Potluck Quote of the Day (1/10): Noam Chomsky Meets Marvin the Martian

Greetings to our blog readers in Turkey, Israel and Costa Rica......

Why are we featuring an image of Mars with a quote from left-wing philosopher/linguist/historian Noam Chomsky, one of America's leading critics of the Vietnam War, who happens to still be alive at age 87?

Well, just read this quote. And, thanks to the kids from Duke University for helping us with this research......(we are actually UNC fans here, but we wanted to be nice....and since all the college students are on break for the summer, perhaps, they will be reading this instead of playing video games)....

We gather that Speak of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) is a closet admirer of Chomsky's work (yeah, we just said that to get your attention)....

This will be our first of ten quotes from people who have achieved fame and/or notoriety in a variety of fields.

Here is the quote:

"If there were an observer on Mars, they would probably be amazed that we have survived this long."

https://chomsky.info/

http://mars.nasa.gov/

http://www.wxdu.org/ (Duke's student-run college radio station; they were playing Frankie Cosmos at last report, actually that was another college radio station).........

We Are Going to the Final Four in Indy............

Yes, indeed, a good friend of mine from Charlotte, NC, backed out of going to the NCAA Tournament so he could tend to the health of his ailing Yorkie terrier B.B. King (named after the blues legend, of course). We wish B.B. the best, but we are going to Indianapolis!

For those of you who are politically liberal, you will be delighted to learn that because of a hotel shortage in the Indiana capital, where Republican governor Mike Pence signed a stupid gay discrimination bill cloaked as religious freedom, I will be staying in Louisville, Ky., instead.

The issue has been the talk of both the political and sports world circuit. Dave Zirin of "The Nation" said that Duke University Coach Mike Krzyzewski (also known as Coach K) was a coward for not standing up to the measure. But, we did learn that the Duke coach recently wrote a letter to a struggling grade school kid in Oklahoma, urging him to make a strong effort in school. Unlike Zirin, a rare progressive sports writer, David Brooks, who is center-right politically, criticized gay rights groups for being too political, or something to that effect.

But, I am nevertheless pleased to go to the Final Four; the ironic thing is that I would have been just as happy to go to the Frozen Four in Philadelphia!

Images: 1) the retired jersey of Kentucky Wildcats great Sam Bowie wh played there in the early eighties, 2) the Duke Blue Devils mascot who is simply known as Blue Devil, 3) Frank Kaminisky, number 44 in red, in action for the Wisconisn Badgers.

The Michigan State Spartans are the fourth team in the Final Four.

Sports Desk (2 of 2): Colleges by Area Code in North Carolina

De'Mon Brooks, pictured, scored 21 points for Davidson in a 85-52 home win over Southern Conference rival Georgia Southern on Saturday. The Davidson Wilcats, a team that plays in Davidson, NC, due north of Charlotte, is in the 704 area code. Other star players associated with the teams listed below include Jabari Parker (Duke), Jeremy Ingram (NC Central) and T.J. Warren (NC State).

Here is a look at ten of the 18 Division One schools in North Carolina, but this time instead of conferences, we've divided them by area codes. For more schools divided by area code check out yesterday's entry and our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com


252

East Carolina University  Pirates (11-9, Greenville, Conf. USA): Next game @ Middle Tenn. State on Thurs. @ 8:00 p.m.

910

Campbell University Fighting Camels (10-11, Buies Creek, Big South): Next game vs. Charleston Southern on Wed. @ 7:00 p.m.

UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (6-15, Colonial Athletic): Next game vs. Towson (Md.) on Wed. @ 7:00 p.m.

704

Gardner-Webb Running Bulldogs (10-11, Boling Springs, Big South): Next game @ Longwood (Va.) @ 7:00 p.m. on Wed.

Davidson Wildcats (10-11, Southern Conf.): Next game vs. Chatanoogs on Thurs. @ 7:00 p.m.

Charlotte '49ers (12-7, Atlantic 10): Next game vs. Fla. Atlantic on Thurs. @ 7:00 p.m.

919

UNC Tar Heels (12-7, Chapel Hill, ACC): Next game @ Georgia Tech on Wed. @ 7:00 on ESPN-2.

Duke Blue Devils (17-4, Durham, ACC) Next game @ Syracuse @ 6:30 p.m. on ESPN

North Carolina State Wolfpack (13-7) Next game vs. Florida State @ 9:00 tonight on ESPN3

North Carolina Central Eagles (14-5, Durham, MEAC) Next game @ Howard (Wash. D.C.) on Sat. @ 4:00 p.m.

http://www.gocamels.com

http://www.goheeels.com

http://www.uncwsports.com

http://www.nccueaglepride.com

http://www.gopack.com

Quotes from the Little Thinkers (4 of 16): Frida Kahlo

Greetings to our blog-readers in Denmark, Italy and Hungary (we seem to be more popular in Europe than we are here in American, well..........perhaps!).

Today we quote the iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who died at a relatively young age when she was 47. There is a very popular restaurant in Antigua, Guatemala, called Frida's. Apparently, getting a seat for a Duke University men's basketball game in Durham, NC, is easier than getting a seat at Frida's.

Recently, we saw a Frida Kahlo Little Thinker doll alongside the likes of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali at the Denver Museum (if memory serves us correctly) where there is a currently an exhibit of French impressionist art (ie. Claude Monet) until Feb. 9th.

One may also be able to find a Frida Kahlo plush toy at the Corcoran Art Museum's gift shop in Washington, DC, where an exhibit entitled "Mia Feur: An Unkindness" in underway. The museum's web site describes that exhibit as 'an examination of the relationships between human infrastructure and the natural world."

Here is our quote from Frida Kahlo:

"I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality."

 
http://www.corcoran.org

http://www.denverartmuseum.org

http://www.fridakahlo.com

http://www.fridakahlofans.com

http://www.visitguatemala.com

Kudos to Duke's Men's Lacrosse Team and Remembering Our Fallen Soldiers

Duke University (16-5) upset Syracuse (16-4) to win a second NCAA men's lacrosse championship for the Blue Devils. The team was helped by Brendan Fowler, who won 20 of 28 face-offs, Jordan Wolf, who scored four goals in the title game that was played in Philadelphia, Josh Offit, who scored the go-ahead goal and Jake Tripucka, who was a member of the all-NCAA tournament squad.

Tripucka is the son of former Notre Dame men's basketball star and NBA player Kelly Tripucka. The Blue Devils had lost the ACC championship to their rivals_ the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

SIDEBAR: Since my late stepfather Donald Sullivan (1918-2003) was a World War II veteran, we thought we would recognize those who lost their lives while serving in the American military. Though Donald was fortunate enough to come home, many were not and that was especially true for troops from Bedford, Va., where the National D-Day Memorial is located. Donald was fortunate to visit the memorial before his passing.

Here was a tweet from the D-Day Memorial today which talked about those who came to Bedford today: "Over 1,000 came to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to our nation."

It is interesting that the D-Day Memorial has the flags of all the countries that were allies in World War-2, this happens to include not only familiar friends like France, both also countries such as Norway and Greece.

http://www.goduke.com

http://www.durham-nc.com

http://www.dday.org

http://www.visitbedford.com

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to everyone, and I also want to wish a very special happy birthday to my sister Zeynep Akili (pse)* who now resides in Capetown, South Africa,** and kudos to her alma mater Lehigh University*** for pulling a tremendous upset over Duke last night in the NCAA tournament. I am not as stunned as some people that the Mountain Hawks (now 27-7) beat the Blue Devils, as they had essentially the same record, but yes, I had presumed Duke would have hit a three-pointer in the last minutes of the game to win it, but that never happened.

Hopefully, at least one person from Ireland will visit out blog today. And, if I actually had an Irish greyhound perhaps I would get at least one date with a woman who is as gorgeous as the Swedish supermodel Vendela, who still looks quite attractive at 45.

But, we must get going or as the late Dr. Seuss would put it:

"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to great places!
You're off and away!"

*Zeynep, a common Turkish name for girls is not my sister's real name; akili is the Turkish word for smart.

**-'Zeynep' does not actually reside on the African continent.

***-She did not go to Lehigh, but her SAT scores would have allowed her to go there (Lehigh is considered a smart school) or pretty much any college she may have been inclined to study at!

Quote of the Day/Week- Lorraine Hansberry

In honor of Black History Month, we continue to quote famous African-Americans and today we share a quip from playwright/activist Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) who died all too young at age 34 from pancreatic cancer.

Hansberry is best-known for her 1959 play "A Raisin in the Sun," about a struggling family residing in the south side of Chicago. Both the original Broadway stage production and the 1961 film version starred Sindey Poitier.

This month, Stained Glass Playhouse in Winston-Salem, NC, is staging "A Raisin in the Sun" (until Feb. 19th).

In the Los Angeles area, the play is also being produced by Center Theatre Group which is performing "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Kirk Douglas theatre in Culver City.

Here is her quote:

"Children see things well sometimes_ and idealists even better."

SIDEBAR: In Durham, NC, Duke University men's basketball player Austin Rivers is assuredly the Big Man on Campus as he hit a three-point shot to help the Blue Devils prevail over their man arch rival, the University of North Carolina Tarheels.

But, half a world away, the nation of Zambia is celebrating as another young athlete, soccer player Emmanuel Mayoka, a substitute, scored the game-winning goal in that country's 1-0 upset win over Ghana in the Africa Cup.

Thus, Zambia, which lost its entire soccer team due to an airplane accident in 1993, will face Ivory Coast for the continental title. Ivory Coast scored its own 1-0 victory over Mali thanks to a goal from Arsenal star Gervinha.

The Africa Cup final will be played in Liberville, Gabon, the same city where that fatal airplane crash took place.

Quote of the Day/Week- Augusto Pinochet

We must profess that since we have quoted both Che Guevarra and Fidel Castro this month, we are fearful that Bill O'Reilly will make the subject of scorn and label us as a far-left blog.

So, in order to make things 'fair and balanced,' today we are featuring a quip from the notorious Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006), who suppressed and killed many of his own people.

There is a bit of personal connection here as my late uncle Ilhan Gokbudak was actually a Turkish diplomat in Santiago during Pinochet's reign. When I asked Ilhan Amca (amca is the Turkish word for uncle) what the man was like; he said something to the effect of: "Well, he was nice to me."

Here is the quote from Pinochet, who was, by the way, a far-right figure if there ever was one:

"I'm not a dictator. It's just that I have a grumpy face."

SIDEBAR: Today, the world is 'mourning' the loss of another brutal dictator as Kim Jung Il, who was made famous on "South Park" here in the United States, is no longer with us.

My favorite Kim Jung Il story is of how he kidnapped South Korean film director Sang-ok Shin, and forced her to make "Pulgasari" (1985), a Godzilla rip-off that was not shown outside the Korean pennisula until a 1998 screeening in Japan. Today, it is a Youtube sensation.

"Pulgasari" was also shown as part of the "Axis of Evil Film Festival" at Duke University in 2003; the festival, which was currated by Iranian ex-pat Negar Mottahedeh, did actually get targeted by Fox News for being 'liberal academic propaganda.' The festival also included films from Cuba, Libya and Syria.

The term 'axis of evil' is believed to have come from former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum, who has ironically become a voice and ration and reason within the Republican Party. I guess this means he is not endorsing Michele Bachmann.

Sports Desk- Women's NCAA Volleyball Tourney Begins

The Liberty University Flames will have its hands full as the team from Lynchburg, Va., heads up to University Park, Pa., to face four-time defending NCAA champion Penn State on the Nittany Lions' home floor in the women's volleyball match-up on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. For the team, one of the players to watch will be Micha Hancock, the Big 10 Freshman of the Year.

The seedings were announced on Sunday; Liberty is the only Virginia team which made the field of 64. But, the ACC was represented well as four teams made the field, including the Duke BlueDevils, a team that will face the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Dec. 1st at 7:00 p.m. The game could be the most anticipated one of the first round.

The BlueDevils' team features Ali McCurdy, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and her high school teamate from Tampa, Kellie Catanach as well as blocker Chritiana Gray. While the 'Vols have SEC Player of the Year Kelsey Robinson on their team roster.

Other games of interest in the first round include the University of Arizona's game with Michigan State. The Wildcats have libero Emily Helm and Czech hitter Marketa Hanzlova on its roster.

Both the PAC-12 and the Big 10 got many teams in the tournament. Arizona joins UCLA, Stanford, Oregon and California in the field. While the Big 10 has a staggering eight teams, including two top seeds in Illinois and Nebraska.

Among those teams will be the University of Michigan; they play Baylor in Palo Alto, Calif., on Dec. 2 at 4:30 p.m. (eastern time). The Wolverines feature outstanding players in Claire McElheny and Lexi Erwin (we believe she is the player featured in the above image). While the Bears' team includes stand-out Briana Tolbert, a senior from Houston.

Another potentially competitive first-round game appears to be the University of Florida's match with the University of Missouri in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (at Northern Iowa University). One of the Gators' top players Chloe Mann is actually from Gainesville, where the school is located.

Many games are expected to be televised on ESPNU.

SIDEBAR: Since we presume folks in England are mad about soccer, and the United Kingdom is one country where we get many hits, I thought would give a brief run-down of weekend soccer scores from the English Premiere League. The Tottenham Spurs continue to be on a roll as they beat West Bromwich 3-1.

Here is a partial list of the weekend games with their final scores; Manchester City remains five points ahead of cross-town rival Manchester United in the league standings:

Liverpool 1 Manchester City 1
Stoke City 3 Blackburn 1
Chelsea 3 Wolverhampton 0
Manchester United 1 Newcastle 1
Arsenal 1 Fulham 1

60 Words or Less- President Obama Comes to NC

This is our latest effort to try to curb the amount time spent blogging for the sake of something that might actually make me rich and famous.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama visited Reidsville, NC, while en route to Jamestown (a suburb of Greensboro) and much to my surprise he dined at Reid's House. I have been to that dinning establishment myself, and the last time I was there, I actually thought to myself: "I must be the only one in here who voted for Obama."

Perhaps, now Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann will visit the Internationalist Bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC, which is known for its agressive progressive activism.

SIDEBAR: Alas, our beloved UNC Tarheels fell to arch rival Duke University in straight sets last night in a road game that was televised on ESPN-U. The final score of the match was (25-18, 27-25, 25-22). For the Blue Devils, Sophia Dunworth scored 15 kills while her teammate Amanda Robertson added 11.

Sports Desk- North Carolina High School Game Goes Bonkers

While we were watching WFMY-2 (CBS-Greensboro,NC) the other night, my eyeballs literally popped out of my sockets as if I were a Tex Avery cartoon character as Mount Tabor High School from Winston-Salem, NC, defeated Carver High School by an 87-52 score in high school football. Yes, initially, I thought it had a be abasketball score too. To put in perspective, that means the two schools combined for 19 touchdowns and three field goals!

Two of our other favorite schools in the Greensboro region won easily as Ragsdale High School (Jamestown, NC) beat Parkland 56-7. Conversely, Rockingham County School (Wentworth,NC) trumped McMichaal 44-6 in a home game.

Here are some other scores from the Greensboro/Winston-Salem region:

Western Alamance 48 Morehead 13
Chapel Hill 17 Cedar Ridge 0
Dudley 30 Ben L. Smith 23
Reynolds 18 Northern Forsyth 15
Page 28 Western Guilford 0
High Point-Andrews 25 Southwestern Guilford 0
Eastern Forsyth 21 High Point Central 20
Western Stokes 17 Mount Airy 0
Reidsville 22 Barton Yancey 0

SIDEBAR: Since there are five women's volleyball players from Turkey, my late father's country, in the ACC this year, we plan on keeping tabs on the sport.

Those young women include Cagla Sen from Boston College, Serenat Yaz and Cansu Ozdemir of Clemson, and Duygu Duzceler and Fatma Yildirim for Florida State.

It was a very succesful weekend for both the Clemson Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles.

The Tigers swept two matches from Georgia Tech, while the FSU Seminoles won a straight-set victory over Miami (Fla) which puts them back in the top 25 at number
23.

Here in North Carolina, Wake Forest pulled off a home upset over visiting Duke 3 sets to 1. For Wake Forest, Kadja Fornah and Carlin Salmon hit 23 kills while Amanda Robertson of Duke, a senior from Roxboro, NC, scored a season-high 17 kills.

Bonus Road Trip- Manteo to Murphy (To Flee Irene)

In North Carolina, the term "Murphy to Manteo" is used constantly for entities which serve the entire Tarheel State whether it be "Our State" magazine or North Carolina Public Television.

But, with Hurricane Irene now hitting the shores of the Outer Banks around Kill Devil Hills, it seems that right now travelers are more likely to head west, which would be from Manteo to Murphy. The route goes through Chapel Hill where the University of North Carolina Tarheels play. Given that Hurricane Irene is expected to be a devastating storm, one has to wonder if the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game perhaps should have chosen a different nickname.

For those who did not major in North Carolina geography in college or live in Wyoming or Uzbekistan, let me explain that Manteo is a town in the Outer Banks whereas Murphy is in 'Deliverance country' near the borders of Georgia and Tennesse in the far west, mountainous part of the state.

We imagine that it has been a slow Friday night for such Outer Banks establishments as Front Porch Cafe, Stripes Bar and Grille, and Chilli Peppers Coastal Grille, assuming they were even open at all.

So, for this Bonus Road Trip, we examined the distance between the town hall of Manteo and Daily Grind and Wine, a cafe in Murphy which has the motto: 'Life is too short for bad coffee and cheap wine."

Thus, we ask you the blog-reader how far apart these two towns are.

Is the answer:

A) 8 hours, 30 minutes

B) 8 hours, 50 minutes

C) 9 hours, 10 minutes

D) 9 hours, 25 minutes

We will give the answer over the weekend.

SIDEBAR: "The News-Observer," the newspaper for Raleigh tweeted tonight that downtown Wilmington was a mess even though it is a few hours south of the eye of the storm. But, there are lots of sporting events in North Carolina which are still on, as of press time.

The Winston-Salem Open, a tennis tournament in (where else) Winston-Salem will have a final featuring American star John Isner and French tennis player Julien Benneteau tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 local time. The game, if it is played, will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

And, tonight, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (they are the Spartans, not the Tarheels) opened their season at home against Duke University, which was ranked 12th in the country. The Spartans were able to pull a 3-2 upset thanks to two goals from Turkish-German player Hakan Ilhan.

Quote of the Day- Henrik Ibsen

Today's quote of the day comes from the great, classic Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. A production of his famous play "A Doll House" will be performed by L.A. Theatre Works from Sept. 22-25 on the UCLA campus with Calista Flockhart (from tv's "Ally Macbeal) and JoBeth Williams in the cast.

Here is his quip:

"A minority may be a right, but a majority is always wrong."

SIDEBAR: Wow, as a former journalist, the rapid decline of the print medium is quite a chilling and depressing one. The Raleigh, NC, alt weekly "Independent Weekly" reported that Durham, NC's daily newspaper "The Herald-Sun" laid off seven newsroom employees, a third of the paper's staff, which also leaves fewer than 20 people in the editorial department.

The paper which was drawn into the Duke University lacrosse scandal in 2006 (acording to Wikipedia) has seen its circulation dwindle from 50,000 to 25,000 (according to "Indy Weekly"). Additionally Wikipedia disclosed that "The Herald-Sun" laid off 81 employees during its first round of lay-offs in 2005. All the staff that was laid off in Durham, NC, as well as reporters from around the country who have lost their jobs due to these seismic changes in the industry have my deepest sympathies.

Quote of the Week: Edward Albee

We normally don't like to promote things we are hoping to see ourselves, but Playmakers Rep Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, will be presenting the legendary Edward Albee play "Who's Afraid of Virginia" from Nov. 30-Dec. 18, 2011.

Since it is a long time from now, there is always hope that you the blog-reader will long forget about this between now and then, so I can get a good parking space which is always a bit hard to find in Chapel Hill.

Here is Albee's quote (for those at UNC or Duke for that matter, Albee's views do not reflect the staff and management here- which is actually just me), and we are featuring quips from famous playwrights this month:

"American cities are like American universities. They both have dull and half-dead faculties."

Random Ten Contemporary Novels to Read for Summer

Today, we are finally getting to our random ten books to read for summer list, which seems appropriate given that I am in a public library in New Haven, Conn., where we have a heat index of 110 degrees today (I am actually in North Carolina, but it is really that hot up there, and down here as both Raleigh and Charlotte are 'code orange' in terms of heat index today).

We are also including a list of ten random classical novels worth reading on our other blog, and we thought we's include books on each list that were the basis for Tim Burton movies as is the case with "Big Fish" here.

Our apologies in advance to some of my favorite writers like Jay McInerney, Tom Perrotta and Barry Griffith who did not make the cut here.

I will put indicate which books I have actually read with an asterix (*).

Four of the books on this list had films based on them, including Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" that became an Oscar-winning movie for the Coen Brothers.

Stephen King's "Misery," a book which came from a dream that King had on airplane flight to London has been made into both a play and a film.

"The Shipping News" by E. Annie Proulx is the other film that became a movie, and I was surprised to see it on a reading list of novels to read by King in the back of his book for would-be writers called simply enough "On Writing," which is quite brilliant.

Here is the list:

1. "Tell All" (2010) by Chuck Palahniuk. He is actually my favorite novelist, but I have to read his most current novel.

2. *"Imperial Bedrooms" (2010) by Bret Easton Ellis. This sequel to "Less Than Zero" is yet another quirky, witty book from Ellis who was a published writer by the time he was 25!

3. "Libra" by Don DeLillo (1988). This controversial novel about the John F. Kennedy assasination seems like it would be quite a unique read. It was criticized by many people, including conservative pundit George F. Will, who also thinks global warming is somehow not happening?!

4. *"The Big Fish" (1988) by Daniel Wallace. When I heard that novelist Daniel Foster Wallce had committed suicide a few years ago, I thought they were referring to this Daniel Wallace who is very much alive and teaching writing at The University of North Carolina. This is a nice feel-good story which can actually be read in one reading.

5. "The Museum of Innocence" (2008) by Orhan Pamuk-Amazingly enough, I have yet to read the latest offering from Turkey's most acclaimed novelist.

6. "Misery" by Stephen King (1987) by Stephen King. At 325 pages, this King novel will make for a quicker read than the new unedited version of "The Stand" which has cracked the best-seller list.

7. *("No Country for Old Men" (2005) by Cormac McCarthy. Along with "Trainspotting" by Irvine Welsh, this is an example where both the book and the film work well together.

8. * "Super Sad True Love Story" (2010) by Gary Shteyngart- The author made my long names list. This novel proved that his prior novel "Absurdistan" was no fluke.

9. "I Am Charlotte Simmons" (2004) by Tom Wolfe. This novel, which is set in the fictional DuPont University that is partly based on Duke University, is about the sexual practices of college students. Amazingly enough, Karen Owen, the infamous sex columnist who outed many, many BlueDevils she made love to, including at least one lacrosse player, may have proven the story to be unsettling true.

10. "The Shipping News" by E. Annie Proulx_ As we said earlier, Stephen King recommended this prize-winning novel, so it must be good!

Road Trip (Entry 3 of 20)- Duke to Arizona

Hey, we are actually pressed for time today (yes, it does happen from time to time) so no time to give a quick tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (she was great in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf") or tell how you can give a donation to the tsunami earthquake victims in Japan (perhaps redcross.org can help), so we will get to the heart of the matter.....


Today, we are asking you the blog reader, all 19 of you, how far it is from Elmo's Diner on 9th Street in Durham, NC, (there is also an Elmo's Diner in nearby Carrboro which is part of the two-restaurant chain) and Little Anthony's Diner on E. Broadway in Tucson, Ariz.

Duke University, which is located in Durham, plays the University of Arizona, which is in Tucson, tonight at 9:45 p.m. New York Time in Anaheim, Calif, in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

It helps that one of the ten most annoying people in world is sitting in close proximity to me at a public library here in Skokie, Illinois*, (to help me get outta here quicker), so is the answer:

a) 32 hours
b) 34 hours
c) 35 hours
d) 36 hours

If you get the answer right, we might get you a cat toy or a yo-yo, but then again, maybe not!

*-We are not actually in Skokie, but my aunt and uncle lived there for many decades and it is where my cousins on my father's side grew up. Olympian Bart Conner supposedly was teammates with my cousin Brent on the high school gymnastics team!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Conan O'Brien

We were initially going to try to figure out the distance between Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., and Akron University in Akron, Ohio, but yesterday's entry took almost as long as it would get from Duke University's campus in Durham, NC, to Hampton University's campus in Hampton, Va. That trip would take three and a half hours! But, the Blue Devils are playing the Pirates in 'neutral' Charlotte, NC.

Nevertheless, since it is Saint Patrick's Day, we though we'd mention the Notre Dame-Akron game even though it is actually going to be played tomorrow in Chicago at 1:40 p.m., New York time.

We also imagine that they will still be partying hard at Fiddlers Hearth, an Irish pub in South Bend, where the band Driving Irish will perform at 9:00 p.m. local time tonight.

As for the city of Akron, their hometown baseball team the Akron Aeros has their season opener against the Binghamton (NY) Mets at 7:05 p.m. on April 7th.

Tonight's Conan O'Brien Show is a rebroadcast from January that will feature retired talk show host Larry King and snowboarder Shaun White.

O'Brien posted this hilarious tweet on Twitter today:

"St.Patrick's Day is named for St. Patrick, the first guy to feed Guiness to a snake."

Before I head to Bethesda, Md.*, for a pet-sitting trip (I assume the locals are disappointed the Maryland Terps didn't get in, but two area teams the Georgetown Hoyas and the George Mason Patriots did!), I want to wish my dear sister Eva Svensson from Goteborg, Sweden**, a happy 37th birthday. Yes, she is a St.Patty's baby.

We also want to wish the NPR station 88.5 WFDD (Winston-Salem, NC) success with their on-going fund-drive which will hopefully off-seat any draconian measures that Tea Partiers might be able to push through Congress to cut federal funds for NPR.

Many people have projected that mostly small NPR stations in rural areas, like WETS-FM in Johnson City, Tenn., would be affected the most if such measures went into effect.

As I have told my friends to the right of me: "Mozart is not a Maoist." And, NPR should not be caught up in this culture war at all.


*- I am not actually going to Bethesda, but we love mentioning that DC-suburb.

**-My sister is not named Eva Svensson, nor does she reside in Sweden. But, today is her 37th birthday.

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Clash of the Titans

I fully expected that UNC and Duke would meet today in the ACC Tournament final in Greensboro, NC, but I didn't realize until I checked Twitter that it would for the eleventh time.

UNC holds a 6-4 advantage over Duke in the ACC final, but the Blue Devils have won the last two ACC finals over the Tarheels.

A Duke basketball tweet said that Kyle Irving, one of Duke's star players who has been injured, was practicing before the game.

Ian Williams, a columnist for "The Daily Tarheel," the UNC student-run newspaper has a humorous column called "Why I Hate Duke," and as one might expect the Town Hall Grill in Chapel Hill tweeted that they were supporting the 'Heels.

Duke beat Virginia Tech 77-63 yesterday to reach the final, and Hokies' coach Set Greenberg tweeted last night that he is anxiously awaiting the NCAA tournament selection committee's decision regarding his team, which has narrowly missed getting into the Big Dance several times before.

In other North Carolina news, WXII-TV in Winston-Salem tweeted that a dog's life have been saved through CPR. There were details. I guess we will have to wait for 'the film at 11.'

Special Silly Image to Fill Space- Horror Film Poster

Since we feel like screaming at the very top of our lungs today, and such behavior is not allowed publicly (well, we haven't checked the Virginia state laws to be sure about that, but since we named the state attorney general as our worst person we are not going to ask him and we also can't spell his last name- it's either Cucinelli or or Cuccinelli---but, in all honesty, we really don't care!), we are going to post an entry about screaming.

We are very close to the state line with North Carolina, and Roy Cooper, that state's attorney general, is probably too tied up to help us know if screaming is allowed in the Tarheel State, outside Chapel Hill and Durham during UNC-Duke basketball games.

So, anyway, here we go:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........"

Yes, that feels much, much better.

The movie in the image we are using is "Death Screams" (1982) directed by David Nelson, who was the son of Ozzie and Harriet. He died earlier this year at age 74. The horror film also featured lots of B-list actors and actresses, including Jennifer Chase. "Death Scream" was also filmed in Lake Lure, NC, where "Dirty Dancing" and "Firestarter" were both partially filmed.

Of course, in the early 1980s the main scream queen of the day was Jamie Lee Curtis who starred in the original "Halloween" (1978) as well as horror or thriller films like "The Fog," "Prom Night" (the original) and "Terror Train."

Interestingly enough, Curtis's mom Janet Leigh made the famous shower scene scream in "Psycho" (1960).

There is an urban legend that Curtis was born a Hermaphrodite, which is a person with gender traits of both males and females, but according to the urban legend web site snopes. com it has never been proven true.

But, we did learn from the same web site that one of the (James) Bond girls in "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), one of the Roger Moore films, was once a man!

Kudos to Duke University (Again?!)- This Time for Men's Lacross Title

First they did it men's basketball, now the Duke BlueDevils bring another NCAA championship back to Durham, NC, as they won the men's lacrosse championship by defeating Notre Dame in Baltimore by a score of 6-5.

The game-winning goal was scored by sophomore C.J. Catabile with :05 remaining in overtime. Freshman goalie Dan Wigrizer made five crucial saves to help Coach K's squad (ooops! Sorry, we got our sports mixed up!).

This was the first NCAA Championship in men's lacrosse for Duke University.

The team made national headlines off-the-field back in 2006 for an incident with a local stripper which proved to be based on false accusations and lead to the resignation of Durham Country Attorney General Mike Nifong.

You can apparently follow the team on Facebook and Twitter, but we can't verify that and since we are not a professional news organization we will skip the verification process as we need to buy a mouse from the pet store on Williamson Road in Roanoke, Va., before it closes to feed our pet boa Larry (that is a joke! In fact, I can't stand snakes.....)