and lemme tell ya, popcorn burns hurt like h-e-double 'l').

Our feature city of the month is Trenton, NJ, where one can see the Zac Efron film "Charlie St. Cloud," which my friend Moviezzz has cited as an early Oscar contender on his blog http://www.talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com (that is a joke and a big one at that!) at the Destina Theatre at Independence Plaza on South Broad Street.

As for historical cinemas in "Clerks" director Kevin Smith's home state, there is The Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ, which will host Foreigner (uh-oh, I think "I Wanna Know What Love Is" is going to go off in my skull...yep, it just did!) on Aug. 26.

The web site Cinema Treasures, which is dedicated to movie theatres around the globe, is featuring the Capitol Theatre in Olympia, Wash., as its Cinema of the Week. The cinema in the Washington state capital will be showing the documentary "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" from Aug. 14-20. Call (360) 754-6670 for more info.

Lastly, we were delighted to see Cinema Tresures mention the Atlas Cinema in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, Turkey. It may well be the hippest sinema (that's how cinema is spelled in Turkish) in the vast metropolis and they are (alas!) probably
showing "Charlie St. Cloud" too!

Quote of the Week- Luciano Pavarotti

Today, we feature a quote from the late opera star Luciano Pavarotti who actually sang a duet with Lou Reed (?!) on Reed's famous song "Perfect Day."

We dedicate today's entry to students at Northampton High School in Northampton, Mass., where Nancy Athas is principal and the school nickname is The Blue Devils. But, we really love the school newspaper's name "The Devil's Advocate."

Here is our quote from the star of "Yes Giorgio:"

"Learning music by reading about it is like making love by mail."

SIDEBAR: We missed Moscow, Idaho's favorite son Josh Ritter, a great singer if you get a chance to see him, when he was in Greenville, SC, last week. But Ritter is going to next perform at El Sol in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 9. He returns to the states for a show in Oberlin, Ohio, on Sept. 25. And, citizens of Northampton, Mass., can see him at The Calvin Theatre on Oct. 23.