Top 10- Favorite Non-Celebrities to Follow on Twitter...

For starters, we would like to dedicate today's entry to students at Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, where the late author Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") was from for they will inevitably be the ones who take care of us in nursing homes in the future!

Here are favorite non-celebrities to follow on Twitter. I must profess that I debated if either Arsalan Iftikhar and Keith Knight, two people with loyal followings, could fit this category, but both are slightly less-known than the likes of Paris Hilton.

1. Boulder the Cat- We aren't sure if Boulder the Cat is a Siamese, like the one pictured here. Nevertheless, whoever is behind this feline's tweets is quite hilarious. One recent tweet advised 'fellow cats' that the best time to attack owners is when they are using the toilet!

2. The Kansan- At first, I was looking to follow the school newspaper of the same name for The University of Kansas. But, instead I found a young lady who happens to reside in Lawrence, Kansas, who has a great knack for making fun of Republicans, including a suggestion that the GOP's new theme song should be "Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum!

3. Chris Knight- My friend in Reidsville, NC, is not the same Chris Knight who was on "The Brady Bunch," but I love his off-the-wall tweets. Last night, he was watching the science fiction film "Moon," which came out in theaters last year.

4. Ali Arikan- This movie blogger from Istanbul, Turkey, may actually be even more obsessed with film than I am as he is taking a dvd of the Harvey Keitel film "Bad Lieutenant" to watch on the plane!

5. The Muslim Guy (Arsalan Iftikhar)- This young Muslim American activist has become quite a media sensation. Today, he lambasted Tennessee's Republican lt. gov. for calling Islam a cult.

6. Keith Knight- One of the best new cartoonists in America.......! Keith Knight, an African-American who pens "The Knight Life" is no relation to Chris Knight who is white.

7. Anna Li- The UCLA gymnast who helped the Bruins win a national championship this spring is always a delight to follow on Twitter as she details her life as a 20-something college athlete.

8. Dever Food Guy- Great recipes! He really knows how to use squash, tomatoes and cucumbers!

9. Nathan Tabor- A Republican?! I suppose this Winston-Salem, NC, conservative activist is an example of reverse affirmative action. As one might expect, President Barack Obama is often subject to his critiques.

10. LiberalChick230- This San Fran woman is always cool to follow. Today, she said that a Tea Party diversity event was indeed a big bust....

Friday GeoQuiz- Tokyo Calling....

Today, we ask you the blog-reader to guess which year the Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. I am now in the process of finally seeing the Yasujiro Ozu cinematic masterpiece "Tokyo Story" on dvd, hence the reason for this image above.

Was the year?:

A) 1988
B) 1956
C) 1964
D) 1968

The answer to last week's quiz was "B."

SIDEBAR: I imagine if tickets remain they may be very limited by the Canadian band Arcade Fire which is apparently now hotter than Shakira dancing barefoot in a low-cut dress is performing this weekend in Montreal, Boston and Philadelphia (that's actually a Monday concert). The band will also be profiled in this week's edition of "Sound Opinions," an NPR series which airs at 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays in the Greensboro and Raleigh markets on 91.5 (WUNC-FM, Chapel Hill).

PSA- Love Thy Neighbor

This is simply a companion entry to our PSA on "The Daily Vampire," which focuses on the controversial new immigration platform in Arizona. While that entry deals with Mexico, this one profiles Canada.

Ironically, "Dudley Do-Right" is an American cartoon from the brainchild of the late Jay Ward who also created "Rocky and Bulwinkle" (The moose is perhaps the hardest cartoon character name to spell in the English language as I have seen it spelled Bullwinkle as well!).

Bill Scott (1920-1985) who was the voice of Bulwinkle was also the voice of the beloved Canadian mounty as well as George in "George of the Jungle." (Both Dudley Do-Right and George of the Jungle were played by Brandon Fraser on screen).

Dudley Do-Right, which aired in 1969, made a cameo in a Rocky and Bulwinkle Fan Club segment as he was the title character in a play by the Russian villian Boris Badenov.

In his own show, Dudley was head over heels for Nell Fenwick and his arch nemesis was Snidely Whiplash.

While researching this piece, we stumbled upon the fact that the actor who voiced Snidely (the late Hans Conried) was also the voice of Wally Walrus on "The Woody Woodpecker Show!"

Quote of the Week- Zinedine Zidane

Auuuuuuugggghhhhhhh! (As Charlie Brown would say when he tried to kick Lucy's football). We have major time constraints today, so let's cut to today's quote from the French soccer star Zinedine Zidane who is perhaps best known for his head butt against an Italian player in the 2006 World Cup final:

"We are all aware of the task ahead of us in what will be a very difficult match but which we will all dream of playing."

I suppose in some surreal way he speaks for all of us!

Things We Learned on Twitter Last Night- Bats Bring Out the Bats

The Louisville Bats, a Triple-A level minor league baseball team, battered the visiting Charlotte Knights by a walloping 19-6 margin according to a tweet from the team.

The Bats had an offensive explosion started by Wladimir Balentien who hit a grand-slam homer in the first inning of the play.

The avalanche of runs never let up as the Bats had an amazing 22 hits. Every Bats starter scored at least one run and had at least one RBI.

The two teams face each other again tonight in Lousiville, Ky.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Store Mascots...?!

Today, we feature another installment on summer series on summer jobs with a photo of The Noid who was the store mascot for Domino's Pizza up until....(ay karamba, we forgot to wiki this?!)......the point when Vanilla Ice went out of fashion.

I never had the fortune/misfortune to dress like The Noid, but I did promotions (I was a Teenage Human Billboard) and deliveries for Domino's as a 19-year-old kid back in the Roanoke, Va., area in 1989.

Personally, I consider this to be the third worst job I ever had behind being a crime reporter for a small newspaper in North Carolina and later teaching ESL to mostly Hispanic inmates at a state prison.

So, I would encourage anyone in our feature town of the month- Akron, Ohio, to actually seek out employment at Capri Pizza, which according to their web site was voted Best Pizza in west Akron. The establishment also features the $7 Killer Steak Sandwich! Who's counting calories?

SIDEBAR: The Akron Aeros lost their home game to the Bowie BaySox from Maryland by a 10-5 margin last night, but the two teams go at it again this evening.

SIDEBAR TWO: Those of you living in one of our favorite towns Boulder, Colo., may want to check out The Sierra Lone Refugee All Stars. The band from Africa was featured in an award-winning documentary which aired on the PBS series "POV" a few summers ago. The show at The Boulder Theater is scheduled for Aug. 7 at 8 p.m.

Quote of the Week- Mark Twain

Today's Quote of the Week comes from author Mark Twain ("Tom Sawyer") who is undoutedbly the pride of Hannibal, Missouri. We had a chance to visit the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn., in 2007, which is an impressive 19-room mansion. Twain was also an inspiration for the late animator Chuck Jones of "Bugs Bunny" fame.

Here is today's quip:

"A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."