Happy New Year!

My Top 10 New Year's Resolutions

1. Develop Much Better Sleep-Wake Cycle

2. Actually Write a Play, Novel or Memoir









3. Don't Take Any Jobs @ Correctional Institutes

4. Drink Less Coffee

5. Drink More Wine

6. Go Out with Woman Who is 15-20 Years Younger Than Me

7. Get Out of the House, and Go To a Film Festival

8. Get Rid of at Least One Jehovah's Witness at the Door in Less Than 60 Seconds.

9. Go to Philadelphia

10. Change Zip Codes

I was going to say spend less time blogging, but I don't think that's a realistic goal!

Zip Code USA- 20814 Bethesda, Md.

When I think of suburbia, there are a few places which seem to fit the word perfectly. They include Cary, NC (suburb of Raleigh), Cherry Hill, NJ (suburb of Philadelphia) and Bethesda, Md. (suburb of Washington DC).

According to Wikipedia, Bethesda is an unincorporated jurisdiction which is named after the Bethesda Presbyterian Church.

Bethesda is also among the most affluent zip codes in the country as "Money" magazine ranked the community #11 in terms of education and income levels.

20814 is also home to the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Burning Tree Club (all-male golf club mention in a "Seinfeld" episode), the Bethesda Playhouse and the White Flint Mall (pictured, actually in N. Bethesda).

Bethesda also boasts a summer league baseball team The Bethesda Big Train, which consists of college players.

But, perhaps the most unique thing about Bethesda is that it was the setting for the book "The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants," which I believe was made into a movie.


Previous Entries in Series:

Bethlehem, Pa.

Burlington, Vt.

Cereals of Our Youth (Entry 1 of 11)

My Friends' Top 10 Movies of the Year Lists

This is a complimentary entry to my top 10 films of the year list, which I posted on The Daily Vampire (see links).

First, I will start with the Top 10 list from my friend Joe Scott of Greensboro, NC, who hosts a radio movie show in the Gate City. He will also be presenting the vintage 1986 David Bowie flick "Labyrinth" at Carousel Cinemas in Greensboro on
Jan. 7.

I will mark the films I've seen with a star, and mark the ones that made my top 10 list with two stars.

"The Dark Knight"**
"Revolutionary Road"
"Man on Wire" (doc)
"Rachel Getting Married"*
"Let the Right One In" (Sweden)
"Milk"**
"The Wrestler"
"Doubt"**
"The Wackness"*
"Shotgun Stories"

Next, I will present the top 10 films of my friend and film blogger Phil Nugent, who lives in New York (I am jealous, but I know the rent is higher!). I wanted to see one film on his list at the Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, but couldn't because of time constraints. I will mark that film with a number sign. He presented his list in alphabetical order:

"Before I Forget" (France)
"Chop Shop"
"A Christmas Tale" (France)
"The Class" (France)
"The Dark Knight"**
"The Edge of Heaven" (Germany/Turkey)**
"The Order of Myths"
"The Secret of the Grain" (Belgium)
"Synedoche, New York"#
"Wall-E"*

Useful Links:

http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/default.aspx

(for Phil)

http://themovieshow.blogspot.com/

(for Joe)

Celebrity Birthday- Ozgu Namal is 30

Though I've seen her in two films ("Buyu" and "Organiz Isler/Magic Carpet Ride"), I was unaware that Turkish actress Ozgu Namal is not only a sensation in Turkey, but she is getting lots of international attention as well.

The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) reported that today is her 30th birthday, which makes her a mere ten days younger than Katie Holmes.

Namal has also starred in "Gunesin Oglu/Children of the Sun," "O Cocuklari/Those Kids," and "Mutluluk/Bliss."

Hopefully, she will continue to garner attention outside of Turkey. To date, very few movie actors, with the possible exception of German-Turkish actress Sibel Kekili ("Head On"), have made names of themselves outside of Turkey or the Turkish diaspora.

Our Person of the Year_ Tom Perriello

The votes are in. And, after recounting and recounting and then recounting again, we have decided to name Congressmen-elect Tom Perriello (D-Va) our Person of the Year.

The two other nominees were Bill Maher and Colin Powell. We did not consider Barack Obama as he was already named Time magazine's Person of the Year, and we did not want to be sued.

Poet Nikki Giovanni, who is also a professor at Virginia Tech, was last year's winner.

We choose Perriello because he not only won the closest congressional race in the country (not counting the still undecided Minnesota senate race), but because he also pulled one of the greatest political upsets in Virginia's modern history.

Periello's opponent was Cong. Virgil Goode (R-Va), a once popular politician from Rocky Mount who had a loyal following among rural residents of the Fifth District, was first elected to Congress in 1996. There is still an old campaign "Goode for Congress" on Rte. 220 in Boones Mill, not far from a pro-life billboard.

But while Goode, who was ironically once a Democrat, was popular among the God, Gun and Country voters, he was becoming a corrupt and controversial figure on The Hill which was highlighted by his implication in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Goode also made insulting remarks about Muslim Americans. In two instances, he said he would work diligently to make sure no Muslims came into the country. As the son of a Turkish immigrant who grew up and still partly resides in Virginia, I was outraged by Goode's sentiment and I went public condemning his statements which he routinely refused to apologize for, even though some close friends advised me against it.

Even though the mostly rural makeup of the Fifth District is not one for ethnic diversity, Goode faced problems. He was very unpopular in Charlottesville, the district's most liberal zip code, and with African-American voters in places like Martinsville and Danville. And, public sentiment was turning against him. The conservative-leaning newspaper "Danville Register and Bee" broke form and surprisingly endorsed Perriello.

But, Periello, 34, still trailed Goode by 32 percent in polls some three months before the election. He would officially win by 727 votes after a second recount affirmed his victory.

He won a district that John McCain carried with both an outstanding campaign and an impressive personal story. An alumnus of Yale, Perriello went on to help prosecute war lords from Sierra Leone and Liberian dictator Charles Taylor. He also launched the progressive religious organization faithfulamerica.org

People across the nation may not know much about Perriello, but I feel strongly that they will in the very near future. His story has just begun.

While I will candidly admit that my enthusiasm for Perriello was at first based on the fact that he was challenging a man I intensely disliked for very personal reasons, the reasons why he is this blog's Person of the Year have nothing to do with Cong. Goode.

Perriello is in his own right an exceptional person, and I feel that our generation of leaders, from both political parties, are going to help reshape America's regard for politicians. Perriello is sure to lead the way.