Our Top 10 Favorite TV Shows of 2014: We Must Like Sex and Violence

Greetings to our blog readers in the Netherlands, Croatia and Yemen (is our blog available there? Yeah, I don't know either), and a special Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun to our friends in Turkey, my late father's country.

Here is our top ten (amended Jan. 4, 2014):

1. Rectified. Sundance Channel. Second Season. (image #1, the show deals with an inmate coming home to his zip code in small town Georgia, hence the reason for the prison cell)

2. Maron. IFC-TV. Second Season. (Mark Maron continues to impress us, but he could probably care less)

3. The Americans. F/X. Second Season (the reason for the middle image of Ronald and Nancy Reagan)

4. Halt and Catch Fire. AMC. First Season

5. The Affair. Showtime. First Season. (image #3, a postcard of a hotel room from yesteryear)

6. Master of Sex. Showtime. Second Season.

7. Homeland. Showtime. Fourth Season

8. Mad Men. AMC. Eighth Season

9. Orphan Black. BBC America. Second Season

10. Portlandia. IFC-TV. Fourth Season. (Fifth Season starts Thurs., Jan. 8th)

UPDATE: We revised this from the dubious initial version in which we thought it would be a good idea to include three shows we've never seen! They were: 1) Game of Thrones; 2) Orange is the New Black and 3) The Waling Dead, but we shall keep The Game of Thrones tags anyway.......:)

http://www.sundance.tv/

http://www.ifc.com

http://www.sho.com

Presidential Quotes, Cont'd: Ronald Reagan

Greetings to our blog readers in Singapore, Dubai and Istanbul.

We actually thought about posting an image of Mao Tse-Tung to go with this quote from Ronald Reagan, but we figured if George F. Will was reading this blog that he would not be amused, though Michael Moore might be?!

Here is our quote; to check out other quotes in this series go to our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com :

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon."

http://www.reaganfoundation.org

http://www.reaganlibrary.gov

Happy 76th Birthday, Daffy Duck

We want to wish Daffy Duck a Happy 76th birthday. The beloved Looney Tunes cartoon character, who is arguably among the fussiest and most negative of cartoon characters, first appeared in the cartoon "Porky Goes Duck Huntin" on April 17, 1937.

Daffy Duck was the subject of a brilliant Jeff Greenberg column which said that political candidates who were more like Bugs Bunny, such as Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, were more likely to win elections than ones who were more like Daffy Duck, such as Walter Mondale and John McCain, who is coincidentally talking about guns in America in the U.S. Senate today.

One famous quote from Daffy Duck is from the cartoon "Duck Amuck" (1953): "Thanks for the sour persimmons, cousin"

We are going to wish Daffy Duck a happy birthday in six different languages:

1. Grattis pa fodelsedagen (Swedish, ironically Donald Duck is very popular in Sweden)

2. Dogum gunun kutlu olsun (Turkish)

3. feliz compleanos (Spanish

4. joyeaux anniversaire (French)

5. Alles Gute zum Ceburtstag (German)

6. furaha ya kuzaliwa (Swahili: a language spoken in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda)

12 of the 24 Countries Mentioned in Last Night's Debate

Last night, 24 countries were mentioned in the last debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. David Brooks, a center right columnist for "The New York Times" and commentator for PBS said the debate was a tie that will probably not swing polls much in either direction. Mark Shields, also of PBS, said that he was surprised that India and Japan, two global economic powers, were not mentioned at all.

The debate last night also proved history repeats itself as Romney said Obama should have done more to help Iran, a charge that then-president Ronald Reagan laid out against the Jimmy Carter administration when he debated Walter Mondale, Carter's veep, in a 1984 presidential debate.


In case you are wondering, the flags above are for: 1) Greece (Prime Minister Antonis Samaras), 2) Turkey (Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan), 3) Israel (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu). There is sort of an in-joke here as Turkey, my late father's country, has a long-standing rivalry with Greece and there is currently diplomatic turmoil with Israel.

Here are 12 of the countries in alphabetical order:

Afghanistan, Cuba, France, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Yemen


For the 12 other countries, go to our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time." http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

Quote of the Day/Week- Nelson Rockefeller

Today, on our two respective blogs ("Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" being the other blog) we are quoting two former American vice presidents who would both be celebrating their respective 104th birthdays if they were alive today within the next few months.

Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979) was actually just six weeks older than other subject Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) who unlike Rockefeller went on to become president due to the tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy. Rockefeller served as vice president under Gerald Ford from 1974-77. But, he decided not to join the ballot in Ford's failed re-election effort of 1976, and Bob Dole was chosen as Rockefeller's replacement.

Rockefeller was considered a moderate Republican, and the term "Rockefeller Republican" which refers to active politicians, such as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who are known for having either more centrist positions than the likes of far-right Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) or more progressive views on social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, is in reference to Rockefeller.

Ironically, Rockefeller's own great nephew Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa) is a high-ranking member of the Democratic delegation in the current U.S. Senate.

Rockefeller was known to prefer problem-solving as opposed to sticking to a political ideology, in a way that reminds one of current New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was elected mayor as a Republican, but has since become independent (some years prior to his election, Bloomberg was a Democrat).

Both Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan who were right-wing ideologues, though Goldwater might ironically be considered a Rockefeller Republican today since he was pro-choice, were strongly opposed to Rockefeller.

Aside form politics, Rockefeller was known for giving the middle finger to protestors at a rally in Binghamton, NY, which thus lead to the term 'the Rockefeller salute.' According to mentalfloss.com, Rockefeller is also alleged to have died of a heart attack at age 70 while in the company of his assistant Meghan Marshack.

Here is Rockefeller's quote, which actually sounds like something one might connect with liberal folk singer Joan Baez:

"Never forget the most powerful force on earth is love."

Quote of the Day/Week-Ronald Reagan

Today, we are continuing to quote the last eight presidents (the other four quotes are on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time") not to be confused with my sister's blog, well actually she does not have one.

And, the subject of quote today is from Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)

Some trivia before we get to our quote. Reagan was also a Hollywood actor and his last film was "The Killers" (1964, dir. Don Siegel) in which he played a mob boss, a role that was originally considered for the late Walter Mathau.

Reagan was played by eight different actors on "Saturday Night Live" including the late Phil Hartman, Robin Williams (guest host), Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Charles Rocket, Harry Shearer, Kevin Nealon and Joe Piscopo, who was the only "SNL" star to play both Reagan and President Jimmy Carter.

In the controversial tv film "The Reagans" (2003), Reagan was played by James Brolin. Five years later, Brolin's son Josh Brolin played another president, George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's "W" (2008).

Here is Reagan's quote:

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."

Quote of the Day/Week_ Michael Dukakis

Hmmm....since there is the NCAA men's basketball tournament here in the United States (editorial comment: Go Harvard! They face Vanderbilt today) and the UEFA Champions League soccer games in Europe, assuredly Taiwan may be one of the few places where actual work is getting done today.

Today, we quote Michael Dukakis, the Democratic candidate who unsuccessfully ran against George H.W. Bush, in the 1988 presidential election. All this month, we are quoting men who fought the good fight, but didn't end up serving in the White House. Last week, we quoted Republican Robert Dole who lost to Bill Clinton in 1996.

There is a bit of a personal connection with me and the Dukakis campaign. Since I was 18 in 1988 and I was one of the few people from my high school in a conservative zip code who disdained the policies of Ronald Reagan, I was eager to vote Dukakis. And, I did.

The problem is that I'm a Turkish-American, and this didn't go over well with the relatives in Istanbul. In fact, my since deceased uncle by marriage Omer Bati pretty much threatened to throw me over the balcony for voting for Dukakis.

We learned today that Dukakis, a Greek-American, actually has connections to modern-day Turkey as his parents came from the Turkish port town of Erdemit in the Balikesir province. There are still many Turkish citizens of Greek heritage in Turkey; most of them reside in Istanbul.

Ironically, Dukakis was the second Greek-American to become the governor of a state. Long before Dukakis became the governor of Massachusetts, a post later held by both Democrat John Kerry (who lost to George W. Bush in 2004) and Mitt Romney, who is likely going to be the Republican nominee this year, one Spiro Agnew was the governor of Maryland from 1967-69.

Agnew's life is however best remembered for scandal as the Republican who would become Richard Nixon's first vice president was forced to resign from that post due to a bribery scandal.

As for Dukakis, he is perhaps best-remembered for taking more firm stances on liberal issues, including his opposition to the death penalty and his belief in gun control.

As for me, there are no regrets about voting for Dukakis, though today, I may not share voting for a Greek-American with other Turkish people.

Here is the quote from Dukakis:

"The best America is a nation where the son of Greek immigrants, with your help, can seek and win the presidency of the United States."

Quote of the Week- Ronald Reagan

As I was reading a biography of Che Guevara at one of the Mill Mountain Coffee Shops in the Roanoke, Va., area, I was wondering if anyone might mistake for a socialist.

And, since I am posting an entry with a quip from Ronald Reagan, someone with my own center-left political views may mistake me for a Republican.

Of course, I'd rather be mistaken for a socialist!

But, in all seriousness, we honor the man who came to the presidency in 1981 when I was in the fourth grade and finished his two terms by the time I had just graduated high school in 1989 with one of our favorite quotes from him:

"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk."

The Ronald Reagan Library is located in Simi Valley, Calif. They are currently holding an American Christmas exhibit there until Jan. 2, 2011.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (I bet you thought we were going to say Bill Clinton!) will be hosting a book-signing at the library on Nov. 29. We have no idea if his 'sidekick' Chuck Norris, who was reportedly filming a beer commercial in the Czech Republic this week, will be with him or not.

Quote of the Week- Warren Beatty

According to a new biography by Peter Biskind, Warren Beatty was the real-life Hot Stuff (see last entry) and we'll leave it at that. Since we were quoting famous movie directors in October, we thought we'd conclude with Beatty.

Though better known for his acting skills and his Pepe LePew characteristics, Beatty has also directed four films, including "Reds" which garnered him an Oscar for Best Director (though nominated many times, he never won an Oscar for acting). Beatty also directed the screen version of "Dick Tracy" and "Bulworth," in which he plays a politician.

Beatty has been the one Hollywood icon that many people thought would actually run for president. Ironically, even though he is liberal, Beatty was friends with both Charlton Heston and Ronald Reagan. The later of which leads us to this Quote of the Week, which I would imagine is quite true (and, I'm not one to agree with 'The Gipper' often!):

"I was friends with Ronald Reagan and he once said to me, 'I don't know how anybody can serve in public office without being an actor."

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Blue Shark Found in a River!

Zut alors! Wow! We are actually ahead in our blog entries as generally don't post this entry until Wednesday, which of course means we are neglecting vital aspects of our professional, social and personal lives, but we shall catch up even if it means hanging out at the Waffle House in Burlington, NC, (not where I actually am at the moment) until hmm.......4:35 a.m.!

Today, we learned from a tweet from "The Montreal Gazette" that a blue shark, a species which can grow up to 13-feet long, was captured in the St. Lawrence River in the Quebec province of Canada.

Fisherman who were trolling the river in the Gaspe region of Quebec found the blue shark sometime during daylight hours on Sunday.

The shark has been sent to the Exploramer Museum for further study.

Canadian blue sharks are more commonly found off the Atlantic Ocean of Nova Scotia.

Perhaps, the next time the San Jose Sharks of the NHL come to play the Montreal Canadiens, they can ask if the fish can become their mascot....?!

SIDEBAR: The Internationalist Book Store in Chapel Hill, NC, has a unique project which continues on Aug. 25 as they invite area residents and customers to gather in the store from 6:30-8:00 p.m. to send books to prisoners who are serving time in Alabama and Mississippi. Perhaps, "The Count of Monte Crisco" will be one of the titles! The establishment is also featuring the book "Resisting Reagan" by UNC sociology professor Christian Smith. The book details how some 100,000 Americans marched in the streets to protest Ronald Reagan's involvement in the wars which afflicted El Salvador and Nicaragua during his time in office.

The Last Ten Films I've Seen

Here are the last ten films I've seen. No time for commentary, but we decided to feature an image of Roman Polanski not because of the current controversy he is embroiled in but because his latest film is on this list:


1. "The Art of the Steal" (doc. d-Don Argott. 2009)
2. "The Wages of Fear" (France. d-Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1959)
3. "Ghost Writer" (d-Roman Polanski, 2010)
4. "Roaring Twenties" (with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. d-Raoul Walsh. 1939)
5. "Four of the Apocalypse" (a spahetti western. Italy. d-Lucio Fulci, 1975).
6. "Heaven Can Wait" (d-Warren Beatty and Buck Henry, 1978)
7. "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (doc concert about David Bowie. d-D.A. Penebaker. Filmed in 1973, released in cinemas in 1982).
8."The Story of Floating Weeds" (Japan. d-Yasujiro Ozu, 1934)
9. "The Killers" (with Lee Marvin. Last cinematic role for Ronald Reagan. d-Don Siegel, 1964)
10. "Dr. Strangelove........" (d-Stanley Kubrick, 1964)

SIDEBAR: My friend Jason Garnett is showing the documentary "Cinemania" about film fanatics tonight at the Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va. That might be short notice, bue he is also screening a night of vintage '70s era trailers which he is calling "Trailer Trash Night" on May 17 at 8:00 p.m. Admission is five dollars.

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Woodsy the Owl

We were initially going to go with minor league baseball teams mascots (our apologies to the Altoona Curve), but we have time constraints today. Yes, even those of who waste amounts of time blogging and watching old Mighty Mouse cartoons on Youtube, have these problems. I can only imagine what it would be like to adopt a Guatemalan orphan or tending to an $850 Abyssian cat (yes, that is how much they cost!).

For those of you who were born during or after the years when Max Headroom (Ronald Reagan- sorry for the poltiical bias, but he is the reason I'm a Democrat) was president, Woodsy the Owl was a '70s icon who told the world: "Give a hoot, don't pollute" through his PSAs which generally featured lots of singing and dancing.

We have no idea what his sexual orientation is?!