Special Quote from Harold Pinter

Well, it looks like Harold Camping's prediction that the world as we know it would come to an abrupt on Saturday did not occur though there was a volcanic eruption in Iceland, and I came down with a nasty spring cold that morning.

Since the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, where we just visited last week is currently performing Harold Pinter's 1971 play "Old Times," we though we's quip the great English playwright.

Pinter (1930-2008) was known for writing biting dialogue and this play is no exception as it has lines like: "You have a wonderful casserole....I mean wife" and "I remember you dead."

Veteran DC-area actress Holly Twyford joins a cast that includes Steven Culp (tv's "Desperate Housewives") and Tracy Lynn. The play is directed by Michael Kahn, and it runs for 90 minutes. The production closes curtain on July 3rd.

Here is the quip from Pinter, who was also known for being a liberal political activist, an actor and a screenwriter:

"A short piece of work means as much to me as a long piece of work."

SIDEBAR: A reggae singer from Bermuda? Yes, Jamaica might well be the country that comes to mind with this genre of music, but Mishka, a male reggae singer from Bermuda perhaps best-known for the song "Give You All That Love" will be performing at Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC, on Friday night.

Coming Attractions- Amadeus in Bethesda

Well, the world did not come to an abrupt end today as the radical evangelical radio station tycoon Harold Camping, who has gone missing, reported but there was a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Perhaps, God is punishing them for Bjork (that is a joke to everyone in Reykjavik!).

And, though we were hoping to start our blog series "Amadeus in Bethesda" about yet another hectic, but very fun-filled trip to Washington, DC, we are going to post it hepfully at some juncture next week instead.

The play "Amadeus," which was the basis for the 1985 Oscar-winning film of the same name that undoubtedly inspired Quentin Tarantino to become a filmmaker (hmmm.....yes, I know my off-beat sense of humor may make as much sense as a "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip....?! By the way, we love Bill Griffith's work) is now being staged at the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Md., which is the reason why we are calling the series "Amadeus in Bethesda."

We did not get to see the play, which opened May 11 and runs through June 5, but I have read the play in addition to seeing the film, and if I lived in the Maryland 'burbs, I would like to think I'd go to the play instead of seeing "Bridesmaids" at the multi-plex. Also, by sheer coincidence, we stayed in Vienna, Va., which is named the capital of Austria, Mozart's native land.

Here is a quote from Mozart (1756-1791) who died young, though he did outlive Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison:

"As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence."

Happy Apocalypse Not Day

Earthquakes. Floods. Hurricanes. Tsunamis. Volcanic eruptions. Martians invading earth.

Yeah, we don't think any of this nonsense will be happening on Saturday, May 21, which is now officially the date here for those of us on the east coast, and we also firmly think Harold Camping, the 89-year-old radioevangelist who started this insanity is definitely a kook who should be locked in the same asylum in Oregon where "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next" took place.

Tomorrow, we will start blogging on our latest hectic trip to Washignton, DC. Be sure to tell all your friends from Bergen, Norway, to Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Quote of the Day- James Baldwin

Today's quote of the day comes from the late poet and writer James Baldwin (1924-1987) who was also a Civil Rights activist. Since he was black, gay and an atheist, Baldwin felt alienated from society and spent some time abroad as a writer, primarily in Paris, France, (starting in 1948) as well as Switzerland and Turkey.

Among his famous works are his second novel "Giovanni's Room," which was quite provocative when it was released in 1956.

Here is Baldwin's quip:

"Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced."

SIDEBAR: Many radical fundamentalist Christians in the United States, and perhaps elsewhere, are predicting that Judgment Day will come on May 21 of this year (wow!, they have an exact) and the end of the world as we know it will come on Oct. 21,
2011. And, they claim to spread optimism?!

Meanwhile, so we may be 'objective,' it should be pointed out that the heavy metal band Slayer is apparently not concerned with Judgment Day (even though we are not radical Satan-worshippers, I am inclined to agree with them here) as they play on performing in Santiago, Chile, on June 2, 2011. Closer to home, Slayer will be in Pittsburg, Pa., on July 23.

And, The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a group that makes fun of Christian doomsdayists and other radicals of this genre, had a cake made in their honor in Argentina recently. We wish we could share that image here with you, but we hate to agitate folks we actually agree with!

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Perhaps, it was fitting something royally screwed up during the first draft of this entry as we were going to talk about computer fiascos I was having this weekend. We had come to a community library here in Bethesda, Maryland*, in the hopes that it would help us and somehow the computers here went kablooowe as well.

In case you were wondering, this image above is of a TRT (Turkish Radio Television) test pattern. We would regularly watch test patterns (I was born in America, but I lived Turkey, my late father's home country, for two years as a child from 1977-1979) before watching reruns of American tv programs like "Flipper," "Uzay 1999" ("Space 1999") and "Zaman Tuneli" ("The Time Tunnel").

Back in those days in Turkey, television only aired at certain times of the day (it was also only in black and white), and all of us kids were excited when "Flipper" came on circa 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoons. So my father who had hoped that being in a country where tv was less a part of the culture would mean I would be less excited by watching tv actually found out that I got even more hooked to the boob tube.

Interestinly enough, my favorite show I watched on American tv before and after we lived in Turkey was "Star Trek," and it aired as "Uzay Yolu" (which actually means Space Trek) a few years after we left Turkey.

Speaking of Turkey, we found out that Fenerbahce beat our beloved GalataSaray in Turkish soccer, yesterday. And, we are also not happy that West Virginia, featuring Turkish player Deniz Kilicli, lost to Kentucky by an 81-73 score earlier today. But, we hope Dogus Balbay and his Texas Longhorns teammates fare better when they play the Arizona Wilcats tomorrow in the NCAA men's baskebtall tournament.

CORRECTION: Earlier when we were making fun of radical Christian extremists (we realize not all Christians are this way even if they reside in Lynchburg, Va.), we were mistaken. We had thought that they were predicting the End of the World would be on May 21, 2001.

Since I am not in the know when it comes to far-out views of the world, I had assumed Judgment Day and the End of the World were one in the same. But, as it turns out, Judgment Day is actually 'supposed to happen' on May 21 and the End of the World as we know it will come on October 21.

This whole campaign was started by Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping, and it has even made for discussion board topics on atheist web sites and blogs!

SIDEBAR: The answer to our question about the distance between Logan, Utah, and Manhattan, Kansas, is B; they are exactly 15 hours apart.

*-We are not actually in Bethesda, Maryland, at the moment, but it is my favorite suburb in the United States!