Little Philosophers Quotes (11 of 16): Emily Dickinson

"People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles."

http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org (E.Dickerson Museum is in Amherst, Mass.)

http://www.amherst.edu

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (8 of 10) _ New Hampshire

Name: Mary Murphy (a fictional person)

Age: 68

Occupation: Antiques Dealer

Residency: Dover, New Hampshire 03820

Political Affiliation: Independent leaning Republican

Will Likely Vote for: Mitt Romney (but her state will likely vote for Barack Obama)

Today, we continue to look at how an individual in a given swing state can impact the election. Older people tend to vote Republican, so much so that the faux news publication "The Onion" wrote an article stating that GOP operatives were working diligently to keep older voters alive on Election Day, which is four weeks from today. But, women voters are favoring President Barack Obama.

In New Hampshire, Obama holds a relatively comfortable lead over Mitt Romney by a 50-44 margin according to the "Politico" swing state map. Obama is faring even better in Massachusetts, a state that Romney governed. The margin there is 59-34.

It thus appears highly likely that Romney will be the first presidential candidate to lose his home state in an election since Al Gore lost Tennessee to George W. Bush, in the highly controversial/dubious election of 2000. 

The last person elected president to lose their home state was Richard M. Nixon in 1968.

And, in case you were wondering, Barry Goldwater's running mate in 1964 was William E. Miller.

That's all we have time for today; there will be another installment in this series tomorrow.

http://wiswallhouseantiques.com (An antique store in Durham, NH)

http://www.politico.com

http://www.theonion.com

Quotes of the Da/Week- Emily Dickinson

We continue quoting figures who have been made into plush doll toys by the American novelty company the Unemployed Philosophers Guild with a quip from poet Emily Dickinson , who lived a quiet, reclusive life during the mid-1800s in New England where she penned many famous works, including "A Bird Came Down the Walk."

There is an Emily Dickinson museum in Amherst, Mass.

Here is her quote:

"Behavior is what a person does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes."

www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org

Casualties of Modern Technology (10 of 12)- Drive-In Theatres

Today's Casualty of Modern Technology is the drive-in theatre which has actually been enjoying a bit of a renaissance, much like vinyl records, but there is no mistake that the hey-day of the drive-in (1955-1979) has long passed. Many drive-ins have become bowling alleys, shopping malls, flea markets and even Wal-Marts.

According to Wikipedia, the drive-in theatre consists of a big outdoor screen, and the venues are known for concession stands, which generally serve ball park foods, such as hot dogs and pizzas. Patrons can also listen to a film's sound on a small-range FM radio station.

The first drive-in opened in Camden, NJ, in 1932. And, some notable drive-in films include the likes of "Werewolves on Wheels" (1971), " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) and "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977).

This weekend, the Eden Drive-In in Eden, NC, will screen a double-header on Friday and Saturday consisting of "The Lucky One" and "The Avengers." Some 120 miles away in Christiansburg, Va., the Starlite Drive-In in Christiansburg, Va., will screen a single feature in "The Three Stooges."

In other parts of the United States, the Mendon Twin Drive-In (pictured here) will show a double-header with "The Avengers" and "The Hunger Games" on screen one; while "Battleship" and "Dark Shadows" will be shown on screen two.

The historic Bengies Drive-In in Baltimore, Maryland, which has one of the largest screens in the United State, will show "The Avengers,"  "Chimpanzee" and "The Raven."

http://www.screengems.org

http://www.edendrivein.com

http://www.starlitedrivein.info

http://www.mendondrivein.com

http://www.bengies.com

Silly Photo to Fill Space_ John Harvard

Today, we turn our attention to Ivy League sports since the men's basketball team for Harvard University (18-2) is nationally ranked, and really kicking butt. The school mascot is indeed John Harvard!

The Harvard Crimson (that is the school's nicknamed, we double-googled) beat arch rival Yale University on the road in New Haven, Conn., for just the second time in 13 ties by a 65-35 score. The team then turned around and won another road game at Brown by a 68-59 score.

Steve Mioundou-Missi, a junior from Cameroon (yes, we double-googled his name too), was named the Ivy League men's basketball player of the week.

Surprisingly, Harvard's men's hockey team had a home game against Yale on Friday, and the ice guys were also victorious as they beat the Bulldogs 4-3. The Crimson then beat Brown at home by a 3-1 margin on Saturday.

Harvard also has a strong women's hockey team this year, and they beat Yale 8-0 and Brown 6-0 (both road games) over the weekend.

This lead to Kaitlin Spurling, a junior from Byfield, Mass., being named as Harvard Athlete of the Week. Spurling scored four goals against Yale and two goals against Brown.

The men's basketball team will face Princeton on the road for nationally televised game on ESPN-U on Sat., Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m. The last Ivy League men's basketball team to make the Final Four were the Pennsylvania Quakers in 1978.

Harvard also has water polo team's for both men and women, and recently the women's team traveled to Hungary.

Quote of the Week- William S. Burroughs

Today's quote of the week comes from one of my favorite writers William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) who is, of course, best known for his signature, surreal subversive novel "Naked Lunch:"

"A paranoid is someone who knows a little bit about what's really going on."

SIDEBAR: As Keith Olbermann pointed out on his Current TV show "Countdown" on Tuesday night, Fox News has been obsessive over the fact that President Barack Obama was taking a family vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachussetts, which has an elitist reputation.

The liberal political pundit E.J. Dionne of "The Washington Post" made a point on the Friday edition of "All Things Considered," which I am inclined to agree with in that it may have been politically wiser for Obama to take a vacation on the Outer Banks or the shores of Lake Michigan instead.

Obama has actually viisted Asheville, NC, twice since becoming president, including a stay at the Grove Park Inn Hotel in late April of 2010.

Since Cong. Heath Shuler (D-NC), one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, is actually in danger of losing his seat to a potential Tea Party whacko (well, aren't they all whackos?), we imagine Obama will be back in western North Carolina again quite soon.

UPDATE_ NPR is reporting that Hurricane Irene is potentially heading for the Outer Banks of North Carolina, so perhaps it's better that Obama chose Martha's Vineyard after all!

My Choice for the Best Films of 1981

Since information for this entry took a while to compile, I will simply list the films in my order of preference without commentary.

On a personal note, I hope my friend Moviezzz who has or had a great blog called Moviezzz (http://www.moviezzz.blogspot.com). I really enjoyed his review of a concert from the Go-Gos in Northhampton, Mass., earlier this summer. Moviezzz has alas not posted a new entry since June! That girl band was actually very popular in 1981 due their hit record "Vacation," which featured the mega-hit of the same name.

One film from the class of 1981, "Time Bandits" (dir. Terry Gilliam) will screen in a 35-mm print at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, NC, tomorrow night.

Last year, my friend Blake Lipscomb and I 'sweded' the film "My Dinner with Andre" which was shown at part of a sueded film festival at The Shadowbox Cinema in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., where we filmed our version of "Andre." Ironically, the actual film, which is set in New York, was filmed at an abonded hotel in Richmond, Va.

Here is the list:

1) "Atlantic City" (dir. Louis Malle)

2) "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (South Africa. dir. Jamie Uys)

3) "Das Boot" (Germany. dir. Wolfgang Petersen)

4) "An American Werewolf in London" (dir. John Landis)

5) "The Road Warrior" (Australia. dir. George Miller)

6) "Body Heat" (dir. Lawrene Kasdan)

7) "Prince of the City" (dir. Sidney Lumet)

8) "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (dir. Steven Spielberg)

9) "My Dinner with Andre" (dir. Louis Malle)

10) "Blow Out" (dir. Brian DePalma)

Quote of the Week- John F. Kennedy

Today, we continue with quips from famous New Englanders with a quote from the legendary Democratic President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). The 'forever young' president who was 46 when he was assasinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Tex., would be 94 today.

Here is his quote:

"A man may die, nations may rise, but an idea lives on."

Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass., on May 29, 1917, and the JFK Library is located in Boston.

SIDEBAR ONE: Gazooks! It was 107 degrees today in Little Rock, Ark., today where the Bill Clinton Library is located.

SIDEBAR TWO: PBS will air the first episode of "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" tonight, local times may vary.

SIDEBAR THREE: Michelle Goldberg of "The Daily Beast" is reporting that far, far-right Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who is currently a congresswoman from Minnesota, is the first GOP candidate to sign a pledge to fight pornography and 'find a cure' for homosexuality!

Road Trip- Cambridge, Mass, to Eugene, Ore.

We have been meaning to post this entry for quite a long time as we ask you the blog-reader to guess how long it would take a bus driver to get from Cambridge, Mass., to Eugene, Oregon.

Both of these college towns boast hip, popular independent record stores. In Cambridge, where Harvard University is located, there is Cheapo Records, that was profiled on the NPR show "The World." And, in Eugene, Ore., which is known for both the University of Oregon and for being the residence of the late author Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), there is Skip's Record and CD World.

Of course, the whole world knows that Harvard is the alma mater of President Barack Obama and Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (ooops!, we forgot that Zuckerberg is actually a college drop-out).

We are also featuring the cover of the 1978 debut album of The Pretenders (which is called "The Pretenders") because we are huge fans of the band and their lead singer Chrissie Hynde.

So, here are the choices:

A)43 hours, 20 minutes

B) 44 hours, 50 minutes

C) 47 hours, 10 minutes

D) 48 hours, 40 minutes

SIDEBAR: There are lots of celebrity birhtdays today as one of our favorite actresses Natalie Portman turns 30, Johnny Depp turns 48, Michael J. Fox turns 50 and Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor turns 25.

SIDEBAR TWO: I had the chance to see Miss Lana Rebel, an experimental/folk singer perform recently at the Green Bean in Greensboro, NC. Now the band that was originally based in Portland, Ore., then Tucson, Ariz., then Athens, Ga., is now play in and around Austin, Tex. Amazingly enough, Miss Rebel and her bandmates live out of a school bus in Vancouver, Wash., they bought via Craig's List.