(10 for 10; 7th Entry): Virtual Postcard from West Virginia

Greetings to our blog readers in Malaysia, Brazil, and Spain.....

Today, we continue our occasional tradition of virtual postcards with an image of the Hawks Nest State Park in West Virginia, located one hour east of the state capital Charleston. The park is a common destination during the autumn months.

For those of you who follow MLS soccer, we have just learned that Sebastian Giovinco scored two goals for Toronto FC in the team's 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids.

http://www.hawksnestsp.com/

http://gotowv.com/

http://www.charlestonwv.com

http://www.torontofc.ca/

Top 10 Sunday Comics from the Washington Post: Prickly City Gets 1st Place for the 1st Time

Greetings to our blog readers in Chile, Spain, and South Africa......

The images above are of: 1) Adam West and Burt Ward from the '60s tv version of "Batman," 2) R.Crumb's "Fritz the Cat" and 3) the late Bob Denver as Gilligan on another '60s tv series "Gilligan's Island." These are in reference to our top three finishers: 1) "Prickly City," 2) "Lio" and 3) "Non Sequitur." This is the very first time Scott Stantis' "Prickly City" has been our top choice, though it is frequently in the top ten.

In "Prickly City," the two title characters, a cat and a little girl, are blind-folded and they say: "Now, we finally see eye to eye" or something to that effect. In Mark Tatulli's "Lio," the title character, a ten-year-old boy named Lio who never ages (but he is otherwise quite different from Charlie Brown and Dennis the Menace) gets pulled by an angry cat to a liquor store. And, in "Non-Sequitur" by a cartoonist named Wiley, a man's hops to get off the desert island are dashed.

Here is the list http://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/:

1. Prickly City http://www.gocomics.com/pricklycity

2. Lio http://www.gocomics.com/lio

3. Non Sequitur http://www.google.com/nonsequitur

4. Brewster Rockit: Space Guy

5. WuMo

6. Candorville http://www.candorville.com

7. Pearls Before Swine

8. Speed Bump

9. Sherman's Lagoon

10. Foxtrot

Last Ten Songs We Heard on Simon (98.7-FM,Greensboro,NC): Slow Ride

Greetings to our blog readers in Argentina, Belgium and Italy.....

Last night, we experienced major technical difficulties while trying to listen to Simon-FM, 98.7-FM, Greensboro, NC, but we were able to catch an hour of songs between the 9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. (21:00-22:00) hour last night.

The oldest tune that was played on the variety mix 'we play everything' rotation was "Drive My Car" by The Beatles, which is celebrating its' 50th anniversary as it was released in 1965 (middle image, year it's a Delorean, which came out some 20 years later).

The second newest song in the lineup was the last one in this mix: "Slide" by The Goo Goo Dolls (pict. bottom) which hit radio stations in 1998. The Goo Goo Dolls have a post-game concert following a Milwaukee Brewers game on Aug. 15th.

The most current release was actually a cover of a bluegrass standard "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show; the band plays at Clinton Presidential Park in Little Rock, Ark., on July 16th.

The top image of an Andrew Jackson twenty dollar bill is an homage to Eddie Money, but of course, you already knew that! Mr. Money plays at the Santa Barbara County Fair in Santa Maria, Calif., on July 15th.

For those of you in Spain, Twisted Sister, one of the bands listed here, is playing the Barcelona Rock Fest on July 24th.

Here is the list:

1) Take Me Home Tonight, Eddie Money, 1986.

2) Drive My Car, The Beatles, 1965

3) Pump Up the Jam, Technotronic, 1989

4) Don't Stand So Close to Me, The Police, 1981

5) Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show, 2004

6) We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions, Queen, 1977

7) Slow Ride, Foghat, 1975

8) Dancing Queen, ABBA, 1976

9) We're Not Gonna Take It, Twisted Sister, 1984

10) Slide, The Goo Goo Dolls, 1998

http://www.987simon.com/

http://www.googoodolls.com/

http://www.eddiemoney.com/

http://www.crowmedicine.com/

http://www.twistedsister.com/

Top Sunday Comics from the Sunday, June 22nd Washington Post

We suggested to political reporter Chris Cillizza of "The Washington Post" who runs a weekly column of Sunday called Worst Week in Washington that the dubious honor should go Ambassador Ramon Gil-Casares of Spain his country performed very badly at the World Cup in Brazil though they went out with a win over Australia. Cillizza chose President Barack Obama instead.

But, in the comics section, there was very little politics except for "Doonesbury,"which poked fun of global warming denialists, and surprisingly only comic strip "Knight Life" from Keith Knight, who is a great and wonderful person (yeah, I am partially saying that so he will base a character on me) mentioned the World Cup.

"The Argyle Sweater" was our overall top choice as the comic strip did a take on what the Three Bears would think if Goldilocks had come into the family bathroom. "Lio" was our second favorite strip of the week as the title character gave a map of the stars to an alien visiting his home. And, "Rhymes with Orange" was our third favorite strip as a woman is horrified to learn that the whole class will be using Twister yoga mats.

We also enjoyed "Dustin," which illustrated what can happen if a senior citizen mixes up the words tweeting and twerking; yes, we thought about Miley Cyrus too!

Here is our survey, our top ten comic strips from "The Roanoke Times" can be seen on our sister blog http://politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com/


1. "The Argyle Sweater"

2. "Lio"

3. "Rhymes with Orange"

4. "Sherman's Lagoon"

5. "Pearls Before Swine"

6. "Dustin"

7. "Doonesbury"

8. "Speed Bump"

9. "Knight Life"

10. "Prickly City"

http://www.gocomics.com/lio

http://www.doonesbury.com

http://www.gocomics.com/knightlife

http://www.dcbikramyoga.com/

http://www.bikramyogahampden.com/

http://bikramyogarichmond.com/

Soccer Week (5 of 8): Games of the Week Results

There were a handful of soccer games played tonight in Europe: Among them is the Turkish Super League match-up between two Istanbul teams, Fenerbahce and Kasimpasha. Thanks to two goals from Pierre Webo of Cameroon (pictured here) the Yellow Canaries came from behind for a 3-2 win over Kasimpasha. Yes, we are wondering why Webo is not wearing a yellow jersey with blue stripes (Fener's traditional uniform colors) too!

Here are the results from the Games of the Week entry posted on Friday:

France:

Lille 0 Nice 2 (both goals came from Argentine national Daro Cvitanich)

Lyon 0 Rennes 0 (tie)

Also, Paris St. Germain won over Bordeaux 2-0

Turkey:

Bursapor 0 Besiktash 3 (Three international players: Hugo Almeida of Portugal; Tomas Sivak of Slovakia, who is also the team captain; and Julien Escade scored for BJK).

Kasimpasha 2 Fenerbahce 3

Also, GalataSaray tied Antalyaspor 1-1

Italy:

Inter Milan 1 Juventus 1-1 (tie)

Napoli 2 Atalanta 0

Greece:

Veria 1 PAOK 2 (Miguel Vitor of Portugal and Miroslav Stoch of Slovakia scored for PAOK)

OFI Crete 1 Asteras Tripolis 1 (tie)

Spain:

Villareal 2 Real Madrid 2 (tie)

Atl. Madrid 4 Almeira 2 (Goals from Spanish stars David Villa and Koke for Atl Madrid)

http://www.greeksoccer.com

http://www.turkish-futbol.com

http://nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com/2013/09/soccer-week-1-of-8-games-to-watch-in.html (Friday's entry)

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

Soccer Week (1 of 8): Games to Watch in Mediterranean Countries

This is the first entry in our first ever Soccer Week series (we were originally going to call it Futbol Week). For this entry, we look at ten games being played in Mediterranean countries. Alas, we didn't have room for Portugal or Israel. But, we do feature France, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain in this preview of what one might call dev machlar (giant games) in Turkish.

The three images above are of: 1) Pablo Batalla*, an Argentine international who is a star player for Bursaspor in Turkey; 2) Didier Digard who is a French international and a captain for OGC Nice in France and 3) Manolis Moniakis who has a short name (by Greek standards) the defender and Greek international plays for OFI Crete in Greece.


We hoped to provide you with the start times (as they would be in New York), but we realized that would cause much confusion. Keep in mind that Madrid and Paris are six hours ahead of New York and that Istanbul and Athens are seven hours ahead of Boston. Most games are played when it is morning or early afternoon in Baltimore or Tampa; we hope to provide you with the scores of these games on Monday:

Turkey:

Sun. Bursapor  vs.  Besiktash (Istanbul) 

Mon. Kasimpasha (Istanbul) vs. Fenerbahce (Istanbul)

France:

Sun. Lille vs. OCG Nice

Sun. Lyon vs. Rennes

Greece:

Sat. Veria vs. PAOK (Thessaloniki)

Sat. OFI Crete vs. Astera Tripolis (Tripoli)

Spain:

Sat. Villareal vs. Real Madrid (this might be the best game in all of Europe)

Sat. Athletico Madrid vs. Almeira

Italy:

Sat. Inter Milan vs. Juventus (Turin) (this might be the best game in Europe as well)

Sat. Napoli vs, Atalanta

http://www.turkish-football.com/

http://greeksoccer.com/

http://www.ligue1.com/ (French soccer)

*- Alas, we have Pablo's last name spelled incorrectly in our tags......

Quote of the Day: Andy Warhol

Greetings to our blog-readers in Italy, Spain and Australia.

We are a bit stunned that there is no Google Doodle for America's great pop artist Andy Warhol, who would have turned 85 today.

David Bowie wrote a song called "Andy Warhol" and later played him on film.

The Andy Warhol Museum is one of Pittsburgh, Pa.'s top tourist attractions.

The image above is an Andy Warhol doll that is made by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, a novelty-item maker in America.

Here is one of his quotes:

"The always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

http://www.warhol.org

Sports Desk: France Wins Under-20 World Cup in Turkey

Today is Bastille Day in France, and their national Under-20 soccer team, is bringing home a World Cup Championship.

On Saturday, France beat Uruguay, which had upset Spain in the quarterfinals, 0-0 (4-1) on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play without a single goal from either side.

The final was played in Istanbul, Turkey, and other host cities included Bursa, Trabzon, Rize, Gaziantep, Antalya and Kayseri. Surprisingly, neither Ankara, the Turkish capital, nor Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey held games during the tournament.

Paul Pogba (pictured top) who plays for the Italian team Juventus was named the best player of the tournament, and his teammate goal-tender Alphonse Areola (pictured bottom) from the French team Paris Saint Germain, which won the French League this season, was named the outstanding player of the final.

Ghana beat Iraq 3-0 in the competition for third place, and Ebenezer Assifuah from Ghana received the Golden Boot in the tournament as he was the player who scored the most goals.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sports

Quote of the Day/Week- Charlie Chaplin

Thanks to those of you in Afghanistan?!, Spain and Serbia for visiting us today. Hope the weather is nice in Kandahar province.

Today, we continue quoting famous people associated with each of the 16 nations competing in the Euro 2012 Cup in Poland and Ukraine. Yesterday in Warsaw, there were ugly clashes between fans for Russia and Poland on the eve of the two countries' soccer match. Thankfully, the game ended in a 1-1 tie and things were apparently less tense after the game....well, we hope!

England is one of those 16 countries, and since we are also quoting people who have been humorously merchandised by the American company The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, we thought we'd go with the great actor/director/composer Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977). A Little Thinker plush doll toy from the company retails for $17.95. Another company has a line of Charlie Chaplin ties, which might not be the best choice for a job interview unless you are interviewing for a manager's position at an old cinema, such as the Byrd Theatre in Richmond, Va., which is now screening "The Artist," which pays homage to silent films, such as the ones which made Chaplin famous.

Chaplin is best known for several cinematic masterpieces, including "The Gold Rush" (1925), "City Lights" (1931) and "Modern Times" (1936). Since Chaplin held left-wing views, he was targeted by the controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover during the infamous McCarthy period. This caused Chaplin who was living in America at the time, to move to Switzerland where he lived out his last years.

Here is his quote:

"Actors search for rejection. If they don't get it they reject themselves."

http://www.philosophersguild.com

http://www.byrdtheatre.com

http://www.charliechaplin.com

Quote of the Day/Week- Salvador Dali

Today, we continue to quote famous people from the 16 countries represented in the 2012 Euro Cup championships in Poland and Ukraine, which got underway on Friday. Originally, we were going to quote just eight people from eight of the teams, but we figured those of you visiting us from Croatia and Portugal, two national teams in Euro 2012, might feel snubbed.

We thus turn our attention to the great Spanish surreal painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989) who is perhaps best-known for "The Persistence of Memory" (1931), which is the painting with melting clocks. Dali is also one of the people who has his very own plush toy from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, which retails for circa $17.95. This month, we are also quoting individuals who have plush toys made in their image as was the case with Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter who was the subject of our last quote entry.

A museum dedicated to Dali's works is located in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Over the weekend, Spain tied Italy 1-1 in the team's first Euro 2012 game.

Here is Dali's quote:

"I don't do drugs. I am drugs."

http://www.thedali.com

http://www.virtualdali.com


http://www.philosophersguild.com

Silly Image to Fill Space- Yes, Today is My Freaking Birthday

Yes, today, March 4, is my 42nd birthday. I have been curious for a while if I shared my exact birthday with someone famous and the closest match I found is Alex Criville, a presumably retired Spanish world champion Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Other celebrities who were born on March 4th, include the Canadian actress and former "SCTV" star Catherine O'Hara, who is 58 today, and Paula Prentiss, an acclaimed actress whose career peaked in the '60s and '70s, who is 73 today.

Ironically, Rick Perry, the Texas Republican governor I highly oppose politically as he has executed more inmates than any governor in American history turned 62 today.

Thankfully, Perry, who was running for the Republican nomination, is out of the race!

As for politics on the other side of the world, the BBC is reporting that Vladamir Putin beat out his rival Vladamir Putin to become the new Russian prime minister (ok, my words not the BBC's!).

SIDEBAR: The answer to this week's Rabbit Ear Quiz is B) Fred Grandy served eight years in Congress.

Correction: We Meant Philip, Not Paul

Since I spent many years working as a journalist where I covered many things like Winston-Salem, NC, city council meetings (I didn't actually work in Winston-Salem, but it seems like a good generic city to plug in for this entry), I go through great lengths to make sure I don't post misinformation here, even if it's about Republicans.

But, I did flub yesterday when I said that my friend and fellow blogger Chris Knight said that the Apostle Paul's tomb was discovered near Denizli, Turkey, recently. As it turns out, it was Apostle Philip's tomb that was discovered. So, to make up for it- especially for all my Catholic friends, I will wish Pope Benedict well as he visits Madrid, Spain, over the next few days. And, hopefully, I will not have to retract and say that he is actually going to Valencia (another city in Spain).

Turkey, which happens to be my late father's country, has been in the news a lot lately. In addition to the discovery of Philip's tomb, the following things have happened there either fairly recently or within the last few days as have been reported in Turkey's two English-language newspapers, "Hurriyet Daily News" and "Today's Zaman:"

1) Israel has refused to apologize for the raid aboard the Marmara flotilla, which killed many Turkish activisits who were attempting to give humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

2) Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Syria's Bashar Assad to stop the violence against residential protestors throughout Syria, which caused a major influx of refugees into Turkey.

3) Aziz Yildirim, the president of Istanbul soccer power Fenerbahce, has been arrested and charged with match-fixing, a scandal which is involving many teams. Melih Gokcek, the current mayor of the Turkish capital Ankara has also been pulled into the mess as he was once the president of the soccer team Ankaraspor.

4) As of yesterday, Turkish military planes attacked PKK (Kurdish Worker's Party) terrorists in northern Iraq. The PKK guerillas have struck Turkish military headquarters with attacks in the Hakari province in far southeastern Turkey.

All of this is occuring as many religious Turkish people are celebrating the Ramadan holiday!

And, I should retract the statement that I was going on hiatus.

Oh well, we tried!

Quote of the Week- Sophia Loren

Tonight, we continue with our quips from famous Italians since Italy is celebrating its 150th anniversary as a republic. Ironically, even though Sophia Loren is Italy's most recognized screen star around the world, she resides abroad in Geneva, Switzerland.

Loren, who will turn 77 on September 20, provided the voice for Maria Topolino in the upcoming animated film "Cars 2." She was the very first woman to win a Best Actress Oscar for a foreign-language when she won the award for the 1962 Italian film "Two Women." The French actress Marion Cottilard would be the second actress to achieve that rarity when she Oscared for her role as the iconic French singer Edith Piaf in the 2007 French film "La Vie en Rose."

Loren is also said to be an inspiration for the Spanish actress, superstar Penelope Cruz whose title role in Pedro Almodovar's film "Volver" (which recieved an Oscar nomination) is said to be inspired by the Italian legend.

Here is the quote from Loren:

"A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wired fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view."

Things We Learned on Google Today_ Barcelona Kicks Butt

Since FC Barcelona has advanced to face Manchester United in the UEFA League finals, which is apparently watched with religious fervor in every country in the world except the United States and maybe Bhutan, we thought we'd tell everyone some facts that everyone in Spain assuredly already knows.

I asked Google: "How many UEFA League Championships has FC Barcelona won?" and the answer appears to be three (1992, 2006 and 2009). We also learned that FC Barcelona became the first team to win a domestic cup, a domestic league title and a UEFA Champions League title in the same year, 2009.

The current team features two Spanish socccer gods in David Villa and Pedro. The team has also featured international stars like Ronaldinho from Brazil and Lional Messi from Argentina.

The other image in this entry is Cobi, who was the mascot for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Speaking of which, we understand the American Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller who competed in several Olympics, including Barcelona, is battling cancer; she's only in her early 30s. I have not heard about her status, but we certainly wish her the best as well as a complete recovery.

We have no idea what Cobi's gender is (oh with a shirt and tie, he must be a man), or much about the mascot. We had to use Google to remind us who was mascot of the Barcelona Olympics actually!

And, lastly, an interesting thing about Bhutan, according to the NPR show "The World," one can not smoke there. In fact, they sent a Buddhist monk in Bhutan to prison for three years (?!) for smuggling smokes! Even though I haven't smoked since I was 20 years old in 1990, this seems a bit much, but I'm sure this means the air in the Himalayan nation is quite clean now!

50 Beers Around the World- Mahou Clasica (Spain)

There isn't much available about this Spanish beer, which is reportedly found mostly in Madrid, except that a travel site about Spain highly recommends it while the blog pissonthewall.com says it's rather bland?!

Top 10 List- Places Around the World I Want to Visit

Today, we debut my weekly Top 10 lists with a Top 10 list of places I want to visit outside the United States. Well, no Canadian cities made the list, actually. So, I suppose I could say outside North America. Of course, those who know me will be less surprised by my off-beat choices.

1. Tashkent, Uzbekistan- I always thought this would be a perfect place to shoot a spaghetti western rip-off with Turkish actor Cuneyt Arkin (pictured here). Of course, Arkin, a '70s matinee idol in Istanbul, is now 72 years old, and he has already been in several such ripoffs, including "Kucuk Kovboy/The Little Cowboy." But, Tashkent also boasts Central Asia's only metro system!

2. Bergen, Noway- We love Norway here, so this is a logical choice though we've never actually been there! It is home to the Norwegian soccer team Brann and the folk singer Magnet (yes, that is his actual stage name!).

3. Thessaloniki, Greece- Yes, we would love to visit the second-largest Greek city and the birthplace of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ('course, we had to throw that in to appease the relatives in Konya, Turkey). The city that is quite hard to spell also boasts an international film festival.

4. Mus, Turkey- This very remote eastern Turkish city is on the list simply because I was going to actually travel there for a friend's wedding but I had to get to Istanbul to catch a flight back to Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Mus sits on the Murat River overlooking the Kurtik Mountains. The Greeks apparently have no territorial interests in this city (hopefully, they will get the joke; not so sure about my fellow Turks- who are not known for having a good sense of humor).

5. Akureyi, Iceland- 24 hours of daylight in the summertime! This city has only 17,000 residents which makes it the size of Carrboro, NC, but it is somehow Iceland's second-largest city! It also boasts an 18-hole golf course.

6. Pontevedra, Spain- This city of 81,576 residents simply makes the list because I have lots of postcards from there. It is known for a Roman bridge which crosses the Lerez River.

7. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- I think everyone knows about this place which was incidentally the setting of the 1984 Michael Caine film "Blame it on Rio!"

8. Tangiers, Morocco- A city which attracts hippies, vagabonds and famous authors like the late William Burroughs who set his novel "Naked Lunch" there.

9. St. Petersburg, Russia- This makes my list because a Facebook friend of mine recently visited there, and it looks a fabulous place. It is home to the famed Hermitage Museum and it overlooks the Neva River (not the Volga as I once wrongly believed).

10. Kyoto, Japan- This city if the former imperial capital of Japan---enough said!

SIDEBAR: Domestically, Boulder, Colo., has been called "The Best Place to Raise Abducted Children" for a third year in a row by "The Onion."* The cover article had the following quote which we sincerely loved: "The residents here are quick to smile and say hello, but never ask you why you have an Asian baby."

*_For those of you visiting us from Uzbekistan, "The Onion" is a satirical journal.

Viva Espana!

Since virtually all the public libraries in my part of North Carolina were closed yesterday (as was everything except emergency services and the local Mexican restaurant) since it was Sunday, I didn't get to post this entry sooner.

But, even though I was rooting for The Netherlands/Holland, I wanted to congratulate Spain on winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Andres Iniesta kicked the game-winner in the 116th minute of play. His teammate Xica was named MVP of the World Cup and Germany's Thomas Muller won the Golden Boot.

Paul the Octopus had predicted that Spain would win on Sunday, and he had picked eight consecutive game winners throughout the World Cup. According to sports handicappers in England, anyone who listened to Paul and bet accordingly would have made themselves $4,500! Paul was given a replica World Cup for his accomplishment.

Tanja Munzig, a spokesperson at Paul's aquarium in Germany, said the octopus would be staying put in his tank despite all the media hoopla:

"We've had lots of offers, but he will definitely be staying and returning to his old job---making children smile."

Spain's World Cup victory was mared by terrorist bombings in Uganda which killed 74 people (at last report).

Nate Henn, 25, was the only American killed by the blasts which occured in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Internet columnist Michelle Ruiz said Henn was living his dream by being a relief worker in Uganda.

Vicky Collins of "The Hufington Post" said she ate the Ethiopian Village restaurant which was the site of one of the blasts back in June. Collins said she was sickened by the attacks.

Xenophobic Criminals in Greensboro?!

According to the police blotter in the Greensboro newspaper "Yes Weekly!," Greensboro police responded to an emergency call at 10:40 p.m. on June 29 from the Tienda Mexicana store on West Market Street which turned out to be an armed robbery.

Store employee Maria Ruiz and her 9-year-old sister were in the store when two black men in their late teens or early twenties came in and one of them pointed a gun at Ruiz's face. The second suspect jumped over the counter and demanded cash.

The two then sped off in a black four-door vehicle. Anyone who may have info is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (336.373.1000).

SIDEBAR ONE: We expect Glenn Beck's head will explode over this one (and, we would love to see that happen actually!) as the Mexican beer Tecate aired several ads en espanyol on ESPN-2 last night during Friday Night Fights.

SIDEBAR TWO: A Mexican waiter at a local Mexican restaurant, a Greek co-worker of mine and a Turkish friend of mine in Greensboro all think Spain will beat Holland- the team I am both picking and rooting for in the World Cup final tomorrow. We'll see what happens tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

TEASER: Next Saturday, we will be debuting a new series called "The Weekly Top Ten List." We will either go with our top ten favorite people to follow on Twitter or the my top ten favorite cities in North Carolina. Among the candidates for the top slot on my Top Ten Favorite people to follow on Twitter list are "Yes Weekly!" reporter Jordan Green, conservative activist Nathan Tabor of Winston-Salem (who I rarely agree with, but it's fun to see what's on his mind), comic strip character Zippy the Pinhead who we presume to really be his creator Bill Griffith or the acidic-tongued stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman.

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- The Spanish Quarter in N'Orelans?!

There won't exactly be bull-fighting on Bourbon Street, but the Twitter site for VisitNewOrleans tweeted the following today:

"You don't need to be in Spain for the Running of the Bulls."

This message was posted before Spain won a historic World Cup semi-final game by a
1-0 score over Germany thanks to Carles Puyol who scored in the 73rd minute of play.

According to VisitNewOrleans, folks from the city will gather at The Ernst Cafe/The Chicury Sunday at 11:30 a..m. They will be spotting bullhorns and re-enacting the fabled Spanish event in a PEAT-friendly manner as there will not actually be bulls running loose in New Orleans. The Twitter site jokingly said most folks there will likely be intoxicated.

This sounds like a perfect place for the Rev. Franklin Grahama (R-NC) to visit on a Sunday morning as the ultra-radical televangelist once said that New Orleans deserved Hurricane Katrina because it was a 'city of sin.'

In other tweets, the Los Angeles Chinese restaurant The Mandoline Grille reported that they were having a lunch special on Vietnamese chicken curry today (hey, it's only 1 p.m. over there right now!).

And, "The San Francisco Weekly" tweeted that for $8 area residents can have a 'lobster corn dog' (shouldn't they have this in Portland, Maine, instead?!) at a place called Unwind on Union, which is actually located in Laguna, Calif. (we presume that's a San Fran 'burb).

Closer to home, both Bluefield, W.Va. (91 degrees) and Blacksburg, Va., aka Hokietown (94 degreees) broke record temperatures yesterday.

Meanwhile, it is in the mid-90s here in Mount Airy, NC, (not actually where I am at) where the public library has actually banned Twitter, which is probably quite populat at those Internet cafes in Baku, Azerbaijan, where I checked my email for the week I was there in 2008. The irony is that Azerbaijan happens to be a dictatorship!

My World Cup Final Four Picks

Without commentary which will have to include some other time, my final four are Argentina, Holland, Uruguay and Spain. I pick Argentina to win the World Cup. One of their star players Lionel Messi is pictured above.

I would personally love to see Argentina play The Netherlands in the World Cup final for sentimental reasons. Those same two countries met in the 1978 World Cup final which was in Argentina in 1978.

That was the year I first started watching international soccer in Black Sea Eregli, Turkey, where the whole country watched the games with black and white tvs. Now, Turkey not only has color tv, but satellite and cable services with up to 200-plus channels, where they can watch reruns of "Gunsmoke" like the 'rest of us."