Quote of the Day/Week- Pele

Since we have been completely obsessed with soccer later (auggh! I forgot to check the scores in the Dutch League, but we think PSV Eindhoven won), and we are focusing on Latin America), I thought it would good to quip Pele for a second time.

The first time we quoted him was on one of these two blogs during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. For those of you from the planet Neptune, Pele is from Brazil, and here is his quote:

"A penalty is a cowardly way to score."

SIDEBAR: For those who were wondering what the answer is to our "Rabbit Ears Quiz" from earlier in the week regarding the cartoon version of "Star Trek," it is A) 57 episodes. That is the differential between the number of episodes in the original show and the cartoon, which ran for 22 episodes from 1973-74.

Top Ten Popular Words for 2010- Don't Refudiate This

According to Oxford Press and my friend Debbie Collins, a public librarian in Bethesda, Maryland, (pse), Refudiate is the most popular new word in the English language for 2010. The word was first used by Sarah Palin (we believe!) in one of her debates with Joe Biden (liberal bias: we think the current veep kicked ass!).

We also heard on NPR, that vuvuzela was a popular word of the moment. The term refers to those annoying/amusing horns that were popular at the World Cup in South Africa. Other popular terms include 'spillcam,' in reference to footage of the British Petroleum gulf leak and 'guidos' and 'guidettes,' which refers to 'guys' and 'gals,' which came from the annoying/amusing MTV show "Jersey Shore."

While researching this piece, we found that the liberal magazine "The Nation" has recently published two articles on Sarah Palin, including one called 'Sarah Palin's America' by Betsy Reed about her new reality tv show "Sarah Palin's Alaska" which airs on TLC, and a feature by Gary Younge on The Tea Party.

On the other side of the fence, we read in the web edition of "The American Rifleman" (we are NOT subscribers) about the most popular guns used in movies over the years. Mark A. Keefe IV, editor of that publication, recently wrote a review of C.J. Chivers's book "The Gun," about the Ak-47. A similar article about that same book is in the current edition of "Esquire."

We also noticed that these were the popular trending topics among right-wing gun people (we didn't use the word whackos, but of course, most people with my political views see them that way) include 'Armed Citizen,' 'I Have This Old Gun' and 'Ruger LCR.'

As for the popular words of 2010, we don't expect readers of "The American Rifleman" to be using the term 'Obamamania!' Here is an arbitrary list of those popular words:

1. Refudiate

2. vuvuzela

3. grass-roots

4. spillcam

5. Chilean Coal Miners

6. Lady Gaga

7. guidos/guidettes

8. ObamaMania

9. GTL (gym, tan, laundry)

10. 3-D

50 Beers from Around the World- Castle Lager (South Africa)

Former president Bill Clinton (see last entry) was among those who attended the World Cup in South Africa over the summer. Clinton was there to watch the game between the United States and Ghana, in which the west African nation prevailed in an exciting overtime victory.

Today, we feature the South African brew Castle Lager in our 50 Beers Around the World series (we are about halfway through now). In South Africa, beer in its traditional sense was first introduced by British immigrants in the late 1800s.

According to Wikipedia though, the native Zulu and Xhosa tribes were both brewing forms of sorghum and maice beers prior to the British immigrants' arrival.

Soccer season is in full-swing around the world. Those of us who root for the Turkish team GalataSaray, out of Istanbul, (I am a Turkish-American) were irked to hear that the gold and red lost to TrabzonSpor 2-0 over the weekend.

We profiled the Turkish beer Efes Pilsen as well as the American brew Pabst Blue Ribbon earlier in the series. Perhaps, there is a bar in Paterson, NJ, which has the largest conticencies of Turkish-Americans, which serves them both!

Quote of the Week- Thierry Henry

We must profess that we were completely unsure of which French person to quip in our last entry for July in this series. Initially, we thought about the iconic writer Victor Hugo since he was quoted by Sam Donaldson on "This Week" last week (we couldn't resist!).

But, after seeing the brilliant new French film "The Micmacs*," we decided to go with French soccer star Thierry Henry (you'll have to see the film to understand why!) who also recently signed with the New York Red Bulls.

"I always think about what I missed, and I think that was my driving force- never be satisfied with what I've done."

*-from the director of "Amelie"

PSA-Stop Racism

For today's PSA entry, we go with a slogan repeated throughout the recent World Cup in South Africa: Stop Racism.

There is a brilliant column in the current issue of the progressive American magazine "The Nation," (not to be confused with the right-wing Pakistani publication of the same name) which states that one of the reasons why the American right, particularly the likes of Glenn Beck, can't stand soccer is that is the one true world game.

There also appears to be an international Stop Racism Day on March 21 of each year.

As for this image, we are using it because Kermit the Frog's children's song "It's Not Easy Being Green" dealt with racism. We found out while researching this piece that the world's most famous Muppet reptile made his debut way back in 1955 (?!) for a children's tv show in San Francisco.

SIDEBAR: Some of the interesting things we learned on Twitter today include the following: 1) There is actually a Twitter group telling Muslim residents of Bursa, Turkey, when prayer time is, 2) Domestically, The Goat Show gets underway at the Reno County Fair in South Hutchinson, Kan., tonight. The regular Kansas State Fair will be from Sept. 10-19, 3) A very, very depressed man apparently jumped 20 stories out of an office window to his death in Hartford, Conn., this week. And, I thought I had a rough week!

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.

Friday GeoQuiz- How Large is Utrecht, Holland?

Wes


Since Holland is playing Spain for the World Cup title on Sunday, we thought we'd focus our dual GeoQuiz entries (the other one is on my other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Times) on the two countries involved.

For this entry, we focus on The Netherlands and the Dutch city of Utrecht. It is the fourth largest city in Holland, and the home to footballer Wesley Sneijder who has been a star player for the Dutch team. Sneijder also hails from Utrecht, which is also home to the Dom Tower (pictured above).

Utrecht is also the main rail hub of The Netherlands as well as one of Holland's leading cultural cities which like Amsterdam boasts lots of impressive canals. We presume there is good beer and cheese in Utrecht as well.

The city is also Sister Cities with the likes of Leon, Nicaragua, and Brno, Czech Rep.

One of our local bands (well, they are just down the road) The Carolina Chocolate Drops from Durham, NC, will be performing in Utrecht at The Rosa on Nov. 10. Closer to home, the band performs at Duke University in their hometown on Sept. 25. I saw them at a bluegrass fest in the rural hamlet of Eden, NC, two years and they were quite impressive!

Here is our question about Utrecht which we dedicate to ninth graders at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, NC (near Greensboro) where a family friend is a member of the school's wrestling team:

How large is Holland's fourth largest city?

A) 275,000
B) 300,000
C) 350,000
D) 425,000

If you know the answer, I will send you a copy of "The Oak Ridge Boys' Greatest Hits" on eight-track!

SIDEBAR: We are always looking to see where people are visiting us from here on this blog. Today, we are wondering if anyone from Metz, France, or Paris, Texas, happens to stumble upon this entry. If you are from one of these towns or Utrecht, Holland, feel free to email us at tango74@aol.com

PS- The answer to last week's quiz was Slovenia.

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!

World Cup Players Worth Remembering

Today, since there are two quarter-final World Cup games to be played, we thought we'd share with you some of the players we will remember most from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

We have compiled 12 names, and we will post six of them here and six of them on our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time," which just recently got over 25,000 hits (well considering how poor the ratings once were this is good for us!)

Most of this info on all these players came from Wikipedia as I am a casual futbol fan though I have seen quite a few World Cup games though admittedly I feel asleep watching the first half of the Slovakia-New Zealand first round game, which aired very early here in les etats unis, and I promptly went back to bed!

Here are the six soccer players we are profiling here:

1) David Villa. (pictured here). Spain. Age 28. Plays for Barcelona. Wears #7. Has scored an impressive 42 goals in 62 games, including both goals in 2-0 win over Honduras in the first round and the lone goal in 1-0 win over Portugal to put Spain in quarter-finals. They play Paraguay later today.

2) Landon Donovan. United States. Age 28. Plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. Born in Ontario, Calif. Wears #10. Has scored 45 in 127 international games. In World Cup play (2010), he scored goals against Algeria, Slovenia and Ghana, which was alas not enough to win the game.

3) Lionel Messi. Argentina. Age 23. Plays with Villa for Barcelona (wow!). Helped Barcelona win the 2009 UEFA Cup. Scored an amazing four goals versus Arsenal (English team) in a 4-1 win over them on April 6. In World Cup play, he has scored once versus Mexico and twice versus South Korea. Argentina has yet to lose a game in South Africa. They play Germany in less than an hour.

4) Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal. Age 25. Plays with Real Madrid. With six-year $132 million contract, Ronaldo is the world's most expensive soccer player. Had a disappointing World Cup, though he scored an impressive goal in the team's 7-0 drubbing of North Korea.

5) Lucas Barrios. Paraguay. Age 25. Plays for Barrusia Dortmund (German team). Was actually born in Argentina, but has Paraguayan mother. Got Paraguayan citizenship in the spring to play for national team. Has scored three goals in first international appearances. Nicknamed The Panther. Paraguay plays Spain later today.

6) Asamoah Gyan. Ghana. Age 24. Plays for Rennes (French team). Club teammates with American national player Carlos Bocanegra, a UCLA alum. Ironically, the two teams met in the last round where Ghana prevailed thanks to an extra-time goal by Gyan. But, alas Gyan choked yesterday in the 121st minute of play by missing a penalty kick versus Uruguay. Gyan redeemed himself by scoring on a penalty kick in the final stage of the game, but ultimately Uruguay won the match to advance to semi-finals.

Friday Geo Quiz (July2010 Only)

As a casual listener to the NPR series "The World" which had a great segment on Turkish immigrant families who have now spent several generations in Germany since a guest worker program was introduced in the late 1960s, I thought I would dedicate a series of "Geo Quiz" segments (which are featured on the news show broadcasts).

These particular entries are only going to focus on countries in the World Cup, and yes we know all six countries have officially been eliminated as of today (Editorial Comment: Go Holland!).

But, nevertheless, we thought this might help ninth grade geography students at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md. (an actual place) particularly those who are taking the class over again in summer school. It should be pointed out that there was a heatwave in the region this week, and reportedly Richmond, Va., was (yikes!) reportedly 102 degrees at one point in mid-week.

So, here is the question kids:

Which one of these four World Cup countries (pictured above) is NOT landlocked:

A) Slovakia
B) Paraguay
C) Switzerland
D) Slovenia

If you get the answer right, I may have to send you a Partridge Family record I got at Happy's Flea Market in Roanoke, Va., a few years ago. Alas, you will have to pay for the postage!

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."

Quote of the Week- Didier Drogba (Soccer Player from Ivory Coast)

This quote from soccer player Didier Drogba, an Ivory Coast national player who also plays for the English soccer power Chelsea FC, wraps the quotes from people associated with the 32 countries in The World Cup on this blog.

Keep in mind, I divided the quotes between my two blogs (the one being "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time) so there are actually 16 people from 16 countries here on this blog which started with South African playwright Athel Fugard of "Master Harold and the Boys" fame.

Alas, Ivory Coast did not advance from its group which had two highly touted teams in Brazil and Portugal. But, Ivory Coast won its last match over North Korea 3-0.

I guess from now on (pardon the pun) we resume 'regular programming.'

Here is the quote, which is of course about soccer:

"Our number one opponents are not Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester United. It is ourselves."

Quote of the Day- Alejandro Jodorowsky (Chilean Experimental Filmmaker)

Today, our quote of the day in our continuing look at 32 people from the 32 countries in The World Cup belongs to Chilean Experimental Filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky who shocked the world with his surreal western "EL Topo" in 1970.

According to the IMDB, he later wanted to film the science fiction novel "Dune" with Orson Welles in a leading role, but David Lynch beat him to it, and that version of "Dune" (which I believe has also been remade for tv) did not have Welles.

Jodorowsky also conducted the 2005 wedding between shock rocker Marilyn Manson and kinky film star Dita Ven Teese (well, we aren't fully certain which profession she's in). They divorced in 2007.

As for futbol, Chile faces Spain tomorrow which along with the Portugal-Brazil game is expected to be one of the more exciting first round games. Today, Slovakia stunned Italy 3-2 with two goals from Robert Wittek (25th min. and 73rd min.) and another one from Kamil Kopunek in the 89th minute. We presume Slovak tennis sensation Daniela Hantuchova (see earlier entry) is quite happy!

"El Topo," which was a midnight movie phenom in its day, is available from Netflix. The film was a favorite of the recently deceased Dennis Hopper, who assuredly would have loved this quote from Jodorowsky:

"I ask of film what most Americans ask of psychedelic drugs."

Quote of the Day- from Portuguese Writer Jose Saramago

Unfortunately, the famed Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, pictured here, died last week at his home in The Canary Islands at the age of 87.

Like many great writers, including the late Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet who lived in Russia and the late American writer William Burroughs who spent many years in Tangiers, Morocco, Saramago was an exiled man. This was mainly due to his political views for Saramago (like Hikmet) was a communist even though the Portuguese writer's exile (from what we gather) was a personal choice.

Saramago's novel "Blindness" had been made into a 2008 film with Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore, and the writer won the first Nobel Prize for Portugal in 1998.

We are featuring Saramgo as one of the 32 people from the 32 countries in the World Cup.

The Portuguese team made headlines on Monday with a 7-0 thumping of North Korea, which assuredly did not go over well at the Kim Jong Il residence in Pyongyang.

As many soccer fans know (and I consider myself a casual one though I did watch virtually every game of the 1978 World Cup which host Argentina won when I was a child while we were living in Turkey), Portugal has a bonafide superstar in Cristiano Ronaldo, whom David Fellerath of "The Independent Weekly" in Raleigh, NC, called 'a glowering metrosexual.' Ronaldo is also starring in a series of tennis shoe ads with Homer Simpson?!


Here is today's quote from Saramago. It is, as one would fully expect, a political one in nature:

"People used to say about me: 'He's good but he's a Communist. Now they say: 'He's a Communist, but he's good."

Quote of the Day- Kim Jong Il (North Korean Dictator)

Today, we continue our 32 quotes from 32 people from the 32 countries in the World Cup with a quip from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il (born 1942), who is apparently a bit of a film fanatic.

In a 2004 issue of "Film Comment," Brian L. Frye wrote that Kim's book "On the Art of the Cinema," which was initially written in 1973, was being republished in America. Frye said: "It's probably the only work of film criticism read exclusively by political scientists."

Kim took over in 1994, and he has made a name for himself on the global stage with his nuclear weapon synanagyns.

But, his country has not fared well at the World Cup though it gave Brazil a much harder game than anyone expected in a 2-1 loss. However, yesterday Portugal scored an astonishing six second half goals to pummel North Korea 7-0. This lead a guy named Bruno who may have been tweeting from Lisbon to say the following on Twitter:
"Kim Jong Il, please do not test your missiles on Portugal."

Here is the quote of the day from a dictator who has also been lampooned by those guys who make "South Park:"

"The revolution is carried out by means of one's thoughts, not through one's family background."

SIDEBAR: We are not sure if there are any Mexican restaurants in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital which has a population of about 2.5 million folks, but there several in Athens, Ga., including three with the local chain, The Taco Stand. One of their restaurants is located at 247 E. Broad Street across from the University of Georgia and it features not only tacos, burritos and queadillas but salsa burgers and chicken finger sandwiches as well.

We also forgot to link our friend Chris Knight's blog "The Knight Shift" yesterday. One can see a video replay of last week's game between The United States and England with Leggos (of all things!) there! BTW, Knight is a rabid Georgia Bulldogs fan, hence the reason we mention The Taco Stand here.

Quote of the Week- Daniela Hantuchova (Slovak Tennis Star)

Ay Karumba! We royally screwed up the first try with this, so we will keep this one simpler. A tip to other bloggers, try to limit your labels and be sure to save your entries, or else.........?????!!!!!!!!!

So, we turn our attention to Slovak tennis goddess Daniela Hantuchova, born in 1983, as we continue to quote 32 people from the 32 countries in the World Cup.

Slovakia was once a part of Czechoslavakia, but the political split which occured some 20 years ago did not prevent Hantuchova from becoming doubles partners with Czech tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

Hantuchova was among the female tennis players profiled in a 2008 feature in "The Daily Mail" (UK) about young, hot female tennis players from eastern Europe. It was a bit tabloid, but very interesting! Though, I think I found out from some place else that Hantuchova studied classical piano for eight years.

She has also posed for lots and lots of swimsuit photos, and like virtually all gorgeous women in the world with the exception of a few lipstick lesbians, Hantuchova (of course!) has a boyfriend but we don't really care about him!

As for accomplishments on the court, Hantuchova reached the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Open and she will be the 24th seed at Wimbledon.

Here is her quote:

"I guess the attention paid to appearance is something that belongs to tennis too."

SIDEBAR: If you have time, check out the YouTube video featuring replays of the World Cup soccer game between the United States and England with Leggos! It is on the blog "The Knight Shift" (theknightshift.blogspot.com) which belongs to my friend Chris Knight, of Reidsville, NC.

There were other things we were going to post here, but I want to avoid another disaster in the 'chemical lab!"

Quote of the Day-America Ferrera

Today as part of our series quoting 32 people from the 32 countries in the World Cup we quip America Ferrera (b. 1984) who was engaged to Ryan Piers Williams this week. The "Ugly Betty" also recently visited American troops in Iraq.

Though she was born in America, we are going to once 'cheat' and have Ferrera represent Honduras which is actually the birth place of her parents.

The Hunduran national team lost to Chile 1-0 in World Cup play this week. They will next face Spain at 2:00 p.m. (American, east coast time) on Monday.

Ferrera made her screen debut in the independent hit "Real Women Have Curves" (2002).

She has won a Golden Globe for her lead role in "Ugly Betty."

Here is her amusing quote regarding her 'figure:'

"I think it's hilarious when people call Jessica Alba or Eva Longoria Parker curvy. They're not curvy. They're small. I'm curvy."

Quote of the Day- Pele

Today's quote of the day from Brazil's legendary star Pele is being posted in conjunction with the World Cup in South Africa, where our traditional ethnic rival Greece (I am a Turkish-American) won its first ever World Cup game by a 2-1 margine with a surprising comeback over Nigeria. The game-winning Greek goal was scored by Vasillis Torosidis in the 71st minute.

Pele is reporetdly engaged in some kind of war of words with Argentinian team coach Diego Maradona, who is himself a futbol god. But, we don't know the details and we certainly don't want to irritate potential blog-visitors from Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires as we have agitated enough people from Athens and Tel Aviv (and perhaps even Istanbul!):

"Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string."

Quote of the Day- Mel Gibson

We continue our series of quotes from people associated with the 32 countries in the 2010 World Cup with a quip from controversial, out-spoken actor/director/right-winger Mel Gibson who was born in New York, but grew up in Australia where he made it big as "Mad Max" (the 1982 sequel "Road Warrior" is pictured here) in 1977 when he was just in his early twenties.

This quote is in reference to "The Passion of the Christ," a film Gibson directed which I saw as an interesting mess:

"Obviously, nobody wants to touch something filmed in two dead languages. They think I'm crazy, and maybe I am. But maybe I'm a genius."


Hmmmmm.......


SIDEBAR: Apparently World Cup fever is even spreading in countries which are not in the competition as the Tokyo, Japan-based Twitter site Weird News is reporting that government authorities in Bangladesh have asked factories, stores and shopping malls in the capital city of Dhaka to close down to prevent the city's limited power supply from getting jammed. Mohammad Afrazur Rahman, the minister of energy for Bangladesh, actually made a formal request of compliance to the people of Dhaka!

SIDEBAR TWO: Chile beat Honduras to win the country's first game in the World Cup since 1962. In today's match in South Africa, Chilean striker Jean Beausejour scored what became the game-winning goal in the 34th minute of the game.

NOTE: We had a technical glitch with our last entry on the Somali-American Yahya Wehelie, 26, who is trapped in Egypt as the FBI put him on a no-fly list as he was trying to board a plane to the United States from the Cairo Airport six weeks ago. The Washington, DC-area resident has spent 18 months in Yemen, where many jihadists have been working in terrorist camps. But, Wehelie's parents insist he is not involved in radical ideology. We were hoping to post labels for the post when the glitch occured so we will post those labels here instead.