Thoughts on the GOP Convention_ The Empty Chair

Last night, we witnessed the surreal attempt by Clint Eastwood to pull off an Eddie Murphy as he made a failed stand-up comedy routine at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., with an empty chair to represent President Barack Obama, which he referred to as 'Invisible Obama.'

We have to wonder what objective journalists like Gwen Ifill of PBS and Brian Williams of NBC were making of this, but liberal commentator Cek Uygur was having a blast making fun of Eastwood's speech on Current-TV.

Assuredly tonight's production of "The Lion in the Winter" (not a Shakespeare play) at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., should be considerably more entertaining than last night's Eastwood debacle.

We actually watched close to seven hours of coverage of the Republican Convention, even though I am more likely to throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game than vote for the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan ticket. The 'Nats, by the way, have a home game with the St. Louis Cardinals tonight.

We are going to cover our thoughts on the GOP convention in an unconventional manner as we use these seven terms to describe the events we witnessed on PBS and Current-TV. : Nutella, Saturday Night Live, Tim Robbins, Attila the Hun, Kurt Cobain, Jordyn Wieber and New Zealand. Yes, we got the idea form Mad Libs:

"New Jersey governor Chris Christie of New Jersey reportedly ate seven bagels with Nutella backstage before his prime time speech on Tuesday night, which was one of the highlights of the Tampa Republican convention. Though the partisans gave mostly red meat speeches, the Republicans are hoping that comparing president Barack Obama to Mao Tse Tung will persuade an undecided voter in Akron, Ohio, to vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket, which is almost as brilliant as getting Clint Eastwood to host 'Saturday Night Live.' After the Eastwood fiasco, Karl Rove might say getting Tim Robbins to speak in Charlotte, NC, at the party convention would help even things out on Fox-TV. But, we fully expect David Axelrod to ignore him. Paul Ryan proved he is hip as he mentioned that bands like Nirvana are in his i-pad, but he also laid it out clear that he is to the right of Attila the Hun, which is a vital characteristic for today's Republican Party.   Every Olympic athlete except Jordyn Wieber, an Olympic gymnast who won team gold in London, was brought on stage to make hollow testimonials about how Romney is as great as Superman. After Marco Rubio's speech which was a prelude to Romney's big talk, many Democratic voters will likely attempt to get political asylum in New Zealand should Batman and Robin actually get elected."

http://www.madlibs.com

http://www.nirvana.com

http://www.ohiodems.org

http://www.floridadems.org

http://www.nuttelausa.com

http://www.jordynwieber.com

http://www.newzealand.com

http://www.nationals.com

http://www.amercianshakespearecenter.com

Virtual Postcard from Florida (even though we're not there)

We are sending a Virtual Postcard from Tarpon Springs, Florida, tonight, even though we are nowhere near there, and I didn't get a press pass for the Republican National Convention in Tampa, though a backup check would have revealed I don't share their politics.

But, I am not quite as liberal as Michael Moore, who said today that he think Mitt Romney will win the race, I suppose this means Michael Medved, an arch conservative movie critic turned talk show host, needs to say Barack Obama will win to even things out.

I have actually watched a fair amount of convention coverage, and even though I have no plans to vote for Mitty Rich, and I am eager to watch tonight's Romney speech.

I will add more thoughts on the GOP convention tomorrow, including thoughts on Republican veep candidate Paul Ryan, who is now definitely a grown-up, real-life Karate Kid villain, in my humble opinion.

In case, you've missed it, tonight's speeches have been from Al Gore, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi (I was just seeing if you were paying attention), but actually such 'exciting' speakers as Romney's former business partners, Bob White and Tom Stemberg.

Clint Eastwood is expected to be tonight's surprise speaker, according to "The Huffington Post."

Tarpon Springs is a fishing village and tourist attraction near Tampa with a significantly large Greek-American population.

http://www.spongedocks.net

http://www.visitflorida.com

GOP Tweets_ Turning It Over to Bill, Cenk and Charlie

We had a thought earlier this week when we were watching Karl Rove on Fox News at a Dunkin Donuts in Myrtle Beach, SC, the rare place in America where Southern evangelism and sultry wet t-shirts night clubs intersect. In fact, the city has hosted a Republican candidates debate in 2008.

A few minutes later, I realized that Rove looked strikingly similar to the blue aardvark cartoon character that used to air with Pink Panther cartoons when we were kids (Well, they were actually reruns as "The Ant and the Aardvark" aired in 1969). Much to our surprise, the aardvark was just called aardvark.

The person between Rove and the blue aardvark is former reality tv show star Heidi Montag, a Republican who endorsed John McCain in 2008, who was on "The Hills."

The folks I referred to in the header are liberal Current-TV show host Cenk Uygur, a fellow Turkish-American, who I agree with 90-percent of the time, Bill O'Reilly, who I agree with nine percent of the time, if that, and Charlie Rose, the always exceptional PBS talk show host.

Here are some tweets from tonight and earlier in the day, all concerning politics or the Republican Convention in Tampa, which was delayed from today until Tuesday because of Tropical Storm Isaac:

1) @stevensantos (Steven Santos): "Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate: Getting Pregnant From Rape Is 'Similar' To Having A Baby Out of Wedlock." (That candidate is Tom Smith; he is challenging Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat).

2) @scottlinnen (Scott Linnen): "Gotta love Donald Trump being preempted by a bigger windbag and replaced by Two Broke Girls."

3) @SeanHanity (Sean Hannity, a right-wing Fox News tv host):  "Ran into Karl Rove at the workspace, told me about his new column."

4) @DavidShusler (David Shusler, a Washington, DC-based journalist): "My chat @GOPConvention w @KarlRove. I said 'Hi Karl.' He said, 'hey, still on tv some place?' I said, 'Yes and you?' He walked on...."

5) @kesgrander (Ken Gardner, right-wing tweeter): "Wait....did Marco Rubio just compare Obama's policies to Castro's policies in Cuba? If so, brace yourself for the left's phony outrage."

6) @TroubleBiscuits: "My family is very similar to many Cuban Americans. I'll probably cry during Marco Rubio's speech. I'll admit that now."

7) @LOLGOP: "REPORT: The GOP may have to trim its convention down to three teleprompter jokes and five minutes of Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan high fiving."

GOP Day One (Delayed Due to Weather) Tweets

Today, we continue our tweets regarding the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, Fla. We should explain that we decided to go with Cuban-flag flip flops because the Republicans depend on the small, but significant Cuban-American vote in the Miami area of Florida and because the GOP's candidate Mitt Romney has radically changed positions on abortion, gun control, health care and perhaps even which baseball team he roots for...

The Turkish tea glass is our way of making fun of the Tea Party, a mostly far-right movement which has actually thrown out Republican members in both houses of Congress deemed to be too moderate, and we thought that Democrats, like sharks, ate their own.

Lastly, we have an image of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) who represents a swing state, and we quote a tweet from him here as well.

So, to borrow a right-wing cliche; let's roll:

1) @hillballotbox ("The Hill," a journal covering Congress): "Poll: Women overwhelmingly back Obama, concerned about the economy."

2) @NickKristof (Nicholas Kristof of "The New York Times"): "Global warming may be linked to hurricane intensity. Do we see a divine reprimand of Republicans for climate skepticism?"

3) @theonion ("The Onion," a satirical faux news publication): "GOP Convention To Feature Strong Lineup of Conservative Women Listeners."

4) @LOLGOP: "For a guy who has betrayed every political belief he's ever had and lies about everything all the time, Mitt gets treated pretty well."

5) @ChuckGrassley (Sen. Chuck Grassley): "Read 2day wallstreetjournal editorial for treatsie on how ObamaCare will ration healthcare 15 bureaucrats will be dictating to doctors."

6) @hardball_chris (Chris Matthews of MSNBC): "It's ashame when the #RNC has to to go back to Ronald Reagan to pay tribute to a past president. What happened to GHWB and GWB?" (These are references to George and George W. Bush)

7) @Jasoninthehouse (Cong. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah): "Up at the Diamond Fork fine. Growing fast. May triple in size today. Very windy." (This is in reference to the awful weather in Tampa).

http://www.gopconvention2012.com

http://www.visittampabay.com

Our sister blog:

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

GOP Pre-Convention Tweets: I Am Not a Republican Because....

Before we run down our tweet log from a busy night on Twitter, in which one trending topic was #IAmNotARepublicanBeacuse, here is a list of the images above:

1) Donny Osmond. The '70s icon from Utah who is a Mormon is a strong supporter of Mitt Romney. To his credit, unlike country singer Hank Williams Jr., Osmond has not made disparaging comments about President Barack Obama or the Islamic faith. We learned than in recent years, he has been a game show host?!

2) A Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader: We tried to find an image that would not get our blog banned in Qom, Iran, well, it probably is any how.

3) A Chow Chow puppy: Today is/was National Dog Day in America, and this breed is worth $3,000-8,500. Perhaps, with a hefty tax break that Romney would give rich Americans, that demographic will indulge in lots of expensive pets.

The GOP Convention is reportedly delaying its first day due to Tropical Storm Isaac.

Here are tonight's tweets:

1) @amazingatheist (The Amazing Atheist): "#IAmNotARepublicanBecause: "I'm not tricked into focusing on my pseudo-moral indignation over social issues to the detriment of all else."

2) @OlivierPortugal (Benjamin Button): "#IAmNot......I Don't Blame Teachers for a Recession Caused by Bankers."

3) @HuffPostPol (Huff Post Politics): "Seniors, Occupy movements protests GOP convention."

4) @KatrinaNation (Katrina vanden Huevel, she is the managing editor of the liberal journal "The Nation"):
"Will Huckabee Defend Akin in His RNC Speech?"

5) @lobsterpajamas (Michelle Morgan): "IAmNot.....I have a soul. Common sense helps too."

6) @LOLGOP (LOL GOP): "I blame Obama for creating 4 million jobs, getting bin Laden and ending the Iraq War. Things used to be so awesome."

7) @davidfrum (David Frum, the former George W. Bush speech writer has become a leading advocate for moderation in the conservative movement): "I want a modern Republican party precisely because I am a Republican. If I weren't, I wouldn't care."



 http://www.nationaldogday.com

http://www.donny.org

http://www.mormon.org

http://www.visttampabay.com

http://www.gopconvention2012.com

http://www.frumforum.com

http://www.atheists.org

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.islam-guide.com

For a link to our other blog, which features an image of a toy version of Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier, go to "The Daily Vampire:"

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

Rainy Days and Sundays and Weather Around the World

 

 

Rain, rain...........please go away. Obviously, we are not in Iowa where major droughts are occuring.

 

With that, here is a look at weather around the world:

 

Amsterdam 61 rain

 

Budapest 72 clear

 

Bursa, Turkey 68 clear

 

Havana, Cuba 77, heavy rain

 

Islamabad, Pakistan 75 rain

 

Istanbul 77 partly cloudy

 

Madrid 68 clear

 

Mexico City 63 cloudy

 

New Delhi 79 fog

 

Rio de Janeiro 63 cloudy

 

Rome 71 clear

 

Sofia, Bulgaria 70, mostly cloudy

 

Stockholm 55, partly cloudy

 

Tel Aviv 75 cloudy

 

http://www.weather.com

 

Happy 100th Birthday, Gene Kelly and Weather Around America

 

Well, as it turns out, we are NOT singin' in the rain, but we recognize Gene Kelly (1912-1996) which would have been this past week. Of course, to those of us who love Stanley Kubrick films, we will always cherish the tune in part because it's Alex's anthem in "A Clockwork Orange."

 

As Tropical Storm Isaac threatens the Republican Convention, scheduled to begin in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, weather is actually replacing politics as America's main concern. Of course, our thoughts are also with people in Cuba and Haiti who are dealing with the storm as well.

 

Speaking of the GOP Convention, we can't wait to start makin fun of Paul Ryan again; he reads Voltaire?! Yeah, I still not voting for him and Mitt Romney either. My personal feeling is that once again Boo Boo is overshadowing Yogi Bear; perhaps now Romney wishes he chose Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

 

Here's a look at weather around America:

 

Boston 68 74 cloudy

 

Cleveland 81 clear

 

Columbia, SC, 74 clear

 

New York 73 partly cloudy

 

Philadelphia 75 cloudy

 

Raleigh, NC, 68 cloudy

 

Roanoke, Va. 69 cloudy

 

St. Louis 75 rain

 

San Francisco 56 cloudy

 

Tampa 79 partly cloudy

 

Washington DC 72 cloudy

 

http://www.weather.com

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